What maps do people want? Advice?

[Zylithan]

Hi all. I'm interested in trying out mapmaking for awhile, and I'm curious what people want? I'm also soliciting any advice from people who have already made maps. For example, what programs do people use to make graphical maps (the .tga)?

As far as what people want, I guess I wonder what people care most about:

-average number of neighbors (and how many)
-visual appeal of map
-perfect balance (usually comes with symmetry)
-creative layout/connectivity
-ideal number of players/range of number?
-something else?

Thanks!

p.s. I posted this here, because it's the mapmaking forum... but it could be of interest to people who dont normally read the mapmaker forum? Should it be moved?

[Cor2]

I would like to see maps of the real world. Russia, China, Africa. Europe has been overdone.

avg # neighbors:4
Visual: almost any works for me, I am not picky
Ideal #players: 8-12
-something else?-- Be careful with the size (actual screen size) of the provinces to big or to small can really ruin a map.

[NTJedi]

Cor2 said:
I would like to see maps of the real world. Russia, China, Africa. Europe has been overdone.

Agreed... one of the world maps is seriously unbalanced.

[Maraxus]

4 land-neighbours is a good average.

I think conections are interesting, when they create good border-situations and good expand-sittuations at the same time. Therefor it's interesting to add connections to diffrent regions of the map. Or in other words: A province can have a lot of neigbours, if those neigbours have only few connections among each other.

[Gandalf Parker]

Small unwrapped maps are easy enough for people to generate for themselves. So any combination of...
A) large or more (the game defines large as 20 prov per player)
B) satellite photo
C) fantasy maps (not my cup of tea to use known maps from other sources but some like it)
D) hex or other "fair grids"
E) balanced for multiplay
F) wrapped
G) themed scenarios
H) Creative (multiple layers, etc)

As to programs....
Using map generators from other games seems like a good idea. Dig up any X4 games you have from the last decade and see if they have a map editor.

And you might look at this directory
http://www.dom3minions.com/RandomMaps/projects/GIMP/
Those were created using a random generation script in the free GIMP paint program. GIMP is powerful, but not the funnest to learn

And here is a link to a Dom2 generator that is still running. Feel free to use any of these as a base for a new map. There is a new batch of maps generated every day.
http://tinyurl.com/2ofqzy
I hope to finish something like that for Dom3 one day.

[jutetrea]

idea: Map covered with movement restricted provinces, except a road system of plains (with a graphical representation of a road.)

Similar idea: A full wasteland/swamp map with a series of fat farms spread about. Start, waste, waste, farms, waste, waste, farm, frontline (or middle). Make few enough that holding onto the good provinces is worthwhile. No chokepoints, but a large army would have difficulty crossing vast wasteland. Think desert/oasis.

I'd like to see a smaller verion of one of the maps that has the cavern/dungeon system. A few provinces that have a long connection to a subset of provinces to the side and off the map.