Chinese Checkers [Quenched] May '07 re-opener?

[Enigma]

I like it, but agree the center white color stands out a bit; disconnected. The center should be the same texture to match the colored triangles.

I like the background. Sometimes war games should be a bit serene. This is the game the generals play far from the battle field.

I think it would look funny without the center spot... all those lines crossing in the middle would be confusing.

ya- maybe you could make the center brown instead of white, playing on the old wooden board idea. that would also make the army circles and the kanji stand out more. not sure if it would look right though.

i agree bout the background- think sun tzu.

[Molacole]

I like the background a lot! Problem is that the board doesn't blend in at all even since you've toned it down a shade. Maybe if you toned the board down a shade and toned the borders of the triangles down 2-3 shades it would help it fuse better.

Do you think you could make the symbols in the middle of the board the colour of green in the background and then change the shade of the white or go with a different colour all together? It might open up the option of an old wooden type texture and allow you to keep it looking clean.

It looks good, but it just seems like the triangles are hovering and not sunken into the picture.

[Guiscard]

I like the new background and colours, but feel that red and purple don't really fit with the rest of the colours or background.

If you found alternatives for the red and purple I think it would actuall fit the background quite well. I also agree with Lone Prophet in that it maybe would benefit from being tilted slightly. Even if it did reduce playing area that isn;t neccessarily the end of the world, as its not like theres long territory names to fit in. Would make it look less regimented I think and more like a real board on a table.

Playability wise I think it could be a good idea to get rid of the centre space. Would encourage people to attack accross the board and make things much moe interesting.

[Enigma]

It looks good, but it just seems like the triangles are hovering and not sunken into the picture.

im not sure if it is supossed to look sunken into the picture

[oaktown]

changes to this version:

-white hexagon is no longer white
-made the red a bit warmer
-moved the bonus legend up below the title, which I think is both easier to read and restores the integrity of the background painting
-textured the entire hexagon a bit more, and softened the divisions between colors a bit

I absolutely appreciate all of the feedback on this map - it has come a long way and looks much better than the first attempt. However, in the immediate future I'm going to focus a bit more on how it plays rather than how it looks, because while there are some little details to work on (like the territory connections being hard to see now) I am rather pleased with how it's coming along. For instance, I think the particular blue and purple shades work - the blue in particular is actually lifted from the background image.

EvilOtto and I will be field testing this and Monopolonquer Cluboly tomorrow... we'll let you know how it goes.

[KEYOGI]

I like the new update, my only real concern now with the graphics is the army shadows. I don't think they work as well with the new board colours, specifically the former white area in the middle. See what others say, but I feel they at least need the same texture as the rest of the board to retain that 3D look. At the moment they seem to sit on top of the board.

[oaktown]

I like the new update, my only real concern now with the graphics is the army shadows... at least need the same texture as the rest of the board to retain that 3D look. At the moment they seem to sit on top of the board.

Ugh, yeah you're absolutely right. I should never check in as I'm trying to go to bed, but this was an easy fix. Now it's the letters that look like they're sitting on top, but I'll deal with that another time.

[Lone.prophet]

i like it, not much more improvemend is needed

[KEYOGI]

I'm still not so sure they look right.

What about making the shadows blend from black to white instead of grey to white? You could also use black for the connecting lines to solve the problem of them being hard to see in places.

[Guiscard]

Looks much better the colour for the centre is spot on now. Good work.

[boberz]

im sorry if this was decided ages ago but i much prefer the black background with perhaps a gold dragon f it needs interest, looks more authentic.

[Bad Speler]

I agree with keyogi, the army shadows look a bit off with your new version

[Marvaddin]

Wont you even try a battle image for background??

[oaktown]

Wont you even try a battle image for background??

send me one a good one and I'll drop it in there.

What about making the shadows blend from black to white instead of grey to white? You could also use black for the connecting lines to solve the problem of them being hard to see in places.

I've tried black - it looks really heavy because there is no black anywhere on the board or in the background. Right now I think evn the black letters look too heavy, but for the sake of playability I'm leaving them as is... maybe I'll play with a dark brown or green, more in fitting with the background.

Connecting lines I'll fuss more with... it may mean a lighter connecting line over the dark color triangles.

im sorry if this was decided ages ago but i much prefer the black background with perhaps a gold dragon f it needs interest, looks more authentic.

We could always go back to it, but the majority of the responses seem to favor this softer look, as do I.

i like it, not much more improvemend is needed

Looks much better the colour for the centre is spot on now. Good work.

Thanks... nice to hear somebody say. Today I field test.

[oaktown]

here's a glitch nobody caught: there are 61 territories, not 51 as originally reported. clearly nobody taught me how to add 36+25.

this is why we play test boards before they go to final forge.

[Molacole]

the latest map texture looks blurry to me.

[wcaclimbing]

could you put some shadows around the map to make it look more like it is on top of teh background?
right now it looks like the background doesnt really belong there.

[Guidocks]

that looks great i think u just need 2 add the finishing touches and it shud b ready 2 play

[oaktown]

Played a quick game on the board yesterday, and made one change which improves playability, though may detract from clarity. We found that the center space was useless - it's the longest route between triangles, and with six border is not worth defending as it isn't part of a continent. So I've removed it and now all six center spaces have attack access to each other: F, G, K, L, R & S can all hit each other, making cross-board movement much easier. Is that clear enough from the map??

This has the added benefit of leaving the board with exactly 60 territories, which is evenly divisable by 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. No more neutral armies!

The +4 bonus for a territory played as a bit high, but the masses have spoken through the poll (17 to 9) and I think it will work. The additional +3 for opposites is attractive, but it will be very difficult to defend two disparate regions; if anybody has the guns to make it happen, more power to them!

Some things still to do: shadow the board on the background, work on clarity of the territory links. Other than that I think most major suggestions have been addressed.

[johloh]

looking better every round...

So I've removed it and now all six center spaces have attack access to each other: F, G, K, L, R & S can all hit each other, making cross-board movement much easier. Is that clear enough from the map??

this is not clear by looking at the map (kinda clear after reading legend). What about instead of having a hexagon in the middle having all the lines meet in the middle? i dunno. i just dont think its clear when looking at the board.

shadow the board on the background

good, but i think just be careful to not make it too drastic of a shadow...

[Enigma]

looking better every round...

So I've removed it and now all six center spaces have attack access to each other: F, G, K, L, R & S can all hit each other, making cross-board movement much easier. Is that clear enough from the map??

this is not clear by looking at the map (kinda clear after reading legend). What about instead of having a hexagon in the middle having all the lines meet in the middle? i dunno. i just dont think its clear when looking at the board.

*nods* when i first looked at it i thought they could only attack the neighboring center circle. i hate to loose the hexagon though, it looks cool

[sully800]

I don't know how well its works but I quickly drew a version with a connecting line between each one of the circles and I think it looks kind of cool. If you wanted to go that route you could also draw each of the line from the same point on the circle which would give an even clearer image of a star in the center. (actually a star bounded by a larger hexagon)

[cowshrptrn]

looks like a mess, sorry sully. Looking at it closer, it might look cool if it were more even, and the star and hexagon had thicker lines or something so they popped a bit.

[AndyDufresne]

Regarding the center...perhaps if you draw a small circle, fill it in, have all the points touch the circum. of it, you could state in the legend that you can attack from any point around the circle. Might be clearer than all the lines.


--Andy

[cowshrptrn]

EDIT: never mind, my bad for not reading the rest of the thread