Wargame map for game "Ordered to Die"

[ravells]

It is looking really good and nice to have some action in the boardgames section too. Not sure about the ravine though, it looks like it's convex in a couple of spots.

[tilt]

Looking good, nice and clean
And I agree with Mearrin - I like Papyrus, but don't use it anymore cause everybody else does...
And also agree with timallen, bought CC2 (I think) but never got around to using it cause I was stuck in my photoshop/illustrator ways.. and it just seemed to make things more troublesome to do.
hmmm very agreeable today - aint I *lol*

[timallen]

Well, Tilt, you are doing better than me then. I still have to learn Illustrator. My "boss" at Victory Point Games sent me a copy of it, but so far I havent done much more with it than open up Illustrator files and then export them out so I can use them in Photoshop!

I would agree about the ravine. It doesnt look right. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to do it. If anyone has any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it!

Its funny, but some maps just flow together on there own, while others I struggle with. This one seems to be a struggle. One minute I like it and the next I think it stinks, and I want to start all over again...

[torstan]

It's looking really good. If you can nail down the ravine then I think you'll be golden.

[tilt]

concerning the ravine of the top of my head, try making the basic shape as a black thin 1 pixel line, select it, go to select/modify/expand and expand by 1 pixel - then make a new layer and fill with a very dark brown, then repeat that process, expanding, making a new layer and filling with a lighter brown each time. When done - add some "vertical" lines going down the depth here and there...

[Steel General]

Nothing wrong with the Papyrus font - if it's appropriate then damn the torpedoes and papyrus away:

Oh yeah, the map is progressing quite nicely.

[ravells]

I'm sure there are 'how to make cliff' tutorials for photoshop in the tutorial section you could look at...

[timallen]

Thanks for the tips guys. The map will now officially be 22x17 which gives me plenty of room around the edges for a combat results table, Terrain Effects Chart, Turn Track, and maybe a few extras...dunno what exactly.

I"m thinking of starting again with most of the terrain. I do like the villages, but they look rather out of place when placed along side top-down views of things like the river, the road, and the trench-line. I think I will see if I can make all the terrain top-down. The problem really is in the middle of the map, where the terrain is really crowded. You have some hexes with a village, strong points And the trench line all stuck together, while most of the map is just empty desert.

Luckily, White Dog Games hasnt (yet) given me any time limit. Which is just as well, since I actually have 2 other maps I need to do for Victory Point Games right away.

[timallen]

So, after fooling around for several hours tonight, I came up with this. The map has now been expanded to 22x17 inches, allowing larger hexes and more room for tables and charts. The hills and ravine still arent right yet. And the sandy background is too...grainy? It needs toning down. But its coming along....

[tilt]

slowly getting there (and always good to get more space) - I really like the texture of the sand - so don't lighten it to much
The ravine has some background sticking out two places and the hills I feel are a little dominating. If you want to put a little extra effort in the ravine try working a little with light and shadow - the cliffs would cast a shadow on the bottom and the oposite cliffs should be a bit ligther as the sun hits them