Colony Information Screen

[Wessel V1]

I just got the latest SVN version. Looks great.

I am wondering if it will be better to add all the flags in Europe too so that it stands out. Just the flags on the approximating spawn locations, statically as part of the background image. Maybe without the circles underneath, just simple flags.

Then you will see Europe with all the flags on top of each other and the sparsely spread colonies all over the world.

That might cause problems with respawned countries, for example in the rare case that Cordoban Morocco controls a colony. It might also look a bit cramped but I have to get back home to see if that is the case.

 

[sedna17]

That might cause problems with respawned countries, for example in the rare case that Cordoban Morocco controls a colony. It might also look a bit cramped but I have to get back home to see if that is the case.

I also feel like flags in Europe would be slightly distracting/misleading. The screen is about colonies. Perhaps adding the flags on the Europe map would help new players to identify which countries hold which colonies. Is that the main reason for the suggestion?

 

[3Miro]

I also feel like flags in Europe would be slightly distracting/misleading. The screen is about colonies. Perhaps adding the flags on the Europe map would help new players to identify which countries hold which colonies. Is that the main reason for the suggestion?

Lets see if I can explain my idea:

Imagine a gigantic Octopus, its head is in Europe and its tentacles are spread around the world towards all the colonies. I want to make it visual so that one can identify the source of the entire colonial effort and where the goods from the colonies are headed. Right now Europe and Siberia look the same.

I know it would be too much to draw doted lines between the colonies and Europe (mostly because it would be too much to keep track of which doted line should go towards which country), but I want the source of all the colonial effort (i.e. Europe as a whole) to be clearly visible on the map.

Another idea would be to put a dot on Europe for each overseas colony. For example, if Spain gets Ivory Coast, then they get a dot on Iberia. Then you can look at Europe with all the dots and easily count which country has the most colonies.

 

[sedna17]

Here's a screenshot with some changes:

1) 3Miro's idea of putting flags on Europe. This is from a real test game. Only flags from currently-alive civs are placed. Placement is rough (many flags need to be nudged a little). I think I like the effect.
2) Boxes showing which civs are in which "continent" for the purposes of providing and/or benefiting from access. This is useful in the Americas in particular. South Africa doesn't really fit in these boxes, since it provides access to Asia. I show this with an arrow. These boxes and arrows are just drawn on the base image, so they are completely non future-proof (i.e. adding or changing colonies and what colonies do would require a modification of the image). I like them as a general idea, but I dislike that it is non future-proof.
3) I can't get the links to the civilopedia to work. I'm not going to spend more time worrying about it. All the relevant information is in the pop-up.

 

[3Miro]

I really like this

You may skip the arrows.

 

[Caliom]

The flags in europe look great. They have the effect 3Miro described.
But i don't like the boxes. They are distracting.

 

[AbsintheRed]

This is getting better each time
I don't mind the boxes at all, but agree with 3Miro that there is no need for the arrow

 

[dragodon64]

I think this is a great idea, it'll add immersion and be very useful.

The modern map is definitely a good idea, imo, and so are the flags over Europe. Can the flags only show countries that have built a colony (or at least a trading company) so that Europe doesn't get too crowded?

3Miro's idea of a European core ensnaring the world would be great, but I'd imagine it would also be difficult to code and appear quite confusing.

When will this be included in the main mod?

 

[3Miro]

I think this is a great idea, it'll add immersion and be very useful.

The modern map is definitely a good idea, imo, and so are the flags over Europe. Can the flags only show countries that have built a colony (or at least a trading company) so that Europe doesn't get too crowded?

The idea is for Europe to be "crowded".

When will this be included in the main mod?

Next release, but I don't know when that would be.

 

[MessageMan]

IMHO the boxes are unnecessary and don't work well with the other parts of the map. The rest looks great.

 

[merijn_v1]

I also don't like the boxes either. But I see that those aren't included in the latest revision. And I don't expect them to be included in the future. So no worries, guys.

 

[sedna17]

I also don't like the boxes either. But I see that those aren't included in the latest revision. And I don't expect them to be included in the future. So no worries, guys.

Indeed. No boxes/arrows on the map, just flags in Europe.

 

[yogiebere]

Gotta say: Holy crap this is cool. I love the real world connection it adds. Now it doesn't just feel like a random world project you're building.

I'm a little concerned that Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, and Virginia will be a bit cluttered though. Could we bump Cuba over a bit to make it less crowded?

I agree with merijn, the grey is perfectly fine. I think all the old style maps are rather cluttered and too dark.