SteamWorks

[DiM]

Map theme: Steampunk
Number of players: 2-8
Number of terits: 39 - 15 start neutral and 24 are deployable.
Special features: neutrals, negative bonuses, bombard, wining condition etc.
Map developer: Art/Concept by DiM, XML by zimmah
Badges:


Final Images:
XML: http://zimmah.webs.com/Steamworks%20v1.1d.xml
Large: http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/9400/steamworksl.png

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Small: http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/1061/steamworkss.png

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show: V26

V26:
XML: http://zimmah.webs.com/Steamworks%20v1.1d.xml
Large: http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/9400/steamworksl.png

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Small: http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/1061/steamworkss.png

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show: V25

V25:
*shadow now follows the direction of the light.
Large: http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w250/DiM-topia/SteamWorksL-v25.jpg

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Small: http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w250/DiM-topia/SteamWorksS-v25.jpg

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show: V24

V24:
*increased font size for the poem in both small and large versions.
*minor tweaks to army positions

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show: V23

V23:
*changed Oxford Shire to just Oxford on the small map
*moved apart Derby and Nottingham on both small and large
*moved Surrey a bit to the right on the large map
*changed the "All ports connect each..." on the large map and made it like it is on the small map

Large:

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Small:

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show: V22

V22:
*larger font size for small map
*tweaked steam ship
*added army numbers for small and large maps
*moved around terit names and some icons to make room for armies
*changed bad to fatal in the legend

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show: V21

V21:

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show: V20

V20:
*moved suffolk a bit
*tweaked horizontal steam
*changed staffs to stafordshire
*added the changed northeast bonus to the legend

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show: V19

V19:
* reduced opacity for oxford on the minimap
* moved terit names so they would better fit the terits
* added a little glow to the terit names
* tweaked the steam
* reworded the excess steam part in the legend

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show: V18

V18
1. remove port from chesshire. and reduce northwest bonus to just +1
2. move engine from surry to berkshire and move the balloon from berkshire to surry
3. move engine from sommerset to wiltshire
4. move engine from leicester to nottingham

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show: V17

V17:
*fixed "cheetos"
*all the borders on the minimap were redrawn and i hope they look less pixelated/sloppy/wobbly

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show: V16

V16:
*to be honest i kinda like the new darker continents so maybe a compromise would work best. so i have lowered the opacity they're now not so dark but still visible.
*replaced the top decorative balloon with another ship
*the oxford in the minimap does not have a white fill. it has a white stroke but the terit is so small that the stroke actually fills it i reduced it by 1 px and hopefully it looks better now. if i reduce it more then it will disappear. as for the big oxford i increased the opacity.
*fixed the holes in the paper
*changed bright colours to muted ones.
*made some text changes in the legend
*rearranged the legend to make everything more intuitive and user-friendly

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show: V15

V15:
*rearranged the legend.
*made the borders hide behind the icons.
*added ships and flying machines around the map
*darker more visible continents

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show: V14

v14:
*reduced size for both large and small
*moved around icons and names
*shifted and rotated continents for a tighter fit
*increased the legend space to include the poem in small version
*split the poem in 2 halves for easier reading
Large:

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Small:

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show: V13

V13
Small:

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Large:

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show: V12

V12

*changed continent bonuses
*norfolk port became a balloon
*more shadow under the paper
*tweaked the shadow of the title
*placed 2 neutral in cumberland
*7 different steam icons. choose one please. - i still like the realistic steam in Kent.

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show: V11

V11

*changed the poem back to black colour
*increase the font size for the legend and the poem. hopefully it should be perfectly visible now.
*changed the terit names to fit those from 19th century.
*fixed legend border overlap
*fixed legend border pixelization
*made the minimap less bright and less pixelated.

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show: V10

V10
*new steam icons. hopefully they fit better with all the other black icons
*poem written with dark violet colour
*Oxford bigger than Isle of Dr.DiM

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show: V9

V9:

*changed fonts all over the map
*moved around some legend stuff to make room for the little poem that explains the theme and setting.
*made the continents in the legend much more visible.

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show: V8

V8:
*toned down the brown burn in the middle
*fixed the cuts in the lower right of the map
*fixed the strong crease near the Isle of Wight
*added various fonts (each continent has a different font, so a total of 8, please chose your favourite)

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show: V7

V7:
*tweaked continent names to make them less chunky
*incorporated middlesex into essex. this way the total number of terits is 39 and 15 start neutral so that leaves exactly 24 to be divided at start-up. 24 is much better than *25, that's why i eliminated 1 terit.
*moved around some steam icons to avoid having steam resource in a port/balloon terit
*added army numbers to test visibility of different colour (i think it's ok)
*added neutral armies so people can easily form an idea about the gameplay.
*changed east bonus from 5 to 4.

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show: V6

V6

DONE:
*added wrapped continent names - i think it looks much better than before. thanks for the suggestion cairns.
*made thinner radiating lines
*moved around terit names and icons to make room for army numbers

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show: V5

V5:

DONE:
*steam icons are more visible
*removed continent names
*better blended the continent colours
*changed bonuses
*oxford can bombard any territory
*added ports and balloons to each continent
*each engine and steam will start with 2 neutral
*oxford starts with 5 neutral

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show: V4

V4 comes with a big update
Done:
*new terits (40) - a fantasy England torn apart by Evil Dr.DiM (:P) from his laboratory in Oxford.
*new bonuses - (need discussing)
*various artwork
*map is now playable by up to 8 people

To Do:
*i still need to add some lines and various artwork on the map itself (some ships, waves, dragons, etc) to make it even more realistic.
*balance gameplay - discuss bonuses
*get permission for current size

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show: V3

V3.
* redid the terits to better express what i plan to do.
* added baloons ports and various stuff around the map
* changed bonuses and rules (see map legend)
* the number of terits is now 44 but i will surely lower it in the next version by uniting some smaller terits. probably going to drop to 36

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show: V2

V2:
*created the first working image with background art and all that
*terits, connections and legend are only temporary drawings until gameplay is finalized

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show: V1

V1:

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show: initial ramblings

the map is just for 2-4 players.
each player starts with an engine terit (brown) that gives a bonus (will be decided)
the red terit represents the objective (a huge cannon) and it's the only way to attack the engines (bombarding). it also acts as winning objective if it is held for one turn together with all the mana pools. (i initially wanted to trigger the bombard feature only if the cannon is held together with the mana pools but apparently that's impossible)
the grey terits start with varying neutral armies and each turn they lose 1 troop.
the blue terits are mana pools and they are needed for the optional objective. however make sure you do get that objective once you hold all the mana pools because holding them all means a big negative bonus due to magical unrest. your troops start losing faith in steam power due to too much magical exposure.
the white terits are steam and holding them grants you bonus troops. will be later decided how much troops when it comes to balancing gameplay. one thing is worth noting though. holding too many steam terits (2 per engine) will blow up your engine (losing condition) so be careful how you expand.

basically there will be 2 ways to win the map
1. get steam, expand, get the mana pools and huge gun and hold for 1 turn to win
2. get steam, expand, get the gun, conquer another engine, get more steam, expand more until all enemies are dead.

don't worry about the symmetrical layout. i just put some circles to have a starting image. the thread is more about the idea itself. once i get things rolling and feedback starts coming i'll work on the number of terits propose some bonuses and connections and once the gameplay is started i'll work on the graphics.
and speaking of graphics, in case you haven't realised from the title or the description so far, i'm planning a steampunk map

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[cairnswk]

DiM, welcome back with a new proposal.
Another addition to the " Age of..." Series.
I like the concept with steam having that "too fast" expansion component, and the manna pools with the negative bonus.
...Looking forward to further developments; of course the graphics will tell all as you develop them.

[QoH]

Don't all maps have to accomodate 8 players?

[DiM]

too be honest i've already started working on a few graphics mainly because i need a nice image to put as my sig.
hopefully i'll whip up something this evening to at least give people a feeling of what the map will look like
after the sig is done i'll spend some time arranging terits and connections to start the gameplay discussion.

PS: in case anybody is kind to answer i'm curious how the map making process takes place now.
from what i've seen i have to put the idea in the melting pot, then it is moved to the drafting room, then to gameplay > graphics > final forge > beta > quench.
but who decides when an idea is good and moves it to the drafting room? and can i work on graphics if the map is still in the drafting room? and is gameplay still changeable once i get the badge for it?

[DiM]

Don't all maps have to accomodate 8 players?

no. or at least this wasn't a rule back when i made maps )
for example my realms series only accomodates up to 6 players (7 for the 3rd one)

[Bruceswar]

Don't all maps have to accomodate 8 players?

no. or at least this wasn't a rule back when i made maps )
for example my realms series only accomodates up to 6 players (7 for the 3rd one)

Woah! Welcome back dude! You have it all down. You will be on your way in no time.

[MrBenn]

Don't all maps have to accomodate 8 players?

no. or at least this wasn't a rule back when i made maps )
for example my realms series only accomodates up to 6 players (7 for the 3rd one)

Exceptions can be made for exceptional maps...

[DiM]

Don't all maps have to accomodate 8 players?

no. or at least this wasn't a rule back when i made maps )
for example my realms series only accomodates up to 6 players (7 for the 3rd one)

Exceptions can be made for exceptional maps...

hmm then i'd better do my best to please the foundry.

[DiM]

quick question for a xml guru.

let's say i have 5 terits (A > E) and i want to create the following bonuses.

A-D are cogs
E is steam

hold steam and you get +1
for each 3 cogs you hold you also get +1
for holding steam and 4 cogs you get +3 but when you get this you no longer get the previous bonuses.

is this possible?

[rdsrds2120]

A steampunk map! Sounds great! Been a fan for a while now, and it'll be awesome to see how unique this could be. I'm pretty sure the above would be possible, doesn't USApocalypse use something similar for the radiation territs?

-rd

[DiM]

A steampunk map! Sounds great! Been a fan for a while now, and it'll be awesome to see how unique this could be.

hopefully it will have unique gameplay. as for the graphics style check out my new sig.

I'm pretty sure the above would be possible, doesn't USApocalypse use something similar for the radiation territs?

i have taken a 2 and a half year break from conquer club so my xml knowledge is really really rusty.
if it's possible then it's great

[Victor Sullivan]

quick question for a xml guru.

let's say i have 5 terits (A > E) and i want to create the following bonuses.

A-D are cogs
E is steam

hold steam and you get +1
for each 3 cogs you hold you also get +1
for holding steam and 4 cogs you get +3 but when you get this you no longer get the previous bonuses.

is this possible?

It is indeed!

-Sully

[cairnswk]

quick question for a xml guru.

let's say i have 5 terits (A > E) and i want to create the following bonuses.

A-D are cogs
E is steam

hold steam and you get +1
for each 3 cogs you hold you also get +1
for holding steam and 4 cogs you get +3 but when you get this you no longer get the previous bonuses.

is this possible?

DiM, i am sure it is possible with <overrides> tags
viewtopic.php?f=466&t=23382

[DiM]

created a V1 with terits, names a legend and connections. everything is up for discussion especially the gameplay parts (# of terits/bonuses/connections/etc)
see first post for image and details.

[natty dread]

The name "Age of Steam" is already taken...

http://maps.conquerclub.com/Transsib_19143.L.jpg
http://maps.conquerclub.com/Orient_Express_18832.L.jpg

[DiM]

The name "Age of Steam" is already taken...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!
i hate you!!!!!!

it's steampunk and age of steam worked perfectly. i'm left with punk and age of punk sounds awful

i guess i'm open to name suggestions from everybody. i'd love it to be "Age of X" where X represents steampunk.

[natty dread]

Sorry

You weren't around when I was making the first 2 of my map pack... when I was making the first map (Orient Express) I asked people for suggestions for a name for the map pack, there was even a vote I think, and people liked "Age of Steam" the best... so I can shift the blame a little...

[DiM]

i snooze... i lose.

i guess i should have copyrighted the "Age of..." when i left the site

would Age of Steamworks be ok?
or perhaps just Steamworks

[natty dread]

Steamworks sounds good.

[rdsrds2120]

Going with the fact that Steampunk metals usually assume brass, and that it lines up with the idea of resources like your other maps, an "Age of Brass" could work.

-rd

[TaCktiX]

Welcome back to mapmaking DiM. If you need any ideas or tips, I've made my own steampunk map present in the sig. The idea itself is sound, and since R&C got an exception to go 6, if you justify it well you should be good.

As cairns said, <overrides> tags make that a piece of cake.

One major mapmaking change is that we now have the authority to make a map supersize if its concept justifies the extra space. Smalls can go 1000x800 and larges can go 1400x1200. So if you could do 8 players with the larger sizes, thats a possibility. I get the impression that you specifically want the map to be 4p, so we'll have to wait and see the full concept.

Process-wise, it's fairly similar to the way it was in 2008-09. Now that you've got a functional draft up I'll be moving Age of Steam over to the Drafting Room after I post this. After you get a Draft stamp it's the same gameplay-graphics-XML you remember. The major difference is that maps quench to Beta status first, leaving you liable to making changes as balance requires, and when all those concerns are handled (~1 month later), quenched for good.

[DiM]

thanks for the input mate. i think i'll stick to 2-4 players and regular map size on this one as there aren't too many territories so far.
i will try to take advantage of that supersize map thing at a future date with another map.
oh, and thanks for moving the map

[natty dread]

R&C got an exception to go 6

Wasn't R&C started when the site was still at max. 6 players? I haven't seen any other map exempted from the 8 players requirement...

[Bruceswar]

R&C got an exception to go 6

Wasn't R&C started when the site was still at max. 6 players? I haven't seen any other map exempted from the 8 players requirement...

No R&C came way after that fact.

[DiM]

V2:
*created the first working image with background art and all that
*terits, connections and legend are only temporary drawings until gameplay is finalized

Click image to enlarge.