Good Morning Woodboro (V7.X) -- Home for the Holidays

[Evil DIMwit]

Good morning Woodboro! Brush your teeth and get the crust out of your eyes 'cause it's time to start another day of WDGN Slaydio: All metal, all *sssst* another classic from bluegrass legend Jimmy M*sssst* are heading down to Kansas City for Monday's game, and we'll be following them with live cov*ssssst* Zapdos and Charmeleon, everybody Polkamo*ssssssssssst*

Welcome to Woodboro, recently voted the hottest radio market in America for the fourth year in a row. Woodboro is home to no fewer than six local radio stations and they each want a piece of the pie. In fact, they each want all of the pie. Take charge of one of them and expand your influence until the entire town listens to you; hijack other stations to get control of the airwaves; or just drown out your opponents' noise with good old fashioned pummeling. Turn on, tune in, take over!


XML: http://rassyndrome.webs.com/CC/Woodboro.xml

[bigimg]http://rassyndrome.webs.com/CC/Woodboro_C3S.png[/bigimg]
[bigimg]http://rassyndrome.webs.com/CC/Woodboro_C3L.png[/bigimg]

Neutral scheme (Out of date; Webster should be 2)
[bigimg]http://rassyndrome.webs.com/CC/Woodboro_N4S.png[/bigimg]

50 territories:
6 or 8 player starts
38 or 36 neutral starts
6 killer neutrals


To do
--] Nitpick, nitpick, nitpick

Older versions
V 7.6: http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af239/RASSyndrome/Woodboro/Woodboro_C2s.png
http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af239/RASSyndrome/Woodboro/Woodboro_C2l.png
V 7.5: http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af239/RASSyndrome/Woodboro/Woodboro_Comp.png
http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af239/RASSyndrome/Woodboro/Woodboro_CompL.png
V 7.4: http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af239/RASSyndrome/Woodboro_v17.png
V7.2.5 (hybrid): http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af239/RASSyndrome/Woodboro_v16.png
V7.3 (grungy): http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af239/RASSyndrome/Woodboro_v14-1.png
V7.2 (smooth): http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af239/RASSyndrome/Woodboro_v13.png
V7.1: http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af239/RASSyndrome/Woodboro_v12.png
V6: http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_v10n.png
V5.3: http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_v9.png
V5.1: http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_v5.png
V5: http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_v7.png
V4.1: http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_R3.png
V4 (Pirates + dishes): http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_R2.png
V3.P (8-player option 1): http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_8b.png
V3.P (8-player option 2): http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_7a.png
V3.P (8-player combo): http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_9.png
V3 (8-player option 1): http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_8a.png
V2.1 (8-player option 2): http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_7.png
V2 (original 6-player gameplay): http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_6.png
V2 (8-player option 1): http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_8.png

[spoiler=Original Post]
http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_neut.png
Please do note: The crude presentation of the instructions is strictly due to the fact that I haven't had a decent night's sleep in three days. When I have time, they will be replaced by a much more visually-stimulating and easy-to-follow instructions.

Well, there's been a lot of recent foraying into the conquest-type-gameplay genre and the vast majority of them seem to be on the side of big to very big. What gives, guys? Our players are patient enough to sign up for a game where they start with just one territory, and for that you reward them with even more grey spaces to get in the way? I do see cairnswk is working on a smaller conquest map but of course it is complicated to the point of adorability so all the time spent not trying to plow through ten neutral continents is instead spent boggling over the rules.

Now, I don't want to become the miniaturization fairy for this foundry, but that whole Age of Doodles/Doodle Feudal nonsense got me thinking that a small, simple conquest map really is in order. Of course, I'm not going to draw it in crayon -- I'm not *that* much of a one-trick pony.

Nor will this one be as utterly minimalistic as the last miniaturization attempt. I'm shooting for rules at about Feudal War level of complexity: Easy to learn, tricky to master. The most fancy trick this map has is the killer neutral one-way assault radio towers (it's easier to visualize if you think of them as waterslides). I'm also thinking of rescaling the default territory bonus (as noted on the image below) but haven't settled on how much to do it by.

There are 42 territories in all on the map. 6 of them are starting territories (That's still legal, right? I don't feel like fitting two more on here), and 6 of them are special killer neutral waterslides, which leaves just 30 for the bulk of conquest. And to make things even easier, you only need 24 to win. Breeze!

(Incidentally, if I'm forgetting anything, I blame it on not having had a decent night's sleep in three days)

For anyone who wonders, demonstration of how army numbers look on this map:

http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_test.png[/spoiler]
Gameplay and strategic comments would be most appreciated. Graphical comments would be mediumly appreciated. Telemarketers will be shot on sight.

[Industrial Helix]

Cool concept... I think it has a lot of potential.

Can't read the title font to save my life though. Well, I guess I can, but it takes me an extra few seconds.

And I think you're going to need 8 starting points.... not sure though. You can prolly squeeze it in between Ungar and van der veen.

[sailorseal]

I can't read any of the words except the title

[Evil DIMwit]

I can't read any of the words except the title

What I get for being bright and cheery, eh?

Okay, transcript for the visually impaired and everyone else:

Title
GOOD MORNING WOODBORO!
In a small New Jersey town, six radio stations vie for listeners. Control 24/30 houses or 5/6 stations to stand victorious!

- You get one army to deploy for every two territories you own, with a minimum of two.
- Your radio stations deploy two armies automatically each turn.
- The big white houses are potential sponsors. Each one gives an extra army each turn.
- The reciever[sic] dishes can pick up long-range signals. Assault them from your antennas!
- Antennas revert to one neutral army after one turn.

And I think you're going to need 8 starting points.... not sure though. You can prolly squeeze it in between Ungar and van der veen.

I really can't just spawn new radio stations -- their positions are somewhat calculated for equidistance and such. If it's absolutely necessary, I'll figure out another way to get two players in.

[Teflon Kris]

I'd love to sneak this one through with 6 starts.

Sadly, I can see the wait-a-week-for-your-turn convention complain that 8 starts are needed for their lottery assassin games. Which inevitably means an ass-ache getting everything equidistant again.

A possible solution = have the 6 radio stations as fixed starting positions that revert to neutral for 8 player games. Where do players start then? On 8 additional 'external' territories, maybe roads into town or something, that can all attack some territory or other? That would keep the lottery assassin once-a-week tribe happy and leave the 6 stations as the major feature for 6-player-or-less games. They could all be DeeJays ( ) - each with a house they can attack (as there are 8 buildings with a neutral 2-value). If they start with one neutral then it would realistically be round 2 before they can attack their house - meaning they probably dont get used much in 6-player-or-less games (but they are all the only starting point in 8-player long wait lottery games).

You are spot on, there is certainly a niche for this style of game on a smaller scale. St Patrick's Day was a big hit.

Stick with it - this one can be a winner

[Evil DIMwit]

Reworked with most of the stuff I neglected to include the first time around, and some unnecessary stuff from before missing:


http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_2.png
(The background's transparent on this one so imagine it's white (or see link).)

It's a bit more balanced this way, while not being completely symmetric. Spiced up the grass colors, added a sky and sun, redid labels, replaced title with something readable. Instructions and neutrals are thus:

[bigimg]http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_6.png[/bigimg]
http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_6.png

Sadly, I can see the wait-a-week-for-your-turn convention complain that 8 starts are needed for their lottery assassin games. Which inevitably means an ass-ache getting everything equidistant again.

I sort of thought ahead on this one and made it possible to host 8 players on a simplified version of the map. The antennae stop being territories and the dish houses become pirate radio stations. To compensate for their position in the center and the fact that they're only attached to a single 1-neutral house, they get an extra auto-deploy (they'd also be in a starting positions tag together):

[bigimg]http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_8.png[/bigimg]
http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_8.png

This change loses a lot of gameplay

A possible solution = have the 6 radio stations as fixed starting positions that revert to neutral for 8 player games. Where do players start then? On 8 additional 'external' territories, maybe roads into town or something, that can all attack some territory or other? That would keep the lottery assassin once-a-week tribe happy and leave the 6 stations as the major feature for 6-player-or-less games. They could all be DeeJays ( ) - each with a house they can attack (as there are 8 buildings with a neutral 2-value). If they start with one neutral then it would realistically be round 2 before they can attack their house - meaning they probably dont get used much in 6-player-or-less games (but they are all the only starting point in 8-player long wait lottery games).

That's an even cleverer solution. I probably wouldn't do roads, though, since the two-value houses are internal. Maybe I'll make the DJs/hosts actually live in some of the houses and add their studios as territories in the corner, a la Bamboo Jack's camps, that connect to the houses -- some of those would necessarily be next to each other but like those crapshooters care. I like that this solution maintains the gameplay and gives players more options. Maybe I'll draw this one up and have a poll.

Anybody else have comments on the


To do:
--] Better title.
--] Add station names somewhere.
--] Decide gameplay scheme.
--] Any other brilliant ideas.

[Teflon Kris]

2 options sounds a great way to go at this stage.

Am I right in thinking this is the gameplay scenario:

Option 1:
6 Radio Stations & 2 Pirate Stations are the starting territories.
In 1-7 player games:
Both pirate stations are one start position. So, in 1 v 1, one player has 3 legit stations, the other has 2 stations and 2 pirate stations.


Option 2:
In 1-6 player strategy games:
Each player has equal numbers of radio stations and DJ houses to start

In 7-8 player shoot-em-ups:
Each player has 1 DJ house to start

I like it - whoever said a small-ish map is a simple map?

[Evil DIMwit]

Am I right in thinking this is the gameplay scenario:

Option 1:
6 Radio Stations & 2 Pirate Stations are the starting territories.
In 1-7 player games:
Both pirate stations are one start position. So, in 1 v 1, one player has 3 legit stations, the other has 2 stations and 2 pirate stations.

In fact, the idea was for the pirate stations to be opposite starting positions, not a single set, so that one player never holds both pirate stations. In practice, I'd probably include the bluegrass and lightning bolt stations in the mutual exclusivity ring, to make sure that it holds for four-player games, too.

[Teflon Kris]

Ok - I think I got confused when you said - 'I sort of thought ahead on this one and made it possible to host 8 players on a simplified version of the map. The antennae stop being territories and the dish houses become pirate radio stations. To compensate for their position in the center and the fact that they're only attached to a single 1-neutral house, they get an extra auto-deploy (they'd also be in a starting positions tag together)'

Anyway, looks like its over to you for next update / option 2

[Evil DIMwit]

Anyway, looks like its over to you for next update / option 2

That would be here:
[bigimg]http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_7.png[/bigimg]
http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_7.png

I picked the hosts' houses according to which ones I think would make for the most balance strategically (it's a complete coincidence that most of them are Jewish ).

Any further thoughts?

[Balsiefen]

Nice map

DJ's houses should probably have a common colour, It's rather hard to pick them out at the moment. Also, while I like the font, it has rather a flaw in that all the H's look like X's. I would also suggest finding something other than plain white for the background-you might have to experiment with that a little. Finally, shouldn't there be an apostrophe after Woodboro seeing as it is short for Woodborough-just kind of looks wrong to me atm.

[YipYipDog]

hi, maybe i'm dense or something, but how will someone ever get the +2 bonus for the radio station transmitter tower if it reverts to neutral at the end of every turn

[Evil DIMwit]

DJ's houses should probably have a common colour, It's rather hard to pick them out at the moment. Also, while I like the font, it has rather a floor in that all the H's look like X's.

I did notice that, and the fact that I stuck with Heavy Heap is a testament to how well I think it fits compared to every single other font I have. I suppose I'll have to either edit the Hs manually or just not have any names with Hs in it.

Finally, shouldn't there be an apostrophe after Woodboro seeing as it is short for Woodborough-just kind of looks wrong to me atm.

In fact, the vast majority of -borough towns in the States have been simplified to -boro, a fact made official by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names once it was formed in 1890 by order of President Benjamin Harrison. Notable exceptions to such rules include Foxborough, Massachussetts, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which retained its final 'h'. Fun trivia!

hi, maybe i'm dense or something, but how will someone ever get the +2 bonus for the radio station transmitter tower if it reverts to neutral at the end of every turn

Ah, excellent question! The station and antenna are separate territories, and while to a player who's actually playing the map this will be an obvious fact, it looks like I should indicate this in the instructions somehow.

[Teflon Kris]

This map is moving along at a pace.

Antenna /Station Clarity
Perhaps it might say "Antenna reverts to neutral..." & "Every turn on station base +2"

Option 1
If the pirate stations are the least preferred stations then setting the normal stations as starting positions and the pirate stations as the only 2 'ordinary' terits (with everything else neutral) means that they would be neutral in 1-6 player games (as the xml cant share 2 terits between 3 or more). In a 7 or 8 player game, the normal radio stations would become 'normal' terits, so each player in a 7/8 player shoot-em-up would get 1 of the normal or pirate stations. I think (I could be wrong)! Still, option 2 is my preference as the antenna come into play.

Option 2
Perhaps the DJs at the side could be faces, or records or some other kind of icon? It seems wierd that they have house icons as though they are a house attacking their house. Would players start with a DJ and house, or just a DJ? Just a DJ would be interesting (as it would realistically take 2 turns to attack in shoot-em-ups) and probably fairer with the houses at different proximinities to the sponsors and dishes. Plus,in a 6-or-less-player game it would render attacking from the DJs a less attractive option and keep the gameplay focus on the original idea.

[Evil DIMwit]

Option 1
If the pirate stations are the least preferred stations then setting the normal stations as starting positions and the pirate stations as the only 2 'ordinary' terits (with everything else neutral) means that they would be neutral in 1-6 player games (as the xml cant share 2 terits between 3 or more). In a 7 or 8 player game, the normal radio stations would become 'normal' terits, so each player in a 7/8 player shoot-em-up would get 1 of the normal or pirate stations. I think (I could be wrong)! Still, option 2 is my preference as the antenna come into play.

What I could do is change the antennae so that they assault all sponsors, and give the pirates the capability to bombard (but not assault) the sponsors without an antenna. Not needing an antenna might compensate for the fact that they're in such a central location (and make them particularly handy in fog games), while not allowing them to attack remotely might compensate for the fact that each pirate actually borders a sponsor. If that works I might prefer this arrangement to Option 2, as it means the board can stay smaller.

Option 2
Perhaps the DJs at the side could be faces, or records or some other kind of icon? It seems wierd that they have house icons as though they are a house attacking their house.

The DJ icons were meant to look like house interiors; I guess they're a bit sparsely-decorated for that.

Would players start with a DJ and house, or just a DJ? Just a DJ would be interesting (as it would realistically take 2 turns to attack in shoot-em-ups) and probably fairer with the houses at different proximinities to the sponsors and dishes. Plus,in a 6-or-less-player game it would render attacking from the DJs a less attractive option and keep the gameplay focus on the original idea.

That's absolutely what I had in mind -- note that the icons in the corner had colorful numbers but the ones on the board are a neutral gray (white doesn't show up well but imagine they're white)

Edit: The new Option 2 map:
[bigimg]http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_7a.png[/bigimg]

Replaced DJ icons.
Altered label Hs.
Differentiated DJ house colors.
Tried slight background color.
Added clarification numbers on instructions.

Edit 2: ...And the new Option 1 map:
[bigimg]http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_8a.png[/bigimg]

Trying out another background
Different pirate dynamics
Pirate houses look even more different

[iceco]

Sweet, really a map to brighten up your day. Also love the originality and very sleek design.

One question though:
What is it that resets to neutral? And what then gets the autodeploy?
You surely need to write that a bit clearer.

[Evil DIMwit]

One question though:
What is it that resets to neutral? And what then gets the autodeploy?
You surely need to write that a bit clearer.

How's this?

[bigimg]http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_8b.png[/bigimg]
http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_8b.png

By the way, guys, tell me if any of these backgrounds strike you as improvements over the white.

[Evil DIMwit]

Oh, and of course the poll wouldn't be complete without the combo option:


http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_9.png

I'm uncertain about how the records would start out -- neutral, starting positions, or what not -- but there's plenty of time to figure that out.


The other options I'd include in the poll are (and I can pretty the older ones up a bit if necessary):
--] Six players only: http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_6.png
--] Eight, option 1: http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_8b.png
--] Eight, option 2: http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_7a.png
--] Another scheme (specify in post)
--] Multiple versions (specify in post)

Any comments before I put this up?

[iceco]

One question though:
What is it that resets to neutral? And what then gets the autodeploy?
You surely need to write that a bit clearer.

How's this?

http://www.freewebs.com/dimagic/ConquerClub/Woodboro_8b.png

By the way, guys, tell me if any of these backgrounds strike you as improvements over the white.

Yes, now it's clear.

As background, why don't you try (orangy) yellow on top and then to the green below? Kind of makes you think of the sun rising at morning.

[RjBeals]

nice map - cool 3d style, and very original. Nice job (again) E.D.

[Teflon Kris]

I'm liking the progress evil - I reckon you can safely go for the poll - making sure the options are in post 1 for folks to easy find them.

6-player option would prob not be allowed of course but definitely worth having as an option just to show what people think - maybe worth having as a seperate question though (as these folks would no doubt go for one of the allowed options too)?

[Evil DIMwit]

I guess that's what the multiple versions

As background, why don't you try (orangy) yellow on top and then to the green below? Kind of makes you think of the sun rising at morning.

That's pretty much what I went for with 8a's background. I tried a more pronounced yellow but it was far too dominant for my taste.

6-player option would prob not be allowed of course but definitely worth having as an option just to show what people think - maybe worth having as a seperate question though (as these folks would no doubt go for one of the allowed options too)?

I guess that's what the multiple versions option is for?

Anyway, poll's up! Democracy for everyone!

[The Neon Peon]

I am fairly there is rule in the foundry that new maps have to accommodate at least 8 people.

[Evil DIMwit]

I am fairly there is rule in the foundry that new maps have to accommodate at least 8 people.

The closest rule to that seems to be

Game type flexibility. The map should support various game types and not be designed with specific/limited game settings in mind (standard, assassin, fog of war, 2-8 players, etc.).

A 6-player-limit map supports 70% of possible game settings; and there are enough extant maps with this limit that it wouldn't be unusual if a new one came out. I suppose this rule is up to interpretation. Any foundry sages care to opine?

[Teflon Kris]

there are enough extant maps with this limit that it wouldn't be unusual if a new one came out. I suppose this rule is up to interpretation. Any foundry sages care to opine?

Just wondering what an 'extant map' is?