The new Version is not available Online yet, I'm just sounding out the general feelings about the large Faerun (the old one) and people's feelings about a smaller Version, which would naturally not have any impact on the availability of the old Version.
I was kind of expecting this two-fold response, that some would prefer a slightly smaller map and others would object to having the number of provinces cut.
It is my opinion that the smaller map is better suited for multislayer games because it won't take quite as much (that being relative, mind you) time to finish a game, it's better balanced and it still has huge scope. The old one gives me a constricted feeling whenever I try to start a game on it, there are too many too closely spaced provinces that hem you in and turn the map into a slow, slogging morass. Personal opinion, of course, I know some of you like the huge maps, especially for SP games.
PvK, the black stars I talked about are no bigger than the common city/village markers on the map, they just denote province location so you know where to look for places to go. One of the criticisms I remember was Zen or somebody else saying it was difficult to even locate provinces on the map, even with the neighbors filter on. Now there's a very small black star marked around the white pixel to show clearly, yet unobtrusively, where the provinces are. Much, much better than the old hide and seek game, I've noticed in test games.
Thanks for the feedback, keep it coming and I'll get back to it next Monday, I need to log off in just a couple of minutes. But looks like there is quite enough demand for a revised map file for the old Faerun map. I'll probably reshuffle some start locations to reflect the newer Version, because it works better that way.
I'll also give you a nospec Version which cuts the specials out and it can be played just like any generic map. The update will take a while, though, because the map is so large.
Also in the works: A Dragonlance map, based on the downloadable poster map, but it still needs province assignment and is a long way from being complete. It's also going to be highly thematic, but you'll also get all three varieties (normal thematic, quickstart and nospec) to begin with when I'm done. Expect that to take a while, though. I want to have time to also play instead of just making maps.
Now, see you all on Monday.
Edi