I have to say after going through the forums, online material and everything else I can find (my books haven’t come to me yet) ... that I understand Alpha Omega is missing something that is vitally important to just about every gm and player of the game.
A good friggin map .....
I’ve seen a couple posts where people have made their own maps, and one gentleman made an interactive map for the game. The sites that hosted these though have went into the apocalypse and so are no longer available. If the developers of the game truly do check this forum then please please please, make an extremely high detail map for this game. We need to see land mass changes brought on by the earthquakes and meteors, where the major city states, walled cities and larger freeholds are, what areas are considered no man lands due to a high population of X type monster, where different viruses are still virulent, etc, etc, etc.
From what I’ve seen before you spent lots of time on the game background, the flow of the game and a huge amount of time on graphics in the books to “bring” us into the fold of the AO world. Doesn’t make any sense to not have a downloadable map to give us an idea of what’s out there. I can go to the corner store and buy a friggin world map for a couple bucks, should be the same here. And please don’t think you have to get too detailed and show us every single item in the world ... we just want to have a good idea of what the world as a whole is like so we can build a roadmap to good adventures. Aka, is kansas still there in the game so I can base my game around there or did it get struck by a meteor carrying an unknown antigen that causes us to mutate into the backstreet boys, and hence every sane person left?
And hell, you need some ideas of what to put in the world ... let us the players know .. we’ll give you some good damn ideas.
And please don’t think you have to get too detailed and show us every single item in the world ... we just want to have a good idea of what the world as a whole is like so we can build a roadmap to good adventures. Aka, is kansas still there in the game so I can base my game around there or did it get struck by a meteor carrying an unknown antigen that causes us to mutate into the backstreet boys, and hence every sane person left?
Sablehawk -
That is EXACTLY why there are no maps for the game - we don’t want to dictate what has happened to the world - for the most part, it is YOUR playground. The key areas that we are going to focus on to any great extent are already outlined in the core rule book. We are also doing a more detailed treatment for the Alpha Omega: Evolutions campaign area that I think is more along the lines you’re looking for, so if you feel you want to host your campaign in the New York area, then a great deal of your work is done!
To see what others are doing in detailing the world, check out the NWSEC Wiki. For specifics on the Evolutions campaign area in and around New York, you can also check out the Wiki. As we explore the area, each town/feature will be expanded upon and players will be encouraged to make any comments (in character!) about the people, places, and things. The Vidal Conspiracy series of adventures already touches upon Bethlehem (Remnant community), Sanctuary (secret community!), the Poughkeepsie Strike Zone (meteor strike zone), the Hudson Valley Containment Zone (radiation zone), the Jersey Front Zone (military control), Kingston (a walled city), the Vidal arcology, and of course both Old and New York.
I definitely understand what you are saying but would still like to have a map that showed the result of the devastation of the world after the dust started to settle and then I can add stuff after that on my own.
Hope you understand what I mean but I just feel the game lacks something in this aspect. I could understand no map if the entire world was in the freezone stage but with megacities and corps still existing I feel a map should exist from the day of the apocalypse.
And please don’t think you have to get too detailed and show us every single item in the world ... we just want to have a good idea of what the world as a whole is like so we can build a roadmap to good adventures. Aka, is kansas still there in the game so I can base my game around there or did it get struck by a meteor carrying an unknown antigen that causes us to mutate into the backstreet boys, and hence every sane person left?
Sablehawk -
That is EXACTLY why there are no maps for the game - we don’t want to dictate what has happened to the world - for the most part, it is YOUR playground. The key areas that we are going to focus on to any great extent are already outlined in the core rule book. We are also doing a more detailed treatment for the Alpha Omega: Evolutions campaign area that I think is more along the lines you’re looking for, so if you feel you want to host your campaign in the New York area, then a great deal of your work is done!
To see what others are doing in detailing the world, check out the NWSEC Wiki. For specifics on the Evolutions campaign area in and around New York, you can also check out the Wiki. As we explore the area, each town/feature will be expanded upon and players will be encouraged to make any comments (in character!) about the people, places, and things. The Vidal Conspiracy series of adventures already touches upon Bethlehem (Remnant community), Sanctuary (secret community!), the Poughkeepsie Strike Zone (meteor strike zone), the Hudson Valley Containment Zone (radiation zone), the Jersey Front Zone (military control), Kingston (a walled city), the Vidal arcology, and of course both Old and New York.
I have to agree with Sable a Map would be really helpful. It would also make life for a GM easier. A GM always has the option of editing the map to their liking. But it is far easier to edit an existing map than create it from whole cloth.
I think a general map with major land masses and major arcologies would be helpful.
Then as the community added material and edetails, the map could be updated to reflect that.
Just a thought.
It would be really cool to make a google earth map of the AO world. I don’t know if it is possible to create a whole new worldmap in Google Earth but it would be cool.
Hey, here’s an idea. Get a map of the continent where you’re going to play. Before the game starts, sit with the players. Someone adds a feature or name to the map (a city-state, a river, a blighted area). The next person explains what that feature is, and adds another feature for the next person to explain. Go around until you have a map detailed enough for your group. You can make it fun and everyone can join in!
I’m not too concerned with ideas JD, I definitely got plenty of those.
I just worry about setting up an elaborate map of my own and then MSL comes out with something that happens in the area I had already made and that’s a domino effect cause now I gotta either refigure what I already had or mod their adventure, map, etc.
The wiki is ok for basic stuff but I KNOW there’s lots of stuff missing. Like meteor impact areas, nuclear fallout zones, biologic spread areas, etc and I’d just like to be able to show my players the map and say, here’s the US and have em go “holy crap” ... the black and white maps I can make really don’t have the same impact. Mainly cause I suck at making maps, but I’m sure you get the gist.
Hmmm interesting idea. And if you already have your character designed the players can place and describem design where they are from. So you go around the table with the players placing their hometowns and describing them then do what JDOrley. But what would be really nice is a set of maps with the stuff descibed in the CRB placed in a nice PDF that we could do this with.
I’m not too concerned with ideas JD, I definitely got plenty of those.
I just worry about setting up an elaborate map of my own and then MSL comes out with something that happens in the area I had already made and that’s a domino effect cause now I gotta either refigure what I already had or mod their adventure, map, etc.
You would already be modding the adventure/map/whatever because of the needs and desires of your group and the characters that you have, right? What you make for your group will undoubtedly be superior for your group, because it will be tailored to your needs.
I agree that a general map would be really appreciated. For example, there is very clear information about the divides - shouldn’t we see a map reflecting them? Major mentioned arcologies and cities would also be really appreciated - for example, Ciudad-5 is listed as being in the former Brazil but the name is Spanish, not Portuguese. So does that mean it is closer to the former Spanish speaking countries, or was it just founded by Spanish speakers and it’s near some of the current inland Brazilian cities? Or did the designers forget that Brazilians speak Portuguese?
