Map creation thread

[Selrahc]

Bear in mind that every time you enter the worldbuilder, a new goblin archer will be added to every fort- so unless you want super goblin forts ala PBEM I, be sure to delete the excess archers on your final edit

And maybe Brigit's.

[haphazard1]

Bear in mind that every time you enter the worldbuilder, a new goblin archer will be added to every fort- so unless you want super goblin forts ala PBEM I, be sure to delete the excess archers on your final edit

Now that is a very interesting fact I was completely unaware of. Given how I have been doing my editing and checking passes...I will definitely keep this in mind.

[haphazard1]

Brigits...hmmm, despite having checked "All Unique Features" the Ring of Carcer does not seem to exist. One more thing to add/correct.

[SevenSpirits]

Bear in mind that every time you enter the worldbuilder, a new goblin archer will be added to every fort- so unless you want super goblin forts ala PBEM I, be sure to delete the excess archers on your final edit

So that's how the bug works. Good to know.

[haphazard1]

OK, various map edits done as discussed.

Only two of the starts changed significantly -- others have minor stuff like an ancient tower for the Ljosalfar, passages through mountains for the Sheaim, copper removed for the Malakim, etc.

Bannor -- the land immediately west has had mountains changed to hills, with copper and a mana node added to buff this start a bit. I also added a crab and shifted the sheep 1E to provide food but not all available from any one tile.



Lanun -- much (but not all) jungle removed or changed to forest. As suggested a couple crabs were added, and one of the pearls was shifted to the west of the starting area.



I also added a copper to the northwest, on the peninsula with the pearls. It is reachable but not close to the start, although that spot is so good for the Lanun that they ought to go for it anyway if they explore effectively.

I also added the starting settler bonus back to all civs -- wow, that is a HUGE sight radius. FFH2 certainly gives you more info at the start.

I checked all the goblin forts (and the newly added Ring of Carcer, which was added to the visibility of the Elohim), and did not find any extras anywhere. Maybe this bug was fixed in the 'o' patch? (I think FFH2 PBEM1 was built as an 'n' game.)

Once again, WB save is attached for those who care to examine in detail.

[Bobchillingworth]

I checked all the goblin forts (and the newly added Ring of Carcer, which was added to the visibility of the Elohim), and did not find any extras anywhere. Maybe this bug was fixed in the 'o' patch? (I think FFH2 PBEM1 was built as an 'n' game.)

No idea- I ran into the "replicating archers" bug while editing Adventure 2, but I'm of course on patch N.


Anyway, the new edits look good to me! Just out of curiosity, are any of the unique features positioned on the islands?

[haphazard1]

Anyway, the new edits look good to me! Just out of curiosity, are any of the unique features positioned on the islands?

Yggdrasil is on the island east of the Ljosalfar. This is a pretty nice chunk of land, good resources, mana node...but not coastal connected. I was undecided about this, actually -- should this island be accessible by coast? It will not come into play until much later as is, but if it is coastal connected then the Ljos will almost certainly end up claiming it which would be a large boost to them.

I added the Ring of Carcer on a 1-tile island on the western end of the continent, reachable by coast.

Those are the only two unique features which are not on the main landmass, other than Maenalus and the Maelstrom of course. Interestingly the Maelstrom ended up WAY out in the western ocean. Maenalus is just north of the Bannor and much more obvious.

Thanks for the input and comments -- very much appreciated.

[Maksim]

Hmm... If you are adding Copper to people's locations, it makes it harder to justify removing it from others.

I'd suggest either removing the Coppers you've added for Bannor and Lanun, or instead reinstating it for Malakim, and making sure that other civs can pick it up with their second or third city, if they are inclined to do so.

Sorry to be a pain about this, but I have some pretty strong opinions on Copper in FFH (for those interested, see post 79 in FFH PBEM 1 lurker thread, if you are allowed!). It's even worse when one civ has copper but another one does not.

And thanks for the effort you've put in!

[haphazard1]

Your point about copper is a good one, Maksim. I am a bit worried that things will become less balanced rather than more.

Currently we have:

Elohim - copper to the northeast, 1st/2nd ring distance
Sheaim - no copper closer than 3rd/4th ring
Bannor - originally none closer than 3rd ring due south, which is actually slightly closer to the Elohim than to them; added in first ring to west
Ljos - copper in BFC
Lanun - no copper closer than 3rd/4th ring, and much closer to the Malakim; added some in 2nd/3rd ring to northwest (about equal distance from the Malakim)
Malakim - copper was in first ring, removed; still have copper in 2nd ring to southeast but would have to deal with the Guardian

If anything it is the Sheaim who are getting shafted the worst on copper. Maybe I should add some at 2nd ring distance?

The Malakim start is already pretty strong, so I am not sure if giving them an easily accessible copper would be a good idea. They can get some, but will have to fight the Guardian's minions for it.

Maybe I should also remove the BFC copper from the Ljos? They have another source reachable in 1st ring to their SSW.

Or maybe I should just put all the coppers back where they were/weren't originally, and leave the map as lightly edited as possible? I am really not sure -- the Lanun and Sheaim are both completely out of luck, that way.

Also, I have not made any attempt to balance iron or horses. For mana nodes there was one close (1st ring or better) to everyone but the Sheaim where I added one to their northeast. (There is one 1st ring to the west, but in very ugly terrain.)

[haphazard1]

OK, after some additional thought (and reading the post Maksim indicated), I have shuffled the copper situation a bit.

No one has copper in the BFC (Ljos losing theirs), but all civs have copper reachable no further away than 2nd ring (about 12 tiles from the start). Some have it a little closer or in better land (Bannor, Ljos, Elohim), some a little further away or in worse land (Sheaim, Malakim). This will hopefully leave no one completely out in the cold, but the stronger starts (Malakim especially ) will have to work harder to get it.

Thanks to everyone who commented for their input -- very much appreciated! I intend to go ahead and create the PBEM save and send it to the first player. The map is mostly natural, as the players requested, but hopefully at least reasonably balanced. Each civ has some challenges with their starting position, but also some opportunities.

Can't wait to see how this develops.