C++ Game Design - Eagle Eye Scrollable Map?

Hey all,

I am hoping someone might have programmed something like this before. Basically it is the same as any rts, where the screen is only focused on one part of the map, but can be scrolled, and actions still take place offscreen.

I’m still pretty new to c++, but I am wondering if you could use an 2D array to store data for the map, and then call data from that array based on the position of the screen relative to the map?

The map I have in mind will be somewhat big, so I was hoping to create something that has no lag and doesn’t hog memory/cpu time. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thank you,
Cedwyn