AOS: Orient Express 1883 [quench'd]

[ender516]

Oh, I like this look. Very clear. Does it pass colourblind tests? (Hmm, you have darker borders around the "Land Monopolies", so maybe it doesn't matter so much.)

If you are using English spellings from that era, perhaps "Hanover" with one "n" would be more correct.

(And it's now 2010. )

[natty dread]

I'll keep that in mind... not much concentrating on the graphics yet. Probably won't be updating this again until Nordic is quenched... or who knows, I might get bored again

[The Bison King]

I feel like France and Italy should be able to attack each other, and that maybe France should be worth a little more. The idea seems pretty solid, and the map looks great.

[natty dread]

I feel like France and Italy should be able to attack each other

They can.

Also the land bonuses are low on purpose, it focuses the gameplay more on the railways.

France gets +3 if you only hold the land area, but when you hold both train stations on it you get +5 and another +2 autodeployed on paris station... Which brings the total bonus to 7 troops.

Anyway, there will be time enough to work on the bonuses in the gameplay shop.

[army of nobunaga]

another damn europe map, but I kinda like it.

[natty dread]

another damn europe map, but I kinda like it.

Coming from the guy who hates Europe maps with a passion, that means a lot

Anyway, I know CC has tons of Europe maps... so what justifies the making of yet another one? Well, for one thing, this isn't just an Europe map... this is also a rail map. The Orient Express is a huge milestone in railway history, and has become almost legendary... it certainly is a fitting subject for a CC map, in my opinion.

I think the map is headed in the right direction, it already has lots of features that set it apart from both the rail maps and all the europe maps... and so I hope the final product will win over even those who dread the thought of yet another Europe map in CC.

PS. My map doesn't even show whole europe, just a portion of western europe... that should count for something, right?

[army of nobunaga]

another damn europe map, but I kinda like it.

Coming from the guy who hates Europe maps with a passion, that means a lot

Anyway, I know CC has tons of Europe maps... so what justifies the making of yet another one? Well, for one thing, this isn't just an Europe map... this is also a rail map. The Orient Express is a huge milestone in railway history, and has become almost legendary... it certainly is a fitting subject for a CC map, in my opinion.

I think the map is headed in the right direction, it already has lots of features that set it apart from both the rail maps and all the europe maps... and so I hope the final project will win over even those who dread the thought of yet another Europe map in CC.

PS. My map doesn't even show whole europe, just a portion of western europe... that should count for something, right?

Exactly... the rail thing mixed with the territorys is kinda cool. I do admit; I like this.

[natty dread]

Thanks Nobunaga.

Btw, I have been thinking about the impassables... I've tried to add lots of impassables to the map, but is it still too open? Are there any places that impassables could be added so that they would benefit the gameplay?

And ender, as for your concerns about the colourblind... I share those concerns. Haven't done the test yet, but I imagine at least france & germany will cause problems... The map has so many bonus areas that it will be really hard to find enough unique colours that will fit in the "worn-out" style of the map and still be cb-friendly. So I'm considering making a minimap for the Land Monopoly legend... Not sure if it's feasible though, with all those small bonus areas like Switzerland or Servia & M.N.

[natty dread]

Ok, I've been working on this a bit still... I tried to make a minimap but there's not enough room, it can't be made legible... so I was thinking I could put in low-opacity country labels on the map itself, that might work.

[ender516]

That seems to be working for Napoleonic Europe 1812, for which I am producing the XML (*cough*, plug, plug, *cough*) (Hmm, I should change my signature.)

[natty dread]

Hmm, yes. Here's how it turned out...

Click image to enlarge.

Btw, would Athens be a better choice, instead of Thessalonica?

[tonbomorphew]

Novelties weren't invented until 1884!
actually 1882

[natty dread]

eh...What?

[ender516]

The low-opacity labels work fairly well, (with "Low" being the least legible), but I would be interested in seeing them in a light grey or beige, so that they had about as much contrast as the words "Spain" and "Russia" do.

[natty dread]

Yes, I will have to tweak the text... it's a precarious balance, to make it legible but not too strong and cluttering...

One thing though... how do you feel about the mountains, I personally think they look pretty cool but not sure if they fit the style of the map?

Also: should the coloured outlines of the country bonuses follow the coastlines of the rivers? (as they do now)