dxxknight Posted March 31, 2011 Author Share Posted March 31, 2011 Hi there everyone just wanted to post this and see what you guys think.. i know it's nothing fancy but could'nt think of anything else atm…**New Maps:**Map #1>! North of #1>! Sorry need to fix this one ^ the trees are all lined up looks weird :(East of #1>! **Need Help With this One***>! **Part of World map**>! Please comment: meaning comment with what you think and some reasoning.Updated Map thanks to Anna I've changed alot and i like it way better then last one but might still need some work please comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Comnena Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 1\. Way too big for a whole lotta nothin2\. there is a dirt to grass transition in Inquisitor's tiles, use it3\. the building is broken; the tiles are set up like that because those side tiles are meant for details; it's not supposed to be used as a single piece4\. why is there the top half of a bush just sitting there?5\. get rid of the shadows (there are also some tileset issues with the tree bases) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dthnote801 Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Inb4 snowstorm saying don't mix tilesets.So I repeat "DO NOT mix tilesets."Too big as well, and terrible placement of trees. And that's about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dxxknight Posted March 31, 2011 Author Share Posted March 31, 2011 @ Varethien did'nt mix tilesets those are all from Inquisitor…@ Anna thanks for the tips will go back through and try resizing the map. Sorry this is first time with these tilesets take me some time to figure out how they work.Thanks both of you for the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lukin Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Looks better now, although I would try and get rid of the shadows in the tileset as your engine doesnt have alpha blending(?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dxxknight Posted March 31, 2011 Author Share Posted March 31, 2011 i am using EO i don't know what it all has. I will see what i can do about shadowing thanks for the advice :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dxxknight Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 *Bump sorry deleted old maps and uploaded the newest one. I think it looks pretty good but i'll let you guys be the judge of that :) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Comnena Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 It looks better now, you have a few tile errors, and the cliffs are still a little too straight.Also your shadows are very meh. Either dither them or use an engine/mod with alpha blending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dxxknight Posted April 7, 2011 Author Share Posted April 7, 2011 thanks your right now that i look at it they do seem really straight and for shadows its the best i can do for the moment ill try to fix them later :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lukin Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 the shadows could be removed until you get some engine with alpha blending.Just making it black made it look even worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devogen Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 @[NFS:> Varethien link=topic=70596.msg759244#msg759244 date=1301548406]> Inb4 snowstorm saying don't mix tilesets.> > So I repeat "DO NOT mix tilesets."> > Too big as well, and terrible placement of trees. And that's about it.They are all inquisitor tiles, he didn't mix anything.I dont think your map is too bad actually, I know I sure have seen a hell of alot worse that got more praise than yours. Keep it up, and listen to Anna she knows her mapping shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pbcrazy Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Here, I've attached an image for reference. I drew some red lines to show what I was talking about.1\. The biggest thing, be careful of, "the gird". Take a look at the picture I attached and you can see via the lines I drew how a lot of the elements in your map line up either horizontally or vertically. When mapping, try your best to keep objects and elements from lining up. Off set the trees vertically (one starting a tile or two lower than the other) so that they don't line up so obviously. The big groups you have at the top, raise and lower those so they don't line up. Same with the cliff faces, break them up a little, don't be afraid to have them run in or out (up or down) a little and zig zag back and forth. Remember, nothing in nature is straight, and it shouldn't be in your game either.2\. There's a whole lot of empty space. Sure you've got a few flowers and veggies scattered across the ground, which does keep it from being just boring grass, but it's still very open. A problem with this is that a player often won't know which way to go to get to the next "big thing" in your game. Use thicker grass tiles and brush to create "soft paths" (a subconscious path, just like as in real life, people want to take the path that requires the least effort, so make it look like theres a little section of short grass, with thicker grass on either side, and players will start to follow it as if it was a path, even though it isn't quite that obvious). Use trees to help herd players in the right direction. And don't be afraid to use some more cliff faces, again, these become great herder's to make sure the players go where you want them to, without them realizing it.For the most part, that's it. I really like the tileset and can't wait to see some more work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dxxknight Posted April 10, 2011 Author Share Posted April 10, 2011 Thanks alot guys for all your advice they are really great and helping me make these maps look way better then when i first started.@Devo:> They are all inquisitor tiles, he didn't mix anything.> > I dont think your map is too bad actually, I know I sure have seen a hell of alot worse that got more praise than yours. Keep it up, and listen to Anna she knows her mapping shit.Thanks Devo I agree Anna knows alot about mapping.@Pbcrazy:> Here, I've attached an image for reference. I drew some red lines to show what I was talking about.> > 1\. The biggest thing, be careful of, "the gird". Take a look at the picture I attached and you can see via the lines I drew how a lot of the elements in your map line up either horizontally or vertically. When mapping, try your best to keep objects and elements from lining up. Off set the trees vertically (one starting a tile or two lower than the other) so that they don't line up so obviously. The big groups you have at the top, raise and lower those so they don't line up. Same with the cliff faces, break them up a little, don't be afraid to have them run in or out (up or down) a little and zig zag back and forth. Remember, nothing in nature is straight, and it shouldn't be in your game either.> > 2\. There's a whole lot of empty space. Sure you've got a few flowers and veggies scattered across the ground, which does keep it from being just boring grass, but it's still very open. A problem with this is that a player often won't know which way to go to get to the next "big thing" in your game. Use thicker grass tiles and brush to create "soft paths" (a subconscious path, just like as in real life, people want to take the path that requires the least effort, so make it look like theres a little section of short grass, with thicker grass on either side, and players will start to follow it as if it was a path, even though it isn't quite that obvious). Use trees to help herd players in the right direction. And don't be afraid to use some more cliff faces, again, these become great herder's to make sure the players go where you want them to, without them realizing it.> > For the most part, that's it. I really like the tileset and can't wait to see some more work!Thanks alot for the advice i'm going to go back and fix up some of my maps then upload my new ones :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pbcrazy Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Looking good mate. Aye, just fix those line of trees in Map #2 as you already pointed out, and you'll be good to go.Those shadows on those single trees are really annoying me though, perhaps just deleting them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dxxknight Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 Thanks Pb you've given me some nice advice :) and for the shadows idk i kinda like them only because it looks like there is light comming from somewhere thus creating a shadow. Making it a little bit more realistic. That's only my opinion though if you seen when it was Grey shadowing now that got annoying because it made the maps look retarded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pbcrazy Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Oh, I understand where you're coming from, its just that the current "shadows" seem to create a hard line on the grass, making it seem a bit un-natural.Unfortunately, I don't know what to tell you to do with getting a good looking shadow other than swap to DX8 and alpha blend. ;)Alright, and on further review (sorry, I was in a hurry earlier)…You've got what I suggested before down pat, now lets try some more fancier stuff. ;)1\. How bout this, take some of those bare dirt tiles, and put them right below the entrances to the tents. That way it seems as if it gets a lot of traffic, thereby wearing all the grass away.2\. Those cliff faces, although looking naturally... wavy, seem rather bare. Try adding lots of vegitation at the base and top of them. I mean, if you think about it, people never walk right where the join between vertical cliff face meets horizontal ground, so there should be bushes and stuff growing there right?3\. Theres still quite a bunch of open space without much purpose. I want you to give this a try. When creating maps, try to give every map a purpose. Kind of, if asked "What does map 23 do?" You should be able to reply, "Why, it has a main road which leads to Aldoroth, and there a small side trail which leads to an abandoned shack." Or something like that. :)As well, maps don't have to be so big, nor span the entire width of the screen. Try making a very small map, on with a obvious or subconcious path through it, and then finding a way to "herd" the players through it.Oh, and one other thing, I learned this back when I was working with 3D graphics, but it still applies to 2D as well. One way to create an illusion of huge maps, is to restrict where the player can go, but give him something that he can see, that he wishes he could get to. For example, while a player is walking along a path, cliff faces are along either side of it, restricting the player to staying on the path, but on top of the cliff faces and closer to the edge of the map, the player can see remnants of an old camp site, or ruins of an old building. Etc.I can't wait to see some more, you're improving very quickly! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dxxknight Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 Thanks alot i'm gonna give these a try and the only reason i'm improving is because of all this good advice it helps me out alot :) thanks again i'll be posting the updated maps once i get them fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pbcrazy Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 It's looking good mate. Although I honestly still think it looks pretty bare in some spots. Perhaps its just a lack of "accessory" tiles in the tileset, but its missing something.See the image attached at the very bottom, I like this spot in your map. But overall, the map just kind of seems to spread out, as if it doesn't have a direction or meaning. Don't be afraid to make a really small map (you can make one within 9x9 tiles even, and give it meaning). When you start working with such large maps, you have to be sure to go over everything everywhere on the map and make it top-notch quality. So, sometimes small maps are good as they allow you to really focus on making this one spot look good.I just found a few examples of some maps that I really like, perhaps they will be of some use to you.>! **Secret of Mana 3**>! **Mystic Vice (using same tiles)**>! **Tutorial RMXP example**>! **Tales of Phantasia** Anyway, oh, and I found this nifty tutorial (albeit its originally in French, but Google seems to translate it very well) [HERE](http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lesforges.org%2Fafficher.php%3Fart%3D34).EDIT: almost forgot, here's some maps from another game on this forum that I really like. They often are more open and "free roam" but they have spots in them that are very obviously purposeful.[here](http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/2733/westernfull100.jpg)[and here](http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/5085/uppertut.jpg) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dxxknight Posted April 14, 2011 Author Share Posted April 14, 2011 Thanks pb i'm gonna check these out lol i definatly need work on my dungeon mapping skills all mine look weird to me for some reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dxxknight Posted April 18, 2011 Author Share Posted April 18, 2011 *Bump added part of world map i know it looks plain right now but it's still in the works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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