Re: Arduria map + a new one in the works
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">That's odd. I didn't expect more than one or two connection "bugs". Could you list the provinces involved?

In many cases where provinces share a short border with a terrain feature on it, they're not supposed to be considered "connected". Same thing with lakes that are too small to have a water-dwelling population (the larger "lakes" are actually inner seas.)

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">This is by design, since the map is based on a pseudo-realistic world. This means that not everyone's lot is equal. I have a strong personal dislike for symmetrical maps where everyone has equal resources in the vicinity and are equidistant from each other...

That "many times better" sounds a bit worrisome, though. Did you consider just the starting income and not, for example, the availability of magic sites which can translate into income via alchemy? The mountain regions should have much more magic sites than the richer farmlands.

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Hm. The poor area around province #16 (your starting location, I believe) is fairly low-income, but should be rich in magic sites. Some fairly rich provinces are pretty near in the west. In one of my test games, I started from the same location and expanded west- and northwards. I also began systematic magic site searching early and alchemized gems to gold whenever I needed money in a pinch. Won the game, but it was by far the hardest. Perhaps I could add some mines into the mountain regions to make 'em more worthwhile.

The sea nations can be a balance problem, since there are so many sea provinces. I'll look into it some more.

Re: Arduria map + a new one in the works
 

I checked the map thoroughly for neighbour connection problems, but couldn't find any that were not intended. Although originally they weren't supposed to be linked, #27 and #39 will probably be linked in the next update, since the obstacle doesn't really serve any useful purpose.

I'll consider adding some mines to the poorer areas. That should make money differences a bit less pronounced while still feeling thematic. If my understanding is correct, using

#setland X
#knownfeature "Y"

without the #killfeatures switch will add a feature Y to the province X if the 4 magic site slots were not filled by the random assigning of sites. Is it so?

I'd be most interested in opinions on the sea nations. Are they too strong on a map like this?

Re: Arduria map + a new one in the works
 

A very nice looking map! I'm looking forward to playing on it!

The number of sea provinces looks fine to me. Perhaps the balance of acquatic nations could be tweaked by adjusting the values of those provinces. I haven't tried it yet, so I don't know if they need to be tweaked, but I don't think simply the number of them is necessarily a problem by itself.

PvK

[ April 17, 2004, 21:28: Message edited by: PvK ]

Re: Arduria map + a new one in the works
 

Crandaeolon's beautiful map can now be downloaded from my site's ever-growing files page. Hopefully, the added exposure will give him the additional feedback he'd like to have so he can make it even better (if that's even possible).

Re: Arduria map + a new one in the works
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Yes thats how it works. You can also use the terrain switch to boost the random rolls on specific provinces (adding 1024) trusting in the game to select appropriate sites for that area. A touch of both methods might achieve what you want without it feeling forced.

-- People dont know how to pay for free things anymore. Then they wonder why no one does free things.

[ April 18, 2004, 13:19: Message edited by: Gandalf Parker ]

Re: Arduria map + a new one in the works
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">The ability to attack several coastal provinces by controlling just a couple of sea provinces is what concerns me the most. Oh well. That's how they work. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Thanks for the support, Arryn. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif Indeed, feedback in most forms will be appreciated; I'm quite new to mapmaking and the game in general.

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Already did that. I sprinkled magic-rich provinces here and there to spice things up. Adding 1024 to the value isn't documented in the map modding guide, but I thought it'd do something like that. I guess adding 512 makes the province unstartable, then?

Re: Arduria map + a new one in the works
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">The ability to attack several coastal provinces by controlling just a couple of sea provinces is what concerns me the most. Oh well. That's how they work. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif
</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Yep. It also means that sailors can maneuver faster than walkers in many cases, which can be interesting. Of course, it also means it might be interesting to do some maps where there was not much of value underwater except the ability to maneuver and hide in special ways.

And/or alternatively, you could split the sea provinces into more, or even make them weird shapes to "represent currents".

Lots of possibilities.

PvK

Re: Arduria map + a new one in the works
 

Very good and large map, thanks!

Re: Arduria map + a new one in the works
 

Is the final Version ready? I'll put it up tonight anyway.

Re: Arduria map + a new one in the works
 

Very cool map!