Game & Map Screenshots 11

Here's a test play video of my game.[RPGMMV]

@ganges Very smooth animation you got there!

Using an older map to test some animation for water edges and falling water in parallax, still tweaking the back parallax and transparency of the water's edge, but how is this looking?

@Joy I suppose it's in the queue but don't forget to animate the ripples on the water too.

@Joy I really liked the atmosphere of your map, working with water is not easy sometimes, I just missed the ripples in the water, but I liked the way you did the animation, when the map is complete post here to see the final result, well done!


I haven't posted anything here in a while, but I'm working on my project these times, and I did some work in parallax, I really appreciate the feedback!


(Click Images to Zoom)




Thanks!

@Lycanimuss This is very dark. I'm sure this is intended, but there's a fine line between atmospheric dark and obscure.

@Lycanimuss I agree with cabfe's point about the darkness. In the second one it makes the highlit items look extremely odd. I cannot work out why they are so bright, but the surface on which they are sitting remains as obscure as everything else. Either they are lit from elsewhere, or they are themselves emitting light, and either way, the areas immediately around them would be lighter as well.
I think when working out levels of darkness, you also have to take into account that not everyone will have a top end monitor. On a less good screen those maps will be even dimmer.

Hey! This is my first post on this forum after lurking around for a while, but since I am currently JUST doing maps whilst I try and plan my games plot, I thought I'd show one here.

This one is for a game that is currently on hold, and the map is obviously not done. It's based on Greece, and those lined trees are meant to be vineyards! (Also sorry for the weird quality - apparently my screenshot on my computer doesn't like pixelart?)

Looking for any and all feedback, since this is the way I've kinda zeroed in on making maps, and not sure if there's a better way.

Hello all,
I have been working on a game for a while now and thought I would maybe start posting some maps here and there for some feedback and opinions. This is the city of Astonia. It needs lighting and some other small touches but for the most part, it is done. Thank you all kindly and all feedback is welcome.

@siriusleenott that was a really big map! Not everyone have the patience to do such large map, you know. Apart of the question of why you keep a significant amount of vines unaligned, I guess the only feedback I can give is, after putting some events, I hope your map don't have significant dead space. It's kinda sad to see players nowadays rushing away beautiful big maps thanks to dead space, so I hope you already have a plan on how you will utilize the map.

@aston00 What is the building on the top north? Castle outer wall? Or the castle itself? Is it the castle front side, or other side? If that building is the castle/castle wall front side, you probably want to read this: the layout trope of medieval town with castle is usually "the king goes back to the castle without a hassle" - you put a clear, almost straight path from town gate towards castle wall gate. The only thing that will block that path is usually an aesthetically significant fountain. The logic behind that trope is, when a battalion of troops guarding a royal family march from inside the castle, they must be able to keep a straight line. I guess relocating the big building in the center will do the trick.

Btw @aston00, your map reminds me to a game called Knights of Honor. Try to search the in-game screenshot, it probably help you gives inspiration!

@aston00 I think you are going to have to give some detailed attention to your shadows.

The shadows for the two big turrets at the town entrance are inconsistent. The one on the right goes at approx. 45 degrees and is roughly the shape of the turret itself - though I would expect it to fall on the top of the wall, not just the elevation. The one on the left has a much sharper angle, as if the light source were almost directly in front of it, and has a weird shape which I can't match to anything.

The building behind the left turret - given all the general clues about where the light source is (i.e. somewhere around the bottom left corner), there is no logical reason why the side elevation of the building is in such deep shadow. It doesn't match any of the others.

The large turret at the back on the left - its shadow should fall on the awning of the stall. However, a bigger problem is the way that it stops half way up the wall. The only way it can do that is if the tower is not attached to the wall, but is some distance away, which is what it currently looks like. It's logic should be the same as that of the right hand front turret.

The statues have no shadows, and if everything else in sight does, then so should they. The little flat-angled roof over on the right is throwing no shadow, but that building has a bigger problem. Starting from the right edge there is a significant width of top city wall. That flat-angled turret simply cannot start at the same place where that city wall ends, and be behind it, as it is at the moment. Physically impossible.

Building bottom right corner. All shadows extend beyond the building, falling in a NW direction, except this one which is not extending at all, so it looks like the light source is from a different direction than for the other buildings.

Raith is absolutely right - that inn has got to move.

A "secret" room in The Cube Trail. This is inside a big church like structure, which leads to a crypt underneath full of festering evil that needs to be destroyed. The skeletons standing up are monks who've been dead for a very long time, and is supposed to be like the dead monks you can see in Italy.

Been spending time mapping using the FES Resource Pack, whose style is indeed quite charming.
Have little to no experience making a snowy village, so of course I tried to make one:

I've been working solely on the map layouts and tileset graphics for so long now... Things are a bit barren without enemies and NPCs :/

@KakonComp That's a good beginning. If I could make a suggestion, it would be to make it a bit more scruffy. Everything is so pristine.
So, for example, when people walk around in a snowy environment, their boots leave little clumps of snow on the path. ATM that path looks like it's been cleaned by a very efficient robot. Except, strangely, the bridges, which surely would be cleared as they would be dangerous otherwise. Also the clear area stops before the doorways - but people would have walked from the path into their houses, so that should be bare.
It is inevitable that people (or at least children) will walk on the snow, not only the path, so I would expect footprints and little bare patches. And certainly footprints on the bridges if you do leave the snow there.
The snow (or lack of it) on the roofs is perfect. Could you do a minor edit and add the odd bit of snow to the clear roofs (and why are they clear?) and knock off bits on the other roofs? Another bit of perfection is the snow on the well. If that well is in use, then it would either be clear of snow on the upper edge, or at least have significant gaps in it.

@orange~ You have an interesting map, with some very nice tiles in it, and well arranged - from what I can see. And that is the problem. I get that you want a dark atmosphere, but I think from the player's POV it's probably a bit too obscure. Also, not everyone has a high end screen, and the map could look even darker on a lower spec. I'd lighten it up a bit. It doesn't have to be a massive increase, but I do think it needs to be a bit lighter than it is now.

@Kes some of those are because of the tileset used doesn't have options to make igloo roofs partly covered, it's all or nothing. Same with the well and bridge, although if the very efficient robot isn't afraid of water, it could clear all the snow from the bridge too.

It is doable though with some edits, which I am capable of doing; thanks for giving me stuff to think about as it didn't even cross my mind in that much detail while I was making the map.

Here is what is easily changeable using the map editor:

Less pristine road, but using the power of shift, homes have better walkways.

I haven't made a map in a while, so I'd love some feedback:

(I used a script to take this screenshot, but it didn't register events, so the doors don't show up)

It's Windmill, the forest town where Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother lives.

@Kes yeah I checked the screen on my cellphone and it looked pretty dark. I'll see what I can do about it. At the very least there will probably be more light sources in this map so that alone will brighten things up. Thanks for pointing that out! It's crazy how big differences there can be between different monitors/screens.

@slimmmeiske2 That map is charming, nice layout, with variety of buildings without any of them being incongruously different.

Just a few small things.
I can only see one chimney in the whole town. How do the other houses keep warm?
The clearing top right corner feels a bit too tight for the house. I think the occupant would have cleared a few more trees on the right side so that the branches don't almost touch the roof.
I would expect to see some sort of, perhaps patchy, path leading up to the windmills, as I assume that the occupant of the house (the mill owner?) would go there and so would have worn down the grass a bit.

My first town! It's the northern village of Snigh (Snee)


Be gentle! lol