[Abandoned] - Ancient Japan

[Unit_2]

Ok, we tryed the best we could but this i think is REALLY crowded, here are the 2 in comparison.

New

Old(the dagger isn't updated on this one)

[truly_tasha]

i like the 2nd version the best - but i would put a legend on it for the countries and their bonuses rather than having them spread out over the map

good job tho - looks great

[john1099]

I quite like the second one, however there are some minor adjustments that should be made!

-Make the shrines "bigger" so that they are more clearly visible.

- Fit "Anchors" and "Shrines" more centered, that way you know where they are supposed to be placed.

At second glance, I like the first of the two, just for the sword.
However, if you were to use the first one, I myself would like to see:

- Side-notes like on the second one, so that people know how they can attack, because when I first looked, I thought there were floating countries, and the game would never end!

- The first script for bonuses is more clear, however, they should probably be grouped together!

- Needs anchors to mark attack routes.

-No dagger at bottom, just looks weird!

Other than these, this looks like a pretty quality map, I'd definitely play a few games, when it comes out!

Good work, can't wait for an update!

[bedub1]

I like this one:

[Tisha]

i like the sword much better in the first one.. it does look to crowded overall for me though

[oaktown]

i get the sense that you're trying too hard to fill all of the dead space on the map, while the playing area continues to suffer; the territories are small and inset maps don't make any sense, and yet your signatures are each bigger than any territory on your map... that's just wrong. Unit, the use of space on this map seriously needs a rethink.

[Coleman]

New is best but I think I agree with oaktown's latest comments.

[Unit_2]

Ok, guys i got 2 new options:

C

D(this is far from the final placeing though you should get the idea)

[yeti_c]

Which bits do we play on?

C>

[Telvannia]

Which bits do we play on?

C>

The bits with territories

It will be clearer when we add territory names and army circles.

[gimil]

All the solid black needs to be reduced in opacity a little to blend better with the map.

for consistancy the green continents and blue continent boxes should be swapped.

[Telvannia]

All the solid black needs to be reduced in opacity a little to blend better with the map.

I was going for the actual map look, where people would not draw borders in in grey, they would have black borders.

for consistancy the green continents and blue continent boxes should be swapped.

I would like to do that, but i dont think there is enough room for the green to fit at the bottom, not without rotating it a hell of a lot.

[gimil]

All the solid black needs to be reduced in opacity a little to blend better with the map.

I was going for the actual map look, where people would not draw borders in in grey, they would have black borders.

for consistancy the green continents and blue continent boxes should be swapped.

I would like to do that, but i dont think there is enough room for the green to fit at the bottom, not without rotating it a hell of a lot.

well if your going for a real map look things would not be 100% black.

Black is a color that represents no light which is impossible in reality.

I am going for a real map feel in new worlds and i have yet to use black.

[Telvannia]

All the solid black needs to be reduced in opacity a little to blend better with the map.

I was going for the actual map look, where people would not draw borders in in grey, they would have black borders.

well if your going for a real map look things would not be 100% black.

Black is a color that represents no light which is impossible in reality.

I am going for a real map feel in new worlds and i have yet to use black.

WEll now you are just being picky

Yeah i will be nice, i will lighten it a bit.

[gimil]

All the solid black needs to be reduced in opacity a little to blend better with the map.

I was going for the actual map look, where people would not draw borders in in grey, they would have black borders.

well if your going for a real map look things would not be 100% black.

Black is a color that represents no light which is impossible in reality.

I am going for a real map feel in new worlds and i have yet to use black.

WEll now you are just being picky

Yeah i will be nice, i will lighten it a bit.

dont lighten in, reduce te opacity and it will blend with te background giving a better result

[yeti_c]

Which bits do we play on?

C>

The bits with territories

It will be clearer when we add territory names and army circles.

I think that the "mini map" is too big... it looks playable on!!

C.

[lord voldemort]

unit or tele, whoever is doing graphics...

get rid of mini map. start with big map and make it bigger so the north and south islands are in there properly, otherwise it is way to confusing.
just have the cont bonus key with names no mini map, it is sufficient for every other map. this map can be good if its done right.
start by actually making the big map first...it will be easier for you.

i think i repeated myself but ah well

[RjBeals]

I like this map better than the one with the names in the playable map, but here are my concerns...

• I don't like the smaller legend map. You already have the map split into colors, just use the colors as the key.
• I like the font used, but it is very hard to read. Maybe instead of a color-stroke, try some blending / shadows to make it stand-out better?
• I don't like the Sword in the bottom right (although cool, it doesn't fit the map style)
• I don't like the panther in the bottom left. It's so small, I wouldn't be able to tell what it is, much less read it.
• The canvas texture background is okay, but kinda boring. Are you going for a map look? If so, try adding some tears or burn marks in it. Dim achieved this with the AoMerchants map. Plenty of tutorials out there to help with this.
• I like the color choices, although the bottom left tan / brown colors may be too close to the background. The rest of the colors are nice, although you'll most likely have to use lightened army circles to see the armies clearly.
• I like the paintbrush style used throughout. Unique & Looks good.
• I like the title/sword, but maybe play with the font a little. It looks too clean for the otherwise rough feel of the map.

Now - i'm not sure what to do about the magnified boxes. I think currently they make the map look cluttered. I really wish we had somehow of referencing the abandoned/lost old japan map with the samurai picture on it. It was badass, and the creater managed to fit the whole japan image onto the map, without moving around the islands (i think). I don't think it would work if you rotated the map so it's not true north. It would still be too long and skinny. I'll keep watching & thinking if there is any better solutions. Nice work so far.

[oaktown]

This is a better look. Much more of the map is devoted to playable area, and less space is wasted on insignifcant graphic elements.

I have two concerns from a gameplay point of view:
1. the new positions of the islands are going to be very confusing. northern island is down south, and southern island is up north, right?
2. Are you concerned about the bottleneck in the middle of the map? It might be like the bottleneck in scotland - once somebody holds it the game is over anyway. Worth looking at though.

The dagger: i just figured out why I don't like it. It looks very 1990s anime and not 1600s Shogun.

[gimil]

The lengedns readability is poor, the fancy type and strong stroke doesnt look good. My suggestion would be to reduce the opacity of the stroke and increase the font size a little. Look at the minimap you can probably afford to reduce the land mass size to compensate the font size increase.

There is a 4 way boarder between Kanto and Tohoku.

If you ask coleman for the extra 40px width would could rotate the gamelay area a fair bit and move in more north, this would allow you to swap the the miniboxes to where there more suited.

[MrBenn]

I like the overall feel of the map, even if it doesn't quite seem to "fit" together properly - it's a good place to be working from!

You're inset map for the legend is waaaay too big, and could easily be half the size it is. If you made this smaller, then you'd have more room to move the other inset bits of playable map around... and I agree with others who say you need to have the North and South islands in the vaguely right place.

I think you should also change the font you've used. It isn't very clear, and if you use the same one for all the territory names, most of them will be small and illegible.

[oaktown]

If you ask coleman for the extra 40px width would could rotate the gamelay area a fair bit and move in more north, this would allow you to swap the the miniboxes to where there more suited.

Hmm... there should be some way other than exceeding guidelines to make this map work. This is only what, 40ish territories? I think that exceptions to the rules should be handed out rarely and in special cases.

[Unit_2]

If you ask coleman for the extra 40px width would could rotate the gamelay area a fair bit and move in more north, this would allow you to swap the the miniboxes to where there more suited.

Hmm... there should be some way other than exceeding guidelines to make this map work. This is only what, 40ish territories? I think that exceptions to the rules should be handed out rarely and in special cases.

Theres 44 territories(i think ) though i will ask Coleman if i can get a 40px width to it.

[gimil]

If you ask coleman for the extra 40px width would could rotate the gamelay area a fair bit and move in more north, this would allow you to swap the the miniboxes to where there more suited.

Hmm... there should be some way other than exceeding guidelines to make this map work. This is only what, 40ish territories? I think that exceptions to the rules should be handed out rarely and in special cases.

I think because of its shapre there is much that can be done in resizing without risking cramping the style.

[Coleman]

I'm siding with oaktown here, at least for now. I mean, you could show me what you could do with a 640 (wide) by 600 but I think the only thing that could really help you is making the map taller then 600 which we can't have yet, although I can say now that there is someone actively working on increasing map size. So maybe if you wait a while?