Europa - An Embellished Central Europe Map 2016-10-05

Size: 70x80, no wrap
Random goodies.
Pre-set resources.
No set players.

One thing I've always bemoaned about Earth maps, or even Europe maps, was that in an effort to cover as much playable land as possible, much of the beautiful detail of the terrain was lost. With aesthetics in mind, I thus zoomed in on Europe inorder to capture as much of terrain as possible while still having a life flow through it. To this end, some liberties were taken, such as enlarging Britannia, Jutland, and the Low Countries, and widening Italia so that more cities can fit on there. Unlike most European maps, with this the player should have ample opportunity to expand beyond the typical three or four city limit, so that Le Mans can get some love too, instead of being crowded out by Paris, and Dusseldorf can compete with Cologne.

One result of the terrain detail is that there are a lot more rivers than usual, making the land quite fertile; while I can't vouch fully for their accuracy, they mostly follow their natural courses. The land is also rich with resources, placed along natural areas as best as possible, encouraging plentiful city expansion. Of particular note is that the Alps are actually a challenge to navigate in this map, unlike their paltry one-tile thickness that you'll find in both maps, while the hillsides remain nutrient-rich enough to sustain a small but determined crop of Swiss cities should the player so choose.

The map lends itself well, I think, to some historical scenarios, like the Hundred Years War or German Unification, and I would happily encourage anyone, should they wish to pursue such an endeavour.

The map doesn't include set Civs, but has 25 starting points for random players, with city-states being allowed to spawn anywhere; these locations are roughly the spots of capitals and major cities of Europe, namely:
London, England
Cardiff, Wales
Edinburgh, Scotland
Paris, France
Bordeaux, France
Marseilles, France
Barcelona, Spain
Geneva, Switzerland
Venezia, Italy
Rome, Italy
Genoa, Italy
Cagliari, Sardinia
Amsterdam, Holland
Copenhagen, Zealand
Cologne, Germany
Berlin, Germany
Munich, Germany
Vienna, Austria
Danzig/Gdansk, Poland
Waraw, Poland
Minsk, Belarus
Riga, Latvia
Sarajevo, Bosnia
Bucharest, Romania
Thessalonica, Greece