An Independent News Post Owned By The Foundry Members
MAP FOUNDRY EDITION
MONDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2007
CONTRIBUTORS
Coleman as the Editor & Chief and People Like You.
FORWARD
Yeah, I know, I'm late. That's life.
I have a special report today! I did some prodding in Q&A (which was moved to General by who knows...) and will be providing an analysis of the results for you.
Also, I've added five new promising Map Ideas maps, so let's get to the news!
Some items to always keep in mind:
- If any part of this is incorrect and edited the edit will not replace the information, it will instead be added in this text.
- All the text that is the exact same as last week will be in this color and style
http://www.xanga.com/FoundryNews
SPECIAL REPORT - Maps, what do THEY want?
Introduction
After the latest batch of quenched maps an unprecedented amount of bitching took place. This caused me to panic and so I started out a series of topics in General to assess what people who normally never visit the foundry want to see in new maps.
Some results may surprise you. I found myself surprised many times. I manged to put together three questions before this news post and will visit the results of each one.
Territory Count - Clicky
My first question was, "How Many Territories Do You Like?" After studying our current maps I decided we had five categories and created the poll to follow them.
The results were:
This would seem to indicate the size most of our maps are, 35-50 territories, is the happy area for 2/5 of the player base. Slightly more, however, enjoy maps with more territories, which seems to be the current direction for the foundry. Since we only have one 'Massive' map the few more that are on the way should help begin meeting this demand.
Tiny and Small should not be forgotten and a recently started Duck and Cover map may join Doodle Earth to provide players another choice in that area.
Theme - Clicky
The second question seemed obvious to me. Theme. But more then what players like I wanted to know if most even considered it important.
The results are as follows:
Without much surprise, Geography maps are king with half the vote. The recent trend towards war/historic maps seems to be well met despite complaints from the geography specific (purist) crowd.
A good take away from this though is that abstract maps are not being well met. I realize they are more fun to create for most of you, but perhaps we should lay off them for a while. Space maps also didn't receive much love, but since we only have one of those the three on the way may change this venue for the better. If they don't it will just be making space even in number of maps with abstract, which is fine since they have the same demand.
Over a forth don't even care about theme. They are probably more interested in game play. Which I decided to base the last question around.
Gameplay Gimmicks/Mechanics - Clicky
I decided to put together a large list of all the current maps and what their gimmicks are so people could gauge what I was asking. The results surprised me. I expected classic style to have much more votes then it did.
Take a look:
Despite the complaints of confusion players typically like the more complex maps. This is good news as that seems to be where maps are headed as there are a swarm of classic maps already available.
I hope you find these results helpful and encouraging towards your processes. I guess the complainers are a minority. Although... Maybe they didn't vote.
MAP IDEAS
Ragnarök - Clicky
Start Date: June 27, 2007
Creator: Telvannia
Status: Early Draft
Ragnarök is a map designed to simulate a huge battle between the inhabitants of Norse mythology. A working map hasn't surfaced yet but we have a clear look at the general layout available. (Click For Image) This map recently resurfaced from the foundry furnace due to community interest. The Migogaror region is currently being worked on (Click For Image) and should be finished eventually. The current creator has real life commitments slowing development. Nothing has happened in this topic since September 22nd.
Warpath of the Native Americans - Clicky
Start Date: June 30, 2007
Creator: MarVal
Status: Third Revision
This is mostly a geographic map with a native focus set in the Americas. MarVal has been doing a very good job with research but is still facing some issues being brought up by others with different ideas on what he should be focusing on with the map. His current revision still lacks clear gameplay mechanics. Since there are over 500 federally recognized tribes in the United States alone MarVal may start to have some real problems on his hands if more people of native decent show up wondering why their tribe isn't part of his map. Nothing has happened here since September 30th.
WWII Europe - Clicky
Start Date: August 15, 2007
Creator: qwert
Status: On Hold
WWII Europe is an effort by qwert to merge the Eastern Front map with his still unfinished Western Front map into a single map. (Click For Image) It has been confirmed that at current this map is halted until the foundry can decide how to officially handle oversized maps.
Washington D.C. - Clicky
Start Date: September 12, 2007
Creator: Unit_2
Status: ABANDONED
Simple map based on Washington D.C. Unfortunately, this map has been abandoned, so don't expect to see this next week. Unit_2 has apparently decided to focus on his more promising Japan map.
Japan - Clicky
Start Date: September 30, 2007
Creator: Unit_2 & Gnome
Status: Early Draft
A map based on the geographical region of Modern Japan. Unit_2 is employing the use of transit to help combat the linear nature of the map. Unit_2 has made several good graphics updates and this map is progressing forward. It still lacks territory names though.
Time and Place - Clicky
Start Date: October 5, 2007
Creator: WidowMakers
Status: Early Draft
This is another world map with yet another twist. The twist for this version is the world across several time periods. The current map has five different time periods and the six continents we all should know by now. The latest complaint is the four latest time periods are too similar so a major change may be coming to the layout. WidowMakers seems to be focusing on his other projects before coming back to this, so updates may take a while.
Soviet Union Map - Clicky
Start Date: October 8, 2007
Creator: pepperonibread
Status: Second Revision
With one of the best first drafts ever seen, pepperonibread presents a map based on the region that was the Soviet Union. Despite the awesomeness of his first draft the suggestions for change were not few and pepperonibread has been doing a great job with keeping up. Expect this map to move after its next revision.
The American Revolutionary War - Clicky
Start Date: October 14, 2007
Creator: Gnome
Status: Third Version
Based on the American Revolutionary War This map took a lot of inspiration from a very similar LuxDelux map which might be a problem. Coleman feels it is different enough that it should be fine, but the other two moderators have yet to openly comment so be looking for that soon. If it is okay it will be moved to the main foundry.
Spaceness Map - Clicky
Start Date: October 17, 2007
Creator: bloknayrb
Status: Maybe Moved Soon
I'm having a rough time understand the concept with this one, so help would be appreciated. I guess this is a science fiction map and there are some objects floating around called the "shapenesses" that attack the planets. I guess it is a war between the shapeness things and the planets. Enough first person. This map has very high quality graphics leading the moderation team to believe this map was stolen, but that turns out to not be the case. This is the work of a new member and has come along quite nicely and may be moved soon, as odd as the concept is.
Tobruk Trilogy - Ch 1. Battle of Gazala - Clicky
Start Date: October 19, 2007
Creator: cairnswk
Status: Third Version
This map is part of a planned trilogy of maps dealing with Tobruk. The first is the Battle of Gazala According to DiM, the creator of one of, what many believe to be, the most confusing maps on the site, "OMG pearl harbor is easy compared to this." This is indeed very complex looking, but when you get used to staring at it you notice the linear nature of much of the map and realize it isn't as bad as first impressions make it seem. Controversial Nazi Flag must be removed before the map can progress. The allowance for a nazi flag was a debate that was lost last time we had it in Eastern Front.
Duck & Cover - Clicky
Start Date: October 20, 2007
Creator: oaktown
Status: Second Version
This map is based on Duck and Cover. It's actually part of a community spurred project to have another small map like Doodle Earth as can be seen -> here. Obviously someone already said add more territories and it is nice that oaktown is standing his ground. With the success of Doodle Earth this should be easier to pass, but there is still some concern that the Duck and Cover Turtle and even concept may be copyright protected.
Battle for Iraq! - Clicky
Start Date: October 20, 2007
Creator: mibi
Status: Early Draft
Controversial, obviously. This is based on the Iraq War. Some of the text spewed by people in the topic has turned out much more offensive then this map by itself could ever hope to be and the moderation will be keeping it in check if we agree to move this forward. The topic may be controversial enough to need to get some early approval from lack, we'll see. For now, mibi presents a starting point where the three major combatants each have a shot at victory.
State of Map Ideas
This little end snippet is going goodbye. None of the moderators are having any trouble handling Map Ideas now. For the final State of Map Ideas section I would like to encourage every one of you to visit map ideas more, as the earlier maps get comments, the better they turn out.
MOVEMENT
Monday, October 15, 2007
Conquer Man
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Dungeon of Draknor
MAP FOUNDRY
SUPERMAX: Prison Riot! - Clicky
Start Date: June 6, 2007
Creators: mibi & Coleman
Status: Needs Lack Level XML Update
SUPERMAX: Prison Riot! is about a riot in a Supermax. Supermax is a very real and frequently used term for a type of prison as much as it is for a section of a larger one. It has recently been discovered that the current xml constraints would cause this map to have an xml file over a terrabite in size. As such a massive file can not be hosted on most consumer computers it is unlikely lack would be willing (or even able) to post it on the site. As such, this map requires an xml update from lack or a major gameplay change to continue.
Feudal Wars - Classic - Clicky
Start Date: June 9, 2007
Creators: gimil & Yeti_C
Status: Polishing
This map is an attempt at the conquest gameplay idea, of questionable origin, that can also be seen in the Age of Might map. This map will not have any bonuses except for holding castles and villages with the castles being the final objective of the match instead of domination. Naturally these ideas are a bit controversial but gimil has been working through it. Rebelman just blasted this topic with a wall of suggestions for improvement that gimil will hopefully work on. His first priority needs to be more variety in the territories though, since what has recently been described as the 'Golf Course' look for his map is not very popular.
South America - Clicky
Start Date:June 17, 2007
Creators: edbeard & Marvaddin
Status: ???
Finally a map of South America. This region is very neglected on the site for geographic maps so it is nice having one in development. This map is undergoing some traumatic graphic adjustments, including font changes and continent recoloring. The poll ended last Monday, but there has been no word from the cartographers since then.
Brazil REVAMP - Clicky
Start Date: July 19, 2007
Creators: The Fuzzy Pengui
Status: Polishing
This lengthy unofficial revamp has been conducted with Marvaddin directly appointing The Fuzzy Pengui to redo his art to get the map more play. Many versions and looks have been tried, and the latest is the most promising, although very very bright. Hopefully Fuzzy Pengui will come back with something a little bit darker and we can all move the REVAMP forward.
Age of Realms Trilogy- Chapter 1: Age of Might - Clicky
Start Date: July 21, 2007
Creators: DiM, gimil, yeti_c
Status: Forge?
Age of Realms Trilogy- Chapter 1: Age of Might features a new gameplay concept where each person starts with just 1 territory (a castle) and expands by 'liberating' villages' resources and factories it also features an immersing story set up in a realm of fantasy where the goal is to start as a noble prince and rule the kingdom. but due to it's chapter based nature this is only the beginning. chapters 2 and 3 will bring continuity to the story and will add twists and turns in the plot. all 3 chapters will take place on the same map but each time the landscape will change to portray the events in the chapter plus new gameplay features will help make each chapter unique. This map has degenerated into bizzare off topic conversation due to the map being relatively solid. It would be nice to see this final forged soon.
Pixel World - Clicky
Start Date: July 25, 2007
Creator: BelJoDude
Status: Work All Around
Pixel World is just what it sounds like, sort of. The idea is to fit as many territories as possible onto a map with the current size constraints imposed by the foundry policy while maintaining decent gameplay. This map is constantly undergoing graphic and gameplay alterations. BelJoDude recently ran into some real world trouble that has slowed down development a bit.
The Thai-Burma POW Railway - Clicky
aka: Bamboo Jack
Start Date: August 4, 2007
Creator: cairnswk
Status: Near Final Forge
Cairnswk had a bad start with this one, creating controversy over playing on dead bodies in the Bridge On The River Kwai. After initial non-interest, the map was re-designed to be based on the Thai-Burma Railway and adjoining territories and four POW camp that can be attacked from the rail line and territories. Standard gameplay, no gimmicks, but lots of territories, with graphics featuring a definite Thai flavour and colours. cairnswk has posted several revisions and is very close to being done.
The Puget Sound - Clicky
Start Date: August 13, 2007
Creator: Tisha
Status: Near Final Forge
The Puget Sound is a map of a body of water (part of the ocean actually) in Washington. This map mostly focuses on the land around the Puget Sound. This map is not abandoned, thankfully. In fact it is looking very near to Final Forge now.
RAIL EUROPE - Clicky
Start Date: September 1, 2007
Creator: cairnswk
Status: Arguing over station clocks.
This is the second in the series of rail maps planned which started with RAIL USA. Gameplay is slightly different from RAIL USA with a "rail line impassable" at some stations. Close to 99 European-flavoured stations on board covering 17 Service lines. Rail colors have been added and the current debate is over how the station clocks should look. cairnswk is just going to scrap the clocks altogether and replace them with something else at current.
The Era of The Three Kingdoms - Clicky
Start Date: September 3, 2007
Creator: Gimil
Status: Name Revision
The sheer giddiness some posters have to this is astounding. This map is based on the actual events exaggerated by Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The actual novels are worth acquiring if you have never read or even heard of them, as are many of the video games based on them. Bonuses have been posted and now the debate is over accuracy with the territory names.
Civil War Map - Clicky
Start Date: September 18, 2007
Creator: Elijah S
Status: Polishing Image
This is a map based around the American Civil War and features work from a new artist we hope to keep. Elijah S has been very receptive to suggestions and the map has come a long way because of it. This map has begun to reach the point where portions are being nit picked to death, hopefully Elijah S can stick it out a little longer and this will reach Final Forge.
Madness (OUR HOUSE) - Clicky
Start Date: September 27, 2007
Creator: cairnswk
Status: Near Final Forge but Still Polishing
A map based on the song Our House, also known as the Madness Song. cairnwsk posted the lyrics inside the topic. He has changed a few things to make the map have more of a CC flair. The comments have slowed and the map looks to be near Final Forge, but cairnswk has stressed he wants some more time outside first.
Galactic Conquest - Clicky
Start Date: October 2, 2007
Creator: ApophisNL
Status: Opinion Poll
A science fiction map of some areas far off in space. It has come a long way in a very short time thanks to constant input from Aerial Attack who may have been dominating the topic with his suggestions, and the end result so far has been quite good. This map looks nearly complete and is currently undergoing a poll to confirm that the majority agrees.
Dungeon of Draknor - Reborn - Clicky
Start Date: October 7, 2007
Creator: WidowMakers
Status: Updating Graphics
This is a new version of a map Jota originally started a long ways back. This map is a basic dungeon concept with confusing one way attack routes. The community seems to be willing to give this scheme a try and the map should be seeing some interesting graphics updates in the next version.
Conquer Man - Clicky
Start Date: October 9, 2007
Creator: WidowMakers
Status: Polishing
This map seems to be based on Pac Man! Enough of it is different that fair use should keep this map safe from copyright concerns. This map will have the most territories of any map if it manages to be released. Now with cupcake! It's hard to overstate my satisfaction. WidowMakers is going to be performing one of the first attempts at changing the bonus per territory number rule with this map. So that should be exciting as it moves forward.
Crossword 2.0 - Clicky
Start Date: October 11, 2007
Creator: WL_southerner
Status: Polishing
A map based on crossword puzzles, and also the earlier cult classic crossword. Since the original crossword is one of the most hated maps on the site this new map has a lot to overcome but has a surprising amount of community support allowing for a quick escape from Map Ideas into the main foundry.
In the foundry the support turned very sour as apparently many regulars were not taking this map seriously in Map Ideas and after the move found themselves forced to start shooting it down. This should be a lesson in not posting in Map Ideas for those that think like the nay sayers in this topic. Past that, the creators are devoted to making this work, but the latest updates have been strange and all varied just enough to dissolve any sense of coherent direction. If you want to be involved in some crazy discussion stop on by.
FINAL FORGE
MALTA Map - Clicky
Start Date: December 6, 2006
Creators: Ruben Cassar & Yeti_C.
Status: Needs Yeti_C's signature.
Map of Malta. If you are starting to notice a trend a lot of December maps of countries were started and are just now nearing completion. The creator hopes to post his final version soon.
The Netherlands - Clicky
Start Date: December 29, 2006
Creator: Lone.prophet
Status: Graphic Work
The production time for this map of the Netherlands is a bit off base as the whole graphics portion was redone recently. The graphics are still undergoing work.
Greater China - Clicky
Start Date: January 14, 2007
Creator: Wisse
Status: Waiting for Graphic Update from Wisse
Map of China, possibly not set in the present. Otherwise it is mostly true to native names. This map is currently undergoing some slight graphics work. Just some stray pixel cleaning.
South Africa Map - Clicky
Start Date: March 16, 2007
Creator: Crowley
Status:Waiting for Creator Update
Map of South Africa. This map is so great it entered Final Forge in August and nobody had anything bad to say about it since. Unfortunately, Crowley has expressed an interest in providing a final update so we have to wait for that.
The Solar System - Clicky
Start Date: June 14, 2007
Creator: maxdetjens
Status: Adjusting Coordinates
This is a map of the Solar System. Sort of. It borrows some science fiction ideas, so it is a potential future map of it. maxdetjens went missing during part of the development process due to real life getting in the way. He is now back and updating full time. The map is currently having coordinates adjusted.
WWII Western Front - Clicky
Start Date: July 19, 2007
Creator: qwert
Status: Quench?
This is similar to WWII Eastern Front, a released map. This instead focuses on the Western Front, or more on the Allies vs Germany conflict instead of the Germany vs Russia conflict. Berlin has been potentially solved, as it was an ongoing issue throughout development. This may be quenched soon.
Midkemia - Clicky
Start Date: July 21, 2007
Creator: Gnome
Status: Quench?
pThis is a map based on the fantasy world of Midkemia. All copyright concerns have been passed so this map is okay for the site. This map is also employing a new idea in not having borders and instead connecting territories with paths. This map is currently viewed as ready for Quench by both CAs.
Berlin 1962 - Clicky
Start Date: August 4, 2007
Creator: oaktown
Status: Quench?
This map is about the city of Berlin during the Cold War in 1962. For those who don't know the Cold War was a conflict between the United States and Russia that lasted for years with small skirmishes throughout the entire world. Berlin was one of these locations. The Capital of Germany. The start time for this is slightly inaccurate as this map was initially presented as the city of Berlin from a different point of view. This map is currently viewed as ready for Quench by both CAs.
Canada REVAMP! - Clicky
Start Date: August 27, 2007
Creator: WidowMakers
Status: Quench?
Now in Final Forge this map has had few complaints. It will likely be quenched soon.
RECENTLY QUENCHED (SAME AS LAST WEEK)
France! - Clicky
Start Date: May 14, 2006
Quench Date: September 28, 2007
Creator: reverend_kyle
This map has had no complaints and is very playable.
Italy - Clicky
Start Date: December 12, 2006
Quench Date: September 26, 2007
Creator: RjBeals
This map faced some initial complaints about the ALL CAPS territory names in the drop downs. These have been changed and now the map is complaint-less and playable.
WWII OPERATION IWO JIMA - Clicky
Start Date: February 24, 2007
Quench Date: September 26, 2007
Creator: qwert
This map had some xml errors and since Coleman hasn't played it yet he doesn't know if they've been fixed. The correct xml was provided October 5th by gimil. Anyway, the errors are game changing if they are still there as they are border mistakes.
PORTUGAL - Clicky
Start Date: April 8, 2007
Quench Date: September 26, 2007
Creator: gimil
Working, playable.
D-Day: Omaha Beach! - Clicky
Start Date: April 25, 2007
Quench Date: September 26, 2007
Creators: mibi & Coleman
This map had to undergo a few graphics updates after quench. In addition the xml does not work with BOB without this patch: http://members.cox.net/gyrigo/CC/conquerclubbob.user.js
Battle of Actium - Clicky
Start Date: June 2, 2007
Quench Date: September 20, 2007
Creator: cairnswk
This map is working fine but BOB does not understand bombardments still, and neither do most people who tried to play it apparently.
Last Quench Date Before September 28, 2007 was September 26, 2007.
WRAP UP
Feel snubbed? Think your map should be in this but it isn't? FREAKING TELL ME! I'll probably add it.
Hope you liked this edition of Foundry News. If you didn't send me a PM or reply to this topic and I'll see what I can do. If you did like it, do that too. (Warning, any pms sent to Coleman are considered foundry property and can be publicized in Foundry News without the sender's consent unless they are specifically related to Cartography Assistance, in which case, standard privacy rules apply.)
