WIP - Chesburgh Springs city mapping

[anstett]

This is a wonderful map Pasis and I do appreciate being able to play around with it. These mountains and hills do look very nice.

I do think the discussion on defenses and attack venues is a good point for mappers to consider. In my game there was a discussion with a fatalistic mayor who did not want to build city walls because they were so expensive to keep rebuilding after an attack.

In this case I think the one thing I would add is more houses outside of the walls. Given this is a peaceful place with wonderful neighbors more people will be wanted to live with a bit more elbow room.

[Bogie]

Excellent addition, It's a small detail but it looks great.

[atpollard]

This city is not heavily fortified even though people in this forum seem to be planning to rampage it I lack skill on drawing proper defence systems, so I guess this city relies on peace and powerful friendly neighbours.

'These are Sparta's walls.'
When asked why Sparta lacked fortifications, King Agesilaus' pointed to his men.

[LonewandererD]

Lovin it Pasis, my only critique is that maybe the cobblestone streets stick out a bit too much.

-D-

[pasis]

Lovin it Pasis, my only critique is that maybe the cobblestone streets stick out a bit too much.

-D-

I agree. I will tone it down and i will apply some sand on top of it to break the pattern (or actually I will erase parts of the cobblestone to reveal the underlying sand.

[ScotlandTom]

I am really enjoying this map, but I have one critique. Simply put, I don't think there's enough variation in texture and value in the landscape. I've taken the liberty of creating a grayscale version of the map to better illustrate what I mean:



The northeastern portion of the map is pretty good with a good range of dark and light values. Take a look at the western side of the map though and you'll see how, both in value and texture, the land practically blends right into the water. I think a simple change in value along the coastline would solve the problem, but even better would be to make the values and the textures more distinct. While the textures do have a slightly different grain to them the noise level is almost exactly the same between the land and the water. If it weren't for the obvious river I think the water could be mistaken for something else like grassland when viewed in grayscale.

My overall suggestion: Especially along the coastline I would do something with shadow/highlight work to increase the difference in value between sea and shore. I would also develop a different texture for the water that isn't so coarse that will indicate clearly the difference in materials within the landscape.

Looks like I typed more than I intended, but hopefully my thoughts are at least helpful to you in some way.

Overall the level of care and detail given to the city and the map as a whole is wonderful and I'm really anxious to see the finished product.

[pasis]

I have now modified the cobblestones to fit better to rest of the city. I have also created several farmland textures which was surprisingly difficult. I created the first few fields to the east and more is coming to the west, when I get to that point.
I left my sketch layer visible, so you’ll get a hint what I’m planning (red represent areas for houses, black are the roads and white is the field borders). I will most likely make some fields bigger than they are in the sketch.

@Tom: I agree to your texture point to a certain extent. Quite many features tend to blend if you turn a colored map into grayscale as they rely on the color information, but it is easily avoidable by adjusting the lightness of the colors. I believe the issue in my case disappears when I get to create all the houses and forests etc. and do the final tuning.

[ScotlandTom]

Looks like your water is a bit darker and the grass a bit lighter now, which makes an extraordinary difference. Combined with all the details you have yet to add I think you're right in that the value issue basically disappears.

I still really like how this map is shaping up. One of these days I'm going to have to improve my city mapping abilities because right now I have to admit I'm a bit envious of your skills.

[Mmansen]

OH MY GOD! Now I must kill my self!

[Carnifex]

This is a great map! Very inspirational. Is there a finished version? Do you have it in higher resolution?