A Pattern Language for Heroes IV Maps

a.k.a. how to design a map for Heroes of Might and Magic 4. Based on my observations of the maps that come with the game and my experiments with mapmaking.

Regions

A region is an area of the map with a consistent terrain type.

A region can be land or sea. If you are making a map with a coastline, lakes, or inland seas, each body of water is a region.

The regions do not need to be the same size! They can vary quite a bit. The ratio between the smallest and largest can be 4:1 or perhaps more.

Each region should be a coherent shape — Positive Space.

Regions that are simply "left over" after brushing in the terrain for the other regions tend to have negative/bad shape. To counteract this, go back and forth between adjacent regions as you brush, expanding and adjusting each until the whole configuration looks good. Making the regions interlock or interpenetrate can help — Deep Interlock.

Starting Regions

Near each town, place an Ore Pit and a Sawmill, and a couple resources next to each. They can be unguarded, or guarded by level 1 monsters — Level 1 Encounters.

Folded Boundaries

See Mountains Above, Trees Below for how to brush an obstacle center.

Rhythmic Spacing

Each region of the map should have a more or less consistent spacing. This spacing determines two structural properties of the map:

Spacing affects the pace of the map. A tight spacing means you can do more in one turn, and makes budgeting your movement more important. Looser spacing creates a more relaxed feel. Small maps tend to have a tighter spacing.

The minimum spacing is about 2–4 tiles (Danger in the Trees is an example of a map with very tight spacing). A spacing of 8 tiles is typical for maps of medium size and up. The spacing should not be larger than 8, because an army's scouting distance is generally only 7 or 8 tiles. If you can't see nearby encounters and obstacles from where you are, you can't navigate.

Spacing should be approximately consistent within a region. Don't be too rigid about it. See: blue noise.

This pattern implies that the width of a path should be roughly equal to the spacing of interactive centers along that path. If you space interactions tighter than the path width, it feels unnatural. Interactions can occasionally be spaced looser than the path width to give a tunnel-like effect.

Rooms and Paths

Once you have your regional boundaries drawn (Folded Boundaries), add more obstacle "islands" within each region.

These obstacles should be shaped so they interact with the regional boundaries to create "rooms" and "paths" with Positive Space. The obstacles should also be positive shapes themselves. Remember that most of your paths should be as wide as your chosen spacing — Rhythmic Spacing.

A common failure mode is to have "dots" of obstacles on a negatively-shaped ground of passable space. An example of this antipattern is the map Field of Life. This antipattern can make it hard for the player to recognize different parts of the map and orient themselves, because everything looks the same.

Freebies

Level 1 Encounters

There should be about 5 level 1 monsters close to each player's starting town, and perhaps 9 per player for the whole map. (See: A Land Without a King, which has 3 players and 27 random level 1 monsters.)

When determining the reward for a level 1 fight, consider what the player is most likely to want early in the game: resources, creatures, low-level spells, and basic items like bows, armor, and potions.

One way to gauge the reward for a fight is to use a point-buy system. See Treasure Point Values.

Level 1 monsters generally should not guard the following reward types; they are too valuable:

When placing level 1 monsters, leave room for a few level 2s — Level Variety.

Guarded Areas

When placing monsters, consider what tiles they are guarding. There's no point having monsters guard tiles with nothing on them. Conversely, if you intend for a monster to guard an object, make sure it is actually guarding it.

Every monster guards a 5x5 square area centered on the monster. It will attack armies that enter this area (unless the army has the stealth skill at a level that allows it to sneak past). Note that armies can pick up treasure and interact with buildings on adjacent tiles, so if an army is standing 3 squares away from a monster, it can pick up items inside its guard area.

To check your guard areas, toggle on the passability display in the map editor to see which parts of each object are interactive. Interactive sides and corners of an object are those that touch the yellow triangles. An army on the tile directly opposite an interactive side or corner can interact with the object.

Consider how the Stealth skill will interact with your guards. The way you set up guards can make Stealth overpowered or underpowered. A hero with Grandmaster Stealth can stand on the tile next to any monster without being attacked, so they can steal anything that isn't in a 1x1 nook directly behind the monster.

Alternative Fights

When a path is between 4 and 10 tiles wide, you have the opportunity to block it with a pair of monsters in such a way that defeating either monster will let the player pass through. Each monster can also guard its own cache of treasure.

For example, see the image below, from the map Seven Steps to Glory. Defeating either of these monsters will let the player pass by on the road.

This is an easy way to create a (hopefully) interesting decision for the player to make. Which fight is easier?

Glimpses of the Future

Level Variety

Avoid clustering together too many fights at the same level. It limits strategic decision making if the sequence of fights is too obvious: walk down the road, fight 5 level 1s, then 5 level 2s, etc. Instead, you want the player to be weighing options and tradeoffs. Can I take this fight now? Can I afford to come back later?

Still, each region of the map will have a dominant encounter level. As a rule of thumb, aim to make about 20–30% of the fights in an area off-level. If you have 5 level 1 fights, mix in a couple of level 2s.

Most of the time, adjacent fights should be at most one level apart. The exception is when you want to draw the player's attention to something that is important but inaccessible till later in the game — [Glimpses of the Future]. That's when you put a level 4 monster next to the starting town.

Off-level fights should give above-average rewards for their level, to increase the incentive to return to an already-visited area or take a fight early.

Level 2 Encounters

Level 2 creatures often guard rare resource mines (gem, crystal, mercury, sulfur) and random treasures. See also Treasure Point Values.

Level 3 Encounters

Level 3 creatures often guard gold mines and minor artifacts. See also Treasure Point Values.

Level 4 Encounters

Level 4 creatures often guard major artifacts. See also Treasure Point Values.

Free Path

Shortcut Guards

Conflict Areas

Sound Design

Mountains Above, Trees Below

Appendix: Treasure Point Values

Guard Strength Recommended Point Value
Level 1 2–6
Level 2 4—8
Level 3 8—20
Level 4 16—32

1 point

2 points

4 points

8 points

24 points?