A map is the terrain you play a match on. It contains resources and other features, including abandoned bases and vehicles. Your units can interact with the map, like building over bases and mining resources. Maps come in a variety of different shapes and sizes. Also, matches can range from having two players, to having teams of, well, more than 10 (Although it would be cluttered)!
Map Resources[]
There are many different types of resources that you can put in a map. Resources have been classed into two categories: "Classic" Resources, and "Original" Resources.
Classic Resources:[]
- Water - It's water. Use your common sense. Can be used for water power or steam power.
- Steam - Gaseous water. Hard to shoot straight through, since it blocks unit's line of sight. Technically, YOU can always just draw the units shooting straight or say that your unit's have had a lucky shot... but don't be a dick about it.
- Advanced Lava - Molten metal. Extremely hot, extremely deadly, full of energy, if you can get at it. Mandatory that is has a darker, thin crust over the surface made of cooled lava. The crust is useless in all respects except one: it can support hundreds of pounds of spread weight. A single sharp tap like a bullet can shatter the crust, though, so be careful. Lava heats the stuff around it gently. Almost nothing is affected by that heat, but nearby bodies of water will steam as they are heated.
- Iron - Iron takes the form of medium-sized light gray boulders surrounded by smaller fragments of the same substance. Absolutely 100% necessary when building bots, guns or bases. To make bots, guns or bases without iron is basically cheating.
- Oil
- - Dark green, almost black, oil is a potent and easy to manipulate liquid fuel source. It's the main energy source in GPW. It's very flammable, though, and a gunshot into it is enough to make it combust. The explosion is very weak, however, and is generally unlikely to rip through more than just the closest layer of dirt or metal.
A map which is using classic resources, such as lava, and rocks, and is also using an original resource called "Flux Crystals"
- Grass - Useless, mostly scenery, except that it burns and creates smoke (essentially the same thing as steam).
- Plants - Same basic properties as grass, but with several modifications: First, you can cut it apart and use the materials to create wooden structures (if the plant has a wooden trunk or something). Second, you can walk either in front of them or behind them for use as camouflage. That said, plants are still susceptible to stray shots and explosions, and a burning plant will probably be hard for your unit to hide behind without catching fire himself. Use your common sense.
- Snow - Useless, mostly scenery, except that it can be melted to water if you really want to. Only appears in arctic maps, in lieu of grass. Collects in drifts.
- Dirt - Well, it's not particularly useful. It makes up about half of any given map. It has minor mineral value, but not enough to really be of any use to major construction projects, even stuff as small as guns or 'nades.
- Sand - The desert map equivalent of dirt, sand is identical to dirt in every way except for color.
- Ice - This is the stuff that appears in arctic maps, in lieu of dirt or sand. In almost every case, it ought to be treated exactly like dirt or sand. However, if you want to, you can melt it by heating it and turning it into water or steam. Just as you can technically use dirt for minerals or you can draw a unit kicking up sand to make dust, you can draw units heating ice to make water or steam. It's less efficient than drilling, and if you happen to flamethrower a unit standing on ice, you aren't obligated to draw nearby ice floor melting into water... but if you want to steam up a cavern by evaporating the nearby walls to avoid snipers... feel free. Ice is also technically not "cold" and it doesn't "freeze" other liquids... unless, as I've said, you WANT it to.
- Feel free to use windpower, sunpower, etcetera as energy resources.
Original Resources:[]
Original resources are very rare resources that may only be used once in a map. They each have advantages and disadvantages to them. But remember, only use one of these per map - you HAVE to use one.
- Dynamite - Looks like Iron, but it's dull red. Also, it explodes. Generally, explosions are about one-and-a-half times the size of the rock.
- Acid - It's a neon green liquid. Corrodes just about anything it touches, including metal or skin. Very strong.
- Magnets - They come in the form of very tiny dark gray-blue stones. They aren't any more likely to appear around metal than they are anywhere else, but if they happen to be near metal (from Iron to base walls), they tend to latch on really strong. They are strongly attracted to other magnets and to many of any kind. They are good for use as ammo in super weapons, or traps, or for "infinite energy machines". They can be used with electricity to create electromagnets, which are basically the exact same thing just more powerful.
- Hot-Rocks - Large, orange, and spiky, hot rocks are are generally found on desert maps. They are very hot - not quite a thousand degrees, but close. Good for energy sources and for traps. They can ignite oil on touch, shrivel grass and turn nearby water into steam. They aren't hot enough to melt metal.
- Liquid Nitrogen - It's milky white and releases steam, though not nearly enough to lower it's mass noticeably. It's extremely cold. It can be used to freeze units or base walls so that they can be easily shattered or transported.
- Uranium - These dull-green crystals are good for a potent but short burst of energy. They also have a strong corrosive effect on nearby objects and units.
- Flux Crystals - This resource is neon green and is commonly found in iron. Like iron, it is hard and acts as a minor power source. It is nearly unbreakable, and can be smelted to form extremely strong barriers or shields. It also can be broken apart for minor amounts of energy by generators, etc.
- Hemp - This bright, colorful green plant is just about identical to (the normal classic resource) grass. However, raw ingestion of hemp, or inhalation of the colorful greenish smoke/steam substance created by burning hemp has several severe effects on the subject. The subject suffers from "stoner sickness" that is, he becomes confused, tired and inept at work of combat of any kind. Help can be cultivated, farmed, and used in gas warfare.
[Comment]: Hemp has no THC, Therefore it won't get you stoned. -Hiturunk
Gigantic Map List of Awesomeness[]
The "Gigantic Map List of Awesomeness" is a list of maps, that are judged on a scale of 1 to 10 on the elements of the map, playability value, resources, artistic elements, and more. The original list was created by Splurgy, and it was created in the old forums of Picture Wars. The current list, however, was created by Shadow to let the new users of Picture Wars to have their maps judged, and see how they match up with each other. This list is still up and running, and they are still accepting submissions every day.
Judging Scale[]
This is the judging scale that is still used in the Current list, and was created by Shadow.
Needs Major Improvement!
Needs Some Improvement.
Needs Minor Improvement.
Great map!
1 - Very bad map, needs a lot of improvement.
2 - A bad map, needs a lot of improvement.
3 - It's not horrible, but not good either. Lots of improvement still.
4 - You're getting better, but it's not good yet. Improve a lot.
5 - Getting better, can improve some more though.
6 - Pretty good map, needs some improvement still.
7 - Needs minor improvements, but a good map.
8 - Needs tiny adjustments, but a good map.
9 - Maybe needs one or two fix-ups, but is generally a great map!
10 - A perfect map, needs no fix-ups at all. Awesome work!
Collab Maps[]
- "Collab Maps", or collaboration maps, are maps that are made by two or more people at the same time. A modern example of this is the collab map thread, which has successfully created more than 3 maps for picture wars, and is constantly creating more, with many members participating.
The collab map idea, and thread, was started by easyname, a member on Picture Wars. This idea has been around as long as picture wars has been though, but up until now, no one has made an official collab map thread.