Land Ho!
A number of people have mentioned disappointment when looking at the Critias Empire store page that the game only seems to have island type maps.
Well be disappointed no more! The game now supports multiple map types. So far I have re-implemented the "Islands" map type, and also added a "Coast" map type.
New Range
For both the new map types, I took a different approach to topology, with the map gen algorithm creating either areas of uplift or long chains of mountains. These are then surrounded by foothills that gently slope down to plains below.
This gives the terrain a much more natural feel than the somewhat random distribution used before.
A Wide World
I also implemented configurable map size, but in the end, I concluded that a much bigger map gave the feel I was looking for: Something on a grander scale than a city builder, but not the globe spanning scale of games like Civilization.
Strange Places
In the course of making the Coast map type, I didn't quite get the effect I was looking for first time. But I liked the results so much I kept them as a new map type, before continuing with fixing the Coast type algorithm.
This happy accident happened not once, but twice, meaning the game now has an additional two map types:
The "Bays" map type has a shattered coast type feel of inlets, bays and lagoons along a narrow stretch of coast.
Meanwhile, the "Straights" map type is a variation on the Coast map type, with land on two sides of a narrow sea channel. Think something like the Bosphorus, or the famous Pillars of Herecles as mentioned in the legend of Atlantis (today known as the Straights of Gibraltar).
What's Next?
There is still some tidy up to do on the maps. Currently, the whole map is surrounded by sea, but some map types should have some impenetrable hinterland beyond their playable borders. The Straights screenshot above is one such example of where I still need to implement this.
As well, there are two more map types I plan to make before launch - "Peninsula" which should be self-explanatory, and "Inland sea", which will feature a small sea surrounded by land on all sides, akin to the Black Sea or Caspian Sea.
In the short term though, I will work on balancing production and construction costs of various land uses (buildings like farms, mines etc). After that, I plan to do a lot of bug fixing and polishing in preparation for making a playable demo. If all goes to plan, this will be available in December, or at the latest by Steam NextFest in February.