So much happening in the Foundry right now! And here in the newsletter give a warm welcome to our newest reporter
nolefan5311 (to add to his other talents)
Once again we are grateful for our roving reporter extraordinaire
koontz1973 's
continuing story of the ever-changing foundry in his
News and
Maps in Development . Meanwhile,
nolefan5311 brings us an interesting article entitled
D-Day and other battles about ... well ... err ... D-Day and other battles! We are in luck this issue with a triple-serving of
koontz1973 as he brings us an article entitled
All in the Name ... can a Rose by any other name smell so sweet? Finally, I get all introspective about what you can do with a
Story . Lot's to read and so much to do, enjoy this feast of cerebral pleasure.
And a few words from
Oscar Wilde :
Technique is really personality. That is the reason why the artist cannot teach it, why the pupil cannot learn it, and why the aesthetic critic can understand it. To the great poet, there is only one method of music -- his own. To the great painter, there is only one manner of painting -- that which he himself employs. The aesthetic critic, and the aesthetic critic alone, can appreciate all forms and all modes. It is to him that Art makes her appeal.
thehippo8 -- Foundry ExecutiveNews koontz1973 show
Quenched. One year 15 days from start to finish. thenobodies80 wrote: For your pleasure
(specially for DiM, who wants more activity on our part) , we're happy to announce that, after a short training period we have decided to give the blue color to
nolefan5311 .
From now he is officially in charge with iancanton to help with the gameplay stage.
We're sure that he is a great gameplay analyzer and his addition to the CAs team is a great choice to have better maps and speed up the foundry process.....so please give him a great welcome!
Welcome aboard mate!
Maps in Development koontz1973 show
Drafting Room Main Foundry Game play section Graphics section Final Forge With xml stamps. Waiting for the xml. DiM .
D-Day and Other Battles by nolefan5311 show
Hello fellow Conquer Clubbers. I hope this dispatch finds you enjoying your summer. As I'm sure you're aware, this past week saw us celebrate the anniversary of the D-Day invasions, perhaps the most important invasion in the history of warfare. I would like to take the anniversary of that monumental event to spotlight not only the D-Day map most of you are already familiar with, but also maps currently in development that highlight some of the most important battles in history, which you may not have been aware were out there.D-Day: Omaha Beach! Click image to enlarge. 1588 Spanish Armada Click image to enlarge. Main Foundry Workshop . 1588 Spanish Armada, one of the coolest looking maps to come out in a while, is in the early stages of development by the most proficient mapmaker this site has seen, cairnswk . As the title indicates, the map details the failed invasion of Britain by the Spanish Armada in 1588. While cairns has contributed almost 30 quenched maps to the site, this could end up being what I think might be his crowning achievement. If you can wrap your head around it, pop into the map thread and give your input in its development.Trench Warfare 1917 Click image to enlarge. Flapcake , has created a very realistic portrayal of the fighting on the Western Front in World War I with his 1917 Trench Warfare map, which went live earlier this week. It’s still going through the rigors of beta testing, but has already proven to be very popular. Something about the map you don't like, or think would more realistically portray the fighting that took place? Use this opportunity while the bugs are being ironed out to leave your suggestions on gameplay changes. You can do that by visiting the map thread .Magyarország Click image to enlarge. koontz1973 . While not detailing a particular battle, it details the result of the Treaty of Trianon, the now infamous Treaty that ripped the Hungarian Nation apart after World War I. I'm sure koontz would love to hear your thoughts, so stop by the thread and let him know what you think. The "Saved Land' bonus structure is a particularly interesting concept which could prove to be a lot of fun and cause quite a wide range of gameplay scenarios.1982 Click image to enlarge. koontz1973 has gone into a lot of detail in portraying the different sides of the conflict, and the map has very diverse gameplay concepts being utilized. Should you focus on a land or sea based bonus? Or is controlling the air force the best way to take over a game? Play some games on the map and find out.
All in the Name koontz1973 show
Many maps, many names, but how does a name come about? I ask this as right now, I am stuck for a name for a new map that is in the drafting room. Right now it is called 3 islands . Even ManBungalow is having trouble with his one called right now, Bungalow's pirate experience...or better name . So you see, it is not that waasy sometimes to come up with a name. So how is is done.Easy Answer. Chicago France Germany Ireland Stalingrad Not so easy Answer. Click image to enlarge. In case you did not know. But how did DiM come up with the Age of Realms names (Might, Magic & Mayhem).Labyrinth started life as Greek Games of Death, shortened to Greek Games. Magyarország started life as The Kingdom of Hungary, shortened to Hungary. If you are wondering, Magyarország is Hungarian for Hungary. kmhebert wrote: Change this map to "Falkland Islands War" or something. 1982 is a meaningless name for this map.
Swifte wrote: Why not 'Falklands/Malvinas Islas 1982' or something along those lines? All the other maps include both a location and date and I think that's a good practice to continue because the location/event name are much easier to associate with the map than just a year...
squishyg wrote: I followed the home page link to this and expected a very different map... No neon colors? No pop punk imagery? No leg warmers? Apparantly 1982 was very different in the Falklands.
thehippo8 wrote: What about "Maggie's War "?
1982 Falklands War / Guerra de las Malvinas Start Again. 3 islands
Tell Your Story by thehippo8 show
Well I’ve banged long and loud about the need for unifying concepts to be driven into the whole of visual imagery and gameplay. I’ve come up with varying types of analysis, including my dubious HIPPO analysis, and written a few articles generally on the topic. But I was lurking in the General part of the Foundry and stumbled across the wise words of natty dread . I won’t repeat it word for word here (cause you can go and read it there!) – but the upshot is:Originality – that is an idea that people will groove to and that it is translatable into something that makes sense. Comprehendability – if you don’t understand it then how do you expect to translate it into an image and, more’s the point, how is anyone else supposed to get what you’re on about! Complementality – the gameplay and the visuals need to fit together or there will be discord – I think this is pretty much a crucial issue. Detail – the map is a representation of a background story so all the bits (font, lines, items) need to go with that theme. Fun – you are creating a game that has to be compelling and interesting so thought needs to go into gameplay elements to ensure that makes sense and is enjoyable (I wrote about gamplay in an earlier article so won’t go into that again in detail here). Adaptability – the process of development can be tough but if you enter that with heads-up then you will be able to swing with the punches in the full knowledge that it’s all for the best. Some maps with good theme stuff happening Flapcake ’s Gold Fever :Click image to enlarge. Flapcake has grasped the various elements of mapmaking well. The story is immediately understandable and the map elements tell that story well. All the elements make sense and the colours are well chosen. Obviously there is still work to do to tidy it up, but it’s a great start and a good example of what natty dread was talking about. The next map is sannemanrobinson ’s Inca Empire :Click image to enlarge. do something that meets with the different pictorial elements (like decaying regions around the sacrificial tower to indicate loss of life or cumulative region bonus where the elements are to indicate the awesomeness of having all the animals on your side and so on). The map is still a work in progress so I make no apologies for making these suggestions and do them to highlight what natty dread was discussing. Finally, for this category, there is carinswk ’s Mirror Mirror Who is More Wicked? :Click image to enlarge. Maps that are struggling or have a degree of discord get’s it that your map is not going to be perfect at this stage. Maybe something here may even help you! Gillipig ’s Nigeria :Click image to enlarge. novel uses of computers. It’s also geographically interesting including Chappal Waddi, Niger Delta, Obudu Plateau, Bamenda Highlands, Zuma Rock and of course the Sahara Desert is encroaching. Finally, by way of example, there are vast areas of ethnocentricity and language commonality:Gillipig aqnd what his story for this map will be. My second target is DiM ’s Piglandia : Click image to enlarge. DiM , can’t wait to see what you do about it! That is if it ever goes anywhere as I'm told that this pig is a dead duck! Don't expect it to ever happen but, assuming it doesn't, you can at least get my point! As an aside ... some maps do have some elements of humour but none that were quite this rediculous! My final target is tkr4lf ’s The Black Sea :Click image to enlarge. Inca Empire relate equally to this map. But at this stage there’s no story or life to this map. Again, there’s so much that can be done. Fix a time, a theme, a story and make your map come to life tkr4lf !!
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