[Abandoned] Pirates and Merchants - V9 - Pg 1&13

[zimmah]

DiM, I'm going to abuse of my Foundry Mod powers to replace the link in your OP. Use imageshack, it works. At least for me lol

btw i really hate that horizontal line you have at the top of your legend, it "cuts" the mast of both ships.

Click image to enlarge.

haters gunna hate.

but seriously, now that you bring it up, it's a good point.

[DiM]

imageshack is a no. i hate that site. it has the stupidest interface ever created.
normally i used photobucket which has a very user friendly interface and i can keep track of my files very easy.
however photobucket insists on resizing anything above 1mega and since this image is 1.6 it's shrunk a lot unless i save it at a lower quality. and this is jpg. if i save it as png it's hell.
imageshack does not resize my images but it has the shittiest interface ever.
so i found post image.org which has a really neat interface and it does not resize my images. but apparently people can't see the images. no idea why

i'll guess i'll have to look for yet another hosting site with a big enough file limit and good interface.


as for the horizontal line, that's there to mark the legend space. i will probably do some flowery thing, a nicer border or something, so don't worry about it.

[zimmah]

imageshack is a no. i hate that site. it has the stupidest interface ever created.
normally i used photobucket which has a very user friendly interface and i can keep track of my files very easy.
however photobucket insists on resizing anything above 1mega and since this image is 1.6 it's shrunk a lot unless i save it at a lower quality. and this is jpg. if i save it as png it's hell.
imageshack does not resize my images but it has the shittiest interface ever.
so i found post image.org which has a really neat interface and it does not resize my images. but apparently people can't see the images. no idea why

i'll guess i'll have to look for yet another hosting site with a big enough file limit and good interface.


as for the horizontal line, that's there to mark the legend space. i will probably do some flowery thing, a nicer border or something, so don't worry about it.

the line isn't the problem but the line cutting the sails is looking weird.

[BadgerJelly]

I been struggling to like looking at this map for some time and have discovered why :

1- MAIN problem for me is the way the land is filled in. Those diagonal lines are not easy on the eye at all
2- The ships (On right and left) are tilted and just look strange. I think it'd be better if they were all horizontal.

[DiM]

the line isn't the problem but the line cutting the sails is looking weird.

yeah i know, it will be fixed when the border is changed.

[DiM]

I been struggling to like looking at this map for some time and have discovered why :

1- MAIN problem for me is the way the land is filled in. Those diagonal lines are not easy on the eye at all
2- The ships (On right and left) are tilted and just look strange. I think it'd be better if they were all horizontal.

1. i can lower the opacity of the lines.
2. having all of them horizontal will give an artificial feel .

[DiM]

i have solved my photobucket problem. apparently i had gotten too close to the 10GB bandwidth limit for free accounts and my upload options were moved to less than 1Mega per image. but now the limit was reset (since the new year) and i can upload full size.

so here's V5. i hope it's visible for all.
*lower opacity for diagonal line pattern on the continents
*lower opacity for the continent colours

Click image to enlarge.

[Nola_Lifer]

Does any costal region include ports and every island? Or any costal area in their proximity?

[natty dread]

i have solved my photobucket problem. apparently i had gotten too close to the 10GB bandwidth limit for free accounts

That's why I use imageshack, which doesn't have any bandwidth or storage limits. I currently have a bit below 2000 images stored on my shack account.

[DiM]

i have solved my photobucket problem. apparently i had gotten too close to the 10GB bandwidth limit for free accounts

That's why I use imageshack, which doesn't have any bandwidth or storage limits. I currently have a bit below 2000 images stored on my shack account.

i don;t like the interface on imageshack.
anyway, the main problem was that i had some images on this photobucket account that were done for a website and those images caused the main traffic. i'll just move them to another photobucket account and it will be fine.

[DiM]

Does any costal region include ports and every island? Or any costal area in their proximity?

a coastal reagion = a land that has a coast. basically if it touches the ocean then it's a coastal region.

if my count is right there are only 12 land locked regions on this map. everything else is a coastal region.

[BadgerJelly]

Maybe its my eyes but I think you need to scrap diagonal lines completely and use something else?

Only ships that look funny are Red Beard and Dark Eric

[lostatlimbo]

I agree about the horizontal line and actually those decorative corners would look much better in the top corners.

Put the decorative bits in each corner, move the main map down a little and then add a 'realistic' crease across the middle where you have a line now. It will look much more natural and quite bad-ass. Try it.

Also, please, please find a clearer font for the missions. Its a lot of reading for such a scripty font. I'm normally all about playing up the theme of a map, but those are important to read, even in-game.

[AndyDufresne]

Also, please, please find a clearer font for the missions. Its a lot of reading for such a scripty font. I'm normally all about playing up the theme of a map, but those are important to read, even in-game.

Agreed. Font Flavor is usually fine when you are reading individual region names or bonus zones, but when you have a mound of text, and text generally important to gameplay (and not just some sort of thematic setting text), it should be a little easier to read.


--Andy

[DiM]

i'll try to find a scripty font that's easier to read.

[zimmah]

i just thought of something. in case there's 4 or less players on this map, people will actually start with 2 ships, so, should we try to make the starting positions so that even in 2, 3 and 4 player games the starting ships will be as balanced as possible?

[DiM]

i just thought of something. in case there's 4 or less players on this map, people will actually start with 2 ships, so, should we try to make the starting positions so that even in 2, 3 and 4 player games the starting ships will be as balanced as possible?

no they won't. you can limit each player to 1 ship. just like in AYBABTU each player gets just 1 base.

[zimmah]

i just thought of something. in case there's 4 or less players on this map, people will actually start with 2 ships, so, should we try to make the starting positions so that even in 2, 3 and 4 player games the starting ships will be as balanced as possible?

no they won't. you can limit each player to 1 ship. just like in AYBABTU each player gets just 1 base.

right, but then i'll need to define that in the starting positions. so everyone just get's 1 base, makes sense.

[DiM]

yep, it's easier and more balanced this way.

[Oneyed]

the bonuses looks a little unbalanced to me. while there are only 15 Treasures for 4 Pirates ( so about 4 armies for each), but 11 bonuses with 40 armies for Merchants (about 10 for each). ok, it will be harder to conquer and hold all governors regions but Merchants have more possibilities and bonuses.

Oneyed

[DiM]

the bonuses looks a little unbalanced to me. while there are only 15 Treasures for 4 Pirates ( so about 4 armies for each), but 11 bonuses with 40 armies for Merchants (about 10 for each). ok, it will be harder to conquer and hold all governors regions but Merchants have more possibilities and bonuses.

Oneyed

there should be 16 treasures and 12 ports. i'll check to see if i missed any.

anyway, you are right pirates have fewer bonuses available while merchants have more. this is intended to simulate an environment as realistic as possible. being an honest merchant meant you had access to more sources of income while being a pirate meant that you could only plunder.
the so while merchants can get more troops and make the map seem imbalanced the merchants also have harder missions. seeing how the only way to win is by completing your mission and not by eliminating the opponents, the difference in available bonuses should be perfectly balanced by the difference in the mission difficulty.
i'm also thinking of making the pirates start with a bit more troops. but i'll have to do some calculations.

[Industrial Helix]

Expect some stampage once Nobodies/Isaiah40 gives you the supersize stamp.

[zimmah]

Expect some stampage once Nobodies/Isaiah40 gives you the supersize stamp.

about the balance, i think asymmetric balance is the best balance.

[isaiah40]

Okay, after discussing this with thenobodies80, he believes that if you can find a different font maybe you can reduce the size height wise a tad bit. Considering that, we can hereby designate this map

[DiM]

thanks.
also i've reduced the height by 100px since tnb80 told me to reduce it. i'm not sure if more is feasible.