@Enriador The Diplomatic Pouch has a map and rules: http://uk.diplom.org/pouch/Online/variants1.html#c

Thank you! For some reason I forgot to check the Pouch. I will take a look at it.

Hello! Hopefully this is in the right place, but I'm working on a variant that is based on the Seattle area http://i.imgur.com/JZB76Kh.jpg.

Obviously still has quite a bit of work to go, but I will want to play test it with friends in the nearish future... how does one go about getting access to the development tools on this site for play testing?

I recommend you use the site http://lab.diplomail.ru/index.php.

I don't know exactly how the variant creation process works on that site, but I imagine it is quite similar to vDiplomacy, for which I have written a variant creation guide:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/17oFVvGE8w2HQU-5IeNecFxl4x7VZ0OM2ApjqXY9gi6A/edit?usp=sharing

The site http://lab.diplomail.ru/index.php is used for playtesting while this website is more used for finished variants. Also, unfortunately the site owner of this site, Oli, is barely active at the moment so you could have to wait for months if you were to message him.

Hey guys,

Hope you have fun with the new variants. I mixed the country colors a bit so they resemble Calhamer's original map.

Russia got assigned Turkey's color in 'Britain' for some reason. It should be fixed soonTM.

Thanks for importing these variants Enriador. Amazing how much a few small alterations to the rules can change the game dynamics so much. I like how a number of these improve upon the positions of Italy and Austria (a worthy cause in my opinion), and I always like having the additional African territories, centers, and Red Sea connection to the Atlantic (as are in a number of other variants). Just don't make me watch the war as England for most of the game in Classic - Britain!

A minor nitpicky bug: while the colors of the countries are Calhamer's on the map, they're the standard webDip colors in the bar and in the country box.

It's my pleasure @G-Man. I have been waiting to see 'Britain' in action for some time. Good luck to the Prime Minister!

Enriador, afair the brazilian board - inehrited a 1st edition , pale green box (sold) - Kie did not touch Bal, while Ber touch Hel (!?). And the colors : T purple, R yellow, G light grey, E pink; and the neutrals, a dark orange ...

The Kiel-Baltic Sea connection was a point of dispute since forever, because GROW never bothered to actually explain what the dotted line next to BAL was supposed to mean. I never heard of the Berlin-Heligoland Bight interpretation before!

For reference: https://cf.geekdo-images.com/imagepagezoom/img/5xPAP39bb0gf3JIS0D_W2CciN6Q=/fit-in/1200x900/filters:no_upscale()/pic197093.jpg

I personally find that map awfully ugly. Yellow Russia, come on?!

Indeed, it does look like Berlin connects to Heligoland Bight, and Kiel doesn't border Baltic.

I see that the first game on the variant World Diplomacy X has started (gameID=37678).

I intended there to be a scroll bar for the map, just like all the bigger variants have, but noticed that it is lacking. Do people like the lack of a scroll bar? One advantage of having no scroll bar is that one could get a clear overview of the whole map immediately, but I do think that one has to click on the 'Big map' now to be able to see failed support orders, just as is already the case in the smaller variants. I'd like to hear your opinion.

As for the lack of an interactive map, that is being addressed.

If you'd like to give your thoughts, but you are in the game and don't want others to know, you can copy/paste 'gameID=37678' in your post, and you will post anonymously.

Definitely looking forward to seeing how these changes affect the balance and playability of this variant. Great job Mercy!

I think the site's game processing would be improved by automatically disbanding any unit which is dislodged and which has no valid retreats, instead of having the players do each disband manually. In the orders report, the unit could be listed as "Destroyed" instead of just "Dislodged".

gameID=37678
It's fine on the computer.

@KingOfSwords: Or just put the box automatically to "Disband" in the orders menu.

@KingOfSwords
I agree. I heard a dev on webDiplomacy say that it is surprisingly difficult to program, though. But yes, if a dev could do that, it would be a good improvement.

Subtle reminder, due to time limitations to me physically doing the map/coding work, I'm happy to partner with a variant developer who'd like to bring to life my variants kicking around.

Personally I think these one's would be loved by the community:

- Crisis of the Third Century: Roman Empire civil war variant
- Classic Neutrals: Classic but with standing armies in neutral SCs
- Two Tribes: Cold War 1-on-1 played on an altered WWIV map set at the height of the Soviet Union in 1984
- Nuclear Diplomacy: long standing proposed variant that requires the most hard-core php skills. Super mind-blowing.
- Napoleonic 1 vs 1: France vs Sixth Coalition
- Sengoku: Ninjas vs Samurai in a 1 vs 1

Great stuff Ambassador! Really hope to see Crisis of the 3rd Century particularly. That sounds fascinating.

Mercy's World Dip X (gameID=37678) is broken right now, and players can't revise their moves. Can a mod force extend?

Done. And fixed.

Thanks! (gameID=37678)

Some adjacency bugs in World X have been fixed.

I'd be interested in developping a new fantasy variant, but here I'm thinking... I wouldn't even be able to play it! :( Due to the low total game limit. Just 2, to start off. :(

By the time the variant got implemented, you would be able to play more games. Variant creation takes a lot of time, not only from you but also from the site admin.

Haha, alright. How much time does it take from the admins, for a variant that uses standard rules? As for my end, adapting it to Diplo is some work, but I've already got the map pretty detailed in GIS files, I'm far from starting from scratch.

I don't know how much time it takes for the admin Oli, but it can take up to a couple of months depending on how much time he has.

Is there a guide somewhere to help balance a map? SC ratios anf such?

There's some good articles here:
http://www.variantbank.org/articles.htm