ideas for alternative map

**Spartan 666** · December 01, 2008, 10:30 AM

My dream about Rome Total War has always been creating and editing maps so i could put\add provinces where i wanted them to be. Finally, after having tried lots of programs, given up, and regained interest, i managed to find a program easy to use (Gimp).
So i came up with the idea to slightly edit the XGM Diadochi map, to add some regions in the East, removing some from the German\Dacian area...I think there are too many in those regions, and too few in the East. After all, this mod is about the Diadochi, isn't it?

Of course i will do it for my personal use, but if the XGM Diadochi team agrees I could also upload it to share it!
For now my intention is to move Seleucia to its right position (between the Tigris and the Euphrates,and not on the left bank of the Tigris) and to add Babylonia, right under Seleucia. Then I thought on adding a couple of cities in India (maybe Bucephala or Nikaia?

). Every idea will be welcome!

**Spartan198** · December 01, 2008, 09:11 PM

Well, feel free to shoot this down, but how about a fourth city in the Peloponnese, like Patra or Elis?

**jakobh94** · December 02, 2008, 12:07 AM

Originally Posted by Spartan198

Well, feel free to shoot this down, but how about a fourth city in the Peloponnese, like Patra or Elis?

Isnt elis already there? Patra should be added though ...

**Spartan 666** · December 02, 2008, 02:03 AM

the best peloponnese is absolutely the Roma Surrectum one, but that could be done due to the high resolution of the map (which, however, reaches only Media to the East and Egypt to the South because of this very high resolution). Adding a fourth city there would make the peloponnese a bit too much crowdy, in my opinion...but I'll try that anyway!

**RedFox** · December 02, 2008, 08:08 AM

There is also the Pyrrhic campaign map. It's twice the size of the original and is focused in Italic/Greek region. If you manage to make that map playable, I'd be more than glad to include it in the release.

**Spartan 666** · December 02, 2008, 09:32 AM

You're right, I didn't think about it...that's an excellent map to work on, there is a lot of space for cities in Greece, Sicily and Italy. However for now I'll focus on the Mundus Magnus map, then I'll gladly work also on that one!

**rogergargantua** · December 02, 2008, 01:39 PM

Originally Posted by Spartan 666

You're right, I didn't think about it...that's an excellent map to work on, there is a lot of space for cities in Greece, Sicily and Italy. However for now I'll focus on the Mundus Magnus map, then I'll gladly work also on that one!

Looking forward to your work, Spartan 666! RedFox could use the help on the Pyrrhic campaign!

Whats this Mundus Magnus map your talking about? Anyhoo, im very interested in your map project! Keep us updated

**jakobh94** · December 02, 2008, 03:01 PM

Originally Posted by rogergargantua

Looking forward to your work, Spartan 666! RedFox could use the help on the Pyrrhic campaign!

Whats this Mundus Magnus map your talking about? Anyhoo, im very interested in your map project! Keep us updated

Mundus Magnus map is the campaign map for almost every mod out (XGMD to), its larger and so on

**Spartan 666** · December 03, 2008, 07:42 AM

Originally Posted by rogergargantua

Looking forward to your work, Spartan 666! RedFox could use the help on the Pyrrhic campaign!

Whats this Mundus Magnus map your talking about? Anyhoo, im very interested in your map project! Keep us updated

thx for the encouragement! yes, my intention is to work first on the Mundus Magnus (not adding provinces, but "moving" from one area to another), and adding the suetz channel, which existed in the game time...then I'll work on the Pyrrhic map, adding provinces everywhere to "fill" the map (not too much, of course!). The Pyrrhic campaign is perfect to be played with a 4tpy script, in my opinion...

Originally Posted by jakobh94

Mundus Magnus map is the campaign map for almost every mod out (XGMD to), its larger and so on

it's the best map of all...stretching from spain to india and from sweden to ethiopia...if it included more of india it would have been even better!

**jakobh94** · December 03, 2008, 10:18 AM

Originally Posted by Spartan 666

thx for the encouragement! yes, my intention is to work first on the Mundus Magnus (not adding provinces, but "moving" from one area to another), and adding the suetz channel, which existed in the game time...then I'll work on the Pyrrhic map, adding provinces everywhere to "fill" the map (not too much, of course!). The Pyrrhic campaign is perfect to be played with a 4tpy script, in my opinion...

it's the best map of all...stretching from spain to india and from sweden to ethiopia...if it included more of india it would have been even better!

Well you couldnt say sweden nor norway, since the whole countries arent in it.

**Spartan 666** · December 03, 2008, 10:30 AM

well........from the southern part of them! For the same reason then we can't speak even of India, since the greek India started with what now is Pakistan...

**Spartan198** · December 03, 2008, 11:12 AM

Looking forward to seeing what you do with the Pyrrhic Wars map. Keep us updated.

**Spartan 666** · December 03, 2008, 11:41 AM

for now i'm working with Mundus Magnus...

here's the first results: the new mesopotamian area

notice that Seleucia is in its right position...where it was before there was Opis\Ctesiphon. Babylon has been added removing Insula Gothi. And notice also the road between the two rivers, which wasn't there before

and here's the suez channel. 3 land bridges assure the link between the 2 banks, while navies can move from the Red Sea to the Mediterrenean.To resolve the issue of missing roads from Palestina down to Egypt I'll add Pelusium in the Sinai, either moving Petra or unifying the sahara and the arabian desert into one and using the freed region slot. Doing so there will be roads from Palestina to Pelusium, which was very near to the channel

**Spartan198** · December 04, 2008, 11:38 AM

Looking good.

**Mathais** · December 04, 2008, 09:29 PM

Not bad you do a pretty good job keep it up.

**Spartan 666** · December 05, 2008, 06:31 AM

i managed to unify the sahara and the arabian desert into one region, to free a region slot which i used for Pelusium, which is meant to be the gate of Egypt, guarding those two land bridges...unfortunately my modifications seem to have altered something crucial, cause every time i try to play a custom battle i get a CTD with no explanation...i hope to solve this issue...

**LucretiusTC** · December 15, 2008, 10:41 AM

If you are still planning some map changes, then here are some possible candidates for new settlements. The main problem is that all the available slots for new settlements are already in use. I think Babylon as a new settlement would be problematic because it is so close to Seleucia, so it wouldn’t promote the gameplay in the best possible way. I would rather try to narrow those distances in certain areas and avoid making certain regions too crowded (e.g. Greece or Italy).

My top 5 favourites for the new settlements (but I am not sure where those new slots could be taken):

1. Pelusion (Pelusium in Latin), the easternmost city in Lower Egypt; it could be located on the coast nearly in the middle of the triangle Memphis-Hierosolyma-Petra, and it could fill some gap between those settlements.

2. Ikonion (Iconium in Latin), the most important city in Lykaonia (Lycaonia) in Asia Minor; it could be located nearly in the middle of the regions Side-Ipsus-Ancyra-Tarsus.

3. Dura-Europos, a Hellenistic and Roman walled city built on the left bank of the Euphrates River. It was founded by the Seleucids in 303 BCE on the intersection of an east-west trade route and the trade route along the Euphrates; it could be used to fill the gap between Palmyra, Hatra and Seleucia on the Tigris.

4. Malaka, the modern Malaga on the southern coast of Iberian Peninsula; this ancient Phoenician city could be located between Gadir and Carthago Nova.

5. Napata, a city on the west bank of the Nile River in Nubia; it is possible Napata had always been the religious centre of the Kushite Empire; it could be roughly located halfway between Pselchis and Mëroe.

About those geographical names, if there is a need for re-naming some of those settlements, it would be quite easy to give them more Greek names like Antiokheia, Seleukeia, Byzantion, Pergamon (-on, instead of -um), Kyrene (letter K instead of letter C), Korinthos (Corinth), Ephesos (-os, instead of -us), etc.

Finally here is an old thread about map corrections including the discussion about problems with the Red Sea Canal:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=88363&page=2

Luc.

**Spartan 666** · December 15, 2008, 12:17 PM

yes yes I still want to make modifications to both the Pyrrhic and the Mundus Magnus map but I am so busy with university now, I'll have time during the xmas ceasefire

!

Pelusium-already added!

Ikonion-I didn't consider the asia minor, good point!
Dura-Europos-ah yes...I think the only mod featuring this city is RTR! It's a good alternative to Babylon
Malaka-I think the spanish peninsula is fine as it is...just my opinion!
Napata-instead of adding, I would move...that area is fine, don't want to over crowd it...

yes, I wanted to rename some cities, especially the ones founded by Alexander and the Greek and Roman ones!
thanks for the link to the channel!

**jakobh94** · December 16, 2008, 02:30 AM

Originally Posted by Spartan 666

I'll have time during the xmas ceasefire

!

nice line mate

And good luck with the map(s?)

**Zarax** · December 16, 2008, 03:01 AM

Err, not to shoot you down but the suez channel is quite more recent than that... The ptolemies did manage to have a small system to connect mediterranean and red sea but was not really viable for serious military use...