maps, yknow?

[Leifinator]

mapping is the only part of FE editing/hacking I'm good at I got around to learning so far, and it's really fun!
however, I don't know if my maps are actually good or if anyone would use them, I would like to make maps for a hacking project sometime in the future so until then I want to improve as much as I can.

so here is a 3 part fortress map, two of which I made over the past days and I improved my initial first one.

edit: I just noticed I have to improve the ground before the entrance on the first one lol

Edited February 21, 2016 by Leifinator

[SEVA]

They all have horrendous height issues, but it's most noticeable in the top one. Don't just use exclusively 1-tile-tall walls, it's boring anyway.

Judging by the way the stairs are set up, only the throne room should have 1-tile walls. The room it connects to needs 2-tile walls, the middle room needs 3-tile walls, and the section on the left needs mostly 4-tile walls.

Refer to this tutorial for more info.

The stairs going under the wall in the second map look a little odd, but it's a creative use for those tiles, so I suppose you can keep it. However, the vertical staircase is far too long and messes with the preception of height as well.

I'm not entirely convinced those stairs in the third map work, but I see what you're trying to do. However, you'll probably need a different tile for that.

Some of the chests are missing shading.

That all being said though, these maps look like they could be quite fun to play on, so well done overall. You might need a few more pillars around, though, to break it up a little. The third map could do with being a bit smaller and with having more floor variety, too.

[Primefusion]

These are a pretty solid start!

There's a few things I'm noticing:

- Chests and pillars lack shading on the right side, so they appear very flat.

- The first map has quite a bit of empty space in it. Maybe fiddle around with it to make things more interesting?

- Height inconsistencies. This one is best explained with a picture example.

In this example, you've got stairs that are ascending two tiles in height. The problem is that the walls don't look like they're tall enough to match this transition. The walls should be 3 tiles tall here, but they're only 1. There's stuff like this sprinkled throughout all three maps.

Edit: Whoops! I got ninja'd...

Edited February 21, 2016 by Primefusion

[Leifinator]

yay time for updates!

The third map is supposed to be that way, it's a huge high security prison which has partly been sealed off (the damaged walls in the third map). I went for an "impenetrable prison fortress" with these maps, the story would potentially be rescuing a prisoner who is able to find a weapon and make his/her way into the sealed off part (after being put in the cell with the damaged wall on the left side in the second cell row of the third map).

edit: I just realised I fucked up the broken walls in the second map by not changing them >_>

edit 2: I was bored in the evening, the outcome is a tiny map overloaded with stuff. also yes the mountain has an unnatural edge , I blame whoever lives in that house and needed a way up there.

Edited February 27, 2016 by Leifinator

[Leifinator]

bump. kinda. I made a small town/port thing + warehouse

[Rethel34]

I'm going to open up with the bad and close with the good.

The bad: When making a map, think about the purpose you'd like it to serve while making it. The multiple-thrones (and the fact that each one is oddly doubled) in the fortress are a bit offsetting (IMO) and really cut the sense of direction. In FE, when you have a throne, typically there is only one per map, and that one usually serves as a seize point. In the port-town, I'm also noticing some tile spam and lack of shading.

Example of what I'm talking about:

To break up the tile spam, I'd suggest throwing some patches of grass and trees into the middle of the town. Remember that FE happens in a time without the ability to perfectly pave roads and such (and even nowadays, we still have grass poking its head through our pavement every now and then). A couple tree tiles could also help with that northwestern corner.

Lastly is your tiny map. You actually gave your own criticism on this: Unnatural mountains and just plain overloaded with too much stuff. You can fix both issues by expanding the size of the map. This will give you more room to play with the shape of the mountains, and also space things out so it doesn't seem quite so crowded.

The good: I'm going to brag a lot on your tiny map. The roads feel VERY natural, I'm not seeing much, if any, tile spam, and it gives a definite sense of direction. While crammed, it still shows promise. Sure, it's not perfect, but this shows you are definitely learning and can go places with your mapping. I'd suggest drawing from whatever inspiration hit you when you made that map, and keep going with that.

Looking forward to future maps. Have fun, and I hope everything I said was helpful. :)

Edited March 4, 2016 by Rethel34

[Leifinator]

yay another small-ish outside map!

I wanted to make a siege map so this valley will get attacked by [insert evil empire here] and you have to defend the villages. very few enemies at the start with heavy reinforcements from all sides (except bottom right around the shop) and maybe defending NPCs at your side (green archer/sage on the little "island", knight/general depending on game progress so far on the chokepoint next to the bottom left house?)

A thing I noticed is how while making a map I already go for a story around it, making most of them less suited for random map packs since they can only be used for one goal (or two if you count going the other way around e.g. in this map yourself being the sieging forces), which is another reason why I'd like to make maps for an actual hack instead of just like this.

That being said, thanks for all your criticism, I think it has really helped me improve so far! :)

I will probably redo the town and overloaded map tomorrow or later this week, it would be nice to get some more opinions overall though.

Edited March 19, 2016 by Leifinator

[Rethel34]

That . . . is beautiful! Only thing I notice is the fact that the waterfall appears backwards considering the cliffs on either side (see the checkered white and blue pixels on one side? That's the "foam" at the bottom), but otherwise, I see how this could make a wonderful defense map. I see this potentially being a really high-stakes battle. Excellent work, and wonderful improvement. :)

[Leifinator]

the waterfall appears backwards considering the cliffs on either side

well. fixed that.

That . . . is beautiful! I see how this could make a wonderful defense map. I see this potentially being a really high-stakes battle. Excellent work, and wonderful improvement. :)

thanks! I will probably make another similar one to practice cliffs more :)

edit: fixed the main issues with the small overloaded map, added a place for pirates to come raiding from

Edited March 21, 2016 by Leifinator

[Rethel34]

Excellent! You've come a long way rather quickly. I can't say I'm anything short of impressed. While there's no such thing as a "perfect" map (at least imo), these are so much better than earlier on. All things considered, these are wonderful. Great job.

If you're looking to improve further, perhaps try a couple of mapping contests? I know there are a number throughout the FE community. That way, even if you don't win, you can look at those which others consider better, and see how to improve to their level, or even surpass them.

Although I'm talking about how good these are, never stop looking for ways to improve. Always grow, and you'll be a top mapper in no time. :)

[Leifinator]

this time: mountains and river

I will maybe make a bigger version of this with the little valley thing having a connection to the river, actually added it after I did the mountain :)

edit: wauw the ninja

Excellent! You've come a long way rather quickly. I can't say I'm anything short of impressed. While there's no such thing as a "perfect" map (at least imo), these are so much better than earlier on. All things considered, these are wonderful. Great job.

If you're looking to improve further, perhaps try a couple of mapping contests? I know there are a number throughout the FE community. That way, even if you don't win, you can look at those which others consider better, and see how to improve to their level, or even surpass them.

Although I'm talking about how good these are, never stop looking for ways to improve. Always grow, and you'll be a top mapper in no time. :)

thanks, I will definitely think about taking part in a contest! :D

Edited March 21, 2016 by Leifinator

[Michelaar]

Wow! This looks great! Great job!

[Rethel34]

Big mountain range is big, though I wonder what may be spawning out of those forts inside it and whether there might be a secret shop somewhere in there . . .

EDIT: Noticed this:

Cavalry can't pass through here.

Edited March 21, 2016 by Rethel34

[Leifinator]

Big mountain range is big, though I wonder what may be spawning out of those forts inside it and whether there might be a secret shop somewhere in there . . .

EDIT: Noticed this:

Cavalry can't pass through here.

totally not Wyvern Riders and Brigands. ;)

whoops, played around with forcing the player to take a certain path with the bridges and forgot to change that back, fixed

Edited March 21, 2016 by Leifinator

[Rethel34]

I feared wyverns. That's gonna be a nightmare of a map to beat lol

[Leifinator]

I feared wyverns. That's gonna be a nightmare of a map to beat lol

well that is if it ever gets played... as for now I'm making these maps just for the fun of it, I wouldn't mind anyone actually using them though

[Leifinator]

WIP of the almost 4 times as big version of the mountains & river map

are mountains still difficult to do? this took me about 20-30 minutes.

[Toa]

The mountains are pretty bland, not a lot of variation in the peaks and there's a very obvious transition between darker and lighter mountains. The area around the lowest cave looks really weird because the mountain would be sloping upwards way more there than else where in the range.

[Leifinator]

there's a very obvious transition between darker and lighter mountains

is that bad? if so, why? I really don't know how to change that, is there a tutorial on this?

The area around the lowest cave looks really weird because the mountain would be sloping upwards way more there than else where in the range.

yeah I have to figure out how to make that look better, I just wanted to make the general shape of the valley right now. will continue on this map tomorrow.

[Rethel34]

On the darker vs lighter thing, I think he might be referring to this:

This amount of contrast is mostly an aesthetics issue of how the map flows. Kind of like having solid roads vs broken roads. Not that it's necessarily wrong (at least I don't think so). More that's it's not as aesthetically appealing as one which has a more smooth gradient.

[Leifinator]

progress \o/

yay so much detail. I love making big maps :D
fixed the mountains (I think?) and the area around the first cave, then filled the valley and top right. I might just get done with this map today..

edit: question, can these mountain end tiles be passed by ground units?

Edited March 22, 2016 by Leifinator

[Rethel34]

Those little northern edge pieces? Certainly, since it's simply the overhanging peak of the mountain, and about 90% plain anyway, there's nothing that could really make a unit be stopped from passing.

[Leifinator]

aaaaand done. (for now.) whew.

I don't know if I'm completely happy with it but I think it would be only minor tweaks, if anything.

[Rethel34]

That . . . is a lot of map to take in. Wow. Not too bad, though.

[Toa]

Despite being a very big map, it doesn't really look like there is a lot of room to stand...

Yeah I was talking about this . I never made mountains with this palette, but when I have made mountains there's always been ways to make the transition smoother than that,