[Abandoned] - Iron Curtain

[whitestazn88]

well, seeing as how the whole concept of the iron curtain is now defunct, i think the tilt gives the viewer a reason not to take it so seriously anymore

[sam_levi_11]

if you wanted a cold ok why not look at the grey effect oaktown was thinking of for his eastern map. I love this map already but i would certianly combine romania with hungary and bulgaria. Maybe velorussia(sp) with lativia? This would fix your problem of too many small terits.

[sam_levi_11]

[bigimg]http://www.rjbeals.com/ironcurtain/IronCurtain_Rev-00.jpg[/bigimg]

going by this map, which is the version i think that is superior to the others

[hulmey]

It doesnt feel very militaristic. COlours are soft and boring. there's no impassables which doesnt break up the map!!

[sam_levi_11]

impassibles are coming atm he said. colours are being debated. thanks for your input, he will be grateful....

[RjBeals]

i've stopped working on graphics and will focus on gameplay first. The look will come. in time...

[Incandenza]

Not necessarily advocating this, just throwing it out there...

Does this map really need impassables? I know the usual reaction is to say "the continents are too hard to hold" or "the gameplay's too open", but this map without impassables would be pretty unique in the canon of CC maps: huge open spaces, entertainingly mimicking the open spaces of the Russian steppe. And I know, I know, there are plenty of army-defeating terrain features in eastern europe and western russia (marshes and rivers and mountains, oh my!), but this is more of a strategic map anyway...

Plus, I loves me the overall look of the map (hopefully, RJ, when you get back to gfx, you can throw up a few different color concepts and run a pole), and to be honest, impassables more often than not visually ruin the flow of a map (by design, of course, but still...)

[TaCktiX]

I'd say minimal impassables. Model them off of political boundaries and add a "checkpoint" look to them as it were, since this is the locked-down Iron Curtain we're talking about.

[ZeakCytho]

I say use the impassables to make continents easier to hold, and nothing more. Don't do anything fancy. No crazy checkpoint system or unnecessarily complications. Just simple impassables to make balancing easier. If you can balance it without any impassables, then good, but I think you're better off with them.

[RjBeals]

My idea was to do more hard shadows on the map - like mibi used for iraq. My first thoughts was to put up stone walls along some borders - not as easy as it sounds (unless your mibi). Then my second thought was to add some natural barriers, like rivers, but not mountain ranges. Well maybe make the landscape a little mountainous, but not as impassibles. I've never really liked how impassable mountains turn out on relatively flat looking maps. Something along the lines of this

http://forum.cartographersguild.com/att ... 1214931453

I like your idea Incandenza - sort of like actium map - large open attack areas. I'll think about this.

[RjBeals]

[bigimg]http://www.rjbeals.com/ironcurtain/IronCurtain_Rev-03.jpg[/bigimg]

Okay - I've made some changes. I replaced the title, added some impassable's, changed the colors and merged some bonus regions.

1. I'm not totally sold on the impassables yet. First of all the look, second of all the placements. I could take suggestions.
2. I like the new title a lot better.
3. I'm fairly happy with the bonus regions. Not sure about bonus region names since I had to combine some areas. For instance East Germany is now merged with Poland, so it's not really fair that I call that area Poland. But hey - it's a game. Does anyone have any better suggestions?
4. I split the colors into the 3 sections. The west is a shade of blue, the center is red, and the east is yellow/beige. It's a little hard to see because of the lighting effects, but it kind of gives the board a little more feel. East vs. West style.
5. I obviously added a gate. I guess it's like a curtain
   

I'm starting to really like this map.

[ZeakCytho]

1. I like the new title a lot better. I'm still not crazy about the font - I think this map needs something less cartoony looking.
2. I split the colors into the 3 sections. The west is a shade of blue, the center is red, and the east is yellow/beige. It's a little hard to see because of the lighting effects, but it kind of gives the board a little more feel. East vs. West style. I love this change
3. I obviously added a gate. I guess it's like a curtain I didn't know it was a gate at first . I'd take it out of the bottom left corner and focus it on the top left, around the title. Instead of it just being a piece of the center of a gate, maybe make it a whole gate structure so it's clear what it is?
   

I'm starting to really like this map. Me too!

One other comment: the minimap is in a box of its own, yet you can see the regular background of the map behind it. Could you make the minimap box 100% opaque, so you can't see through to the background behind, and then in the dead space in the minimap box put the background of the main map scaled down. Basically, instead of just scaling down the playable area, scale down the entire map so you get the background in proportion to the playable area in the minimap.

[pepperonibread]

A possible solution to the Poland-Germany problem is using Prussia as a continent. Looking around online, it seems like the map on that wiki page is pretty consistent with what other sites have as Prussia's area. Not sure if you want to split Poland up though. And also, I've gotten a lot of flack for calling the N. East continent in the Germany revamp Prussia, as it's not exactly a current region. Though maybe the Germans on CC just want their map to be really accurate, because of the not so good one they have now.
Other things: I don't really like the V in place of the U and triangle in place of the A on the title. Possibly instead of the Greek alphabet use the Cyrilllic, or Russian, alphabet. There are backwards R's, N's, and this letter: Д, among things you could put to use. This would make more sense I think, considering the region you're representing. Though maybe just a cool normal font would work best.
And I'm not sure how much I agree with Zeak's comment, though it would be best to try it out and compare.
Love the impassables. The grainy shadows a la the Brazil revamp are really cool.

[whitestazn88]

the color idea is ok... but i think a mixed bag would be more fun

and... it's not really an east v. west thing if its all in the iron curtain.... leave that whole janks to qwert and ww2 europe

[WidowMakers]

• I'm not totally sold on the impassables yet. First of all the look, second of all the placements. I could take suggestions.

I like the look of them. I agree the placement needs to be worked out but the look it good. EAsy to see and not just some black line. They fit the theme

• I like the new title a lot better.

• I split the colors into the 3 sections. The west is a shade of blue, the center is red, and the east is yellow/beige. It's a little hard to see because of the lighting effects, but it kind of gives the board a little more feel. East vs. West style.

You are just marching straight on with this map. The new colors and layout are great. again I am comment from a graphical perspective so later gameplay changes could cause adjustemnts. But right now it looks fabulous.

• I obviously added a gate. I guess it's like a curtain

I like the gate. But another suggestion would be to use an image of razor wire and fence.

Great Stuff

[MrBenn]

Nice going RJ!

As usual, here are some random thought from the top of my head:

1. Spelling mistake - should Leipzip be Leipzig?
2. Poland could be Prussia? I'm not too sure of the history, so that may be a worse choice?
3. If you make the Rostov region a shade lighter, it would differentiate more from Volgorad.

[Juan_Bottom]

Seriously great job.

I'm now a staunch supporter of this wonderful map! Color, presentation, size, everything... Great work!

Why no impassables in the middle though?---this is in no way a critisizm!

I'm no graphic guy or anything, but seriously... this isn't passed yet? WTF?
RJBEALS for premier!

[Juan_Bottom]

3. If you make the Rostov region a shade lighter, it would differentiate more from Volgorad.

I hadn't noticed until you pointed it out... the red-browns are all in the middle, the blue-greens to the left, and the gold-yellows to the right. Not a problem, but kinda funny. Just don't point it out anymore....

[pamoa]

2 suggestions:
- could you consider using barbed wire fence as impassable
- use Blatic States instead of Latvia

[sam_levi_11]

you could call the poland+czech+slovakia+germany cont "central europe"

[Ruben Cassar]

Hi RJ. Just had a quick look and will comment more on this one when I have more time. But for now I wanted to point this out.

Would you consider using the native language for the capitals as well? If yes:

Moscow - Moskva
Prague - Praha
Bucharest - Bucuresti
Warsaw - Warszawa

Mini Map:

- Latvia should be Baltic Republics.
- I think Voroezh should be Voronezh but check this one out.
- Poland should be Poland + Czechoslovakia + E. Germany
- Volgorad should be Volgograd

Map Itself:

- You seem to be missing Moldavia. A small Soviet republic between Ukraine and Romania.
- Karelskaya ASSR? I think Murmansk would be better for that region.
- No Odessa or Sevastopol?
- Lepizip should be Leipzig

[RjBeals]

It's about time you showed up Ruben. I'm getting some good feedback here. I will use the names you suggested (and others) - like Central Europe, and Baltic States... I'll look the map to see what areas I missed that you reference.

[edbeard]

I think that eastern area needs some impassables. Too many tough to hold continents right in close proximity.

the continents like Byelorussia don't sit well with me because you gotta hold every territory. it's not like these bonuses are finalized but if it compare it to Poland, I'd say those are probably worth the same.


maybe a wall between Perm and Voroezh

maybe a wall between Perm and Bashkortostan

but, you can't just say this wall works. you need like three or four in tandem.

I just think that you've made many of the western continents feasible to hold but haven't done the same in the east (with the exception of the northeast).

[cairnswk]

Rj, as a design aspect, would you consider placing the inset map on a steel/iron plate and attaching that atop of the wire you have down that right hand corner or would that be too much?

[Ruben Cassar]

It's about time you showed up Ruben. I'm getting some good feedback here. I will use the names you suggested (and others) - like Central Europe, and Baltic States... I'll look the map to see what areas I missed that you reference.

Yes...I know, struggling with time my friend.

Remember it's Baltic Republics not Baltic States since they were republics within the USSR at that time.