Update for Domination 1914 No Man's Land

[Hepps]

A long time ago I had started working on a variation to Domination to solve some of the issues (as I perceived them) of the map.

I am willing to offer up the map to the community but I have absolutely no interest in pursuing it any further myself for the time being.

the design centered on several things....

• Enlarging Europe to allow for better territory sizes relative to units.
• Adding a number of new territories and SZ to make the experience more dynamic and bring greater movement parity across the map.
• Creating a whole new system for bringing neutrals into the game rather than just having an "agricultural" free for all across the globe.
• Creating a whole new system for the Russian Revolution to eliminate the nonsensical system currently used.
• Creating "Colonial" production area's where troops can be mustered but where spamming naval in far flung economically backwards regions is impossible without establishing a factory.
• Creating trade routes to speed up NCM for navy.
• Complete re-envisioning of the PU distribution to eliminate the absurdly high values across the map especially for neutral territories.
• Large number of impassable territories to create more bottle-necks and limit troop movements across vast inhospitable terrains.

Here is a view of the European changes...

Here is a view of the African changes...

You will note that the beige coloured territories are 0 PU and the grey coloured territories are impassable.

The Shovel & Pick-axe symbols indicate where Colonial Recruitment centers allow the controlling power to recruit new Colonial Infantry units.

[redrum]

@schulz Anything is possible. Generally you need to do the following things in order to update a map you didn't originally create:

1. Get agreement across active players on updates that should be made
2. Try to contact the original map creator to ask about updating it and either get their blessing or if they don't respond in a week or 2 then it can be considered abandoned
3. Find someone to actually make the updates to the map

Side note: Anything that is an actual bug like missing connections, etc can be fixed without step 1 & 2.

[zlefin]

some playgroups enact some limits on gas, like a max of 18 at a time per nation. Just wanted to mention that there is some engine support for restrictions like that, there's a few similar options to that, and iirc one that's just that directly (max number of a unit that a player can have). I forget the exact names of them though, you'd have to check the pact of steel 2 file for that info.

[KurtGodel7]

I will add some ideas to this discussion. Maybe some will prove useful.

Serbian tech: my thought is that some techs should be nerfed for Serbia. So, propaganda should produce 1 infantry a turn, and victory bonds should produce 1 die roll (not 2) of added income per turn. Serbian tech tokens should cost 2 PUs each. That way tech becomes a reasonable investment for Serbia, without it getting a ridiculous boost to its power via victory bonds and propaganda.

I would also remove 1 infantry from Peru, and swap out the German cruiser in sz 106 for a battlecruiser. This would allow Germany to neutral farm South America.

I have mixed feelings about letting people choose their technologies. Randomized techs help prevent strategies and situations from becoming too predictable. To reduce random variation, maybe have 6 categories of techs with 3 techs per category.

I'll also propose an alternative to merchant marine tech: improved bombardment. With improved bombardment, each land unit you unload causes two of your battleships or battlecruisers to become eligible for bombardment.

[Schulz]

@hepps

Look very good to me. But I think better to keep original ones as much as possible because every big changes requires new rebalances. If balance is still fine than better to add it to repository as a new map (for respecting the original creator)

[Schulz]

@kurtgodel7

Agree. Serbian propaganda and victoy bonds are overpowered. Nerfing them is great idea, I can edit Serbian propaganda tech and it can provide +1 inf for every turn instead of +3 but I don't know how do I reduce the cost of Serbian tech tokens and Serbian victory bond's dices.

What about removing Serbian completely? Serbia-Montenegro can become part of Russia and Greece is French (or British).

Allowing Germany farming South America definitely would require new balance. Germany will be able to take almost half of South America and unlike Mexico, Entente would never be able to take these lands.

Incresing tech categories is great.

There is also cruiser bombardment tech.

[Schulz]

@redrum

I don't know Imbaked's mail address and I haven't seen him on lobby for years.

[Hepps]

@schulz https://forums.triplea-game.org/user/imbaked

[Hepps]

@schulz All good. I was simply offering it up to you as you had asked.

[Hepps]

Here is what I did with the international zones in china. Just for posterity sake.

[Schulz]

Do you have any plan to add it to the map repository?

[Cernel]

@schulz He said:

I am willing to offer up the map to the community but I have absolutely no interest in pursuing it any further myself for the time being.

That can be made by just uploading it to a public GitHub repository at whatever it is its current state. Of course, it is also possible to define it as public domain while doing so.

[Schulz]

Imbaked hasn't responded my mail yet. I've talked with almost all dom 1914 players and their common requests are clear.

[General_Zod]

@schulz Is Blood and Steel yours?

[Schulz]

Yes, but it is broken map.

[Hepps]

@cernel said in Update for Domination 1914 No Man's Land:

@schulz He said:

I am willing to offer up the map to the community but I have absolutely no interest in pursuing it any further myself for the time being.

That can be made by just uploading it to a public GitHub repository at whatever it is its current state. Of course, it is also possible to define it as public domain while doing so.

Perhaps I should qualify this better. I am willing to hand the map off to an individual as its care-taker. Someone whom is interested in taking the design to fruition.

[General_Zod]

@hepps Can I see the whole map?

[Schulz]

Imbaked hasn't responded my e-mail within 1 week. I think we can consier the map as abandon.

There are the most complained things among Dom 1914 players and my suggestions about these:

1. Connection bugs: They can be solved easily but there is one controversial connection exist (SZ 21-SZ 29) in the map. I think this connection should be removed because they do not touch each other.

2. SZ 151: This sea zone is almost always banned. Better to remove the connections of this sea zones with other adjacent sea zones.

3. Impossibility of keeping German navy alive: It is always complained among Dom 1914 players. Mecklenburg is very close to London and without certain techs this navy always fall to Britain. I think better solution is an another German factory to West Prussia. Also this factory will provide Germany easier accessable to Russian soils. Imbaked had already intended to give Germany a factory to West Prussia. But total production capatity o Mecklenburg+West Prussia definitely should not exceed to 6 or 7 otherwise Germany can just rush to Petersburg.Then disturbing these German Pus to another German soils.

4. Japan: Always banned better to halve it.

5)Merchant Marine: Always banned. Better to remove it.

6. Additional German sub to SZ 12.

7. Some opening battles are very dicey: For example one German sub can sink 2 british trannies and one cruiser. It is very aleatory. Better to remove 2 Canadian trannie and adding one of them to another sea zone.

8. Making communists fully allied with Centrals.

9. Arabia: Normally Arabia is fall in round 3 if Turkey just focus for it but there is still a small possibility that Arabia can be saved if they get really good dices in the first and second rounds and saving Arabia may change games totally. Even in some of games, Arabia never fall. They already start with too many units. I would remove 10 starting Pus from Arabia and add 5 to Russia and 5 to UK.

10. Serbian techs: Sometimes it is also complained. Serbia can just spend 5 Pus and gain free 3 infantry per rounds. It is very dicey and huge bonus for a small country. Imbaked had intended to remove Serbian techs too. It should be done.

11. Industry tech: Always considered overpowered. +2 bonus would be more fit rather than +3 bonus.

12. Huge importance of techs: Some techs are more important and critic for some countries. I think map needs more tech category.

13. Gas limit: It is implemented in almost all games. I'd be very grateful if somebody share the related codes of limiting units.

14. Balance: I used to think that Allies have only slighly advantage with house rules then after playing the game by myself I'd say Allies have still huge advantage even with house rules. My proposals:

-18 Production from USA
-5 Prouction from France
-5 Production from UK
-2 Production from Russia
+5 Prodction to Commies

And removing a few allies units.

[General_Zod]

@schulz Imo 1 week should not be the bar to take over some ones map. I recommend you simply mod it, and not use the same name. Maybe when he returns he can give blessing to merge the files.

[Cernel]

@general_zod Since everyone knows @Imbaked is missing for years, my suggestion would be just adding @Schulz mod as an additional game part of that same map. If then you see in lobby that most of the played games are of that mod, rather than the original, it would be better dumping the original and making the mod into the new version of it.