Three New Maps to Conquer

Maps to Conquer

We are blowing out the cartographic pipe here with three awesome new Maps to Conquer.  They are each very different and will require some keen strategy to master.

I’ll Shepherd, our Carto-General gives you the run down.

Conflict Africa Map

Shepherd: For starters, RjBeals has created Conflict: Africa. It’s a continent map, but with a unique twist and a nod to recent history; the map features eight Conflict Zones that reflect civil wars and strife over the past four decades. Entering the regions of conflict comes with a price, and you need to weigh the risks and rewards in your quest to unite and bring peace to Africa.

 

Africa Maps to Conquer Risk game

 

This month we also introduce the first map developed in our Map Studios, The Philippines. KungFuDuet launched the idea for this map back in January and saw the process through rigorous discussion and debate. Once we were satisfied that the map idea was worthy of play, Widowmakers stepped in and turned it into a fine piece of art. Winning on this map will require controlling both land and sea, as you hop from island to island while keeping a watchful eye on the navies lurking off shore.

The Philippines Map

Philippines Maps to Conquer Risk game

 

Finally, this month we offer up our first of what we hope will be many Bonus Maps, available exclusively to Strategist and Commander class users. Duck and Cover may look familiar to some, as it recalls an era when an atomic blast was something that could be survived by watching a short instructional film about hiding under a desk. It’s a small map for a time when it was a small world after all, and superpowers were poised to lob bombs at each other from afar.

Duck and Cover Map

Maps to Conquer Risk game

 

If you want to hop right into a game on these maps, click here. Or start one yourself with your own settings.

Remember to read that brief tab!  Good luck out there!

Important GMail Spam Filtering

GMail Spam Filtering Settings

Gmail spam filtering recommendations to all players. It’s some to our attention that GMail is occasionally sending Major Command turn notifications to the spam box.  This is likely due to users who do not know how to change their notification settings, and thus click the “spam” button.

If you want to change your Gmail spam filtering settings you can do so in the settings section.

It looks like this.

GMail Spam Filtering Settings

However, GMail users, we need your help to convince Google that Major Command is not spam.  The best way to do this is to create a filter in gmail and mark it “never send to spam”

To create a filter go here.

Click the create filter link, down at the bottom.

Enter PlayMaj.com like so.

GMail Spam Filtering Settings

Click create filter with this search^

Then on the next screen, tick “never send to spam” and also “apply to matching conversations” Like so.

GMail Spam Filtering Settings

Then click Create Filter and you are done.

If you feel there is too much Major Command mail in your box, its best to create a filter like this.

Create another filter for playMaj.com and tick “skip the inbox” and also “apply the label” and use a label like @MajCom Turns.  like so.

GMail Spam Filtering Settings

You will likely need to create a new label.  This keeps your turn notifications out of your inbox, but keeps a counter on the left side bar.

Hope this helps and let us know if you are having an email issues.

Thank you!

Risk Game Nuke Map adjustment

Risk Game Nuke map update

When we launched the Major Command Risk game nuke map a few months ago, it quickly became one of the most popular maps on the site, to the tune of over five hundred games played since its debut. However, after feedback from users, we’ve come to realize that the map lends itself a bit too well toward stalemate in two-player games. Specifically, the Spy regions are a bit overpowered, which can drag games out preposterously as the chances for the Spy to take out either the President/Premier or Target regions, thus preventing a nuclear launch, grew to well north of 90%. See www.majorcommand.com/wiki/Nukes.

Major-Command-Risk-nukes

The creators of the map have spent some time discussing potential fixes, and we think we have the overpowered Spy problem sorted out. Thus, we are rolling out a slightly altered version of the map which will replace the current map.

NUKES! will play virtually the same, with the following slight gameplay alterations:

  1. Each country, instead of having two Spy regions, now has one Spy Agency region and one Military Intel region.
  2. Spy Agency regions, represented by the GUN symbol, can bombard opposing “people”, the President/Premier and Research Centers
  3. Military Intel regions, represented by the EYE symbol, can bombard opposing “tech/equipment”, Targets and Satellites.

By splitting up the power of the Spy regions, the map now requires players to properly counter their opponent’s moves on the other side of the map, rather than just parking a giant stack in one Spy region and dragging the game into the stalemate. Also, once the Fog of War setting is implemented, players will be able to bombard their opponent’s Satellite, rendering their opponent blind.

This change will go into effect on 3/24, giving people ample time to prepare for the changeover. This should have a minimal effect on active games, and by simply altering the existing map we are preserving everyone’s Unique Defeated Opponents.

We firmly believe that this small changes will virtually eliminate the stalemate issue in two-player games. As always, we welcome feedback from everyone on Major Command Risk. We understand if people preferred the old version of the map, but rest assured we’re only making this change after around two months of discussion, both privately and publicly.

Thanks

Badorties and the MC Cartoteam.

Updated Images

Brief

Risk Game – The Honor Points system

Major Command Risk Honor Points

Risk Game Honor Points

So a feature that hasn’t gotten a lot of attention is the Honor system which is rating you by honor points. You can find the number of your honor points on your Major Command profile. It is designed to be a score how you play in terms of your behavior. It should highlight honorable Risk players and warn of dishonorable players. That’s how it’s supposed to work, but in order to really test it, we need to put it through its paces.
So watch the video below describing how it works and how to use it. Then get on rating!

Your honor points are calculated like this. The first number is the percentage of honorable votes. The second number is the total number of votes, honorable or dishonorable. So a score of 80 (17) means 17 people have rated you, 80% of them were honorable. Any questions, just ask. There is also a few threads in the forum about it.

New Map: The Twelve Domains map

The Twelve Domains map

The new twelve domains map has arrived. We at Major Command are starting off 2012 in style with our gorgeous new map designed and executed by our Studio chief himself, Shepherd.

Isn’t it pretty…

The Twelve Domains Risk Game Map

 

Now the twelve domains map is quite different than other maps so you should understand how it works before you jump right in. In this video, Shepherd fills you in on the mechanics and how to use those dreadful dragons.

There is more info on its wiki page and also a thread in the forums.  So let us know your thoughts on our first conquest map.  Enjoy!