Source Maps: what would you like to see?

Simon Rogers

I've written an article on the Source Maps series here. I've found them the most useful ProFantasy product for my gaming in recent years.

Source Maps are collections of real world maps which have been adapted for game use. We've got Temples, Tombs and Catacombs, Castles and Cities. They include real-world images, data and OGL adventure material, but in the main, they are maps - 2D and 3D views in fcw and PDF format.

So, for the version 3 Source Maps we can do one of two things, given fixed resources.

1. Add new source maps to each collection in our new style, expanding the available range.
2. Concentrate mainly on updating the existing maps to the new style. It might be that this is rather time consuming - we've yet to work it out.

Also - do you consider the support material worthwhile, or should we just stick to maps?

Erior

I would like to see more source maps.
Those in the old stlye will perhaps not blend perfectly, but they are wonderful so as they are, and adding more material would be (in my opinion) a better choice.
As for the support material... MORE please ;-)

Cheers

gak

I love the SM series, so I'm chuffed that you're considering expanding them.

I'd prefer new stuff, especially plans of castles from Germany, Switzerland and Austria - not necessarily the famous ones, more just "regular" fortifications. Their styles differ from English and Welsh castles because they were dealing with different problems.

As for support material - if you mean game ideas then not really interested (they are very unlikely to apply to my game) but if you mean historical background then a big YES PLEASE.

nickverto

I would like to see some modern building maps included somewhere. For example a hospital, school/university building or campus, football stadium, military facility, laboratory, large house. These would be super useful for any modern day RPG.

I don't care about fluff support material. It's easy enough to wikipedia that stuff. More maps over support material in my opinion.

As far as rework old versus adding new stuff maybe you can do a little of both. Find the most popular maps and re-work a couple of them and then add mostly new ones. And if that is not an option I would like to see new stuff.

JimP

I wouldn't mind seeing Modern and SF Source maps. Futuristic cities with skyways for roads and walkways between buildings.

Or expand the current SM.

Greebo

It's a hard choice, you present here, Simon. But In my opinion the most important part is to upgrade the existing symbols and tools that came with the SM-Series and expand the range. Additional material would be great, especially if it covered different epochs (Late Bronze Age or Near Future e.g.) and regions (brick build crusader castles from the Baltics) as well as more material for modern and near future gamers.
Still, I do not use the SM-maps much often recently since they do not fit well into the DD3 style, so upgrading them would be nice too.

Another problem is they are all in imperial units. So, I am once again hoping for a better support for those of us, who use metric units.


Regarding the limited resources: How about including volunteers into the expansion? Irrc it worked well for SM:Cities. And back then, there were plans for more cities and places. I have still a sketch of another type of Viking age hall and smithy around somewhere. Additionally I could produce maps of a selection of nuraghes, a type of bronze age fortifications from Sardinia.
And beeing an archeologist and historian, I could offer my expertise for the info-sections.


Connected to expansion of the SM-line there are several ideas for symbol sets or annual issues on my wish-list:
- construction sites (antiquity, medieval and early modern times, contemporary, near future)
- waterweels, gears, small indoor waterways, lorries and other stuff to map mines, mills, early modern forges and complex traps
Comaptible with DD3 of course.

I know, that is a lot on my list, but one can still dream.

Monsen

I would rather see new maps rather than updating the old ones. The old ones are still nice and fully usable, so creating new maps in the new style would giver me far more value.

As for the support material:
- Background information, like history is extremely useful
- The pictures of the real-world equivalent also helps visualizing the elements on the map.
- The adventure stuff on the other hand is rather useless to me. When I need a castle or temple for my campaign, I usually have a purpose in mind for it already.

Simon Rogers

Source Maps: Modern and/or Future would be another possible product, but I don't think we'd add them into the existing ones.

The next step will be to see how much work conversion is. The 3D views would be the most work - I suspect they'd have to be redrawn.

Greebo

Since I already started dreaming, how about Source Maps / Symbol Sets for specific epochs or settings (Sumer & Babylon; Ancient Egypt; Greek and Roman antiquity; India & Persia; Maya and Aztecs; Japan; Wild West; Steampunk; Gothic Horror; 1920s; 1990s; contemporary; Near Future, Bio- & Cyberpunk, SF) or a Source Maps: Palaces and Mansions (e.g. the original Villa dei Papiri, the museum based upon the Villa dei Papiri, Vatican Palace, Belvedere, Whitehall and/ or Buckingham Palace...)?


Another useful addition would be some UI-level integration of the SM-line, so that one can browse his maps (in case one ones more than one product) either by product or by setting.
And integration of the png-versions of the maps or the CC3-viewer into the html-pages containing the info would also be useful, since one could take a first look on the maps without opening CC3.


And, once again: metric versions.

jaerdaph

Mansions - I'm thinking Call of Cthulhu, haunted houses etc. 'Tis the season after all.