New Map: Neopangea. Version Wrap-around online.
 

What earth will look like in 200 million years...

I can poorly explain (thanks to my english) the background of this new map.
Let's say it's a big 360 provinces map (80 seas), based on the continental drift (plus consequences of humanity's activity).

A second version, wrap-around, is also incoming.

It's downloadable here: Neopangea

Only 7Mo zipped.

Hope you'll enjoy it! I really tried to make it the more playable and nice looking that i could.

Re: New Map: Neopangea
 

A new version of the .map file, with some corrections, is downloadable.

Re: New Map: Neopangea
 

Hop!!
Here is a really little part of the map:
http://tnahcem.ifrance.com/site/extrait.JPG

Re: New Map: Neopangea
 

Hi! You asked for some feedback, so here is some: The graphical sample you show posted here is really gorgeous! Very Nice! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif However, I cannot imagine myself playing on a huge map like this, since I already need 2 hours for a turn on maps a quarter of that size... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

So do you plan to release smaller sized fragments of your map?

Re: New Map: Neopangea
 

You're right, of course, and the "small" version is incoming...
Maybe half the original size.

Thanks for the answer!

Re: New Map: Neopangea
 

Couple of little things:
1. No Pacific wrap-around? (unless to add it would force the inter-polar wrap which wouldn't be good)
2. If some provinces have set names, they all should. If I had that kind of creativity I'd go into the editor and come up with names for those nondescript provinces myself...
<begin section added later>
Those provinces that do have set names actually have well picked ones, which makes the random-named ones all the more disappointing. For instance, in Europe there's Ibri (Iberia), Sude (Sweden), Fine (Finland), Polemagne (Greater Poland-- nice pick!) but the province for France/Germany in the test match I started came out Silbermark, one of the random name series. Oops.
<end added section>
Still looking...

Re: New Map: Neopangea
 

1-A Wrap around is almost ready, and incoming (with north and south strips to prevent inter polar teleportation).
Too bad there is no "East/West wrap around" option...

2-The provinces names... In 200 million years, things change, you know... (that's the official version. The truth is that I was really impatient to show the work of some months. And find 360 names that sound and thematical... I think I was under a strong "Sloth" Dominion at this point http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif .
So I wrote the more obvious, and convinced myself with the "in 200 million years, things change" theory...
But I think I'll have to finish my work, and it will be done!

3-I'll also write a special script for some provinces. There is one special province for each sort of magic (the giant skull=death, silicon valley=earth, Evrest=air...), and there will be a fixed strong site (level 3 or 4) in each, protected by a special independant army.


Thanks a lot for your advice and help!

edit: And the visual?! Is it nice looking? Things to change?

Re: New Map: Neopangea
 

OK, the wrap-around map is downloadable, and replaces the older version.

You can find it by clicking on the link "neopangea" in the first post of this thread.
Always 7Mo...

Re: New Map: Neopangea
 

There isn't? There's something for the Dom3 wishlist...
Take your time... not critical but adds to the feel.

I like. I LII-II-IIKE. (May I suggest having a Stone Idol on one of the special defenders of Black Stone?)

Neat stuff all around. One other very peculiar thing though: Zoom out too far and the image grays out like there's some sort of cloud bank obscuring the whole place and you've gone right through it. This effect also grays out the "zooming in on battle province" graphic until you're almost right there.

Re: New Map: Neopangea
 

Thank you so much for your precious advices!
Don't know if you downloaded it, but the "wrap around thing" is on line, and replaces the ancient version (it's far much fun to play, and give more mobility to no amphibian nations).

No there is no "east/west" wrap around version. I draw some big strips at extrem north and south to make all players easy understand that they can't teleport armies from pole to pole. (wow!! don't know if this sentence IS english, but I'm proud of it! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif )

In the wrap around version, all north america's provinces are given original names. The rest of the world is following...

For the Stone Idol, it's a cool idea I will use!

At last, I saw that strange cloud covering my world...
Maybe some radioactiv phenomen, or alien experiment.
It's the first time I see that dirty thing... Why did it hapen to me!! Why!!


Thanks again!

Re: New Map: Neopangea
 

Thank you, I appreciate the work you have done to make this map. The way you chose to do a 1-way wrap around works well I think. I have tried the same thing and just used a slightly thicker black band at the "poles".

I have a couple of neighbor questions, just from looking it over:
- #194 should probably be nostart since it has only 1 land neighbor (I ended up starting there); also should that neighbor be #222 or is #207 what you wanted?
- #96 islands should probably neighbor the ocean #79
- does #229 neighbor #172 intentionally, like you want the river to connect them?
- #171 neighbors all 3 of the WaShinTon waters? AND #235 and #243?
- #240 neighbors #221 Wa water, but there is a solid red map border?

Edit: also, I forgot to mention, the image unzipped as neopangeaWA.TGA and it is case sensitive on some boxes, so make it neopangeaWA.tga for the next one.

Sill

Re: New Map: Neopangea
 

Copy!!

All those errors will be fixed in a few hours...
With maybe the "special provinces script"...

Re: New Map: Neopangea
 

The gray map might be a result of alpha channel in the map. Remove transparity if there is any.

Beautiful map by the way http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: New Map: Neopangea
 

I FOUND THE SOLUTION OF THE GRAY FOG MYSTERY!!
(Thanks to silouhette http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif ).

You only have to change the extension of the TGA file:
Replace the ".TGA" by a ".tga". That's all...
I changed it, and the version you can download is "Fog-Free".

The script V1.1 is also online, with a lot of neighbor-problems solved. (Again, thanks to Sil).



And I'm so pleased you liked this map, Kristoffer http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/smile.gif ...
Don't hesitate to put it on the Illwinter site if it deserves it http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif

Re: New Map: Neopangea
 

It deserves a place on the illwinter site. Problem is I rarely update it nowdays http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: New Map: Neopangea
 

By the way... Maybe somebody already asked it, but will the DomII maps be usable in DomIII??

(I have another idea of map, so i just want to know if I have to wait or not http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif )

Re: New Map: Neopangea
 

Yes. In one of the Dev diaries (the first one, IIRC), the test game was played on Faerun. Dom:PPP maps can't be used on DomII because the map system was changed so radically (from provinces which consisted of pixels which worked as terrain (AND CHANGED with the scales etc!) to terrain flags for provinces).

I'm not sure about the mods, but I don't think there will be any big chances in the technical side. Additions, yes, but hopefully not too many changes. But if the game itself is changed, then some mods might become obsolete/not work anymore, e.g. if mod replacing Ulm used Black Forest national spell, it should be changed to replace Black Forest instead of Ulm for DomIII. Themes become nations too! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: New Map: Neopangea
 

Dom2 maps are usable in dom3 at this stage. Dom3 maps are not usable in dom2 as there are some new terrains (deep sea for example) and stuff that dom2 doesn't handle. Currently there is no problem using a dom2 map in dom3. I used neopangea when testing some national changes in dom3 yesterday. Beautiful map. Said it once before, but it is!

Other changes might come, but there will not be any major reworkings. Any changes to how the maps work will be made so that old maps can be used either by default or by an option. It would be stupid to disable old and popular maps just because we want a new feature added.

Re: New Map: Neopangea
 

The following might be nice to know when you start new map projects. Bordermountains is a new terraintype. Both bordering provinces have increased res, but movement is not hampered in the province.

Re: New Map: Neopangea
 

Oh! That is exactly one of those things I was waiting for!
It took me a long time to decide how to integrate mountains into the map...

Thank you! (And very very pleased to read that you enjoyed my "work" http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif )

Re: New Map: Neopangea
 

Pretty nice set of maps, albeit I think they aren't suited for play with aquatic nations - way too much water compared to land. Still - very handsome, and if aquatic nations aren't allowed, there are lots of nice chokepoints until nations can get into the water.

Re: New Map: Neopangea
 

Yep...
In my opinion, the "Small" version is the more playable with aquatics nations but they keep a great advantage.
Maybe the best solution in MP games is to give the two aquatics nations to AI. (That's what we do in a french MP game, but it's too soon to say if it's work well: turn 10 or so..)

It's quite difficult to decide the correct number of aquatic provinces:
To high and aquatics nations will have an easy-doing-high-number-of-provinces-empire.
To low and they have a great mobility advantage.

Thank you for the "chokepoints" point. It's one feature I really wanted to see in this map.

Now I finished the "Small" version, I don't use the "Big" anymore. I'll just have to finish the special scrip (as I said, one special province for each "colour" of magic, with special army and high level Sites in it) and the "neopangea" sheet of my life will be turned http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif .

Re: New Map: Neopangea
 

Even if there is a lot of water, it might be fun to play a no-aquatic nation game where people take water cult.

Re: New Map: Neopangea
 

Recipe:

Put 6 or so no-aquatic nation (except Ermor and maybe Vanheim/CoS Marignon) on the big Eurasian land, played by human players.

Put 4 strong AI (with two starting provinces) on the American land (north and south).
Spinkle that land with a lot of magic sites.

You'll obtain some "conquest of the new world" game, in which each player should try to reach America (to have access to all those juicy-full-of-magic-sites-provinces.)

Could be fun!

Re: New Map: Neopangea
 

Some DOM_3 ideas so map-editors can make more interesting SP games:
Any provinces on the map which are one-way only ??
or
Any provinces with restricted access where only specific nations can reach them??