166x118 'Accurate' Europe (aka the Medieval Map)

ww2commander

Emperor
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This is a 166x118 representation of Europe. This map was intended for a medieval mod so its focus is limited in scope with uppermost Europe (the really cold bits :shifty:) removed and the minimum space used to represent Africa and the Middle East. The orientation has been rotated slightly to minimize the 'uselss' portions of Siberia not needed by my mod (sorry no Ural Mountains :( )




Click here to download from the CFC Database


This map has been constructed from scratch by overlaying a hex grid over an actual map so the land form is as close as possible to the real thing with the exception of the following:
  • Land bridges exists at key strategic points to cater for mod purposes. These plots are Europe/Anatolia (plot 107,44), Sicily/Italy (plot 71,29), Crimea/Caucasus (plot 125,62). These can be removed as needed.
  • England has been widened by 1 hex on each side to allow more room for what I needed to do (represent the various Saxon kingdoms before they merged)
  • The Italian peninsula has been made wider by 1 hex for similar reasons.
  • Malta is represented by 3 hexes as opposed to 2 to allow some room for invading.

Rivers
All rivers have been placed using the same hex comparison method and only deviate slightly to allow breathing room between certain cities in France, Germany and the Balkans (normally this is a 1 hex deviation).

Mountains & Hills
Mountains and hills are also placed as accurate as possible but additional plots have been added to emphasize strategic choke-points or land barriers such as the Alps, Caucasus and Carpathian mountain ranges.

I have also placed key strategic passes through mountain ranges based on the more common ones known during the middle ages. You can add/remove these passes if needed.

Forest/Swamps
As my intent was to mod the medieval era, the map has more forests than would be common today. Swamps are also placed in appropriate historical locations but to a lesser extent to avoid handicapping any player. I have also included oasis plots as close to historical locations where I could find data. Unfortunately this means that most of them are in locations less than ideal to game play!

Player/City Locations
There are no player start locations defined. You will need to do this yourself as the map was intended to be used with custom civs instead of the vanilla civs.

The map has hundreds of city locations represented by 'city ruin' icons. These serve as a guide for my needs but can be replaced with actual player cities as needed. Some city locations correspond to old medieval cities so don't pull your hair out if you are unsure as to some of them. Also, some positions are slightly shifted to give some breathing space between cities in Germany, France and Italy.

The best approach is to use the rivers as guide-points in locating the name of cities on the map. One exception is the proposed position for Medina which is ahistorically positioned at plot 144,3.

Resources
None. You will need to add these yourself. The reasoning here is that some modders might have different ideas as to how they use the map.

Some background as to why I am releasing this
The biggest problem about being a modder is finding the time and energy to see things through! I am the worst offender of this and seem to have quite a lot of finished 'bits and bobs' on my computer that never see the light of day!

This time round I thought it would be a good idea to release my custom map I have been working on for a potential medieval mod (don't ask any questions as you will be disappointed with the answers ;) )

I hope you enjoy this map as much as I enjoyed creating it.

Please feel free to let me know what you think or show off any mod creations you might have using it.

Cheers.
 
Nice job on the map ww2commander.

Looks like a good map to use with the "Super Power Complete Edition" mod, since the mod minimum city distance is 4 and there is lots of space for TSL city placement. Also would be good for an "Anno Domini BNW" map.
 
Also would be good for an "Anno Domini BNW" map.

Originally I started it in the hopes of a Medieval version of AD but both Rob and myself seem to have little time these days for new projects.

I am a bit disappointing by the lack of feedback from most given this thread has over 700 views and 100 downloads! :(
 
Can you recommend a good source for Historical city locations and resource allocations I could reference, to help mod the map?
 
That depends on the era you want to represent.

Ancient, medieval and modern cities tend to vary in location based on their importance.

Best approach is to search for European maps and the specific century (i.e "Europe 600AD" or "Europe 12th Century"). That is how I managed to hunt down most locations on my map.
 
Hey, I found your map today and man, it was love at first sight! I especially love how Britannia looks. So badass :)

If it's okay with you, I would like to try and make a scenario for Rob's Anno Domini BNW.
Yes, I know, I'm not the first to tread such perilous roads, but I'm aching for a good ancient Europe map for Anno Domini and yours is the best that exists IMHO.
 
Hi guys,

Its been a while since posting. Just curious as to how this map plays for those who have tried it.

Is the lag too much and are the games balanced?

I noticed it was included in the Anno Domino mod.
 
I've just downloaded this and will test it in my next few games. I made my own Giant Europe map (also 166x118) a while back (included in JFD's YnAEMP V23 patch), but I was never quite satisfied with it. Looking forward to trying yours :D.
 
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