[Abandoned] Research & Conquer

[OliverFA]

Each starting position on the map is one capital and its matching laboratory (note that the Provisional Values have these in player colors and not neutral). You hold one (or 2, in 2-3p) from the game start.

A thing comes in mind... can't remember if this was discussed before, but how about setting a starting positions cap so that you'd always start with just one?

Also, in 2-player games it would be 3, since starting positions are divided differently than regular territories in 2-player games. So if you want it to be 2 in 2-player games, you at least need to put the cap at 2.

I think that long ago in a galaxy far far away when this map was started, we did not have that possibility. But now it would make a lot of sense. Starting with just one homeland for 2 and 3 player games.

[OliverFA]

* The provisional neutral values are way too high I think. Look at Mobilized Army for example - take out 60 neutrals to get a +12? You're better off expanding and running for another player's capital. Why bother wasting that many troops going for a bonus when you could run after the opponent's capital, which would eliminate them. Especially if an opponent is going for those bonuses, just stack and go for him on the ground instead. Going from SWC to EC would be 33 neutrals to go through before getting to what the opponent has on EC. Much easier to go through the neutrals and eliminate an opponent that way.

The bonuses were calculated using the 5 turn rule. Basically, any research costs the benefit it will provide over 5 turns. The reason is that a research project is supposed to be an expensive one and that we don't want people to research everything just the first turn or fist couple of turns. Games are not supposed to last forever, but players are not supposed to research everything in the first couple of turns either.

Of course, those values are subject to change if we see that they are too high, but a design decission is not to make research too much cheaper.

I know this is your baby Oliver, and a lot of work has already been put into the map and XML, but I think there are still too many outstanding graphic and gameplay issues for it to go Beta. I understand beta will be needed to ensure the neutral values are correct, but this doesn't appear that it should have received a graphics stamp.

I am always happy with feedback, and with ideas and nitpicks that make the map look even better. Of course the prettier the map the better for us I just opposed (and still oppose) to the idea that this map is ugly and that it only received the graphics stamp because of someone blue was involved with the map. Of course, I don't oppose to the idea of making the image even better than how it is now. The nicer the better

[carlpgoodrich]

Wow, this discussion has certainly picked up of late.

-As TaCktiX and Oliver mentioned, lets wait until beta to make any changes to neutral values. Some of us spent HUGE amounts of time arguing over these values, and beta is really the only thing that can decide it.

-I agree that capping starting positions at 1 is a good idea. Better gameplay and simpler legend (i.e. more space for other things).

-I like the idea of a vertical line going down from the labs. Also, it might be more clear to swap the positions of the doomsday device and deep mining, and say "A lab only assaults the techs directly below it" (which would be reinforced by the vertical line). Then, "A basic research assaults its advanced one" explains how to get the three that are not connected by the vertical line.

[TaCktiX]

That actually sounds like a really darn good idea, and I likely will do it. Dangit, too many good ideas and I can't make good on them for a bit.

[Ace Rimmer]

I know this is your baby Oliver, and a lot of work has already been put into the map and XML, but I think there are still too many outstanding graphic and gameplay issues for it to go Beta. I understand beta will be needed to ensure the neutral values are correct, but this doesn't appear that it should have received a graphics stamp.

I am always happy with feedback, and with ideas and nitpicks that make the map look even better. Of course the prettier the map the better for us I just opposed (and still oppose) to the idea that this map is ugly and that it only received the graphics stamp because of someone blue was involved with the map. Of course, I don't oppose to the idea of making the image even better than how it is now. The nicer the better

I hope you don't misunderstand me - I'm not saying that the only reason this got stamped is because of the blue names (although I'm assuming you weren't blue when it was stamped). My point is that you guys are blue because of your skill and dedication - and I place higher expectations on you, and I think you should have high expectations for yourself.

[-=- Tanarri -=-]

First time looking thoroughly at this map, some feedback from fresh eyes:

* If the lab assaults TSf and Doomsday, why are they listed under Advanced Research? Shouldn't they be under basic research? The way I see it, Standing Army, Secret Conscription, and Mining are the only ones with actual advanced research. National Pride, Sabotage, and Propaganda do not have a corresponding advanced research. I would suggest moving Tsf/Doomsday out of Advanced Research if this is true.

TSF is advanced because it's meant to be the advanced version of a lab. There was some discussion regarding Doomsday a while ago and it was decided to leave it in advanced tech since it's the highest level tech, even though it can be assaulted directly from the basic lab.

The provisional neutral values are way too high I think. Look at Mobilized Army for example - take out 60 neutrals to get a +12? You're better off expanding and running for another player's capital. Why bother wasting that many troops going for a bonus when you could run after the opponent's capital, which would eliminate them. Especially if an opponent is going for those bonuses, just stack and go for him on the ground instead. Going from SWC to EC would be 33 neutrals to go through before getting to what the opponent has on EC. Much easier to go through the neutrals and eliminate an opponent that way.

As TaCKtiX has mentioned, before we hit Beta there is not way to tell. Personally I agree with the neutral values that are present. The way I would expect it to go is that the player pursing the tech will end up having greater numbers of troops per turn as you would due to having Standing Army and whatever other tech they may end up going for before Mobilized Army.

Granted that +12 may not be worth it in all circumstances, but there are a great number of circumstances that I could see happening where an unbreakable +12 bonus for 60 neutral would be worth it. Certainly not in 2 player, but anything higher than that you have to take into consideration that the other player(s) will have their own stacks that they could just as easily use to come and attack you with. Most players in multi-player games would think twice before suiciding a built up stack into another player, especially since as far as I'm concerned the bonus one would get from taking out another player is fairly small.

I would eliminate the lines from left to right between the researches (like between the Standing Army researches) as they don't actually connect. I'd rather see a vertical line behind the text, extending between each of the laboratories (like a line between SW and W), so there is a column and delineation of which ones are in the same grouping, and showing that the Standing Army researches cannot attack each other. I also do not like how the laboratories/ researches/etc are connected to the border, those really look like attack routes. Lines should be attack routes, not just for graphics.

I had also been thinking of suggesting something like this as well after DiM brought up the concern with not knowing if he could attack from position 6 on one advanced to position 1 on the one beside it. I think that this would be a good thing to take a look at adjusting if at all possible. I do like the appearance as it is now, however I can also understand how intuitively speaking they could be confused for attack routes.

I would add the word "only" in the legend. ie "A lab only assaults its own..." and "A Basic Research only assaults its...". This helps clarify attack routes.

* I would adjust the wording on the legend to say "Each type of research bonus can only be gained once". I think that helps clarify it better without being too wordy.

I think both of these suggestions are great, thank you for making them. Thanks to DiM for mentioning the research wording problem as well.

I like the clouds done by DiM, they certainly look a lot more like clouds than just a glow on the territory. With all the mines/etc, there should be some early industrial smog, right?

While DiM's clouds look more realistic, I'm not sure if they fit with the current theme of the map. I'm also not sure how much they may obscure the ground during gameplay as well. I think TaCKtiX's clouds are a step in the right direction, though I wonder if there's some other better way of adding some texture to the Conquer area. I think it looks fine as is, however I could see the value of some improvement in this area as well if we can figure out a way to get texture in there without obsuring the details of the map itself.

[-=- Tanarri -=-]

Wow, this discussion has certainly picked up of late.

-As TaCktiX and Oliver mentioned, lets wait until beta to make any changes to neutral values. Some of us spent HUGE amounts of time arguing over these values, and beta is really the only thing that can decide it.

-I agree that capping starting positions at 1 is a good idea. Better gameplay and simpler legend (i.e. more space for other things).

-I like the idea of a vertical line going down from the labs. Also, it might be more clear to swap the positions of the doomsday device and deep mining, and say "A lab only assaults the techs directly below it" (which would be reinforced by the vertical line). Then, "A basic research assaults its advanced one" explains how to get the three that are not connected by the vertical line.

I also like the idea of capping the starting positions at 1. I have small reservations regarding 1v1 games with a cap of 1, since I think as Ace Rimmer had suggested earlier, the game would turn into a game of Conquer much more so than Research. But I think it's worth giving it a shot and seeing how it works out in Beta.

I also like Carl's idea with swapping Deep Mining and Doomsday. I think that would make explanations a bit simpler.

[carlpgoodrich]

I've tried to stay out of this sort of back and forth, but I have to speak up in support of the two mapmakers. For those of you questioning the mapmakers dedication/skill/commitment/etc regarding this map, please go back and read through the entire thread. This map has been immensely challenging for a number of reasons, but combining a playable and unique gameplay with an understandable legend took MONTHS and MONTHS of work. Of course its not perfect and now that other people have joined the conversation there has been some great suggestions, but to question the quality of the map and/or the quality of the mapmakers is as insulting as it is ignorant. (I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, and I don't mean to offend anyone, but it is how I feel.) I agree that since both the mapmakers are blue, the map should be of the highest quality, but as someone who has been active in this thread for almost 18 months, I am firmly of the belief that it IS of the highest quality. I think one problem is that since the concept is so good, everyone has different ideas of how it could be implemented graphically. I personally like what TaCktiX has done MUCH better than what DiM and others have suggested, but if someone else wants to do their own map, then great! More maps for CC

Anyways, I've said my peace. I will not be commenting on this matter any further, and I hope the discussion can remain focused on the map.

[isaiah40]

As seeing there has been a rash of graphical comments here again, I will move this back into the Main Foundry until all graphical concerns have been met.

Also, as the mapmaker has requested to go supersize on the small, permission has been granted.

[lostatlimbo]

This map looks a lot better than the last time I saw it. That said, I have to agree with others who suggest it is still very confusing. I've looked long and hard at this map (and skimmed the threads) and am still unclear as to where I can or cannot attack. The connections are chaotic and requires a lot of assumptions as is. Maybe I'm just an idiot though.

At any rate, even if you achieved perfect clarity, I'm not sure this map would intrigue me, as I'm not a fan of maps where the first several rounds are just chipping away at massive neutrals. I don't see the fun in that. But please don't let that dissuade you. Perhaps I'll be pleasantly surprised when the map reaches Beta.

[carlpgoodrich]

This map looks a lot better than the last time I saw it. That said, I have to agree with others who suggest it is still very confusing. I've looked long and hard at this map (and skimmed the threads) and am still unclear as to where I can or cannot attack. The connections are chaotic and requires a lot of assumptions as is. Maybe I'm just an idiot though.

I think the suggested change of horizontal lines to vertical lines in the legend will help clear things up a lot, but if it does not please let it be known.

At any rate, even if you achieved perfect clarity, I'm not sure this map would intrigue me, as I'm not a fan of maps where the first several rounds are just chipping away at massive neutrals. I don't see the fun in that. But please don't let that dissuade you. Perhaps I'll be pleasantly surprised when the map reaches Beta.

As an attempt to keep your interest regarding the first few turns: it is true there would not be lots of "action" at the beginning (i.e. player 1 attacking player 2), but I disagree that it is "just chipping away at massive neutrals." In fact, it could be argued that the first few turns are the most strategically important turns in this map. The starting values and neutral values were (tentatively) decided to force the players to make as many decisions as possible... do I invest in research and risk early elimination, or do I go for the kill but risk being trampled in the long run. So while "action" might take a few turns to develop, I think there is actually quite a bit going on in the early stages... hopefully we can convince you to give it a try once it goes live

[-=- Tanarri -=-]

A few thoughts on graphics:

- The i's in Mobilized seem to be a different font than the other i's on the map
- The b in bombards should be capitalized after Sabotage
- Deep Mining's description should probably read 'Doubles mine bonus', otherwise it could be misconstrued as an additional +4 per mine instead of just +2 additional

Regarding the map texture, while I would be happy to let it pass with what it has now, if something better could be figured out, I think it would help enhance the map. I think DiM's clouds are too strong and don't match the current theme of the map very well and I think TaCKtiX's current clouds at least add some otherwise sorely missing texture to the Conquer map. After taking a closer look at some of the effects that TaCKtiX's clouds made, I wonder if it may be possible to give some sort of hill like terrain effect to the Conquer map by using different shades of brown without going quite so white. I think the bottom left area gives the best example of what I'm thinking of, as it almost looks like the darker areas are higher up than the lighter ones.

As it's been pointed out, I could see the horizontal lines that go across the researches being very confusing to someone who's new to the map. While it may seem obvious to us that there's six labs and six researches each, hence each lab should attack it's own research, it may not be intuitively obvious to others with the horizontal lines. I like the graphical effect that they provide, but after DiM pointed the attack route issue out, I do fear that it may be confusing to others.

I think one of the reasons that maps like Feudal have stood the test of time is because of how easy they are from a rule perspective, but at the same time they've got a great amount of strategy behind them as well. I think that if we can try to make the instructions as intuitive as possible, this map could easily become one of the few maps that gets played often.

[TaCktiX]

Version 14

Updates:
- Softened the darkness of all backgrounds
- Removed the clouds effect
- Strengthened the burn effect
- Changed pipes from horizontal to vertical
- Added gradient effect to pipes for paired researches
- Saturated the colors on the paired researches
- Changed the text color to match the paired research color
- Added glow to legend symbols for readability
- Removed "A Research can only be gained once." from the legend (we're capping start positions at 1, it won't come into play)
- Switched Doomsday Device and Deep Mining's positions
- Added a legit set of 888's for later use
- Edited terrain borders around the river and mountains
- Edited terrain borders so that all 888's fit on the small, period (W5 is the lone exception, and it runs into a mountain)
- Made several text edits for clarity
- Created a new Small version at Supersize
- A few other things I likely forgot

Small (711x700)
Blank

Click image to enlarge.

88's

Click image to enlarge.

888's

Click image to enlarge.

Large (812x800)
Blank

Click image to enlarge.

88's

Click image to enlarge.

888's

Click image to enlarge.

Now what needs fixing?

[-=- Tanarri -=-]

Thanks for the update TaCKtiX, it looks good Here's some thoughts:

- I like that the basic-advanced pairs of techs have their names and descriptions colour coded as well... it should make it even more obvious. Well done

- Secret Conscription is looking a little dark. I can still read it, but I could see how some may have difficulty. I wonder if it would look different enough if it were just a shade or two lighter?

- I think the vertical lines work nicely to show attack paths and also look nice as well

- I like the burn effect on the Conquer map, particularly around Nar. I wonder if using that effect around other parts of the map, perhaps in varying degrees would work to add further texture to the Conquer map?

- I don't know if it's a necessary (or even doable) suggestion, but what do you think of moving TSF and Doomsday's boxes closer together so that the vertical lines from the basic research section just keep going straight down. I think that may make it even clearer that the Labs attack the TSFs and Doomsday. Not sure if that would mean things getting too squished though.

- 'B' in bombards after Sabotage still needs to be capitalized based on how National Pride and Deep Mining's descriptions are capitalized.

- On the map, the MF section looks like it has a lowercase f. If this is the case it should be uppercase to match the other territories. Same with EF and NF, though I'm suspecting that it's just the font style and they are capitals already

- I don't know if we want to bother specifying that the capital bonus is a separate/additional bonus from the homeland bonus. I think there's plenty of maps out there that don't make that type of distinction, so I don't think it's an issue, but if we were to want to keep it as blantantly obvious as possible, then some note could be added to clarify this. Unfortunately I can't think of any wordings to suggest for this.

- The rest of the instructions in the legend I think look great. I think the addition of 'only' in those two spots does help to clarify attack routes, especially with the other recent changes.

- If you wanted to get really nitpicky, the shadow direction for the mountains doesn't match up with the bridges. Mountains look like the light is coming from left and the bridges look like it's coming from the centre of the map


All in all I think the map is looking a lot better and clearer with the recent changes. Great work!

[ender516]

The vertical lines do help, but where they are the same colour as the thicker margins of the boxes around the Laboratories, the Basic Research and the Advanced Research, there is still the possibility of misinterpreting those boxes as cross-connections. I'm just not sure which should change colour. Perhaps a texture or filigree on the boxes so that the verticals appear to be made of something different and less contiguous.

[TaCktiX]

- Secret Conscription is looking a little dark. I can still read it, but I could see how some may have difficulty. I wonder if it would look different enough if it were just a shade or two lighter?

It's actually the same shade as its counterpart in the south. The local background there is darker than the one in the south, but I'll see about applying a lighter shade to it.

- I like the burn effect on the Conquer map, particularly around Nar. I wonder if using that effect around other parts of the map, perhaps in varying degrees would work to add further texture to the Conquer map?

Already did that. It's three layers all at 25% opacity and Subtract blending. I had them at 30%, but it made the map too dark. I did do some evening so the effect looked well-rounded across the map. As such, I don't think "more is better" in this case.

- I don't know if it's a necessary (or even doable) suggestion, but what do you think of moving TSF and Doomsday's boxes closer together so that the vertical lines from the basic research section just keep going straight down. I think that may make it even clearer that the Labs attack the TSFs and Doomsday. Not sure if that would mean things getting too squished though.

It isn't do-able. I put Doomsday boxes as close together as I felt comfortable while still keeping them separate. TSF was just moved over so that the pipes could go down evenly. It's a nifty idea, but with the requisite 3-digit number on Doomsday, their size becomes impossible to avoid.

- 'B' in bombards after Sabotage still needs to be capitalized based on how National Pride and Deep Mining's descriptions are capitalized.

Will do.

- On the map, the MF section looks like it has a lowercase f. If this is the case it should be uppercase to match the other territories. Same with EF and NF, though I'm suspecting that it's just the font style and they are capitals already

It's the font style, and since it's still viewable as an "F" regardless of which case I won't be looking for another font. The "i"s on the map I changed out for another Art Deco font (the main is Libeled Lady, the backup is Maharlika), but I don't think the F will follow as well.

- If you wanted to get really nitpicky, the shadow direction for the mountains doesn't match up with the bridges. Mountains look like the light is coming from left and the bridges look like it's coming from the centre of the map

Yeah, small problem with it though: the mountains are drawn that way. I think I'll just change the bridge shadow so light is coming from the WSW, allowing all bridges to show a shadow and the mountains to still make sense.

The vertical lines do help, but where they are the same colour as the thicker margins of the boxes around the Laboratories, the Basic Research and the Advanced Research, there is still the possibility of misinterpreting those boxes as cross-connections. I'm just not sure which should change colour. Perhaps a texture or filigree on the boxes so that the verticals appear to be made of something different and less contiguous.

I'm going to have to disagree on the necessity. It CAN be considered as a cross-connection, but only if people aren't reading the legend. If I did change the filigree to something different, it would break the graphical theming I've got going, and the change would stick out like a sore thumb. For the sake of catering to ignorance, I think that's too great a sacrifice.

[-=- Tanarri -=-]

I think that all sounds good. I'm on a laptop when I'm viewing the map, so I suspect that I don't see the full burn effect on each part of the map at any given time. It seems that my display gets lighter and darker depending on how high or low things are on the map, effectively giving a slight gradient to everything.

The one thing I'm wondering is if making the vertical lines go straight down from Basic to Advanced research would work if you used the same box size for Doomsday as you did for the other techs. It would mean moving the 888's to the left a bit on Doomsday to centre the number as a 3-digit number instead of as a 2-digit number like the others, but I think that it might work. I'm just basing it on the 888's for the other techs, which look like they would fit if they were centered a bit better.

That being said, if you don't think it would work, I'd back the graphics of the map without the change. I just think if it could be made to work it may make a few others happier, particularly with how close the Basic SE and Advanced E techs line up.

And as a last note, a quick reminder to update the title of the thread to the Version 14 information.

I have to say great work TaCKtiX, the map's looking really close to having any graphical issues hammered out. I assume we're waiting to have them hammered out before we submit the final XML?

[isaiah40]

And as a last note, a quick reminder to update the title of the thread to the Version 14 information.

I have to say great work TaCKtiX, the map's looking really close to having any graphical issues hammered out. I assume we're waiting to have them hammered out before we submit the final XML?

And the date of most recent change, etc.

Before this gets moved back into Final Forge I am going to wait to make sure everyone has had their chance to comment, make a rebutal, etc. So yes, we wait before the XML is submitted again.

[TaCktiX]

It looks cramped if I use 3 digits on the standard size box. Like I said about a different color for the "connections," it'd kill the graphical theme to change it, and it's ignorance-proofing, not idiot-proofing.

And the XML might take a bit, as some of the large coordinates changed and EVERY small coordinate changed. I'd say I feel sorry for Oliver having to redo some work, but I had to put all those samples in one 88 at a time. I empathize with him greatly.

[carlpgoodrich]

Nice update. A few comments:

-I understand that you don't want to move the TSF's and doomsday device over, but you can still have the vertical pipes connect. If you just look at the left-most vertical pipe, it looks like it goes behind the larger horizontal pipe. Can you make all the pipes do this, with a slight turn in them so they shift to the right and line up with the techs at the bottom?

-Another thing that would make these vertical lines more clear (especially the ones for the righthand advanced techs) is to somehow include the homeland color in the vertical pipe. For example, the left most pipe could be tinted red, or maybe have a red stripe or something. Also, the labels "SW" "W" etc under the word "LABORATORIES" should be colored too.

-I still think the way techs assault is very confusing. There should be the phrase "Researches attack nothing unless otherwise stated," or something to that extent. This is the type of thing that will cost people games, and will lead to a lot of anger if its not crystal crystal crystal clear.

-Since theres room, maybe put the mine symbol next to deep mining?

[DiM]

still no names on the map? would it really be such an impossible task to add names for the tech terits?

[-=- Tanarri -=-]

DiM, the tech territories will be named something like 'Nar Standing Army', which I believe should work fine for the names, particularly with the vertical lines that have been added. Each of the homelands has a name that has the cardinal directions that lines up with it capitalized to make it as obvious as possible.

I think this should work fine, do you see potential problems with it?

[-=- Tanarri -=-]

Nice update. A few comments:
-I still think the way techs assault is very confusing. There should be the phrase "Researches attack nothing unless otherwise stated," or something to that extent. This is the type of thing that will cost people games, and will lead to a lot of anger if its not crystal crystal crystal clear.

This may be the type of thing that would be useful to add into the descriptions in the legend, if at all possible. Otherwise I could see people assuming you needed to attack Standing Army first, then Secret Conscription from Standing Army, etc. It would, as carl suggests, likely prevent some frustrations. I don't think this is a critical change, but I think it could be useful.

[DiM]

DiM, the tech territories will be named something like 'Nar Standing Army', which I believe should work fine for the names, particularly with the vertical lines that have been added. Each of the homelands has a name that has the cardinal directions that lines up with it capitalized to make it as obvious as possible.

I think this should work fine, do you see potential problems with it?

what the heck is 'Nar Standing Army' ??? more specifically what is Nar?
with or without the vertical lines the names are still important simply because in the current state you have 2 choices to tell what terit is what:
1. memorize the sequence SW, W, N, NE, E, SE so that you always know the 4th terit in a line is for NE
2. constantly look back and forth from the terit to the SW, W, N, NE, E, SE series to remind yourself what's the correct sequence.

in my opinion, any map that forces you to remember names or that makes you look in other places for a name does not have an optimal layout.
and no, i don't care clickable maps exist. all i know is that if i want to play this the old fashioned way i'm going to have difficulties doing it and the process of attacking/reinforcing/planning something in the tech tree will be hugely hindered by the lack of terit names.
getting a few extra pixels for the height of the map would provide plenty of space for some shortened names to be placed on the map.

oh and the new legend with vertical lines is just as confusing as before. right now i can clearly assume that any lab can attack any standing army.
some fancy new legend borders were promised at some point to replace the very confusing ones that exist now.
on top of that, the vertical lines almost fade away in some areas. for example just below the word Open in Open conscription there doesn;t seem to be a vertical line. or the first vertical line in propaganda is missing completely.

PS: is this the complete terrain overhaul that was promised? i see the same terrain only a lot darker with only minor 5 minute changes to a few borders.

[-=- Tanarri -=-]

what the heck is 'Nar Standing Army' ??? more specifically what is Nar?
with or without the vertical lines the names are still important simply because in the current state you have 2 choices to tell what terit is what:
1. memorize the sequence SW, W, N, NE, E, SE so that you always know the 4th terit in a line is for NE
2. constantly look back and forth from the terit to the SW, W, N, NE, E, SE series to remind yourself what's the correct sequence.

in my opinion, any map that forces you to remember names or that makes you look in other places for a name does not have an optimal layout.
and no, i don't care clickable maps exist. all i know is that if i want to play this the old fashioned way i'm going to have difficulties doing it and the process of attacking/reinforcing/planning something in the tech tree will be hugely hindered by the lack of terit names.
getting a few extra pixels for the height of the map would provide plenty of space for some shortened names to be placed on the map.

oh and the new legend with vertical lines is just as confusing as before. right now i can clearly assume that any lab can attack any standing army.
some fancy new legend borders were promised at some point to replace the very confusing ones that exist now.
on top of that, the vertical lines almost fade away in some areas. for example just below the word Open in Open conscription there doesn;t seem to be a vertical line. or the first vertical line in propaganda is missing completely.

PS: is this the complete terrain overhaul that was promised? i see the same terrain only a lot darker with only minor 5 minute changes to a few borders.

Nar = N homeland. Though the more I think about it, the more I wonder if the homeland names should be done away with or otherwise added to the map. I could see how, even with the capitalization of the letters that are present on the map, that it could be confusing.

Regarding the names for the territories, regardless of what the territories are named, as long as the name of the tech is included in the name, the name will be clear and there will be no confusion. This is due to there only being one starting spot per person and hence only one option that will ever be present for someone to attack or fort to.