New Map - AomOrc
 

-- Title and image file
#dom2title AomOrc - (260 provinces for Dom2).
#imagefile AomOrc.tga
#domversion 175

#defaultmapzoom .75
#description "My second map with base image created in the Age of Mythology editor and some additions and modifications in GIMP.

260 provinces, 228 of these are land and 32 are under water.
Suitable for up to 17 players.
Map Version: 1.00"

If you find any missing neighbors or mislabeled provinces, please let me know. Enjoy. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

UPDATE: Version 1.01 Critical Update .
Changes include:
Fixed buggered water start.
Recommended players now up to 10 land & 2 water.
10 land starts defined and 2 water starts.
Renamed "Deadlands" swamp to "Bugmud". (It just bothered me.)

One of the start positions can be a rough one, but for the right nation can give easy access to potential gem power and strategic location.

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

Here is a thumb:
http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...mOrc_thumb.jpg
I had a version where I had added extensive graphics to spice up the black corners, but it increased the file size too much to justify it.

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

Nice.

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

Excelent!

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

Another great example of using another program to make a map.
Good job.

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

Thank you for the positive feedback! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif
I hope to eventually add some alternative map files to provide for game types with fixed starting locations and special thematic creatures and sites. Maybe even support for victory points, but at this point I have not given it much thought. (Although I would be tickled pink if someone else wanted to tackle that project. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif )

I did take a little time to rename a few provinces before I uploaded it: Smoulderwood, Ash Pits, Blisterbough, Oozing Hills, Bubbling Rot, etc.

One disappointment with the AoM screen capture was that it doesn't retain the special effects in the image. It is just an image of the map minus the elaborate animated features. Would have looked pretty awesome if it would have retained that part of it in the final image. Of course that could be overdone, but in small doses, it could have really enhanced the flavor of the final map. Smoulderwood and Blisterbough just aren't the same without the fire and smoke. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

You may have noticed the large grouping of swamp provinces. This is an experiment that I have wanted to try for some time. I am hoping that when playing Ctis or Pythium in particular that I can exploit swamp survival a little. I have been playing most of my games with difficult research, low site frequency and world richness high so that I tend to rely on recruited units more. Never felt like I was getting a lot of value from swamp survival. Sounds like that may well change in Dom3. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif It would be nice to see more terrain dependent effects upon units in future Dom3 patches.

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

After further testing an update was absolutely a must.
Attached is version 1.01 (map file only).
Changes:
Fixed buggered water start.
Recommended players now up to 10 land & 2 water.
10 land starts defined and 2 water starts.
Renamed "Deadlands" swamp to "Bugmud". (It just bothered me.)

One of the start positions can be a rough one, but for the right nation can give easy access to potential gem power and strategic location.

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

You do good work.

I like your names. I started a naming program for Dom but the interest didnt seem that high. I didnt expand on it.
the forest names program:
http://www.dom2minions.com/~dominion/maps/forest.bas
the forest generated lists:
http://www.dom2minions.com/~dominion...orestNames.txt
http://www.dom2minions.com/~dominion...ForestList.txt

the plains names program:
http://www.dom2minions.com/~dominion/maps/plains.bas
the forest generated lists:
http://www.dom2minions.com/~dominion...PlainsName.txt
http://www.dom2minions.com/~dominion...PlainsList.txt

Heehee, I just noticed that those lists still generate fresh every day.

I also started a special-province project. There are some threads about it in the Dom2 area. Here is my descript of the project but I dont think I explained it very well.
http://www.dom2minions.com/SemiRandom.shtml

Feel free to use anything you find interesting. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

While we're on the subject of random names, I don't suppose anyone is interested in my Sentencer Exclusive (Beta), a very (very) simple program that I whipped up using C that makes up random words (or rather, sentences), in a way that they are 100% guaranteed to be pronounceable (though a few tongue-breakers are inevitable), and is based on a table of frequency of the different letters in English, so it will probably seem english-esque.

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

Your name lists will make a great resource Gandalf. Do you have similar name generators for swamp, mountain and wasteland?

With the answer I got regarding the Dom3 map editor here,
I have an idea for a change in direction for my hexmap project. I won't discuss it further here, but maybe I will post some of my thoughts in the other thread.

Agrajag, I don't personally have a need for it, but it sounds very cool. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

No interest was shown. I was also going to expand on those two generators. I could go ahead and start on them if you were interested.

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

Do not go to extra trouble just for me Gandalf. If others show an interest as well, or you are just feeling creative sometime, I am sure that I would find it useful on occasion even if my map editor project never gets off the ground. It is always nice to have resources to go to for creative inspiration, and the name lists do provide that. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

OK some quickies.....
http://www.dom2minions.com/~dominion/maps/

SwampList.txt
SwampName.txt
WatersList.txt
WatersName.txt
swamp.bas
water.bas

I really should edit the words at the beginning so they dont all use the same words for making up names.

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

Excellent quickies! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif
I found one of the swamp names rather amusing: "Deformed Bottoms" http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

Here is another quickie.
Check out the results of RName.sh
http://www.dom2minions.com/~dominion/maps/Names.txt
http://www.dom2minions.com/~dominion/maps/NamesList.txt

Various programs use really complicated arrays of how frequently letters appear in the english language. They parse a spelling dictionary to get that. I just shorted it to grabbing small pieces from the spelling dictionary and pasting them together. Not fantastic but pretty good for a short-n-dirty shell script.

They can work for unique commander names. Or to toss in some uniques to the other files to get
Antoer Forest
Ngiassti Mire
Icatannab Plains

BTW these will all run fresh copies automatically every day.

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

Thanks Gandalf, that will be useful as well.

A note of interest:
I started a single player game shortly after uploading the patched map file as base Pythium vs 11 ai oponents. Pure bad luck started me in the rough start position that I had mentioned. I now control most of the swamps, a large chunk of the wastelands and some mountain provinces. My gem income is very respectable, but of course gold is scarce and starvation is an issue until I can find more nature sites for bags of wine. I now border 3 rival nations and things are not looking very promising. If I can hold them back for a few more turns I should be able to break out of the mire and start taking some gold generating provinces. All things considered it has been every bit of the challenge that I had hoped.

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

I am not trying to turn this thread into an AAR, but thought I would share the general feel that this map imparts. The large grouping of swampland and wastes has created some interesting choices in strategy and unit training from the way that I normally play.

Several turns later, I have held my defensive position with some loss of ground, but my gem income is very respectable (and this is on difficult research and low magic site frequency). After repelling a large attack from Machaka in the north, my armies there are now on the offensive. In the south, my swamp force is on the move for a trial run. It consists of bogbeasts and hydra's led by beefed up hydra tamers. Everybody is poison immune and feeling very gassy. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Here is a screen:
http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...Pyth_scr01.JPG

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

I wonder how it looks on Dom 3...

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

Where did you get those flags?

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

I made them a couple of years ago by editing some images from Unwise and Jurri's flag mods and my own stuff. Intended to upload them with a nation gui/background set, but I was never happy with the gui. I have been using it so long that I do not even think about it anymore. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif If there is some interest, I guess I could go ahead and upload the flags mod.
Here is a sampler that I threw together:

http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...5-COASMPL2.jpg

1rst row (left to right):
Marignon, Caelum, Atlantis, Ermor, Arcos, Ctis, Man

2nd row:
Jotun, Machaka, Pangaea, Pythium, Mictlan, Ulm, Vanheim

3rd row:
Rlyeh, Abysia, Tienchi

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

Looks nice. I'd like to use those. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

Thanks. I uploaded the flag mod here.

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

I wonder too. If any beta tester is actually using this map in Dom3, feel free to post a screen. The way Gandalf was talking, there is a mod command to resize the icons so I assume it may look rather odd in default Dom3?

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

I'm giving your flag mod and this map a spin so I should have a screen or two after a short while.

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

Sorry for luck of feedback, I've been busy (mostly bug hunting). I did give it a short try though but map itself and flags look pretty much the same in Dom3 as they do in Dom2. Of course, there are some GUI differences you can see in screenshots thread in Dom3 forums.

Map itself needs no adjusting to make it work in Dom2. Flags OTOH need to be assigned to nations all over again as nation numbers have changed. Of course, anyone trying to make flag mod for Dom3 will need to make much more flags then he used to for Dom2 as there is 50+ nations now. Even if they make flags for 1 era only, it will require a couple more flags to make.

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

That is all good news to me. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif
I am looking forward to creating more flags for the new nations and eras. Thank you Daynarr.

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

Ah, almost forgot. You can mod flags for indies now. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

Just one flag for all indies or different flags for different poptypes? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/shock.gif

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

Just 1 flag for indies. Lets not push it. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

There are a number of "slots" in Dom3 for modders that have junk nations in them. They kindof irritates me because they can be put into a game but they have no nation name and no flags. The game says something like "The nation has declared war on you".

I think they run from 66 to 79? Id love to see a simple mod defines them for the people who will by playing my insane games

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

That is very good news! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

That is not good news if I am understanding you Gandalf. If a modder difines a new nation using one of the extra slots, he cannot assign a nation flag and name? Seems very odd. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

Um, no, he meant that it is possible to accidentaly place a nonexistent, or rather non-defined, nation on a map.

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

Actually what I meant is that the empty slots are unfinished, but can be added to a game even as they are.

Its great that they added slots. Now you dont have to give up a nation to add one in. And I know they didnt mean for the empty slots to be playable. But you know me, I stretch the limits. The nation numbers go up to 79 so I made a game with me and 78 AIs. But even though the "empty" ones got assigned a pretender, and did all have some basic generic units, they had no name or flag. Not even something like empty1 and empty2.

I think it would be a great project if someone can do it. A very basic filler mod. The minimum that a mod can be with spots in it saying "fill in more here". The problem is that the people who feel they are modders would probably NOT keep it bare minimum. I might have to do one myself.

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

Ah, I see. Sorry, I misread the post and was nearly heartbroken. I have been looking forward to filling up those empty nation slots. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: New Map - AomOrc
 

If I count correctly there are 12 of them at the top of the line which means the highest is numbered 79