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Morocco v2

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Morocco v2

Postby Minister X on Mon Sep 07, 2020 8:19 pm

Map Name: Morocco
Mapmaker(s): Minister X and HitRed
Number of Territories: 17
Special Features: none
What Makes This Map Worthy of Being Made: This will be the SMALLEST map at CC and small maps are VERY popular.

Original Map Image:

Image

Doodle Earth and Luxembourg, at 18 and 19 terts respectively, are the second and fourth most popular maps at CC based on plays per month. They are also the two smallest maps. No larger map exceeds them in popularity until you get to the Classic map at 42 terts. Considering how many maps there are at CC, and how these two smallest ones all by themselves generate such a large percentage of plays, adding a third small one to provide players with some more variety within this uber-popular niche seems like a good idea. And if small is beautiful, why not go smaller?

Rabat would obviously start neutral. I'm not sure any others would have to but in a 1v1 game with 15 remaining terts, one more must be neutral and it should be in "North" so as to minimize lucky drops. Bonus amounts are tentative. If this map gets a good reception I'll do the calculations.

I've been wanting to make a small, simple map for a while. It's a bit of a challenge finding a bit of geography that satisfies several desires: recognizable and familiar, shaped appropriately, some nice mountains, many terts with famous names, not otherwise mapped at a similar scale. Morocco fits the bill beautifully.

Note: the frame is real Moroccan leather!

Current Map Image:

Image
Last edited by Minister X on Tue Sep 08, 2020 11:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Morocco v1

Postby Extreme Ways on Tue Sep 08, 2020 8:27 am

fyi, in a 1v1 game each player gets 1/3rd of total remaining territories. I dont think an additional fixed neutral makes sense, unless a bonus requires it for balance reasons. If anything, I'd prefer to have 17 regions total (with Rabat fixed neut) allowing for 8p assassin games with 2 starting territs per player.

Map-wise, what do you think about a boat-connection from Tan-Tan to Rabat? Perhaps you could take inspiration from the Malta map. The map is larger, but features a ton of small bonuses and a lot of interconnectivity.

The map looks fun to play, especially in the niche, and has good design.

Balance wise, the southern bonus looks strong. The other +2 bonuses require to defend 3 territories, whereas the southern one requires only 2. In addition, it is in a corner and for trench purposes it only requires 2 additional territories to completely secure it. I think splitting Tan-Tan into two territories or adding a boat connection (if this historically exists) would also help the map balance wise.

Finally, while ultimately this is just my opinion and not criticism, I think Rabat could also not start as neutral. It borders 3 different high-traffic areas, so it not being neutral means it will be more fought over. It not being neutral also justifies the +3 in the north, as otherwise that bonus is exactly like West Coast with more reward.
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Re: Morocco v1

Postby Minister X on Tue Sep 08, 2020 10:35 am

Thanks for the thoughtful comment, Extreme Ways.

I took a close look on Google Maps and Rabat has no real port - the big one is Casablanca and it would serve your purposes just as well. And there is indeed a port down in Tan-Tan. Also one up in Nador, which might be a good place for a second connection from Casablanca. I've gone ahead and revised the map with three ship icons and a bit of text just so I could see how it looked. It's not horrible but I'm going to resist the change unless your suggestion is seconded and thirded by other experienced players. I recognize that gameplay may be enhanced by your suggestion, and possibly all sorts of additional enhancements are possible. But to me keeping this map as simple as possible also has great value. Doodle Earth and Luxembourg are both maximally simple and I think that's part of their attraction. Malta has 42 terts and without the sea connections would have a one-tert-wide chokepoint. The situation here is quite different and the need for sea connection(s) much less critical. But I admit the connections might enhance gameplay so I'll keep an open mind. However, my mantra for this map is "small and simple - small and simple" and I'll need to be forcibly divorced from that.

Your comment about the initial drop made me realize how ignorant I am about the rules governing this. I searched the forum and found a starting drop spreadsheet https://www.conquerclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=649&t=151306 but it starts at 24 terts. I also found a long discussion about how to make XML accommodate various drop preferences but it's mostly incomprehensible to me. I've searched hard but can't find a rule that confirms what you said about each player getting a third of remaining terts in a 1v1 game. I don't doubt you, but I'd sure like to learn more about all this. Can you point me to where all these drop rules are explained?

Regarding the southern bonus and bonuses generally: as I said what you see on the map is completely tentative and I intend to run the spreadsheet later. But your concern is still valid and I'm concerned about the following scenario: imagine two bonus regions that are fairly different; the spreadsheet results are 1.6 for one region and 2.4 for the other; both round out to 2 but one is a much easier 2 than the other. As a mapmaker one should ideally strive to get bonus regions that calculate out very close to their integer so as to avoid this.

So I just ran the spreadsheet...

North 3.92
Sahara 2.58
West 2.75
South 1.83
Rabat .58

This isn't bad except for Sahara. I don't mind that Rabat gets rounded up so much since it's the capitol. If we want to reduce its impact we can make it an autodeploy instead of a troop bonus. (Limits where the one new troop can start.) South is close to an exact 2 so I think we're good there. But it would be nice if we could make Sahara a more solid 3. If I added a 17th tert there but made it non-defending (touching only other Saharan terts) that would raise the spreadsheet result from 2.58 to 2.83. Seems like a plan! It solves your drop issue.

Regarding Rabat starting neutral or not. I strongly believe it should start neutral. First, its 0.58 rating means it's a weak 1 and therefore should be made harder to capture. Second, I HATE the thought of someone starting with ownership of even a small bonus and then getting to go first. On a small map like this that's deadly. That player would (all else being equal) win 80% or more of games. And if it doesn't start neutral it will get owned on the drop way too often.
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Re: Morocco v2

Postby Minister X on Tue Sep 08, 2020 11:33 am

• 17th tert added "Oued Charef" (name of a wadi in that area).
• Sea connections added with icons and text - Note: this is tentative, added just to allow effect on overall appearance to be assessed.
• In the inset, bonus numbers enlarged (but not name text).
• Bonus amounts now accurate (not counting boats).
• Title appearance changed just for fun. Which do you prefer?


Image

The new dotted tert line surrounding Figuig is heavier than the others. I couldn't get it to match. When all terts are set in stone I'll redo all the tert lines.
Last edited by Minister X on Tue Sep 08, 2020 3:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Morocco v2

Postby Extreme Ways on Tue Sep 08, 2020 5:46 pm

fyi I may be an experienced player but I know nothing of map design - I just know that I like some maps and I dont like other maps.

Your points are all valid, except the Malta one. Of course the map does not need to become a Malta clone, but the map has "helipads" as well for connectivity. It uses both the boat and the helipads to get rid of the single chokepoint thing, which is indeed an issue your map does not have at all. It's all personal preference :-)

Also, I did not know the spreadsheet-thing you linked existed, I was just going with gut.
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Re: Morocco v2

Postby iAmCaffeine on Tue Sep 08, 2020 6:00 pm

white title is better than red

why you would make a map this small in a game that as enough complaints about luck already i have no idea, but you do you i guess
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Re: Morocco v2

Postby Minister X on Tue Sep 08, 2020 10:38 pm

iAmCaffeine wrote:why you would make a map this small in a game that as enough complaints about luck already i have no idea, but you do you i guess

In may ways that is the most succinct and true criticism of any map I've offered. I dislike drop-luck as much as anyone. More, I suspect. I say more because these small maps are so popular despite being subject to drop-luck. Why is that? Small maps must offer something that's more important to many CCers than the risk of an unlucky drop.
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Re: Morocco v2

Postby Extreme Ways on Wed Sep 09, 2020 5:43 am

Minister X wrote:
iAmCaffeine wrote:why you would make a map this small in a game that as enough complaints about luck already i have no idea, but you do you i guess

In may ways that is the most succinct and true criticism of any map I've offered. I dislike drop-luck as much as anyone. More, I suspect. I say more because these small maps are so popular despite being subject to drop-luck. Why is that? Small maps must offer something that's more important to many CCers than the risk of an unlucky drop.

In speeders, maps like lux and doodle earth offer an adrenaline rush
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Re: Morocco v2

Postby iAmCaffeine on Thu Sep 10, 2020 8:58 am

Extreme Ways wrote:
Minister X wrote:
iAmCaffeine wrote:why you would make a map this small in a game that as enough complaints about luck already i have no idea, but you do you i guess

In may ways that is the most succinct and true criticism of any map I've offered. I dislike drop-luck as much as anyone. More, I suspect. I say more because these small maps are so popular despite being subject to drop-luck. Why is that? Small maps must offer something that's more important to many CCers than the risk of an unlucky drop.

In speeders, maps like lux and doodle earth offer an adrenaline rush

it's a combination of this and stupid players who hope to get lucky in assassin games to get a better rank
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Re: Morocco v2

Postby Minister X on Thu Sep 10, 2020 9:47 am

Since returning to CC some months back I've played a few dozen games, mostly with an old buddy who was also bored by COVID sequestration. We played several small maps simply because they are simple and quick. No real adrenaline rush. No real concern about winning or losing. In part these small maps were a way for us to get back into the swing of CC gaming. I suspect a lot of newbies are attracted to small, simple maps simply because they look less daunting than most larger ones. No doubt you and Extreme Ways are also right about speeders and rank-seekers, but I suspect that the range of reasons for choosing maps/rules is quite broad and varied. In any case, those speeders and whatnot are also deserving of a new map! O:)
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Re: Morocco v2

Postby Dukasaur on Sun Nov 15, 2020 7:33 am

iAmCaffeine wrote:
Extreme Ways wrote:
Minister X wrote:
iAmCaffeine wrote:why you would make a map this small in a game that as enough complaints about luck already i have no idea, but you do you i guess

In may ways that is the most succinct and true criticism of any map I've offered. I dislike drop-luck as much as anyone. More, I suspect. I say more because these small maps are so popular despite being subject to drop-luck. Why is that? Small maps must offer something that's more important to many CCers than the risk of an unlucky drop.

In speeders, maps like lux and doodle earth offer an adrenaline rush

it's a combination of this and stupid players who hope to get lucky in assassin games to get a better rank


And people who work all day and come home tired and don't want to have to think a lot after 12 hours of thinking. Just because someone doesn't feel like taxing their brain doesn't mean they're stupid. It could just mean they want to relax and unwind and not need to build a spreadsheet in order to play an online game.

Minister X wrote:We played several small maps simply because they are simple and quick. No real adrenaline rush. No real concern about winning or losing. In part these small maps were a way for us to get back into the swing of CC gaming.

This too.
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Re: Morocco v2

Postby HardAttack on Sun Nov 15, 2020 9:41 am

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Re: Morocco v2

Postby BabySasuke on Sun Nov 15, 2020 9:08 pm

looks nice, i like it
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Re: Morocco v2

Postby Minister X on Sun Nov 15, 2020 11:47 pm

Thanks. I'm guessing that HardAttack also approves. Maybe he's just showing that some people like quick games on small maps. (I like this map because the background pattern, frame and title font are all appropriate for the subject country and thus, without busying up the map with flags and drawings of famous landmarks or whatever, create a graphic theme and feel that's obvious without being over the top.)
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Re: Morocco v2

Postby Mokerslag on Tue Mar 02, 2021 3:47 am

Great map but you forgot the Sahara of Morocco.
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Re: Morocco v2

Postby iAmCaffeine on Tue Mar 02, 2021 5:57 am


you got a point big man?
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Re: Morocco v2

Postby TeeGee on Wed Mar 03, 2021 5:58 pm

Keep it on topic
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Kotaro wrote:TG for site owner 2020
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Re: Morocco v2

Postby riskllama on Wed Mar 03, 2021 7:00 pm

TeeGee wrote:Keep it on topic


=D>
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