Seeking map or need advice on making it

diamondspider · #1 February 2nd, 2004, 12:25 AM

Yes, I'm a big fan of smaller maps.

Why?

1) it is a pain in the neck finding many people who will actually stay around for a game requiring 10+ hours of time,

2) after about turn 40, the micromanagement can get pretty painful in this game, how much more fun is it really to have a few huge spells but spend so much time twiddling with troops?

3) this game, I find, can be very exciting when played on small maps with fewer players, so why hassle with 1 and 2 above when a few players, faster cycles, and less micromanagement is not only possible, but very fun in its own right.

So, long story short, yes, I request a smaller Version (or simply larger territory areas) of your excellent map!

P.S. as a little aside, I just got done playing a 1v1 game on a 39 province map. On turn 18 I got near the enemy capital (played by another human in a network game) and we managed to crash the game due to him having about 20 skeleton summoning C'tis mages. In my mind, this shows that smaller maps are more reasonable since it is currently so easy to exceed the army max and crash the game.

[ February 01, 2004, 22:41: Message edited by: diamondspider ]

Gandalf Parker · #2 February 2nd, 2004, 01:41 AM

Just add to the discussion..
Here are some examples of the 3 map-making scripts in GIMP
http://www.techno-mage.com/~dominion...ects/gimp1.jpg
http://www.techno-mage.com/~dominion...ects/gimp2.jpg
http://www.techno-mage.com/~dominion...ects/gimp3.jpg

GIMP is a powerful free paint program used by many programmers (including the developers of Dom2). These scripts generate random maps. Changing the settings is easy. Changing the color pattern is possible but it involves playing with the palette. Creating a gradient palette which it does make fairly easy after you play with it abit. I could switch to automatically creating these instead of the DomMap stuff except these dont fill my needs. Im not patient enough to add the rest.

GIMP does have layers capability and edging tools which I think could be used to trace borders around major color areas. Then it would just be dividing the areas that are still too big, and adding the white pixel to each. I offer this option to you people to play with because its heading in the wrong direction for me at the moment.

[ February 01, 2004, 23:41: Message edited by: Gandalf Parker ]

diamondspider · #3 February 2nd, 2004, 01:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Gandalf Parker:
Just add to the discussion..
Here are some examples of the 3 map-making scripts in GIMP
http://www.techno-mage.com/~dominion...ects/gimp1.jpg
http://www.techno-mage.com/~dominion...ects/gimp2.jpg
http://www.techno-mage.com/~dominion...ects/gimp3.jpg

GIMP is a powerful free paint program used by many programmers (including the developers of Dom2). These scripts generate random maps. Changing the settings is easy. Changing the color pattern is possible but it involves playing with the palette. Creating a gradient palette which it does make fairly easy after you play with it abit. I could switch to automatically creating these instead of the DomMap stuff except these dont fill my needs. Im not patient enough to add the rest.

GIMP does have layers capability and edging tools which I think could be used to trace borders around major color areas. Then it would just be dividing the areas that are still too big, and adding the white pixel to each. I offer this option to you people to play with because its heading in the wrong direction for me at the moment.

Wow, that is really impressive. Particularly the first two.

Certainly a lot easier than hand drawing all of that coastline! (I've done it so I know!).

Anyway, yes, I have GIMP and might just try that stuff out

Thanks Gandalf!

Targa · #4 February 2nd, 2004, 02:35 AM

Wow, very interesting fractal on this one:
http://www.techno-mage.com/~dominion...ects/gimp2.jpg

I love the way it came out looking like a topo map. With enough experimentation....who knows how good they might be "right out of the box", so-to-speak.

Gandalf Parker · #5 February 2nd, 2004, 04:44 AM

OK I played with that generator abit. Made a new Version of its palette adding some mountain colors on the end. Played with the numbers. Anyway it didnt take long to get this...
http://www.techno-mage.com/~dominion...ects/gimp4.jpg

PhilD · #6 February 2nd, 2004, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Gandalf Parker:
OK I played with that generator abit. Made a new Version of its palette adding some mountain colors on the end. Played with the numbers. Anyway it didnt take long to get this...
http://www.techno-mage.com/~dominion...ects/gimp4.jpg

Not bad... I'd change the sea portion of the palette so that it moved quickly to a deep blue, so as to leave mostly light blue/white along the shores, then move to a deeper blue that would be mostly uniform in the seas.

diamondspider · #7 February 2nd, 2004, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Gandalf Parker:
OK I played with that generator abit. Made a new Version of its palette adding some mountain colors on the end. Played with the numbers. Anyway it didnt take long to get this...
http://www.techno-mage.com/~dominion...ects/gimp4.jpg

That is a pretty nice base. In my own mind, it completes about 15% of the work though.

Very nice start, but the inner terrain is always time consuming if you want a "professional" look.

STILL, the coastline is always a real boring pain to do and isn't nearly as fun as the terrain, so it is a GREAT thing to automate

Whatever Targa did to get him map looking like that will probably be needed in any case. I like his idea of having a tutorial on how he did it.

Maybe he has ideas on how to tweak the automated process to cut out a step or two?

[ February 02, 2004, 14:45: Message edited by: diamondspider ]