[Abandoned] - The Hamptons

[sailorseal]

But keep commenting julien u have good imput!

[LED ZEPPELINER]

my biggest advice is to get rid of the blurr, it is hard to see the borders on the red bonus, and try finding an image, or making a bruch on ps for the one way borders, cus they should all look the same and be the same size with the same angle

[sailorseal]

Thanks and in the newest version I am working on the borders have a thicker almost elevated feel like the map is a 3D object sitting and you are looking at it would that work?

[LED ZEPPELINER]

Thanks and in the newest version I am working on the borders have a thicker almost elevated feel like the map is a 3D object sitting and you are looking at it would that work?

ok cool just be careful, with that stuff it can either be good, really good, or really bad,

[sailorseal]

I hope its the really good option!


but with my track record its probably the really bad option
HAHA just kidding it looks great!

[LED ZEPPELINER]

I hope its the really good option!


but with my track record its probably the really bad option
HAHA just kidding it looks great!

as i cannot see it right now, i will take your word for it

[sailorseal]

Kool when I get back to the city (tomorrow night) maybe if ur online I can send you an advanced copy

[LED ZEPPELINER]

Kool when I get back to the city (tomorrow night) maybe if ur online I can send you an advanced copy

kk I WILL BE WAITING

[sailorseal]

Any other last minute imput?

No one noticed that I forgot to label shelter Island also to increase the territ count what should I add if anything?

[LED ZEPPELINER]

Any other last minute imput?

No one noticed that I forgot to label shelter Island also to increase the territ count what should I add if anything?

IT IS HARD TO READ THE BONUSES
add a little more texture to everything

[sailorseal]

Sounds good any specific kind of texture?

[LED ZEPPELINER]

Sounds good any specific kind of texture?

idk, just add a water esc texture to the water and a maybe beach esc text. to the land also maybe lessen the opacity on the boats so they blend in more

[sailorseal]

sounds good

[sailorseal]

Anything else?
Maybe about the territ count?

[LED ZEPPELINER]

Anything else?
Maybe about the territ count?

ya add more, but not in the form of boats, maybe try adding beaches

[sailorseal]

Anything else?
Maybe about the territ count?

ya add more, but not in the form of boats, maybe try adding beaches

Explain I don't understand!

[LED ZEPPELINER]

Anything else?
Maybe about the territ count?

ya add more, but not in the form of boats, maybe try adding beaches

Explain I don't understand!

from what you tell me there are many beaches in the hamptons, maybe try adding those beaches as seperate territories, that would also change the game play cus then only the beaches would be able to attack the boats...could be interesting

[sailorseal]

I will try I have my friends from Easthampton over I can ask them what the names of the beaches over there are!
Thanks anything else?

[sailorseal]

They gave me a bunch of beaches and the private beaches should I make some sort of like they can only be attacked from the boats you know that one way wall in british isles? That kind of thing

[LED ZEPPELINER]

They gave me a bunch of beaches and the private beaches should I make some sort of like they can only be attacked from the boats you know that one way wall in british isles? That kind of thing

im not sure, tis up to you

[sailorseal]

alright!

[TaCktiX]

Well, a friend steered me over here, and from first glance, I can say with all certainty you will be reading a Wall Of Text™ when I'm done.

Theme:
- There is no sense of place. I had to hit Wikipedia up to know which Hamptons are being referred to (the ones off of Long Island). There is an attempt by the gray smudge-continent (more on that later), but that's not enough reference to write home about. Since this is a fairly specific region (half of an island chain) in a certain state (New York) of a certain country (the United States of America), and this is an international site, it would do right nicely to have some form of minimap noting where the heck we are.

Gameplay:
- Doodle Earth and Luxembourg are quite enough for the ultra-small maps category, thank you very much. From experiencing those two maps, I can say this. Your map clocks in at a mere 20 territories INCLUDING the sailboats, when looking at cities and villages (cheers, Wikipedia) you can have 23 from those alone. Also, 20 is a rotten number for any 7 or 8 player game, as it means everyone starts with 2 and with some dice luck by a few and crap drops by others, people can be eliminated before they even play their first turn. That is the main complaint from folks about Doodle Earth and Luxembourg. If you're going to aim for a small map, I suggest making it more land-based and up the territory count to AT LEAST 24 (though I think 28-32 would be nicer).
- The sailboats are more prominent than The Hamptons themselves, with their one-way attacks all around the Hamptons and their monopolizing an entire part of your map. I know sailing must be a big pastime among the sinfully rich, but not so much that the landmass they live on takes second-fiddle. I don't mind the boats being a part of the map, but spread them AROUND the Hamptons instead of being almost-completely BELOW the Hamptons.
- The one-way attacks are utterly haphazard and don't seem to be balancing anything at all. Right now I'd say they impede playing the map more than help it. Drop all one-ways until it has been proven they are absolutely necessary.
- You didn't name a region. It's at the top of the map gleefully denoted with a mere '00'. I refer to it henceforth as The Unnamed Land.
- The Hamptons need connections to each other, or boats that directly facilitate those connections. While The Unnamed Land connects with Bridgehampton quite nicely, for no obvious reason Quogue is unable to connect to the far-closer Southampton. Or at least that's what it looks like from what I see, which brings me to my next point:
- The blur has GOT TO GO. While the map is understandable enough, it's understandable in the sense that you can tell when a toddler has drawn a person with their crayons.
- The legend contributes jack nothing to your map presentation. The 3-4-2 bonuses are nigh unreadable, aren't attached to a continent name of any form, and saying "Boats: 8" has no point at all, as anyone who's age 5 or up can count the boats in the water.

Graphics:
- I excerpt here the How to Make a Map Handbook:

A working image done in some kind of graphic software. Pencil drawn images and images done on paint will not be accepted.

The mark of Paint on all of your images is fairly clear. The map won't go any further until you get onto something more heavy-duty, like Photoshop or GIMP (link here). That's a strict guideline that has not been relaxed for anyone since it came into existence, and the only maps that still violate it are in the process of getting revamped.
- You have a metric ton of copy/paste artwork on this map, and it shows. The boats are of exceedingly low quality, and re-doing them is a must. Switching to some nice image software will help a lot toward this.
- The blur effect seems to be hiding your uncertain borders. There's a fair bit of overhang on many of your territories that can be seen when you look closely. Switching to some nice image software will fix this.
- The bonuses are just Stuck Out In The Ocean, with no framing, no real explanation of what they associate with, just the general assumption that people can read those colors out of the ocean (the blue continent is the worst) then stick them with the right continent. Do-able, yes, desirable, no. Switching to some nice image software will help with coming up with a good-looking legend.
- The arrows and lines are the most Paint-screaming feature on your map. They need to be replaced with some nice-looking arrows (or maybe even some of those dotted lines you see all over the Foundry, pretty sure there's a tutorial in the Tips and Tricks thread). Switching to some nice image software will almost certainly provide you with the means to tailor arrows and lines that everyone will like.

In sum, you've got a LONG way to go to get this map sail-worthy. Looking at your image progression, I think it's within your capability (a lot of improvement since version 1), but you MUST (and I repeat MUST) switch to a good image program, like Photoshop or GIMP (link again).

Yes, your map got

but more to the point, it got
Annihilated (graphic to follow soon)

[sailorseal]

My earlier version were on paint but the newest two were completely on photo shop. Thank you for your time I will try and address all of your comments. Also I separated each section (which is more obvious in my newest version) to try and enhance game play. Also I intend on adding beaches to enlarge both the territ count and the land mass.
Thanks

[MrBenn]

Now you've got the right tool for the job, your next task has got to be to learn to use it effectively

[sailorseal]

Here is my long awaited new version I hope it's everything we hoped it to be...