The Balkan Peninsula [FF] --Feb 2nd 2010--

[ZeakCytho]

You see when you want you can find correct map.
BIH have very small exit to Adriatic sea(26 km near neum) and these is in middle of Croatia coastline.

Yes, I know what the actual borders are, but that doesn't change the fact that it's almost impossible to draw them in such a small area.

Lookin' good, zeak...

One quick comment: 48 starting terits is not a great number, as in 4p and 2v2 everyone will start with 12 terits, giving an advantage to whoever goes first.

You're absolutely right. I was just looking at divisibility, not how many territories it would lead you to start with. I could merge some territories in Romania and try to go down to 45 territories, then? But at 45, 2 and 3 player games start with 15 territories each, which is no good. I don't see a way to condense to get only 42 territories...and the next best number above where we are now is 54, I think, but I don't see a way to squeeze 5 more territories in.

[Incandenza]

Yeah, you're in that tough medium-size-map zone where most of the numbers will lead to an uneven start for head-to-head matches... really, 1v1 and 2v2 are the biggest ones to watch out for. Dunno if there's an easy answer, but it's definitely something that'll come up once you hit the main foundry, so it's worth pondering now.

[ZeakCytho]

Here's version 7. In a nutshell I cleaned up the Aegean and added the river where qwert wanted (I hope).

Click image to enlarge.

Still need a better number of territories. Is there any way to carve more regions out of this map? I could split Trakya into two provinces, probably, and maybe parts of Romania and Bulgaria, but not enough to hit 55 (54 without Kosovo) territories, I don't think...
Thoughts?

Also, still need better names for the territories named after capitals (Tirana, Skopje, Podgorica, Sofia, Bucuresti)

So, things to do, roughly in order of importance to me:
1) Decide on the number of territories. This is huge.
1a) Keep Crete? Should be decided somewhat soon.
2) Decide on impasable locations and then finalize bonuses
3) Graphical tweaks, esp. with regard to the legend and the title.

[InkL0sed]

This map really should be in the main foundry. At least make it an advanced draft!

[MrBenn]

Zeak, it looks like you've had waaaay more interest than when I PM'ed you about this the other day...

[Advanced Draft]


I still think this looks good, but it feels a little bit dark - I'm not sure the dark army circles work that well, and I'd like to see thinner borders - perhaps this might make the map seem less grey??

[ZeakCytho]

Zeak, it looks like you've had waaaay more interest than when I PM'ed you about this the other day...

[Advanced Draft]


I still think this looks good, but it feels a little bit dark - I'm not sure the dark army circles work that well, and I'd like to see thinner borders - perhaps this might make the map seem less grey??

Thanks for the quasi-stamp

I can change border thickness. It'd require me to redraw all the borders, I think, but it's doable. Right now the continent borders are with a 4px brush and the territories with a 3px brush. I can make those 3px and 2px each to make things thinner. The army circles are white, though, not dark

[MrBenn]

The army circles are white, though, not dark

You're right.... I think I was looking at an earlier version

[ZeakCytho]

The army circles are white, though, not dark

You're right.... I think I was looking at an earlier version

It's okay

Here's what Romania and Bulgaria would look like with the thinner borders:


Should I use those sizes for all the borders? Note that the river's border has not been adjusted yet.

[wcaclimbing]

I think they'd be good.
but right now they are looking a bit to pixellated in the thin version.

Making this at 1x seems to be coming back to bite you
I don't think it'd take too much work to recreate it at 2x size.
I recreated Kap's Switzerland map at double the size in just about three days.
I think it'd be a lot faster for you to re-do this, cause you know how you created it in the first place.

[ZeakCytho]

I think they'd be good.
but right now they are looking a bit to pixellated in the thin version.

Making this at 1x seems to be coming back to bite you
I don't think it'd take too much work to recreate it at 2x size.
I recreated Kap's Switzerland map at double the size in just about three days.
I think it'd be a lot faster for you to re-do this, cause you know how you created it in the first place.

Yeah...I'm going to recreate the psd at double size. If anyone has color/texture change ideas, please post them now before I redo it all.

[ZeakCytho]

Okay, here's version 8. It's a lot of minor tweaks. Oh yeah, and I remade the entire psd from scratch
The borders are thinner now, textures are a bit different, legend is redone...a lot of minor changes. The discussion points from above that I'll paste below are all still applicable.

Version 8:

Click image to enlarge.

So, things to do, roughly in order of importance to me:
1) Decide on the number of territories. This is huge.
1a) Keep Crete? Should be decided somewhat soon.
2) Decide on impasable locations and then finalize bonuses
3) Graphical tweaks, esp. with regard to the legend and the title.

[wcaclimbing]

Oh yeah, and I remade the entire psd from scratch

And it looks much better because of it

I still don't get why those three continents are darker than the rest (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia/Herzegovina)

[ZeakCytho]

I'm gonna pull a Cairns here and tell you to refresh the image - problem fixed.

[the.killing.44]

Where does Crete connect to? I think it might be worth it to keep it if you connected it to Attica as well and Peloponnese?

.44

[ZeakCytho]

Where does Crete connect to? I think it might be worth it to keep it if you connected it to Attica as well and Peloponnese?

.44

Oops, I forgot to redo the attack line. It'll connect to Peloponnese for sure, and perhaps Attica. This is not a major concert right now.

[The Neon Peon]

Looks a lot better with thinner lines.

I think you can find a much more visually appealing solution for the legend than a black box. Other than that, A+ on graphics.

[ZeakCytho]

Looks a lot better with thinner lines.

I think you can find a much more visually appealing solution for the legend than a black box. Other than that, A+ on graphics.

Thanks! The black box is temporary until I can think of something that fits the region better. For now it displays the information well enough that we can work on bonuses and such without a problem. I plan on revamping that section of the map and the title after the gameplay stamp.

[MrBenn]

The legend still needs a fair bit of work, but at least it is playable as is...


Welcome to the Foundry Proper... Onwards and Upwards!

[ZeakCytho]

The legend still needs a fair bit of work, but at least it is playable as is...


Welcome to the Foundry Proper... Onwards and Upwards!

Thanks Benn!

Let's get some serious gameplay discussion going. Does anyone see a way to get 54 territories out of this map? Or is it better to condense down to 42? I'm thinking a larger map would be better. Here are some thoughts on how to get a bigger space, though I'm not sure how realistic they are to the geography of the area.

Romania could be split into a number more pieces. This would be unwieldy and make it a continent that no one would ever go for, though. Bulgaria also has a few larger territories. Trakya could probably be split in two. Central Macedonia could be too. Bosnia could also be rearranged, though I'm not sure how. I'm gonna check to see people from Bosnia on the scoreboard and PM them, I think.

The number of territories on the map is the single largest thing to decide right now.

[Qwert]

Well zeak i think that you break all records-from map idea to Main Foundry for 5 days. If you move in these speed i think that these will be most fasted quenched map in CC.

[gimil]

Hi Zeak.

Very nice looking map we have here. The colour scheme is very diverse yet they all fall together nicely. I paticularly like the texture of the water, its very nice.

Here is some things I have noticed that I think need to be addressed:

1. I think the legends could be better laid out. Right now there are a few continents of similar colours which makes it a little less obvious which bonus goes with which continent. I would suggest laying out the legends continents like they are on the map, make a sort of minimap like in portugal and other maps. Only give those continents a buffer between each other to maintain the character you have created for this map.
2. You have a slight buffer between the legends and the edge of the map to the right. Could you apply the same buffer to the bottom end of the legends please? For athetic purposes?
3. The title area is a little bland and uninspiring. I think you need to center it better in the space it had and design it to fit your maps theme a little better.

Those are just some early thoughts Zeak. Keep up the good work Zeak I will check in again soon!

[ZeakCytho]

Hi Zeak.

Very nice looking map we have here. The colour scheme is very diverse yet they all fall together nicely. I paticularly like the texture of the water, its very nice.

Thanks Gimil

Here is some things I have noticed that I think need to be addressed:

1. I think the legends could be better laid out. Right now there are a few continents of similar colours which makes it a little less obvious which bonus goes with which continent. I would suggest laying out the legends continents like they are on the map, make a sort of minimap like in portugal and other maps. Only give those continents a buffer between each other to maintain the character you have created for this map.

There was a full minimap in versions 1 and 2, but it was abandoned because the shape of the Peninsula doesn't fit into a box nicely. I can exaggerate the colors to make the continents easier to tell apart, though. Ultimately I think the legend area will change, but I'm not sure what to do with it. So for now it'll sit there while I think of what to do and we work on the gameplay.

2. You have a slight buffer between the legends and the edge of the map to the right. Could you apply the same buffer to the bottom end of the legends please? For athetic purposes?

Will do for the next version

3. The title area is a little bland and uninspiring. I think you need to center it better in the space it had and design it to fit your maps theme a little better.

I agree with you 100%. The title needs major work. I just haven't been able to think of a theme for it yet. Like the minimap, it will change once I decide what to do. Suggestions are welcome

Those are just some early thoughts Zeak. Keep up the good work Zeak I will check in again soon!

Thanks again

[gimil]

I personally don't want you to exaggerate colours as what you have it very well balanced. I will b
put my brain to work and try and think of something for you, along with the title as well

[ZeakCytho]

I personally don't want you to exaggerate colours as what you have it very well balanced. I will b
put my brain to work and try and think of something for you, along with the title as well

Thanks

[The Neon Peon]

Bridges are WAY too thick, can you make them smaller?