Hmmm. . . couldn't direct upload that one. Oh well, this is why I have a photobucket account.
Here it is, the new and improved picture. Now with 30% better grass, building drop shadows, a consistent light source and Vitamin M (for map - cause we all need it).
It is interesting to watch the evolution of a map...
The first thing I noticed when I zoomed in and took a look at your map, your docks are on top of some of your buildings. I would use layers to ensure that each layer didn't end up on top of something it belonged under. I would use layers: 1) Ground, 2) Roads (and docks), 3) Buildings, 4) Walls, 5) Clouds.
The second thing I notice is that your shrunken buildings are nothing more than re-sized bigger buildings. I would use two or three sets of buildings to replicate into the various areas of your map to keep them unique and from looking like the other areas you used to create them in the first place. Changing colors could also help with this.
My final observation is more of a question... why does this city have so many walls dividing it up like that? I'd love to hear your story about this city. Construction of walls is expensive and labor intensive. To have so many walls, the builders must have some reason for dividing the city up like this. Many historical cities have concentric walls that were built as a result of the city growing out of its original walls and requiring new walls to protect the new city sections. This alone creates different textures due to the era in which the construction happened. I like to think about "why" a particular area in my town exists, who lives there, are they rich or poor? Is there a special area of commerce or defensive feature to that part of town. Like writing a story, your city map can tell your story as you envision it while you are creating it.
Keep going, I'll be curious to see how it develops.
When uploading there are some restrictions, the max sized of the image is around 4000 x 4000 and the max file size is 4.7 megs for a jpg. So if you're making something larger than those dimensions you either have to shrink it down or reduce the jpg quality (hardly noticeable).
If the radiance of a thousand suns was to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One...I am become Death, the Shatterer of worlds.
-J. Robert Oppenheimer (father of the atom bomb) alluding to The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 11, Verse 32)
My Maps ~ My Brushes ~ My Tutorials ~ My Challenge Maps
Ascension: Size wasn't a problem. I'm under the limit on both dimension and MB, plus it is just a tweeked image of the ones that went up successfully.
castlewrks: Yeah, thanks for the catch. I was fiddling around and accidentally lost my docks. Luckly I hadn't saved yet so I grabbed them from a reboot of the old image and just dropped them in on top without thinking. I will fix them. Should be able to just mover the layer down.
As for the building resize . . . yeah. I had two building brush pipes, a small building pipe and a large one. I wanted more size variety though so I just told my daughter to wiggle the brush scale a bit (she is 8 and really wanted to help, brushing the buildings seemed a good option). They do lack variety. They are about a dozen buildings each, and some of those are just re-roofs of the same building. My intent is that over time I will add slowly to the pipes. I hope to get about 30 buildings in each. Then I want two more brush pipes, a hovel pipe and a large estate pipe. So, you are right, and in time I hope to rectify it. For now . . . this is my learn to do a city map, so I'll have to be satisfied until I can devote some more time to house images.
Edit: I also want to learn how to get the brush to 'turn' as I move it. Right now I have some buildings copied and rotated but I want to be able to lay them out according to how I sweep my mouse. GIMP masters?
As for the walls . . . that is a longer answer. This is part of my iconic elemental campaign called The Broken World. In short, creation failed. The essence of elemental powers (I have about 20 elements) are contained in orbs. These were brought together in the beginning but for reasons that don't matter here they did not stick. All the orbs which were supposed to fuse into the basis of a cohesive world were instead scattered across the surface. The servants of the 3 heavenly powers were sent into the world to gather the orbs up. When someone takes possesion of an elemental orb they gain demi-god like power over that element. He can shape it and use it almost limitlessly, up to the point where another Orb Lord starts to push in another element in at him. Most Orb Lords use their power to forge a domain for themselves. Essentially it is a little kingdom where their element is supreme and overwhelming (thus the 'iconic elemental' campaign). So at the border of the domain of ice, for example, you suddenly come up against 1000 foot walls of ice, deep crevaces, bone chilling winds and huge icy mountains. The domain of sun, is a desert baked by 3 suns (the rest of the world has the usual 1 sun).
This setting gives me, as a DM, ample opportunity for cool adventure and encounter settings. If I want a fight on islands made of steel in the middle of a river of flowing lava, while the bad guys wield adamantine blades . . . no problem. Just so happens an Orc is in possesion of both the fire and metal orbs. Oh, the things I put them through.
Back to the walls . . . In this case we have a traditional matching. The Orb of Stone is in the hands of a Dwarf - a good guy. He has raised up a mountain range for his people. The orb of water is in the hands of an Eladrin - also a good guy. Unfortunately, his sea is surrounded by bad guys. So the dwarf lord has pushed out a finger of mountains to the edge of the sea so that good folks can move more freely between the two. This mountain range is sandwitched between the domain of storms (giant controlled) and the aforementioned domain of fire and metal. The city itself is nestled between the arms of two high, dangerous ridges. Still the city is under pretty constant attack on both sides. Not just by giants either, but giants accompanied by hail and lightning. You get the idea.
Lots of walls mean lots of defense. Also, since this is one of maybe two safe habours it grew really fast. People flocked here. Thus they needed to erect bigger and bigger walls in a hurry.
As for cost. Well, the walls are stone. It is more a matter of the orb lord bending his will toward their creation than it is a matter of money. Or, more likely, he sends his advocates or servants (read clerics) with rituals he has empowered. Boom - walls. Sometimes it pays to be an Orb Lord.
Thanks for all the interst.
Last edited by Boethius61; 11-25-2009 at 11:40 PM.
Yup, pulling the docks layer down worked. That was a quick fix.
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