Veil Vale - an experiment

[Naryt]

I smite thee oh foul punster!

-Rob A>

FLEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Oh, silly me...why run from it when it's so true?

[pyrandon]

(I interrupt this post for a quick lol @ "the foul punster!" That's hilarious. Now, back to your regularly scheduled thread...)

[Gamerprinter]

Hey guys, I'm getting better at map creation using the Xara stack terrains technique. I've actually improved my terrain creation work.

First I created a rocky terrain filled level. Then I drew a freehand polyline shape as in creating the next terrain, but I did not bevel it, rather I feathered heavily 30+ pixel feather and applied fractal plasma transparency at about 38%. This allows the rocky texture to show through the grass fill texture above it. I also added a similarly fractal plasma transparent smaller region with my standard grass fill. Altogether more complex and more realistic.

Similiar thing done on the foam at the edge of the sea and around the rock. For being quick and easy method, its surprisingly realistic, even has its on drop shadow.

Also I am being more "geologically logical" about create terrain stacks by the sea. First level above the waterline is large boulder/gravel, next is algae covered stones, above this stone with patches of moss/algae, above this gravel stone and then my stone texture on top.

Oh and to help scale things, there is a wagon track for a road running betweeen the shore and the rocky outcroppings. Also on the bottom right is a line of fencing wind blew it down 30 degrees from upright (actually a squished image of masked fencing).

Bad News: as a 7200 x 4800 pixel (200 pix = 5 ft) map in 24 bit color, PNG = 92 MB

So I saved it as a JPG in "High Settings", sorry RP, but test this for me anyways, despite not being PNG. (Still 8.6 MB)

The second image is a 1400 x 1400 pixel, 70 pixels = 5 feet, "med. settings" JPG for Valarian to try, if willing.

I didn't upload my PNG trees, yet, but I thought I'd try downloading Dridon's TREE PNGs in the Resources thread. Unless one of you have already done so.

Are you willing to VTT test this map?

Of course the first file is too big to link with thumbnail, but... http://www.gamer-printshop.com/images/shoreline.jpg

And the image shown is the Fantasy Grounds/GRIP version: (fence is cropped off in this version)

[ravells]

Bloody hell, that looks fantastic!

Sorry can't say more (in mourning here for rugby reasons)

[Midgardsormr]

Very nice. Those wagon ruts don't really look like they're part of the ground, though. Everything else has so much depth that they look like they're floating.

It's really amazing how well that technique works--I expect we'll be seeing some mimicry of it very soon.

[Gamerprinter]

Very nice. Those wagon ruts don't really look like they're part of the ground, though. Everything else has so much depth that they look like they're floating.

It's really amazing how well that technique works--I expect we'll be seeing some mimicry of it very soon.

Yeah I plan to add a few more tracks, vanish them around exposed rock area, kill the grass around them in grassy areas, and add an intersection near the big rock to the bottom left. Plus put some transparency onto those tracks.

You're quite right though, they are floating ain't they?