City Of Riverhewn WIP First map in GIMP

[mearrin69]

Heh. Hadn't noticed this one before. This is the first time I've ever been "sampled".

It's looking pretty cool, jtougas. I reckon my biggest gripe is the trees. They're out of scale and look a little harsh next to the fieldlands - and are now a bit grainy following unblurring. Might try turning an overhead photo of some trees into a seamless texture.
M

[jbgibson]

Are the bastions on a separate layer from the walls? They don't seen to be casting shadows - it's most noticeable on the easternmost and southernmost ones, but all seem to be shadowless.

Dumb question, maybe - does the river flow into or out of the lake? The tributary *could* join like that, with river flow either way, but to me the angle says the main river flows north. They're pretty wide rivers - sandbars at a couple of places could 'trail off' downstream giving a better visual clue to flow direction.

The forest looks a little out of scale to me. I like the look of the trees, but I'd expect individual crowns to be what, 30-50 feet across? These look to be maybe 100-200 ft in diameter? If that matches what you intend, no prob. The size impression wouldn't matter if they were symbolic trees like on a regional map, but you're going for an areal photo vibe here, right?

Is there an active ruler in that castle, or is it a relic? The roads don't say "this is the center of the realm and all these peons exist to support My Magnificent Royal Person". If your nobles just CANNOT stand the smell of fish, maybe they stay away from the lakeside quay, but there's no carriage-width road toward the lake from the castle entry. I really like the look of the city, though.

Good stuff!

[jtougas]

Are the bastions on a separate layer from the walls? They don't seen to be casting shadows - it's most noticeable on the easternmost and southernmost ones, but all seem to be shadowless.

Dumb question, maybe - does the river flow into or out of the lake? The tributary *could* join like that, with river flow either way, but to me the angle says the main river flows north. They're pretty wide rivers - sandbars at a couple of places could 'trail off' downstream giving a better visual clue to flow direction.

The forest looks a little out of scale to me. I like the look of the trees, but I'd expect individual crowns to be what, 30-50 feet across? These look to be maybe 100-200 ft in diameter? If that matches what you intend, no prob. The size impression wouldn't matter if they were symbolic trees like on a regional map, but you're going for an areal photo vibe here, right?

Is there an active ruler in that castle, or is it a relic? The roads don't say "this is the center of the realm and all these peons exist to support My Magnificent Royal Person". If your nobles just CANNOT stand the smell of fish, maybe they stay away from the lakeside quay, but there's no carriage-width road toward the lake from the castle entry. I really like the look of the city, though.

Good stuff!

The city designer hangs slackly from the chains as blood runs from the many scars on his back...."NEVER AGAIN will you fail me in this manner!!" screams the whip wielding sovereign...

In other news: The city of Riverhewn is in a state of total gridlock this afternoon after His Royal Majesty decided to take a coach ride to get a sampling of his favorite pastries. It seems that the coach became lodged between two buildings as a result of overly narrow streets. His Royal Majesty was quoted as mumbling "off with his head.."

Those thrice damn*ed trees. That's it there all coming down. jbgibson your absolutely right. The city streets are on my list of "fix it's" scale is giving me trouble here in the digital world. My hand drawn maps didn't suffer as much form that particular problem but I'm having fun learning. and I greatly appreciate everyone's advice and comments.