Map of Erebus (Alpha)

Greenlocke

Northern Hermit
Joined
Jun 19, 2003
Messages
288
Location
Alberta, Canada
I'm not sure how large the playerbase of Fall Further is, but this is the modmod I've been playing the most. I decided to make a proper map of Erebus, based on the information from the wiki and my own schema. I've tested it out with a few different civs, but thought it might be more useful to have a few other people try a few other civs and report back any problems or comments.

Screenshot
Spoiler :


Google Drawing (Initial Planning)

Rationale for Placement:
The center of the map is a mountain shrouded in ancient forest. This is the location of the compact and the seven pines. Four rivers spread from these mountains, watering the surrounding forest as they spread.

The South:
The Dark Elves straddle the split in the southern branch, which cuts them off from Yggdrasil. The southwest branch splits several times as it empties into the ocean. The desert it passes through is the domain of the Malakim. The southwest branch divides the southern desert from the plains above. The desert represents the lands of Patria blasted during the war of the gods. The Scions survive in this haunted lands of ruins. The Sidar, disconnected from the world, exist on a small peninsula south of the desert. The southwest river continues west, dividing the Luichirp in the mountains from the Balseraphs on the coast. Over those mountains is the location where Cassiel is starting a new breed of men separated from the Gods.

The West:
Between the great rivers are the Sheiam and the Bannor. Growing up on the western plans, they share the west with the Austrin, who can travel through the mountains and reach the sea. There they will find the Lanun, who can (but haven't) expanded into the islands of Erebus. In the northwest, the Pyre of the Seraphic has heated a lush jungle through the age of ice. One branch of the clan survive here. South of them, clinging to the jungle heat, you can find the Chislev - who may get in the way of the Clan when they raid south into Bannor lands.

The North:
Two rivers flow northward. The northwest river passes through the lands of the Elohim. As it flows, it passes through Jonas Edain's Clan stronghold before emptying into a tundra floodplains which a pack of Doviello call home. The northeast river splits the land of the Amurites and the Kahd before emptying into the northern ocean. A second pack of Doviello live on the northern shores. Between these two packs of Doviello in the north you can find the Illians on the north shore of a freezing lake - struggling until their leader is reborn.

The East:
The spine of the world, a large mountain range, frames the eastern shore. Separated from the world by towering peaks, the Jotnar cling to survival in their mountain caves. Similarly, the Khazad live within their mountain stronghold, and may or may not venture west out of the mountains. If they do, they will encounter the Dural in the foothills or the Hippus on the plains. Further north, the Archos claim a large swath of hilly forestland. The fourth and final river flows southeast, through the lands of the Kuriotates, dividing the swamps and jungles of the south from the plains. In those jungles you will find the remnants of the Calabim - eternal enemies of both Malakim and Kuriotates. Across a great jungle lake the Cualli and Mazatl stare each other down and compete for control of the jungle.

I've set the game up for advanced start, so you don't have to start on the exact tile I've selected.

I have three questions for people to consider as they play:

A. Is the starting location for your civ appropriate? Flavourful, but not overpowered nor underpowered?

B. In which direction did you (and other civs) expand? Why did you choose that direction?

C. What should I name the various locations (rivers, lakes, mountains) to give the map some lore-based flavour?

How to play:

1. Place the WBS attachment into your Beyond the Sword>Saves>WorldBuilder folder
2. Open up Fall Further v 0.51
3. Choose Single Player>Play a Scenario>Erebus 3
 

Attachments

  • erebus3.CivBeyondSwordWBSave
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Is that the starting position or several turns in? (In paticular, do the Hippus start with 3 settlers?)
Khazad position looks horrible. Lanun area has way too much coast (as in, there is coast where ocean should be, which allows very early exploration). Some starting positions seem very disproportionately spread out or close together.
But I don't really play Fall Further, so take this with a grain of salt.
 
I think the screen shot is 3 turns in. I was testing the hippus, and opted for 3 undeveloped cities during the advanced start.

How does the khazad look horrible? Can you be more specific? They have done quite well in all tests.

Lanun have NOT expanded via water during playtesting. The entire area is intended to be navigable early on. There are only a few areas of deeper water.

During 3 play tests the struggling civs are the Illians, Lanun, calabim, and Pyre clan. The cualli and mazatl haven't done really well either. I think the Illians need some hills, while the Calabim need some of the jungle cleared. Not sure what is up with the Lanun. I need to make an entrance into the Jotnar start. They cannot be defeated otherwise. I'll probably make that entrance on the east side of the spine mountain. It is really to early to tell. It takes more than a couple tests to know if the ai can't work with a start.

I'll play the khazad next, but their location was actually the flavour behind the entire map. A secluded green valley filled with resources but separated from the rest of Erebus...

Which modmod is active? Rife is the best, but has too many flaws. Maybe I should be porting the map to a more popular modmod.
 
Well, I play RifE, but I have no idea what's the most popular. Also, yes, RifE is flawed, but mostly only in graphics and lore. Master of Mana has far too many poorly dressed women for me.
 
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