Results 1 to 5 of 5

Thread: an old work of mine, still in progress

  1. #1
    Guild Apprentice
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Sanremo, Italy
    Posts
    38

    Wip an old work of mine, still in progress

    ok, after introducing myself, i feel obliged to show at least something made from me!

    Alas i've recently changed my pc and i'm still recovering datas from the old hard disks: work related stuff going first, obviously, so right now i don't have much material to show. However i have found an old nautical map i made for a MMORPG i play (a free italian shard based on Ultima Online engine, named The Miracle).
    It's a work-in-progress, not the final version, but it is almost there.

    The map itself, i mean the coastline shape, logically does not come from me: i simply took the original map of the shard, chosen a specific area and then started to work on, this time only with photoshop.

    It was intended as a nautical chart for sailors (like a "portolano", if i'm not wrong in english it is translated "pilot book"), depicting a higly strategical zone of the central seas, the strait between human continent (on the right) and the elven one: an area criss - crossed by a lot of ships, both sailing from one continent to the other or going from the warm waters of the south to the chilling northern seas.

    The parchment on the right explains (in italian, obviously) that this is the map of the sea between the mixed-race city of Rotiniel and the capital of the old Human Empire, Hammerheim: then it reports some coordinates of specifical location in the zone.
    Note that the coordintes themselves are actually working ones: if you are in game, and you detect your position with a sextant, you can really make use of these indications to set your sail. Also the graduation bar is correct.

    There are obviously a lot of missing elements: i wanted to highlight the coastal settlements positions with small pictures, as well as the Edorel crater (a real evil place, you know! ). The general appearance is that, more or less.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

Name:	portolano hammer rotiniel.jpg 
Views:	452 
Size:	270.9 KB 
ID:	34409  

  2. #2
    Community Leader mearrin69's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Portland, OR
    Posts
    2,318

    Default

    Looks nice. Love your paper texture. Aren't the radiating lines (forget what they're called at the moment) generally only displayed on the water, sort of seeming to lay beneath the land? I don't know much about them or their purpose but it just struck me at first glance. Looking forward to seeing it develop!
    M

  3. #3
    Guild Apprentice
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Sanremo, Italy
    Posts
    38

    Default

    Thank you for your comments! I'll try to give some explanations.

    First of all, keep in mind that this map and other i'm working on (i'll show them asap) are as stated above based on a rpg online, and so are made ​​primarily with the specific purpose of allowing players to navigate from point x to point y, using a "real " map and not the usual automatic tracking programs like UOAM, and then to create a "realistic looking" item to enrich the game.
    The world itself is basically cylindrical: so, you can "Buscar el levante por el poniente" (Colombo docet) but you cannot go north and circumnavigate (you find yourself in front of an horrible wall of stone). And the map is clearly "flat", no problem with deformations due to planar projection.

    The radiating lines are... ehm, i don't remember what the english for: we call them "linee lossodromiche". Rhumb lines, maybe?
    Indeed in many ancient maps they are drawn only on the sea, but often they are also covering the mainland: let me show you just one example of what I mean, a "portolano" from early XVI century: http://www.regione.sicilia.it/benicu.../Portolano.jpg
    They where used as an aid in plotting your route, but as a matter of fact, because of the relatively short travel distances they are usually of a little use for gaming purpouse in Ultima Online (maybe only if you are planning your course standing on mainland). I find them cool, however

    P.S. oh, yes, i was forgetting: the paper. I've made it in the old simple way... an old piece of paper (if i'm not wrong, cotton paper from a XVII print book), a scanner, and a little work in photoshop Ah, i've not ripped the book! The page is still attached to it!
    Last edited by EruSilme; 03-16-2011 at 12:16 PM.

  4. #4

  5. #5
    Guild Master Facebook Connected jtougas's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Wales Massachusetts
    Posts
    2,813
    Blog Entries
    27

    Default

    Very Cool
    I am the breath of Dragons...The Song of Mountains...The Stories of Rivers....The Heart of Cities.... I am A Cartographer....

    Finished Maps
    Kingdom Of Shendenflar Campaign Setting (WIP)

    Everything I post is free for use and redistribution under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 licence, except where noted otherwise in the thread.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •