4 Star Meats [Quenched]

[dana1971]

However why "4 Star Meats"? is there some connection I'm not making? where did this title come from?

The title has no special meaning. Basically wanted the title to be the name of the Butcher shop and small companies like to get their names in the front of the phone book, or these days the online phone books, so starting the name with a number made sense, thought the start would be a good place to put troops, and 5 start meats was already taken:)

Thanks for the comments, all I am working on a new version with color and plan to put the rules in next time to see how much space I really have.
The graphics will still be rough in places but I will put in the 88's marking out regions.

Best Wishes,
Dana

[dana1971]

Graphically speaking, the photos you have used for the meat and counter will not get the graphics stamp as is, so start looking at the ways you can improve these now. No need to wait for later. Also, the font for the legend/prices needs to have a more for a written feel to it. Less neat but not messy.

I have a question about the graphic stamp. If a painted a photo real backdrop would that be a problem? Does it need to look graphical, or drawn to get a graphics sticker?
I am capable of making a photo real image if I put the time in. I'm not stating a preference just wondering what the rules are for a graphic stamp.

I found a nice font called "Eraser" I will use for the chalk boards.

Best Wishes,
Dana

[RjBeals]

yeah those hanging meats don't fit too well. They look like you applied a basic filter to a photo. Photo or artwork, doesn't matter what you use to graphic stamp, as long as it's pleasing to the eye. A little color would also be nice - love this map still !

[koontz1973]

I have a question about the graphic stamp. If a painted a photo real backdrop would that be a problem? Does it need to look graphical, or drawn to get a graphics sticker?
I am capable of making a photo real image if I put the time in. I'm not stating a preference just wondering what the rules are for a graphic stamp.

I found a nice font called "Eraser" I will use for the chalk boards.

Best Wishes,
Dana

If by photo real, you mean you take a photo of the web, you need to make sure it is free to use. As long as you can prove that the image is free to use if asked, or you have permission to use it, you are fine. It might be better though to try and come up with an original image yourself. Look at what would fit within the map itself. You could go for a realistic look or even a more comic book effect.

If you go the photo way, go to your local butchers and ask to take a photo.

[natty dread]

Real images of meat woul be too tasteless and grotesque I think.

[dana1971]

Here is the latest.

Still needs work, but I thought I'd post this now to show people that I am still working on it.

I dropped the meat counter because, to me it was just using up to much space.
I plan to color code the prices to match the bonuses.
Need to label the new legs and put them on the bonus board.

Tenderloin, and Tri-Tip will start as neutral 3's
4 star meat logo will start as a neutral 3
Loyalty points will start as a neutral 6

Any suggestions on changing bonus numbers would be great. My general rule of thumb is that a regions bonus is directly related to the amount of regions you need to hold to protect your bonus area.

Click image to enlarge.

Anyway, still working on it.

Best Wishes,
Dana

[The Bison King]

Alright nice update.

I think you need something in the legend that connects the bonus names to their regions. Either a mini-map, or for the chalk to be colored, or for the bonus regions to be labeled in the main map.

[koontz1973]

Very nice dana.

Mini map is out. Using coloured chalk would work but not sure how easy it would be to see with the current colours. You could change the colour of the writing on the poster to match or add a coloured glow to the names.

Will have a look at the GP aspects later today.

[dana1971]

Very nice dana.

Mini map is out. Using coloured chalk would work but not sure how easy it would be to see with the current colours. You could change the colour of the writing on the poster to match or add a coloured glow to the names.

Will have a look at the GP aspects later today.

Thanks for the feedback,

I was planning to make the chalk colour match the bonus colour, and I agree a lot of the colours are very similar so will be hard to tell them a part.
Here's my problem, I can do a wider range of colours but then the map pallet won't look as nice. So some of my previous versions where there is a wider range of colour.
I've thought about putting an outline of colour that way the colour is used as an accent rather than dominating the body of the cow a bit like the Napoleon map.

I'll try a few things.

look forward to hearing game play comments.

Best Wishes,
Dana

[DoomYoshi]

Is tounge in the special offer area a typo? Or is it just something I don't understand...?

[dana1971]

OOOPs that's a typo. Thanks for spotting it.

[Gillipig]

Tenderloin has a little too strong colour compared to it's neighboring bonuses. Could you make it a little less colourful? I first thought it was the in the same bonus as flank.

[koontz1973]

dana, sorry for the delay in getting back in here, but my son was in hospital.

Game play suggestions for you to consider.

You only have two 3 territ regions, these will be the centre of all games along with the small auto deploys, so who ever take the flank will then grab the tri tip auto. They will then dominate the back very fast. Try to add another 1 or 2 small bonus regions. The tail comes to mind as the easiest.

The four star meats logo (+1auto). This auto can be attacked by 8 regions so will be very hard to grab and hold, so no one will do it. Also, having it attack only one territ, another auto deploy, makes this one completely pointless. You have the space in the black board, so make it say something like - Four Star logo can only be attacked by certain meats. Then put the star from the logo on 5 or 6 territs around the cow. Give it the +1 auto and have it attack the stars again. This makes it far more relevant and allows you to cross the map very quickly.

Sorry, but this makes the loyalty points pointless so take it out. But you can make the special offer territ an auto deploy and not a killer neutral. Still the highish neutral and +1 auto. Bring in the ox tail tip and you again have 6 territs that can attack it and be attacked by it. Tongue, hooves and ox tail tip.

Tri tip / Tenderloin -3 neutral +1 auto
Logo / Special offers - 5 neutral +1 auto
Programme into the xml a 2 neutral on Flank and Brisket. This will stop those two being dropped as a bonus in small games.

You impassables seem OK

When GP is nearly done, we can look at the bonuses as they are very low in places. Hope this helps somewhat.

[isaiah40]

[Moved]

It would appear that development of this map has stalled. If the mapmaker wants to continue with the map, then one of the Foundry Moderators will be able to help put the thread back into the Foundry system, after an update has been made.

[dana1971]

I do plan to continue, I've just had a lot on at the moment. Hoping to make another pass this weekend if I can get some spare time.

Life keeps getting in my way.

Best Wishes,
Dana

[The Bison King]

Please please please do continue! Keep the dream alive!

[dana1971]

Hi all,

It's been a crazy summer for me but no that it's over I am ready to start working on the cow again.

Still rough around the edges, but I want to nail down the game play before I make it all pretty.

I've taken on board most of the suggestions, dropped the loyalty points, and hopefully made the map more balanced.

Any suggestions on changing bonus numbers would be great.

Not sure about the colors, I'm thinking they may be to similar?
Also wonder if the rules are clear enough?

Click image to enlarge.

Anyway, still working on it.

Best Wishes,
Dana

[x-raider]

Yay!

[koontz1973]

[Moved]

Hi-dilly-ho, neighborinos! Back you go.

koontz

[ManBungalow]

Very nice update. Good to see you back also.

I have a few things to point out:

*how easy is it to read neutral player values on the special offer?
*the left legs don't have any region names - are we supposed to deduce the names of each part based on the matching component of the right legs?
*what's the point of the special offer? does it connect the tip/tongue/hoof regions?
*some of the bonuses do have similar colours, as you've acknowledged. go check out the hive map - in particular the honeycomb cluster naming system. i'm thinking that you could make one region name in each bonus stand out - perhaps by being bold. for instance, you could highlight the word 'crown' in the crown bonus.
*the left fore leg and plate bonus regions are too similar in colour to say that they are adjacent.

I look forward to seeing another update!

[isaiah40]

dana, can you please do your title in this format:
name of map [date] v1, pg(page that the most recent update is on)
i.e. 4 Star Meats [15 Sept 2012] v20 pg 26

[dana1971]

Thanks,

I changed the title, no problem.

[dana1971]

*how easy is it to read neutral player values on the special offer?

Guess I should change the background on that one.

*the left legs don't have any region names - are we supposed to deduce the names of each part based on the matching component of the right legs?

I will put them in, just want to make sure game play works first.

*what's the point of the special offer? does it connect the tip/tongue/hoof regions?

It does connect to everything on offer. i.e. hoofs, tongue, and tail tip. Guess I should make the rules more clear somewhere on the map.

*some of the bonuses do have similar colours, as you've acknowledged. go check out the hive map - in particular the honeycomb cluster naming system. i'm thinking that you could make one region name in each bonus stand out - perhaps by being bold. for instance, you could highlight the word 'crown' in the crown bonus.

Not a bad idea, I can try that.

Thanks.
Best Wishes,
Dana

[iancanton]

top side and back rib are already part of very difficult bonuses. move their stars to shell steak and top blade instead?

the standout gameplay feature on the map is the special offer. however, it will hardly be used at all because i don't see many players going through 5 killer neutral troops to break a +2 leg bonus, in which case the legs have only 1 region to defend in practice and are worth only a +1 bonus. if u make it 2 killer neutral troops instead of 5, then it's a different story, with the +2 leg bonuses being fully justified (except maybe for the shorter left fore leg, which is arguably a +1).

ian.

[AndyDufresne]

Cool to see this back in production.


--Andy