Cairns Metro [Quenched]

[brandoncfi]

Well I Like the look of this map and the game play looks fun

[cairnswk]

Ah, the problem was indeed that I couldn't see the walking tracks... the old color trouble again.

The important point is that it has character and plays well.

Agreed, cairnswk - I think you put it well. I've had the same issue with other maps that have been a bit esoteric in terms of subject matter - Puget Sound being an excellent example. I think that Puget maps plays well enough, but until very late in its production the community obviously felt that it lacked character. Getting that map to the point where the colors and graphics gave the user some sense of what the region was about was grueling, but it paid off.

So if the criteria are that a map has character and plays well, I put it to you that at this point this map gives me little sense of the 'character' of this region. There are some neighborhoods near a coastline, but it could be anywhere and in any kind of climate; you could rename all of the territories with Egyptian names and call it the Nile Delta and I wouldn't be any wiser. Here is one very telling post from this thread that suggests that I'm not alone in my lack of understanding:

is cairnswk actually a place? or did you name the territ after yourself?

I'm not saying you should drop this, and I never have. Just keep in mind that for you this is a region that is very close to home (or, actually IS home!), so for you the "character" of the region is a given. Your challenge in creating this map, as I'm sure you know, is to share that inside knowledge with the rest of us. I want to know what I'm playing.

I certainly don't think that for a map to be quenched it should be a region that I am personally familiar with, but I do feel that it is my place as a member of the foundry community to share my thoughts on the potential appeal of a new map. I would hope that if I came up with a draft that didn't capture the spirit of my subject somebody would let me know... it would've saved me a lot of time and energy back in the old Chinese Checkers days.

I appreciate what you are saying oaktown, but given that this map has just come out of "draft" and is now in foundry where it is up to me to "sink" or "swim" it, then perhaps you're comments were far too early.
If by v21 or so i had failed to do that to a map, then perhaps you would have been justifed, but for goodness give me break with those kind of comments.
and as far a whitestanzn88's comments go, he should have known better than to make such a comment....of course cairnswk is a real place, it's called my home. I would have thought he might have more brains of the conclusive nature. I don't make the connection you tried to make there, it was a very tardy question in my mind.

[oaktown]

I don't think it's ever too early to start thinking about what kind the character of the map will have... do I wait until you've done two months of work on the graphics before I say something is missing? But I trust you, so I'll back off. Carry on with the good work that you consistently do, cairnswk.

[cairnswk]

I don't think it's ever too early to start thinking about what kind the character of the map will have... do I wait until you've done two months of work on the graphics before I say something is missing? But I trust you, so I'll back off. Carry on with the good work that you consistently do, cairnswk.

yeh...back off....give me a break. go on...shoo hippo shooo!

[cairnswk]

Where this is heading...

[ZeakCytho]

Also, the grass at the bottom left is less than spectacular. It adds a nice flair, but I think you could do a better job with it.

You seem to have missed that?

The trees are nice, but make it harder to see the walking trails. I love the airport! Are you going to be extending these new elements to the eastern part of the map as well? Actually, I guess it's the southern part of the map...true north is the left side of the map, right?

[cairnswk]

Also, the grass at the bottom left is less than spectacular. It adds a nice flair, but I think you could do a better job with it.

You seem to have missed that?

The trees are nice, but make it harder to see the walking trails. I love the airport! Are you going to be extending these new elements to the eastern part of the map as well? Actually, I guess it's the southern part of the map...true north is the left side of the map, right?

No, i haven't missed your grass comment.
This is simply a preview of where i want to take this graphically, so will probably fill the entire green area with trees and fields of sugar cane 'coz that's what is there. i'll have to lower some of the airport runways etc transparency...all this scenery doesn't need to be too hard on the eyes. Long way to go yet.

[oaktown]

The trees are nice, but make it harder to see the walking trails.

Agreed, and it gets tricky to follow the dotted line attack route as well, but I already like it a ton better with the trees... in fact I'm changing my tune. Most of the maps around here are of large geographical areas - it would actually be fun to have a map that takes a much more local approach. Walking trails, for example, wouldn't be nearly big enough to appear on most other CC maps. More streets, buildings, and local color would make this map quite unique. Fishing boats?

[cairnswk]

The trees are nice, but make it harder to see the walking trails.

Agreed, and it gets tricky to follow the dotted line attack route as well, but I already like it a ton better with the trees... in fact I'm changing my tune. Most of the maps around here are of large geographical areas - it would actually be fun to have a map that takes a much more local approach. Walking trails, for example, wouldn't be nearly big enough to appear on most other CC maps. More streets, buildings, and local color would make this map quite unique. Fishing boats?

Don't know about fishing boats. They're there, but if i put them in i think it might be too confusing telling the boat attack routes from the boats themselves, and some already have issues with the boat attack routes.

[whitestazn88]

i understand why all of the neutrals are neutrals besides airport

and i know i'm a jerk for not reading the whole thing and finding out why myself, but i figured i'd drop in and say hey to cairns for old times sake

[cairnswk]

i understand why all of the neutrals are neutrals besides airport

and i know i'm a jerk for not reading the whole thing and finding out why myself, but i figured i'd drop in and say hey to cairns for old times sake

I think you must be still hung over... thanks for dropping in.
i'll not have to explain why the neutrals are so then.

By the way...Happy Birthday

[macwin]

Cool map cairnswk. Am looking forward to seeing the finished results. Seems like you pretty much covered the whole region well. It looks great! I need a new map since the demise of our beloved classic so lets hope this one is the cure.

[Jumentum]

wow that is a terrific map!

[cairnswk]

Cool map cairnswk. Am looking forward to seeing the finished results. Seems like you pretty much covered the whole region well. It looks great! I need a new map since the demise of our beloved classic so lets hope this one is the cure.

wow that is a terrific map!

Thanks Guys.

Here is the next version 10.
Changes:
1. Moutain ranges background inserted
2. Mangrove trees inserted
3. small color re-arrangement

[oaktown]

the title sign is absolutely brilliant. Fun map to look at, all around.

little stuff... the red walking trail is still a bit hard to follow where it hugs the river. City View seems to have been swallowed up by the army circle. "Southern" and "Corridor" are odd split up, plus they don't look to be the same color. Maybe that's just me.

Any concern that with all of the street lines in the urban territories somebody might confuse one for a border? In looking at the top-left corner of the map, my tendency is to split the territories up. Yorkeys Nob, for example, looks like it ends just under the army circle, so it took me a second look to realize it stretched all the way down to border Barron. The street lines in the other territories don't pop out as much to me as those top ones.

Haven't poured over all of the bonuses yet, but the one that catches my eye is that Gordonvale and Glen Boughton couple to make a six territory, three border +6. That's double Africa in classic, which is also six territories with three borders. Plus the expansions from that position is very linear. I think that if I start this game with Kamma I don't care that I'm hitting a neutral for the bonus, because the expansion from there is easy - step-by-step with only one border to hold behind me - and it has a big pay-off.

[cairnswk]

the title sign is absolutely brilliant. Fun map to look at, all around.

yes it's not often i have strokes of genius

little stuff... the red walking trail is still a bit hard to follow where it hugs the river. City View seems to have been swallowed up by the army circle. "Southern" and "Corridor" are odd split up, plus they don't look to be the same color. Maybe that's just me.

Any concern that with all of the street lines in the urban territories somebody might confuse one for a border? In looking at the top-left corner of the map, my tendency is to split the territories up. Yorkeys Nob, for example, looks like it ends just under the army circle, so it took me a second look to realize it stretched all the way down to border Barron. The street lines in the other territories don't pop out as much to me as those top ones.

Haven't poured over all of the bonuses yet, but the one that catches my eye is that Gordonvale and Glen Boughton couple to make a six territory, three border +6. That's double Africa in classic, which is also six territories with three borders. Plus the expansions from that position is very linear. I think that if I start this game with Kamma I don't care that I'm hitting a neutral for the bonus, because the expansion from there is easy - step-by-step with only one border to hold behind me - and it has a big pay-off.

1. will fix walking trail and southern corridor
2. those are sugar cane fields up in the northern beaches but too brilliant...will try to fix....maybe better take them out
3. for east trinity, don't forget it can attack and be attacked with the tinnie connections....perhaps gordonvale needs to start entirely neutral.

[cairnswk]

Version 11

[MrBenn]

Wow - this looks fantastic. It's come on in leaps and bounds since I last checked in on it

The roads help to clarify the different attack routes brilliantly - I wonder if you could use some sort of buoys on the tinnie routes, although the scale probably doesn't allow for it...

Speaking if the tinnie routes, my eyes lose the trail of dots somewhere between Portsmith and Edmonton East, but then again, that could be a better indication of the lateness of the hour (00:25) than anything else

[gimil]

I like the use of transparency cairns. Something a little different as always

[cairnswk]

Wow - this looks fantastic. It's come on in leaps and bounds since I last checked in on it

The roads help to clarify the different attack routes brilliantly - I wonder if you could use some sort of buoys on the tinnie routes, although the scale probably doesn't allow for it...

Speaking if the tinnie routes, my eyes lose the trail of dots somewhere between Portsmith and Edmonton East, but then again, that could be a better indication of the lateness of the hour (00:25) than anything else

yes i do also so it's not just the late hour, but a solution will be found. Thanks

I like the use of transparency cairns. Something a little different as always

I try Gimil, I try. Thanks

[yeti_c]

Love the mountains/hills bottom left - but they're not as good on the right...

C.

[cairnswk]

Love the mountains/hills bottom left - but they're not as good on the right...

C.

Those are simply the geogrphic plates from google with two transparencies over the top.
Please refresh your browser, i have fix those mountains.

and the trail of tinnie connection dots should look clearer now.

[oaktown]

Hey Cairns, in the brush pack you pointed out to me with the railroad brush, there is also a footsteps brush... walking trails?

[cairnswk]

Hey Cairns, in the brush pack you pointed out to me with the railroad brush, there is also a footsteps brush... walking trails?

Mmmmm, Fireworks doesn't have custom brushes like PS. So i'll have to do an import -> export bitmap production piece.
I'll see what i can come up with.

[cairnswk]

Hey Cairns, in the brush pack you pointed out to me with the railroad brush, there is also a footsteps brush... walking trails?

I don't have PS3, but have Illustrator CS3, and the footprint brush in there was too small to use, so i made my own vectors in fireworks

Click image to enlarge.