by wcaclimbing on Fri May 02, 2008 10:49 pm
It seems to be an interesting concept at first, but from other comments I've seen around here (and some of my own opinions), this might not be such a great idea. There are both good and bad attributes to this idea, so this will be a kinda complicated post:
first, to comment on the questions you asked in the beginning:
- Does the gameplay seem balanced?
----------first look says NO. if there are forced starting locations, you would have to really control the amount of neutrals (like on AoR and Feudal maps), but then you wouldn't be able to justify the neutral placement through historical information (which the rest of the map is based around)
- The graphics essentially consist of me playing around with photobucket. How's it look to you?
----------graphics are a disaster to start (no offense). MS paint fails at all forms of mapmaking. I'm sure the graphics will improve a lot once you get Photoshop. You will probably want to re-draw all the land by hand in Photoshop, because the map you are using now doesn't look very good. Made by hand would look much better. (also, "photobucket" is the website you upload your images to. it has nothing to do with image editing.)
- Do the starting locations seem balanced as points to expand from?
----------nope. Some have great access to the map (Champagne and C. of Barcelona), and others are really limited (Eire, Denmark, Papal states).
- Do the starting locations make sense to the historically minded readers?
---------I don't know enough about history to answer this one.....
- Should I anglicize all the territory names or do you like the other add-ins?
---------I think you should wait until you have Photoshop.
- Can you read the frescoed text?
---------I don't know what "frescoed text" is, but I can read everything on the map, so I guess that is a YES.
- Do you agree that a large map without continental bonuses is worth pursuing?
---------Yes, if it is done correctly (fair, equal chance to win no matter what starting position)
- Would you rather it follow the Feudal War-esque model of expansion from fixed starting locations, or would you like deployment to be more like that of a normal map?
---------I don't really think either.... feudal war-esque would be very difficult for you to set up, to make it fair for every player, but normal deployment would give a huge advantage to whoever is lucky enough to start with a bunch of their territories together, cause they can just pull all those armies together and take a ton of extra territories very quickly.
- I've used European petty states from across history as the basis for this map, since Europe has been invaded by more barbarian groups than you can name in its history and I thought this was appropriate. Do you agree with the location and/or the nonspecific era? Alternative ideas?
---------again, I don't know history, so no comment on this one.
Now my comments:
Good stuff:
---Its a gameplay concept that's never been used before.
---it has an ineresting story behind it.
Bad stuff (sadly, there's more bad than good for this one) :
---There is already 1 (and soon to be 2) maps of europe.... this one is quite a bit different, but still of the same area. that might not be very popular.
---Graphics need a TON of work. Good luck with Photoshop.
---This is a pretty ambitious project for someone new to CC and the Foundry. You might want to try something a bit more simple your first time through.
---the "luck" factor: This map puts a huge reliance on luck of the dice. a simple bad roll could cost you the game, and lucky dice could mean a huge bonus next turn. With so many people complaining that the dice aren't fair, this concept might not go so well with the rest of the population on CC.
My suggestion is to try something a bit smaller and more simple.
With little/no experience with photoshop as of now, you will have a difficult time bringing this map up to foundry graphics standards.
I mean, if you want to continue this idea, go for it. But I just don't see this one having much potential.
Maybe you could put this on hold and start it back up after you get some photoshop and Foundry experience.
Good luck with whatever you decide. I'll be watching this one if you continue.
... wow. that was a long message....
)
