Starting out, my first city (City Designer 3)

[Mixpengo]

Hello everyone,

I am lurking this community for a few weeks now and inspired by Gandwarf's work I bought CC3 with CD3 extension. I am a software developer and not an artist, but this piece of software I bought is sure doing miracles, allowing me to get a decent result without a lot of effort.

I am trying to map a few of the cities for a web-based game I am working for. The current map shown below should represent the first city, where the players start. I envisioned first a city and quite some suburbs around it, but I am afraid that the final result will be a bit far of that. Nevertheless, the experience gained during this process is valuable and I would like to add to that the experience of the members of this forum willing to express their opinions about my city, how to proceed further, what is missing, what is wrong and so on.

Thanks a lot!

[Gandwarf]

I am lurking this community for a few weeks now and inspired by Gandwarf's work I bought CC3 with CD3 extension.

Muhahaha, another spider in my web.

The current map shown below should represent the first city, where the player start.

Looking good so far. The layout of the city feels natural to me. Some other highlights: the castle, the little sandbanks in the river and the bridge (is that a symbol?).

Most of the houses look like they were made of wood, is that the effect you were going for?

Oh, watch out you don't make houses too pointy, like you did in the southeastern part of the city. That looks a bit unnatural as it wouldn't really be that practical.

[Nomadic]

Very good map, other than what Gandwarf said it looks like a great start.

Muhahaha, another spider in my web.

You are about to get another here soon once I finish the current map commission I am working on. I think I am going to bite the bullet myself and get it.

[Gandwarf]

You are about to get another here soon once I finish the current map commission I am working on. I think I am going to bite the bullet myself and get it.

Good, good, I am collecting sou... eh friends. Yes, I am collecting friends.

[Ascension]

Looks like a nice little town next to a keep. Put some huts on the outside of the walls (these are the peasants) and some fields for them to farm then call it done. Don't over complicate a town unless it is meant to be a city, then make the roads inside the walls into paved streets and give the houses inside the walls some color while saving the brown for outside the walls. Nice job so far.

[Mixpengo]

Thank you all for your kind words and advices!

..and the bridge (is that a symbol?).

No, it is drawn using line and added some effects, like in your tutorials.

Most of the houses look like they were made of wood, is that the effect you were going for?

Yes, having the houses made of wood for the part of the city closer to the forests works fine, I guess. I am wondering now though where did the stone come for the walls, as the walls are covering quite some distance. Maybe this resource is not that easy to find and is more expensive, which can justify why it is used only for the walls / towers. Or should I try to keep using stone/rock to a minimum and use wood for the walls too?

Oh, watch out you don't make houses too pointy, like you did in the southeastern part of the city. That looks a bit unnatural as it wouldn't really be that practical.

You are right, I see now that a lot of intersections have very pointy houses, I will change that.

Put some huts on the outside of the walls (these are the peasants) and some fields for them to farm then call it done.

You mean outside of the town, right? I should probably use for this the north +/ west area.

Don't over complicate a town unless it is meant to be a city, then make the roads inside the walls into paved streets and give the houses inside the walls some color while saving the brown for outside the walls.

I have no idea what should be between the walls of the castle and the walls of the city in the north. I'm thinking maybe some small barracks and other buildings intended for serving the castle owners - I don't see people living in that part of the city.

Also, do I need a gate in the north?

[Gandwarf]

Or should I try to keep using stone/rock to a minimum and use wood for the walls too?

It depends on the threat to the town and the wealth. If the town is under considerable threat and there is enough wealth, stone could be imported. There is a river, so the stone could be transported over water (the Egyptians used boats to transport stone to their building sites as well).

Also, do I need a gate in the north?

You have no road leading to the north, so I would say no. A gate would be an extra weak spot in the defence, so if it wasn't needed, it wouldn't be added.

If there are other towns and holdings to the north and this town trades with it, traffic would flow north and a gate might spring into existance.

[Mixpengo]

You have no road leading to the north, so I would say no. A gate would be an extra weak spot in the defence, so if it wasn't needed, it wouldn't be added.

Well, no road exists yet mainly because it is a work in progress and I started from the bottom. However, weak spot in the defense is something to consider.

Oh, one last thing. Looking at your map again I would expect the castle to be built near the bridge. It would want to control the traffic I think. But it's your town of course, so maybe there's a good reason for it to be where it is now.

Well, I just thought the first line of defense and control for the bridge would be the walls and towers near the river. I was planning to add some smaller buildings there too, to help with that task.

I wanted the castle in a retreat place, in a more luxurious area, away from the markets and traffic from the bridge. I have no idea if that is how a small town would work.

[Gandwarf]

Well, I just thought the first line of defense and control for the bridge would be the walls and towers near the river. I was planning to add some smaller buildings there too, to help with that task.

I wanted the castle in a retreat place, in a more luxurious area, away from the markets and traffic from the bridge. I have no idea if that is how a small town would work.

As I said, it's your town, so the layout should be as you want.

Towns do not suddenly spring into existance however. I could imagine the castle was there first, near the bridge (or maybe there wasn't even a bridge back then and there was just a ferry or a place to cross where the water was shallow). Then a town grew around it and the castle expanded a bit. By then the castle would not be moved again, so it would remain near the river.

Or maybe your castle is built on top of a small hill, so it overlooks the river and surrounding lands. That would explain why it is located where it is now.

Again, it's your town... I am just brainstorming a bit

[Mixpengo]

Below, something related to the scale of the map. Anyone's help, CD3 user or not, is greatly appreciated.

I have a problem with the sizes, I guess I am too strict when it comes to using this software. I started with a 700 x 500 meters document, which basically means that 10px = 10 meters. I thought starting with the size of the river as 25 meters wide and the size of a regular house as 10x7 meters (I was thinking like 5 people / house holding).

In the light of these, the castle's court width would be 165 meters, and the size of the actual castle (more like a villa now) would be 62x42 meters (I am talking about the maximum size of the building footprint).

Measuring now the distance from the west gate to the river would get me to 216 meters. If I would have around the same distance of the main road covered on the other side of the river, that would get me to a town that is 500 meters long. The distance from the south wall to the north wall is 360 meters (equivalent of pixels).

Thinking back now, wouldn't this town be way too small? Can someone give me some reference sizes based on which I could work until I get a sense of scale?