Game & Map Screenshots 5

[RocketKnight]

@RocketKnight - I really like the first screenshot - it reminds me of something from Bioshock for some reason. As for the rest, the trees, the fountain and sprite are certainly stylised, almost like a watercolour effect. That's why when I look at the last map, I feel as if there's a clash of styles there. Everything in that office looks crisp and clean, whereas Screenshots #2 and #3 seem surreal and dreamlike. I don't know your story, so that might have been your intention. That being said, I like how there is little wasted space.

The project is about Metropolis (1927 film), thank you for the feedback.

 

[CobeSlice]

@CobeSlice - There's a couple big empty stretches of land that could do with filling in on the city map. Forest map is slightly too open, bring in the auto tile by a tile or two. Try to work in some different height levels, both your maps are completely flat right now.

@esbie: Is it entirely bad to have a one-level map? I know that height can make a map more dynamic... but not EVERY town or forest or space needs to have varying heights... especially with large, looming buildings adding the concept of height, don't you think? I'm obviously extremely new at mapping, but the idea of having a town with weird mountainous areas just seems... bizarre to me.

@Cobeslice - It's a good idea to not overwhelm your players in the beginning, so a small town works as a starting area instead of that city. You could indeed place that city in a central location and/or in the middle of the game. It's also perfectly normal to use connecting maps instead of an overworld map. Back to my nosy, mouthy comments

Spoiler

• For big maps, I really prefer it when people link to a larger version so I can actually see details. It makes it easier for people to comment on them too instead of having to squint their eyes. So if I misidentify some landmark on your map, bear with me.
• I think it's odd to have the farming area inside the city itself, because most city planners and leaders would use that precious space for houses, government buildings and so on. There's a reason that so many cities have their agricultural lands outside their cities, mainly so they have room to expand. The exceptions to this rule is if this farming area belongs to a private citizen, or complements larger-scale agricultural activities already outside the city, and/or if it's just too dangerous to farm outside, such as in the case of a zombie apocalypse for instance.
• You might have valid worldbuilding reasons to have that farm there, so assuming that you do, I like that you place it close to a source of water (a well) as I don't see a pond around. Edit: After squinting, I finally noticed the canals, so my bad. In a city where canals cut across the landscape, you'd think land would be even more precious.
• At first I mistook it for a 'park' on the north end of the city, until I realised it was a cemetery. That's fine, but I wonder why there's no trees or anything to make visiting your loved ones pleasant. The paths you laid down there seem unnecessary (there could be valid reasons!) and doesn't make the place that attractive either.
• In a real-life city, I'm not sure I would place both the farming area and a cemetery right at one of the entrances. Unless these people are unpretentious folk, most city planners place attractive buildings in that area so these will be the first thing to impress visitors (and your players) when they first arrive there.
• I like that you can clearly see sections clearly allocated throughout the city: the shops, the market, the slums, the residential areas and (I think?) government buildings or what not.
• I like that you used grass and I think flowers to break up the map, but I still think there are too many empty spaces with nothing there. You might want to put some decorative items such as benches, statues, fountains, mailboxes (if any), anything taking advantage of the canals etc. Some empty spaces I see are:

1. that area west and north of the slums (bottom right of the city)
2. behind that church-like building on the west side of the map
3. that long piece of land south of the big house with the blue roof. Make sure there is something interesting to see in those spaces.
4. a large rectangular piece of land surrounded by flower bushes? What exactly is that? A park or someone's garden? It looks rather empty.

• Other than that, it's a pretty decent city using RTP tiles. I like the effort putting into making houses with different shaped and coloured roofs. I like that you use windows to use up space on the walls, but you might consider using other elements such as ivy, banners, flowers for variety. I also notice some houses with windows placed oddly, like one next to the door and the other side the window is placed further away.

Thanks for the feedback. I had some serious considerations about the size of the beginning town and how little there actually was TO DO in it in the opening stages of the game. I'm really sad to have to potentially scrap 55 interiors that I labored on for weeks... but perhaps it's for the best to try again. It would make more sense in the game as well. The town is supposed to be hidden by strong magics after the opening events... and people would notice if a town that big just went poof.

@CobeSlice

I think you would find it helpful to think about towns you know and the proportion of open space to built up space.  The amount of empty space you have in your map is well over anything that would strike most people as realistic for what I think you want to make a busy town.  You are also asking the player to walk long distances seeing nothing and doing nothing.  So you might want to think about shrinking the whole map a bit.

Then look at e.g. the church like building on the left.  It is set in a large piece of green space, but has its doors  right at the edge of the path.  An imposing building would almost certainly have a bit of a forecourt leading up to the doors, so you could set your building back a tile or two on that space.  It would also make it feel a bit less empty.  That sort of logic could easily apply to other buildings on the map.

Then think about how people 'colonise' space and make it private.  Nearly all that land around the buildings is public space.  Maybe by making it look more closely linked to individual houses, you will make your town feel more lived in.

As an example of what I mean about private space, here is a map that I'm working on now, so it is far from finished.  But you will see how private space has been indicated by things like different ground tiles, the placement of washing lines, things like that.  It's big, so in a spoiler.

Spoiler

That's very impressive mapping. I'll have to retry a smaller starting town, and look at creating a more private space... but perhaps with fences instead of using different types of stones. Everyone loves a yard! I really love your houses and your roofs. I wish I could do stuff like that. Roofs boggle my mind.

 

[No1434]

I think this is looks pretty decent, and it's more or less straight-forward. However, I would suggest that if this is an area that sees a lot of foot traffic to add some broken up path parts, or 

even just use indirect pathing by way of the tall grass, to help lead the player to where they need to exit. Otherwise this becomes a giant maze-puzzle and could frustrate some less-than-directionally-saavy people. Otherwise I think it looks really good. Just the right amount of filler objects.

@CobeSlice - Thank you for your feedback, well actually i really like to make the player feel frustate its just really make me feel great somehow 

@No1434: I prefer 2 tiles tall trees. And there are some areas in that map that are too "straight" to be inside a forest.

@Razzi - Actually i also think of that too. But thanks for the feedback.

@No1434 - I agree, the shrinky dink tree autotile looks off, especially when you've used two tile high trees and pillars elsewhere in the map. I'd suggest opening up the map a little bit, it's a little too narrow. Indrah's good at that style forest, check out some of her maps for suggestions.

@esbie - Ahh, i never thought that my forest is narrow, thanks for the feedback 

@No1434 - As forest maps go, it's not bad. I feel there are places where the paths could use some expanding for variety as everything is one tile wide. That might been your intention, to give a feeling of claustrophobia, I dunno. There seems to be a lot of broken pillars and statues around, implying there used to be some ruined city or temple here ages ago. If so, you should probably add more elements from that feature. If there wasn't, you might want to think on the reasons those pillars are scattered all around the forest. (Sacrificial pillars or places of worship?)

@Alkorri - Ok. thanks for the feedback. Actually there is a reason why i scattered those pillars.

Since there are some dead trees, you could add some twigs and leaves on the floors, too. I like how you blocked the main path lol 

@wynautastronait - Lol, Well thanks for the feedback and i never thought adding some twigs and leaves either.

 

[Sharm]

@wynautastronaut: Love how you worked the turbulent water together with the calm water in your first screencap. I think the DS sprites are cute with it, but I don't see how you're going to get them to stop looking like children. Just changing the doors won't be enough, there will be quite a few things that just won't be the right scale.

 

[Kes]

@CobeSlice

If you're interested in another take on 'private space' here is one which I did using fences, as you are thinking of doing.  It's a very rural setting, so I gave people quite large gardens for their vegetable patches.

http://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?/topic/27537-game-map-screenshots-5/?p=273986

Thank you for your kind words about my map.  Yes, roofs can be a nightmare at first, which is why some people end up parallaxing.  However, all my maps are done in the editor, with almost no events, so parallaxing isn't a necessity.

 

[CobeSlice]

@CobeSlice

If you're interested in another take on 'private space' here is one which I did using fences, as you are thinking of doing.  It's a very rural setting, so I gave people quite large gardens for their vegetable patches.

http://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?/topic/27537-game-map-screenshots-5/?p=273986

Thank you for your kind words about my map.  Yes, roofs can be a nightmare at first, which is why some people end up parallaxing.  However, all my maps are done in the editor, with almost no events, so parallaxing isn't a necessity.

I saw that map earlier while going through the thread to see what others have done/recommended. I really do enjoy it, but I have some sanitation questions regarding the placement of outhouses so close to the gardens. Lol. Other than that, I think it looks great... but I also have to question why the bridge has only one railing. I get that it's practical so that you can see the player/they can cross the bridge, but logically it makes no kinda sense.

I also realize that I have to figure out how to work with angled roofs so that I can make more interesting and vibrant housing.

 

[boldpaste2]

 

@CobeSlice Thats a pretty big village, not sure if I like the large building on the bottom left though, It feels like its missing something.

 

@RocketKnight, OMG! Itz a Bunny! Speaking of which I am not sure if the door in that shot works A door frame might make it better. Also, I think the interiors would look better if they had roofs that marked the borders.

 

@No1434 Interesting though I think some pathways could be a bit wider (though thats just my take, I am not one for tight areas).

 

@Adiktuzmiko If your looking for something to add on, I always put signs on my building to tell the player who lives in it or what its purpose is.

 

@Wynautastronaut I like the maps but on the first on there is some clipping with the dirt

 

I think I got everyone xD

=========================

 

Now, I am working on a crypt or catacomb but because I have never actually seen one, I am unsure if I am missing something. The only hint of one I have ever seen was skyrim xD. I had to take it from a shot from inside the game because the actual map is way to large and looking at it all at once would be detracting.

 

Spoiler

 

[Alkorri]

@boldpaste2 - Nice map. You didn't actually say whether the catacomb was abandoned, ruined or something people actually visited to pay their respects. Judging by its neat appearance, I am assuming the latter.

People who visit these places would usually leave keepsakes and tokens like fresh flowers, or bury them with their loved ones. If you recall Skyrim (which I played waaaaaay too much of), searching the bodies would yield personal possessions. You could do something similar: a nook with a helmet or axe placed with the skeletal remains, to signify he was a warrior. Withered flowers, a crumbling necklace, a picture frame, and so. With some thought you could tell a story of that place without needing words.

But it could be your intention to keep the nooks tidy and free of player distractions, so the only thing I would comment is that perhaps you need something else other than the same bone decorations on the floor. A pebble or two perhaps? Moss? Something with a tiny bit of colour to break up the same dark and dreary palette of the map. Edit: The barrel was a step in the right direction, although I cannot identify what that thing on the wall is, so I can't tell what the barrel is for. 

Also, if this place has a custodian to keep things neat, perhaps there are signs of his presence, like a stool or shovel for example. Does this place have any light source at all, like torch brackets or braziers?

 

[Kes]

The thing on the wall is medieval stocks, something that I find surprising to see on the walls of a catacomb.

 

[boldpaste2]

Pretty much it's haunted. It's a place you really want to stay out of at any costs.

(*Spoiler*) You gain access to this side quest by talking to the guild master after Lavi (one of the party characters) joins the party. The side quest is to investigate disappearance happening in the dark wood and that will force the character to stumble to a hidden, haunted, crypt where a villain performs experiments on people (hence all the torture stuff). Upon entry, the player gets locked in and must traverse the crypt to escape. Oh yea! Whats a haunted crypt without traps. Also, on every map, there is a single "ghost" that follows you only when you are not looking. Touching it would result in instant death of all party members so while avoiding traps and navigating the crypt, you got to steer clear of this ghost. There will be other light sources but the player must light them manually. There won't be to many light sources because the map is already large and with a high resolution it can become to taxing. Whenever the FPS dips below 30 is when I need to compromise to get the frames back up.

 

[Alkorri]

If it's haunted and meant to be spooky, you should decorate accordingly. Sometimes including the purpose or story behind that particular map would allow us to save time and help give more insightful feedback

 

[boldpaste2]

If it's haunted and meant to be spooky, you should decorate accordingly. Sometimes including the purpose or story behind that particular map would allow us to save time and help give more insightful feedback

Yea xD, I didn't the first time because I thought it would ruin the game from a spoiler but for this one I guess it was necessary. With the sound effects, fogs, and ghosts chasing you, that should add to the creep factor.

 

[wynautastronaut]

@wynautastronaut - It makes sense. As long as you had a reason for it

As for that door, it's an interesting idea. It clashes a bit because that RTP door is painted, not pixel art. Perhaps if you tried a DS-style door?

Noted, I hardly notice those little things lol. I don't really like the DS ones, so I'll probably just use the original set ones with taller sprites.

@wynautastronaut: Love how you worked the turbulent water together with the calm water in your first screencap. I think the DS sprites are cute with it, but I don't see how you're going to get them to stop looking like children. Just changing the doors won't be enough, there will be quite a few things that just won't be the right scale.

Thank you. I'm using a sprite sheet generator that works well for two-tile adults, but they don't make children. I can't use the DS ones because I'm worried the children might look odd, like little people compared to the two tile adults. So, I'm just trying to find some pre-made ones that I can edit. 

 

[Rello]

I'm still getting everything straight with my menu. It seems everything I show off is menu related. :I

Spoiler

The FFXIV artworks are just placeholders. 

 

[CobeSlice]

 

Attached is a new map I just decided to play around with after looking at some of the advice of everyone (i.e., smaller map, privatized spaces, filling in dead space, etc). This is just a test map. Let me know what you think?

 

[RocketKnight]

New Screenshot:​

Reference:​

​

Spoiler

 

[Alkorri]

@Rello - I like the menu. The lighter purple parts give good contrast although I wonder if it might be a bit too 'neon', but it works for me. For some reason I feel the three-faces windows should be just a bit to the right to give the menu a little balance. Looks good overall.

@CobeSlice - Thank you for uploading a screenshot where I don't have to squint to make out details, heehee. This map is better, although a clothesline is not the only thing that can signify personal space, you know There could be barrels, crates, tools, flowerbeds, even a child's toy for instance. I see an error on the fronts of both upper houses - perhaps you'll want to correct that? Also, the path from the front door of the bottom house takes a sharp bend further down. Why doesn't it just connect straight to the main path?

@RocketKnight - Please give more detail about what you're trying to achieve here. If she's meant to be looking at some holy artifact, the screenshot doesn't show it. It just looks like some book, other than the glow. The organ? and the shelf of prayer books also suggests this book is not very special either.

 

[Kes]

@CobeSlice

All Mack roofs, as far as I know, have that problem whereby a small triangle of the shadow under the eaves of the roof is missing, so you might want to do a little editing job on the tile set.  If I could suggest that you carve out a small glade/gap in that solid block of trees to the left.  Drop a couple of grass tiles in there and then use parts from the single tree on the tile sheet to fill in the missing bits of the trees around the glade.  You are missing a section of shadow on the house on the right.  You might like to put a few random patches of longer grass outside of the gardens; at the moment everything is looking ultra neat and tidy.

On a side note, and picking up your unease from a hygiene point of view of having outhouses close to gardens - before mains drainage and sewers, human waste was thrown into rivers, out onto streets or buried in gardens.  Given how clean the river and paths looked in the map you are referring to, that town obviously went for the burying option.  We might feel a bit squeamish about it, but without sewers, what else can you do?

 

[seita]

@CobeSlice

All Mack roofs, as far as I know, have that problem whereby a small triangle of the shadow under the eaves of the roof is missing, so you might want to do a little editing job on the tile set.  If I could suggest that you carve out a small glade/gap in that solid block of trees to the left.  Drop a couple of grass tiles in there and then use parts from the single tree on the tile sheet to fill in the missing bits of the trees around the glade.  You are missing a section of shadow on the house on the right.  You might like to put a few random patches of longer grass outside of the gardens; at the moment everything is looking ultra neat and tidy.

On a side note, and picking up your unease from a hygiene point of view of having outhouses close to gardens - before mains drainage and sewers, human waste was thrown into rivers, out onto streets or buried in gardens.  Given how clean the river and paths looked in the map you are referring to, that town obviously went for the burying option.  We might feel a bit squeamish about it, but without sewers, what else can you do?

In regards to the Mack roofs, there is a tile that goes there to finish the small triangle, most people just dont notice it. They're all there~

 

[RocketKnight]

@RocketKnight - Please give more detail about what you're trying to achieve here. If she's meant to be looking at some holy artifact, the screenshot doesn't show it. It just looks like some book, other than the glow. The organ? and the shelf of prayer books also suggests this book is not very special either.

The book shows a little story about the whore of Babylon​