*I'll try to phrase all of the following as neutrally as possible.*
## Regarding political / geographical correctness
Playability is certainly a very important factor for a map. However, you are basing this map on a real-world situation (one in which a whole lot of us happen to live and which some of us may have strong feelings about). I'd advice you to keep political and geographical accuracy in mind whenever it is at all possible. (If you really hate it that much, it might be a good idea to use a fictional settings for your next project.)
## Relation to / differences from Troll's version
The question "why are you making this map at all?" has been asked a few times; I have not really seen an answer. While in general I think "Because I can!!" is a great answer, it doesn't apply all that well to making a slightly modified copy of an existing map... especially if that existing map just happens to be the top-rated map on WL; people might think you're trying to score a cheap success over Troll's back (I'm really sorry, but I can't think of a more polite way to say it).
Or look at it another way. Let's say I create a game on your map and invite some other players. If one of them asks me "Aww, why do you want to play this version, let's just play the original!", what do you propose I should answer?
Another problem is that I highly doubt you've asked Troll's permission to do this. Like it or not, you are basically stealing his work (you traced over a screenshot of his map, and copied his territory names, bonuses, etc., didn't you?). When you upload a map, you are confirming you have all the necessary permissions to do so, which is not the case here.
Looking at [Troll's profile](
http://warlight.net/Profile.aspx?p=78456200), I notice a few things:
- Invited to WarLight by Fizzer
- Currently playing in 12 multi-player games
- No "inactive for x days" message
The second and third item mean he's still active on WL, so it's entirely possible to ask his permission, just invite him for a game. (Who knows, he might have some useful suggestions for you which he himself never got around to!) The first one means that pissing off Troll might very well piss off Fizzer. Now, I'd prefer you asking Troll's permission because it's the right thing to do, but I'll settle for you asking his permission because it's the smart thing to do. (And, look on the bright side, if he's okay with it, he just might send you his original SVG.)
Hurricane wrote:
|> The Europe map isn't perfect - it has a rating of 4.67.
And that puts it in the number one position of all 440 maps on WL. (And don't try "statistical anomaly" or anything like that; it's based on just about 600 rating!)
Major Risk wrote:
|> Uservoice is slow and wastes Fizzer's time when there are more important things to be done.
Actually, to me it appear as though (an additional suggestion on) UserVoice doesn't cost Fizzer any time at all. Besides, he himself has repeatedly requested people to make suggestions through UserVoice.
More importantly though, I have to disagree with your (implicit) assumption that making this map will not cost Fizzer any time. You see, WL has a feature which lets people report one another. If you click on the "Report" button at the bottom of any player's profile you'll see a page asking the following question:
http://warlight.net/Report.aspx wrote:
|> Please select the reason you wish to report this player:
|> They booted me or another player
|> They aren't taking their turn
|> They're slow to take their turn
|> I think they hacked the game or cheated
|> They broke a truce, lied or backstabbed me
|> They made a secret pact or colluded
|> They won't vote to end even after I asked
|> They surrendered when I didn't think they should
|> They won't accept a surrender I think they should
|> They have named themselves after a world leader I don't like
|> Other
Choosing any of those reasons (except "other") displays a message which essentially says "That's not against the rules, you can't report someone for that".
Let's just say I'd hate for Fizzer to have to add an option "They invited me for a game on the Europe map, but it was not really the Europe map." (If [this page](
http://wiki.warlight.net/index.php/Cheaters#Check_the_game_settings) on the WL Wiki is necessary, I'm sure people will misunderstand what's going on when connections are suddenly different than what they're used to.)
So, if you decide to go forward with this map, please make sure that (even at first glance!) it's incredibly obvious to everyone it is NOT the original Europe map; otherwise you'll cause a flood of bogus reports which all need to be processed.