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(2) Ostel

TLDR: This is a WW1 map. It is designed to be played with WW1 Tuning Packs & Win Conditions.








I'd recommend playing with reduced population capacity tuning packs on minimalistic game modes.

This is a very small village, and it's a little larger here than it would have been in the first war for the sake of enjoying a round of COH.

It would probably not have been contested by battalions - but rather a couple of squads, and maybe a machine gun.

Because in the first world war, the Germans pushed through this town as the British retreated further west.

Not only is this a pre-Tank map, this is a pre-automobile town. Relying on vehicles is not only too slow of a game plan because you start so close to your enemy, but a poor choice because your tanks won't be able to go everywhere.


On the more conceptual;

The only map I've ever made that I'm happy to call complete.

I really wanted to go all out on production, so I knew I'd have to pick something small or the project would be too grand to ever complete. I knew I only had limited steam.

And being on a WW1 binge with a string of Western Front maps, I decided to search archives for images of destroyed towns, and I found one image of Ostel, which is featured on the battlemap.

I looked up images of an original WW1 military tactical map for Ostel for the layout.

I looked at the town on Google Earth and observed the hills and wrinkles of the area.

I really wanted to create a cramped map where infantry dominated, so I spent a lot of time editing the playable space with trees and overgrowth to maximize tasteful restriction, and because of the blend of impassible objects and passable objects, it's easy to lose your troops in the forested areas that border the playable area.

I also wanted to force the players hand in terms of squad management. There are plenty of areas you will need to instruct your troops to climb fences and walls if they are to reach their objectives as quickly as possible. This puts the player who fires and forgets at an instant disadvantage. If you are not paying attention, you can even evacuate your troops into a backyard, where they will be forever stuck until you specifically order them to jump the fence or exit on the other side.