This has become an excellent map. Like msa I think the bridge is beautiful. I like the docks very much as well. They look very natural, with parts of the river showing in between. The river is indeed very green, but you are going to address that I read.
My only nitpick is that some of the black houses to the north almost give off an metallic shine. I like the houses near the docks a lot more.
Check out my City Designer 3 tutorials. See my fantasy (city) maps in this thread.
Gandwarf has fallen into shadow...
I kinda thought they looked lacquered, which looks very Asian to me. In hindsight, they probably don't lacquer roofs.... not sure I've ever seen any in Japan in any case. So its probably a good point, but it worked for me.Originally Posted by Gandwarf
I put in some more hard work today after the work I get paid for, but I want to save it up with whatever I can do tomorrow so those of you who've been following the map's evolution will get enough change to make it worth looking at again.
Well I don't feel done, but I'm out of time so here it is. It's silly the amount of time I've spent on this thing, but it was worth it. It may not a great map, but it wasn't for lack of pouring myself into it. What is remarkable is just how many others put serious time and effort into their entry this month.
Thanks for all the help and encouragement everyone.
(PS: After MM mentioned the white noise in the trees, I had an unexpected opportunity to take a final look at my map tonight and took a hard look at the issue. Seeing it through his eyes, there were a lot of random white flecks. I went through and eliminated them and then re-uploaded the file after checking to make sure the contest hadn't been closed.)
###LATEST WIP###
Oten-Jo Final.jpg
Last edited by Immolate; 08-27-2009 at 01:08 AM.
I like your layout and details...like the divided road with trees in the middle. The roofs look a lil plasticky but you'll develop that more in time. I dig it so keep on doing towns
If the radiance of a thousand suns was to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One...I am become Death, the Shatterer of worlds.
-J. Robert Oppenheimer (father of the atom bomb) alluding to The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 11, Verse 32)
My Maps ~ My Brushes ~ My Tutorials ~ My Challenge Maps
Very nice. I like the different trees, but it is kind of strange to see them contained to different districts. Maybe a base green tree spread throughout might help sell the individual different trees. Also, some of them have bright white spots that look like noise, rather than leaves, that makes them appear "harder" than some of the other soft trees without the harsh white.
MM: This is one of those times when it helps to spend more time explaining the concept, but time was at a premium for this map. The Oten'jo of my imagination is a city in conflict between the rigid authoritarian government and the indomitable spirit of man that refuses to be cages or controlled. The former is evident in the unbending zoning ordinances that seek to keep each city dweller in his or her place. But you can see the iron fist starting to crumble a bit in the haphazard hodgepodge of the dockside community and the patchwork planting of a variety of trees in the adjoining merchant district where some tedious bureaucrat forgot to dot an "i" in his ponderous rule-making and inadvertantly left a window of opportunity for individual expression.
I took inspiration for this dichotomy from the late Robert Jordan's 'Wheel of Time' city of Carhein with it's contrast of stodgy inner city and raucous "foregate", where any real adventurer would stay in between episodes of killing things and taking their stuff.
As for the specks... it is spring and the trees are in bloom! The effect was a feature rather than a bug, but subtlety isn't my forte. I hope you enjoy the map in spite of its shortcomings.
I like the map a lot. I will admit that understanding it without a little explaining is challenging for me, but I don't think it has any shortcomings. That you have a reason for every detail in the map is great, and I think we could all benefit from hearing each other's train of thought during a process as complicated as this challenge. If we don't experiment or push our boundaries of comfort I think we would get much less from the experience. I applaud you for sticking to your guns.
Fabulous work! Make those purple trees pink and you'll get cherry blossom! I love the detail in this. Now you've nailed the style keep with it, it's glorious. As MM said, well done for the sheer hours and effort you've put into this. I find any city map to be a learning process and the great thing about doing them is that you carry all the lessons you learned to your next city map.
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