Costa Rica Map Project - UPDATE 07/13/09

[jricart]

Hi there:

This is one project that I been working on for the last couple of weeks. Im from Costa Rica, and since nobody have the idea to make a map of my country, I did some research and here is the project.

Any feedback will be appreciated!


Map Title: Costa Rica
Type: Small Map for 2-5 players but suitable for up to 8 players as well.
Mapmaker: jricart
Type: Small Map
Territory Count: 25
Neutral Zone at begining: 1 Island
Zone Bonus: 4

TERRITORIES
10 territories in North Zone
6 Territories in Central Zone
9 Territories in Costal Zone
7 Province Cities


GAME PLAY
-2 way attack between connected cities.
-Cocos Island start with 3 neutral at beginning and have 2 way attack with Port Puntarenas only.


BONUS
All cities: +3
North Zone: +2
Central Zone: +2
Coastal Zone: +2

NEW GRAPHICS SMALL MAP:

show: Original Idea

[thenobodies80]

Hey jricart!
Happy to see you here

I'll leave few quick comments...

Just in case you missed them, you could find some useful informations in these links:

how to make a map
Mapmaker's guide to the foundry
Mapmaking tools
Giving and receiving feedback

Said that,

The map is too small and with few territories, try to increase them.
A good way is to use as territories the cantons instead of provincies. Cantons of Costa Rica
Obviously 81 are a big number, too big but you came from costarica so, you'll can find easily the 3/4/5/6 most important cantons in each province and merge the others with them.
I did a quick example :

show

Some cantons are probably wrong in my example and you can find a better way to split your map, but it's only to give you an idea
My pic is a 600x588 px so i think you could increase the size of your map easily and find the space to add some territories

Looking forward your next update
thenobodies80

[jricart]

Well, the map is just a Sketch, and the graphics will be completely different!!! Still working on it.

Now, I want it to be a small map cuz its a small country. A map like Madagascar, Luxemburg o Doodle Earth, for 2-5 persons at most. Thats my main idea, but feedbacks are welcome.

Let me take a look at the links now, thats why I post this as the beginning of my project, need a lot of work but since Im new in CC, I need a lot of comments and feedbacks.

The new map graphics will include a lot of nature pics, animals, etc. because Costa Rica have a nature conservatory country.

Thanks for your comments, and Ill be looking forward to make this project come true!

[jricart]

Its posibble to move this post to the correct area in the Map Foundry?

[thenobodies80]

It's better if you think your map for 8 players at the least

[iancanton]

Cocos Island reset to Neutral+2 at the beginning of turn if not holding Port Puntarenas

this is not possible at the moment, so i recommend that cocos island is not a killer neutral region.

as requested, moved to the ideas sub-forum. pm one of the foundry mods when ur idea becomes a draft!

ian.

[jricart]

It's better if you think your map for 8 players at the least

Well, I love 1vs1 games, and this map fit that idea. Also, Costa Rica is a small country and not a lot of people is familiar with it.

So thinking in a better usage of this map in CC, small type for 2-5 players is better, like Doodle Earth, Luxemburg, Madagascar, etc.

Also, before I move to USA, I lived around 10 years in El Salvador, and thats my next project. My mom is from Guatemala, also a project that I will like to create as well.

But lets see how this one come first.

[Teflon Kris]

Number of Territories
There is nothing officially wrong with having 20 territories. Some people like small maps, some don't - I wouldn't worry too much about criticism on this score as long as you get enough people who like small maps to support you.

Number of Players
As long as the map actually works for 6,7 or 8 players then it's cool. Typically, games on small maps are 2 to 5-player games - I would suggest your posts make it clear that 6/7/8-player games are still feasible though.

Bonuses
On a small map, lots of bonuses might be a bit too confusing for some of the players that like small maps. Plus, it might be unsatisfactory gameplay - on a small map it might be too easy to drop bonuses and pick up more very quickly.

Having said that, some+1 auto-deploy bonuses may make the gameplay interesting and help you gain support. Beware though, a map like Lower Egypt is often avoided as it can far too often give a big advantage to the first player with the auto-deploys. If you had 18 starting territories and starting 2 neutrals that become auto-deploys then that would probably work well (as long as they aren't in corners). Maybe 2 ports, airports or cities? Alternatively, you might want to go with one of your features (e.g. the ports) and a bonus for holding them all (with just 3 -a bonus can be gained for a few territories close together). Maybe have 3 or 4 scattered ports or cities?

Other gameplay issues
It is worth adding some impassables so that some of the bonus areas are easier to hold than others - and central areas aren't impossible - rivers, lakes, mountains and forests usually work well.

[PepeAtila]

I dont see clearly the movements allowed betwen ports, and lands ... can each port atack each other? and aeroports?
It is a good map but I think only for 2/4 players, perhaps you can divide some bigger land part in North/ south/ central (f. example)

Sorry my experience about maps is not very wide ... yet

[Diego_CR]

i prefer a map with the most important cantons of each province, like italy map! also, u can include islands, we have a lot islands!and volcanoes!

a map for 4 players
u can include the airports and comunication between them.
same with ports.
and include train rails between cantons.
and of course, bonus could be:
Provinces, ports, airports, islands and volcanoes.

[jricart]

OK... here is something interesting.

Costa Rica is well known as a Country with great nature and our contry have 25 national parks. With that in mind, the map will easily fit 8 players!

What do you guys think!

[oaktown]

personally I think it would be fine to have a small map, 20ish territories. Not every map has to be big enough for all game types; just as an 80 territory map is terrible for 1v1, a 20 territory map will be terrible for 8p.

jricart, you should make the map that you think best reflects your country. If there was a scramble for power in Costa Rica, what would the players try to control first? The train stations? The national parks? Ports? Cities?

Also, don't get caught up right now in bonuses, neutrals, and starts. Get the layout sorted out and we can help you figure out the rest as we go.

[jricart]

thanks for your input oak!

[Ries89]

Great proyect.

Maybe in your original idea, you can divide the provinces in territories, add mountains, the national parks. Costa Rica can be easily a map for 5-8 players.

[jricart]

Ok... I sort this out finally.

The map will have the mayor cities and cantons, the ones with the most population, and I will try to make the map with at least 24 regions.

Bonus will be for holding each province.

No moro airports, trains, ports, natural parks... easy to understand for the people.

The new graphics will come tomorrow, and hopefully this thread can be moved to the Drafts section.

Thanks for all your inputs guys.

[PepeAtila]

Very good graphics. But I don't understand why you eliminated the aerports and so.

[jricart]

I want the map to be small, and the airports will leave a messy center area and the graphics will look crowded!

[jricart]

So whats next?

[Teflon Kris]

I agree the map looks less cluterred without the airports etc.

I guess the next step is to work on the graphics a bit more? The bonus scroll is cool. The bright orange colour is perhaps the most glaring thing to address. Ask one of the graphics folk to have a quick look.

As oak says, neutrals and bonuses and starts can be sorted later (e.g various things you could do to make the cities important if you wanted). If you spend lots of time on this then change the layout, you would have to re-start working the bonuses out etc.

One gameplay consideration you might want to think about at this point though - is getting around the map - difficult to get from north to south quickly.

[jricart]

One gameplay consideration you might want to think about at this point though - is getting around the map - difficult to get from north to south quickly.

This is the funny part of the map, same as Egypt Lower.. Diffcult to go from one side of the map to the other...

[iancanton]

this is true to some extent. however, every road in the south goes through one region (i assume that this is the capital city). the gameplay of this map will therefore resemble a small version of rail usa or rail europe, but with a very different bonus structure. can u give names to each region, so that we can consider moving it to the drafting room?

ian.

[jricart]

Sorry... forgot to upload the new image with the names.

I will upload it on monday, I have the original file at work