Paris - V10 (May 28) (pgs. 1 & 9) - FEEDBACK PLEASE!!

[sempaispellcheck]

Map Name: Paris
Mapmaker(s): sempaispellcheck
Number of Territories: 39
Special Features: Starting neutrals, autodeploy, partial bonuses
What Makes This Map Worthy of Being Made: This map continues the great tradition of CC city maps established by the NYC map. Paris is one of the world's most famous cities - a fantastic tourist destination with a long and eventful history. It is also, according to Jon Stewart's America: the Book, "the world's most...seizable city." If ten (count them, ten) different groups/tribes/etc. can take Paris, why can't we?

Version 10:
Large:

Click image to enlarge.

Moved stuff around, added a sky with a smiling sun, because the sky looked empty without it.
I still need to get those landmarks in, though.

Notre Dame starts as neutral 10, other 4 landmarks start as neutral 5.

39 territories
Drop: (to be confirmed)
2 players: 12 regions per player, 15 starting neutrals (including 5 landmarks)
3 players: 11 regions per player, 6 starting neutrals (including 5 landmarks)
4 players: 8 regions per player, 7 starting neutrals (including 5 landmarks)
5 players: 6 regions per player, 9 starting neutrals (including 5 landmarks)
6 players: 5 regions per player, 9 starting neutrals (including 5 landmarks)
7 players: 4 regions per player, 11 starting neutrals (including 5 landmarks)
8 players: 4 regions per player, 7 starting neutrals (including 5 landmarks)

If there is any other info you would like me to post here, please ask for it. Thank you!

Version 9

Large - 800x720

Click image to enlarge.

Changes: Added 5th star and bridges back in, redid bonus area borders, erased overlap in territory borders (the borders themselves may still need fixing, but they seem OK for now, at least), fixed title font, added minimap to explain bonuses, added cartoon and Paris coat of arms to fill empty space, found "parchment"-type texture for background (the "paper" texture koontz gave me, with a slight change in color), went back to original "oil paint" texture for land area (because I like it), added an impassable (Canal St. Martin - between the territ of the same name and Gare du Nord).

Still to do: Landmark illustrations, improve bridges (how?).

Questions: Do I need more impassables? (if so, where and what kind?) Do the territory borders need redoing?

Version 8

Large - 800x720

Click image to enlarge.

Changes: Removed tabac sign, changed title font, map colors, made more room for river and islands, made islands larger.

Still to do: Bonus area borders and territory lines need fixing, there should be something in the background, landmark illustrations, impassables, box legend in, other things I can't think of - but you guys will.

Version 7

Large - 800x720

Click image to enlarge.

Changes: Basically everything - completely different look for all non-playable areas. Moved things around, took out flag background and landmark illustrations for the time being, different kinds of army circles - squares for métro stations, stars for landmarks, took out a few (somewhat redundant) métro stations, added clipart of a café and a tabac sign.

Still to do: Background, landmark illustrations, impassables, box legend in, fix up pictures - cafe/tabac sign (?), other things I can't think of - but you guys will.

Question: Does anyone else have a problem with the font I used? If yes, please tell me why, and please recommend a specific font or fonts that I should use instead.

Version 6

Large - 800x720

Click image to enlarge.

Changes: Resized territory names and aligned them horizontally, added dropshadows for all other text, added different texture ("Oil Paint" - appropriate, no?), lightened color of Rive Gauche Ouest, reduced opacity of army circles, and shrank flag to top quarter (or so) of image (as per isaiah40's original suggestion) - used a light grey for the rest of the background.

Still to do: If I knew, I'd be working on it.

Version 5

Small - 600x540

Click image to enlarge.

Large - 800x720

Click image to enlarge.

Changes: Better flag background with reduced opacity, cut unnecessary text (even though I liked it ), revamped legend (bye bye, white box), cool new sig (people may not get it, but that's OK), and new landmark illustrations.

Still to do: Experiment with fonts (I've been using GIMP's default (Sans) for convenience, but apparently that's too academic). Any advice on this would be GREATLY appreciated.

Version 4.1

Small - 600x540

Click image to enlarge.

Large - 800x720

Click image to enlarge.

Changes: Replaced flag background with WAVING flag background.

Version 4

Small - 600x540

Click image to enlarge.

Large - 800x720

Click image to enlarge.

Changes: Fixed flag background so red didn't look pink, redid bonus borders and removed outlines on army circles to fix pixelation, and FINALLY figured out how to add landmark illustrations - many thanks to DoomYoshi for that last.

Version 3

Small - 600x540

Click image to enlarge.

Large - 800x720

Click image to enlarge.

Changes: Pretty much everything. Changed colors, borders, a few territory names,...it's a whole new map!! Kind of.

Version 2

Small - 600x540

Click image to enlarge.

Large - 800x720

Click image to enlarge.

Changes: Flag background no longer overlaps territories, borders thickened to fix pixelization, texture added.

Version 1

Small - 600x540

Click image to enlarge.

Large - 800x720

Click image to enlarge.

XML: http://www.fileden.com/files/2012/4/3/3 ... risMap.xml

Looking for feedback on anything and everything. Tell me what you think (and why you think it )

[Industrial Helix]

Well taking a quick look at this map I'd say your biggest problem is that the map is very plain. One big thing you could do to fix this is by adding some texture to the map, I'm not sure what program you're using but I know photoshop pretty well and there are others on here who know other programs. Next, the colors of the french flag bleed on to the playable area, which is ugly and kind of distracting, you should erase the areas where the flag colors go onto the map. Your next biggest problem is pixelization, which if you're unfamiliar with the term is where the lines or colored areas appear jagged or blocky. The river is the biggest culprit and some of the territory borders are pixelated as well. Ltly, the map needs some kind of character or Parisian feel to it. You could try putting in little illustrations of the major sights in Paris, such as eiffel tower, the arc de triomphe, the Bastille, Notre Dame, ect.

I hope this helped and I think once you get these things taken care of you should attract much more attraction from other map makers and commenters.

[sempaispellcheck]

Thanks a lot for the feedback, Helix, much appreciated. I'm working with GIMP (too poor for Photoshop, unfortunately).

Your suggestions make a lot of sense, and I had actually been thinking about illustrations of the landmarks (and maybe a baguette or something in the background?) for my second draft.

The pixelization will probably be the hardest thing for me to deal with, but I'll figure it out or ask for help.

Thanks again for your feedback, and hopefully I can get my second draft out soon!!

[ManBungalow]

Cool.

Your map should have some sound gameplay before you start worrying about the graphics. At the moment, there aren't many regions, and there's nothing to really show off the unique qualities of Paris.

You have some 4-way borders, where it's unclear which regions attack which. For instance, I can't tell if Batignolles is supposed to attack Opera etc. Actually, I think the map would benefit from some more impassables in this format.

For the record, I've always liked the graphics on the Vancouver map (even though it shows a lot of the surrounding area, it's still a city map as far as I'm concerned).

There are plenty of people here who can help with GIMP and offer good advice.

That is all.

[Dukasaur]

I like the concept!

Map needs work, graphically speaking. There are people better qualified than I to give input about that.

But as far as concept, this is excellent! I like the idea of "uniting" the 5 most famous landmarks.

[sempaispellcheck]

Thanks, Dukasaur!!

This is my first map, and I am by no means what you would call an artist.
That said, I'm working on the feedback that Helix has given me, and will go from there.

Glad you like the concept, though!

[sempaispellcheck]

Hey ManBungalow!! I'm sorry I didn't see your comment before.

Speaking for myself, I don't see too many problems with the gameplay as is. Counting the metro stations, the map has 42 regions, which is not a bad number - and certainly not the least ever seen on CC, as Duck and cover only has 24. Also, I had a fair bit of trouble fitting the text into the territories as they are, so it would take some doing to fit them in after dividing territories to add more.

As stated in the note at the bottom center of the map, territories cannot attack across corners, so Batignolles and Opera can't attack each other. It's all coded in the XML if you have the time to sift through that.

I like the Vancouver map' graphics as well, but I'm not certain what I could take from them to apply to my Paris map.

I am working on my second draft, which will contain a number of substantial improvements over this first draft, and hope to be able to post it soon.

Thank you for your feedback!!
sempai

[Flapcake]

Cool that you are doin a Paris city map, at this stage you have some work in front of you.

Some comment for you: you just cant enlarge the version you done and call it "large map" every thing gets pixilated that way, you need to work on both as uniqe maps, ofc you can copy stuff but bewhare of pixilation. the colors you use for background, it dosent look good that they mix in layers, bonus areas in serval colors confuses. the winnings condictions I have also used on some of my maps, and its already tryed out on my Danmark map, 5 was to hard.
http://www.conquerclub.com/forum/viewto ... 28&start=0

My city map of Copenhagen have a turist theme,(same winning condictions) its importen that your map have a consistend theme.
http://www.conquerclub.com/forum/viewto ... 29&start=0

I find your map appealing and worth working with, keep it up

[DoomYoshi]

This map seems way too small to support 5 10n Objectives. Maybe make it 4 of 5 (a la Copenhavn)? Maybe reduce the neutral presence? Maybe make them all +1 autodeploy?

[sempaispellcheck]

Hey, Flapcake and DoomYoshi!!

Thanks for the feedback, guys!! Flapcake, you raise some great points, and I will definitely work on those in my second draft.

About the winning condition - I want it to include territories all over the city, so it won't be advantageous to camp out in or exclude any one area. If I make it 4 of 5, I'm worried that players may just ignore la Rive Gauche completely because it only has 1 objective territory (Tour Eiffel).

Should I make them neutral 5s w/+1? And if I do, should Notre Dame keep its +2?

Thanks again for your feedback!!
sempai

[sempaispellcheck]

Also, I am considering changing the name of "Luxembourg" to "SciencesPo" or "IEP" (Institut des Etudes Politiques - Institute of Political Studies).

Thoughts?

[sempaispellcheck]

Second draft posted - see first post of thread. I'm thinking it'll be easier to just keep all drafts in the first post with spoilers rather than have them sprinkled throughout the thread.

The one thing I had wanted to do for this draft but didn't get to was to insert miniature drawings of the landmarks I will be using as objectives. At this point, I'm still not sure how to do that, so that will wait for the third draft.

[DoomYoshi]

Hey, Flapcake and DoomYoshi!!

Thanks for the feedback, guys!! Flapcake, you raise some great points, and I will definitely work on those in my second draft.

About the winning condition - I want it to include territories all over the city, so it won't be advantageous to camp out in or exclude any one area. If I make it 4 of 5, I'm worried that players may just ignore la Rive Gauche completely because it only has 1 objective territory (Tour Eiffel).

Should I make them neutral 5s w/+1? And if I do, should Notre Dame keep its +2?

Thanks again for your feedback!!
sempai

I wouldn't worry too much about camping out.

Keeping +2 makes sense, and you can even have that one with more neutrals on it to reflect the greater bonus and central location advantage.

However, your map is tripping me out!
It is faster to march through the territories than it is to take the ligne 1! Is this true while traveling through Paris?

EDIT: It is actually the same pace; still weird though.

EDIT again: Thinking about it twice, the neutrals negate that statement. It would only be equidistant in the late game. I don't foresee very many late games here though.

[sempaispellcheck]

Keeping +2 makes sense, and you can even have that one with more neutrals on it to reflect the greater bonus and central location advantage.

So, should I keep Notre Dame at 10 neutrals, or maybe cut it down to, say, 8?

[DoomYoshi]

Keeping +2 makes sense, and you can even have that one with more neutrals on it to reflect the greater bonus and central location advantage.

So, should I keep Notre Dame at 10 neutrals, or maybe cut it down to, say, 8?

I am not sure, let's see what some others think?

[Flapcake]

Keeping +2 makes sense, and you can even have that one with more neutrals on it to reflect the greater bonus and central location advantage.

So, should I keep Notre Dame at 10 neutrals, or maybe cut it down to, say, 8?

I think 10 is to much, you can easily cut it down to 5, the areas are part of ohter bonuses and will gets atacked by different players.

1 thing: you can not have 4-way border, in a 4-way border you can't tell who attacks who.
2 thing: still your large map are obvious that you have just enlarged the file, it dosent work well, looks very pixelated, you have do get that sorted out (your small map also have some serius pixilations) Il say for this to being a draft, the pixilation are one of your main conserns rigth now.

[sempaispellcheck]

I was just talking about Notre Dame, since it's centered and gives +2 autodeploy. The others I've made 5.
I put a note in on the bottom of the map that you can't attack across corners. If you guys think players won't read it, I'll redraw the borders.

OK, I thought I had fixed the pixelation, but I guess not. How do I fix it? What do I need to do?

[sempaispellcheck]

Also, Flapcake, how did you get do the icons for the sights on your Copenhagen map? I'd like to do something similar here, but I don't know how.

[DoomYoshi]

I was just talking about Notre Dame, since it's centered and gives +2 autodeploy. The others I've made 5.
I put a note in on the bottom of the map that you can't attack across corners. If you guys think players won't read it, I'll redraw the borders.

OK, I thought I had fixed the pixelation, but I guess not. How do I fix it? What do I need to do?

To fix the pixelation, don't just make it larger. Redraw it at a larger size.

[cairnswk]

sempaispellcheck...welcome to mapmaking and all its trials and tribulations...good start for concept
I see the fourway borders you have on your map has been targeted, so i won't go there.

Below is a little something i did sometime ago that might/might not give you some inspiration for your map.

[sempaispellcheck]

To fix the pixelation, don't just make it larger. Redraw it at a larger size.

Grr. I was hoping to avoid that.

Thanks, cairns!! And thanks for sharing your idea!! I could definitely use some of your territory names, if nothing else.

All right, all right, I'll redraw the borders.

[Flapcake]

You simple just not enlarge text or lines, whats always good to remember is that images, text and drawn stuff reduces quality when enlargin, you only have the same amounth of pixels to work with, when scrinking the pixels gets smaller and you avoid pixilation, build large and scale down, newer the ohter way.

Solution to your pixel problem, redraw the map (sorry) in large version, smoot the edges of the borders, then when you do the small map, scrink with out the text, retype the text, or else you risk it will be blurry.

you asked for the icons at my copenhagen map, its landmarks and therfor have no copyrigths, the mermaid I have taken the picture my self, you can google the stuff you need and redraw/remodel it to out of reconesion, then thers no copyrigth.

(i know my english suck, but i hope you understand )

Flap

[sempaispellcheck]

Why is there never an easy way out? C'est la vie...I guess.
Oooh boy. Guess I have my work cut out for me. The next update may not be ready for a little while, but hopefully it will be worth the wait.
Thanks for the feedback, all!! (and don't worry about it, Flap, I can understand you perfectly).
Now...time to get to work!

[Flapcake]

Why is there never an easy way out? C'est la vie...I guess.

well I hope not its "C'est la vie" course you have something worth working with, but no one sayd map making was easy you do have to do your very bedst, or aleast try. its not a hard job Iv asked for, its only the borderlines and the text, then what ever you want for effects (icons, patterns, shapes, shadows ect. ect.) you can add later on, rigth now we must lift it up to a minimun standard for a draft. (hope not it sounds to rugh )

wich program do you use ? (photoshop/Gimp, other)

Keep up the mood and good work.

[sempaispellcheck]

I'm just being over-dramatic, Flap (and whining a little, yes, but I'll get over that). True, true, I know, and I will.

I'm using GIMP, and I think what I'm going to do is redraw the map following natty's GIMP tutorial, but keeping bonus colors, territory names, bonuses, gameplay, etc. - starting from quasi-scratch.