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Thread: My Campaign Setting

  1. #1

    Post My Campaign Setting

    About this time last year I decided that I wanted to create my own campaign setting for my D&D games, and so I went about the beginning of development of my world. Earlier in the year I had purchased CC3, Fractal Terrains Pro, City Designer Pro and Dungeon Designer 3 but hadn't found the time to start learning how to use the programs. I decided then and there to start, and so I did a lot of searching and found tutorials (including the ones here!) about how to use them. I wanted to start big with the world map and then eventually work my way down to more localized maps, and so I began learning to use Fractal Terrains Pro.

    I created this map late 2008, as a first draft of the world I wanted. I settled on 6 continents, and got Terraformer for FT Pro to use for the light & map settings, climate image shader and cloud overlays. I didn't quite understand about having to select the editing prescale offsets in the Editing tab of World settings at the time, so the continents look really pock-marked, and I hate the rivers because they look like vericose veins and are too thick and blotchy IMO.

    I took a break from mapping for a few months because I went to school and then moved back here to CA, but now I am back to working on my cartography skills. I'm currently working on my second world map, which looks nothing like this one because I decided I didn't like the way the continents were shaed or placed in relation to how I have the continents' locations in the world thought out in my head.

    Please feel free to give any feedback on this map, I'd really appreciate it. This was my first attempt at using FT Pro. I will attach the second draft once I am satisfied with its development to where I can feel confident about posting it.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

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  2. #2

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    Dude, always nice to see a fellow Californian.

    The map is nice, just a couple of things: As you said, the rivers look off a bit, I'm not familiar with the programs though, so I'd have no idea how to fix that. The map style screwed your continent a bunch up north, but again I'm not sure how to fix that. I think the map would look way more awesome if you upped the resolution quite a bit, to really allow some detailing to be shown. Other than that, awesome map, especially considering you're still learning the programs, well done.

  3. #3
    Community Leader Facebook Connected Steel General's Avatar
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    The only thing that looks weird to me is the little black 'squiggles' that are scattered about. I'm gonna guess and say those are the rivers?

    Anyway would love to see a higher-rez/larger version of this to get a better idea of the terrain, etc.
    My Finished Maps | My Challenge Maps | Still poking around occasionally...

    Unless otherwise stated by me in the post, all work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.



  4. #4

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    Actually I'm a New Jerseyan but I'm an adopted Californian now it seems
    I will try getting rid of the rivers and rerunning them at a lighter color. I don't really know how to make it higher res than that. Do you mean zooming in more on the map or just improving the graphic quality?

  5. #5
    Guild Artisan töff's Avatar
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    If this is meant as a map, you might consider ditching the clouds. They only interfere.

    me too = california

  6. #6
    Guild Journeyer altasilvapuer's Avatar
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    To me, the big problems with the rivers are that A) They look black, rather than 'river-coloured' (i.e. Blueish shades) and more importantly B) they appear to be above the clouds. Which is, to say the least, strange.
    I'm a little rushed for time, at the moment, but I'll try to take a closer look at things later and maybe put up a few more comments.

    -asp

  7. #7
    Community Leader Facebook Connected Steel General's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Doom Crow View Post
    I don't really know how to make it higher res than that. Do you mean zooming in more on the map or just improving the graphic quality?
    Both actually...
    My Finished Maps | My Challenge Maps | Still poking around occasionally...

    Unless otherwise stated by me in the post, all work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.



  8. #8

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    I'll have to figure out how to improve the graphic quality then

  9. #9
    Community Leader Immolate's Avatar
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    FT Pro renders the map at whatever resolution you choose. I think you'll find, however, that once you increase the resolution, the weakness of the underlying fractal algorithms become apparent.

    The picture below is of a swath that is 400 miles across. As you can see, it leaves something to be desired.

    I think the lesson here is that FT is like most other tools in that it has its uses, but there are definite limitations.

    Click image for larger version. 

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