Cinder Lake Airspace
Three players | Caldera air war | Free-for-all or two against one
An old volcanic lake sits between three airfield shelves. Aircraft can cross the water while ground forces travel around the rim. A column can go either way, and outer service tracks offer extra staging ground without opening a shortcut across the lake.
The south shore is a terraced lake town with a lower housing court, garden plots and connected back streets. The eastern quarry has a loading apron, crane and a separate workshop yard. The north-west timber lease lies in pine cover, while the northern air-service yard ends in a small fuel and delivery court. Ash slopes and exposed rock distinguish the rim from the inhabited shelves.
Two docks at every start support the opening. The southern town, forestry lease and northern service yard each hold a contested supply dock. Rim oil, a fuel refinery, clinic and repair bay give smaller forces useful jobs while your aircraft are rearming. Holding the nearest expansion is easier than holding the whole rim. Check the far road before committing to a siege, and leave anti-air with the collectors.
This is an asymmetric three-player battlefield. Two-against-one positions are a challenge setting, not a tournament balance claim. All three home bases retain clear construction shelves; quarry and shore aprons provide manoeuvring space between the denser blocks.
MAP RULES
USA and China airfields cost 20% less. Combat planes, Comanches, Helixes and the
Air Force combat Chinook cost about 15% less, rounded to $50. Weapons, armour,
upgrades, build times, artwork and faction build menus retain their stock values.
Ground units are allowed. GLA keeps its stock anti-air and ground roster.
Choose USA or China for an aircraft-versus-aircraft match.
HOW TO PLAY
Subscribe to this item in Steam Workshop and let Steam finish the download.
Restart Zero Hour if it was already open. Select it under Skirmish > Unofficial
Maps, then choose starts, factions, teams and Easy/Medium/Hard AI normally.
Open slots can remain empty. In multiplayer every participant needs this
same version of the map. No separate mod installer or BIG archive is required.
The aircraft rules or garrison scripts apply only on the relevant map.
MANUAL INSTALLATION
Copy the inner map-name folder from Maps into:
Documents/Command and Conquer Generals Zero Hour Data/Maps
Keep the .map, matching .tga, map.ini and map.str together.
RELEASE NOTES
Version 2.0, October 2026. Districts, courts, service streets and landscape belts
were expanded from the first collection layout. The square cover is a diagram
of this map's authored terrain and object placement, not an in-game screenshot.
Stock model/texture dependencies, native map encoding, resources, scripts and
vehicle clearance were checked. This version has not been match-playtested.
