Hey folks! Brace yourselves—the legendary Shitmaps Event is back! Time to dive into the wildest, wackiest maps ever crafted.

On the 20th of January, 2024, as the clock strikes 19:00 GMT / 20:00 CET / 1 PM EST, we march together into the glorious, chaotic, and wonderfully bizarre realms that only the most audacious map creators dare to dream up.

This isn't just about the maps that make you question reality, but the ones that redefine it – an experience that not only tests your reflexes but also tickles your funny bone and bewilders your senses. To grasp the sheer scale of lunacy that awaits, direct your gaze upon the trailer that teases the pandemonium we're set to unleash:

And for those who find their curiosity piqued or perhaps are brimming with questions—or simply wish to mingle with fellow enthusiasts—venture forth into our Discord

Mark your calendars, set your alarms, and prepare for an event that's less about the maps you traverse and more about the stories you'll tell. Long live the Shitmaps!

We're happy to announce version 2.35.1 which is live on Steam right now.
Changelog below and also on our Website

Come join us on Discord!
Don't forget to check Discord events to see the date and time of when Games are played.
(It's not dead yet)

Did you know we are porting this mod to Unreal Engine 5?
You can follow its development on our Website and/or Discord

Changelog:

• Fixed an issue causing Sourcemod plugins to malfunction on Linux servers.
• Fixed a divide-by-zero bug in emp_engineer_map_brush / emp_engineer_map_object entities’ “raise on build” functionality. This was causing entities to not spawn in correctly. In some cases where these entities were parented to other entities, it would crash the server.
• Fixed a few issues with how scout hide is applied to players. A code change in the last update was causing the server to reapply the hide effect constantly. This resulted in some strange behaviour, such as flickering invisibility and flickering screen overlays. This has now been fixed.
• Spectators can now see screen overlay effects from players affected by biological damage over time & scout hide.
• Applied a few fixes to building smoke. Smoke states should now update a bit more reliably. There was an issue where sabotage smoke would still appear, even after the effect ended.

• Fixed some displacement seams having holes near the last flag.

• Changed initial team owner of the emp_engineer_map_object entities in ruins (wood barricades). Now that this functionality is actually working properly, the map has been updated to reflect this.

We're happy to announce version 2.35.0 which is live on Steam right now.
Changelog below and also on our Website

Come join us on Discord!
Don't forget to check Discord events to see the date and time of when Games are played.
(It's not dead yet)

Did you know we are porting this mod to Unreal Engine 5?
You can follow its development on our Website and/or Discord

Changelog:

• Added a screen overlay that is applied when players are afflicted with the damage over time effect of biological weapons.
• Added tips to the loading screen. (Similar to when the game was on the 2007 version of the engine)
• Changed the old scout hide screen darkening to use a screen overlay that is essentially a vignette effect instead of darkening the whole screen.

• Fixed vehicle spawners autorespawn keyvalue not working as intended. Vehicles would never respawn if the previous vehicle carcass had been recycled.
• Fixed an issue causing vehicles to be sent less throttle input than expected. The expected multiplier input to the physics engine was 1.0 (MAX), actual input was 0.92 because of a bad constant hardcoded in via joystick code. (This also affects keyboard input.)
  • This means vehicles will effectively have 8% increased throttle. This is unlikely to have a big impact on game balance.
• Fixed a bug causing non-solid emp_engineer_map_brush / emp_engineer_map_object entities to receive damage.
• Concussion grenades now only blind alive players.
• Various bug fixes to env_projectedtexture
  • Also increased limit of env_projectedtexture entities from 1 per PVS to 9.
• Fixed a bug preventing the “raise on build” functionality of emp_eng_map_brush & emp_eng_map_model entities from working.
• Fixed a bug involving turrets spawned using the point_template. Turrets would try to upgrade beyond level 3 and would break completely.
• Fixed a bug where you would get the Grenadier RPG view model stuck on screen while in the driver seat of vehicles. This happened when placing your last mine, causing the active weapon to switch right before entering the driver seat.
• Fixed a bug where the repair bar would not display if an entity was parented to another entity.
• Fixed incorrect function assignment in code for emp_params entity - GetBETickets, GetNFResources & GetBEResources would call the incorrect functions; these are now fixed.
• Fixed a bug causing blood spatter decals to spawn when hit by concussion grenades.
• Fixed various console errors.

• Increased the radius of the engineer radar from 2000 -> 4000 units.
• Reduced the radius of the scout’s auto-spotting from 5000 -> 3000 units.

• Concussion grenades
  • Concussion grenades no longer disable turrets if the damage dealt is lower than 10.
  • The temporary disabled state applied to turrets is now removable by repairing the turret.
    • Repairing 25 units of health or repairing a turret to full health will now end the disabled state early.
  • Reduced the damage from 40 to 35.
  • Reduced the explosion radius from 400 to 350.
  • Reduced the explosion falloff radius from 200 to 175.

• Removed the 2.5 degree dead-zone from armors using the Angle Modifier script variable (reverted to legacy behavior).
  • This was added back in 2.33.2. It was added to reduce the effectiveness of the Angle Modifier trait if players landed their hits correctly. It is being reverted because it is negatively affecting the identity of ‘Deflective’ armor, causing it to feel a bit weak.
• Regenerative
  • Increased Health from 75 to 80
• Reactive
  • Reduced Health from 110 to 100

• All Chassis
  • 3 Phase Motor
    • Increased Heat Output at Idle from 1 to 2
  • Fission Reactor
    • Decreased Heat Output at Max from -3 to -5
  • Gas Turbine
    • Increased Heat Capacity from 100 to 150
    • Increased Stalled Horsepower from from 10% to 50%
    • Increased Cost by 50%

• Ticket issues resolved.
• Map description has been updated/fixed.
• Slight adjustments to one of the flags.
• Changed the lighting and atmosphere, added weather effects.

• 4x damage multiplier on the second flag’s build-able bridge is now 2x - Respawn timer is unchanged. (60 seconds)
• Tweaked displacements around the last flag to hopefully prevent Brenodi being able to access areas they’re not supposed to reach.
• Fixed some exploit spots around the first flag by tweaking the player clip brushes.

• Change commander alert hotkey to jump to the most recent alert instead of cycling through the onscreen alerts.
  • This has been changed because new alerts weren’t resetting the cycle position and the hot key was confusing to use. It now mirrors behavior typical to other RTS games.
• Updated the Empires FGD with various fixes and additions.
  • Vehicle chassis/engine/weapon ID’s have been updated for vehicle spawner entities to work as expected.
  • Added various autovisgroup definitions for ease of hiding/selecting entities in hammer.
  • Added a new keyvalue to vehicle spawners to add a delay when respawning vehicles after a previously spawned vehicle is removed.
  • Updated and improved the FGD definition for env_projectedtexture.
• Reduced screen shake duration caused by building explosions.

We're happy to announce version 2.34.9 which is live on Steam right now.
Changelog below and also on our Website

Come join us on Discord!
Don't forget to check Discord events to see the date and time of when Games are played.
(It's not dead yet)

Did you know we are porting this mod to Unreal Engine 5?
You can follow its development on our Website and/or Discord

Changelog:

• Double clicking of weapons/armor/engine in vehicle custimization now adds/removes. Armor and engine will swap what is equipped if trying to add a different armor.

• Fixed a bug causing engineer tool to lose charge if the player triggered a re-equip before deploying the weapon.
• Fixed a bug preventing vehicles from repairing on repair stations when taking DMG_CRUSH damage type. (Physics crush damage/Damaged caused by crashing into walls)
• Fixed a client crash relating to guard/attack orders.
• Minor fixes to mini-map player icons.
• Minor fix to cross-hair alignment.
• Minor fix to artillery feedback skill showing hits that occurred before having the skill.
• Minor fix to prevent console spam on the server - caused by vehicle engine heat variables.

• Regenerative
  • Reduced Cost from 12 to 11
  • Reduced Weight from 15 to 13
  • Reduced Biological Damage Multiplier from 1.25 to 1.1
• Absorbant
  • Increased Cost from 10 to 11
  • Increased Biological Damage Multiplier from 0.5 to 0.8
  • Reduced BulletPlasmaResist from 0.1 to 0
  • Reduced ShellPlasmaResist from 0 to -0.1
• Reactive
  • Increased Cost from 15 to 16
  • Reduced Health from 120 to 110
• Composite
  • Increased Angle modifier from 0.35 to 0.5

• Homing Missile
  • Increased Reload Time from 5s to 8s
• Plasma Cannon
  • Increased Clip Size from 30 to 40
• Biological Cannon
  • Increased Clip Size from 30 to 40
• Depleted Uranium Machine Gun
  • Reduced Cycle time from 0.105 to 0.09

• Bio Diesel
  • Decreased Heat Stall Penalty from 50% to 25%

• Mines
  • Disabled mine detonation by vehicle carcasses. (This is back to the old behaviour.)
• RPG
  • Reduced Explosion Radius from 75 to 50
  • Reduced Turning Speed from 1.65 to 1.5

Get ready for a night of fun and excitement! The annual Shitmaps event for the Empires is back on January 28th 2023 at 18:00 GMT. Players from all around the world will come together to play on some of the most creative and wacky maps ever seen in the game.

For those who might not be aware, Shitmaps are maps created just for fun games and the Empires community has a long-standing tradition of hosting an event dedicated to these unique creations. With a wide variety of maps to play at, each offering a unique and exciting gameplay experience.

Whether you're a veteran of the game or a newcomer looking to try something new, the Shitmaps event is the perfect opportunity to jump into the action and have some fun.

So, mark your calendars and join us on January 28th 2023 at 18:00 GMT for the annual Shitmaps event in Empires.

Check out some videos of the previous Shitmaps event in 2022: Shitmaps 2022 Playlist

And you can also join our Discord

We'll see you on the battlefield!

We're happy to announce version 2.34.8 which is live on Steam right now.
Changelog below and also on our Website

Come join us on Discord!
Don't forget to check Discord events to see the date and time of when Games are played.
(It's not dead yet)

Did you know we are porting this mod to Unreal Engine 5?
You can follow its development on our Website and/or Discord

Changelog:

• Fixed some alignment issues on text / icons.
• Text should is now set as ‘proportional’ and should better based on resolution.
• Health values update more reliably and are now colored Red-]Green based on health percentage. (Squad aura indicator is now white, to avoid confusion.)
• The Squad Power icon now has text displaying time left on it’s timer.
• Fixed some issues with the squad member flashing indicator when squad members fire weapons. (This now flashes their name instead of the whole row background.)

• Improved the checks used for positioning revived players. Ray casts are more predictable in terms of where players might be revived, using a radius around the squad leader.
• Added extra checks to prevent reviving through terrain. This might not cover every situation but it’s a big improvement over the previous method.
• Player’s are no longer revived on locations where they would fall down a slope. It will instead try a different location.
• Squad members now revive slightly closer to the squad leader if the revive is successful. Previously players would spawn in very random locations which could be quite far from the squad leader, leaving no opportunity for counter play from the enemy team. This is no longer the case and squad revive is more predictable, both for the squad leader and the enemy!
• Revived squad members now point in the direction that the squad leader was looking, rather than always pointing toward east!

• Spotting is now removed when a player dies. Previously the spotting diamond would display until the spotting timer expired.
• Updated console font to be proportional. It should now be readable on most resolutions.
• Updated some mini-map fonts to be proportional. These should now be readable on most resolutions.
• Fixed an issue with chat closing when you get revived. Although there are benefits to this, it can be annoying if you typed out a whole message and lose it all!
• Fixed issues where the engineer tool couldn’t detect a ragdoll when attempting to revive players. (Reviving players who died in water is now fixed!)
• Fixed a bug where the squad menu player ordering would break, leaving gaps and breaking the squad menu. This only occurred when the round had ended.

• Speed upgrade now increases swim speed through water. There was previously a bug causing players to move at the maximum speed regardless of having the skill or not.
  • Stamina use in water is now the same regardless of player stance (Crouch/standing), this is because the speed is the same regardless of stance.
• Speed upgrade now affects crouch/prone stances - whereas previously they were set to always consider you having the speed upgrade skill.
• Fixed a few bugs causing low movement speed whilst using weapon iron sights. This is a significant change to the previous move speed as it was setting it lower than it should have been.
  • As a result, the view model bobbing effect has been significantly reduced when using weapon iron sights and moving around.
  • Running while in sniper scopes is slower than standard iron sights. (25% reduction but this may need further tweaking.)

• Concussion grenades
  • Disable effect to turrets is now applied when the damage is applied rather than separately. Explosion damage is more reliable than the single ray cast method that was previously in use.
    • As a result, the damage radius has been increased to be closer to the original disable radius. Damage falloff reduction has been changed to reflect this. Radius is now 400 (up from 300), damage falloff reduction starts at 200 (down from 300).

• All Engines
  • Gas Turbine
    • Heat Dissipation increased by 1
    • Heat Output At Max decreased by 1
  • Bio Diesel
    • Heat Dissipation increased by 0.5
  • Fission Reactor
    • Heat dissipation increased by 0.5
    • Heat Output At Max decreased by 1

We're happy to announce version 2.34.7 which is live on Steam right now.
Changelog below and also on our Website

Come join us on Discord!
Don't forget to check Discord events to see the date and time of when Games are played.
(It's not dead yet)

Did you know we are porting this mod to Unreal Engine 5?
You can follow its development on our Website and/or Discord

Changelog:

• Fixed a bug causing the engineer tool to regain more ammo than expected when re-applying the player’s class.
• Fixed an issue preventing map spawned ammo crates from re-supplying tanks in certain situations.
• Fixed a problem with the squad artillery ability being activated in areas that shouldn’t be allowed. (Non sky-box.)

• RPG Resistances and resulting Damage to Infantry is now same as Mortar
• Scout
  • Increased RPG Resist from 0 to 0.19
    • Reduces RPG Damage from 117 to 105
• Rifleman
  • Increased RPG Resist from 0 to 0.1
    • Reduces RPG Damage from 130 to 117
• Grenadier
  • Increased RPG Resist from 0.2 to 0.28
    • Reduces RPG Damage from 104 to 93
• Engineer
  • Increased RPG Resist from 0 to 0.1
    • Reduces RPG Damage from 130 to 117

• Plasma Cannon
  • Increased Projectile Speed from 3100 to 3300
  • Reduced Gravity from 0.35 to 0.30
  • Reduced Projectile Spread from 1 to 0.4
• Railgun
  • Increased Cost from 120 to 140
• Biological Cannon
  • Increased Damage from 70 to 80
  • Increased Recoil from 70 to 80
  • Increased Speed from 3000 to 3100
  • Reduced Gravity from 0.35 to 0.325
  • Increased Explosion Radius from 150 to 200
  • Increased Infantry Bio Damage from 4 to 6

We're happy to announce version 2.34.6 which is live on Steam right now. Changelog below and also on our website:

Come join us on Discord!

Did you know we are porting this mod to Unreal Engine? You can follow its development on our website, https://www.empiresmod.com

Changelog:

• Fix order distances having incorrect unit conversion from inches to meters.
• Fix an exploit allowing players to refill their engineer tool to full when changing class.
• Disable mine detonation for players on ladders.
• Remove double averaging of scoreboard latency, engine code already handles it.

• Engineer & Rifleman
  • Increased Mortar Resist from 0 to 0.1
    • Reduces Mortar Damage from 130 to 117
• Scout
  • Increased Mortar Resist from 0.1 to 0.19
    • Reduces Mortar Damage from 117 to 105
• Grenadier
  • Increased Mortar Resist from 0.2 to 0.28
    • Reduces Mortar Damage from 104 to 93

• Reduced Engineer Hull Repair from 3 to 1
  • It triples the time it takes to repair the Command Vehicle’s Hull
• Reduced Engineer Armor Repair from 0.04 to 0.01
  • It Quadruples the time it takes to repair the Command Vehicle’s Armor
• Reduced Command Vehicle’s Armor Health from 275 to 250
• Reduced Command Vehicle’s Armor Regenaration from 0.004 to 0.002
• Increased Command Vehicle’s Armor Damage to Heat Absorbed from 0.025 to 0.04

• All Armors
  • Increased Squad Artillery Resistance from 0 to 0.25

• Extended Range Cannon
  • Increased Gravity from 0.1 to 0.15
• Plasma Cannon
  • Increased Explosion Force from 100 to 500
• Railgun
  • Increased Gravity from 0.04 to 0.05
  • Increased Explosion Force from 50 to 1000
• Biological Cannon
  • Increased Explosion Force from 170 to 300
• Upgraded Missile Launcher
  • Reduced Heat from 6.5 to 6
  • Reduced Weight from 70 to 60
  • Increased Explosion Force from 50 to 100
• Biological Missile Launcher
  • Reduced Weight from 70 to 60
• Salvo Missile Launcher
  • Reduced Weight from 60 to 55
  • Increased Explosion Force from 20 to 50
• Guided Missile Launcher
  • Reduced Heat from 9 to 8
  • Reduced Weight from 70 to 60
  • Increased Clip Size from 4 to 5
  • Increased Explosion Force from 40 to 100
• Homing Missile Launcher
  • Increased Explosion Force from 40 to 500

• Mortar & RPG now share the same ammo
  • It effectively reduces the amount of ammo Grenadiers carry by half
• Mortar
  • Reduced Speed from 2000 to 1800
• Northern Faction .50cal Rifle
  • Increased Minimal Damage from 20 to 30
    • It ensures that it takes 4 shots to kill an enemy on distances shorter than ~6000 units

We're pleased to announce the release of a new map, made by community member Oktay

This beautiful commander map has 4 different sections which open up based on the player count.
It has zip lines, strong rivers, elevators (also with lava underneath) and tons of shipping containers!

You can check out some previews of the map below:

[expand type=showmore]
Brenodi Empire:
The Northern Faction is attacking our port which support our military supplies in this ongoing war.
Our intel informed us that they even sneaked in a Northern Faction command vehicle !
Quickly destroy the enemy force before they get too big of a threat !

Defend the Area and Defeat Northern Faction.

Northern Faction:
The Brenodi Empire didn't expect us attacking their port which is important for their Military logistics.
While the battle continues we successfully sneaked in a Northern Faction command vehicle which will change the outcome for this battle !

Capture the Area and Defeat Brenodi Empire.

Mapinfo:
12 Players will transport your CV, be sure to be near your commander if you reach that player count.
22 Players will open the Port Area.
32 Players will open that big gate near main base prepare for expansion.
48 players will allow access to the Dam section.

Credits for helping me: Destroyer, Trainzack, Gvarados, Bloodwiper
Container textures provided by Trainzack and Bloodwiper
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[/expand]
Join Empires Discord!
If you want to download the map, ask for latest version in our Discord server's #mapping channel.

We're happy to announce version 2.33.5 which is live on Steam right now. Changelog below and also on our website:

Come join us on Discord!

Did you know we are porting this mod to Unreal Engine? You can follow its development on our website, https://www.empiresmod.com

Changelog:

• Fixed a bug with artillery feedback only showing once if your shell/missile hit the exact same place.
• Potentially fixed a bug causing walls to be forever stuck in the building carcass state; the wall would be invincible and never removed. This bug was incredibly hard to reproduce but it seemed that the bug was directly tied to the recycle function. Upon further investigation it seems possible that the bug was caused by the recycle function being called at the exact frame that wall is destroyed.
• Modified the physics model of the NF jeep around the front wheels to prevent trees getting stuck between the wheel and the front grill, when this happened it was near impossible to free the jeep.

• Depleted Uranium Rounds
  • Reduced Time from 60 to 45
  • Reduced Cost from 240 to 180
• Improved Flagration Compounds
  • Reduced Time from 60 to 45
  • Reduced Cost from 120 to 90
• Explosive Tipped Bullets
  • Reduced Time from 60 to 45
  • Reduced Cost from 240 to 180
• Biological Projectile
  • Reduced Time from 60 to 45
  • Reduced Cost from 240 to 180
• Upgraded Chassis
  • Reduced Cost from 720 to 600
  • Reduced Time from 240 to 120
• Medium Tank Chassis
  • Increased Cost from 540 to 600
  • Increased Time from 90 to 120
• Artillery Tank Chassis
  • Reduced Cost from 750 to 720
  • Increased Time from 120 to 150
• Advanced Chassis
  • Increased Cost from 720 to 750
  • Reduced Time from 240 to 150
• Heavy Tank Chassis
  • Reduced Cost from 900 to 750