The map of Calradia is currently rather depressing. While games like Age of Wonders, Civilization, Conquest of the New World, and Europa Universalis (to a lesser extent) actively draw the player in with maps full of life and sparkle, Calradia is a bit dry. Almost like a spreadsheet. And indeed, it is easy to get lost on the map if you zoom in a bit so that you can't see major cities, because there are almost no distinguishing landmarks and the villages look largely the same - specks with names that could be producing who-knows-what, or living on welfare.
To rectify this, I am proposing the addition of a wealth of additional map objects, interactive and not. Mostly, in fact, they would require just a bit of artwork and could be overlayed on the map near villages the way forests, cities, and bridges are currently overlayed... or in some cases, even integrated into the base map texture.
Graphical Only
These objects would make the map seem alive and real, instead of... well, kind of dull, dead, and abstract. They could also accentuate the changing of seasons. Also, they provide visual cues as to the economy of a region, making it seem like those bags of wheat come from a field rather than a random number generator (which they actually do). None, however, are interactive, have any effect on gameplay, can be visited, or require any menus.
Wheat Fields
They can change seasonally, from bare to green to golden to brown. Most villages should have some.
Grape Vines
For wine-producing areas. Seasonal changes.
Apple Orchards
Scattered around, adjacent to villages.
Olive Groves
In the oil-producing areas.
Tiny Flocks of Sheep
Basically, clumps of little white dots near villages that produce wool. They can also change seasonally - tiny and pink in Spring, white in other seasons but steadily increasing in size through Winter. Note that sheep are a source of mutton in addition to wool (thanks Sulibres).
Stables and Horse Pastures
Horses are not allowed to graze freely like sheep and cows, since they are smart, and run away. Thus, cities that produce horses (currently all of them, but I don't really see why Nord cities have horse dealerships) could have some evidence of such on the map.
Docks, Piers, and Boats
Any coastal city that sells fish could have an obvious dock jutting out into the ocean, with little fishing boats just offshore.
Tiny Herds of Cattle
Much smaller than the 'cow on the map that you herd around'. These would be a great way to tell at a glance if a village has cattle without actually finding the Elder and interrogating him.
Mines
Where DOES all that Iron come from? Any city that exports iron should have at least one mine in a nearby mountain.
Quarries
Similar to mines, for cities that export stone.
Logging Camps
Similar to mines, for cities that export logs. Obviously they would be on the edge of forests rather than mountains.
Note: Quarries and Logging Camps would not be necessary unless Logs and Stone were added as trade goods. I think these would be interesting if fief improvements required not only time and money, but also X tools, Y stone, and Z wood.
Ruins of Towns, Castles, and Temples
Zendar is a good example. Ruins would be a good place to be sent for quests to rescue the kidnapped girland search for dwemer artifacts. (thanks Ingolifs)
Seagulls Circling Port Cities
Seagulls love trash, especially fish guts and other waste near docks. These could be low-poly (3 to 20) models or just sprites. Ideally, approaching the city, seagull sound effects would play (muted proportionally to distance from the city and zoom level). The sound of waves crashing when near the shore would be nice too.
Ravens and Vultures Circling Battlegrounds
Battle sites are gone and forgotten very quickly. It would be nice if they were marked with a gravestone or crossed swords or something for a week, and after a day, black birds circled it (similar to seagulls). (thanks spectre)
Functional
These would not only make the map look more real, but have important impacts on gameplay... and might require a substantial amount of effort to implement.
Roads
These are essential to any map, and no civilization can function without them. Caladria has things that might be roads but they don't actually do anything or connect major cities. Roads should, for example, convey a +50% speed boost... and be patrolled. Caravans (with wheeled vehicles) should have an even greater penalty for going off-road. Light infantry, bandits, and Khergits (the ones on steppe ponies, at least) might have a reduced off-road penalty.
Additional Terrain Types
Marshes and sand dunes particularly would be very interesting strategically and tactically... not to mention graphically!
Guard Towers
These are much smaller than castles, with no linked town, no prison, and a small max garrison of maybe 8 or 12. They would be placed at intersections, and serve 3 purposes:
1) Collecting a small toll from foreign caravans
2) Extending sight distance of an empire, via signal flares or flags or pigeons or fast horses
3) Possibly preventing small groups of bandits from walking along the road
They would be too small for your army to spend the night in.
Temporary Fortifications
Small forts made of logs and/or earth, surrounded by sharpened stakes, that can be built in a day or a few days with the 'Fortify' command. If an army wants to rest somewhere for a while, it could build one. They should confer defensive benefits, such as a total nullification of cavalry charges and protected archer nests... but be rather small and short compared to castles.
Bandit Camps
These would be similar in size to villages, hidden until discovered, and spawn bandits of a certain type occasionally until someone finds one and destroys it (a good quest objective). After a while another one would pop up somewhere.
To rectify this, I am proposing the addition of a wealth of additional map objects, interactive and not. Mostly, in fact, they would require just a bit of artwork and could be overlayed on the map near villages the way forests, cities, and bridges are currently overlayed... or in some cases, even integrated into the base map texture.
Graphical Only
These objects would make the map seem alive and real, instead of... well, kind of dull, dead, and abstract. They could also accentuate the changing of seasons. Also, they provide visual cues as to the economy of a region, making it seem like those bags of wheat come from a field rather than a random number generator (which they actually do). None, however, are interactive, have any effect on gameplay, can be visited, or require any menus.
Wheat Fields
They can change seasonally, from bare to green to golden to brown. Most villages should have some.
Grape Vines
For wine-producing areas. Seasonal changes.
Apple Orchards
Scattered around, adjacent to villages.
Olive Groves
In the oil-producing areas.
Tiny Flocks of Sheep
Basically, clumps of little white dots near villages that produce wool. They can also change seasonally - tiny and pink in Spring, white in other seasons but steadily increasing in size through Winter. Note that sheep are a source of mutton in addition to wool (thanks Sulibres).
Stables and Horse Pastures
Horses are not allowed to graze freely like sheep and cows, since they are smart, and run away. Thus, cities that produce horses (currently all of them, but I don't really see why Nord cities have horse dealerships) could have some evidence of such on the map.
Docks, Piers, and Boats
Any coastal city that sells fish could have an obvious dock jutting out into the ocean, with little fishing boats just offshore.
Tiny Herds of Cattle
Much smaller than the 'cow on the map that you herd around'. These would be a great way to tell at a glance if a village has cattle without actually finding the Elder and interrogating him.
Mines
Where DOES all that Iron come from? Any city that exports iron should have at least one mine in a nearby mountain.
Quarries
Similar to mines, for cities that export stone.
Logging Camps
Similar to mines, for cities that export logs. Obviously they would be on the edge of forests rather than mountains.
Note: Quarries and Logging Camps would not be necessary unless Logs and Stone were added as trade goods. I think these would be interesting if fief improvements required not only time and money, but also X tools, Y stone, and Z wood.
Ruins of Towns, Castles, and Temples
Zendar is a good example. Ruins would be a good place to be sent for quests to rescue the kidnapped girl
Seagulls Circling Port Cities
Seagulls love trash, especially fish guts and other waste near docks. These could be low-poly (3 to 20) models or just sprites. Ideally, approaching the city, seagull sound effects would play (muted proportionally to distance from the city and zoom level). The sound of waves crashing when near the shore would be nice too.
Ravens and Vultures Circling Battlegrounds
Battle sites are gone and forgotten very quickly. It would be nice if they were marked with a gravestone or crossed swords or something for a week, and after a day, black birds circled it (similar to seagulls). (thanks spectre)
Functional
These would not only make the map look more real, but have important impacts on gameplay... and might require a substantial amount of effort to implement.
Roads
These are essential to any map, and no civilization can function without them. Caladria has things that might be roads but they don't actually do anything or connect major cities. Roads should, for example, convey a +50% speed boost... and be patrolled. Caravans (with wheeled vehicles) should have an even greater penalty for going off-road. Light infantry, bandits, and Khergits (the ones on steppe ponies, at least) might have a reduced off-road penalty.
Additional Terrain Types
Marshes and sand dunes particularly would be very interesting strategically and tactically... not to mention graphically!
Guard Towers
These are much smaller than castles, with no linked town, no prison, and a small max garrison of maybe 8 or 12. They would be placed at intersections, and serve 3 purposes:
1) Collecting a small toll from foreign caravans
2) Extending sight distance of an empire, via signal flares or flags or pigeons or fast horses
3) Possibly preventing small groups of bandits from walking along the road
They would be too small for your army to spend the night in.
Temporary Fortifications
Small forts made of logs and/or earth, surrounded by sharpened stakes, that can be built in a day or a few days with the 'Fortify' command. If an army wants to rest somewhere for a while, it could build one. They should confer defensive benefits, such as a total nullification of cavalry charges and protected archer nests... but be rather small and short compared to castles.
Bandit Camps
These would be similar in size to villages, hidden until discovered, and spawn bandits of a certain type occasionally until someone finds one and destroys it (a good quest objective). After a while another one would pop up somewhere.
