Nice. But you will find that some of those counties did not exist at that time. So merging some would make the smaller map easier to deal with also.
You're really missing the point that I
want this to be a big map. Given the bonus structure I think that the more territories there are the better the games will be. I've also come to the realization that bigger... for the most part really just is better. Every map I've worked on ranges from small to medium. This time I want BIG.
As for the county names, you're right I'll probably need o change a lot of them, but I need someone who knows a lot more about English history than I do to chime in on that one.
The castles seem random, have you placed them there for a reason? I ask this as with the auto deploys, some will be easier to capture than others. (London-Oxford 2 territs)(Cardiff-Caernarvon 4 territs)
The castles are not random I actually took great care where I placed those. For starts I didn't put a castle any where where there wasn't a castle prior to the date 1300. I picked central spots that touch a lot of territories so that you'll be able to defend many regions with one castle, making them a strategic stronghold (you know, like a castle). The un-evenness in proximity is supposed to reflect the area's of greatest interest/population/importance. This is not Feudal War or Feudal Epic, where each region is identical and numbered. Un-evenness is good, it makes the game more interesting.
You'll also notice that according to the rules in regions that have 2 castles there's no reason why 2 players can't be reaping a bonus off of the same region. I think that'll be really cool.
Also, I know this is being discussed at the moment, but till it is sorted, I would plan this to be at the normal sizes. If and when the supersizes are dealt with, you can look at it again.
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Again I'm really hoping to do this supersized. I'll plan on doing this big unless I can't. I truly and honestly think this map will be better the bigger it is. Shrinking it will be my damage control plan.