Mapping Improvement Thread 4

[twelvestarfish13]

Spoiler

This is just a random map i was working on to get my mapping better
need comments, im pretty bad at mapping.

i made a slight adjustment

 

[Tindy]

Too empty. Too empty. Too empty. Am I clear enough? Remember that the goal is not only to use maps to get from point A to point B, but that players will, if given the chance, explore the area. That map is boring - I can only assume you haven't playtested it yet. Remember that you can only see 20x15 squares at one time - you should make suer that at all times there is *something* interesting to look at. Try to vary where you're putting your long grass and flower autotiles - they're not *bad*, but they're not great either. In between those large patches of stuff is just a whole lot of nothing. Also, what's up with that path? The bits on the 2nd layer look really bad. And I'm not entirely sure if you're using the undulation tile correctly. One last note: Your shadows are opaque.


Radeth: The issue with your stairs is that they're flush with the wall. They need to come out one more tile down (like the center set). It could probably use a few more trees, and again, what's with the long grass on the path?

 

[RadethDart]

Alright, thanks! Was that all to me Tindy?

 

[dylanf3]

meh... just one reaction on my map :P

 

[Tindy]

No Radeth - that was mostly to starfish.

dylan: Well, I initially didn't think there was much to comment on, it seemed pretty solid. But now that I look at it again, in addition to your stream issues, your long grass, as a whole, looks kind of weird, especially on the left, and to the right is one pretty long straight piece. That bit behind the dead tree also looks a bit out of place. On your mountains, there's one bit (where you placed a rock) that isn't mapped correctly (I think) - it looks like you tried going for different levels, but they're the same. Also, work on your path - that's a big bit to the left that goes nowhere. :/

 

[dylanf3]

As for the leveling in the mountain, thats like the first thing i always wanna have good, there is no leveling on the mountain, everything is leveled out evenly, so there r no weird leveling changes.....
for the not correct part, that is cuz of the RTP, that has no 2 sided pieces, like the cave sets.
What path goes nowhere? its just some sand, which got around that trees.....
and, if i look correctly, i see no straight pieces longer then 2 tiles.... except for where the horse is walking, thats a 6 tiles long piece of path...

 

[kingo'mountain1]

guys, i've seen radeth's map before, i'm pretty sure its from "Fall of Terra" (see completed games)

 

[Æ№∞₧]

Sorry, I had to see if anyone could catch those things...haha...no seriously, here is the map that I need help with...

Spoiler: Mountain Path

Not too bad. But there should not be a path on top of where you cannot walk. Also, more elevation changes would make it seem like a mountian.

 

[Velocir_X]

Personally I would suggest disregarding teengamers post:
First off when you have a mountain pass I don't think it goes over the summit
Second off its perfectly natural to have an overgrown non-usabe path in the mountain scene

Anyway on to critique:
Your tall grass is in overly large patches and is awfully straight in areas;
I'd suggest chopping it up; making it more natural

Your details are awkward and lacking,
Your fallen logs are all perpendicular;
your flowers appear to all be in a straight line
and in general there is a lack of variety

And finally, that one dead tree on an elevation looks really strange to me O.o
But that's just a personal nitpick

Hope this helps

 

[Soupnazi]

Actually, since paths are made by people walking in one place so much it kills the grass, no, you should not have path in areas you can't get to.
Also, most of the tall grass is growing either on the path (If there's tall grass growing there, there shouldn't be a path in the first place), or in areas where it looks like you have to go through to get the the area.
All in all, your map doesn't make sense, with path in areas it can't be and tall grass where people would be walking a bunch.

 

[Æ№∞₧]

Actually, since paths are made by people walking in one place so much it kills the grass, no, you should not have path in areas you can't get to.
Also, most of the tall grass is growing either on the path (If there's tall grass growing there, there shouldn't be a path in the first place), or in areas where it looks like you have to go through to get the the area.
All in all, your map doesn't make sense, with path in areas it can't be and tall grass where people would be walking a bunch.

Thank you!

 

[RadethDart]

Haha, alright, well, I have long since remapped that map, and I have taken out some path, and added more grass. Thank you so much for the feedback.

 

[Tuna]

Here's a snowy town map I've been working on. I've been working on it for a while, adding details and such to make it look full instead of bare like it used to. Any criticisms are welcome.

There are two people walking around and some chimney smoke, but the white hides the events.

If anyone wants a larger view, you can check out some screenshots I've uploaded. Here's a link to the interior maps I've been working on as well. I know that I definitely need to work on the interior mapping.

http://s779.photobucket.com/albums/yy77/TheTunaBucket/Snow Town/
http://s779.photobucket.com/albums/yy77/TheTunaBucket/Snow Town Interior/

 

[Dalton]

While your exteriors are really empty right now, my greater concern lies with your interiors. You are making rooms that are way to big.
Try thinking about one tile as roughly a square meter. Now look at your rooms again. See how freaking big they are?You should try and get them a bit smaller. Try looking around this thread or the older mapping improvement ones to see some example on how to build interior maps.
Also you might want to check out Tindy's Mapping tutorial. It is a great help when it comes to mapping and explains things really well.

Hope this helps

~Dalton~

 

[Tuna]

If you can tell me what I can do to fill up the exterior it would be greatly appreciated. I want to make the town appear to be a bit barren because it's just a small town.

As for the interiors, I realized that they were pretty big, but I wasn't sure how to go about fixing them because I can't make the actual map any smaller. I'll have to check out those tutorials. Thanks!

 

[Love]

Foe the exterior maps, trying adding more trees and more houses. Right now, four houses are really just too little.

For the interior ones, try closing them up. It's not necessary to make the map smaller, just go play with the wall autotile around until you get it.

 

[Dalton]

As another rule for exteriors: Try a testplay on your map. At any point you stand on there should be at least one point of interest to be seen(NPCs, houses...)
And as love said use the wall autotile to fill up any space not needed when building interiors. That's how most people do it.

 

[Tuna]

Here's one of the interior maps I've improved. What do you guys think?

 

[Dalton]

I'd say the left part is alroght now, except for the way you used the light. (Does light that comes from outside look like that in your room?) I'd suggest to look up a tutorial on cosmetic lights.
The right part is still to big in my opinion. Try making it a bit more narrow, except you want it to be like a really big living room like in a mansion.
I must say that this is already some good improvement, though.

 

[Love]

Good improvement so far! For the lights, take a look at this:

It's from my own game and the mapping is not that good, but I am just pointing out the lights. ^^

Also, like Dalton already said, the right part is too big and empty. Try closing it up and adding some carpets.