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Thread: Need help improving map for this game!

  1. #1

    Help Need help improving map for this game!

    Hello there,

    I've been working on a projects since few years, at a slow pace. It's a strategy-diplomacy game which allows many players to play around the table (30, 50 people, perhaps more). I hesitated between two different kinds of map. One is a Eurasian map divided in rough geo-historical regions, the second are anonymous regions made up of hexagonal tiles. I am not satisfied with the 2nd and would like to return to the former once more.
    I have already made a map a while ago (using GIMP) and well i think it's ok but could be better indeed. Since many of you are experts in making maps i ought to ask you for advice or help. Or perhaps if one of you is enthusiast enough, someone would be ready to help making this map.
    So here below is the current map and i'd like to improve it, make it look really good. So please feel free to respond or comment, thanks!

    PS: the map is huge so i provide a link only:
    see map here!

    Benjamin
    Last edited by jesuisbenjamin; 07-12-2010 at 05:19 AM. Reason: link was dead

  2. #2

  3. #3

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    Well thanks.

    In fact i don't really know what should be improved, but when i look at it feels like something should be different. I'm not really fond of the meridians especially in the arctic. Borders don't look that great either and territory names could perhaps be aligned differently. Also i find the colour set a bit sad as well as the texture. Perhaps the sea should be blue-ish with a nice texture.
    I was looking at making a map which looks like it's hand made, the game is supposed to be in an antique setting.
    One map that inspired me was this one. But it's too dull and bad quality to be used.
    I can see some more examples online which look nice:
    http://twobrothersandasister.com/wp-...-World-Map.jpg
    http://www.gmtgames.com/sekig/Sekiga...eMap100dpi.jpg
    http://www.gmtgames.com/success3/SUCCESSORS_MAP-3.jpg
    http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__...zima_gates.jpg

  4. #4
    Community Leader Facebook Connected tilt's Avatar
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    looks really good - a bit sad to see "Norway" rules all of the north... they were owned by Denmark once... of course.. they got those oilfields..
    I think a gameboard shouldn't look to handdrawn as that might mess up ones ability to read it ... a very light blue could go into the oceans.
    But one question does pop to mind though... 30-50 people - playing on the same board - thats a lot of people - sounds to me like the game would be spoiled by pure physical logistics - people going to and from the game board to make their moves (unless the board is huge - like those war-boards from WW2), and a LOT of waiting for ones turn... and damn to be the first one to loose the game and having to wait for the others to finish.. but very nice board.. and would love to hear more about the game
    oh.. and have some rep for your fist upload
    regs tilt
    :: My DnD page Encounter Depot free stuff for your game :: My work page Catapult ::
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  5. #5

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    Hi there thanks.

    Well it's a simplified map, Norge does not stand for actual Norway but rather as the Northern Region of Europe. It rather looks at antiquity (app -3000 BCE to 500 CE) although it cannot even take all regions into that scope, little is known of South East Asian dynasties till medieval times. Anyway, the division is fixed and i am quite happy about it in fact. I am trying to work from the original again (a satellite picture) and try to keep original the green texture of the land, the dark blue of oceans i will try to replace by a lighter one, but i need a paper-texture. It needs a bit of water-paint style i think. I will see what i can do with this. I also need to clean the continental edges and perhaps remove the meridian dotted lines.

    As to the game, yes, 50 people is a lot of people. But the game should not take too long to play, besides it is made so that people should make and play in groups. The head of the group only would play out while others actually are share-holders and can put pressure on the main player. This is where the diplomacy finds its dynamic, you need to maintain your subordinates happy if you don't want them to remove their support or land from your territory.
    But of course i have never tested the game with so many players yet. I want a good map nonetheless.

    PS: what does "have some rep for your fist upload" mean?
    PS2: map should be on A1 format.
    Benjamin
    Last edited by jesuisbenjamin; 07-12-2010 at 06:59 AM. Reason: map size

  6. #6
    Community Leader Facebook Connected tilt's Avatar
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    lol... just "pulling your leg" on that norway thing - it's what we small countries do to get noticed
    Sounds like an interesting game - somewhere between diplomacy and Junta
    and rep = reputation ... you get reputation when people like what you do .. check under your name where it says Guild Novice - below that is a now green pip (used to be gray) - if you hover about it you can see you have 5 rep - those are the points I gave you. When you see a map, great advice, tutorial etc that you really like - or if someone gave you SUPER help - feel free to rep them. You do that by clicking the little star in the bottom of their post, and add some words to. You can only give actual points of rep when you reach 10 rep yourself - but even rep without points are nice - its a warm fuzzy feeling being appreciated by your peers. As you gain more rep - you rep more to others as well when you rep
    regs tilt
    :: My DnD page Encounter Depot free stuff for your game :: My work page Catapult ::
    :: Finished Maps :: Competion maps - The Island of Dr. Rorshach ::
    :: FREE Tiles - Compasses :: Other Taking a commision - Copyright & Creative Commons ::
    Works under CC licence unless mentioned otherwise

  7. #7

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    Haha i hadn't noticed you were from Denmark, now it makes sense

    Thanks for the information. I am making some tests for a new background, i'd like to know what your opinion is. My favourite right now is the top left-hand side one. I think it ought to be blue but i can't get a blue that says "yeah!".
    Test map here.

  8. #8
    Community Leader Facebook Connected tilt's Avatar
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    yep.. not only that - I live in Sweden now and thus have a connection to 2 of the 3 scandinavian countries

    hmmm.. I think the canvas effect is nice, but it doesn't fit the realism of the landmasses - so I'd go with the blue in the bottom instead - perhaps with some water texture on it. Your land edges are rather blurry too - you'll have to strengthen those up

    If you wanna have an easier time uploading your pictures, try scaling it a bit down and then jpg-compress it to 40-60 % ... then you can use the uploader found under "Go Advanced" when you post here - that way a thumb will be generated and you won't be relying on external servers to have the guild see your maps
    regs tilt
    :: My DnD page Encounter Depot free stuff for your game :: My work page Catapult ::
    :: Finished Maps :: Competion maps - The Island of Dr. Rorshach ::
    :: FREE Tiles - Compasses :: Other Taking a commision - Copyright & Creative Commons ::
    Works under CC licence unless mentioned otherwise

  9. #9
    Guild Journeyer Quabbe's Avatar
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    Hey,

    the map has a fantastic look. I agree that something still must be done to improve the map. In the original size it looks strong pixelated. That may not be a problem if it is used for print later. But at least I would reduce the pixelization of the landshape-border. Make a selection of the land, change it into a path and then back into a selection, stroke it and you will have a sharp border (if possible with Gimp).

    I don't like the shadow of the dots. That does often look like computergenerated and not really like an antique handdrawn map. I would remove it completly. Try a simply dark color for the dots without any junk.

    And I also think that the water needs some pepup. I used a very simple technique to create water for the attached map (selection -> expand -> stroke and again, this a few times), maybe something like that.


    Hope I could give you some inspiration,
    Quabbe
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  10. #10

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    Thanks for the tips i made few trials and it's great (didn't know about the selection editor dialog!) Oh and your map looks amazing. How do you get this nice paper texture in the background?

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