Age of Merchants - [Quenched]

boberz · Post by **boberz** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 11:18 am

i thinnk that story is offputting on the lower left almost boring i wouldnt read it

DiM · Post by **DiM** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 1:31 pm

boberz wrote:i thinnk that story is offputting on the lower left almost boring i wouldnt read it

i'm wide open to suggestions to improve my story

hulmey · Post by **hulmey** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 4:06 pm

i dont like how you made the logo for ageof merchants...it doesnt do your map justice at all.....I think your on the right path with the legend though and i think you should get rid of the story as well...sorry....

Also think you could still move islands closer together to get more space because at the moment they seemto be to far apart....

Just a idea how about feeling the map with the story but blended behind the map in old italic large wording!!!!

DiM · Post by **DiM** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 5:55 pm

if i put the story on the background think it will either clutter the image if i dont blend it enough or it will be unreadable if i make it too transparent. either way it's not good.

the logo can and will be changed.

for the story i'm waiting for suggestions from those with more literary talent.

Kupo666 · Post by **Kupo666** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 6:56 pm

DiM wrote:for the story i'm waiting for suggestions from those with more literary talent.

Armed with nothing but hope, a map, and meager supplies, you set sail. Enduring terrible storms, you finally arrive at a lush, new world... Only to find that you are not alone. Pirates and other enterprising individuals are here, and willing to fight you to the death for this land. Go forth with your sword, and carve out a name for yourself in the skulls of your enemies.

Eh. Someone can probably do much better than that, but it might work.

DiM · Post by **DiM** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 7:25 pm

i like it but it should also include something about becoming a merchant

Bad Speler · Post by **Bad Speler** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 8:33 pm

wow, i just tuned back into this map and its taken a huge step in the right dirrection, congrats.

A few points:

- Having a story there is good, but make it shorter and more interesting.
- The slanted title doesnt fit in with the rest of the map. Make it straighter.
- Make the picture describing resource bonuses clearer, took me about 5 mins to figure it out.

DiM · Post by **DiM** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 8:03 am

i played this map with my wife and 3 friends. the first match was a bit odd meaning everybody tried new ways to adapt to the map style.
one guy went straight for the pirate cove and all the treasures. (he got kicked rather fast

me and my wife went just for key resources not bothering with other teritories. and the other 2 people went the old style to conquer continents.
as i said the guy that went for the treasures got kicked in the first rounds. me and my wife got kicked afterwards and the old style of play won. why? because the bonuses are wrong.

in the current system owning 2 res and a product gives you +2 if you go ahead and take a market you get another +2 for a total of +4. the problem is that if someone takes one of your resources you lose all the bonuses. so in the second game we altered a bit the bonus system.

2resources+product=+3
product + market +2 (and you don't need to hold the resources like the current system)
taking a product to a foreign market = +3

this new system went much better because we removed the achiles heel (the importance of resources) and because we increased the foreign market bonus (making people to be more agressive and expend)

the second game was a much more disputed. very agressive and much more balanced. in the end my wife won. she started in green and then expanded to blue. with a help of a glitch in red. this glitch was the gringo rum. basicaly she took duna and ricota for a +2 bonus then took puerto allegre puerto tranquillo gringo and colato. now she had 2 products 2 markets and 2 harbours to connect. this way she got +10 bonus. so basically we discovered that having a product near a harbour makes the bonuses too easy to get. we also decided +3 for taking a product to a foreign market is too much so we lowered it to +2

so here's what modification i've done to the map.
*switched water from Rompas to Gringo and rum from Gringo to Rompas
*switched Terra Nerra clothes with Parancas dye
*switched Fajone cotton with Torales clothes
*inserted the new bonus system.
*inserted Kupo666's story
*made the logo straight

here:

cairnswk · Post by **cairnswk** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 9:16 am

DiM...I luv yor map BTW....it is looking very good and so simple and uncomplicated now that a lot of the graphic elements are tidied.

In the old story, I understand the flow you try to create. Thinking along the lines of pirates and the "establishment" instead of the "competition".

But if you choose Kupo666s' story, the word hope is a bit floundering and wussy for the story....courage would be a better word....

Surviving wild storms, you encounter lush new lands: mystical, magical, marvellous....Only to find you are not alone! Pirates, rascals and entrepeneurs abound here, and are willing to fight for this land and its bounty.

Go forth and carve your name in your enemies skulls (I like that part - its quite brilliant Kupo), emerge triumphant, and win the respect you deserve.

"Armed with nothing but courage, a map, and meager supplies, you set sail. Surviving wild storms, you encounter lush, new lands: mystical, magical, marvellous... Only to find that you are not alone! Pirates, rascals and entrepeneurs thrive here, and are willing to fight for this land and its bounty.
Swing your sword and roll the dice of life, carve your name in your enemies skulls. Emerge triumphant, and win the respect, the treasures and glory you deserve."

DiM · Post by **DiM** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 9:29 am

thanks cairnswk for the appreciation and for the story. if others could post some more stories we could have a poll.

DiM · Post by **DiM** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 9:46 am

ok. i'm opening a literature contest.

requirements:

1. the text must be in english (modern or old)
2. the text must be no longer than 50-75 words. but ofcourse it can be shorter.
3. must express the feeling of the map, merchants pirates ships islands, trade and war
4. must have something to attract and captivate the reader.
5. can be a personal creation or a quote without copyright issues. if it is a quote the author must also be mentioned.

i wil hold this contest for a few more days and each participant is free to modify his entry until the last minute. at the end i'll post a poll and let the people choose.

so far we have 2 entries.

Kupo666 wrote:Armed with nothing but hope, a map, and meager supplies, you set sail. Enduring terrible storms, you finally arrive at a lush, new world... Only to find that you are not alone. Pirates and other enterprising individuals are here, and willing to fight you to the death for this land. Go forth with your sword, and carve out a name for yourself in the skulls of your enemies.

cairnswk wrote:Armed with nothing but courage, a map, and meager supplies, you set sail. Surviving wild storms, you encounter lush, new lands: mystical, magical, marvellous... Only to find that you are not alone! Pirates, rascals and entrepeneurs thrive here, and are willing to fight for this land and its bounty.
Swing your sword and roll the dice of life, carve your name in your enemies skulls. Emerge triumphant, and win the respect, the treasures and glory you deserve

Molacole · Post by **Molacole** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 11:09 am

DiM wrote:ok. i'm opening a literature contest.
requirements:

1. the text must be in english (modern or old)
2. the text must be no longer than 50-75 words. but ofcourse it can be shorter.
3. must express the feeling of the map, merchants pirates ships islands, trade and war
4. must have something to attract and captivate the reader.
5. can be a personal creation or a quote without copyright issues. if it is a quote the author must also be mentioned.

i wil hold this contest for a few more days and each participant is free to modify his entry until the last minute. at the end i'll post a poll and let the people choose.

so far we have 2 entries.

Kupo666 wrote:Armed with nothing but hope, a map, and meager supplies, you set sail. Enduring terrible storms, you finally arrive at a lush, new world... Only to find that you are not alone. Pirates and other enterprising individuals are here, and willing to fight you to the death for this land. Go forth with your sword, and carve out a name for yourself in the skulls of your enemies.

cairnswk wrote:Armed with nothing but courage, a map, and meager supplies, you set sail. Surviving wild storms, you encounter lush, new lands: mystical, magical, marvellous... Only to find that you are not alone! Pirates, rascals and entrepeneurs thrive here, and are willing to fight for this land and its bounty.
Swing your sword and roll the dice of life, carve your name in your enemies skulls. Emerge triumphant, and win the respect, the treasures and glory you deserve

...

so are you still making this map? Am I in the foundry?

Molacole · Post by **Molacole** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 11:14 am

Armed with nothing, but balls! Brass they may be, but strong enough to sink your ship in the sea. Fired from a cannon causing oh'so much pain. Intact they shall remain! Your future looks DiM challenging me. The thought of tin scares the shit out of me. They shall remain brass and sink your ass...

DiM · Post by **DiM** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 11:32 am

Molacole wrote:Armed with nothing, but balls! Brass they may be, but strong enough to sink your ship in the sea. Fired from a cannon causing oh'so much pain. Intact they shall remain! Your future looks DiM challenging me. The thought of tin scares the shit out of me. They shall remain brass and sink your ass...

are we allowed to use balls?? :shock:

or ass or shit :roll:

cairnswk · Post by **cairnswk** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 11:35 am

Molacole...you're a treasure, pure pirate stuff! I luv the tone...is it allowed? Dat's the question!

Kupo666 · Post by **Kupo666** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 2:52 pm

Sorry it took so long to reply... An updated story, then, with merchanty things added.

Old:
Armed with nothing but hope, a map, and meager supplies, you set sail. Enduring terrible storms, you finally arrive at a lush, new world... Only to find that you are not alone. Pirates and other enterprising individuals are here, and willing to fight you to the death for this land. Go forth with your sword, and carve out a name for yourself in the skulls of your enemies.

New:
You, a brave merhcant of olde, left home with nothing but your wits and an old map. Trusting the winds and enduring tempests, you have arrived at a mystic new land... One of beauty... One of nature... One of profit. However, you are not alone. Determined enemies, some merchants like you, some pirates, will fight you at every step of the way. Go forth, and carve out a name for yourself in the skulls of your enemies. The future looks DiM for them...

Any improvement?

spinwizard · Post by **spinwizard** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 3:50 pm

In a land where pirates still roam the seas and merchants rule the econemy you are on a mission to use this to your advantage and rule the econemy!

DiM · Post by **DiM** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 10:04 am

updated entries: keep the stories coming

Kupo666 wrote:You, a brave merhcant of olde, left home with nothing but your wits and an old map. Trusting the winds and enduring tempests, you have arrived at a mystic new land... One of beauty... One of nature... One of profit. However, you are not alone. Determined enemies, some merchants like you, some pirates, will fight you at every step of the way. Go forth, and carve out a name for yourself in the skulls of your enemies. The future looks DiM for them...

cairnswk wrote:Armed with nothing but courage, a map, and meager supplies, you set sail. Surviving wild storms, you encounter lush, new lands: mystical, magical, marvellous... Only to find that you are not alone! Pirates, rascals and entrepeneurs thrive here, and are willing to fight for this land and its bounty.
Swing your sword and roll the dice of life, carve your name in your enemies skulls. Emerge triumphant, and win the respect, the treasures and glory you deserve

molacole wrote:Armed with nothing, but balls! Brass they may be, but strong enough to sink your ship in the sea. Fired from a cannon causing oh'so much pain. Intact they shall remain! Your future looks DiM challenging me. The thought of tin scares the shit out of me. They shall remain brass and sink your ass...

spinwizard wrote:In a land where pirates still roam the seas and merchants rule the econemy you are on a mission to use this to your advantage and rule the world!

spinwizard · Post by **spinwizard** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 12:24 pm

edit-In a land where pirates still roam the seas and merchants rule the econemy you are on a mission to use this to your advantage and rule the world!

luckiekevin · Post by **luckiekevin** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 12:53 pm

a land where the European captains conquer indigenous people through the spreading of plagues and slavery

DiM · Post by **DiM** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 1:04 pm

spinwizard wrote:edit-In a land where pirates still roam the seas and merchants rule the econemy you are on a mission to use this to your advantage and rule the world!

i edited the previous post.

DiM · Post by **DiM** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 1:05 pm

luckiekevin wrote:a land where the European captains conquer indigenous people through the spreading of plagues and slavery

are you serious?? :wink:

luckiekevin · Post by **luckiekevin** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 1:09 pm

are you serious?? Wink

only half serious. more of a statement then a suggestion

your map is gorgeous .

DiM · Post by **DiM** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 1:11 pm

luckiekevin wrote:
are you serious?? Wink

only half serious. more of a statement then a suggestion your map is gorgeous .

i will not enter you in the contest. although you are right about the conquering and slavery i don't think it serves the purpose of this map.

and thanks for the appreciation.

unriggable · Post by **unriggable** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 1:27 pm

Molacole wrote:Armed with nothing, but balls! Brass they may be, but strong enough to sink your ship in the sea. Fired from a cannon causing oh'so much pain. Intact they shall remain! Your future looks DiM challenging me. The thought of tin scares the shit out of me. They shall remain brass and sink your ass...

He wins the award!