Comparisons to AoM / EE
Both these games have features that I really like, which is in many RTS, except for Starcraft, Warcraft and older games.
It is to do with computer related Tributes, and although through triggers it can be possible, the beacon idea, seems, a little annoying to me. I've been working with the dropship idea, which is useful in providing a good mix, and enables much.
Yet it requires at most 8 units, which would have to take up one spot in a Transpot, and which there is limited numbers of, now this creates problems if you are likely to use them, so you cannot simply name them, Player 1 Tribute, Player 2 Tribute and such, because it would most likely ruin the theme of the map.
[Please note that i am not making a map, just thinking on this idea and the best possible way, saying you cannot just go to the area and move a unit onto a beacon, for lack of space and time.]
My thoughts was that if i ignored the problems of the names, and simply added onto the end of the names, or simply didn't use the units in the game i could have 7 units for that, with the 8th having a special purpose. Because i didn't want to place two dropship types.
[Second Idea (Scraped); having the Shuttle and Dropship for different amounts of tribue, and evening the Overlord if i needed a third amount, because in this map sharing resources was an important feature, with the computer giving you a rate back, like a Market on Age of Empires and such. Problems were that if i made this map, this would be three locations, three units and three Keys on your list taken up.]
So i thought that with the Eighth unit it would be a choice of either 100 or 500 exchange, with 500 being less of a waste, and 100 being more, and you would use this unit to toggle it.
This map would have more than two needed resources, with the others coming in the form of battle, trade, worship and such. All would be trigger controlled, since how can you mine for Custom points, (if you are using Minerals and Gas already!).
This is just my thoughts on it, and now i am giving everyone else a chance to think of ways to do this.
Information:
Four different Resources to Gather; Minerals and Gas, Trade and Worship
Minerals traded with one computer would give Trade, and Gas would give Worship, and each of the four players would have a trading partner, but with the more traded the more the prices rose and the less you got from your Minerals and Gas.
Battle would slowly give you Worship and Trade, through killing units and buildings, of the enemy, while your own losses would give mix results.
The dropship is placed in a corner, all four of them together, and the units cannot harm each other, and nor can the dropships leave that area. Hyper Triggers would be enabled for use and therefore the dropships would work fine.
Yet maybe you can think of a better way, which is as fast or such?