Map of the Month 22
#1
Posted 05 December 2010 - 01:26 PM
It's been quite a while since last time, and I'm sorry for the massive delay and all of that. Of course, there wasn't much I could do about it, as we didn't have enough submissions to make this topic up until just a few days ago, but oh well, what has happened has happened, and there's not much we can do about that now.
I do have some news regarding the future of MotM I'd like to share with you before we go off with the awesome maps we have to show you all this month; as you know, it's been slow in terms of submissions lately, and thus we have been unable to make it every month. This is a problem, which is why I have decided to change things up a little bit. Instead of making this a monthly contest, from now on it'll simply be posted when we have three or more submissions, regardless of how much time passes between each new MotM. The name will stay the same, and that's because there won't be more than one MotM each month, even if we get enough submissions before the month ends. Also, from now on, each MotM will only be open for voting for one week. This is mostly because there's no need to keep it open for an entire month, and it does ruin the pacing of the contest a little bit, as contestants has to wait an entire month just to know if they'll win or not. Also, this is rather important: whenever we get three submissions, the next MotM will be posted after a week has passed since the third submission has been submitted. This is to give other people some time to submit their own maps if they have any, so they don't have to wait however long it'll be until the next MotM. There will be posted a reminder of course.
Anyways, as I said, we have some fantastic maps this time around, so I'll leave you to get acquainted
Gonken
[No Caption]
Hinsburg
DoR is darn diggity dang difficult. But at least it looks nice.
Purplemandown
Operator Tower. If the Void were a computer, this is the keyboard. One large, dangerous, impossible-to-navigate, ruined keyboard.
ZebraStallion
I don't have anything worthwhile to put here.
And with that, MotM 22 has officially begun. Good luck to all contestants, and thank you for your submissions, which got this back up and running! Here's for a fruitful future too!
#2
Posted 05 December 2010 - 01:32 PM
#3
Posted 05 December 2010 - 01:36 PM
Hinsburg wasn't bad, but not specifically good either.
Purplemandown has a nice dungeon over thar, I want to play it.
Zebra Stallion was open in a good way, I give you second place.
#4
Posted 05 December 2010 - 01:47 PM
Hinsburg: It was okay, no complaints, but nothing quite so great about it either. 6/10
Purplemandown: It's fine, just a plain-ol' map. 6/10
ZebraStalion: My second favorite, I like the overall design and colors. 7/10
#5
Posted 05 December 2010 - 01:57 PM
Hinsburg - It's not bad for a DoR Map. It looks pretty much what you would expect from a DoR shot.
Purplemandown - Solid dungeon design, but there are too many bones on the ground. Slim it down a bit.
ZebraStallion - I already made my comment about this in the Screenshot Thread. I loved the mountain design on the upper portion of the map, but I'm not really fond of those trees that look like candle flames.
Edited by Dawnlight, 05 December 2010 - 01:59 PM.
#6
Posted 05 December 2010 - 02:27 PM
Hinsburg: Pretty good. I'd use a few more big trees, but it looks good.
Purplemandown: The walls are too straight. And there are a bit too many trees. But otherwise, it's good.
ZebraStallion: It's amazing. Nothing else for me to add.
#7
Posted 06 December 2010 - 04:52 AM
Edit: Also has the Donkey Kong-vibe to it. Music-vise, I recommand something that sounds similar to Donkey Kong Jungle music
Edited by Sheik91, 06 December 2010 - 04:54 AM.
#8
Posted 06 December 2010 - 11:53 AM
#9
Posted 06 December 2010 - 12:57 PM
Hinsburg: It's ok, but I'm not sure about that orange tree and the cliffs look a bit squarish...
Purplemandown: I. Love. This. Map. It just captures everything I love to see in a dungeon and the detail is astounding.
Zeeb: Nice map, but some parts just looked a bit...incomplete and bland.
#10
Posted 06 December 2010 - 04:57 PM
Score: 6/10
Hinsburg: Nice DoR map simple layout nice and clean its great.
Score: 8/10
Purplemandown: Better dungeon then usual.
Score: 9/10
Zerbastallion: Nice for an unfinished map you have to be nuts to top this map!
Score: 10/10 *VOTED*
#11
Posted 06 December 2010 - 06:45 PM
I love all the others too though!
#12
Posted 06 December 2010 - 08:23 PM
#13
Posted 06 December 2010 - 11:09 PM
Your design is beautiful, and I love the idea of the palette, but it's somewhat harsh on the eyes. Keep the colours, but loosen them up a bit.
When I make palettes I'll use graphics gale, that way I can see the changed in real time. Take a snapshot in ZC, then use that as them template. Here is a tutorial that EZ did if you want. It's really very useful.
#14
Posted 07 December 2010 - 09:18 AM
#15
Posted 08 December 2010 - 07:42 AM
Nice job with the GB-style LTTP mountains!! Seeing something like this really makes it feel worthwhile to have made them. I get the feeling you even mixed them up with regular LTTP mountains, and the fact that I can't tell for sure means that you blended them together really well. This makes me optimistic about using the same tiles on my own tall mountain or cliff area. I may even use this for reference. Your layout gets mad props from me. I also like the tiles you added to do the things the tileset couldn't.
A note about the palette:
This appears to be a sunset palette. I actually like the orangeness and the high saturation of the colors, but there are a couple of small problems.
First, it's a little high contrast. For each individual color, you might want to make the difference between the highest of the three RGB values and the lowest of the values... well... a little less extreme.
(For example:
R-60 G-30 B-0 = higher contrast.
R-45 G-30 B-15 = lower contrast. )
Secondly, since this palette is darker than the regular daytime overworld palette, you might need to make the outline color a little closer to black. It blends in a little too much with the darkest greens.
Lastly, don't hesitate to make the greens just a little less vivid. As night falls, colors gradually become harder and harder to distinguish. Your instinct may be to make the colors really intense at sunset, but don't overdo it.
Whew, I had a lot to say here. But it's actually because you got so much RIGHT. So please don't think I dislike the map.
Hinsburg:
This is a pretty solid, if simple DoR map. Here are my thoughts:
First, there is a common problem: overusage of small trees. DoR is a physically large-scale tileset, so it looks best if you don't rely on those little trees as your only trees. I see you used a few big trees here and there, but try to use more... especially in areas where they are out of reach, since that means you won't have to worry about walk flags.
Secondly, this map is a little weird about its use of square corners and angled corners. Some of the mountains are rounded off, while others are fairly rectangular. As a rule of thumb, it's good to use angled mountains when you can, rather than switching directly between horizontal and vertical. It will look more natural.
Thirdly, you have these big blogs of tree shadows, but where are they coming from? Is there a giant tree floating 100 feet above the forest floor?... I would recommend having the shadows lining the outer edges of the map. That way the player can imagine bigger trees, just off-screen.
Lastly, that orange tree near the bottom is way too bright. I wouldn't use that CSet. Besides, pine trees are evergreens. They only turn brown/orange when they die, and by that time they've usually lost most of their needles.
(Sorry, I live in Oregon, where you can pick up this knowledge pretty easily)
Purplemandown:
Ahh, a dungeon map. It's always hard to gauge these on the same scale as overworld maps, but I'll do my best.
My first instinct is to say that the architecture for this dungeon is very logical and easy to follow. However, it almost makes a little too much sense. The pits are great; they provide boundaries that the player must circumnavigate. The only problem is that the halls are a little too straight; it's easy to see where the player will go; the main difficulty is determining the order.
I like your use of the tiles in the tileset. You've edited some of them to your liking, which is a good thing. My only beef is with the large, multi-tile rock barriers. They are very strangely placed. Are they supposed to be bombable? You may want to use different graphics.
Lastly, the brown palette is a little drab. Is it actually a cave palette? You might want to consider something a little more vivid, even if it's just a brighter brown.
ZebraStallion:
Y'know, this may be simple, but it looks pretty good all around. You haven't made any glaring mistakes. I see that this is PTUX with a few additions ripped in.
I could make a few comments about tiles blending well together. Those fir trees look nice, but they don't have the same level of detail as some of the other greenery.
Ooh, are those orange mushrooms poking out here and there? I like them.
If you are going to use those waterfalls, you might want to darken the blues in this palette. PrinceMSC's waterfall looks good with darker blues.
There is a slight misalign south of the solid wood bridge. However, it seems that the the area to the right of the river is incomplete. That's okay; after all, everybody's MOTM entries are from unfinished quests. But you might want to cut the unfinished area out from the image next time.
Lastly, try to have some stuff going on in these screens! The topography is nice, but this village/forest seems a little empty.
Phew. I hope my commentary was useful. Good job everybody. I voted for Gonken.
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