Repubbliche Marinare

[Seleukos]

As some of you may know im an ex campaign mapper getting back in the business. So hear me out on this. I have a new idea on a mod and have already begun work on the map. I haven't decided on a name yet but I'm thinking Repubbliche Marinare (italian for The Maritime Republics). I'm basing this at 1160 AD start to 1453 AD finish at one year turns.

The map is going to be somewhat like this and big (scaled high). This is what im thinking preliminarily:

Big: 1021 X 433


The factions so far that I've come up with:

Republic of Genoa
Republic of Pisa
Republic of Milan
Republic of Venice
Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Kingdom of Portugal
Duchy of Savoy
Almoravid Empire
Zerid Caliphate
Fatamid Caliphate
Kingdom of Jerusalem
Byzantine Empire
Bulgarian Empire
Holy Roman Empire
Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of England
Kingdom of France
Crown of Aragon
Sultanate of Rum
Seljuk Emirates
Papal States
Mongols


Well thats whats up. Im making my grand comeback into modding so hit me with everything you got, ideas, praise, criticism, anything. Im going to need a team (skinners, coders, scripters, etc so I can get this off the ground)

What do you all think?

[Viking Prince]

This looks interesting.

Have you given any thought to French/English issues in this time period? I am not certain that Bordeaux being rebel will be sufficient.

[Seleukos]

I might throw Burgandy in there but it might become a cluster****. Ill see about it. I dont much care about the French/England slapfest. Its been covered over and over again. Im paying attention to Italy mostly. Its the centerpiece.

[John Doe]

The issue I can see if the lack of "depth", the land mass is not wide enough. It would be too easy to go around the med, the front line being not wide enough. In other maps, I always try to conquier toward the edge of the map to secure my rear (so that I disband all un-necessary units). In that map, it looks like all faction start at or near the edge, and then you'll expand around the edge. So unless you get the AI to use naval invasion a lot better it would be too easy. Or you'll have to create some kind of barbarian invasion to keep the player on his guard.

[Seleukos]

The issue I can see if the lack of "depth", the land mass is not wide enough. It would be too easy to go around the med, the front line being not wide enough. In other maps, I always try to conquier toward the edge of the map to secure my rear (so that I disband all un-necessary units). In that map, it looks like all faction start at or near the edge, and then you'll expand around the edge. So unless you get the AI to use naval invasion a lot better it would be too easy. Or you'll have to create some kind of barbarian invasion to keep the player on his guard.

I could do emerging. Other than mongols who would you suggest? Maybe the Pols or Kievans?

[Ter]

I could do emerging. Other than mongols who would you suggest? Maybe the Pols or Kievans?

The English into France perhaps?

[Ascarona]

The English into France perhaps?

Like a Hundred Years war or did the English not get that far into France?
That might be an excuse to put in the English, I'm not sure if your planning to put in a late campaign or not but that might allow players to play as the English, they are immediatly at war with France of course...

[a4phantom]

Like a Hundred Years war or did the English not get that far into France?
That might be an excuse to put in the English, I'm not sure if your planning to put in a late campaign or not but that might allow players to play as the English, they are immediatly at war with France of course...

They started out owning most of France, as William the Conqueror was the Duke of Normandy and the English came to rule "Maine, Anjou, Touraine, Poitou, Gascony, Saintonge, and Aquitaine." Then King John was totally lame and under the control of a snake, so by the time the Hundred Years War started the English were down to a tiny foothold in France.. It was sort of a French civil war, as the Kings of England had a claim to also be Kings of France, while being the vassals of the Kings of France (for Gascony) and many French nobles fought for them, and English nobles were Frenchified Normans ruling over Saxon peasants. But the highpoint of English control over French territory was well before the 116 years war.

[Nazgûl Killer]

Looks very nice.
But I do have to wonder - Are you planning to include England/Scotland/Ireland?
I know for a fact that those three are amongst the top 5 favorite factions in M2TW/SS6.1... So I think it would be a darn shame giving them up.

[Seleukos]

Looks very nice.
But I do have to wonder - Are you planning to include England/Scotland/Ireland?
I know for a fact that those three are amongst the top 5 favorite factions in M2TW/SS6.1... So I think it would be a darn shame giving them up.

Afraid not. I already chopped and sized the map. The map heights up there is the land involved.

I don't know if it's historically correct, but Berbers and Touaregs from the north of africa, vikings all over Europe, and yes Pols and Kievans, Tatars and Cossacks, etc...
It just look like the Med is taking too big a chunk out of the map. 40% of the map is water, that's my main worry.

I understand your worry. But as soon as I get the map operational. (Im going to finish fixing the bugs tomorrow) I will put screens up. With the resize there should be substantial landmass. Its at the max size for a map. Im also going to work on naval improvements since the focus is the maritime republics.

The Vikings are a good idea cause if I remember correctly didn't they invade south through Kiev and almost hit Constantinople?

[Nazgûl Killer]

Afraid not. I already chopped and sized the map. The map heights up there is the land involved.

Okay... But I see that in the map you have a small bit of Normandy. Can't you just put Caen there and call them The Normans instead of England?

[Seleukos]

Okay... But I see that in the map you have a small bit of Normandy. Can't you just put Caen there and call them The Normans instead of England?

Maybe I can put a little of England in Caen to make everybody happy........

But im only using 22 slots, theres room for 8 or 9 more factions by the way.

[Nazgûl Killer]

Maybe I can put a little of England in Caen to make everybody happy........

But im only using 22 slots, theres room for 8 or 9 more factions by the way.

Actually I was just kidding, but, I got some ideas for other factions:

Kievan Rus, Poland, Principiality of Antioch and maybe some sort of Persian empire.

[John Doe]

The Vikings are a good idea cause if I remember correctly didn't they invade south through Kiev and almost hit Constantinople?

Indeed they managed to take Constantinopole. And they even sailed around spain through the straight of Gibraltar to raid the med coast.

What would add a lot to the game would be to "randomized" the apparition of those kind of rebel. In vanilla, you know when and where the mongols/timurid arrive. It would be nice if it changes from one game to the next in your mod, adding an extra layer of unpredictability.

[Seleukos]

Indeed they managed to take Constantinopole. And they even sailed around spain through the straight of Gibraltar to raid the med coast.

What would add a lot to the game would be to "randomized" the apparition of those kind of rebel. In vanilla, you know when and where the mongols/timurid arrive. It would be nice if it changes from one game to the next in your mod, adding an extra layer of unpredictability.

I thought they were just hired into the Varangians?

So what changes will be applied to the Italian factions?

More realistic names, better navies. More realistic diplomacy conditions like the Lombard League, everybody else hating the Venetians. Genoa and Pisa rivalry. HRE breathing down their backs. A few others.

[pons]

How about an emergent Bulgaria? You have Byzantium at its Comnenian peak. In reality, it was downhill from 1160, and one of the biggest causes of this was Bulgaria reappearing in 1185 and being a big factor in the Balkans for a hundred years thereafter. Without that, your Byzantium might get a bit overpowering.

Also this was the great period of Welf/Hohenstaufen rivalry (which produced the Guelph/Ghibelline parties in Italy). How about a Welf or Bavarian faction?

Vikings are a couple of hundred years out of period - and Kievan Rus was on the defensive by now against the Cumans and northern slav states.

This is pretty much the same start date as the bellum crucis mod, which has a historically accurate layout of factions. But the tighter geographical focus has the potential to make this a better game - with more of the factions that really mattered in the Med world.

[John Doe]

I don't know if it's historically correct, but Berbers and Touaregs from the north of africa, vikings all over Europe, and yes Pols and Kievans, Tatars and Cossacks, etc...
It just look like the Med is taking too big a chunk out of the map. 40% of the map is water, that's my main worry.

[Viking Prince]

As for working around along the map 'edge' -- scripting rebel stacks to appear near the north edge could make that tactic a bit more difficult.

I have not seen a good mood with lots of naval action in the Mediteranean though. It will be interesting how you will get the AI to play the game.

[Ascarona]

It's a nice idea but don't we have enough mods out there yet?

[SoulBlade]

So what changes will be applied to the Italian factions?