Map Development

Discussion on game mechanics, balancing etc.
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Alias72
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Map Development

Post by Alias72 »

hello and sorry to bother you. I have never designed or assisted with game development before, but I would like to try my hand at creating a map or two. I'm not sure what program you've been using to design the default map, especially since the editor has more dead ends than a country road, However if I knew a little more about the save format you're using I can work off the xml directly. Specifically I am unsure as to how you are storing the terrain data.

also if you have a 1400 wide by 700 tall blank map I can use the editor to modify the terrain types into place. I should be able to toy around with this between searching for a job, and can post updates if not daily then certainly weekly.
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Trilarion
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Post by Trilarion »

sorry for now answering right away, I seem to have forgot it. thank you for wanting to assist. so what kind of map would you like to create?

yes, the editor is really not good at the moment, although setting the terrain is the only thing it actually can do. editing the save file directly is impossible, since the map part is a bit stream - so only software readable. I used a map from the original Imperialism as template for the actual scenario. I hope to change it sufficiently over time to make it an independent work.

you could paint your map using colors for the terrain and I can parse that.

or you wait until the editor has improved.

or I make you a blank map. however the current map is only 100x60 tiles, do you really want a 1400 x 700 blank map or maybe 140x70?
Alias72
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Re: Map Development

Post by Alias72 »

I am also sorry for taking my time to reply to your posts. the slow pace here, combined with work elsewhere has led me to be somewhat slow in my answers.

I was hoping to create the world, set in the year 1861. I thought it may be interesting for players in this period. the USA is in the midst of its bloodiest conflict, Italy has just been formed and is eying Venice, Prussia and Austria are vying for control of Germany, the Ottomans are trying not to lose the Balkans, while the Russian Empire tries to wrench them from the Turks. and in the far east Japan is about to modernize like no other nation before her.

I do want the massive map, because even with a north projection Europe will be impossible to model, though this may accidentally break the game.

other maps that I am interested in are the Italian peninsula, the balk ans, and an enlarged Europe containing north Africa and the middle east.

with respect to the color map, which rows will be shifted, and in what direction. (will the top row hexes be placed to the right or the left of the following?)
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Trilarion
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Massive maps

Post by Trilarion »

Even rows (2, 4, 6, ...) are shifted half a tile/pixel to the right with respect to odd rows (1,3, 5). You could just paint on a normal rectangular image and I would do the shifting later. Also the image should have three layers (or three images), one for terrain, one for rivers, and one for cities and province, nation boundaries...

The editor will also be improved but that might take a while. But anyway if you make a map now as images I will for sure import them and make a scenario file out of it. That's promised.
Alias72
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Re: Map Development

Post by Alias72 »

alright thank you and I'll see what I can do.
Alias72
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Re: Map Development

Post by Alias72 »

sorry about taking o long to reply. the rivers and province boundaries. all fall on the edge of a tile. so my question is will they be shifted left or right, and up or down.
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Trilarion
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Re: Map Development

Post by Trilarion »

there are several solutions:

- one could define that they are shifted right and up or
- one could use 2x2 pixel tiles instead and then make the rivers and province boundaries also 2 pixels wide, one pixel on each side of the border of the tile

you just choose one convention that you like most and tell me, what you have chosen, I will then sort it all out according to this
buildingsandbayonets

Re: Map Development

Post by buildingsandbayonets »

As you appear to making an Imperialism 3 rather than a direct remake, is there any intent to incorporate the New World as in Imperialism 2. Also, if so can the tribal powers pls behave counter-aggressively rather than letting powers nibble them away at leisure...
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Trilarion
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Re: Map Development

Post by Trilarion »

Hi buildingsandbayonets,

It's possible to incorporate the New World and one could make the tribal powers behave more aggressively although I remember that even in Imp 2 they tried to counter-attack sometimes. The question is then how potent you would like them to be?

Currently I did not plan to make such a scenario but at some point in the development I'm sure that someone will create such a scenario.

Programmingwise what we would need for this would be specialized units for old and new world. Maybe also specialized techs for old and new world. So I guess this will not come before version 1.0. But it probably will come eventually.
Veneteaou
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Re: Map Development

Post by Veneteaou »

I would think what you would want is flexibility in the major power, minor nation, and new world nations/provinces stats. Take those attributes and turn them into a check box kind of thing, where scenario builders would just apply them to each province/nation as they desired. So classic maps would simply not use new world stats, and crazy maps could be made Risk-like by containing nothing but major powers.

Maps could be built especially for 1 vs. 1 as well, which would be cool.
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