Concept Discussion: Yggdrasil

[Riskismy]

Hi,
I'm a first-timer, please be gentle with me

I've been thinking about making an Yggdrasil or Ragnarok map, so I did a bit of searching here and looked at the finished maps. Nothing quite like that came up, though it does seem like a Ragnarok project was abandoned or turned into the Midgard map. Whatever the case, I think we need a real yggdrasil map, so my first question, I guess, would be if I'm stepping on anyones toes here - did I miss any on-going projects in this area?

Assuming a negative there, I went and looked up yggdrasil pictures for inspiration, and I found lots that played into my original thought about a convoluted and semi-complex map with various shortcuts and leaps around the map representing the various pathways between the 9 worlds of norse mythology. Here is an example, and here is another.
Seen as templates for a map design, these would present lots 'special' situations like bottlenecks, strong-points, particularly coveted territories/continents - generally would allow for a complex map with lots of 'special cases' to keep track of.
Like I said, this was my first thought and it's certainly still a viable option.

However, I also stumbled on this amazing design. Aside from looking just great, it obviously lends itself to a completely different kind of map: Symmetrical and orderly, with clear lines of advancement and 100% fair and equal continents bonuses. I'm a great fan of games like chess and chineses checkers, where we have symmetrical starting positions and board, which allows for continual development and refinement of strategies, without having to worry where you might start up. A map like this would certainly belong in that category and would probably be an excellent map for team games. I've become quite partial to this option.

So, what I'm looking for is general feedback on these lose concepts. Are they fulfilling the uniqueness criteria? Do we have more need for a map of one or the other type? Any and all comments are more than welcome!

Thanks,
Riskismy

[Industrial Helix]

I'd say the subject is unique enough... now you just need to get some gameplay down and an artist.

[Riskismy]

Ok then, gameplay it is!


wow. Not sure what went wrong with the scale. Use ctrl+mousewheel to zoom out. Sorry, I'll try to fit it better next time.

Alright, where to start... hm. I guess legend is first.

- Stars denote starting positions. You'll start with that single territory only. 8 players max, and damn the future!
- Arrows are one-way attacks, of course.

I've had a hard time incorporating 9 worlds into 8 starting positions in a mythology which places those worlds into 3 layers, while keeping a stern eye on equal opportunities and team play. So I'd like to make very clear that the purpose of the map is not to portrait Yggdrasil as a tree with roots in various worlds, or in any significant way related to how the 'Asetro' religion might perceive the order and relation of these worlds. Rather, my aim is to create a map which provides exiting and fast action no matter the number of players. I'm aware that the map, as is, has very little resemblance to how traditional (and not-so-traditional), nomenclature describe Yggdrasil. As I said, I'm aiming for balance and fairness in starting positions. That said, I have tried as best I could to take into account the attributes and relations of the various realms.

Perhaps some time in the future we could make a map which is more representative of these aspects. For now, I like to think of this map as a very abstract idea of Yggdrasil, which may or may not make sense in the scheme of the Norse mythology.

Now, as to the map. I think it speaks mostly for itself:
You have 4 'outer realms' representing elemental or evil forces. Each comprise a single continent.
You have 4 'inner realms' representing good or neutral forces. Each comprise a single continent.
Between those 8 realms you have the great World Serpent Jormungand, encircling 'earth'.
In the center we have 'Ginnungagab', the 'yawning emptiness', the parallel to a primordial ooze, from where everything ultimately sprang. My preliminary thought is that Ginnungagab 1-way attacks the outer realms (the outer-most territory), and resets to some non-trivial number of neutral troops.

Now, the outer realms has an easier time defending their continents, though they have 1 more territory to conquer and hold. Meanwhile, the inner realms have an easier time getting their continent bonus, but are probably more prone to attacks from the outer realms. That's my intention, anyhow.

To that end, there could be many options in regard of paths of attack. For example:

- The paths on Jormungand might not be one way.
- The paths from outer realms to Jormungand might go to/from more than one territory. It might go from the two 'flank territories' to two separate territories on Jormungand, for example.
- The paths between Jormungand and inner realms might be one-way from Jormungand to inner realms - leaving only the center as a path from the inner realms to the outer.

That's pretty much it for now. The objective is to eliminate all opponents.

What do you think?