Report from Nicola Prandoni on the 2nd Edition Map I got a 1961 report on "soil use" of the whole Italy, with Italian situation in several spreadsheets and the whole territory in maps (1:2.500.000 and 1:750.000). The immediately evident result is that, besides regional realities (like olives in the heel of Italy and Oranges in Sicily), in northern Italy the same cultures follow very much the profile of the land: In Bottomland/flatland seed-bearing plants 65% in Piemonte (including 17% tree-shaped, 48% Barren/rice) 77% in Lombardia (43% in tree shape but no wine, 34 barren/some rice) 77% in Veneto (50% in tree shape especially wine, 27% barren/no rice) In the hills (between the Alps/Appenines and the plain) mostly tree-shaped cultures: wine (in Piemonte and Veneto, less in Lombardia) and fruit trees; the rest light or medium woods. In the mountains mostly big trees (lumber), the rest is clearings to herd animals, some cereals, mostly grain, and some wine. As you can see the biggest difference is about the shape of it instead of the kind of it. I think everything grows in "...Europe's most fertile plain!" and cultures are pretty much mixed up; moreover there is a crop rotation on a 4-year basis to mix up things even more. The more you gain in altitude the more trees you get, starting from wine and ending in oaks and chestnuts, until you reach an even higher level, probably out of the game's reach, where you get pines and grass fields for animals. In the end I suggest you stick to the "less altitude = less woods = more fertility" system you did use in the first edition; is the most realistic way to portray Italy. About map spelling I fixed the East map first: besides a huge amount of town misspelled, I made a note on which towns on the original map was too small to deserve a place there, which should be minor towns (some use on foraging only) and which should be referred as large towns (much more important in foraging, maybe some military use for small units battle, large units still would fight in the open). Moreover I'd add several more of each group which are just as large as the few already there. That will actually show up as a much populated plain, as it is in reality, not a barren land as the original map. If you'd like to help out with the project, please send an email to dschubert@infoam.com. WE STILL NEED 60 PRE-ORDERS on our way to 250 before we can publish! If you have been meaning to send in your order for Bonaparte, or any of the other pre-advanced games, please do it today! Go right to ... http://www.clashofarms.com/order.htm (Your credit card will *not* be debited until the product is at the printer.) To confirm that we have registered your BiI order, please visit http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/2006/BiIOrders.htm (Please Note: at the moment this page only shows orders logged-in before 25 May.) Back to OSG News July 1999 Table of Contents Back to OSG News List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Operational Studies Group. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com