WIP - Forgotten Lands

[Jykke]

Ok, maybe we will see a larger version in the near future then =) I'd expect to see couple of more mountains on the same map and some lower land between them (like your previous maps for example). Keep up the good work!

Btw, the issues with artifacts in the terrain might be resolved by adding deep thin flows in geocontrol as the final filter (you might have to play around with the settings..). I also recommend increasing the terrain resolution in geocontrol, to 4096. It will affect the terrain generation time quite much, but the results are also wayyyy better. And you can always decrease the resolution afterwards in photoshop if it's too big for the document you are working on.

[pasis]

The full map I have contains also one smaller mountain and the already visible mountains continue a bit futher. The full resolution I have is 2048x2048 (I didn't run the 4096 as it took ages and I had enough details for this project with 204.
When I'm finished I hope I have learned enough to start a new and bigger project. I have concerns about the geo control, because I'm a newbie in it and there is so much I don't understand. I'm not sure if I'm getting old or something, but self learning GC feels so hard (or it just is so darn complex).

[Jykke]

GeoControl can surely produce beautiful details, but It should support multiple cores and have the possibility to use 64bit memory space. And I must admit that it isn't easy to produce the end result you have in mind at the first place. I probably have spent over a week (in hours) with the program.. and even then just scratched the surface.

[ravells]

This is looking magical! Make it more magical!

[Redrobes]

Yeah its looking well cool. Clearing up those parallel lines helped a lot.

Edit -- Theres some funny business going on here with some black contour looking lines in the image. What do you think it is ?

[Imahilus]

Sorry for posting as the new person that I still am =P

Absolutely.. no denying it, LOVE this map.
And I thought RobA's tutorial brought amazing results, thought I loved that... ten times better o.o'
I hope it will be possible for people to use this map in private settings when its done? =)
Though with praise comes the critique eh

The grey area's do look a bit awkward, they look featureless compared to the rest of the map.

As for the black lines, I think thats heavy shadow due to 'resolution' issues.
To explain: gradients are no more than having two absolute colours, and making colours for X 'lines' to get from one to the next. The higher the resolution of the gradient, the more lines.
Heightmaps / bumpmaps by nature use colours to determine the height difference, in some cases the colour shift from a gradient can be seen as the same height or a higher difference than usual.. resulting in heavier than expected shadows (particular settings can worsen or lessen this effect).
Thats the technical aspect of it, since I'm not a graphics person, I'm leaving it up to the people who know their graphics programs to word wether this effect ever happens (and if so, how often it occurs).
You might be able to solve it by manually blurring or blending those area's slightly by hand, if this is in fact what is happening.
Sorry if the problem isn't anything like what I just explained.

[Ascension]

You explained it correctly Imahilus. I get those frequently when playing with gradients for shading and then running lighting effects or bevels on it...creates that step look.

[waldronate]

Much cleaner without the straight lines. While I may lack the artistic sensibilities to do real work, I can usually spot difficulties. A born critic, dedicated to throwing rocks at those doing good things.

The perspective on the waterfalls seems a bit off. My brain keeps telling me that the waterfalls are being seen from about 20 degrees above the horizon while the rest of the map is seen from 80+ degrees above the horizon. The net result is that the waterfalls appear to be falling straight down and sideways at the same time.

[RobA]

I think it is really nice! A drop-dead, gorgeous work!

...but... is it supposed to be a map, or a picture? (I know it is not finished, so this could be premature, so please don't take it wrong...)

I had a real hard time even noticing the double tower structure.

And not having looked at the earlier versions I didn't even realize the lake was a lake... I thought it was a building with a well in front:



Some of this may be cause you are posting in a reduced size, so detail has been lost. Also, after labeling, this may be a moot point, but to preach for a moment...(quoting from the "Principles of Cartographic Design")

"User first, user last. What does the user want from this map? What can the user get from this map?"

"Important things must look important, and the most important thing should look the most important."

"How much information can be gained from this map, at a glance?"

(OK, done preaching )

Again, don't take this the wrong way. I just don't have your vision of what the end product will be.

-Rob A>

[pasis]

I'm not taking your critique wrong RobA, don't worry, especially when I understand your point. I’m a roleplayer by heart and I always design maps for certain playing purpose (in good and bad).
I have been away for the weekend, but now back again and I can start to add more details to the map and I’m sure it will make it more a map than a picture.