Hey folks,

I'm pretty new to this, but the idea of creating a map to play on tickled my fancy so I've created a map of New York City from ~1850-1900 based on the maps of cartographers Watson, Beers, and Johnson, among others. I'm interested in having it take on a Gangs of New York theme, as that story takes place during the same period (around 1863, coinciding with the Draft Riots). The territories, bonuses, and connections are all in place, but I'd love some feedback about some potential pitfalls, as I'm not terribly experienced and may not recognize things as easily. No distributions have been placed yet, but that is the next step, as well as player testing. Let me know if you're interested!

Also, given that many of the neighborhoods had not taken on distinct identities quite yet, I've taken some liberties with naming, but did my best to take hints from the maps I used.

Suggestions on color coding are also appreciated, I'm not quite sure how that should work.

[EDIT]: Here is the link (I think...): https://www.warlight.net/Play?PreviewMap=49231

Testers so far (need a few more!):

Cata Cauda
Strato1

Edited 11/2/2015 21:58:32

Not sure but wouldnt it look much cooler, if Downtown was in the south and not in the west?
The rotation of Manhattan confuses me.

Edit: I would be interesting in testing if its multi-day. Forgot to mention that it looks cool.

Edited 11/1/2015 04:58:46

It started off vertical and I ended up rotating it because it felt very cramped since Manhattan is so narrow. I wouldn't be opposed to rotating it back vertically after a few games if it turns out to be better that way. Thanks for the feedback! If we get a couple more, we'll start up a multi-day game.

I think maps are generally better when the bonus values are different for the same number of territories. For example there is no reward in going for bigger riskier bonuses in your map than the small ones.

But besides that it looks good.

Looks like a very interesting map overall.

I'm still new to map making as well, but there are a couple things I would like to point out. You have tunnels connecting the parks, but they won't always be visible when playing the game (selected territories are brought to the forefront in-game). I understand it's still being developed, but it's more aesthetically pleasing when bonus borders don't overlap or leave gaps in-between.

I would be willing to help test.

wouldn't be opposed to rotating it back

If you expand Queens, Brooklyn and New Jersey, I am sure you can rorate it back...

Edited 11/2/2015 00:12:34

The main potential problem I see is unbalancing, I'm no expert at fixing them, though.

Strato: The tunnels should stay visible, as they are part of the SVG object that includes the territory border. Whether or not they're functional/fun or just a nuisance is debatable. We'll find out in a test I think.

Buns: I do have to work on bonuses a bit. I think some of the Manhattan territories are going to be much tougher to keep than say, the Bronx or Jersey, so I'll likely bump those up a bit.

Жұқтыру: Similarly, I think after a game or two I'll try to even out the bonuses. Working on it against the computer at the moment.

I've edited the map a bit, added some Scenarios (Manhattan v. the World, Battle for Manhattan, and the Gangs scenario that I originally wanted to make!), and tweaked a few superbonuses. I think it's ready for testing... need one more and we'll get a game going!

https://www.warlight.net/Play?PreviewMap=49231

It's ready for the first round of testing!

Changes in 1.3:
Removed tunnel system for parks, it was far too confusing.
Fixed 2 connections.
Tweaked all bonuses for better gameplay.
Added connections to end of Blackwell's Island to make it less easily defensible.
Retooled Gangs Scenario starting positions for balance.


Rd. 1 Multi-day:
trackhurdler25
Cata Cauda
Strato1
KORDarkMatter


I'll send out invites shortly. In the meantime, if anybody wants to test a realtime one today, I should be available for the next few hours (til 5ish Eastern Time). Let me know!

Also, now is the time for any last criticisms... I've decided to keep it horizontal and to not expand into Queens/Brooklyn/New Jersey. Perhaps for the next map, now that I'm a bit more familiar with Inkscape.