Conquer Club

MOST RECENT (R12) IMAGES.




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Number of Territories:
36

ORIGINAL MAP
http://www.rjbeals.com/iceland/Test_03.jpg

Why Iceland?
I’ve always had a fascination for this small European Country. It’s situated smack on top of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, so it’s currently a very active hot-spot of volcanic and geothermal activity. Not only that, 11% of the country is covered by glaciers! Needless to say, it’s probably one of the most beautiful places on earth. The center of the island is pretty much uninhabitable, so the sparse population lies along the coast, which is warmed by the Gulf Stream.

Initial thoughts:
Since I prefer straightforward maps, I’ll always lean towards that style design & gameplay. This is really no exception. What’s different is this map flows in a ring. The inner region will be barren, with the main attacking going around the rim. Simply own a bonus region and get the bonus (not identified yet).

Fun Facts
30 post-glacial volcanoes have erupted in the past two centuries, and natural hot water supplies much of the population with cheap, pollution-free heating.

The highland interior is uninhabited (and uninhabitable), and most centres of population are situated on the coast.

Iceland was settled by Nordic people in the 9th century

The Icelanders still speak the language of the Vikings, although modern Icelandic has undergone changes of pronunciation and, of course, of vocabulary!

The standard of living is high, with income per capita among the best in the world.

Life expectancy, at 81.3 years for women and 76.4 for men, is one of the highest in the world, and a comprehensive state health-care system aims to keep it that way.

Iceland is alone in upholding another Norse tradition, i.e. the custom of using patronymics rather than surnames; and Icelander´s Christian name is followed by his or her father´s name and the suffix -son or -dóttir, e.g. Guðrún Pétursdóttir (Guðrún, daughter of Pétur). Members of a family can therefore have many different "surnames", which sometimes causes confusion to foreigners!


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I like it

The visuals on this map are stunning. Make sure you do not deviate from this current style...it fits Iceland near perfect I think.

This map will be interesting, as bottlenecks are essentially a feature on this map, but they don't look unbalanced (though I haven't really examined too carefully yet). It'll be an interesting map to follow, I look forward to it.

I also like the general softer color style you do, RJ. Keep up the goodwork. (And good job having an extremely well created first post with adequate information...especially loved the sketches/development. )


--Andy

Very good first draft and post.

Your graphics are as always solid

Im not going to numb your mund with feedback atths time since anything i can think of you probably will have already thought out.

I will make 1 small request,

Would you consider breaking up the white in the glaciers? They stick out a little to much compared to everything else

This map looks so good you have to continue it.

I don't like the seemingly floating glaciers (I think?) that you have named. Maybe that floating look works for others or is intended for good reason, but I don't like how it looks.

A route up the middle would be nice. Perhaps from the south eastern green territory to the northwestern blue territory. This doesn't add any more territories with borders, but creates a path in the middle that serves a good purpose.

Thanks all for the positive feedback so far.

The glaciers do stick out a little much. I've named them because I initially wanted to include them in play, but decided not to as they are just huge blocks of ice. They work better as natural barriers. I'll try to work on their style. I may keep the names on them though, as they are a big part of the country.

And they are not floating, they are actually blocks of ice wedged in mountains. So maybe if I work on the surrounding mountains, they fit it in better. And I do think the central path would work good for game flow. If you start the game with armies on the west and east, it would be good to have a connection to bring your forces together, instead of working from both sides.

And the colors I'm not satisfied with, They will remain muted and "pastel", but just different than now

What do you feed your gfx program?!

great start

i just got an idea!

how about you can attack through the glaciers?

who else voted quench???


i know i did

Unit_2 wrote:i just got an idea!

how about you can attack through the glaciers?

Nah, I think they'd work better as impassables.
Also, the border lines look a little jittery, but maybe that's just because of the background behind them.
Map looks sweet!

Kaplowitz wrote:What do you feed your gfx program?!

Lots of time I guess.. Photoshop CS3.

Unit_2 wrote:i just got an idea! how about you can attack through the glaciers?

Well I tried thinking of a way to somehow make the glaciers come into play, but I just didn't think it was necessary, or practical. I'm waiting for the comment, "why would anyone want to battle for control of Iceland ?? - it's nothing but volcanoes and glaciers !!" I realize that, but then there are maps like Chinese Checkers and Crosswords - which shows the site is more than typical battle maps.

But anyways Unit_2, I'm just not sure how attacking though the glaciers could add anything to the gameplay. I kind of think what sets this map apart is the ring of territories.

Keep checking the thread and thinking outside the box though. I appreciate all feedback!!

my gawd that's a sexy map

as for the gameplay, ill have to look at it a bit more, but it looks very playable to me

i think it looks great.

AndyDufresne wrote: (And good job having an extremely well created first post with adequate information...especially loved the sketches/development. )

Just wanted to say thanks Andy. Tried to make it a little more personal for you foundry regulars. It takes a lot of time/work to research the major cities and geography of a foreign country. But It's really so much fun for me. I think I have more fun creating the maps than playing on them. I'm already a Björk / Sigur Rós fan - so I have to visit Iceland for sure, with this map on a T-Shirt!

I would have posted a draft sooner but I was trying to have the territ's worked out with the borders.

Here's my first draft working on the relief style of the landscape. (which is the image in my sig)

This looks awesome. Clean and simple while but very artistic. I just love the style of this map. I can't wait to see where this ends up.

WM

I like your ocean. You've always got a nice body (of water ).


--Andy

great draft. this map will have lots of fans. i know im already a fan.

I don't like the sharp contrast between the natural looking green and mountains and those teal blobs.

keep the glaciers. the circular nature of the territories it unique and i think it makes the map stand out a bit amongst the 70+ maps already available.

Coleman wrote:I don't like the sharp contrast between the natural looking green and mountains and those teal blobs.

yes, the glaciers may not fit how I envisioned them. They'll be worked on though.

I officially call dibs on the: In Honor of RjBeals Tournament when Dustbowl and Iceland are complete. If anyone else tries to do it I will hand down punishments.

My favorite maps are yours, RjBeals. By a landslide.

Optimus Prime wrote:I officially call dibs on the: In Honor of RjBeals Tournament when Dustbowl and Iceland are complete. If anyone else tries to do it I will hand down punishments.

My favorite maps are yours, RjBeals. By a landslide.

Thanks prime.

I'll have an update soon - next day or two. I've been working, but not quite ready to post the image yet.