#Players 12 (10 land 2 sea)
#Provinces 265
Balance MP even
Era early or middle (2 sea nations)
Preset Races no
Wrap-around no
Details
To resume World of Symetry is essentially WoG without the caves/deep seas part and (for the moment) without special sites and garrisons (there are also some little changes : 2 more seas provinces in the central area and more ports to the isle ; and new gateways in the border mountains).
The map is no longer wraparound but the 6 gateways allow to reach the other side of the map or the central isle (all gateways are linked with the central isle + one other gateway).
Balance Notes
12 presset start positions with same terrains and pop around
Author and Credit
Twan, using some graphics from Cradle of Dominions by Jason Lutes
Version history
0.1
Download Link
http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/threads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=571022&Main=571012#Post571022
I'm not a fan of the big maps. Many of the maps marked as medium size on this map are waaay too large for the games I like to play. World of Geometry, the bigger brother of this map, is a good example. It's more popular than this one but to me at least there's no comparison - World of Symmetry is far more enjoyable. It's an inherently balanced map because of the virtually identical starting positions and like many maps it features gateway provinces that allow more mobility and act as key strategic points in longer wars. The central island provides so much income that it's well worth fighting over and there are a number of provinces marked for higher % of magic sites. This helps keep what is essentially a hex based map from becoming too dry and featureless. The map also makes sensible use of terrain - there are strings of plains for the non survival mapmove 3 cavalry as well as plenty of forests, mountains, swamps and wastelands for the survival units.
This isn't a particularly beautiful map but the graphics certainly do the job - they're clear and don't make your eyes bleed. What more could you ask for?
As I said, I don't much like big maps. WoS has more provinces than I'd usually be able to put up with, but because of the layout you tend to get pushed into smaller localised wars so it doesn't feel so ridiculously large. The fact that this is my current favourite to play despite its size should really say something about the quality.
I give it 4/5.