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+---- Thread: Map!!!! (/Thread-Map--6393)
- raggidman - 04-04-2008
Quote:are we lost effendi?
One essential is that there are places where the player should be able to 'get lost' - the desert and the jungle! so there should be 'working' maps to mod with for those areas, but in-game once you enter them the maps should gradually fade!
rephrase
If the moving 'eye' gives topographical detail then when you get to the desert/jungle areas that eye loses power to 'illuminate' the map so that you are left with 'arcane symbology' and approximate locations only, and those none to accurate.
By using an area illumination 'window' you remove the need for a crude 'pointer' and it ismuch more realistic in that the player has to decide for himself what is what while having the informational benefit that a sound grasp and application of navigational principals supplies ...
In a way this is what a 'fog of war' does ...
- drucifer - 04-05-2008
One thing I'm curious about: you're turning off Fast Travel for Elsweyr, right?
One possible idea could be to have maps that pretty much just detail cities and a small area around them (possibly sold by general merchants), leaving no real mapping ingame for the desert and jungle wilderness areas. However, that means that they'd have to be completed based on a city to city basis, as well as deciding on something to put in for the main Provincial map section.
I dunno. Did you say that you had some other ideas?
- raggidman - 04-05-2008
Well the cities are in separate 'cells' right? so having separate maps for them might make sense.
The Map idea I have been talking about would then give recent wilderness and small location/village detail based on line of sight and other clues if given ...
That means that cities would always be represented in the 'parchment' style. and would reduce processing by the 'live' map.
- drucifer - 04-05-2008
Alright, I think I'm starting to understand your idea a little better.
So unless I'm mistaken, for the player when they're outside of the cities the map would look kind of like a satellite photo of Elsweyr, but what is revealed depends on what's around them that would inhibit their field of sight and the overall distance they could see as well.
Seeing as I'm not too handy with coding stuff like that (or any coding at all really
) thinking about how to achieve that makes my head hurt slightly...I just want to draw pretty pictures is all
- llamaranger - 04-05-2008
id say we should stick with a parchement-y map for all (like the one discussed earlier). The ideas raggid has put forward are good, but difficult to implement... what i would suggest is we discuss what style we want to do all the maps in (local and global) and then see about scripting some of raggidman's ideas in later...
Edd
- drucifer - 04-05-2008
Well, when it comes to the cities, the way I see it there are two main ways to draw them out both pretty much requiring me to draw them while looking at them in the CS:
1. A detailed illustration as viewed at a (roughly) 60-45 degree downward angle a la the Mournhold map from Morrowind
2. a regular top-down view displaying street and district layout but still retaining the buildings.
In my opinion either one would look pretty nifty and be quite fun to draw to boot.
- raggidman - 04-05-2008
'pologies - no point demanding the starter from the chef who makes the puddings
- I see you have a better way of describing it than I do- I guess I had my fingers crossed
hrug: - back to practicalities then.
Stained Parchment is fine.
But please not the Vanilla Oblivion texturing and such, it is so wishy-washy on this comp.
Hows about:
... if you are comfortable with overlays use them to give colour to certain important areas? ... that would be fine. Geographical colour rather than political? So the base could be worn parchment and luminous/brilliant washes for water, forest, cities and such?
Assumin the map is worn, the washes would not cover an entire area, but rather be worn away until they become totally transparent at their edges so that the basic parchment would show through. As if the details shown were floating on the parchment? And layers of paint/ink were worn away?
Then clear, dark, opaque script for lettering on top of that?
- drucifer - 04-05-2008
Actually, I have an image already made that might prove as a nifty little concept. All I'd have to do is make a few little changes to it like adding text and modifying the color levels slightly. I'll make those changes right quick and then post the link once I upload it (shouldn't take more than around 15-20 minutes total).
EDIT: Clicky Here's the little mockup. Keep in mind, this is something that I was working a couple of days ago, so it is no way a general litmus test for the overall appearance of my work. This is just mainly to illustrate a sampling of the worn parchment, fading colors, and the text (which I think you all might recognize, lol)
- raggidman - 04-05-2008
:dance: dances up and down!
Just tried naming bobbyhoods, two pieces in sounds - try listening while you work!
- drucifer - 04-05-2008
^^ watch out above you!^^
gah, I should have just posted a new one instead of editing - how would I direct people's attention?