I worked the number of total polities down to the low 2000s. This is probably still pretty high, but it takes a while to simulate warfare between so many cities, so I'll call it here.
The next thing is to place roads, according to Higher Path rules. I briefly tried a modification, where the number and type of roads was determined by the total infrastructure, and not the infrastructure category. For example, rather than primary, secondary, and tertiary routes, a hex with an infrastructure of 61 could have 1 low road (35), 1 cobbled road (20), 1 cart track (6), and finish out the 6 total connections with trails (0). This all adds up to $35\cdot1 + 20\cdot1 + 6\cdot1 + 3\cdot0 = 61$ total. However, I didn't much like this as the resultant network was weird-looking, with all routes being pulled towards the local center.
It's got kind of an artsy feel to it, but massive infrastructures would be necessary to make any kind of even network. So I went back to the old way but will continue to think about it.
It's a busy-looking map, but remember that this is primarily DM-facing (more accurately, computer facing). All we need to know for now is that there is a road from A to B of type C. From hence we can apply A* route-finding algorithms to find optimum travel paths between hexes. I'm using the AP weights from here, assuming a normal walking pace. The function will return both the route taken and the cost in AP, so that travel times can be determined for the trade network.
Note that these don't take into account the convenience of river travel if available. A comprehensive model will present the players with a plan involving the cheapest method: a boat from A to B, then overland from B to C, then finally upriver to D. For this, I'll probably rely heavily on the fascinating work by ORBIS. In the same manner, I need to re-address sea travel, so those are next on the list.
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