ARCHIVED: Steampunk Worlds - Map Creation Thread

[KingArthur]

BM - That's a difficult task considering the shape you have to play with. Here's a very handy site http://www.geometrie.tuwien.ac.at/karto/norm0005.html
where you can look at lots of different projections and tweak them. I'm quite fond of the top-down polar one #13 but it cuts out a lot of Africa and S America

 

[Blue Monkey]

Thanks for the link. As for the projection, I was already thinking of compressing S. America & Africa.

 

[jlvfr]

Speaking as a drooling-waiting-fan, I'd like to see 2 basic maps: a random/huge (I love the unpredictability of the resource and terrain distribution) and a Mars-like world.

 

[KingArthur]

The way I see it we have 3 ways forward: 1) a world map as per the original idea; 2) a scenario involving Balthasar's map and 3) a scenario involving Blue's expanded map with full Earth map and more planets. How best to proceed? It's not feasable to deal with all 3at once. Personally, I feel we should develop Balthasar's first. When Blue's map is ready it might be possible to port most of the tech tree. What do the rest of you think?

 

[jlvfr]

What do the rest of you think?

I don't understand that map. Would we have 3 maps at the same time!?

 

[Blue Monkey]

I vote for an earth map first; then the other two maps could probably be added with the trick of a separate tech line for the "outre" civs + the space related techs for Earth. Speaking for myself, if the "straight" version already existed, I'd be tempted to give it a go as far as trying an adaptation myself. Sort of a "Return of the Son of SteamPunk Rides Again!".

 

[Balthasar]

I don't understand that map. Would we have 3 maps at the same time!?

Jlvfr, I would be glad to explain anything you want to know about my map. It's intended to give the widest possible experience in a steampunk scenario: Martian maidens, undersea monsters, moonmen, molemen and dinosaurs. The concept has been used in other steampunk forums, in particular the popular Space:1889 web group, but also others. It could be fun, and I hope I get to see it fleshed out.

There is no conflict: there are plenty of earth maps, my map is ready for modding, and Blue Monkey's map isn't ready; if and when it's done, it would duplicate (upgrade from?) my map for the most part, adding mostly new races (of Venus).

In the end, since this is his group, it's King Arthur's decision which map he'd like to work on (it's good to be the King), so I support whatever he wants, and stand ready to help in any way I can.

The tech tree for human races has to be done first for any of these maps anyway, and the tech icons have been lovingly finished by Blue Monkey. I move we adjourn to the technology thread and ask whether King Arthur wants any help or unsolicited advice there first.

 

[KingArthur]

The tech tree for human races has to be done first for any of these maps anyway, and the tech icons have been lovingly finished by Blue Monkey. I move we adjourn to the technology thread and ask whether King Arthur wants any help or unsolicited advice there first.

Well I see the tech tree being quite different for human races depending on the map used. The world map is ideal for competing nation states and needs dealt with in a broader scope. The map with Britain is somewhat different and would be suited to competing small groups of individuals with narrower goals: Scientific Discovery/ Exploration: think League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Secret Societies of Evil, Bonkers Mad Aristocrats with Robot Butlers and other such stuff. Choice of map would affect everything from the building improvements, units and resources we would have in each scenario.

To be clear about where I stand, we should develop Balthasar's map into a scenario. Keep things deliberately small to start ~ 10 civs, 1era worth of techs for each culture group etc. Everything is more manageable that way and more likely to get completed. Ok I can forsee difficulties in getting some units: 4 armed green martians being one but we can take some artistic liberties.

Let's adjourn to the Tech Thread Gentlemen. Cigars and Brandy all round. All help and unsolicited advice welcome.

 

[Blue Monkey]

Let's adjourn to the Tech Thread Gentlemen. Cigars and Brandy all round. All help and unsolicited advice welcome.

As Rudyard said, "There's peace in a Larranaga". That fellow I keep locked in the garret is so busy scribbling he won't even notice I'm gone. But, rather than Islay, I'll have a taste of Java with my Sumatra if it's all the same to you chaps.

 

[KingArthur]

About civs for the Lost Worlds Map. Instead of Scotland and England how about League of Gentlemen led by Phileas Fogg and Secret Evil Society led by Professor Moriarty? There's possibly room for one or two more I would like city locations replaced with locations from fictional literature e.g. No. 7 Saville Row (residence of Mr. Fogg); 221b Baker Street (Holmes); Greystoke Estate (Tarzan - no idea where it was located though). If anyone can up with some more just post!

 

[Balthasar]

Well it's a bigass place. You'll notice I put Loch Ness and Roslyn on the map just to accommodate Ideas like this. (my original idea was to put a teleporter on an island in the lost world connected to Loch Ness, so that every once in a while a swimming dinosaur would cross over - problem was, teleporters don't work on water, and I'd risk getting a T-rex invasion of scotland) I like your idea though, of different factions rather than different countries competing, but we want to keep the number down for game speed consideration. Here are the considerations from the map maker's point of view: each faction should have at least one base on the northern (western) and southern (eastern ) coasts, so that they can build the Nautilus and Rocketship, respectively. I intended that some resource could be strategically placed near each to keep the AI from trying to build say, a rocket in Loch Ness. I intended that airstrips and teleporters would become important in the late game, to save time. As for factions, the storyline can be outlandish as we want, like having Victor Frankenstein and Count Dracula (evil faction, hereafter known as EF) set up shop in Scottish castles. Put Nemo (GF) and Davy Jones (EF) on coastal bases, put Greystoke (GF) on an estate in southern england. As for the rest, I need to do some research. . .

I'll be ready to do some map tweaking as soon as I'm done remodding the terrain of South East Asia for Blue Monkey - that project should be done in a few days, but it's why you haven't heard from me this week. I almost dropped everything to do a full scale Mars map in honor of the Pheonix project, but I've so far resisted the urge.

 

[Balthasar]

Postscript: there is another way to do this that could be MUCH simpler: Leave the Scots and the English exactly where they are, but as AI only, and put the faction "cities" in and around them. Have to get on with the locals to function is all. The map is big enough to accommodate that. Then have the factions' city names be things like "Davy Jones' Tavern" "Professor Moriarty's Academy". These cities could be either built by the factions themselves (AI would not be able to build settlers) or pre-placed (which would allow us to use the famous Resource is City trick to make each look unique - I would enjoy seeing "Frankenstein's Castle" in the highlands). The faction cities could each have a resource that allows a unit: Frankenstein's Monster or Mr. Hyde, etc..
And then we will have successfully merged the Steampunk and Superhero mods altogether. I'm liking this idea more and more.. . .

 

[KingArthur]

I like those ideas too Balthasar.

 

[DJ Bonebraker]

....But what about Dr. Fu Manchu?!

 

[Balthasar]

Fu Manchu would be entirely appropriate since he was supposedly based on criminal characters found in the Limestone borough of London - London's Chinatown - and figures prominently in LOEG II.

Another interesting villain is the mysterious Jean Diable (aka John Devil), created by Paul Feval. John Devil was the world's first supervillain in what was arguably the world's first detective novel in 1861 - thirty years before Conan Doyle created Holmes and Moriarty! JD's plot to use armored warships to free Napoleon and conquer India also makes it the first techno-thriller in popular literature. John Devil also appears in LOEG: The Black Dossier working together with Moriarty. Feval also invented the London crime organization the Gentlemen of the Night, a branch of the international organization known as the Blackcoats.

 

[Moosezilla]

I don't suppose Ming would start in "space"?

 

[Balthasar]

Continued from a different thread:

Since I have never workded with leaderheads, it might take me a while to get it done, but will give it my best shot. And I will let you know if of any bugs that I find. Might be hard to get to the Moon, though. Have you ever heard of Space:1889 by the way?

In the readme file is a list of leaderheads that I used to set this up. If you download and install these files you shouldn't have to change anything in the editor.
For more information, you want to read this tutorial about adding leaderheads. And note that I made no changes to the text files, so you'll have to do that yourself to fully integrate the leaderheads into the mod. I hope this helps you.

As for being hard to get to the Moon: It requires an ocean-going vessel, so you have two choices; either find and add a rocketship unit (as we will eventually do in the Steampunk Mod) or go in a Galleon, like Baron Munchausen. On this map the sea is the "deep sea" and is supposed to be only able to be traversed by the Nautilus (and of course all of the units from Atlantis). You can deal with this as you'd like, only be sure that you can carry enough units, because the only way into the underground world is to conquer at least one of the undersea cities, which allow access to the underground tunnels.

Yes, I have heard of Space:1889 and it was one of the inspirations for this map.

Keep an eye on this Steampunk Forum for more ideas that will be coming up soon regarding techs, units, leaderheads and Civilopedia entries. Add the Steampunk Interface for more atmosphere. You could learn alot by building up your map as we do ours; and by all means feel free to comment: we live for feedback.

P.S. Since I did the leaderheads, R8XFT (Rob) suggested using Catherine the Great as a leaderhead for england, as she looks like Victoria. I like that idea.

 

[jlvfr]

I don't suppose Ming would start in "space"?

Maybe an island big enough to hold 3-4 cities, with the capital being size 12 at start? Give him (sorry, Him!!!) the techs to cross the sea.

 

[Balthasar]

I don't suppose Ming would start in "space"?

I would save Ming for a sequel to this mod: BlueMonkey's "Outer Worlds" map, perhaps. . .

 

[jlvfr]

I would save Ming for a sequel to this mod: BlueMonkey's "Outer Worlds" map, perhaps. . .

Sequel called "What happened when our steamspaceship took off"