Game & Map Screenshots 11

@Guardinthena I really enjoyed the map, so interesting.

I do have a couple of queries.
The lower bridge looks very flimsy. I get that you might want that first one to be a bit hard for the enemy to cross, but it also has to be sturdy enough for your own soldiers/supply carts/general traffic to cross without feeling that they are going to fall over the edge or through the planks.

I'm having some problems with your shadows. (Sorry about the quality of the image, I used the snipping tool for speed, rather than a screen shot).
On the left, we have this.

Comparing it with the equivalent on the right, there is that little block going down on its own and I can't work out what is throwing that smidgen of shadow.
This is also an example of extremely sharp stepped shadows. Again I can't see what would give such a clear angular shadow. If it's from a distance, it would be softer/more blurred at the edges. I thought at first it was from the cliffs but
1. They are not in one-tile steps
2. They are slightly curved
3. They are too far away to throw such a distinct shadow.

I would also make the shadows at the base of the big cliffs just a tiny bit curved to reflect the shape of the tile. Having tiles which get away a bit from the blocky feel, it's a shame (imo) to reinstate that impression.

@Kes - I'm taking it as high praise that you found the map interesting :D As to your notes, I should have mentioned the dwarf city/fortress was abandoned ages ago and is being repopulated by humans. The flimsy bridge was put down by the settlers who needed to cross. The original bridge is another custom piece I have to create. It's destroyed and will be seen around the planks, with some mechancial bits on the cliff to show the original bridge use to raise and lower.

As for the shadows, I agree with you completely. I have done every in the editor so far and that's restricting me on the shadows currently. The one off shadow square was an accident, surprised I didn't catch it! But the shadow on the wall was supposed to be from the cliffs. But I understand now, after your analysis that it doesn't match given the other shadows cast by the cliffs. I should be able to whip up a round shadow tile no prob!

@Guardinthena I absolutely love it! Looks like it'd be right at home in Middle Earth. No greedy, sleeping dragons inside? :p

@The Stranger --Hahahah! Err...well, now that you mention it....there mmaaaaybe a white dragon sleeping deeper in the ruins of the city, surrounded by a cult following of fanatic kobolds.

Here is the latest thing I'm working on, wrecked interiors. Because I can never find all the tiles I need, I've had to take about the few I could find and edit/frankensprite and make some until I have enough.
It's the house of a trapper who's using an abandoned village as a base for a couple of months. I still need to bash up the guard railing round the fire grate and find/make a better torch.



EDIT
Cobwebs. I need to add a couple more. And maybe some water in that bucket.

Two parts of a location you have to go to in The Cube Trail, freshly redesigned. Too bad the lighting effects don't show up with the map screenshot script I have. There's a top floor, but that isn't made yet. Again, ignore anything offset.

@Kes Nice map and good atmosphere. I like cracks in the floor.
Hard to critique since it is a wip map, so I'm not sure what parts you plan to improve, but some things:

Shadows from walls are missing (probably something you add later anyway).
Barrel and sacks are missing shadows. I think, if you had an unbroken version of the autotile, you could mix it up a bit with the top part and sprinkle some unbroken parts in, too.
I would give the chimney a top part. Right now the perspective looks off. A little flat.

@Kes Really nice map. I'm a fan of abandoned and dilapidated places in games. :p I really like the ceiling tile you've used.

@cthulhusquid I really like the library section (though I'd think about placing a long carpet or something in the middle), but don't like the bottom half. The bottom looks a mess. Just looks so disjointed and weirdly constructed, as if it has no purpose; which is not how people tend to design buildings.

Have you thought about getting rid of that piece of wall jutting out by the main entrance? It breaks the room up in a really strange way. Personally, I'd try to make the room look more symmetrical. Move those sacrophagi around, or get rid of them entirely, as well as the seating, and move the pillars around so as to make the area feel more organised and grand.

I really like the catacombs, though. Hope it's suitably dark in-game. :)

@Candacis I've debated about what to do with the shadows. As it's a night map, logically the walls cannot throw shadows. What I had thought of doing was an overlay with the left side of the room in more general shadow as the only light sources are the fire and the torch. The day version will have more conventional shadows, with light coming in from a window front and back, as well as the fire. I think I know what you mean by adding a top part to the shadow, but just to check - I had thought of adding a few more layers of brick so that the chimney goes 'through' the ceiling tile. Is that what you meant? Good point about adding a few unbroken bits to the autotile. I'll get on to making those.

@The Stranger Thank you for your kind words.

@cthulhusquid
I really like the library, but would fill up the middle a bit more. A carpet, more tables or colums maybe? It would make sense in general to place colums away from the walls, where they might actually be needed to support the ceiling. Right now your colums are pretty much just decorative - which is also fine, but to me the empty space in the library screams for a nice pathway framed by colums.
The lower part of the map looks ... almost like a storage room? Not really like a grand entrance to a building like that. I`d to it more symmetrical, stairs on both sides, no separating wall for the sarcophagus, benches ans sarcophagus on the same height, symmetrical columns, ... Normally I prefer asymetrical building in RPG Maker, but grand buildings like this look best perfectly symetrical, I think.

@Kes
I mean something like this:


Well, it is kind of artistic preference, if you want to cut the chimney off like this, but since your fireplace isn't flush at the wall, it looks weird to me that it currently vanishes under the top part of your autowall.

I would also add some more pelts, if you can, since it is a trapper. Or some boxes with pelt in it.

@Candacis Ah, I see what you mean now. Thanks for the suggestion.

@The Stranger
Thanks for the feedback, I'll have to think of a way to redesign that bottom part. Glad you like the top part and the catacombs, though!

@Cardea
Thanks for the feedback, I'll take your thoughts into consideration as well! Glad to hear you like the library portion as well!

What is the frame rate on that map? Lol.

It never drops below 60 fps but my new computer is pretty beastly lol. If I go this extensive with doodads I usually keep the map size pretty small to help with the frames.

@FiercestPixel I've merged your thread with Game Map and screenshots thread.

@FiercestPixel I don't know if it's because this is a screenshot, and so freezes the animation, but the waterfall above the splash has hard edges that look like a frame for it.

I feel like this hamlet is missing something (besides doors). thoughts?

@Oddball I think the buildings could be a bit more varied. Most of the are shaped excactly the same, with the same stones in front of the door, the same colors, the same height on the map. And maybe use another grass texture, especially on the more open grounds? Also I think a small village square surrounding the well would be cool.

@Oddball A few more thoughts:

1. The houses are all really small.
2. In the upper-right corner, the fence clashes with the increased elevation.
3. The fence tiles, when placed on the very edge of maps, pretend like there's more of them off the screen which makes them want to link to these supposed-off-screen fence tiles and it looks a bit weird. Try drawing a small fence somewhere else on the map, then use the shift-click trick to copy/paste fence shapes that match a little better.
4. Plant some crops and drop some other placeables that might be seen around town--flower beds, crates, barrels. As mentioned above, a town square or something would go a long way to make it feel more like a town people actually live in.
5. If you can find a better grass tile somewhere, do it. The default RTP grass is like, the worst possible color they could've used.
6. The hills don't need steps on all of the front-facing bits, just where the paths intersect them.

That's where I'd start anyway. Now full disclaimer, I'm no pro mapper and I dislike mapping in general, so take my advice as you see fit. ;)