COMMUNITY - FORUMS - ANGELICA GENERAL
Maps- Resource balance

So From a question I got answered by Caspian on the Discord chat the larger a biome is the more of the resources that biome produces we are likely to have. With this in mind I would like to discuss the different map options from a resource stand point.

Things we know based on tribal descriptions / lore, Brudvir and Kypiq have the most carpentry skills and a wood rich biomes. The Nerrans have lands that from what we know about biomes in our world are pretty food rich, and some have a decent amount of wood. From what I can tell the To'resk are probably the Food rich tribe of the south. The Janoan jungle is also safe to assume as being wood rich. The Hrothi make the most metal and minerals with the Waerd as second place metal and mineral producers. The waerd have Glass, because you don't make disposable glass poison blades unless you have a regular supply of glass, the Dras make medicines and bog iron stuff but from the description not a lot of the bog iron are actually made by the Dras so it will probably be more of a domestic resource than a trade good. Oh and To'resk and Nerrans keep herds so they produce leather and meat.

Which map do you think is best balanced for resources and why?


Being normal is vastly overrated!

10/29/2018 5:05:12 PM #1

Good luck finding 'balance' champion. :P


10/29/2018 5:13:51 PM #2

I personally do not want a balanced map. In particular I am hoping for a different array of resources than the other servers get.

It is more interesting to me to see how our Elyria will develop compared to Parallel Elyrias that have different players and resources.

Maybe in our Elyria the world is brought into a mercantile renaissance because the trade-happy To'resk have a heavy advantage at launch, while on Luna the wiley Kypiqs who got their hands on Hrothi steel became the supreme overlords of the starting continent.


10/29/2018 9:03:22 PM #3

I want a reasonably balanced because being “interesting” doesn’t necessarily mean “fun” and resource availability is essential to mercantile enterprises and kingdom health in general. I don’t expect everything to -remain- balanced, but it’s a good starting point.


10/29/2018 9:32:36 PM #4

I want the world to be diverse, balance and peace are not in our world nor should they be in Elyria. Either work together or not, the choice is ours.


11/11/2018 6:04:17 AM #5

I never would want a “balanced” resource map. Each region should have a resource unique to it. Scarcity drives trade and conflict. So has it always been. So shall it always be.


11/11/2018 4:18:24 PM #6

If balanced resources means materials, then identify areas with unique resources and areas that share certain resources to gain final estimates of resources available per map.

e.g. Forests, Deserts, etc. may share similar resource materials. (Not sure how specific crafting materials will be or how unique to certain regions. Is there a difference between Alpine and Mixed or Broad Leaf Forests?) We can estimate general categories for basic resources such as wood.

If balanced resources means racial production skills, then identify production skills of each race and what areas can provide the resources needed. Compare final estimates of resources needed to support the racial production skills per map.

e.g. Various races focus on different crafts. It may be fairly generalized like every smith works the same metals or more specific. It's likely that "home" racial biomes will provide the resources necessary for the cultural crafts. But other areas might provide more resources for those crafts as well. Such as the forested areas providing wood for carpentry.

CRITERIA ANALYSIS:

It's probably best to favor larger racial areas for your favorite races and/or approximately equal areas for availability of more kinds of resources. However, this cannot prevent shortages without knowing which areas will have the highest demand resources.

Also, remember area size is not kingdom size. You can have vastly different areas even if kingdoms appear equally sized and vice versa.

MAP ANALYSIS: (based on areas with race and environment tags as shown here: https://chroniclesofelyria.com/forum/topic/29151/angelica-round-2-maps-discussion)

The most equal areas are on Map S and Map H.

Map K and Map G are larger areas in the south than the north.

Map I has larger areas in the north than the south.

Positioning of some of the areas affects accessibility most notably on Map K as more areas are landlocked. But it is not a completely stacked kingdom map like Map G.

Map H is stacked in the north but not the south.

Map S and Map I are only stacked in the middle between K3 and K4 with potential sea travel to circumvent the isthmus.

Personally, I do not like Map K as several kingdoms do not have east to west sea access and it is bottom-heavy. The Rainforest and Wetlands of K6 and the Swamp, Woodlands, and Grasslands are large in K5, but K1-K3 are much smaller in areas and kingdoms.

Map G is also bottom-heavy. It has the largest Neran grasslands but a small Kypiq forest which has drawn some Kypiq protest. It has a larger Alpine forest but overall favors the To'resk, Dras, and Waerd. Kypiq, Hrothi, Brudvir, and Janoa are smaller by comparison. The Neran areas are divided. Three To'resk areas dominant the eastern seaboard. Two Waerd areas enclose the western gulf. Two Dras areas command the interior. I do not favor this Map.

Map I while favoring larger K1-K3 areas has the longest kingdom border against the western sea on the narrow K5. I prefer east-west access positioning for the kingdoms and more chance for multiple kingdoms to interact on the waters.

Map H besides its intriguing interlocked sea has two Waerd areas attached to the northern edge controlling the interior. The To'resk areas nestle against the southern edge in a crescent extending to the west and east seas. The Waerd as an assassin culture will either make for a treacherous trade route overland or possibly a more peaceful kingdom interior since the Waerd do not believe in open warfare. This may create something of a kingdom buffer zone around the interior sea. To'resk trade will likely thrive east-west and the other cultures have decently sized areas. The Kypiq may seem cutoff from the Neran if avoiding the Waerd, but there is another route through the Hrothi Montane. The woodlands of K5 become the center of the south and the K4 Dras salt marsh connects to a natural 3-way kingdom nexus with the K6 wetlands. The Neran and Dras may have a sea trade on the west while the K3 Kypiq may develop a sea trade with K4 To'resk and K5 Neran on the east or even the Brudvir of K1 to the north. The Kypiq area jutting into the sea is far from isolating with the right development.

Map S has the largest Kypiq forest connected directly to the Neran forest. The two Waerd zones are divided across the eastern gulf. K1 and K2 nestle against the broad back of K3 even as K6 and K5 push against K4 from the south. A narrow isthus connects K4 and K3 making a natural gulf on each side more noticeably on the west between the Dras and Kypiq. The western bays of K1 may also encourage the Brudvir and Hrothi to make passage to this area since all three forests share borders. The three To'resk areas form a cup west-east around the interior Neran steppe of K5 jutting into the belly of K4 with K4 marsh and desert to each side. The Rainforest of K6 and Swamp of K5 jut into the southern sea without sharing a border. Almost completely surrounded by water, a natural inlet lies between the kingdoms encouraging trade or war.

I like both Map H and Map S for their intriguing racial layouts and sea options. Lately, I'm leaning towards Map H. The scalloped coastline invites sea trade routes up and down the coast. Map S has some longer coastlines with fewer areas jutting into it from north-south and may be faster to travel while close to shorelines. Map S does have an intriguing Kypiq peninsular cape and even the Taiga of K1 (besides the K5 and K6 areas mentioned) jut into the sea on the north and south ends.

I like both Map H and Map S. I suppose it depends on where players wish the Waerd to be and if they wish the Neran or To'resk to have the southern interior area versus a coast.

I favor Map H on both points. The Waerd are masters of disguise so stealth skills will be their specialty as trainers and a central location is convenient for spies, fugitives, and incognito prophets (or ducking celebrities). I consider the locked sea a positive for interest, exploration, and navigation. And the Neran steppe and grasslands have a long but interesting journey by way of the locked sea.

Map H unless another can put forth a better proposition is how I'm thinking.


Map H --because one word "Nessie." Do you want an inland sea? Well, do ya?