150 After Hijrah: The Battle for God

[captainwalrus]

Why is the water like brownish and the land light blue? It really throws me off. Also, is it just me, or is the symbol for ports just the symbol for interstate highways in the U.S.?

[Raskholnikov]

Hi Captain,

i wanted the land to be as clear as possible because I needed to cities and connections placed on it to stand out. Which in turn led me to make the seas darker - and since i wanted to stay within the same color palate as the original medieval map, I used the same shade of desert sand ochre as it does.

I think the entire purpose of the map (both orientation and relief) is to make the viewer step back for a moment and think about it - because at quick first sight you don't recognise a familiar image colored in a familar way. But on a more careful look, he'd see the contours of Europe and the Middle East and say "Oh, i get it now. This is a different view from I'm used!" - which is the entire purpose of this map (besides being a game, of course).

As to the symbols and connections, I don't expect these to be the final version. I just put them up so I could have a complete draft and everyone could see what it would look like and how it would play. I intend to replace the symbols with better designed ones, and hopefully try and do something with the connections which makes it all look less "straightt lines and sharp angles" -type.

[Raskholnikov]

In terms of cities coding, what I would like to do for easy recognition is to assign the following codes:

Frankish Kingdom: F
Lombard Kingdom: L
Kievan Rus': K
Eastern Roman Empire: R
Holy Land: H
Al Andalus: AA
Idrisid Sultanate: I
Fatimid Caliphate: F
Abbasid Calipahte: A
Ummayad Caliphate: U
Samanid Sultanate: S
Battles: B

So, on the map, the cities numbers would be smaller and preceded by the appropriate letter, and in the drop-down menu it would look something like this:

AA Capital: Tulyatulah
AA Port: Balancyia
AA Religious Site: Qurtubah
AA1: Isbilia
AA2: Barcino
AA3: Al0Ishbunah

and

B1: Guadalete 711
B2: Poitiers 732
B3: Verona 744

etc....

[Raskholnikov]

Latest draft....

I think this is as far as I can take it before getting feedback from everyone - and especially from Foundry members. Hope to hear from you soon...

Thanks...

[porkenbeans]

I was thinking about doing a map that shows the earth from space. A while back I did a quick mock up, of what it might look like. When I saw your map I immediately thought of it. Tell me if I'm wrong , but it looks like the same region to me. It is something to think about, it is certainly different from anything else at CC.
http://www.conquerclub.com/forum/viewto ... 02&start=0

Click image to enlarge.

[captainwalrus]

That map looks really familiar...

[Raskholnikov]

It is the same region - except not upside down (LOL!) and with a lot more added in Northen Europe. But basically yes, you are right.

Yes, it is very different from anything else CC has, although it integrates the starting points system.

Glad you seem interested!!

By the way, I am ENTIRELY open to the artistic direction as long as it incorporates the actual game elements. It does not have to be anywhere near the map style I put together - in fact, a more "modern-space" version might be much better. The ONE requirement of the game, however, is that the map represent the Arab perspective of the Early Middle Ages - hence Africa and the Arabian Peninsula must be up, and Europe down...

Something like this...

Wow! I think this could turn into a really unique and amazing map and game...

[Raskholnikov]

Well, based on Porkenbeans Blue Marble Map Idea and on a recent outing I had to a billiard hall which I thoroughly enjoyed, I came up with this new concept for this project. I love the colours and the way it fits in with the connections between cities (balls). I also like how each ball color represents a specific type of city, and how appropriate it is that red balls stand for battles and the black balls for the six religious sites one must conquer to win the game.

I'm a big fan of simple, concise, minimalist rules, and I think this delivers - with the help of the color scheme and the freedom accorded by the connections to connect cities / battles exactly as I want them to work. I'm open, hoever, to ideas like "Capitals can bombard any cities within their empires" (except maybe religious sites, if any...) to show the range of the central power, "ll battle sites are -2 armies" (to reflect combat attrition), etc.

This is by no means the final draft, just a preliminary one to get the feel of the Foundry for this concept.

What do you all think?

[porkenbeans]

SWEET
I will get to work on this as soon as I can.

[Raskholnikov]

Perfect! Look forward to working with you on this!!

[porkenbeans]

I grabbed a different view, and did some pulling and stretching. I wanted to see if I could get a better perspective going. It is still raw, and I have a lot more of painting and erasing yet to do. But I am tired of working on it today, and I think that I will shoot on over to one of our other projects and do a little somthin, somthin.
If you think it works better, please sketch in again, your take on where everything should go.

Click image to enlarge.

[Raskholnikov]

Great! Will do! Thanks!

[Raskholnikov]

Hi Pork,

I got this from Google Earth. This is pretty close to exactly the area we need. Can you use this to develop the background image?

[porkenbeans]

OK, this can work. I will geter-done. Redraw the layout on this, and by then I should have something To start working with.

[porkenbeans]

ooops, got a problem. This file is a gif. I do not know how to move it to my psd file. I am sure there is a way, but can you just save it as a jpeg for me ?

[Raskholnikov]

Done



Hope you can clean up the writing at the bottom and tone down or otherwise deal with the land colors so it won't interfere too much with the game. Up to you...

R

[porkenbeans]

Not a problem. This is all I need.

[Raskholnikov]

There you go. Any questions, please ask.



LOL forgot to add in the legend: The Green wheels are the ports.

60 cities
10 capitals
11 ports
6 religious sites
19 battles

Total: 106

[porkenbeans]

Click image to enlarge.

[porkenbeans]

OK, I have a concern.
I am feeling that there are territs that are very crowded in some places. And they all still need to be labeled, which will take up even more room. I think that you should look at spreading out and/or eliminating some territs.

[porkenbeans]

Okie-dokie, I did some pulling and stretching, enlarging and rotating, lifting and shifting, and I hope that you have the needed room for all of your territs. If you want to try again, just remember to spread your territs out and away from each other as much as possible.
We will get it sooner or later, I am sure.

Click image to enlarge.

[Raskholnikov]

What about something like this - -an approximation of a Google Earth view with some relief features that give it a realistic 3 D impression which works really well with the billiard balls?

[AndyDufresne]

I like the idea of the map, however the current execution of it is pretty atrocious. Sometimes this view is workable (Arctic, Duck and Cover), but I'm not convinced this world view is a benefit to this map.


--Andy

[Raskholnikov]

Hi Andy,I've been trying to develop a Caliphate expansion map for a while, as you can see. The execution, "atrocious" as it may be, illustrates the game play and is by no means an attempt to present a final artistic picture.

The map itself is based on Idrisi's famous map of the early 12th century (pictured in miniature on the top right corner) re-presenting an Arab view of the world with Europe at the bottom anf the Arabian Peninsula at the top. I think this type of map is ideal to allow an interaction between the various dynasties vying for power at the time by means of economic, military, cultural/religious and political means. Therefore, my choice of map layout is not simply a technical matter, but an attempt to break the Euro-centric boundaries of most CC maps and try to present a different perspective of the world, where "countries" and "secure boundaries" mattered much less than the strength of overlapping political, cultural/ideological, military and economic networks of power whose fluctuations in time and space determined the rise and fall of entire dynasties (see Ibn Khaldun's work).

So, as far as I am concerned, the key question is "What visual and cartographic means can we use to develop a fun and functional game based on Idrisi's map?"

If you wish to participate in the development of this project I would be more than happy to have you onboard. In any case, your ongoing comments, suggestions and criticisms are more than welcome. Let's fill this gap in CC maps and develop an outstanding Caliphate map!

Raskholnikov

[captainwalrus]

So, as far as I am concerned, the key question is "What visual and cartographic means can we use to develop a fun and functional game based on Idrisi's map?"

It is sort of your job to answer that though. You should have a clear vision of what it should end up like, or if you don't just get rid og the background entirely, and just hammer out the gameplay using no background or anything.