Province naming

[Gungalley]

Would anyone have preferred it if they put the province name on the minimap as the actual name of the province instead of 'province of city name'? I'm fine with the city names, but to name the provinces which these cities are capitals in, its just weird. For example, I'm fine iwth the city of Zaragoza being named as such. But on the minimap, I thoguht they should name it Aragon or at least the province of Aragon instead of province of Zaragoza. Same with Algiers and Marrakesh. Same with Dublin and the Welsh capital. (sorry i don't know how to spell that) Afterall, some areas are only represented by 1 province. Anyone think so?

[Endeav]

Well, I'm sure most people wouldn't be able to identify most regions of most countries by province. Paris Region is a lot more identifiable to non-French people than Île-de-France (even though that means Paris Region anyways).

[Gungalley]

Well it would have added a lot more authenticity. Besides, people can always look up on the map from the location of the provinces if they are really interested.

[VaultDweller]

I disagree. First of all, the province borders aren't exactly plotted with much attention to historical provinces. Second, provinces aren't overly significant in RTW/M2TW; they're just an area of control associated with the city. Third, looking up details on a map is not something I want to constantly have to do while I'm playing a game.

[Al-Masri]

They had it in Rome and MTW1 so that makes it seem that they were just lazy it not adding it in here.

[Arcaliea]

Third, looking up details on a map is not something I want to constantly have to do while I'm playing a game.

Then don't... province names are hardly ever visible unless you deliberately right-click to see them. For gameplay purposes, you would always use city names, which are right there; so you would still be calling them Zaragoza province or Thessalonica province if you wanted to. But for those who actually wanted to have, you know, historical immersion, it would help, even if the borders were not exact.

The suggestion that people are bothered or inconvenienced by the names they do not know is not valid. Many people are willing to live and let live by their ignorance of particular names as long as it is not necessary. For example, look at all the pseudoauthentic names in strategy games, or fake names in sci-fi games, or made-up names in fantasy RPG games. People just take them by the stride even when it is something horrendous like Ilguurthluuk the Orc.

[VaultDweller]

Then don't... province names are hardly ever visible unless you deliberately right-click to see them. For gameplay purposes, you would always use city names, which are right there; so you would still be calling them Zaragoza province or Thessalonica province if you wanted to.

Right you are; I admit I was mistaken about the contexts in which the province names appear.

However, I disagree with this statement:

The suggestion that people are bothered or inconvenienced by the names they do not know is not valid.

People like bizarre and unknown names in RPGs because they're supposed to be bizarre and alien. I can deal with Ilguurthluuk the Orc just fine, but if I ever meet Wayne the Half-Orc, son of Steve the Orc and Katie the Elf, and they weren't given these names in a clearly tongue-in-cheeck manner, it's about time for me to toss that game aside.

In other contexts where real-world names are not practical, people are willing to accept bogus and unfamiliar names, but the key word is that we just accept them. Perhaps it is pandering to the lowest common denominator, but people tend to like seeing familiar names. It makes everyone feel smarter for having recognized them.

That said, I don't consider that to be a strong basis for deciding how to name regions. Familiar city names can evoke the desired reaction, and there's no need to duplicate it with region names.

[dandadandan]

Then don't... province names are hardly ever visible unless you deliberately right-click to see them. For gameplay purposes, you would always use city names, which are right there; so you would still be calling them Zaragoza province or Thessalonica province if you wanted to. But for those who actually wanted to have, you know, historical immersion, it would help, even if the borders were not exact.

The suggestion that people are bothered or inconvenienced by the names they do not know is not valid. Many people are willing to live and let live by their ignorance of particular names as long as it is not necessary. For example, look at all the pseudoauthentic names in strategy games, or fake names in sci-fi games, or made-up names in fantasy RPG games. People just take them by the stride even when it is something horrendous like Ilguurthluuk the Orc.

errrmmmmm that point is valid. I want historical basis upon which to play or else I'd just go play red alert or something like that where the russians win

somebody please tell me how to change the names for regions and provinces before I go mad, none of the people who make the mods can be arsed replying, its so frickin annoying

[Harry Lime]

somebody please tell me how to change the names for regions and provinces before I go mad, none of the people who make the mods can be arsed replying, its so frickin annoying

You're better off asking that question here Text editing and scripting. There's lots of friendly people there.

[Metellus]

For my part, anything that increases immersion is better, "Paris region" sounds a bit silly, inauthentic and cumbersome. It looks especially silly when you see post-battle that your battle took place in 'Paris region'. Would definitely have preferred what they did in RTW (region names separate from city names), eg. Britannia Inferior.

[Arcaliea]

if I ever meet Wayne the Half-Orc, son of Steve the Orc and Katie the Elf, and they weren't given these names in a clearly tongue-in-cheeck manner

Wouldn't you agree that authentic historical names (although, yes, borders wouldn't be completely authentic) would, by the same token as Ilguurthluuk, benefit the game?

I would think you have a point if we were tlaking about, say, unit names which people see a lot and talk about a lot (I took my X infantry around...), but casual players most likely won't even realise that there are province names, and refer to everything as City. I can accept pandering to the lowest common denominator in some areas (although for example, turns instead of dates doesn't even do that, it's just illogical), but this doesn't really benefit that way.

Still, by the same token, it's not too big a deal. I ceased to feel true immersion in MTW2 and treat it as a 'low' game, if a fun one, so I'm not the one to vehemently pursue this any longer.

[VaultDweller]

I can accept pandering to the lowest common denominator in some areas (although for example, turns instead of dates doesn't even do that, it's just illogical)...

I don't think that has anything to do with pandering, there. I'm pretty sure they just did that as a lame way of hiding the fact that characters take four years to age one year.

Also, to clarify (as my last post really didn't), my stance on region-naming has changed now that I realized I was mistaken about the context where they appear.

I ceased to feel true immersion in MTW2

I haven't felt immersed in a TW game since Shogun, despite enjoying the overall gameplay more with each new iteration of the series (pending the resolution of outstanding M2TW issues with the patch).

[dandadandan]

does any body know how to change the region names? so it would be london in wessex for instance? I seriously love immersion, and telling myself that I am invading ille de france spunds much more appealing than I am invading paris. you have to cross borders before you come to the cities

anyone??? help will be appreciated (by the way if you know also how can I change them for stainless steel?

[Captain Spanky]

Would anyone have preferred it if they put the province name on the minimap as the actual name of the province instead of 'province of city name'?

I dont really care...

[Sokar Rostau]

Ummm... Maybe it's a Kingdoms thing (not sure where I've seen it), but if you mouse-over a province on the mini-map it shows the province name rather than the city, at least in some cases.

[Shazbot]

A historically inaccurate two word province name isn't going to bother me a whole lot.