I have just recently begun playing FFH and having alot of fun with it. I'm wondering if there are any map scripts that are specifically made for FFH, and if not, whether there is a need for one.

I just finished a map script called PerfectWorld (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=239982), so I have some fluency in regard to map scripting. PerfectWorld simulates some of the natural forces in the real world to make a nice, realistic looking earth-like world for the vanilla game and earth based expansions.

I'm new to the FFH universe, so forgive me if there are some basics that I'm not getting. All I have found lore-wise regarding the nature of the world is that it is a flat world. What are the forces that shape the climate of this world? What rules would I apply in making a map script for FFH?

Now that my other map script is finished, I'm itching for a new project.

I have just recently begun playing FFH and having alot of fun with it. I'm wondering if there are any map scripts that are specifically made for FFH, and if not, whether there is a need for one.

I just finished a map script called PerfectWorld (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=239982), so I have some fluency in regard to map scripting. PerfectWorld simulates some of the natural forces in the real world to make a nice, realistic looking earth-like world for the vanilla game and earth based expansions.

I'm new to the FFH universe, so forgive me if there are some basics that I'm not getting. All I have found lore-wise regarding the nature of the world is that it is a flat world. What are the forces that shape the climate of this world? What rules would I apply in making a map script for FFH?

Now that my other map script is finished, I'm itching for a new project.

great to see your interest, i hope Kael can give you some advice.
And I know people would love to have a decend map script.
There are some people with great knowledge and understanding about the FfH universe and mechanics and might be able to give you some input.
Best would be if you have the dedication to update your script often, as new versions will make adjustments to existing scripts necessary, as you know we are still developing.

Good luck, your help is really appreciated!!!

:yup:

I've been hoping for a FfH specific mapscript for a long time now. I'd love to see what you can come up with.

Elves starting in forests, dwarves near hills/mountains, ect. It would be great.

One of the difficulties I would expect is that this seems to be a lore based world, possibly dependant on some famous landmarks that would need to be included in some way. That's why I was wondering if a random script would be suitable for this mod. There might be too many things that have to be defined.

When you are making an alternate history of Earth, you don't have to worry about things like the 'Atlantic Ocean', because it's all a big 'what if' scenario anyway. Conversely, for a World War I mod, the map pretty much has to be an exact copy of Europe. I'm not sure which situation is closer to this mod since I'm still new to it.

I have used FfH_SmartMap with 0.25k, and it seems to work.

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=183924

You could take a look at that. I think it is just a wrapper on SmartMap, which weights starting locations with leaders.

I would not mind seeing a change to the normal map scripts, so that it would always ensure that there atleast a handful of mandatory resources somewhere on the map. Elves atleast need a deer, horses for other races, insense, regeants and gems. Played more then a few games where gems/insense/regeants were not spawned, real pita when trying to use magic and can't

@Cephalo:
A random map script would make MANY people really happy. Regarding your inclusion of landmarks - there are now (0.25) unique terrain features which can also be randomly placed. That's basically all we want along with some options for world setup and tunable resource distribution (ALL resources, including mana!) - and of course control of the barbarians (which was included in 0.25, too, to some extend).
If we want to play a map that is correct with the lore we can play one of the Erebus maps!

@Cephalo:
A random map script would make MANY people really happy. Regarding your inclusion of landmarks - there are now (0.25) unique terrain features which can also be randomly placed. That's basically all we want along with some options for world setup and tunable resource distribution (ALL resources, including mana!) - and of course control of the barbarians (which was included in 0.25, too, to some extend).
If we want to play a map that is correct with the lore we can play one of the Erebus maps!

I can make resources tunable I suppose, as long as the map script can handle any set of resources thrown at it that are not known at the time of coding. The best way would be to put a modifier on the desired frequency found in the XML.

Before I really dig in, I need to play the mod alot more and get a feel for it so I can come up with a set of rules. One of the reasons I made PerfectWorld was because I couldn't stand all that random gobbledegook of desert/plains/grassland that you see on most map scripts. Climate isn't the way it is for no reason, there are forces at work that we have learned to intuitively understand. I wanted maps that made sense; maps that looked like they were hand-made rather than randomly generated. The way to make that happen is to understand why the world is how it is and follow those rules. In a fantasy setting, those rules can be almost anything you want, but having rules and following them will make a big difference in the aesthetic quality of a map script.

Some of the things you may need to remember are:

- The fact that the terrain converts to hell later on - you might want to make sure your set-up is still playable and good-looking after it converts int oa blackened wasteland.

- You might want to put some ice lumps (glaciers?) in, to represent the fact that the age of ice has just ended.

- It'd be nice if the map was very exploration-friendly, with valleys containing hidden secrets and so on.

I'm confused. Is there a problem using the map generator in-game? I've been using the shuffle (I guess this picks a random map style) selection. I haven't played FfH2 enough to know good from bad.

Could you make this script for a Big and Small setting, please? I am somewhat suspicious about a Terra setting in FFH.

- It'd be nice if the map was very exploration-friendly, with valleys containing hidden secrets and so on.

Fun in exploration will be top priority. I've been reading about the history and so forth about how the angels created many worlds as they pleased. I'm wondering if I could throw that in somehow, as in what each angel might put into a world. Rather than giving direct control options like landmass, dryness etc., maybe the user could choose up to three(or more, or less?) angels who were responsible for creating this world. That might give people a chance to come in greater contact with the lore.

Sounds good, but you might have to clarify it a bit in-game; If I was given the choice of creator angels, I'd struggle to remember which names were which. Maybe you could give them footnotes like 'Angel of Fire' to make sure we know what's what.

Oh, I forgot to say, I haven't used any other map generator since I found yours - congrats on making such a good one!

Oh, I forgot to say, I haven't used any other map generator since I found yours - congrats on making such a good one!

Thanks! Make sure you have the latest version. The previous versions were somewhat resource poor, and the latest update offers much improved gameplay.

I tried it last night with FfH, and it seems to work quite well, plenty of pearls and mana. I took great pains to make my resource placer as generic as possible, and it looks like it paid off for this mod. It is very earthlike though, with vast oceans and continents. And a 'new world'! Does that make sense in FfH? Dunno, might add some fun.

For the next script I'd like to try something different. Fantasy maps are often regional, rather than global. For example, Middle-Earth is just a part of a continent really, nobody really talks much about the land mass east of Mordor. Similarly, the ancient Romans believed that their mediterranian empire consisted of the whole part of the world that mattered to civilization; the rest being too alien and dangerous to be of any value.

Going regional will allow me to focus on smaller scale details like river valleys and mountain sanctuaries. It should be fun.

Thanks! Make sure you have the latest version. The previous versions were somewhat resource poor, and the latest update offers much improved gameplay.

I tried it last night with FfH, and it seems to work quite well, plenty of pearls and mana. I took great pains to make my resource placer as generic as possible, and it looks like it paid off for this mod. It is very earthlike though, with vast oceans and continents.

For the next script I'd like to try something different. Fantasy maps are often regional, rather than global. For example, Middle-Earth is just a part of a continent really, nobody really talks much about the land mass east of Mordor. Similarly, the ancient Romans believed that their mediterranian empire consisted of the whole part of the world that mattered to civilization; the rest being too alien and dangerous to be of any value.

Going regional will allow me to focus on smaller scale details like river valleys and mountain sanctuaries. It should be fun.


good luck, thanks for your support!!

Cant wait the effect :)

Altho it is said that FfH world is flat but please make an option that we can chose betwen round and the third one were also the north meets south, forgot the name :]

I bet if you kee p updating it and make the angel flavour options it will be in the 'official' release. Off cours I cant speak for Kael. :P

Unfortunately I think map scrips go into different folders than mods, so it can't be released in the same package the mod is, but maybe they changed since BTS.

You're right, it was tried before, to include some custom mapscripts with the offical download. When played from that folder, they came up blank.
If there isn't a way around that, a nice new script could at least get mention in the wiki! :)

cephalo,

were you ever able to create a working map script for FfH?
(FfH 2 .25 specifically.)

_Valis;6090707']Cant wait the effect :)

Altho it is said that FfH world is flat but please make an option that we can chose betwen round and the third one were also the north meets south, forgot the name :]
Toroidal - because in 3D it'd be a torus (ish); basically like a ring doughnut.
I don't think you'll need to include chunks of ice unless you really want to - obviously I've not played it but the Ice World option in Shadow will simulate that for you. Of course, strangely non-melting chunks (some sort of undersea ice node?) could be placed by the mapscript since the wording in Kael's post suggests that Ice World essentially reveals the underlying terrain as the ice thaws.

Being able to customise based on the angels' influence (with good explanations :)) would be amazing, really flavourful and useful for both regular players and people trying to set up a particular kind of map for scenarios and so on. Good luck!

cephalo,

were you ever able to create a working map script for FfH?
(FfH 2 .25 specifically.)

I'm still working on it. My origional idea didn't work, but my new one has promise. I haven't had the time to do much, but hopefully I will in the next couple of weeks.

Hey, any news or did you abandon this?
Also, how would normal "Perfectworld" work with FFH?

Arg, I was all excited reading the thread before I realized it was necro'd :)

Hopefully it's not abandoned, I love the idea.

I am still working on this, just wanted to get PerfectWorld ready for the contest. Hopefully I'll have some screenshots next week once the basic building blocks are in place. This will be a very strange map script, so it will require some discussion.

I love you.