Underground Pools and Streams
From AgeofWiki
This tutorial is a step-by-step walkthrough to make an Underground River using elevated building placement in AOE III and The Asian Dynasties Expansion.
Using the Editor's cave entrance props and cave terrains can create a dim, underground atmosphere, but there are precious few terrain props indeed which let units pass beneath them, and NONE which let units walk on top AND beneath them.
To get around this, you can prop large buildings and terrain objects on top of elevated pillars to make a "roof". While most buildings have an impassable "footprint", some do not: some Nature props, some Wonders, and Rice Paddies cover a nice large area, can be supported by one pillar, and permit units to pass freely under all or part of their "footprint". You can make a near-seamless hamlet of fields, parks, and Wonders overlying a hidden but fully traversible cave.
| Table of contents |
Underground River - The Basics
The Underground Cave should go in a hilly area, with cliffs on either side of a channel or river (the cave). Pick a part of the map where the river, pool, or stream will pass obliquely on the mini-map. Ideally you want to orient the Cave so people will want to pass units through it.
The cave openings should be oriented so that players can see what's going on a fair distance inside. Choose lighting and orient your cliff-walls accordingly. A good guideline is you should be able to see at least the first 1/4 of the Cave without rotating the map. Additionally, you should be able to tell what types of units are inside if you can only see their silhouettes. A shorter Cave with a high roof is best for these considerations.
Lastly, remember units passing underneath can (and will) attack units and buildings overhead, and vice versa. Putting a Fort in your canopy village is the fastest way to ruin the illusion of a hidden, secret cave, as ships sneaking past will be fired at from directly above. To protect your cave traffic, use only buildings and props without an attack, or that are considered Neutral at all times (SPC Inca Temple for instance).
Building the Cave
For this exercise, you need to have View>View Terrain Grid and Terrain Grid Minor Tickings on.
Place your river or lake using the River Tool or the Water Tool. In the area where the water is meant to be underground, orient the river or lake obliquely (a 45-degree angle to due "north") to aid in visibility.
Use a water type that is translucent at the depth of water you intend to use for your Underground current. Only Andes River water is translucent enough to see Terrain Grid lines. If you are using the Water Tool to paint free water, a number of Home City water types are highly transparent and have a calm surface so you can see grid lines.
Use Cliff Tool to create cliffs on each side of the water, or elevate the Cliffs already present at each side of your river segment.
Raise several pillars rise out of the water, inside the future Cave area, to the same elevation as the Cliffs. Ideally they will be 1 small square apart at the bases. If you intend to send any war ships through the canal, they need to be at least 2 small squares apart at the base AND the roof of the Cave will need to be at least as tall as a Frigate's masts. Test this by placing a Frigate on your water and matching pillar height to the masts. Pass the Frigate back and forth between the length of your pillared area.
Paint the pillars with the cave terrain of your choice. Blackmap works well. Cave terrains, Patagonia dirt, and Bayou dirt work well for the floor. You can also turn the pillars into cliff-pillars using a dark, stony cliff type: Patagonia and Cave both work well. Those pillars closest to the opening need more cosmetic attention than the ones deeper inside the cave.
Pillar height should be the same height as the top of the Cave Entrance Props. In this project, make the pillars high enough for a Frigate to pass underneath. Put the Cave Entrance props at each end of the Cave as before, but raise the terrain underneath their base until they are flush with the pillars, instead of matching the pillars to the Cave Entrance props. Put some PROP Big Prop Texas or PROP Yukon around the bases of the Cave Entrances to hide your elevations. Make sure the opening is still large enough to admit a large ship!
Lastly, go back over your cliff walls with the Cliff Tool to make the cliffs continuous on both sides. This is to keep surface units from wandering into the Cave from the town above.
Building the Town
Place buildings and props you will need to the side, by the cliffs. Position them over the pillars as shown. Orient them so they mesh with their neighbors seamlessly. Use a variety of buildings, rice paddies, and terrain objects in different orientations to create a plausible village. It will tend to appear cluttered; if this is excessive, consider merging one or more pillars along the sides, and painting them with a compatible terrain; leave this area uncovered so it appears to be an empty field or lawn. You can place additional units and props on pillars to show villagers and animals at "work" in the village. Remember that villagers on top of pillars cannot work Rice Paddies or Mango Groves.
Place buildings and terrain props along the edges of the cliffs to interlock with the pillar buildings. Let them hang over the edge of the cliffs. Extend the village theme out along the cliffs and highlands.
Test the pathing through the cave again, using a variety of boats. Building footprints overhead can affect pathing. You can minimize "footprint obstruction" by using only Rice Paddies and PROP Underbrush Jungle moss carpets over the central pillars.
Bringing It All Together
Cliffs: Pick a cliff type that matches the dry scrub-texture of the Cave Entrance Prop. If using snowy Cave Entrances, pick a rocky snow cliff type like Himalayas or Rockies.
Lighting: Check your lighting again. Make sure cave entrances are visible and it's obvious to the players that units can pass through.
Water type: Now that you've got your pillars and canopy in place, you can switch the Water Type to a more opaque type and/or add eyecandy and functional items.
Fishing and Treasures: Add fish and/or whales but do NOT place them too deep inside the cave. Players won't be able to see them to task boats onto them. Same with treasures - one just inside the mouth of a cave is enough to suggest an underground sea with a treasure trove to be discovered.
Practical Considerations: Test the scenario in the editor on Sandbox to look for buildings and units that attack each other. Often functional errors won't be apparent until you actually test it in a test-game. Testing at each step, and looking for potential problems before placing extensive terrain props, will help you fine-tune your Cave so it's realistic, attractive, and functional.
For more unique ideas about underground tunnels and caves, see How to Make a Covered Cave and Underground Railroad.
