Concept: Terra Universallis

[Reveilled]

It occurred to me today that with the ability to mod the map, EU2 is about as moddable as Civ 2 was. Then I remembered that there used to be a really good mod for Civ 2 that set the whole thing in space, with Sci-Fi civs and a map of the Galaxy (with the graphics suitably modified to make it look like stars and space) to play on.

I assume everyone can see where I'm going with this. How moddable is the map? Can we change Sea zones to look like Space, and can we make islands of land look like Planets and Stars?

Now, I have absolutely no talent at all with image editing, so even if it can be done, I wouldn't be able to do it alone, so I'm throwing this half-baked concept out there to see if I'm the only one with any interest in this idea.

-----------------------

Huzzah! Our project now has a map!
http://rapidshare.de/files/10082953/test_map.zip.html

Whee!

 

[Ciçatrix]

[EDIT]
Status report as of 12/3:

• We have a forum located at: http://terrauniversalis.myfreeforum.org/
• Myself and Mezzo are working on the province.csv
• Inferis has made some superb frontend screens located here
• The map is currently located at http://www.inet.hr/~jtarle/TerraU_map.zip
• Other people are working on events etc.

[/EDIT]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think it could be done, and I have been thinking of it myself for some time. Although one problem would be how to make the stars untreadable.
And the size modifier would help with the space-zones, to make them take longer to traverse.

 

[Reveilled]

I think it could be done, and I have been thinking of it myself for some time. Although one problem would be how to make the stars untreadable.
And the size modifier would help with the space-zones, to make them take longer to traverse.

One possibility in that regard might be to have each province represent a star system, maybe, or to put stars as graphics laid on over the Space zones...

 

[TheLoneTaco]

making the sea black and the land colored like planets is fairly simple. there is already a color-scheme mod that allows for this. the trick will be editing the map to create hundreds of little island-planets. i would suggest giving each island-planet a hundred provinces and just modding a solar system, but that's me.

-Matt

 

[Reveilled]

making the sea black and the land colored like planets is fairly simple. there is already a color-scheme mod that allows for this. the trick will be editing the map to create hundreds of little island-planets. i would suggest giving each island-planet a hundred provinces and just modding a solar system, but that's me.

-Matt

Yes, well that's rather the problem, in that I have no talent at artistry whatsoever. Alas.

 

[Mr. Capiatlist]

I guess it is cool, and for Stars being untreadable, make them the Terra Incognito.

I'd help once you get a map, but alas... I too cannot edit the map (at all). I can't even get the map editor to start up let alone mod anything.

 

[Calantyr]

Might be better in Viccy. Then you could have States represent Star Systems.

If Viccy had a map editor.

 

[Mr. Capiatlist]

Might be better in Viccy. Then you could have States represent Star Systems.

If Viccy had a map editor.

Talk to the Gods of modding for that one, even so... I am inclined to agree with such an idea... but run with what you have.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Couldn't you just model each star system as a sea zone with several islands (planets) in it? Those would be separated by empty sea (space) zones.

 

[Mr. Capiatlist]

Couldn't you just model each star system as a sea zone with several islands (planets) in it? Those would be separated by empty sea (space) zones.

That's the plan, only no one here can mod the map...

If I may, could I add a little direction to this by sugesting modding specifically the universe of Warhammer 40k?

 

[Ciçatrix]

That's the plan, only no one here can mod the map...

I once did a very little map modification, I changed which province Bornholm belonged to, but I didn't do anything else, I can't remember why.

 

[Reveilled]

That's the plan, only no one here can mod the map...

If I may, could I add a little direction to this by sugesting modding specifically the universe of Warhammer 40k?

I hadn't really given the universe itself that much thought, but I've never been much of a Warhammer fan, and I know next to nothing about it, other than some vague awareness of there being a race called Dark Eldars.

But the Galaxy is a big place. The Civ 2 mod that gave me this idea included just about every major Sci-Fi show as civs, so we might want to do that. After all, there can't be more than, what, twelve 40k races, which wouldn't make for the same interesting game we get in vanilla EU2 with the 300 or so nations it has.

If we actually did this, we could include nations from across the Sci-Fi genre, from Dark Eldar to the Dominion, Jovian Lizards to the Juraian Empire.

 

[Mr. Capiatlist]

I hadn't really given the universe itself that much thought, but I've never been much of a Warhammer fan, and I know next to nothing about it, other than some vague awareness of there being a race called Dark Eldars.

But the Galaxy is a big place. The Civ 2 mod that gave me this idea included just about every major Sci-Fi show as civs, so we might want to do that. After all, there can't be more than, what, twelve 40k races, which wouldn't make for the same interesting game we get in vanilla EU2 with the 300 or so nations it has.

If we actually did this, we could include nations from across the Sci-Fi genre, from Dark Eldar to the Dominion, Jovian Lizards to the Juraian Empire.

Well... I was trying to make a more scenario specific thing.

But the whole "Universe" thing would work out great too, because it can be made into so many different kinds of scenarios.

What we could do, is divide the provences, I think the max in EUII is like 2200. Save 200 for space (sea) provs, then divide the rest into 4 galaxies each of like 500 planets or (more preferably) systems. Then we can make what ever game we want out of it!

Terra Incognita will become "Uknown space" or something. Storms can be worm holes or something....

 

[unmerged(26983)]

I haven't played EU2 in about a year but if this mod is ever made i would difinately reconsider.

 

[unmerged(22430)]

I was thinking of a space mod the other day, since I have the map editing skills, I was going to make one when I got the time Earth could have the exotic tech group would be a great game wouldnt it and would only know the milkyway and the gas planets could be PTI and the rest of the planets UTI and when the aliens discovered earth their ain would tell them to conquer it. And also colonizing would be so much fun!

Lets do it I can draw up and id map and shading and someone else could gfx

Space would be handled by just changeing blue to black

 

[Mr. Capiatlist]

But whoes map are you going to do? The one I presented or something else? It you'll help, I'll start mapping it out. Also, how many provs are there max?

 

[Reveilled]

Well, if you can do the map, then great!

The only question would be exactly how the map should be designed. I can think of four options (ncluding those given already int he thread):
1) The map is a single solar system, with up to 200 or so provinces for each planet (and presumably some for moons), using PTI to represent the sun and gas giants. We might use this if we plan to make something similar in setting to Firefly/Serenity.
2) The map is a Galaxy, with a single province for each system, allowing several thousand systems, and thus lots of interstellar empires.
3) The map is a Galaxy, with a single province for each habitable planet, and using seazones to represent systems by putting planets from the same system in a single sea zone. This system would allow for single system empires, and for seperate states within a system (the Terran Empire and Martian Federation, for example).
4) The map is a galactic cluster. Provinces would presumably represent sectors.

I favour option 3 personally. I think it would allow for a game similar to how vanilla EU2 works, as it would include large techniologically advanced interstellar empires, areas open for colonisation, and one-system or -planet natives to deal with.

Here's what's in my head:

Three provinces, a three planet system in the north, a two planet system in the west, and a one planet system with a moon in the east. The suns would be PTI.

 

[unmerged(22430)]

#3 was my opinion also

Im not good at shading EU2 but I can shade Vicky style provinces

 

[Mr. Capiatlist]

#3 was my opinion also

Im not good at shading EU2 but I can shade Vicky style provinces

I prefer a mix of 3 + 4, it would be several galaxies, and each provence would represent a major system (not a sector), so, for example, there'd be the "Terra System" in the Milky-Way galaxy, which would represent the Earth, and any other inhabited places in our solar system. So, only major systems would be represented. The Virgo cluster would be a larger provence that would be much richer (because of the density of the system and the nunber of theoretical planets there)...

Some how, Carl Sagan must be smiling on this project....

Here are some other ideas: Types of Planets:
Water (doesn't have to be entirely water, but like Earth, just a majority)
Mountains
Marsh
Tundra/Destert (A Hoth-like planet would just have constant snow)
Grassland

What would we do for resources?
Uranium
Hydrogen...
Water....?

 

[Reveilled]

I'm still more tempted to go with the 1 province per habitable planet idea, personally.

As to types of planets, I think I broadly agree with the types you listed, though I think that marsh should be dropped in favour of something like "Jungle".

As to resources, here are those I can think of:
Foodstuffs
Synthohol
Electronics
Stellar Supplies (like naval supplies)
Medicines
Plasteels
Dilithium
Trilithium
Carbonite
Latinum
Naquadah
Neutronium
Duranium
Promethium
Tiberium
Spice Melange
Vespene Gas
Glitterstim (technically, glitterstim is actually a variety of drug called Spice in Star Wars, but that of course would create confusion with Melange)