FAERUN: Map Update
 

*bows with a flourish*

Yes, ladoes and gentlemen, the long and anxiously waited Faerun map update is finally here, bigger (well, not really), better (definitely) and more beautiful than before, and there is twice the goodness of the original to boot!


First, an improved new Version for the original Faerun map that includes the following features:
</font>

• <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Black starburst markers to denote province locations</font>
• <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Reduced brightness that makes the neighbor filter arrows clearly visible</font>
• <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Partial starting location reshuffle for better and more balanced gameplay</font>
• <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Improvements in the map file (no shutting Horus-Ra or the other indies into the fortresses for easy free income anymore, now you need to smack them down to gain the provinces)</font>
• <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Several different map files: The basic one you already know, a quickstart one (everyone gets 4 provinces to begin with) and a nospec one where there are no special provinces.</font>

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">
Second, a brand new Faerun map with the following features:
</font>

• <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Smaller - only 322 provinces http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif</font>
• <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Black starbursts to mark province locations</font>
• <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Same comfortable brightness level as the above map</font>
• <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Basic, quickstart and nospec map files</font>

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">
The files can be found here. They are titled Faerun_large.rar and Faerun_small.rar and the file names inside the packets predicatbly match this to differentiate the different maps.

For those of you who have Faerun games going on right now, just make another copy of the Faerun_large.tga and rename it Faerun.tga and your old games will suddenly experience a dramatic visual improvement, while new games should use the new filenames.

To my regret, I am at this point unable to announce a Dragonlance map, because it still lacks map file customisation and barring miraculous inspiration, remains depressingly small, at less than 200 provinces. Nonetheless, it is under construction, but that will take a good while yet.

As always, feedback is more than welcome, and anybody who wants to host these maps is free to do so as long as I'm credited as their maker. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
Arryn? Illwinter?

Edi

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

The maps are very good and very enjoyable.

thanks for the great work.

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

i can't download the new faeruns http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif
i always get a error http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

All I get is cannot access. Is that because there is a limit on downloading?

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">yeah gandalf please answer http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
if there is a daily transfer limit http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

there's no daily limit, as the original zip can still be d/led. no doubt permissions haven't been properly set, or there is some other suchlike error.

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I'll host them when I'm able to get them downloaded from Gandalf, which as everyone knows by now, doesn't appear to be possible.

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Probably that. My friend had a really busy day at work so he probably forgot to set the permissions when he uploaded them (if he could do that in the first place). Hopefully Gandalf will fix the issue soon.

Edi

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Probably that. My friend had a really busy day at work so he probably forgot to set the permissions when he uploaded them (if he could do that in the first place). Hopefully Gandalf will fix the issue soon.

Edi </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">hopefully . but how could izaqyos download them then i wonder ?!? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

Permissions are now fixed.


K.

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">yeah coool http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

These two maps are now available for download from my site.

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

Wow, great, thanks so much Edi, I cant wait to try them out (probably next week, however, since RL will prevent me from doing so beforehand).
How does one say "Thanks tons!" in Finnish?
And thanks much too to Gandalf and Arryn for providing access!

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

EDI...

any new 400+ maps under construction ??

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

Yes, thank you! The color tweak makes the map usable with the neighbors filter, and the new black points make it _so_ much easier to run seagoing (Vanheim, etc) and flying scouts / armies. Gracias!

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

These sound very nice, Edi! Now I just need to make some time to try them out...

PvK

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

Thanks all, I'm glad you like. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Cainehill, it was your excellent criticisms that prompted those two particular changes, so you have yourself to thank as much as me for them. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

NTJedi, undortunately, no new huge maps under way. The Dragonlance map has 186 provinces, iirc, but that's all at the moment. It was impossible to cram more provinces on it without making a hash of the map, much to my disappointment.

But if somebody provides me with good-looking maps of known fantasy worlds, I'll be happy to make more. I've not enough artistic talent or patience to actually draw my own maps, so I'm limited to what I can make off of pre-existing graphics. If anybody wants to provide me with a scan of a Greyhawk map, I'll be happy to oblige...

Edi

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

Hi Edi,

thanks so very much for your time and effort, this all looks great.
Unfortunately, I did not have a chance to do any extensive testing (our wedding anniversary and other RL stuff), but these are just some minor questions I have so far related to the Faerun SMALL map, which I like much. I just basically did a fly-by view of your work. I am going to "save" really testing it for a few games when I have a chance.
I'd like to say that it looks wonderful and I think it is as nearly error-free as any map I have seen released. Still..... do you mind me making these tiny points?
(NOTE: all that follows pertains to Faerun-Small ALONE)

- provs 41 and 68 -- are you sure these are supposed to be neighbors?

- 241 and 251 arent neighbors, why? (since 228 and 251 are...)

- Ctis starting location has only 2 land neighbors (both of which are large farm lands, which for quickstart also makes for an odd imbalance)

- Machaka still seems to have a really huge starting point advantage (everything to the west is free....) -- perhaps make them start more to the west, or make that entire area contain fewer provinces?)

- Starbursts are VERYhelpful, although often confusable with towns (little black circles), and not always readily visible -- have you thought about perhaps making the starbursts yellow, or have a pixel of red or yellow or whatever in the middle or something, could be even more helpful?

- Quickstart: some provs are really really nice starting ones with lots of income, others not (compare: Ulm to Marignon)

Thanks tons!!!

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

Thanks, I'm glad to hear that! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Any and all feedback is welcome, whether fly-by view or a more thorough review. I look forward to the more detailed feedback. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

I most certainly do NOT mind, the most important thing for mapmakers is to get feedback on their work so they can improve in their craft. Just considering what I learned in the process of making the first Version of Faerun and the feedback from that, the improvement in my mapmaking skill was staggering. And no matter how good a mapmaker, there will always be mistakes and the maker will have the hardest time of all in seeing them if they are minor. That's also part of the improvement process for every map, players finding out the small glitches.

Thank you for catching this one. No, they should not be neighbors. 41 and 67 should be, though. This mistake is the result of me having to add provinces after making a map file (several times), and then manually editing the province numbers and neighbor info to accommodate the changes (it's the biggest goddamn pain in the *** inmapmaking short of having to redo a whole map file for a map this size) and review in the map editor every once in a while, and I made a mistake there which I missed.

Take a closer look at the map graphics. The mountains between Desertsmouth and the Empire of Shadows (the Scimitar Spires) block access from Desertsmouth, but between the Empire of Shadows and Southern Anauroch the mountain range is not contiguous but broken by a range of hills (in other words, there's a pass there). So no, they are not supposed to be neighbors. If a mountain range is not a province, then it is a barrier (e.g. the Desertsmouth Mountains, the Earthspur and Earthfast Mountains) that prevents movement and you have to go around unless there is a clear pass in between.

Whoops, another mistake. C'tis should be starting in Southern Mulhorand on account of the number of neighbors issue, something I think I must have forgotten in that phase of map editing. Will be fixed tomorrow.

Machaka's eastern expansion options are very limited, because they will run into Pythium almost immediately, or into Halruaa which is very heavily defended. Their capital is near the border, thus easily threatened, and if Marignon is played as CotS or Vanheim goes for the Southern expansion route, they will have no shortage of hostile neighbors. In SP, the problem is more pronounced than in MP, but that's tough bananas, the map can't be completely balanced or it will lose the thematic feel.

Can't do. First off, the amount of work in editing the image would be a pain in the arse. Second, black is the best overall color for the markers because it is visible against all backgrounds, unlike yellow. They are supposed to be unobtrusive yet easily found, which they are now. Red would be too obtrusive. If you click in the vicinity of one, it will snap there, so no problem in that regard. Third, mixed color markers would be less visible and as the markers look like this--
<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre>
...B...
..BBB..
.BBXBB.
..BBB..
...B...
</pre><hr />
--any mixing of colors would make them almost invisible, or at best harder to spot.

Sorry, but they stay that way.

In this case, [censored] happens. The Qstart locations are supposed to be more or less contiguous and most logical according to the geographical and geopolitical borders and divisions, and if some nations get luckier than others in this regard, then that's how the dice roll. C'tis being the exception because of my earlier mistake, which I will fix tomorrow.

You're welcome, I need more feedback like this.

All right people, tinkthank's just set you an example on what kind of feedback to give, now get cracking.

I'll attach the fixed map files into my next post here.

Edi

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

Following tinkthank's feedback, the map files for Faerun_small have been updated to correct the neighbor problem with province 41 (now neighbors 67 instead of 68) and C'tis start province (107 instead of 125).

Edi

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

Edi, thanks very much!
I downloaded, but am afraid it will be a bit until I can check it out (and enjoy!!) extensively, the evil RL is calling.

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

I am a dorkus... I cannot figure out how to use the new map. I see the old .map file and the old .tga file. But the new files are .rar files. What am I supposed to do to use the new file? Do I change it's name, etc.? Any advice would be appreciated. It looks like a fun map!

Thanks. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

rar files are a type of compression, like zip files. d/l winrar to most simply deal w/ them.

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

Aha! Thanks. I will try that.

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

Can't wait to download this "improved" Version. The old one seemed to have some problems, so I didn't play it, but as soon as I'm on vacation ( just 10 more days, yay ), Faerun will be conquered by Ulmish steel. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Would you do a Warhammer map if I can somehow get a decent scan?

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

Of course, if people keep using rar then you have to pay to register winrar, on top of already possibly having paid to register winzip. (Although winrar handles zips, the interface, at Last check, left even more to be desired than pkzip did. Note : Pkzip also handles .rar files.)

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

How about WinAce? Handles .zip, .rar and .ace :P

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

Where did you get that from?
Ive been using Winrar for a long time and havent even been prompted to register.
AFAIK it might ask you to register after a VERY long time using it and even then it isnt obligatory...

EDIT: Im using a regular PC with Windows installed...

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

Under Linux,
both zip and unrar are free ... :-)

anyway I agree it could be better if all modders/mappers use winzip (that is the format proposed by the developers on theyr web site).

any way, I forgot to say that I like both the maps, the big and the small one ...

I look on my RPG stuff If I'm abel to find a good maps to scan and post ...

good play
Liga

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

Excuse me, but what exactly have you been smoking? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif I've been using Winrar, Winzip and PowerArchiver at various points and I've never had to register. The trial Versions I've had have just an annoying prompt that asks you to register (but you don't have to do that), but I've used them way past the trial periods with no trouble.

I can do things in the zip format just as easily as rar, I've just happened to set the defaults in Winrar to rar compression so it used that when I didn't changed anything.

Sure. I'm a little rusty on the Warhammer world, but I'm sure I could manage something. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Edi

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

Ive never liked WinZip. I have a definate preference for FreeZip. Maybe because Im an old DOS user and FreeZip lets me do things like create bat files to handle files in a directory that I download to frequently (such as the dominions maps files where it can do an unzip of *.zip)

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

The reason I use .RAR for the large downloads on my site is as a favor to downloaders. WinRAR compresses tighter than WinZIP, so the files are smaller (often by several MBs), and thus people with dial-up connections will have an easier task. It's tedious for me to repackage everything, but when I had the files as ZIPs, folks were complaining about the size. Sheesh, there's always someone who's going to gripe ... [img]/threads/images/Graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

I even provide a direct link, under every file on my site that's in .RAR format, to the downloadable WinRAR install package. So there's no excuse for not knowing what to do with them, or not being able to unpack them. I've gone out of my way to try to make things as convenient for folks as I can.

Re: FAERUN: Map Update
 

Ok, I found two maps of the Old World. Maybe you could take a look and check if they are good enough to be used for Dom2.

http://www.pnd-clan.de/~rev/downloads/AlteWelt.jpg (ca. 1MB)
http://www.pnd-clan.de/~rev/downloads/LargeWorldMap.jpg (ca. 17MB)

***
Edit: Both files are working now.