Conquer Club

Europa (New Europe)


Description: Every European country from Albania to Vatican City is here, with many dependent territories too... Europe as it really is!
This is not a revamp.
Territories: 61
Continents/Regions: 12 (+1)
Special Play Features: None yet.
Dimensions: Small 630 x 500px. Large 750 x 595px

Foundry Stamps:


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Final Images:

Large image:

Large image with 88s: http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj320/bpawley/Europa-L-88.jpg
Large image with 888s: http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj320/bpawley/Europa-L-888.jpg

Small image:

Small image with 88s: http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj320/bpawley/Europa-S-88.jpg
Small image with 888s: http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj320/bpawley/Europa-S-888.jpg

XML: EuropaXML_08.xml[/quote]

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Latest XML Update:
See 2nd post [clicky]

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Previous Drafts:

Version 37
Small Image
Large Image

• I have adjusted the England-France route to be more vaguely like the Dover-Calais route... It doesn't quite make those points, but is more visible now.
• I have made the sea route points very slightly smaller, and slightly crisper. I prefer them now.
• You might notice some grey 3's on Kaliningrad, Belgium, Switzerland and Cyprus - these will be designated as starting neutrals... there was always going to be some anyway, and these points will alleviate sthe probability of being dropped a bonus.
• The Pyrenees Mountains have disappeared again - I have mixed views on this, but think it is clearer without them; especially as they were not serving any function.
• Consequently the Andorra name and army number have been moved

Version 36
Small Map: Clicky
Small Map +88: Clicky
Small Map +888: Clicky
Large Map: Clicky
Large Map +88: Clicky
Large Map +888: Clicky

Version 35: Unpublished

Draft 34

• All the abbreviations have been replaced with official 3-letter codes
• Some of the territory names have been moved to make them slightly clearer
• The Greek peninsular has been connected via a land bridge.
• Different coloured army numbers have been put on the map to show how it looks... The blue numbers are nice and clear; the most difficult to see are the yellow-on-yellow, but I wouldn't say it's problematic...

Draft 33 - Small
Draft 33 - Large

• Option D is the one I've gone with for the title, although I've made a few tweaks as the poll was so inconclusive
• I've added a very slight gradient to the ocean, making it slightly brighter down in the Mediterranean, and slightly colder/darker in the North

Draft 32
I can't remember if I've updated anything on the map, but here is the latest image I'm working from; with a random choice of title.

And here is the next round of titles to choose from:

Title 2a
Title 2b
Title 2c
Title 2d
Title 2e
Title 2f

Draft 31

• I've removed the +1 from the minimap (for the motherland bonus) which helps avoid confusion. I experimented with putting an asterisk/other symbol there, but this didn't help clarity.
• I've also made the 'motherland' text less fuzzy.
• The territory labels for San Marino (sm) and Vatican City (vc) have been shifted so that they don't look like smo/vco
• The title is temporarily absent - I've asked that the poll be removed, and I'll have a look at trying something based upon the outcome of that!

Draft 30
I've finally got around to switching all the colours around - I'm fairly happy with the balance; colder colours at the north, warmer colours towards the equator - but what do my colourblind fiends think??
I have also tweaked the legend; given it a bit more room, and put the motherland bonus text in the bonus legend box...

Vote for a new title:

Option A
Option B
Option C
Option D
Option E
Option F
Option G

Drafts 28/29 Unpublished

Draft27

• The most noticeable change may be the green-blue colour swap. Hopefully this helps to make Kaliningrad slightly easier to see for Oaktown and other colourblind fiends (deliberate typo )
• I've added in some abbreviations instead of numbers in the Balkans, and in some places have been able to fit the actual country name.
• The map is now 12 pixels taller, making it 630x500px. This extra height has given the extra space I required to fit the legend/key text in Africa. I also used it to shuffle Greenland up a little, and put a little more space between the edges and Iceland/Crete/Cyprus
• I've moved the text for the Fatherland bonus right below the bonus legend - does that make it more obvious? I've also changed the wording slightly...
• The South-West coast of Portugal has been redrawn ready for a sample ocean path from England to Gibraltar
• I've taken out half the Pyrenees, and made Andorra slightly smaller

Draft 26
OK, I've had a play around with Kaliningrad/Russia, and come up with a solution that I am happy with...
Kaliningrad (Kgd) isnow a territory of its own in the Trancontinental region. The Transcontinental bonus has been left at +4 for the time being, but I have added a +1 'Fatherland' bonus for holding Russia+Kgd, effectively making Trans a +5.

I have tweaked the 'key' on Africa to include Kgd. I preferred the 'two columns' appearance I had before, but couldn't get them all to fit, hence the 'three columns' now.

A couple of sea routes have been shifted slightly (can't remember if they were on the last update) - I'm still considering an England-Gibraltar route instead of England-Spain.

Draft 25

• Fixed the minimap colours
• Added the Alps between France/Spain - utilises Andorra as the stepping stone between the two
• Modified Central Europe from +4 to +3 bonus
• Played around with a sea path from England<>Gibraltar... couldn't quite squeeze it in past Portugal, so have added an England<>Spain path along a ferry route!

Draft 24

• Added more mountains to the Alps, including one to the border between Austria/Slovenia
• The Oder-Neisse river between Germany and Poland has been added
• I've changed the legend text for the impassables so there is no overlapping, and the Danube/Alps names have been removed
• The British Isles have been nudged about and enlarged to help the army numbers fit
• Ocean routes have been tweaked, and some overlapping dots have been taken out (which is why some looked bigger)
• The label line to Liechtenstein has been moved to go the the army number
• Army numbers have been shuffled around in various places - the Greek one now covers the land-peninsular
• The Balkan region has been made a shade darker again to help differentiate the colours
• The bonus for the Hellenics has been upped to +2

Draft 23
- Following my request to qwert for feedback about the Balkans area, the borders have been redrawn and look a lot better now
- I've added an attack route from England to Netherlands (good suggestion MarVal)
- I've tweaked the legend for the med island bonus to read "any 5 med islands +3", so hopefully that is clearer now
- A similar note has been added to the bottom-right corner
- The colours of Central Europe/Benelux have been swapped, and West/Balkans have been made a bit darker. I've looked at a greyscale version, and the different colours are more distinguished/discernable now
- Army numbers have been put all over the map
- Liechenstein now has a tiny little line to connect it to its label and army number
- I also got rid of a strange shadow that had appeared at the top of the map (that nobody seemed to notice)

Draft 22
-All the army shadows are now white
-I have adjusted the colours on the legend very slightly, and muted the colours a bit
-The Balkans have been redrawn to look a bit more accurate, although there is still some distortion there.

Draft 21
- Adjusted legend text on Africa so it doesn't overlap.
- Tweeked main ledgend - given a bit more space for the impassables
- Unhidden the Alps

Draft 20
- Albania/Serbia border made clearer
- Croatia/hungary border made clearer
- Changed ne to nl
- Tweaked the colours of Benelux/Hellenic States and the Ocean in the background
- Moved the title into the sea above Norway
- Made minimap bigger and clearer and removed territory lines
- Sorted out legend text alignment
- Redrawn ocean routes
- Redrawn Andorra / Monaco / Gibraltar
- Added the label 'Russia' to Kaliningrad - to define the Kaliningrad/Russia attack rule (Russia also borders Poland and Lithuania)

Draft 19
- The legend has been reworked - I think it's easier to read, and the title fits the style of the rest of the map
- The Med Islands colouring is sorted (I hope), and I've added in another key at the bottom.
- I've modified the style of the territory names, and I think they look a bit more balanced, and seem a bit smoother
- The name/shadow on Corsica has been tweaked to make it more visible
- The texture in the background has been fiddled a bit.

Draft 18c
-The oranges have been tweaked to make them a bit more different.
-I've moved the label for Iceland
-The text on the key (bottom left) should be easier to read, but still not too 'in your face'

Draft 18b
-I've put army shadows on all territories. What do people think about the mix of light/dark shadows?
-The borders in the transcontinental region have been redrawn slightly to make them more uniform, and help the names/numbers fit.
-Grrece/Crete/Cyprus are now Hellenic states, in a slightly paler blue than the Balkans.
-I have 'unhidden' the territory names. I like the font, but am not convinced by the shading. I would welcome some thoughts on this
-Some of the ocean routes now overlap the land, where I have moved some borders around - I'll change these later.
-The legend still needs to be reworked slightly - this will incorporate any discussion about region bonusses.

Draft 18a
-I have added some texture and toned down the colours a little in the process.
-Territory and region borders have been redrawn to help the numbers fit - particulalry the Balkans
-I've been experimenting with army shadows, and am toying between the two on this version, although I think I may use both, depending on the colour of the background.
-You may notice that I've merged Caucasus into the transcontinental region (Georgia et al will remain on this map.. those regions consider themselves European, and they compete in European football and Eurovision, so they'll be staying )
-I've still got to sort out Cyprus; I'll develop the Hellenic states shortly.
-Greenland has been redrawn, although I still think it looks a little out of place.
-Territory names are absent from this update as I'm still experimenting with fonts/blending options - I haven't quite got the look/style right yet.
-I am aware that the legend needs updating.

Draft 17 Unpublished

Draft 16
- Following the results of the Balkan region poll, I have redrawn the borders in this area.
- I have enlarged the physical land area, moving Greece and a bit of Turkey slightly South; this distortion has given slightly more space, which will help me fit all the currently recognised Balkan States here with enough room for 3-digit numbers.
- Some of the borders are a bit 'jaggedy', but this is just a quick update; I will refine these in due course.
- The Balkan States will be referenced on the map with numerals. In the XML, they will either be '1. Slovenia', or 'Slovenia (1)', for example.

Draft 15 (small version)
Draft 15 with army numbers
- Major graphical update!
- Borders completely redrawn
- Region colours changed around
- Country names - changed font and blending
- Greenland added in an inset box (thanks for the suggestion Ruben/Viking)
- Gibraltar has been removed (temporarily)
- Kosovo will not be on this map
- Territory groupings decided
- The legend has been completely revamped
- Work now taking place on the small version of the map
- Map title changed to Europa

Drafts 13/14 Unpublished

Draft 12
-Made Monaco Bigger

Draft 11
The big changes I've made are:
-I've drawn in the Alps
-Splintered Mainland Italy into a continent
-Switched some continent colours around
-Updated the Continent names and provisional bonuses
There're plenty of minor tweaks I've made, including:
-I've redrawn several bits of border; including Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Armenia and Siciliy
-Adjusted sea routes
-Wrote 'To Do' on the minimap
-Thought about extra Med Islands bonuses, and put an explanation on the map

Draft 10
Draft 10 with Army Numbers
-Added army 'shadows'
-Put up a draft with numbers on.
-Toned down the land texture.

Draft 9
-All of Turkey is back on the map, and I've taken out the 'European' bit of the name from Turkey and Russia. I think this brings more clarity to the Transcontinental group, which I want to keep how it is. (The grey bit next to Russia is Kazakhstan, and not Russia)
-Corrected spelling of Liechtenstein
-Redrew the border of Croatia so that it borders Montenegro on the coastal side
-Moved the label for the River Danube, and touched-it-up a bit in Hungary
-Added a texture to the land as Gimil suggested, but I really don't like it.
-I've played around with the continent groupings quite a bit, and have added Benelux added in as another small continent. I wanted to break Italy from the Meditteranean Islands, so have included it in with Central Europe. This was suggested by someone (tim02 possibly?) way back somewhere where I can't find it. This rearrangement makes Central Europe slightly more defendable, as well as potentially clarifying/resolving the continent names for West, Central, and Eastern Europe.

Draft 8
-Put Greece into Balkans
-Seperated European Turkey from the Asian bit of Turkey, and removed the border from the grey bit of Asia
-I've added a Crete/Malta sea route to help gameplay
-Updated the 'continent' names on the legend.
-Redrawn the Hungarian bit of the River Danube so it looks vaguely bridgey
-Drawn (very badly) the Alps as an impassable from Italy to Central Europe.
-Changed some colours very slightly where they didn't quite match

Draft 7
-Removed Army Circles
-Moved Territory names, and added some sea names
-Added slight glow to names
-Added River Danube as impassable between Central/East/Balkans, and moved Romania/Moldova to Eastern Europe
-Merged Meditteranean Islands into the Med Continent
-Changed the colouring on European Turkey
-Adjusted the sea route from Georgia
-Changed the continent blending options.
-Added Kaliningrad(Russia) territory name and colour (brown)
-Redrew Azerbaijan border to include the exclave South of Armenia

Draft 6
-I've made the Faroe Islands a smidgen bigger so that the purple shows up better.
-The borders around Monaco have been tidied/cleaned to make that a bit clearer
-I have redone a few borders in the Balkans (Bosnia/Montenegro/Albania) to help clarify what connects to what
-Some names/circles have been moved to help avoid 3-digit-overlapping
-The opacity on the army circles has been reduced, and I've added a dark tinge to help them show up on pale areas

Draft 5
-Added book/atlas image to legend
-Checked legend colours

Draft 4
-Rejigged the colours closer to how I preferred them originally.
-Updated the legend with a new style, and tentative bonuses
-Added and upgraded the ocean routes
-Moved some army circles and territory names

Draft 3
-Amended Legend Colours

Draft 2
-The non-playable areas are greyed out
-Map/Curvature lines have been added (this explains the funny UK/Spain angles)
-Meditteranean islands added
-Territory names moved, and some boundaries moved (particularly in Balkans)
-Some territory names abbreviated, and a key of these added
-Colours changed to show possible continent/sub-continent bonuses

Draft 1

Latest XML 11th September 2008

XML version 1 Thread Clicky

Here's my first ever attempt at some XML...
I haven't put in any coordinates yet, and the large image size is empty; other than that, I'm hoping I've got all the borders and continents right

XML version 2 Thread Clicky

Updated the XML using the "Albania (ALB)" syntax for abbreviated country names.

XML version 3 Thread Clicky

I've amended the Italic States continent section as I'd used <name> tags instead of <territory> tags

XML version 4

Coordinates added using the map assistant tool thing

XML version 5 Thread Clicky
EuropaXML_05.xml

line 168: <smallx>26</smallx> - Did not expect element smallx there
line 180: <smallx>160</smallx> - Did not expect element smallx there
line 192: <smallx>210</smallx> - Did not expect element smallx there
line 204: <smallx>265</smallx> - Did not expect element smallx there
line 209: <territory> - Expecting an element , got nothing
line 217: <smallx>304</smallx> - Did not expect element smallx there
Summary: 6 errors and 0 warnings detected in EuropaXML_05.xml

XML version 6 Thread Clicky
EuropaXML_06.xml

I've sorted out all the coordinates for the small map, but still need to do the large.

xml is valid. see test results.
Test results:
Summary: 0 errors and 0 warnings detected in EuropaXML_06.xml (13 continents, 61 territories)

XML version 7 Thread Clicky
EuropaXML_07.xml

The large coordinates have now been sorted; the next thing on my list is to assign starting neutrals

XML version 8 Thread Clicky
EuropaXML_08.xml

I have moved the coordinates for Andorra to correspond with the move I made to the position of the 'circle' on the map
I have added the starting neutrals for Belgium, Switzerland, Cyprus and Kaliningrad

xml is valid. see test results.
Test results:
Summary: 0 errors and 0 warnings detected in EuropaXML_08.xml (13 continents, 61 territories)

I like how you use all of the Europe countries, and only the Europe countires!

The names are very hard to see, and the borders are pixely. Also, are those brownish areas part of the map? i cant tell...


woops, i think i was just fastposted.

oooh not bad

me likes

I think a Spain --> Baelerics --> Sardinia/Corsica ---> Sicily/Italy link would help mobility in the south.

Here's my idea. Look at the continents on the Italian, British, French, Iberian, etc., maps. Use those continents and turn them into territories. Then make owning all those territories into a sub-continent, a la World 2.0.

Otherwise, this map isn't really all that different from the first Europe map.

Here's my idea. Look at the continents on the Italian, British, French, Iberian, etc., maps. Use those continents and turn them into territories. Then make owning all those territories into a sub-continent, a la World 2.0.

Otherwise, this map isn't really all that different from the first Europe map.

This is similar to what I said in the original thread and I still think it's a great idea. Split Iberia into Say Portugal, Castilla y Leon, Catalunya and Andalucia, then a +2 bonus for holding spain. Then do similar to france, then hold france + Spain with a few others like portugal and the Balearics islands and andorra for a big Western bonus.

make sure you can add countries onto it if they get added to the European union (i.e. turkey)

This is a pretty impressive first map attempt, Mr. Benn. As mentioned above, one of the main gripes about the current Europe was that it included North Africa and the Near/Middle East.

I look forward to your continuing development, always nice to see a new cartographer in here.


--Andy

map is lookign good. u will have to add redoing water routes to ur to-do list as well as they are hard to see, and try making them as short as possible and not so long as they are currently.

I see a maybe problem-small map.

Thanks for the feedback people...

I know that the small map is going to be an issue, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

I agree that the water routes need some work - it was the first time I've ever done dotted lines in Photoshop, so was experimenting more than anything else. They will be redone at some point...

I don't really want to divide large countries (ie, Spain/France) into smaller ones, but will look into adding the Meditteranean islands (Balearics, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Crete) and having that as another continent.

This will help mobility in the South, as suggested by somebody earlier.

The bonuses still have to be worked out, and I envisage that there will be a couple of small (+1, ?autodeploy?) bonuses for owning territory pairs for 'disputed' areas (ie Ireland+N Ireland or England+N Ireland)... I'm quite keen on the 'sub-continent'/World 2.1 bonus scheme, but don't really want to resort to joining maps already in existence. I'm open to suggestions for bonus values etc, or alternative groupings etc.

Thanks for the feedback, keep it coming please!

I look on yours map and i notice something(maybe only i see these?)that spain,portugal and north africa have very strange angle.

I don't like how you have the same colour for the dead territory for Asia as for Turkey and Western Russian.

No offense to you, but I don't think it needs a revamp. First off (again, no offense) but i think that this one isn't as good as the first. There isn't Africa or Middle East, but yet there is Georgia and Armenia.....I like how the bonuses are divided up better, but the first map seems less squeezed, and better looking.

jnd94 wrote:No offense to you, but I don't think it needs a revamp. First off (again, no offense) but i think that this one isn't as good as the first. There isn't Africa or Middle East, but yet there is Georgia and Armenia.....I like how the bonuses are divided up better, but the first map seems less squeezed, and better looking.

This is a first draft and I'd already rather play it than the awful other one. Georgia and Armenia play football in Europe, although I'm not sure what the actual defnition of a country being in Europe is...

jnd94 wrote:No offense to you, but I don't think it needs a revamp. First off (again, no offense) but i think that this one isn't as good as the first. There isn't Africa or Middle East, but yet there is Georgia and Armenia.....I like how the bonuses are divided up better, but the first map seems less squeezed, and better looking.

This isn't a revamp, it's a different map.

Chirondom wrote:

jnd94 wrote:No offense to you, but I don't think it needs a revamp. First off (again, no offense) but i think that this one isn't as good as the first. There isn't Africa or Middle East, but yet there is Georgia and Armenia.....I like how the bonuses are divided up better, but the first map seems less squeezed, and better looking.

This isn't a revamp, it's a different map.

Europe 2.0? That sounds like a re-vamp to me.....

jnd94 wrote:

Chirondom wrote:

jnd94 wrote:No offense to you, but I don't think it needs a revamp. First off (again, no offense) but i think that this one isn't as good as the first. There isn't Africa or Middle East, but yet there is Georgia and Armenia.....I like how the bonuses are divided up better, but the first map seems less squeezed, and better looking.

This isn't a revamp, it's a different map.

Europe 2.0? That sounds like a re-vamp to me.....

It's not a revamp because the original is going to exist in tandem with this one.

Chirondom wrote:Here's my idea. Look at the continents on the Italian, British, French, Iberian, etc., maps. Use those continents and turn them into territories. Then make owning all those territories into a sub-continent, a la World 2.0.

Otherwise, this map isn't really all that different from the first Europe map.

I disagree as much as possible.

The whole point of this one is to ad all the countries, adding any provinces would make it stupid.

Only the islands are an exeption because they make the game play better, especialy the islands in the north, and the med, those are actually very important to game play.

And the whole thing in the british island is also helpful to game play, I like that continent, this first draft/first ever map is amazing and I would just like to say I back this map completly. (and that's alot coming from a picky player like me!)


Well done and Good luck

The 2.0 probably shouldn't be a part of title, for any confusion.


--Andy

has it been discussed to have this as a europe map and the current europe map as something else?, the current europe map is an excellent map that I would hate to see go, but I'd also like to see where this one goes

I think The Balkans countries are too small.

Those people should merge into one country and call it Yugoslavia or something.

sfhbballnut wrote:has it been discussed to have this as a europe map and the current europe map as something else?, the current europe map is an excellent map that I would hate to see go, but I'd also like to see where this one goes

I think they should both stay, I love the old Europe map, and I have already grown on this, this could have some great gameplay some of the best, the islands, the continents, all that needs doing is the graphics, which after this first draft I bet well be great.

Don't let me down


And for the post above by hamdall that is pointless and ruins the entire point of this map I disagree.

Again don't let me down

Tim

Ogrecrusher wrote:This is a first draft and I'd already rather play it than the awful other one. Georgia and Armenia play football in Europe, although I'm not sure what the actual defnition of a country being in Europe is...

http://worldatlas.com/cntycont.htm

I used the WorldAtlas.com site and the United Nations sites to get the list of 'recognised' countries.