New and Improved Hereford Map Scenario

[antaine]

This is a Eurocentric game played on a map inspired by the Hereford Mappa Mundi, a traditional "T-O map." Ever wonder what could have happened if the Medieval European view of the world turned out to be accurate? Now you can find out!

This is not an exact copy of the Hereford map, but it is rather close. I have included other features typically found on medieval maps, including mythical places, presumption of boundaries around a flat world, Latin (and creatively spelled) labels, and all the usual inaccuracies. If you really want, you can enable the other civs by editing the save file, but these maps portrayed a European perspective, and so non-European civs are added for "flavor," and might not work so well led by a human (either grossly over- or under-powered). Aside from that, the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires (the Ottomans especially) are HUGE and contain many resources and wonders. Wonders have been placed according to actual locations and what would have existed at the time (circa 1000-1200 AD). The game is designed to be explored down into the present day, and so there are elements such as leaders or even entire civs that would not exist until later that have been included. Other elements, such as the merging of numerous Italian city-states into two (Venice and the Papal States) were also concessions to the 18 civ rule and attempts to make as many playable European civs as possible. I have attempted to basically balance the playable civs, but many have features (number of cities, buildings, wonders, etc) that others do not. You'll have to try them all and see which are your favorites...


***In this version of the scenario, the resource-rich fantasy elements in the corners (The Earthly Paradise, Amazonia, The Kingdom of Prester John, and the ruins of Atlantis) are accessible for settlement if you can figure out how. It won't be easy or cheap but it is possible. Each has loads of resources that are rare on the main map, so settling one of them can make a civ exceedingly wealthy.
Playable civs:

England
Ireland (Brian Boru)
Spain
Portugal
France
Scotland (William Wallace)
Holy Roman Empire (Otto)
Russia
Vikings
Republic of Venice (Pietro Polani)
The Church (Pope Gregory VII)

Nonplayable civs:

Byzantine Empire
Ottoman Empire
Ethiopian
Malinese
Indian
Chinese
Japanese
Barbarian (Mongol, Zulu, Indochinese, Korean, Swiss)

 

[The Capo]

You should do things like the Holy Grail too, I like this and think this could be a fantastic mod-scenario concept.

 

[antaine]

I may mod it someday...or somebody else might. For right now I've got my hands full with an MA thesis and attempting a multiplayer mod of Rhye to match the single player one I just did.

I did make the mythical lands "accessable" due to your suggestion in the other thread (and added two more...I figure something has to substitute for the absent New World...), but for now it's just a scenario...

 

[antaine]

I am very interested to know, however, if anyone manages to colonize one of the mythical places in the corners...if you do, please tell me in a PM or in a reply with a spoiler how you managed to do it, in what year, and whether or not you had to open the worldbuilder to figure out how...

 

[Baldyr]

First of all - very cool scenario, and I second the request to make this into a mod - eventually.

Since I'm learning Python and at the same time building scenario making tools, this could actually be a good scenario to try my stuff on. If someone (preferably antaine) would take the reigns on development and design, I could probably supply the Python code (if no seasoned programmers happen to join in, that is).

Inclusion of new game elements like units and such could be done by someone with experience in that sort of thing. Also, modding the XML stuff would be in the realm of mod design.

Maybe once you're done with the thesis, then? In the meanwhile there could probably be some useful play testing done with the current scenario. Anyone tried it yet?

 

[antaine]

I played it multiplayer for about 5 hours last night. all seemed to enjoy it, but i noted a couple wishlist things that I'd like to fix

1) I like the calendar_year better than calendar_default, but it has the europeans colonizing china by the 1200s...perhaps a custom calendar that splits the speed difference between the default and the yearly

2) starting in the 1200s the byzantines starting conquering ottoman cities..I don't know it the ottomans would eventually turn the tables on them, but I'd like to see a slow byzantine decline rather than a slow ottoman decline (neither are human-playable).

3) more civs...I'd like to put in real civs (some playable and some not) for combined italian ones and some others like the zulus and mongols. I'd also like to have the amazons and prester john be nonplayable civs with restrictions (no settlers or boats)...also, Prester John should have Christianity, but not have contact with any other civs until they actually enter his valley. I'm thinking new civs should be
The Swiss
Genoa
Florence
Naples
Tibet
Khmer
Korea

I'm also wondering if I should make Cadiz Ottoman to start and set war between them and the spanish and portuguese. I think I may test that in my own version. I'm also giving them the north african cities that are currently barbarian.

4) it would also be good to come up with a different method for complicating passage to the mythical areas and prohibiting non-European settlement...perhaps a new tile with a special property

5) Quests that instigate things like the crusades and settlement of the mythical areas.

That's all that jump to mind at the moment....but a new thread really should be started for possible fantasy mod development...for now, I'm really interested in making sure this scenario is as good as it can be!

 

[antaine]

14 March 2010, 940pm EST I have updated the scenario file to achieve better historical balance between the Ottomans and Byzantine, as well as the calendar/tech progression. If you're currently playing this, you may wish to download the new version.

Sorry for any inconvenience.

 

[silentounce]

Shouldn't Zara Yaqob start in The Kingdom of Prester John?

 

[antaine]

Originally, yes, but the Kingdom of Prester John kept moving...as more and more of the world was explored, and it was found that John was not in the revealed areas, his land kept getting placed over the next horizon, eventually becoming most associated with India and the legend of St. Thomas (who actually did make it there and did begin a lost-then-found Christian community that persists to this day), so just as there does seem to be some historical equation between Prester John's "Kingdom" and the area of India, Atlantis and Thera, and the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates and Eden, these areas have all become more mythical than not...hence the decision to make them all into kinds of "Easter eggs" on the map.

 

[silentounce]

Well, I was kind of joking. Hence the wink. But I remember when the Europeans met Zara Yaqob's envoys they kept referring to their ruler as Prester John and it confused the heck out of them. Next time I get a chance to play I'll download this scenario and give it a try.

 

[The Capo]

Yeah, that's true. They so wanted to "find" the Kingdom of Prester John they just assigned it to Zara as soon as they met him. The strange part about it was that Ethiopia and Byzantium had regular contact for a long time. So a Byzantine envoy would have laughed at this notion. Could you imagine Zara...

"Who the is Prester John?"

 

[antaine]

heh...

On a related note...I just managed to colonize the kingdom of prester john in-game for the first time. I think I may need to decrease the hoops through which a player must jump in order to reach the corners...any thoughts on this?

 

[Lachlan]

Why not give ability to have to play non european civ ?

I would love to play Byzance, or Turkish or an asian kingdom or african kingdom...

 

[antaine]

well, they could always be enabled, and I had them all enabled in my early test versions, but I caution you on two things:

1) the thing that makes T-O maps novel is that they reflect an inherent perspective...that perspective is both European as well as Christian...other regions had their own romantic visions of the world which would probably result in better scenarios for them. I'm not so sure it would work well in multiplayer with a european civ and, say, an African or Asian one cooperating...but you're welcome to give it a try.

2) you will find the Ottomans and the Byzantines ridiculously overpowered (especially the Ottomans) due to their size and wonders possessed at the start. Again, however, you're welcome to give them a try as well.

I've included two copies of the scenario with this message. "Mappa Mundi" is the original scenario with some alterations to calendar, units, barbarians and the pathways to the mythical corners.

"Worldwide Mappa Mundi" is the same, with all civs enabled for human play...

...enjoy!

 

[antaine]

I have tried for better balance, especially in the single player version, by changing some of the leaders (some pictures are now repeated, but that was always the case with the Irish and Scots, so such is the price for having the multiplayer convenience of a scenario vs a mod), but the new leaders will hopefully encourage the appropriate civs to expand or turtle.

I have also softened the attitude settings...I realized that i'd made initial hatreds so strong that even after being tremendously friendly into the 21st century there were still -54 ratings and refusal to sign open borders with some civs.