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Guide to Highland

Published 4/10/04, AoM: TT v1.02

By Tom Barak

Highland - Map Guide

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The Random Map Highland traces its roots all the way back to the original Age of Empires, appearing in all subsequent Age games save AoM. It is not clear why ES discarded this map for just one installement; and the Highland in AOM: TT bears little resemblance to its original form. Most old-timers remember that all pre-AOM:TT Highlands as a single land mass biscected along the entire map by a river. Narrow shallows offered the only land route to the opposition's side. The latest variation is slightly different.

See the evolution of the highland map on this pictoral walk down the "Age" memory lane:


In AOM:TT, Highland is a mix of Watering holes and Jotunheim with some aspects carried over from the Highland of past generation Age games. For a map that's 90% land, most higher rated games surprisingly result in intense naval battles. Resources-a-plently mean fast and aggressive games while those land bridges provide defensive players pronounced choke points that are easy to fortify. So sharpen those axes, and get your scouts to the land bridges as we check out the intensely fast and fun-playing Highland RM.

Generalities - 1 v 1 Maps

Our high overhead view reveals the river elements reminiscent of prior Highlands. In the randomly generated 1 v 1 map pictured above top, the water creates only a single land bridge connecting the two sides. This is not always the case as our lower oblique randomly generated specimen - pictured above bottom - shows. Two, even three land bridges can occur.

With an average of 20 fish patches per 1 v 1 map, small wonder skilled players treat it as a water build. In terms of average fishing volume the Random maps rank in this order from most to least: Anatolia, Mediterranean, Highland and Midgard. But for anyone arguing against fishing on this map, consider the following:

  • By fishing, a player can create two gathers at the same time.
  • During age up to classical, when your TC is idle, you can continue producing gatherers.
  • Atlanteans can go beyond their land-based gatherer limit by adding fishing boats to food production.


But controlling the water for the fishing resources is just one important reason to win naval supremacy; as we'll see in a moment.

Team Maps

It is interesting to note, however, that in Multiplayer games, the layout is slightly different. Refer to the next two pictures.

The picture above top shows a 2 v 2 map which is basically four little islands connect by four land bridges. Each ally is flanked by a friendly player on one side and an enemy player on the other. Note the large body of water in the centre - we'll examine this more closely momentarily. The lower, oblique angle pictured above bottom indicates the opening TC placement with red dots. In general, all Highland RM variations are relatively flat with ample aquatic and terra-firma resources. Again, very significant fishing on this particular randomly generated specimen, both in the narrow rivers and especially in that lake (or ocean?) in the middle.

A curious feature of a 2 v 2 highland map is that tiny island dead centre of map. It seems the creators used some whimsy when designing this feature as there is an amazing amout of gold given the size of the real estate. In this particular example, there was a staggering five large gold piles for a total of 30,000 gold within a few tiles distance. The team who controls the lake and lands a few gatherers on that tiny island can freely mine an enormous amount of gold without worrying about being molested by raiders. Pity anyone foolhardy enough to land on the island without controlling the lake! The little island does not appear on all maps.


Game Situations

The importance of controlling the water on this map goes beyond just the fishing. At the time of writing this article the trend for higher-ranked games is that players are using the water for tactical offense. For example, in the image below, note how the player controlling the water has the advantage of bringing to bear seige or arrow ships to augment their fighting forces. Because the water approaches the edges of those critical choke points, nothing within range of ships is safe. In this case, the red Eggie player's ships are virtually immune from counter because of the blue player's lack of naval presence. The blue player will be constantly harassed any time he or she goes near the water.

Avoid putting your markets near the water, even if you have naval superiority! While Highland can resemble the safe market haven like, say, Watering hole, by giving up control of the rivers, a player risks siege from the water. Surprise landing parties are also a constant threat. Should a wiley opponent sneak a few building busters onto your side, that important late-game market can fall victim. Nothing worse than running out of gold in the middle of an intense, late-game battle, and looking over to find what's pictured in the image below right.

QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS
Map Gold Huntables Herdables Berries Fish Patches Wood Town Centres Relics
1 48,000 12,400 750 N/A 21 150,000+ 6 4
2 57,000 9,400 525 N/A 18 150,000+ 6 4
3 72,000 14,000 450 N/A 21 150,000+ 6 2
Average 59,000 12,000 575 N/A 20 150,000+ 6 4*

Based on 3 randomly generated 1 v 1 highland maps.
Herdables calculated before fattening.
*Not averaged, see notes below.

Notes:
  • Gold - only one starting small pile of 3000 in three maps.
  • Fish - Fish were lopsided in two of the tests with more on one side than the other. Sometimes, there were three water areas: always Salmon.
  • Hunting - Deer, Buffalo, and Cranes except for occasional Boars appearing once. Lots of Buffalo and Cranes near water and the rest spread out out across map. Deer herd in opening LOS; not much toward edges of map.
  • Herd - Always cows - usually three in opening LOS; once with four on one side but less opening huntables/single; three randomly scattered.
  • Settlements - Always two for each player. Note: This map has bugs and occasionally gives the map one less Settlement than usual.
  • Relics - Usually two relics in random places towards open areas.
  • Wild - Always three Bears on either side, one near water and two in the open areas.

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Expert's Corner - TOAO_ChronoJJ

Don't let Highlands' wide expanse of land fool you, this map should be treated as a semi-water map. Dock as soon as possible, but watch out for the bears. You must remember that aggressive animals cannot roam far from their inital starting point; if a bear assaults your dock builder, then simply order the vil to run away from the bear. Because Highland pond sizes vary, sometimes you may send the dock builder to the 'wrong' side of the map; you might end up on the shore of a relatively small body of water. If this happens, don't waste time exploring for the largest pond, you should dock on what you find. However, you can make an exception if the pond is really small, only holding three fish. You'd be better off docking on a larger pond. Highlands usually has two large ponds, and it is advisable that you dock on both of the large ponds. Hog the fish as much as possible, but don't go overboard with fishing boats and end up with a late classical time. You should be reaching Classical Age by 6:00 at the latest. Like most water maps, a fast heroic is a viable option on highlands. So if you choose to stick it out in Classic, you will have to take into account that your opponent might FH. If he does, then you might see early siege ships on the water. You'd either have to destroy the docks before the siege ships appear, (use your free classical myth unit to help tear down the dock) or mass enough arrow ships to overpower enemy siege ships.

Highlands can be a defensive map, as it normally has very fair gold and settlement placement. Very rarely will a player have a shortage of gold, and it is highly uncommon to see a settlement near the center of the map. Highlands is normally advantageous to the raider, since the gold mines are scattered throughout the map. Rarely will one see two gold mines near each other. Since the middle of the map normally has little to offer in terms of gold and settlements, it is not necessary to control it. However, if the map only has one land-bridge between the ponds, then the center of the map will become key, as that is where the land-bridge will be.

A few things to remember:

Fishing is always benefical, even if you don't intend on fighting for the water. Although farming is generally faster than fishing in heroic and mythic, don't disregard fishing after classical. You might be seeing a semi-fast mythic from defensive civs like Isis and Hades; you'd best keep that in mind. Upgraded Siege Ships in Mythic have a whopping 30 range. This in itself is a reason to control water, as this renders enemy buildings near the shore obsolete. You'd be suprised at just how long 30 range is; controlling the water in Mythic can easily give you the advantage you need to win the game. If you don't have control of the water and the game is heading into Mythic, it would be wise to attempt to take the sea. Even siege ships on the smallest of ponds can determine the outcome of a game. Highlands seems to have less gold than most of the other maps; you'll need to make caravans earlier than you normally would.

Also, here's an extremely helpful tip to determine where the ponds on, before you have even explored the map. Task your villagers to what you normally have them do, and while you have a spare moment at the beginning of the game, have one of your villagers (or ulfsark if you're Norse) select a temple from available buildings. Scroll to the center of the map (where the water should be) and move the temple about the map. If it's over water it will 'sink' into the ground; if it isn't over water it will look like normal. However, don't spend too much time searching for the ponds, otherwise your economy will suffer.

MOTM/AoMH Map Guide - Highland

Editor/Writer: Tom Barak
Experts Coordinator: Myll_Erik
Quantitative Section: Drednout
Contributing Expert: TOAO_ChronoJJ
Technical Assistance:
DoV_Crys
DoV_Raistlin
Myll_Slaghter

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