Proteins 101 <v.24 - new gameplay? *POLL!*> p1, p13

[natty dread]

Current feedback requests: (moved at the top of thread for attention)

- Do you like the new bonus system?
- Do you think I should get a draft stamp?
- Some gameplay ideas: bombardment between adjacent amide nitrogens??? (probably will discard this one.)

- Do you like the new gameplay?

- Gameplay suggestions wanted!



This is my first attempt at mapmaking, so be gentle with your criticism

Bit of introduction: This is a map of a protein. Proteins are the building blocks of life, all life on this earth is composed from proteins. The genes in our DNA determine which proteins are in our bodies. Proteins are combinations of amino acids joint together, there are 20 different amino acids that can form proteins, for this map I have chosen 6 different amino acids which I considered the most suitable for gameplay.

There have been maps of larger and larger areas. Countries, continents, the whole planet, the solar system, space... but this is the first map on the microscopic level.

Version 24 - new gameplay!

Click image to enlarge.

Version 23 - some rearrangement. see p11

Click image to enlarge.

Version 22 - lots of adjustments. Made a new glow, added another h-bond between A4 <-> P6, modified the molecule to fit the image, increased opacity for the shadow of the molecule

Click image to enlarge.

Version 21 - some legend adjustments, central h-bonds fixed to more visible

Click image to enlarge.

Version 20 - same as 19a but shadow is fixed.

Click image to enlarge.

Very, very slightly older versions

Version 19a: http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/696/ ... apv19b.png
Version 19: http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/3250 ... apbb10.png
Version 18½: http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/7677 ... mapbb7.png


Very slightly older ones, with the old graphics theme, v16-18:

Version 18: http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/6482 ... 8large.png

Version 17 - territory names font change http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/5548/p ... 7large.png

Version 16 - fixed legend, some territory names moved... http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/292/ ... 6large.png
Version 16a - same as 16 but continent colour glows are a bit brighter/bigger. http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/9643 ... alarge.png


Slightly older versions (v10-v15) :

Version 15 http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/2489 ... 5large.png
v15 With army numbers http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/8207 ... blarge.png
Version 14 http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/8581/p ... 4large.png
Version 13 http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/8486/p ... 3large.png
Version 11 - Background update (large image): http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/9091/p ... 1large.jpg
Version 11x - Alternative background: http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/2340/proteinmapx3.jpg
Version 10a & 10b, with & without army circles (large images only):
http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/8113/p ... alarge.jpg
http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/1609/p ... blarge.jpg


Much Older versions (v1-v9):

Version 9, small: http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/9679 ... 9small.jpg
Version 9, large: http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/1319/p ... 9large.jpg
Version 8, small: http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/7301/p ... 8small.jpg
v8 large image: http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/9752/p ... 8large.jpg
Version 7, small image: http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/3769/proteinmap7.jpg
Version 7, large image: http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/2823/p ... 7large.jpg
Version #6c: http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/5422/proteinmap6c.jpg
version #6b: http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/3662/proteinmap6b.jpg
version #6a: http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/2614/proteinmap6.jpg
version #5: http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/4544/proteinmap5.jpg
v4: http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/6083/proteinmap4.jpg
draft 3: http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/1294/proteinmap3.jpg
draft 2: http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/1496/proteinmap2.jpg
First draft: http://img2.imageshack.us/img2/1272/proteinmap1.jpg

Comments, anyone?

Statistics:

Features: Double dipping, Ranged attacks, Collections

The map has 54 territories on 6 continents. 5 blue nitrogens, which give a bonus of +4 if all are held, and 8 brown oxygens, which give +6 if all are held. Blue nitrogens are interconnected, thus they function as "warp gates".

Each continent has 1-2 territories shared with adjacent continents (the green amide nitrogens), so players will have to fight back & forth for them to get the continent bonus. This should prevent stagnation of no spoil games somewhat. It's similar as seen on the space map.

3 players: 18 territories each, 0 neutrals
4 players: 13 territories each, 2 neutrals
5 players: 10 territories each, 4 neutrals
6 players: 9 territories each, 0 neutrals
7 players: 7 territories each, 5 neutrals
8 players: 6 territories each, 6 neutrals

Continents & bonuses:

Isoleucine: 8+1 territories, 4 borders, +5 bonus
Proline: 6+2 territories, 3 borders, +4 bonus
Glutamate: 8+2 territories, 5 borders, +6 bonus
Tryptophan: 13+2 territories, 5 borders, +7 bonus
Histidine: 9+2 territories, 5 borders, +5 bonus (in practice +6 since you'll also have 2 blue n:s if you hold histidine)
Alanine: 5+1 territories, 3 borders, +3 bonus

2 blue nitrogens: +1
3 blue nitrogens: +2
4 blue nitrogens: +1
5 blue nitrogens: +4

4-5 yellow oxygens: +2
6-7 yellow oxygens: +4
8 yellow oxygens: +6

ps. I hope to get more than , but if not then I at least hope to get some

[natty dread]

Draft #2, I added some "hydrogen bonds" to give more borders, and adjusted the bonuses accordingly.

Edit. moved the image to first post.

comments please.

Comments I'd like to get:

- does anyone like this map, aka. should I even bother?

- gameplay suggestions: are the bonuses ok, do we need more/less borders, is the map balanced, etc.

- suggest a better name for the map?

- what should I do with the graphics? should I make it more 3d:ish? background?

[natty dread]

New draft for the graphics.

[slowreactor]

looking pretty good, but don't you think there might be too many bottlenecks? and how will bonuses be handed out?

[natty dread]

Draft #2 has some ideas about that. I didn't add them to the draft #3 yet, because I'd like some feedback for possible changes in gameplay.

[natty dread]

New draft - added territory names, legend, title, all that stuff.

[Donald Fung]

Nice and interesting map but kind of too dark overall.

[natty dread]

Ok, since I believe my draft now passes the guidelines of the drafting room, I decided to post it here to get more attention. The original thread at ideas/suggestions is here: viewtopic.php?f=63&t=99325#p2259521 and previous drafts can be seen there.

Version 7:



Version #6c: http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/5422/proteinmap6c.jpg
version #6b: http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/3662/proteinmap6b.jpg
version #6a: http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/2614/proteinmap6.jpg
version #5: http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/4544/proteinmap5.jpg
v4: http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/6083/proteinmap4.jpg

Comments, anyone?

Statistics

The map has 54 territories on 6 continents. 4 blue nitrogens around the map which give a collective bonus of +6 if a player holds them all, and 9 yellow oxygens which give a +10 bonus if all are held.

Each continent has 1-2 territories shared with adjacent continents, so players will have to fight back & forth for them to get the continent bonus. This should prevent stagnation of no spoil games somewhat. It's similar as seen on the space map.

3 players: 18 territories each, 0 neutrals
4 players: 13 territories each, 2 neutrals
5 players: 10 territories each, 4 neutrals
6 players: 9 territories each, 0 neutrals
7 players: 7 territories each, 5 neutrals
8 players: 6 territories each, 6 neutrals

Continents:

Isoleucine: 8+1 territories, 3 borders, +4 bonus
Proline: 6+2 territories, 3 borders, +3 bonus
Glutamate: 8+2 territories, 5 borders, +5 bonus
Tryptophan: 13+2 territories, 4 borders, +7 bonus
Histidine: 9+2 territories, 3 borders, +6 bonus
Alanine: 5+1 territories, 2 borders, +2 bonus

[danoprey]

Think it needs to be a bit more clear as to which atoms are part of which molecules, been a while since I did chemistry.

[natty dread]

I have now made a new post on the drafts forum, as this is starting to be a working draft. Please post your comments on that thread: viewtopic.php?f=241&t=99354

[natty dread]

The territory names tell it, eg. tryptophan atoms are named T1-T13, and so on. But I could maybe change the colours of the territory names? I wouldn't want to touch the colour of the atoms themselves, if at all possible.

[danoprey]

Ah, yes, I see. Sorry, I missed that.

It could be more obvious, yes. Try colour coding all the 'regions', title, territories and in the legend, just to make it a bit more obvious for idiots like me.

[natty dread]

Hmm. Will do for the next draft.

[natty dread]

Done, updated to v5. Update in the first post.

Which one is better, I leave it to you.

[danoprey]

Out of those 2, definitely v5. Still not glaringly obvious, could you not outline the atoms with the colour?

I also think you should criticise my map, only fair
viewtopic.php?f=241&t=99340

[isaiah40]

Good first draft! V5 is the better one by far. I really don't see any glaring problems except maybe reducing the opacity on the background. It is making the Histidine molecules seem fuzzy. Maybe you could also put a little bit of an outer glow around the molecule names to make them stand out a little more. That's all I see for now, looking forward to your next update!

[natty dread]

I may just change the background alltogether, I'm not sure. But I will try your ideas in the next version. Thanks!

[natty dread]

Hmm. Adding the "outer glow" seems really hard without making the map look messy. Maybe I'll try it again later... in the meanwhile, does anyone have any suggestions for the background?

And, I'd really like comments on the gameplay. Anything that needs changing?

I've been working on this all night, I got so excited about my first map... So I think I'll just sleep on it for now, and see if I dream of a good background for this.

[natty dread]

Ok, I tried adding some colours to the amino acids. Hmm. It needs a bit fine-tuning, but here is v6.



version #6b:




Which is better?

[natty dread]

Yet another version

[natty dread]

Version 7 drafted. In the first post it is. Looks good?

[danoprey]

Yup, the one in the first post is the best so far, although I'd turn down the spread of the glow and turn up the opacity a bit.

Good work.

[natty dread]

Thanks. Yeah, I can finetune the glow, but I think I'm going to wait a while, if I get more opinions/suggestions, so I can implement them at the same time on the next version.

Bit of statistics: the map has 54 territories on 6 continents. 4 blue nitrogens around the map which give a collective bonus of +6 if a player holds them all, and 9 yellow oxygens which give a +10 bonus if all are held.

Each continent has 1-2 territories shared with adjacent continents, so players will have to fight back & forth for them to get the continent bonus. This should prevent stagnation of no spoil games somewhat. It's similar as seen on the space map.

3 players: 18 territories each, 0 neutrals
4 players: 13 territories each, 2 neutrals
5 players: 10 territories each, 4 neutrals
6 players: 9 territories each, 0 neutrals
7 players: 7 territories each, 5 neutrals
8 players: 6 territories each, 6 neutrals

Continents:

Isoleucine: 8+1 territories, 3 borders, +4 bonus
Proline: 6+2 territories, 3 borders, +3 bonus
Glutamate: 8+2 territories, 5 borders, +5 bonus
Tryptophan: 13+2 territories, 4 borders, +7 bonus
Histidine: 9+2 territories, 3 borders, +6 bonus
Alanine: 5+1 territories, 2 borders, +2 bonus

So how does that sound, gameplay-wise?

[thenobodies80]

[ Merged ]

I've merged your threads, please update the first post

Nobodies

[natty dread]

Done and done.

By the way, I now have both large & small images. Going from small image to large took a bit of work, but I managed ok I think. I will post both images for the next version.

hmm, actually, now that I look at it and compare it to the small, the large image does look a bit blurry. I'll have to keep working on it...