Hi everyone,
My apologies for only now getting back to May stuff! I got suddenly swamped with tasks for my academic work as well as for Firaxis stuff and lost track of the days.
Here's my take.
Francel
Ra-Kedet on more or less the right side, though should be nearer the coast.
pyramids of Giza are further to the south and on the west bank, not the east. The sphinx is in the right spot, though. The theater square district on the Red Sea should likely be a Commercial Center or, better yet, a Harbor district out into the sea. This was a branching off-point for Egyptian trade across that body of water.
While the Perisan cities aren’t in quite the right place, the conflict with Persia in the 7th century BC is entirely appropriate – indeed, Egypt faces conquest by the Persians during this time (so, to be ENTIRELY accurate, your success against them isn’t terribly accurate)!
Planktonic
Canada is perfectly represented here, with each city in its right location. Let’s look in more detail, though. Let’s take Vancouver – the actual city is on the south side of the river, as is the campus. Europe is here in a clash between gameplay and history – Britain had focused on his colonial empire overseas and so had little to colonize there on the continent (alas the wilderness ruin that is Europe on this map…).
The rest of the map is really impressive. I particularly like the Hindu India section (though religion in the area is always a dicey prospect – Islam, “Hinduism” [itself a colonial-era amalgam of a diverse indigenous tradition], Buddhism and Jainism were all present).
In short, I have to rule in favor of Planktonic here, although I do like the attention to district placement and other details on Francel’s map!