21 replies to this topic

[Matthew]

Hello everyone! I'm having trouble with my quest making. You see, I'm not a very efficient screen designer. If you've played my quest, you'll see that I only managed to fit 4 main dungeons in a whole overworld, which was already getting full everywhere else.

 

My question is, how many maps should I use in my overworld? Are 1 map or 2 map overworlds better? I know how many maps one uses depends on the kind of quest they are aiming for, but what should I do for a standard 9 dungeon quest?

 

If I only use one map for the overworld, how do I design screens more efficiently to avoid running out of space?

 

Input is appreciated.

[TheLegend_njf]

Most average size quests should have half a map or a full map.

The moment you have 2 maps or more, it needs to be labelled a large quest, because quests that size can only cater to so many. Isle of Rebirth was a large quest for this reason, and I doubt I can play anymore quests that large again.

Seperate overworld's are the exception because it's practically the same map.

The Souls series is notorious for "too many maps".

[Tree]

It really depends on what kind of quest you're making. If you're making a simple, Classic-style quest, then a world with all major landmarks crammed into one map will do just fine, but if you want to make a Zelda game that's more like the more recent titles, one map just isn't going to cut it. One or one half of a map could be used for the central overworld while different regions of the world, such as Death Mountain, Lake Hylia, Lost Woods, etc have their own map.

 

Honestly, I can't work with the amount of space a single map has. I have so many ideas for various regions in my game, that it wouldn't be possible to cram it all in a single map.

[Eddy]

I'd say 1 map for a standard 9-dungeon quest since you can manage to fit in quite a bit, but honestly 2 maps can work just as well. I guess it just depends on experimenting with 1 or 2 maps and see what works for you.

 

 

The moment you have 2 maps or more, it needs to be labelled a large quest, because quests that size can only cater to so many. Isle of Rebirth was a large quest for this reason, and I doubt I can play anymore quests that large again.

I find this interesting because most of my recent quests have 2 maps and they're still pretty short compared to IoR and other large quests

[Jared]

I voted other. With how I make my quests, I usually do a bunch of separate, smaller sized maps. Usually not even the size of a BS map. (8x8). A good way to get an idea of how to do this is to play the 3D Zelda games.

[EJSnowden]

To give you reference, Link's Awakening's overworld had 16x16 screens, Oracle of Seasons was 16x16 plus Surborosia, 8x11, and Oracle of Ages was 14x14x2 (past and present).

[Kivitoe]

Honestly, I think it's up to you. There is no real limit. Some quests use half or bellow, some use the whole map, and some even use multiple maps. I think it just depends on personal preference, quest type, and the amount of dungeons/landmarks.

 

My current quest project uses 2 maps. One for the basic overworld, and one for "The Nexus" dimension overworld. 

Edited by Kivitoe, 30 March 2016 - 01:11 PM.

[Yloh]

It depends on the nature of the quest. I've seen every overworld size work. The only real rule you should follow is to make sure a majority of your screens have a real purpose. What kind of purpose are you talking about? This kind of purpose: a screen with a secret, a screen with a  maze path, a screen with a shop, a screen with a hint, a screen with a dungeon entrance, a screen with some obstacles, a screen that leads to multiple paths, a screen that requires an item to progress, a screen that adds to the scenery, a screen that leads to a cave path that leads to another screen, a screen that activates a shortcut, a screen with NPCs to talk to, a screen with an item in it, etc ... It is ok to have some filler screens, but don't let those kind of screens be the majority of screens in your overworld. If your overworld is large, but only 10% of those screens have significant purpose, then your overworld will be better off small. 

[Mani Kanina]

As big as it needs to be to hold all the content of your quest. If you make the overworld much larger than it needs to be then it has excessive padding, while if it's smaller than it needs to be then it will come across as rather awkward and half-assed.

[Rocksfan13]

I think all but 2 of my quests had several overworld maps.

 

Granted they were relatively small and didn't use every screen, but it was the best way to break up and label all of the areas in the quest.

Honestly, if you want something like I did with many different areas, you should have a few. Personally, I probably will never use just 1 or 2 overworld maps in my future quests.

 

It really is up to you how many is best. Everyone has their likes, dislikes and styles.

[Sheik]

In Link's Awakening, Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages there is one 16x16 overworld. So that would make 2 Z1 overworlds for 8 main dungeons.

[Twilight Knight]

My current project has a lot of overworld maps (about 10) and I'd advice against it, since it's just so hard to make everything interesting. Most of my time is wasted trying to come up with another unique screen which doesn't feel repetitive. I'd say ZC is the wrong platform for making big overworlds and is very suitable for 1 or 2 maps like most people suggested.

[Naru]

Looking at your Farm-map I think you really could have use for a system like in Advenure of Link. I mean the map is great, interesting and the screens do feel neither empty nor plain but on the map is also not much going on (a few people  and houses) and a whole overworld like that might be a bit too much and tedious regarding walking (I think you posted a similiar map before). If you instead would choose another tileset (rather import the tiles) like classic for the overworld and create a overworld map like in Advenure of Link that connects your actual maps this could counter your problem very well.

[Matthew]

Looking at your Farm-map I think you really could have use for a system like in Advenure of Link. I mean the map is great, interesting and the screens do feel neither empty nor plain but on the map is also not much going on (a few people  and houses) and a whole overworld like that might be a bit too much and tedious regarding walking (I think you posted a similiar map before). If you instead would choose another tileset (rather import the tiles) like classic for the overworld and create a overworld map like in Advenure of Link that connects your actual maps this could counter your problem very well.

 

Well, what I'm doing for that map is setting up a hub (hyrule field) with branching sections. It's basically 2d Ocarina of Time. I think I like that method of world design, since I don't have to worry about space constraints.

[Shane]

I think the minimum size for an average overworld would be 8x8. I wouldn't say there is a maximum, but I would advise stopping at two Z1 sized overworlds. That's a lot of screens, and while most 2D Zeldas are 16x16, their screen sizes are far more smaller than Z1's/ZC's. So unless you're positive you can space everything out in two giant maps, I would go for a standard Z1 map.