Game & Map Screenshots 4

[A-Moonless-Night]

@Joy: That's looking very beautiful; you are truly talented. The only thing I would say is that perhaps the bottom layer of the pond should be slightly darker than the top layer. I was a bit confused looking at it, wondering what the random dark line in the centre was, even after zooming in to 100%.

 

[Tuomo L]

Okay, people kept saying the little graveyard didn't look good in the town map so I made a seperate map for it. It's very barebones at the moment, I have no idea how to create a good cemetry.

 

[Arin]

@Arin

I admit in advance that my comment may be completely misplaced.  It all depends on what exactly those tiles are that are shown lower than the grey ground tiles.

Those tiles look like they might be meant to be pillars supporting the quayside.  I wasn't sure at first what they were but went with that interpretation when I read your comment about "altitude".  IF that is what they are, then you need to lift the whole quayside up by the corresponding number of tiles.  At the moment your quayside starts at water level.  The quay therefore cannot be supported by visible pillars.  If however those tiles are something else, then this comment is useless, but might be substituted with "what are those tiles at the ends of the quay meant to be?"

A quayside? I must admit that I don't know that terminology, though now looking back on it, it looks like those pillars supporting the pier above (which is what I mean to accomplish) magically float on water. Would adding a tile underneath it be sufficient?

@Arin :

Nice layout for your town. At least we can't get lost. I'm still wondering for my own town how to place the houses. Realism against Gameplay, that kind of stuff ^^

South part -> I can't see well with a 1/4 zoom, but it looks like there is quite a high pier there.

Is the road coming from the town supposed to be a slope to get that high ? Because it looks like this road starts at almost water level.

The change of tiles when we get above water past the city wall makes me think I am at a different height than where I'm supposed to be.

I guess is has something to do with the shadows. One shadow tile on the left yet two on the right. I can't see the real height.

Nice touch adding the vegetable garden !

North part -> Is there a banquet scheduled ? I have never seen so many seats in a town square unless it were a celebration day.

On the right side : there is a forge with 2 openings ? Not very effective, heat wise.

But I like the park on the left. Is it a kids playground ? The sand reminds me of actual memories ^^

Imagine the pier is four tiles high, since that's the height of the pillars supporting it. Also I hate the auto-shadows for the game, simply because of the one tile high auto-placement on the left.

The idea of the north part was supposed to be an "outdoor cafe", supported by the nearby Inn.

Thanks for the comments, you two. <3

 

[orochii]

@Orochi: That evil eye in the background looks so frightening. But I really don't get the three icons in the middle of the window. If there was a tooltip at the bottom displaying what each function does, then it probably would be great. EDIT: I'm blind. You see, THIS is why I wear glasses. X____X

Don't blame yourself. If you can't see it, it means my game is not accessible for people with vision limitations. Which includes a lot of people. I actually thank your for your valuable input <3. And anyway, I need to remake the category graphics. They were made for a vertical disposition. Then, I changed some key bindings, so needed them to work horizontally . I'm still procrastinating that issue x'D!.

Aaaand asdf,

Orochii Zouveleki

 

[Paladin-Cleric of Awesome]

I don't see what was wrong with it in the first screenshot, maybe if it was fenced in beside a gravediggers hut, or a church. I don't think you need a whole separate area unless you intend to do something major story wise with it.

 

[Goatrider]

@Mr big T:

Think of how a real graveyard looks. Try some more variety like adding different grave stones, maybe some bigger ones here and there. Add some broken or worn grave stones too, flowers that have been placed by loved ones, fences or stone walls and maybe some statues. Also it looks way to symmetrical try mix it up abit. Hope this helps.

 

[hian]

Also, a mausoleum and a groundkeeper's lodge/hut is a must for any respectable graveyard.

Benches for visitors is another common thing.

Graveyards are most often enclosed perimeters, so you should definitely have a fence, or a wall surrounding it, with a gate.

If it's a well-kept cemetery, it will often have flower beds and bushes between graves and sections of graves. It might even have a pond, or some sort of fountain.

 

[Quigon]

solitary confinement's bad mkay

 

[EternalShadow]

solitary confinement's bad mkay

That looks really cool. However, like many people, I bring caution in regards to the darkness of the map - some monitors are unable to display enough contrast to see the map properly, even at full brightness.

Do the lights flicker?

 

[Tuomo L]

All right based on the feedback, here's the improved graveyard. As always, the doors being off is because of the script and do not look like this in game.

 

[hian]

A great improvement T!

A few additional comments though:

- The paths that go out on the left side behind the trees don't seem to have any function. If there are no graves there, and no exits, why would there be paths there?

- if you have any tiles of statues, like angels, or gargoyles etc, I would add those in to break monotony.

- There are so many graves, and they're so close together that it makes the image look monotonous. Consider opening one tile of space between each grave.

- I'd add more flowers and different variations if I could(not too many, mind you).

Maybe some flower pots, or mugs of water between some of the graves, since some people like to keep flowers alive at the grave for a while, or clean the gravestone.

- Put a wooden box or something next to the groundkeepers shack, for compost, the place where he or she would dump fallen leaves and branches etc during autumn etc.

Really though, your map has improved a lot!

 

[Goatrider]

@ mr big T:

Looks much better, but I agree with hian some flowers or pots would really help break up all that grass abit.

 

[Galenmereth]

@Mr Big T: Also consider logical elemets when designing maps. When people visit graves, they put flowers on the space in front of the stone, and so the roads should be right in front of your gravestones and mounds, not behind them. Also think about simple geographic elements; completely flat land is very rare, but most importantly not very exciting to look at. Add some elevation somewhere, and break up some of the symmetry, mimicking real world constraints of landmass to breathe some "organic" life into the map

 

[Kes]

Continuing my endeavours to make each of the main town distinctive (if you're interested, for contrast see my map on page 2) here is the current one I'm working on.  Still WIP.  Making those roofs as autotiles was hell on my eyes, but I'm pleased I managed it.  There will be another section of the town through the gates at the top.



As always, feedback would be appreciated.

EDIT

Just noticed that some auto-shadows have crept back in on the lower houses.  I have deleted these so often it's driving me nuts!  So I've had to re-upload a fresh version.

 

[Xortberg]

Just recently started using RPG Maker. I'd actually never really done any mapmaking before these past couple weeks, because I have absolutely no artistic or geographical sense, but I've been working on a world map for a smallish project over for a few days now using other maps as guidelines. Because it's big and I like being unobtrusive, I'll spoilertag it and put my own observations inside the spoilers as well.

Spoiler

So, I realize there's no real different regions like you'd expect to see in a world (like snowy areas, desert areas, etc.) but that flaw's actually one that I have a storyline reason for. Convenient, since the idea of transitioning areas between different climates on my map kinda scares me. I'll be saving that for later projects.

There's also a fair bit of open ocean, which is why that little island full of palm trees is down there, but now that I look at it it's pretty damn ugly. I should probably just reduce the map size if I'm worried about open space before just trying to add ugly filler.

And in addition to that world map, I've also made a rough draft of the starting area...

Spoiler

Relatively simple because there's not really too much significance to the place.

... and another area you'll be visiting later.

Spoiler

Still very much a WIP, but the last of my maps and far enough along that I feel like showing it.

Mapmaking is pretty hard, but I think I've come a long way from my very first test project where I just made two ugly square rooms and copy/pasted them like five times.

 

[Tuomo L]

Work on this cemetry is really slow, mostly because it is already starting to depress me. It isn't helped by the fact I chose probably the most melancholy song of my OST for it.

And here is the map in game

 

[Kes]

@Mister Big T

It may be starting to depress you, but it is so much better than the first version.  The only thing I would say is that the benches are great if people want to paddle in the pool, but otherwise it would be a bit tricky to sit on them without getting your feet wet as they are right on the edge of the water.

@Xortberg

Your self critique for the first map is spot on.  This is a good thing, shows you are beginning to look at your work with the right eyes. 

For your second map, could I suggest that you put areas of long grass in to make it look a bit more natural and to break up the monotonous tone of the unvariegated grass.  My suggestion is influenced by the fact that I've never been a lover of that particular shade of green, even before I met it in the RTP, and others may not react to it the way I do. 

For your third map, you might want to play around with different water tiles to try out other effects.  The one you've used so far is often used at the top edge of water areas to suggest depth, and then the rest of the water has a smoother appearance.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

A new screenie from my project...

 

[WNxTyr4el]

I have to reply to this. Can somebody PM me where you get these god rays from? I'd really love some for my game (which I haven't worked on in months). And there's an artist with I think a Japanese name and I can't remember it but he has a tileset(s) and I would like them.

Now on to the topic. I really like all these maps everyone. They all look really good and I can't wait to see more!

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

which rays? from whose screenie?