Nordic Countries [Quenched]

[Oan_Mkoll]

Out of interest, if you want the Nordic kingdom as it was, have you considered including the Orkney Isles and possibly even the Baltics? I'd suggest Greenland, Vinland and England as well but that's a bit too much to include really, which is a shame.

[natty dread]

Out of interest, if you want the Nordic kingdom as it was, have you considered including the Orkney Isles and possibly even the Baltics? I'd suggest Greenland, Vinland and England as well but that's a bit too much to include really, which is a shame.

No, this map has nothing to do with Viking kingdoms. This is a modern time map of a group of countries known as the Nordic Countries, which include exactly 5 countries, which are all included in this map.

[Peter Gibbons]

13 rather than 13A, coloring is a bit weird. Try making nations shades of the leading color of their flag. I think Iceland should connect to Denmark, as well, because it has so many historical ties to Denmark. it should be Aalborg (sorry, wrong keyboard) not Aalbora

Agree with all this. I just prefer territories to line connections, with few exceptions (USA interstate, due to road bonuses; and World Cities, because we need to for copyright reasons). It's also better, I think, for fog games.

On the Denmark-to-Iceland connection... this might be too cramped to make it work well, but what about using the Faroe Islands? You could have Torshavn start as a neutral and be a +1 auto-deploy. Then you could have it connect to Reyjkavik and Aalborg. Would add an interesting quirk to the game, and open up Iceland a little more.

[natty dread]

On the Denmark-to-Iceland connection... this might be too cramped to make it work well, but what about using the Faroe Islands? You could have Torshavn start as a neutral and be a +1 auto-deploy. Then you could have it connect to Reyjkavik and Aalborg. Would add an interesting quirk to the game, and open up Iceland a little more.

Interesting idea. I might try it in the next update.

[Oan_Mkoll]

No, this map has nothing to do with Viking kingdoms. This is a modern time map of a group of countries known as the Nordic Countries, which include exactly 5 countries, which are all included in this map.

Apologies. I appear to have misread one of the posts.

I like the idea of using the Faroe Islands though. That would definitely make it more interesting.

[natty dread]

Version 14. Added mountain, Faroe Islands as a connector between iceland and denmark, modified legend font, fixed typos, changed cities of south norway.

Click image to enlarge.

[isaiah40]

The mountain looks like it is going into the ground. Also the lighting is the opposite of the rest of the map.

[natty dread]

Yeah, I'll redo the mountain. How's the other changes?

[AndyDufresne]

It may be something to consider renaming this map idea to "Nordic Cities" --- perhaps a theme developing since we'll have Classic (which is essentially World cities)---?


--Andy

[Peter Gibbons]

Hmm. I think for gameplay purposes, I like the Faroe Islands (I better, since I suggested it and made you do the work!). I also like how you did it visually on the map, though for consistency's sake, the name of the capital--Torshavn--should be there. My concern is how it should appear on the mini-map, because I think it needs to do so. Of course, technically it's a "+0" bonus, because the bonus is for the capital--not for the region. If you included it as a +1, it could get very confusing because then people might expect a +2 bonus. Not sure what the solution is here--maybe others will say it's good enough as is. Or maybe it should get the +2 (+1 for the region, +1 auto-deploy for the capital) and then Iceland should be increased to an overall +4 (+3 for the region, +1 auto-deploy for the capital) because it can be accessed from an extra point now.

I do agree that "Nordic Cities" might be the proper title now, if you're going to stick with connector lines.

Other than that, count me with those that would like to see a different color scheme. There are a number of directions to go in, so I won't suggest one specific one, but I really am not a fan of the current scheme.

EDIT: studying the regions more closely, does anyone else feel northern Finland is really undervalued? There are a ton of ways into the region, it has more cities than Iceland, yet it's only worth a +3. I think it needs to be bumped--maybe even by 2 if we increase Iceland's value.

[AndyDufresne]

Other than that, count me with those that would like to see a different color scheme. There are a number of directions to go in, so I won't suggest one specific one, but I really am not a fan of the current scheme.

Agreed. I think there is a visual style in here somewhere, but I'm not sure I'm too fond of the current land projection/depth/strangeness additionally.


--Andy

[natty dread]

I could make Faroe Islands part of Denmark bonus, and increase Denmark's bonus to +3 (+4 with the capital).

About other boni... Northern finland only has 3 borders to defend, and it doesn't have many territories either. But maybe I could increase it to +4, and the total Finland bonus would be upped to +10. (This would be +11 if you count the capital bonus).

I disagree with increasing the iceland bonus. It has only 2 borders to defend, and it already gets a total of +3 troops.

I might be ok with changing the name (yet again) into Nordic Cities, if the majority feels it would be better for the map.

About the colour scheme, I will try something different in the next version.

[natty dread]

Ok, here's one solution:

Click image to enlarge.

[Peter Gibbons]

Northern Finland may only have three points to defend, but it has 8 access routes. I know there are formulas and whatnot to address this point, so I'll leave it to people smarter at this sort of thing than me. Just thought I'd bring it up.

As for the color scheme, I think this is a move in the right direction. There ends up being a ton of blue, though (for obvious reasons). Perhaps you can invert the schemes so that the crosses are the main color and the background is the shadow. That way, the yellow will be dominant in Sweden and the blue will be dominant (with a white shadow) in Finland.

I'd be against adding Faroe Islands to Denmark, because I think people might forget. I really like the idea of an independent +1, like with DC in the USA Great Lakes map. I think that's the way to go if the Faroes end up being used.

[natty dread]

Ok here's V15.

Click image to enlarge.

[AndyDufresne]

The more I see variations, the more I dislike the current color concept.


--Andy

[natty dread]

Well, people wanted flag colours... I gave them flag colours. To be honest I'm not liking it all that much myself. I think it's time to execute plan B...

[Evil DIMwit]

I think it's the gradients that just aren't working. Slight gradients work all right, if they're used for something like lighting or shading. Full color gradients just don't look good here.

[natty dread]

Well, I have another idea here. Personally, I like this version the best so far.

V.16

Click image to enlarge.

[number five]

versian 1-1/2 and 8 are the best

[natty dread]

Um... well, thanks for your opinion, I guess. So you say I should just go back 8 versions? In other words, all changes I've made since version 8 are total crap?

[Eyestone]

I like the flag colours. But I don't think it needs to be so spray-paintish. If you go for more structured boundaries between the colours I think it would look much better. I really don't think it looks right with maroon on Norway. Sweden are always blue and yellow in their national colours, denmark red/white, and so on...

[RjBeals]

Um... well, thanks for your opinion, I guess. So you say I should just go back 8 versions? In other words, all changes I've made since version 8 are total crap?

V.16

Click image to enlarge.

[/quote]

V.1.5

Click image to enlarge.

Hmm... I sort of agree about the last 8 versions. I think someone made a comment about a video game style, and it took you down a path that just didn't work. I hate to say it, but I think you should scrap what you have, and start over. Never consider your drafts a loss though - you are refining your skills with each update. You've gained experience.

Of course - it's just my opinion - you by all means can keep moving forward with this style if you choose.

[AndyDufresne]

Hmm... I sort of agree about the last 8 versions. I think someone made a comment about a video game style, and it took you down a path that just didn't work. I hate to say it, but I think you should scrap what you have, and start over. Never consider your drafts a loss though - you are refining your skills with each update. You've gained experience.

Of course - it's just my opinion - you by all means can keep moving forward with this style if you choose.

Right, I think it was a worthwhile foray into the visual style, but likewise I think there is probably a better visual style out there.


--Andy

[natty dread]

So what exactly do you suggest then?