The World Desert Championship is played on various maps representing deserts from all over the world. Map pack version 1 includes:
To complete the map pack (v2), further 8 maps have been added:
(Until the tournament begins, maps potentially can be changed slightly, so the current screenshots do not always show the map 100 % as it will be used in the tournament, e. g. some resource distances or elevation distribution, that will be improved after player feedback.)
Thanks to @Henkdesupernerd for making the high-resolution map screenshots!
Here is the link to the first public version of the map pack:
- the Atacama Desert,
- the Gobi Desert,
- Jalapão,
- the Karoo,
- Mount Bromo,
- the Simpson Desert,
- the Taklamakan Desert and
- Umm al Samim.
To complete the map pack (v2), further 8 maps have been added:
- Disko Island (Arctic Circle) (by TheMadCADer),
- the Ounianga Lakes (by MingudaiLee),
- the Archipelago of Pag (by Zetnus),
- the Painted Desert (by green eggs),
- the Pamir Mountains (by Zetnus),
- the Kyzylkum (Red Sand) Desert (by MyteaLancer),
- the Sonoran Desert (by TheMadCADer) and
- the Thar Desert (by Rorrik).
(Until the tournament begins, maps potentially can be changed slightly, so the current screenshots do not always show the map 100 % as it will be used in the tournament, e. g. some resource distances or elevation distribution, that will be improved after player feedback.)
Map name | Creator(s) | Description |
WDC_Atacama_v1 | Mr ED (original), TheMadCADer, Huehuecoyotl22 | The Atacama Desert is located at the west coast of South America and is the driest desert in the world. In medieval ages, vegetation was still richer than today. The map has a few clumps of dense jungle in the middle of flat desert terrain, bordered by a mountain chain representing the Andean Mountains. Only a few bushes in the desert are available as other wood sources, further resource distribution is standard. |
Map in 2-player and 6-player size: |
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WDC_Gobi_v1 | TheMadCADer | The Gobi Desert is a rain shadow desert in Northern China and Southern Mongolia, formed by the Tibetan Plateau, with extreme temperature differences between summer and winter. Distribution of desert and grassland is constantly changing and desertification has accelerated in the past decades. Teams start opposing side of the map, divided by valley with a forest line with some unwallable passings. Around them just a hilly, extremely sparse desert with some wild horses and camels. There are no boars, but twice the standard deer and ibex. All stone piles are located in the valley too, but you first have to chop through some trees to access them. |
Map in 2-player and 6-player size: | ||
WDC_Jalapão_v1 | Chrazini | Jalapão is a microregion in the center of Brazil. Large orange sand dunes are crossed by fast-flowing clear rivers and bordered by jungle and towering rock formations. A dense rainforest grows in the center of the map, while players start on top of the dunes with standard resources plus some more gold and stone. Shallow rivers have to be crossed to reach the center. A sea tower will help you defending the path between starting area and woodline. |
Map in 2-player and 6-player size: | ||
WDC_Karoo_v1 | Cebdos | The Karoo, a semi-desert region of South Africa. Your scout describes it as a frightening place of great heat, frosts, floods and droughts. In this landscape consisting of flat top mountains and sparse vegetation, you decide to settle near a river. Although mostly dry due to rainfall scarcity, riverine thickets will provide wood for your constructions while mountain zebras will feed your population. |
Map in 2-player and 6-player size: | ||
WDC_Mount_Bromo_v1 | HenkDeSuperNerd | Mount Bromo is an active volcano in the east of Java, Indonesia. Around the central crater is a sand sea without trees, which is surrounded by dense rainforest. Two centuries ago this was still the habitat of Javan rhinoceroses and elephants which now are critically endangered or extinct. The map is a Gold-Rush-style map with one large pile of gold in center (scaling to map size). Wood is abundant on the mountainous area surrounding the crater. The crater itself is a barren field with some minerals and dead trees scattered around. Only tiny piles of gold are deeper in the jungle. |
Map in 2-player and 6-player size: | ||
WDC_Simpson_Desert_v1 | TheMadCADer (Modified version of "Outback") | The Simpson Desert is an extremely hot erg, lying in the heart of Australia, with the world’s largest parallel sand dunes of red sand, which are held in position by the shrubby vegetation. The map is similar to Arabia, but with a twist. There are not many herdables for players. Lots of emus (ostriches) are on the map, but it's not very efficient to mill them all. All the boars are in the middle of the map sipping on a few ponds’ water. Players start with a hunting wolf which can be used to lure them, so they can test their luring skills to the extreme. |
Map in 2-player and 6-player size: | ||
WDC_Taklamakan_v1 | TheMadCADer | The Taklamakan Desert is located in western China’s Xinjiang province, far away from any water. Sand dunes everywhere and no trees at all. Snowfall may only happen once every 1000 years. Players start with two bases on this map. So you have to be attentive to multiple places across a wide area of the map throughout the game. Wood distribution is like on Arabia, but other resources are more abundant. |
Map in 2-player and 6-player size: | ||
WDC_Umm_al_Samim_v1 | Zetnus | Umm al Samim in Oman, the south of the Arabian peninsula, is a treacherous quicksand area known as “Mother of Worries”. A barren desert surrounds brackish salt flats. Nothing grows here, so wood can only be found in imported piles of lumber (those wood piles and the forage bushes have very high resource amounts). Wildlife is scarce as well. Raiders guard holy relics in the surrounding dunes. You will play a Nomad start with two scouting units. All starting units are in the same location. |
Map in 2-player and 6-player size: | ||
WDC_Arctic_Circle_v1 | TheMadCADer | Disko Island is a large Arctic island to the west of Greenland. In medieval times, this area still inhabited colonies of great auk and had not been deforested yet. Between 982 and 985, Erik the Red’s Vikings first settled on it for summer hunting and fishing. Players start in a circle with melting ice on the inside and outside. There are no boars or berries, but an abundance of fish can be found under the ice and docks can be placed anywhere on the ice as well. Players can take fish with either ships or villagers, but the ice cannot be walled. |
Map in 2-player and 6-player size: | ||
WDC_Ounianga_v1 | MingudaiLee | The Ounianga Lakes in the middle of the Sahara desert, in North Africa’s Chad: The oasis’ lake has 2 fish per player and shore fish, the islands in the middle have a few gold piles and relics that might come in handy in the late game. The oasis area is home to most of the map's wood, and is also where players, and their starting resources will be located. The outside desert is a hilly area where all extra golds and stone are located, which makes it a strong position to hold There are four almost dry waterholes in the corners of the map, they are home to zebras and warthogs. |
Map in 2-player and 6-player size: | ||
WDC_Pag_v1 | Zetnus | A barren windswept archipelago, belonging to modern Croatia, where sheep and goats struggle to find food between the rocks, and villagers scrape together and establish farming and fishing where they can. The Map features a line formation start: odd vs. even numbers and lower numbers are closer towards the center. Starting resources are close, but reduced; only 1 boar and only 2x2 stone. More stone, gold and relics are located on the western islands. Forests and deer and a small amount of stone on the eastern mainland (connected by shallows). Fish density is low. |
Map in 2-player and 6-player size: | ||
WDC_Painted_Desert_v1 | green eggs | Right next to the Sonoran Desert lies the Painted Desert: A badlands desert. Badlands are formed by the erosion of bedrock and soils, giving rise to huge canyons and mesas with a distinctive striped appearance. In this map, players start at the edge of the badlands, beneath a forested plateau surrounding the map. Resources are mostly standard. The middle of the map is rugged and very open, housing all of the relics and neutral gold. The neutral stone, meanwhile, is nestled among the forest at the edge. |
Map in 2-player and 6-player size: | ||
WDC_Pamir_Mountains_v1 | Zetnus | A gravelly mountain range in center of Asia, sometimes referred to as the "Roof of the World", through which some of of the northern Silk Route traveled. Players start with a nomad start plus a horse scout. Wood is found mostly in the mountains where it can be difficult to construct a town center. The overall layout is a random series of flat plains and a large amount of rocky cliffed mountain areas. Think of it as playing Land Nomad with hills and cliffs. |
Map in 2-player and 6-player size: | ||
WDC_Red_Sand_v1 | MyteaLancer | The Kyzylkum Desert (translating to “red sand desert”) in the heart of Asia and has seen the rule of many famous civilisations. It has rich mineral deposits and the world’s largest open pit gold mine. The map has two areas of interest, the center has the gold, starting villagers and six goats. Though the desert monitors discourage an early villager rush, do not rely on your fence for protection, as it will not offer any. Your town center, hunt and berries are on the outside. Stone and relics along the outside are important for later in the game. |
Map in 2-player and 6-player size: | ||
WDC_Sonora_v1 | TheMadCADer | The Sonoran Desert is located at the North of the Gulf of California, in North America. Even in winter, it provides subtropical warmth and has two seasons of rainfall. It can be divided into different ecozones with distinct vegetation types. This map represents a dryer section with large plateaus in the middle, that funnel players into fighting in chokepoints. These canyons contain the relics and extra gold on the map and will be a key area for player to focus on. |
Map in 2-player and 6-player size: | ||
WDC_Thar_Desert_v1 | Rorrik | Two rivers through the Thar Desert at the border of modern Pakistan and India. With a river behind each team, players are pushed toward the empty central desert and its extra stone. Acacia forests bound the desert, with those forests beyond the rivers containing rich gold veins, but also a trade avenue for late game gold. The nearby sea has some fish as well as access to the rear of both teams via the rivers, but the rivers are dry and therefore wallable. The lowest player number on the team is always placed near the sea, the highest farthest from the sea. |
Map in 2-player and 6-player size: |
Thanks to @Henkdesupernerd for making the high-resolution map screenshots!
Here is the link to the first public version of the map pack:
Mods Single - Age of Empires
www.ageofempires.com