AGE of the CRUSADES!

[fairline]

Originally posted by Exile
Got it, Chris, and it works perfectly. Should be an email on your end sometime.

Gareth, that Great Traveller looks kinda like a court jester I saw that the file was labeled "Fop & . . ." This guy isn't a clown, he's a GREAT traveller. For some reason, I was thinking of someone a little more dignified, but . . . I'll use him.

I just knew somebody would say that as soon as I drew him You're right, he does...

I'll do a more dignified version!

[fairline]

OK, no more jester

[Exile]

Very nice.

Got it. It'll work.

After all, the Great Travellor is the unit with the highest movement and will be seeking the hidden kingdom of Prester John.

[/rumors]

[Mercator]

Great! I might actually try this one. If not to try and beat it, just to admire the beauty of it.

The scenario doesn't happen to involve any antipodes, does it?

(did you get my PM earlier, by the way?)

[Exile]

Merc, what are the antipodes? Was that where Hercules had to go to fetch those golden apples?

Yes, I got the PM about the map. I took a look at it too. Just looking at old maps is fun sometimes. If you really know how to read one, a map can tell a story too. The story that those old dark ages maps tell is one of isolation and reduction. The world is always a perfect circle with Jerusalem in the center. The seas and lands are always geometrically juxtaposed in, to our eyes, weird shapes that resemble no known land mass. The intellectual horizons of the men who made those maps was tragically low.

I'm thinking very seriously about starting to search for a map for my next project. I'll look around and if there isn't one that works, I'll get in touch.

(what IS an antipode? Seriously, I thought it had something to do with electronic circuitry).

[tanelorn]

Assuming this is not a rhetorical question and you actually expect an answer, here I go:
Etymologically, the word antipode means anti= opposite podes= legs
Semantically, it is rooted in the fact that the world is round.
The first person that is recorded supporting the notion that the Earth is round is none other than the Greek philosopher-mathematician Pythagoras, 6c. BC
The one who offered solid proof of that is Aristotle ofcourse.
The person who first succeeded in calculating Earth's mass (only 2% off) back then was the philosopher Eratosthenes.
Gravity too being a Greek concept, the ancients assumed that people in the southern hemisphere walked with their feet facing opposite towards the centre of the earth (which is in fact true), hence the word antipodes, legs facing opposite.
In general use, antipodes referred to the opposite ends of the earth, meaning the southern hemisphere.

Allas, in the ages of ignorance in between, credit for these ideas that were already there was claimed by insignificant copycats whose names I forget.

[edit irrelevant unscientific stuff about linguistics that read ridiculusly racist and I hate that]

[tanelorn]

And Heracles went shopping to a greengrocery called Hesperides

[conmcb25]

Do you have an idea when this will be available for playtest?

Thanks

[Cyrion]

Re: Very nice.

Originally posted by Exile
Got it. It'll work.

After all, the Great Travellor ... will be seeking the hidden kingdom of Prester John.

[/rumors]

Now that is interesting! Of course, he might be disappointed...

Will there really be something with the Prester John Kingdom included??

Can't wait for that scen...

[Exile]

Well, Con, I'm testing it now. You guys should know how I am by now--I don't like to let a scenario out with ANY bugs in it.

Right now I'm going over everything superficial that annoys me; the Labels, the Game text, all kinds of graphics that need to be changed. This will be the most extensive re-directing of Civ2 for me so far. Almost every text message in the scenario has been re-written to better fit in with the period. I've created several graphic things that haven't been seen before.

And Prester John?

Only rumors, tales, and legends have been heard.

Mists and mirages.

Gareth, the only units left that I see that could use your touch are the Light Cavalry (emphasis on the bow), the Feudal Horse (both of these are good, so only if you really have the urge to do a better one . . .), the Peasant, the shields on the Italian and Fatamids Host units, and if you really want to take a shot at the Assassin, then go ahead. If you must do some of the others, I'll certainly not turn 'em down, but Bebro's graphics are very good for barbarians, etc.

[Mercator]

Originally posted by Exile
Merc, what are the antipodes? Was that where Hercules had to go to fetch those golden apples?

No... What tanelorn said. Medieval maps regularly had drawings of strange looking people on the very edges of their maps. People without a head and a face on their chest instead, or people with one big leg. I can remember a really good image, but I can't find it on the Internet, so this will have to do:

http://www.antoranz.net/CURIOSA/ZBIOR2/C0306/06en-QZC05059_Antypody.HTM

The bottom half of that page in particular.

Yes, I got the PM about the map. I took a look at it too. Just looking at old maps is fun sometimes. If you really know how to read one, a map can tell a story too. The story that those old dark ages maps tell is one of isolation and reduction. The world is always a perfect circle with Jerusalem in the center. The seas and lands are always geometrically juxtaposed in, to our eyes, weird shapes that resemble no known land mass. The intellectual horizons of the men who made those maps was tragically low.

Yes, I think those T-O maps are fascinating (they're named after their circular shape, and the T-shaped separation of the continents: Jerusalem in the center, as you said, Europe in the lower-left quarter, Africa in the lower-right quarter and Asia in the top half).

But I don't know about low intellectual horizons. Maps aren't always meant to be strictly geographically accurate. Those maps definitely weren't used for navigation, for instance, so they didn't need to be accurate. They're very symbolic in nature. Most map makers were probably monks, and they certainly didn't travel any significant distances. They worked from hear-say, travellers tales (not exactly the most accurate either), and other people's maps.

I'm thinking very seriously about starting to search for a map for my next project. I'll look around and if there isn't one that works, I'll get in touch.

I'm afraid I won't be able to help you there, unless one of my semi-finished maps turns out to be suitable (maybe). I'm too busy with other things.

[Exile]

Forgot to mention . . . . I also put together a new "tutorial" file which isn't really much of a tutorial, but like most text messages, it's been altered to suit the period.

So if you play this one and really want to drive yourself nuts, you can play with the tutorial on.

[fairline]

Originally posted by Exile
Gareth, the only units left that I see that could use your touch are the Light Cavalry (emphasis on the bow), the Feudal Horse (both of these are good, so only if you really have the urge to do a better one . . .), the Peasant, the shields on the Italian and Fatamids Host units, and if you really want to take a shot at the Assassin, then go ahead. If you must do some of the others, I'll certainly not turn 'em down, but Bebro's graphics are very good for barbarians, etc.

OK, will do..

Was the Fatamid host I did not OK? (he's the first of these):

[curtsibling]

Originally posted by Exile
Forgot to mention . . . . I also put together a new "tutorial" file which isn't really much of a tutorial, but like most text messages, it's been altered to suit the period.

So if you play this one and really want to drive yourself nuts, you can play with the tutorial on.

Sounds better and better!

I can imagine plenty of comments about the air speeds of African or European swallows!

(Python reference)

[Exile]

No, Gareth, the graphics are perfect, it's just their shields are missing. I tried to draw a green shield w/a yellow crescent in the middle, but . . . awful. lol. If I coulda done it, I wouldn't ask ya. lol. I took a good look at your shields after that, and wooooo . . . . . amazing. Makes me not even wanna try the shield thing. lol.

Ok, I'm commisioning out a specific task. I have two slots that I want to place adjacent on the map, AND the two slots must FIT TOGETHER and appear to be the ROCK OF GIBRALTAR. Any takers? (Tried to do this one myself too, and just do not have the talent.)

If anyone is up for it, I'd also like a smallish image of the Caliph's palace in Baghdad, to fit in a unit slot. Don't use up the whole space.