January 2011 Entry: Discovery & Exploration of Eiskanderlund

[Immolate]

The map size is fine. I usually go a bit bigger. What isn't fine is your choice of formats. Max bitmap size is 4.77 MB, and the board software can't be argued out of that limitation. The answer is to simply save as a JPG and adjust the lossiness (lossy-ness) down until your map fits. Yes you lose some fidelity from the original, but it takes a fine eye to see it, even if you've adjusted down from a max of 12 to a 7, which makes the map much smaller. It's completely lost on me, but I'm probably not typical. Regardless, that's what people do because that's what we have to do. I love PNG, but not for maps.

Forgot to mention that the 12 scale is from Photoshop. Not sure if it's used anywhere else. Also, your map is off to a good start, but your blue water is so saturated that even my colorblind eyes can see it. That may work... who knows where the next great idea will come from... but generally you need to tone down the saturation a bit on satellite maps. You can always consult with the master of the genre, Ascension, if you need some pointers. He most certainly is not colorblind.

[Aivehn]

Jax, thanks for the welcome. The bug is quite likely to bite, as I've always enjoyed just "jamming" and creating maps on short notice and seeing where they take me. Time will tell.

Immolate, thank you for the feedback. I am able to host my pics, and thus did things this way, this time. I think you are probably right about me being able to either switch to jpeg's or see if I can squeeze a bit more out of my PNG's. Either way, I should be able to get them down to the guilds spec's, and use the system here.

I am also quite likely to contact Ascension about satellite maps, as that is my current interest and direction. I enjoy other genre of maps, but the satellite maps are both a new challenge and a business need at this time. Thanks again.

Now, to get back into the GIMP and actually do some of this.

[Aivehn]

Mea culpa, mea culpa...

I posted an unfinished entry, and then medical mayhem happened. Thus, sadly, it seems I must withdraw from this competition. However, the great news is that I did learn quite a bit, and will be better prepared for the next competition I choose to enter.