December Entry: Tmonkey's Pirate Caves

[The Cartographist]

Terrainmonkey - A trip to Google Earth?! Where is the originality?

Gamerprinter - Spoken as if you consider yourself the default winner unless you choose not to try? Mmmmm...

And drawing a map start to finish in four hours is VERY different than sketching some dozen and then choosing your best to move into final development.

[terrainmonkey]

okay, i spent way too much time on this one. hour and 45 minutes. from 2:30 on til just a few minutes ago EST.

Now on to the other map of the main and other caves around the island.

[Midgardsormr]

I like those decorative patterns in the corners, though they don't look good at the map's full resolution. I'm really looking forward to see what you do with the caves.

I'm hoping I'll be able to shoehorn this challenge into my free time; I have the beginnings of a fun idea in my head.

[pyrandon]

Looking great, TM! The monkey strikes again!

[Gamerprinter]

Gamerprinter - Spoken as if you consider yourself the default winner unless you choose not to try? Mmmmm....

That's not what I mean at all. I will certainly create a map to fulfills my own satisfaction, which will hopefully will be competitive - I'm not going to try to lose. However being able to create a plauseable map in 4 hours is an extreme challenge, IMHO. I don't know if I can create a map that satisfies me in a 4 hour period.

I intend to hand-draw the map, label it with numbers, scan it and apply color in Xara Xtreme and a grid to call it a finished map. That's almost too much to accomplish in a four hour window, but that's what I'll try to do.

Regarding pre-drawing maps and cave systems - I'm simply planning the way I go. Once I decide on an island and cave system that works for me, I will set my stop watch and recreate from scratch my island and cave system. I don't want to be two hours into drawing my cave system and decide - naw, this is not the way I want to go, stop the clock and start over (that would be a waste of time.) By planning ahead, I will have a good idea at the final solution and make best use of my time.

What would do you do for planning, Cartographist?

The true map work will only be done within the 4 hour time period only.

[The Cartographist]

Planning for me will encompass a backstory, a general plan for the number and types of maps I intend to produce, and a lot of thought.

Additionally, as has been discussed elsewhere, I have always used MS Paint to do my maps. I recently downloaded GIMP and started playing with it. I guess planning then will also include the decision to stay with the tried-and-true or make the leap to the newest technology.

As I see it, there is one advantage and one disadvantage to switching to GIMP right now. Adv: More powerful application will make the process that much faster for me allowing me to accomplish more in four hours than otherwise possible. Disadv: Rather than jumping right into the challenge now, I'll have to spend a bunch of time getting familiar with new software. Considering my impatience to get going, that is quite a large disadvantage.

[terrainmonkey]

okay

clocking in at 3 hours, 45 minutes, here is my entry. i know i still have 15 minutes, and i might still ad a few more things, but i think for now it's finished. i might put something up before the deadline, but i think i have only time for one or two other things that wouldn't add dramatically to the overall entry.

the first is a player map of the island, and the second is a DM map of the main cave area. i might still do some of the smaller caves, but right now i think i'll devote my time to coming up with a story and a key to the maps i've already made.

good luck to the other entrants! may the best map win!

all in all, i had fun finally figuring out how the layer masking works, texture effects, and all the other things that i can find out about corel draw. have fun guys! i know i did.

[Midgardsormr]

Very nice!

[The Cartographist]

I really like the player's map, although it seems a bit too fuzzy for my taste. The colors are perfect, and as a player, I would love to be handed that.

One question: Since you've numbered the chambers on the map, can we expect to see a key stating what the various locations are?

[terrainmonkey]

yes, i'm working on a history and key to the map right now. i'll probably post it in the next day or so.

the basic story involves passion, love, revenge, and murder on the high seas.