Age of Realms: Age of Might [Quenched]

DiM · Post by **DiM** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 7:34 pm

The Weird One wrote:

good idea. and the latest map is looking great.

thanks for the appreciation.

also i'd like to note i'll restart working on this one next week. and expect a new update in the week-end.

cairnswk · Post by **cairnswk** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 7:57 pm

DiM...i take it this V15 is going to be your small version? Good to see work resuming

DiM · Post by **DiM** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 8:04 pm

cairnswk wrote:DiM...i take it this V15 is going to be your small version? Good to see work resuming

yep that's going to be the small version. i really hoped something will be done regarding the size limits but it seems i was wrong, hence i will resume working to fit the guidelines. i still need to do some work to the small that's why i'll post the next update next weekend. until then i'm working and i don't have time.

gimil · Post by **gimil** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 11:30 pm

i think a little transparency on the boarders wouldnt hurt

DiM · Post by **DiM** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 6:59 am

gimil wrote:i think a little transarency on the boardered wouldnt hurt

noted and will do.

PS: the spelling, the horror, the horror, aaaarrrrggghhhh........

gimil · Post by **gimil** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 12:47 pm

shut up . . .

DiM · Post by **DiM** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 3:55 pm

gimil wrote:shut up . . .

you spelled this one right.

yeti_c · Post by **yeti_c** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 3:18 am

DiM wrote:PS: the spelling, the horror, the horror, aaaarrrrggghhhh........

I concur...

C.

gimil · Post by **gimil** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 4:16 am

god DiM and Yeti_C yo guys are so difficult **edited**

unriggable · Post by **unriggable** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 11:29 am

DiM wrote:
gimil wrote:shut up . . .
you spelled this one right.

Coming from the guy who said, and I quote:

DiM wrote:spellchack done.

The map needs names. Only concern right now should be names.

gimil · Post by **gimil** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 11:46 am

unriggable wrote:
DiM wrote:
gimil wrote:shut up . . .
you spelled this one right.
Coming from the guy who said, and I quote:

DiM wrote:spellchack done.
The map needs names. Only concern right now should be names.

i cant really remeber what DiM strategy here was but i think he desires acctually names in all terrs but i think he decided he would have to settle on some form of number system.

Coleman · Post by **Coleman** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 1:21 pm

I want to make up names if numbers is the alternative.

DiM · Post by **DiM** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 2:43 pm

as gimil said i really want to put real names on the map. in fact that's exactly what i've done today. but either i put really short names like: Ayr or Gunn or i go for numbers. the space is really tight.

DiM · Post by **DiM** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 2:44 pm

unriggable wrote:
DiM wrote:
gimil wrote:shut up . . .
you spelled this one right.
Coming from the guy who said, and I quote:

DiM wrote:spellchack done.

i make one mistake and it haunts for the rest of my life

DiM · Post by **DiM** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 12:39 pm

edited//

DiM · Post by **DiM** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 12:52 pm

ok back on track. i couldn't wait until the weekend so i started working on things. nothing big yet.

the image is bellow.

i want opinions on the following issues:

1. army circles. look at the bottom left corner to see 4 different ones.
please indicate the one you like or specify if you want something else. (ie the classic round shape)

a. Gunn - outer glow
b. Eon - no effects
c. Ayr - outer glow + shading
d. Drub - shading

2. names or numbers. i hate numbering terits but in this case the space is so tight that real names have to be really short. i have put some examples. bottom left corner. are they ok? do you want names like that or do you want numbers?

3. legend. this is what i'm mostly worried about. the map has a new concept and thus i will have to do some explaining. i really want to keep the small icons but if i do i won't have space to explain that there will be lots of neutrals and as you can see everything is already pretty tight in there. i want suggestions on this one.
an alternative way would be to make the terit names of the pairs in the same color. for example timber mill and logging camp for a pair and so i could make them both green. i have made the houses and things that represent various resources to include matching colors but unfortunately they are so small it's barely noticeable. also when i named the resources i made sure they are very intuitive. like it's obvious the corn field matches the corn mill or that the iron goes to the blacksmith but as always i think that it can be further improved to make it as user friendly as possible. so basically i see 3 ways to deal with the pairs:
a. icons and names in the legend (like it is now)
b. just names in the legend
c. names in legend + matching colors for the terits names.

here is v16 below.
i have made the rivers more realistic
tweaked the mountain
added a few names and army circles
made the borders a bit more transparent.

more work will be done on the week end. till then please give me your feedback.

also i'd like to remind everyone about the gameplay.

only the castles will be playable all the rest will be neutral.
there are no new xml features in this map. at least not in this chapter.

each castle gives a +5 which might seem a lot but when you are surrounded by neutrals it doesn't give an advantage to the one that goes first.
each village gives a +1 (tribute) for each castle you have.
so 1 castle and 2 villages = +2
2 castles 2 villages = +4

the resource pairs also give bonuses. +1 for each village and +2 for each castle.

the sanctuary is there for plot reasons but in this chapter it play no important role that's why i gave it a 1 to provide an incentive for people to capture that small island. however i think i will make it more important and increase it to +3.

that's about it for the bonuses.

moving around is done via the docks and any dock can attack any other dock.

the most important part will be the neutrals.

there will be lots of neutral terits and the amount of armies in each one will be variable.

for example each non important terit will have 1 army. each important terit will have 2-5 armies distributed depending on the distance from the castle.

for example if you look at the top left island there's a village that's right next to the castle. so that's gonna have 5 armies and there's another village 1 terit away. that will have 4 troops.

or look at the blacksmith that's really far from the bottom left castle so it will have just 1 neutral. and so on you get the idea.

Aerial Attack · Post by **Aerial Attack** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 2:00 pm

Glad to see you're starting this back up again.

1) Army Circles. I vote for Drub [outer glow is hard to differentiate because of the bright color of the terrs themselves]

2) Names. I like the 2-4 char names like you have.

3) Legend. The legend is kind of large as is. Definitely go with option C (names + matching colors). P.S. eachother is two words [each other] no need for the dash there

4) Sanctuary bonus? I like your idea of moving it up, seeing as how it's going to be important in the future. But, to make it the most important thing next to a castle? +2 is my vote.

5) neutral distribution. Neutrals with only 1? Interesting. I dunno about the distance thing. Villages are a +1, so should have 3 or 4 armies [no matter the distance]. Resources are +2, but only in combination - so 2-3 armies. Keep it consistent in the number of armies on a type of territory. That way first time players will have a better immediate idea of the importance of a type of territory.

DiM · Post by **DiM** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 2:35 pm

Aerial Attack wrote:Glad to see you're starting this back up again.

i'm glad you're glad

Aerial Attack wrote:1) Army Circles. I vote for Drub [outer glow is hard to differentiate because of the bright color of the terrs themselves]

outer glow could be made in diff colors. perhaps the colors could match the resources. for example all non important terits have grey glow for the circles the logging camp and timber have a green glow and so on.

Aerial Attack wrote:2) Names. I like the 2-4 char names like you have.

that's good now all i have to do is finde 90 more

Aerial Attack wrote:3) Legend. The legend is kind of large as is. Definitely go with option C (names + matching colors). P.S. eachother is two words [each other] no need for the dash there

thanks for the spelling correction. and yes i'm inclined towards option C

Aerial Attack wrote:4) Sanctuary bonus? I like your idea of moving it up, seeing as how it's going to be important in the future. But, to make it the most important thing next to a castle? +2 is my vote.

+2 is still kinda low. but i'll wait for more opinions.

Aerial Attack wrote:5) neutral distribution. Neutrals with only 1? Interesting. I dunno about the distance thing. Villages are a +1, so should have 3 or 4 armies [no matter the distance]. Resources are +2, but only in combination - so 2-3 armies. Keep it consistent in the number of armies on a type of territory. That way first time players will have a better immediate idea of the importance of a type of territory.

the important terits will have some big numbers of neutrals but i can't put 5 on a village that's near the castle and also 5 on a village that's 4 terits away. because for the second one you'd have to pass through more armies.

Telvannia · Post by **Telvannia** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 3:24 pm

i have devoted my 1000th post to this thread and this map, feel honoured DiM!

I personally like the glow, but without the shadow.

I also think full names would be good, but hard to fit in, but if you think you can pull it off then do it.
You really need to increase the text on the small map's legend, so you could make the pictures slightly smaller, seeing as you have the names on map anyway, and make the names a bit bigger.

the all docks connect to each other took me about 2 minutes to work out what i actually said

might need to be a bit bigger, or have each word on a line, so dont start new line half way though a word.

i still think the central right castle looks like it is hanging over the edge of the slope down to the sea, try moving it up a few pixels.

Maybe add a different colour army shield for important territories so they stand out.

the top left castle should have a shadow where it goes doen to the grass inside, otherwise it looks like the garden is on the top.

the fishery and market are too close, maybe move it up between the two northern villages, it would give more of a gap, and would make it more realistic.

that is enough for now, i need to go and kill you in the battle royale

cairnswk · Post by **cairnswk** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 3:51 pm

Dim...just a small comment....Ayr and Eon army shields if side-by-side like that, would create conflict for army numbers from Ayr....i know you'll adjust them though.

DiM · Post by **DiM** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 3:53 pm

Telvannia wrote:i have devoted my 1000th post to this thread and this map, feel honoured DiM!

thanks mate.

Telvannia wrote:I personally like the glow, but without the shadow.

glow but no shadow. noted

Telvannia wrote:I also think full names would be good, but hard to fit in, but if you think you can pull it off then do it.

i'll try. in some places i might have to go as small as 2 letter names but i'll see. i'll put longer names where i can.

Telvannia wrote:You really need to increase the text on the small map's legend, so you could make the pictures slightly smaller, seeing as you have the names on map anyway, and make the names a bit bigger.

yes i know i need to increase the font size. i left it like that because i want to see if people consider the images necessary or not. if the pictures are removed i'll have plenty of space to increase the names.

Telvannia wrote:the all docks connect to each other took me about 2 minutes to work out what i actually said might need to be a bit bigger, or have each word on a line, so dont start new line half way though a word.

yeah sorry bout that. i increased the size and didn't see it streched on 2 lines

)

Telvannia wrote:i still think the central right castle looks like it is hanging over the edge of the slope down to the sea, try moving it up a few pixels.

will fix

Telvannia wrote:Maybe add a different colour army shield for important territories so they stand out.

if i make the circles different colors then the army numbers will be hard to see. but i can toy around with the glow color.

Telvannia wrote:the top left castle should have a shadow where it goes doen to the grass inside, otherwise it looks like the garden is on the top.

true. and will fix

Telvannia wrote:the fishery and market are too close, maybe move it up between the two northern villages, it would give more of a gap, and would make it more realistic.

the problem is that by doing that somebody could go through one dock and out the other in 3 moves and take 3 important terits. that's why i put it there.

Telvannia wrote:that is enough for now, i need to go and kill you in the battle royale

you don't even know where i am on the map.

i dare you to go read the log and see where i deployed.

Telvannia · Post by **Telvannia** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 3:58 pm

DiM wrote:
Telvannia wrote:Maybe add a different colour army shield for important territories so they stand out.
if i make the circles different colors then the army numbers will be hard to see. but i can toy around with the glow color.

I lie the glow colour change, i was originally thinking you could but a coloured rig around the shields to make them out, but glow colour seems a good compromise.

DiM wrote:
Telvannia wrote:the fishery and market are too close, maybe move it up between the two northern villages, it would give more of a gap, and would make it more realistic.
the problem is that by doing that somebody could go through one dock and out the other in 3 moves and take 3 important terits. that's why i put it there.

Maybe on a different island, with all the docks the islands dont make that much difference.

DiM wrote:
Telvannia wrote:that is enough for now, i need to go and kill you in the battle royale
you don't even know where i am on the map.
i dare you to go read the log and see where i deployed.

2007-10-09 18:37:56 - DiM deployed 3 armies on Namibia
I think i win! (do i get my name on the map as a prize?

DiM · Post by **DiM** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 4:03 pm

Telvannia wrote: 2007-10-09 18:37:56 - DiM deployed 3 armies on Namibia
I think i win! (do i get my name on the map as a prize?

no, but you will be killed for revealing the secret. i'm close to gimil and we're already plotting your assassination

Telvannia · Post by **Telvannia** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 4:05 pm

DiM wrote:
Telvannia wrote: 2007-10-09 18:37:56 - DiM deployed 3 armies on Namibia
I think i win! (do i get my name on the map as a prize?
no, but you will be killed for revealing the secret. i'm close to gimil and we're already plotting your assassination

Secret alliance!!!

Im reporting you, you n00b.

we better get back on topic or --- will come back from beyond the grave to ban us

DiM · Post by **DiM** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 4:30 pm

Telvannia wrote:
DiM wrote:
Telvannia wrote: 2007-10-09 18:37:56 - DiM deployed 3 armies on Namibia
I think i win! (do i get my name on the map as a prize?
no, but you will be killed for revealing the secret. i'm close to gimil and we're already plotting your assassination
Secret alliance!!!

Im reporting you, you n00b.

we better get back on topic or --- will come back from beyond the grave to ban us

eat your heart out

2007-10-10 00:29:59 - DiM: i would like to announce in game chat that me and gimil have an alliance to kill telvannia.

Age of Realms: Age of Might [Quenched]

what bonus scheme do you want?