Map Alexander ---> Updated Map - Ver 1.5 July 2008 [Archive]

View Full Version : Map Alexander ---> Updated Map - Ver 1.5 July 2008

PashaDawg

January 1st, 2008, 08:28 PM

Hello:

I have finished a new map inspired by the empire of Alexander the Great, but with some fantasy geography. It is a wrap-around map containing 290 provinces (246 land; 44 sea). Rivers are not impassible. All provinces along rivers have potential fresh water sites, except provinces that contain waste.

Babylon and Athens contain libraries.

There are some provinces with both border mountains and plains. Some are officially "border mountain" provinces, and others are not (e.g., 174, 194 and 200).

There are a few provinces that barely touch a river. They are not fresh water provinces (e.g., 175 and 194).

Thanks.

Pasha

Note: (July 2008) Attached is an updated version of the map that adds some optional preset starting positions (16 land; 3 water). I think they make it easier for balanced starting positions.

PashaDawg

January 1st, 2008, 08:31 PM

Here is the preview.

http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/threads/uploads/573516-Alexander%20Thumb.png

Zylithan

January 1st, 2008, 11:51 PM

beautiful! did you add it to my database yet?

PashaDawg

January 1st, 2008, 11:56 PM

/threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif

Now blank. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

/threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Dogbone.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif

Sombre

January 2nd, 2008, 02:01 AM

Very nice!

A touch large for me perhaps, but then small wraparounds are far too confusing.

PashaDawg

January 2nd, 2008, 08:57 AM

Sombre

January 2nd, 2008, 09:49 AM

Sombre's Bog!

Meglobob

January 2nd, 2008, 10:50 AM

Good looking map, like wraparounds and a nice size too.

ryo_akashi

January 2nd, 2008, 05:11 PM

Great job on the map!

I'll suggest having nostart for the following sea provinces.

171
183
227
266

Also, it might be good to have connections for the following sea provinces.

7 to 265
227 to 192 (maybe)
227 to 266 (maybe)
171 to 176 (maybe)

This allows the sea nations to have a bit more expansion room.

Meglobob

January 2nd, 2008, 05:43 PM

Not a very important bug, but on the initial description, it says, 'Some are officially'...then breaks off in mid sentance.

PashaDawg

January 3rd, 2008, 12:05 AM

Deleted by Pashadawg.

PashaDawg

January 3rd, 2008, 12:11 AM

Ryo_akashi: Thanks. I hope you enjoy the map. It happily includes the no-start settings that you suggested. Plus, I endeavored to make every water province with only one neighbor a no-start province, and I think pretty much any land province with less than 3 neighbors is no-start.

I wanted some of the water to be disconnected. Sometimes water nations can have an undue advantage if too many water provinces are connected and enjoy a long, long coastline.

Pasha

Ballbarian

January 3rd, 2008, 02:11 AM

Very nice PashaDawg!

WraithLord

January 3rd, 2008, 10:49 AM

Cool map.You should have more vacations and rests from hosting if the result is such nice maps http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

llamabeast

January 3rd, 2008, 01:34 PM

Have you updated the file in the first post Pasha?

Awesome map.

PashaDawg

January 3rd, 2008, 08:00 PM

Thank you again. I look forward to playing on the map in a month or so. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

I have not updated the file in the first post. The full download is about 27 MB, and so I was trying to avoid the upload process again. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Pasha

vfb

January 3rd, 2008, 08:55 PM

This looks like a really nice map, thanks Pasha. Nice touch with the caves!

Humakty

January 4th, 2008, 06:29 PM

Very nice map.
I've spotted province 184 has deep sea tag. It is situated at the extreme south western anatolia. I think it should be forest.

PashaDawg

January 4th, 2008, 08:10 PM

Hi Humakty:

That's a mistake. I will correct that over the weekend and upload a new file in the first post. Thanks for point that out! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Pasha

PashaDawg

January 4th, 2008, 10:48 PM

Version 1.2 of the map is now the download attachment in the first post on this thread. It corrects the bugs found so far.

Tyrant

January 12th, 2008, 05:28 PM

This is a really terrific map, thanks Dawg!

I have been thinking about a twisted earth map for some time and i just love it when people with more talent than me telepathically steal my ideas and do a better job than i would have.

PashaDawg

January 17th, 2008, 11:59 PM

Thanks! I am looking forward to some MP action on the map soon. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

llamabeast

January 18th, 2008, 07:15 AM

There are at least two MP games running on it already. Impressive for a new map!

Zeldor

January 18th, 2008, 07:20 AM

I hope hosts madmodified starting positions there as they can be really unfair.

PashaDawg

January 19th, 2008, 01:06 AM

Yes. I was assuming that the map would be played with defined starting points, such as in a scenario. But, I also set many provinces as no-start to avoid really unfair starting positions. I plan to make a scenario soon. Maybe this weekend!

Aethyr

January 20th, 2008, 12:06 AM

Very, very, nice 'Dawg.

vfb

January 29th, 2008, 06:30 AM

One very minor point -- province 276 is colored like a bunch of provinces that are farmland, but 276 is not farmland.

PashaDawg

January 29th, 2008, 11:23 PM

Dang it! That's supposed to be farmland!! Thanks for pointing that out, vfb.

I will fix it in the next few days and post a revised map file.

Pasha

PashaDawg

January 30th, 2008, 09:55 PM

Fix is attached to the 4th post in this thread. (See above. Look for the dawg bones.)

vfb

January 30th, 2008, 10:10 PM

Thanks Pasha! If I'm in an MP game with this map, should I wait until that game is over before downloading the new .map?

PashaDawg

January 31st, 2008, 12:05 AM

Hi vfb:

I am no expert on such things, but if I recall correctly, only the host needs the map file. So, if you have a different map file, I don't think it will matter. Worst case scenario, you could always download the older map file again from the first post (or otherwise keep a backup).

I hope the MP game is fun. I am looking forward to playing on the map myself in a week or so.

Pasha

vfb

January 31st, 2008, 07:44 PM

Yeah, it is a great map! Lots of fun. I'm really liking wraparound, it's my first wraparound MP game.

PashaDawg

January 31st, 2008, 11:10 PM

Thanks! Nice thing about a wraparound map is that there are no corners that can give a few players an extra advantage.

PashaDawg

February 2nd, 2008, 01:10 PM

Grrrr. The map editor had removed the libraries quite a while ago, and I never noticed. Some players might object to the pre-placed libraries. So, I have posted two versions: One with libraries, and one without. Look up to the 4th post in this thread.

PashaDawg

February 3rd, 2008, 07:59 PM

A late era scenario is posted in the 6th post on this thread.

Pasha

ano

June 2nd, 2008, 08:45 AM

Pasha, I really like the map and played on it several times but don't you think of marking land provinces with only two neighbours with "nostart"?
In currently going game Qwerty one of the players complained that he started in such a province in a mountain valley and I could help him with nothing but asking you to change this. In a crowded game it can really be a pain.

PashaDawg

June 3rd, 2008, 11:57 PM

Hi Ano:

I thought I had made all such provinces no-start, but maybe I missed one. Could you give me the province number?

Pasha

ano

June 9th, 2008, 07:01 PM

I looked through .map files attached to the fourth post but found no "nostart" at all. Maybe I misunderstand something?
Two provinces with only two neighbours are 200 and 39. 39 was the starting province in the ongoing Qwerty game.

PashaDawg

June 9th, 2008, 10:39 PM

Dang. I will double check that. Maybe I did all the no-starts and then made new changes and lost them? Ugh.

PashaDawg

July 27th, 2008, 11:09 AM

/threads/images/Graemlins/Lightning.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Lightning.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Lightning.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Lightning.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Lightning.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Lightning.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Lightning.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Lightning.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Lightning.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Lightning.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Lightning.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Lightning.gif

Hello:

I have updated the map to add some additional no-start provinces. I have also updated it to have several preset starting positions (16 land, 3 water). They will be randomly assigned if used. They are optional on the game setup screen. I think this will make it easier to have more balanced starting positions in games. Each starting position is 3 provinces away from at least one neighbor (4 moves), assuming the game is full and all positions are used. No starting position is less than 3 provinces away from another.

The attachment to the first post has been replaced with the updated version (1.5 July 2008).

Attached to this post is a jpeg showing the starting positions.

Thanks.

Pasha

/threads/images/Graemlins/Lightning.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Lightning.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Lightning.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Lightning.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Lightning.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Lightning.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Lightning.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Lightning.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Lightning.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Lightning.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Lightning.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Lightning.gif

Here's what the jpeg looks like:
http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/threads/uploads/628263-Alex%20Starts.jpg

Horst F. JENS

July 28th, 2008, 03:34 PM

very nice work, thank you!

Aapeli

July 28th, 2008, 07:10 PM

This map is one of my favourites. There are lots of strategic mountain passes that make you think about where to spread. First wraparound I actually liked (playing mp with it and its going good)http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif.

PashaDawg

July 31st, 2008, 08:33 PM

Thank you. It was fun to draw it. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/smile.gif

licker

September 2nd, 2008, 09:53 AM

Not sure if this is pertinent to this map only, or generally, but fooling around with some games on the map yesterday and I would up with identical province names. Making matters worse they were one province away from each other :p It was something like Cecevic Highlands (if the name matters at all).

Otherwise a very nicely done map :)

PashaDawg

September 2nd, 2008, 09:02 PM

Hi Licker:

I only named a few provinces manually on this map. Otherwise, I relied on the software's random name giving thingie. It seems to have a limited number of names, and so, there are duplicates. :(

I avoided this on the Bering map by naming each province manually.

Pasha

licker

September 2nd, 2008, 11:16 PM

Ok, thanks for the answer, if it bothers me too much I guess I'll just have to name them all myself ;)

I think i can handle one duplicate, but much more than that and it'll get too confusing.

PashaDawg

December 22nd, 2009, 11:03 PM

Hi:

I am thinking of redoing this map for a different look and better balance. Any suggestions on the number of players it should be designed for? Also, should it be designed for land & water nations or just land nations?

Pasha

Trumanator

December 23rd, 2009, 04:03 AM

I dunno about most of those questions, but I think you should definitely leave room for some water nations, since its very difficult to find maps of this size w/enough water.

PashaDawg

December 23rd, 2009, 08:12 AM

Thanks. That's helpful. Maybe 10 land nations and 2 water nations.

vfb

December 23rd, 2009, 11:13 AM

Oh yes please! Yes yes yes. 12 nations would be very nice!

Fantomen

December 24th, 2009, 09:30 AM

I second that. I like medium sized games, but it is sometimes hard to find a good balanced map.

Zeldor

December 24th, 2009, 09:32 AM

That map can accomodate like 15 land nations, so it'd be quite big if it had just 12 land players on it. Maybe aim for 2-3 less than Asia Twist + 2-3 water starts? [or make 2 version, with some water starts excluding coastal land starts].

PashaDawg

December 24th, 2009, 09:45 AM

I am expecting to completely redraw the province borders and terrain. I start by placing the optional preset starts and then draw the provinces, and then terrain. It was a good way to balance things in the Greece Stain map. So, I am not bound by any concerns about map size. If I wanted to make it a 5-player map, I could. :D

I like to follow these guidelines:

1. No present starting position is less than 3 provinces from another, except perhaps through a sea province (sea starts at least 3 prov from each other in all cases).
2. # of land provinces = approx. 11 per player; # of water provinces, a bit less.
3. Balance the farm, mountain, and forest provinces so no one start position has an undue resource or gold advantage.
4. All preset land starts have 4-5 neighbor provinces (not counting sea provinces).

Other issues to watch out for?

Pasha

Zeldor

December 24th, 2009, 09:49 AM

I think it'd be better to aim for medium size map, 14-15 provs per land player, about 12 per water [maybe some small ponds too]. GreeceStan is small, Asia Twist is rather big when it comes to provs/player.

Lingchih

December 30th, 2009, 02:41 AM

Just make it pretty, Pasha. The present Alexander is not pretty, but is still a good map.

And to those who say, a map need not be nice looking, but only functional. Bah... I need a good looking map to entice me to play.

Sombre

December 30th, 2009, 10:31 AM

I totally agree that a map should be pretty. A plain map doesn't inspire and a rough looking one actively puts me off using it.

PashaDawg

March 15th, 2011, 09:03 PM

Okay. Finally getting around to it... maybe. :D

Calahan

March 15th, 2011, 10:15 PM

Pasha, we want less talk, less cooking, and more maps :p