Ra and I are working on a new Earth map (well, he is working, I just look and type). Here are some of the changes made:
-1- It's a new map that has the silhouette of Earth/Medium Earth/Heavy Earth but has different bonus divisions, new territories, and new strategies.
-2- The map's geostrategy is more based on historical realities, not fantasy. For example, Antarctica's snow, ice, and penguins will not be critical elements to your war effort. The penguins have called for an armistice. South America will become a continent again, with its own internal battles. Six historically significant islands will be added to improve connectivity, largely based on historical or current maritime routes. Cutting through the Amazon, climbing the Andes, riding your camel across the Sahara, or sailing across an entire ocean will no longer be such facile accomplishments done in one turn.
-3- Territories and bonuses are named based on geographic, political, or historical names. Inclusivity and accuracy are the goals. If naming territories and bonuses as accurately as possible were an exam, the makers of Earth and Medium Earth would get a 60% to 70%. The Earth series names range from accurate to lazy and from bad to wrong. The new map addresses this.
Examples of bad names for territories: "Hong Kong" (can't even see the island on the map, yet it is an entire region?); "Israel" (according to WL's dearest map, Muslim citizens in states that don't even recognize Israel's existence belong to this state they don't recognize!), "Kenya" (this is actually Tanzania! The country of Kenya is entirely in the territory north of the territory "Kenya"), and "Botswana" (the country of Botswana is actually in the territory of "Namibia"). The names of territories in Africa are especially atrocious.
Examples of bad names for bonuses: "Indonesia" (so, this is the only country in this area of the world?), "West China"(who cares about Mongolia's status as a sovereign state), "Greenland" (Iceland belongs to Greenland?), "North Africa" (most political scientists and geographers have different classifications of what constitutes North Africa), "Australia" (sorry Kiwis, your country belongs to Australia; using the same logic, Canada should just be called Northern US), "East China" (sorry Taiwanese, WL follows the one-China policy, and it is not your China).
-4- Using the logic of the WL Wiki's "Guidelines for making a great map: Minimize long connections or drastically uneven territory size," (
http://wiki.warlight.net/index.php/Map_guidelines) the largest territories have been broken up: "Argentina," Brazil, huge chunks of Canada, "Italy," "Ukraine," "India," "Algeria," "Sudan," "Mali," "South Africa," etc. There will be greater homogeneity and coherence in terms of territory size and shape.
-5- Ever wonder what is going on with that deceptive non-connection where Midwest touches Texas but there is no connection? On the new map you will be able to tell what is and is not connected.
-6- The map will have 175-185 territories and 34-36 bonuses, so team games, FFAs, and 1v1s will all be possible.
Edited 6/18/2014 13:30:49
