Gameplay idea

[Andraste]

Nice idea Masterjskye. Maybe something like these?

 

[masterjskye]

This concept really caught my imagination and I found myself wanting to draw... I don't normally draw... Anyway here is my vision:

Bigger Version: http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/2711/map1n.gif

A fair few relics of the gods are scattered about as you can see, with plenty of options for how they could work.

 

[Andraste]

Wow loving the ideas masterjskye. Particularly the cloud at the top with the lightning bolts and the stairs to the underworld! I am looking for some names for all the different territories and commands, hopefully tying them in to which gods' area they are located.For example in Hades domain I was thinking Cerberusis as Cerberus was always employed as Hades' loyal watchdog, and guarded the gates that granted access and exit to the underworld. Anybody else want to contribute some names? Post them here and please give a brief explanation of their meaning and location.

 

[Andraste]

If the map was split artistically by terrain this is what I think might work. White areas belong to Hades, Yellow to Zeus and blue areas are the domain of Poseidon.

 

[Andraste]

Some suggested names for Zeus' territories.

Olympios- from mount Olympus, home of Zeus

Xenios
Philoxen--Zeus was patron of hospitality and guests
Hospites

Horkios-Zeus was keeper of oaths/promises

Agoreus- Zeus was patron of business/traders

Aegiduchos- Zeus was bearer of the Aegis, a protective cloak

Astrapios- meaning lightninger

Brontios- meaning thunderer

Hera
Hester- the 3 goddess sisters of Zeus
Demeter

 

[Andraste]

Some suggested names for Poseidons' territories

Hippios- father/tamer of horses

Enesidaone- Earth shaker

Aegae- home of Poseidon

Helicon- Lord of Helicon

Pelagaeus- Of the sea

Prosclystius- Who dashes against

Asphalius- Secures safe voyage

Epoptes- Overseer/watcher

Ennosigaeus- Shaker of the earth

Phytalmius- Plant nuturer

Isthmius
Taenarius
Genesius- Poseidon had dedicated temples in these places
Samius
Heliconius
Onchestius

 

[Andraste]

Some suggestions for the territories of Hades

Avernus- entrance to the underworld

Cumae
Elysium
Asphodel Meadows- all places in Hades' domain
Tartarus
Erebus

Acheron- river of sorrow
Cocytus- river of lamentation
Phlegethon- river of fire
Lethe- river of oblivion
Styx- river of hate

Mnemosyne- pool of memory

Chthonius- of the underworld

Polysemantor- ruler of many

Polydegmon- host of many

Necrodegmon- receiver of the dead

Necron Soter- saviour of the dead

 

[KungFuDuet]

Here is a new version with the tinge of taste to each god. Added Names. Notice the lightning when they have special features on the region.

 

[Andraste]

Nice work KungFuDuet, it looks amazing. So my friend, what's next? I have no clue what needs doing.:stupido2:

 

[KungFuDuet]

Thanks (Although I believe there are a few aspect to improve on still). Now we just need to agree on the bonuses and take out potential problems with the special Features.

Potential problems:
- If the Command in the SE is held by the same player as the two regions of Poseidon, will the Command still be destroyed?
--- If yes, it will increase the tactical difficulty of the map, which I personally favour more.
--- If no, the SE command would be too easy to hold, and it is possible to hold a super command of all Poseidon's commands by stacking on two regions for a bonus of +8, and 4 regions for a bonus of +10

- The bonus of the commands needs to be established.

 

[Andraste]

I agree with the provisional bonuses that you have assigned the various commands. I take it that you have worked to some sort of formula depending on number of regions and borders. Thoughts on Poseidon special move, I am thinking that if you are concentrating on taking that entire region and the 2 Poseidon regions you are not stopping your opponent from taking Zeus' command and therefore will be losing your advantage very quickly, and perhaps your biggest stack of troops. I was thinking that if you held the 2 Poseidon regions at the start of your turn a pop up box would appear giving you the choice to flood the area or not. This could be used at the beginning of the game to get a foothold in that command, and it would be almost impossible to persuade one of your opponents to then take over one of those regions to allow you to keep all your troops and avoid automatic flooding, that is why I think you should be allowed the choice. I realise holding a super command would give you a huge troop advantage however you cannot directly influence any region on the map like you can with Zeus or Hades.You would still need to attack directly region to region. The initial idea of Hades special power was to freeze any territory on the map for 1 turn, however on reflection destroying a region of your choice and replacing it with a neutral would probably work just as well. So in brief

I agree with assigned command bonuses
I would prefer a choice at start of turn to flood region or not.
Hades super power could be freeze or destroy 1 region on map.

These are just my personal preferences, not set in stone, all up for discussion and possible change:tongue:

 

[Shepherd]

Hey guys, I'm just catching up with this thread. I'm a little confused by what I'm seeing and reading so far, and perhaps as you address my confusion it will help guide the development of this map.

For starters, the layout of the playable area is based on... what exactly? It seems pretty random - and random isn't necessarily a bad thing - but maybe I'm missing something.

The idea of creating a map around the Greek gods is cool, but I'm not seeing how the map has any connection to Greek mythology. If you want to go with an ancient Greek themed map with islands, you could actually use Greek islands (an Odyssey map, perhaps?). A Greek gods map, to me, conjures up the idea of something on multiple planes - heaven and earth and underworld, all connected by Mt. Olympus. I'm not seeing where the leap is from Greek gods to random islands with a dam holding back floodwaters.

I'm also seeing two distinctly different maps being worked on simultaneously. Andraste's maps include a dam and flooding killer neutrals, while KFD's has more distinct islands, more regions, and additional connections. What are we following?

I like Andraste's idea of creating a condition for immediate mass destruction across much of the board - if done right it could really change the way people think in this game. I Also like the idea of a Greek mythology map. But I don't see how the two are connected.

My advice here is my usual advice in most maps: keep it simple to begin with and don't get ahead of yourselves. Concentrate on one theme or device that you want to incorporate into a map, and figure out how to make it work. Don't worry about graphics and command values just yet.

 

[Andraste]

Hi Sheperd, the map started as an idea that if you were in command of certain regions on a map and held them until the start of your next turn you would get an added bonus of being able to attack in a less traditional manner, ie convertion of a region to yours, or freezing a region and disabling it for a full turn, or neutralizing an entire command, all without having to border that region directly.
The original map is indeed a random layout, crudely put together on paint, to try and demonstrate how the bonuses might work.
At the beginning it did not have a theme but KungFuDuet brilliantly suggested that with players being able to wield super powers that it could be a War of the Gods map. I picked up his suggestion ball and ran with it along the Greek mythology theme.
Thats where map and greek mythology collided. You're right the map has no connection to Greek gods and could be used for any number of themes in the same way that the Greek mythology theme might be more appropriate on a different map, with a different layout.If you look at masterjskyes' masterpiece you can see he has the same vision with multiple planes - heaven and earth and underworld, all connected by Mt. Olympus, which I love by the way.
My question is this, should we change the layout to make the map more Greek mythology appropriate, maybe like masterjskyes vision or change the theme. Who knows maybe we could come up with 2 seperate maps.

 

[KungFuDuet]

At the beginning it did not have a theme but KungFuDuet brilliantly suggested that with players being able to wield super powers that it could be a War of the Gods map. I picked up his suggestion ball and ran with it along the Greek mythology theme.
Thats where map and greek mythology collided. You're right the map has no connection to Greek gods and could be used for any number of themes in the same way that the Greek mythology theme might be more appropriate on a different map, with a different layout.

I'm also seeing two distinctly different maps being worked on simultaneously. Andraste's maps include a dam and flooding killer neutrals, while KFD's has more distinct islands, more regions, and additional connections. What are we following?

If you look closely, the version of the map that I have made for Andraste, has actually the same number of regions, with each one having the same borders.

The detailed description on what my version of the map is based on is the following:
- The layout (ie regions and commands) are done from the starter map
- The links are done according to Post 15 (which I believe her links there disappeared in HER later versions)
- The Special Features positions are done according to Post 18:

- Stars (3 regions) from Andraste's map = Hades symbolized (with 3 regions) on mine​

- Lightning bolt island (with 3 regions) = Zeus symbolized (with 3 regions) on mine​

- Dam (2 holding regions) = Poseidon symbolized (with 2 regions) on mine​

The islands are more "naturalised" I guess, since the coastline is not straight as straight. But it is only the look that is different, but everything gameplay-wise is totally the same

 

[Shepherd]

My question is this, should we change the layout to make the map more Greek mythology appropriate, maybe like masterjskyes vision or change the theme. Who knows maybe we could come up with 2 seperate maps.

I sort of think you guys already have two separate maps going here, and the focus is getting lost. It's the charge of the map designer (in this case Andraste) to stay true to his/her vision for the map... decide what you vision is and focus on it.

 

[Cardinalsrule]

I like this concept and it surely looks nice, (great job on that, KFD), but I have a question for Shep (maybe Evan). There are some 'new' conditions being suggested here, do you know if this could be coded without problems? Seems to me that these kind of new, special conditions have given our wonderful code-writer fits in the past to the point that one (great) map from quite a while ago (middle east) still hasn't been released. I love the special conditions, makes for a great new wrinkle in game play, but if Evan can't get the code debugged reasonably easily than they might have to be re-thought (?).

 

[Shepherd]

A fair question, Cards. I don't want to hijack this thread with too much discussion about the current state our site's development work, so I'll just leave it at this:

With an active development team anything within reason can be worked into the game, and the gameplay device being discussed here is well within reason. If there's something the map developer wants to put into a map and the community supports it, we should explore it in the thread and worry about writing the new rules later.