Duh Duh Duh! I can't wait to see what comes next. The only game I've bought since BTS is Skyrim.
Merovech's Mapmaking Guidelines:
0. Player Requests: The player's requests take precedence, even if they contradict the following guidelines.
1. Balance: The map must be balanced, both in regards to land quality and availability and in regards to special civilization features. A map may be wonderfully unique and surprising, but, if it is unbalanced, the game will suffer and the player's enjoyment will not be as high as it could be.
2. Identity and Enjoyment: The map should be interesting to play at all levels, from city placement and management to the border-created interactions between civilizations, and should include varied terrain. Flavor should enhance the inherent pleasure resulting from the underlying tile arrangements. The map should not be exceedingly lush, but it is better to err on the lush side than on the poor side when placing terrain.
3. Feel (Avoiding Gimmicks): The map should not be overwhelmed or dominated by the mapmaker's flavor. Embellishment of the map through the use of special improvements, barbarian units, and abnormal terrain can enhance the identity and enjoyment of the map, but should take a backseat to the more normal aspects of the map. The game should usually not revolve around the flavor, but merely be accented by it.
4. Realism: Where possible, the terrain of the map should be realistic. Jungles on desert tiles, or even next to desert tiles, should therefore have a very specific reason for existing. Rivers should run downhill or across level ground into bodies of water. Irrigated terrain should have a higher grassland to plains ratio than dry terrain. Mountain chains should cast rain shadows. Islands, mountains, and peninsulas should follow logical plate tectonics.
Hopefully we see some good things coming from Stardock. It'll have to be something very well reccomended for me to consider buying it, though. The Elemental problem was pretty damning to their image, at least in my eyes. And hopefully they are planning another game (hopefully for me, at least ), because I didn't like the overall concept of Elemental, even after Kael took over. Haven't really played it, just don't like what I've read about it.
By the way, something about the expression "Spiritual Successor to MoM" always give me alarm bells when reading about a game. I've heard it a lot of times, even though I'm not that much into the gaming industry, and every time the results appeared to be a failure.
And, well, to be completely fair, I really doubt we are going to see a good game coming from this. Of course, that's just my opinion. But from what I've read about and from Stardock, I don't see why I should keep my hopes up.
(March 1st, 2013, 17:56)Merovech Wrote: Duh Duh Duh! I can't wait to see what comes next. The only game I've bought since BTS is Skyrim.
yea. Only games I've bought since BTS have been
Elemental: War of Magic (a mistake, but still a cool idea at least)
Skyrim
and ...
Shogun2: Total War
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I have to admit, there are a lot of parts of Medieval2: Total War that I miss ... (like Cavalry being teh awesome all teh time), but I am really enjoying Shogun. Haven't gotten to the heroes yet, but I've loved playing the Hattori and slaughtering entire opposing clans (or at least the men) via ninja.
), because I didn't like the overall concept of Elemental, even after Kael took over. Haven't really played it, just don't like what I've read about it.
