Map Editor

[Simmonds91]

How about a mode of play where the player can not only choose what props to add to the map but edit the roads?
(I understand this is almost like the_viking's suggestion, I changed a few things however)

The player will be able to choose where the road leads.
What theme the map will be. (desert, jungle, arctic etc.)
What type of enemies will spawn. (A randomiser can be added here like in the ruins of naz'de in frontiers)
What props are present.
What towers and upgrade levels are available.
Various side quests.

Regarding where the roads can be placed, the player will be able to place both the starting line and finish (multiple of both is an option) anywhere on the map and then of course create a route connecting them both as well as choosing where the player is able to build towers.

As for the props, I was thinking about being able to place, as an example, a herde (or single) sheep anywhere on the map except for the roads. A few other examples: dead bodies, dead animals, other wildlife that are alive like cows and chickens, farmers and other characters that don't affect the battle in any way but add some life colour to the map (like the slaves in the ruins of naz'de in frontiers... Okay, that maybe isn't the best example... )

I think infantry towers like the sylvan elf hall and the one with the jungle women with the spears would be good to add to the editor as well as towers such as the shrine of regnos or the sunray tower. Boss characters that taunt the player would also be a good idea too and various secret props that activate when you click on them like the dancing frogd in sape oasis.
(so basically i want everything i love about the game in this editor hahahaha!)

I mentioned side quests and what I mean by that is having the option to add an item like say, a princess and placing her somewhere on the road or in her own special tower, that must be protected like the end of the road, the enemy will try to kidnap her and if they return to base with her then it's game over. Now whether it is a princess, prince, king or queen doesn't matter, could even be a treasure chest, either way it will add a bit more suspense to the game no? An extra challenge! Of course that is just one example, im sure you guys can think of others?

(if anyone thinks this is any good id like to hear your ideas on what props and side quests could be added)

[Ashbite]

This is a good idea that's already been suggested, but it's been said it would be hard to do because maps are custom-drawn for KR.

[wailwail]

As Ashbite said , the developers said the maps are not " Tile " based but are instead custom drawn , so the ability to customize levels without having access to the .pdf file of the game is impossible .

[Chimto]

As Ashbite said , the developers said the maps are not " Tile " based but are instead custom drawn , so the ability to customize levels without having access to the .pdf file of the game is impossible .

The game doesn't use any PDF file.

[wailwail]

As Ashbite said , the developers said the maps are not " Tile " based but are instead custom drawn , so the ability to customize levels without having access to the .pdf file of the game is impossible .

The game doesn't use any PDF file.

Oups ! I'm still in the old flash days where the game was developed as a .pdf file and compiled to .swf . I remembered the game is coded in Unity

[Simmonds91]

Is it not possible to make it tile based? Make a list of road pieces we can place down?

[wailwail]

Unfortunately no , but I think Kevin32 once made a suggestion like this , not by designing stages though , but just selecting tower placements and the enemy waves starting money etc ...

[Ashbite]

Unfortunately no , but I think Kevin32 once made a suggestion like this , not by designing stages though , but just selecting tower placements and the enemy waves starting money etc ...

It's in his suggestion thread, called 'The World's Greatest Kingdom Rush Level Editor.'

[Simmonds91]

Oh well, it was worth a try, no need for me to think about an editor anymore at least.

[dimumurray]

How about a mode of play where the player can not only choose what props to add to the map but edit the roads?

That's very close to something I've had in mind for a while.

For a long time I thought a Kingdom Rush map editor couldn't be done. But over time I've come to believe it can be using various forms of procedural generation.

Here's how I imagine one would use such a tool. A level designer would lay out the paths a creep would take using some kind of bezier drawing tool, marking the start and end points. Then that designer would select a theme (grasslands, desert, frozen tundra, etc.) and the map editor would use procedural methods to generate the level using the paths as a guide. The level designer can also tweak properties of the procedural generator to refine the outcome.

But how would such a tool work and how would it go about matching that distinctive KR aesthetic...
First take a good look at any KR level. You can break any one of them down to a basic set of features for a given theme. Take grasslands for example; the theme is comprised of earthy textured paths, grassy plains, trees, overgrowth, transitional areas etc. The trick I think would be to sample distinctive details of a theme, convert them to vector elements and create rules sets that use those samples to procedurally generate a map around predetermined paths. There are a multitude of benefits if IH could pull this off. More compact levels would make for faster downloads(as maps would be generated on the fly not stored as a bitmap asset), artists would be able to focus on creating more thematic content, faster prototyping and testing/balancing of levels and the potential for community built content.

Alas, I don't think it will happen. Still one can dream.

And for the skeptics, here's a sample of procedural map generation I found a while back:

demo

how it was done

It may not seem to apply directly to map generation where KR is concerned but the techniques behind it might be.