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Thread: My first map using a mapmaking tool.

  1. #1

    Wip My first map using a mapmaking tool.

    Just wanted to show everyone the first map I've begun making using AutoREALM. I plan on posting the finished product soon. There really isn't a whole lot done on it but it's a start lol

    Comments and critique are always welcome even if it's just a start.
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  2. #2

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    A lake can only have one river outlet. If it had two, the water level would lower until only the lowest outlet is still going. The rivers look a bit too straight, too. Put in some bends.

    The coastlines are looking very nice, though - that's something I usually have a problem doing.
    One of those Alternate Earth History people.

  3. #3
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    Under some circumstances a large enough body of water can have two or more outlets but they wouldn't be permanent unles there was a whole lot of water coming into the body. But I agree with euio, generally stick to one outlet without a very good reason and the rivers need more bends and probably a delta too. You might also want to place the mountains before you place water since they will have a lot of influence on where and how it flows.
    “Maps encourage boldness. They're like cryptic love letters. They make anything seem possible.”
    -Mark Jenkins

  4. #4
    Administrator Redrobes's Avatar
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    Theres lots of tutorials on here about rivers. There's also the River Police which pull people over for blatant non physical river systems Your right, under very temporary conditions a lake may overflow and have two outlets but I bet you could not find a real world map with one on it at the kind of scale you are suggesting. You can have a magical lake etc but its not something that you see a real lake do.

  5. #5

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    AutoRealm is a good starting point and will also be helpful in laying the foundations for a fictional map as well as applying grids, but at some point you might want to break off from it to move onto mor sophisticated software like GIMP or Photoshop.
    "I want to have a party, I want to have a party, I want to have a party, you cannot kill the party, you cannot kill the party, you cannot kill the party, long live the party!" -- Andrew WK (Long Live the Party)

  6. #6

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    Thanks for the input everyone. Generally what I was doing was just playing with the controls. If I could figure out how the deletion tool actually works, I'd be as good as golden but for some reason it doesn't want to work for me, either that or I'm just dumb as all heck. lol

    I plan on moving up to GIMP or Photoshop as soon as I find out if my loan is coming through for college so HOPEFULLY I'll be able to have a better building tool than AutoREALM. I tried InkScape but I just didn't like the layout. It was a little jumbled for me.

    Again, thanks for the input. I'm going to do what I can to apply the suggestions you've all made so hopefully I'll have something coming up soon.

  7. #7
    Guild Journeyer Vorhees's Avatar
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    Nice coast, im planing my first attempt of a map so the info on the river is great guys

  8. #8
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    I plan on moving up to GIMP or Photoshop as soon as I find out if my loan is coming through for college so HOPEFULLY I'll be able to have a better building tool than AutoREALM. I tried InkScape but I just didn't like the layout. It was a little jumbled for me.
    Maybe you already know this and I just misread your statement but, just in case: The GIMP is free software, too, just like Inkscape. And while it's not as feature-rich as Photoshop, it's a pretty decent tool for raster editing, and mapping.
    Last edited by Steel General; 11-29-2009 at 09:39 AM.

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