Ethran: Merelan Observatory

[Mouse]

Merelan is the capital of Blucene, and the largest city that has ever been built on Ethran. The city is built on an island that rises a thousand feet out of the sea, and which is joined to the mainland by a stretch of marsh known simply as "the Flats" The observatory itself stands between the cliff and the Temple of Rusaar, and is the only observatory in Ethran. Its significance in the story is as the home of one of the main protagonists, Eonat, who's grandfather Domar is the "Astronomer to the Court of Sayers".

This is how I got started on the ground floor of the observatory - a series of screen shots and renders done during the development of the plan, some of which have only ever been seen by Mark Oliva before, since most of these symbols and fills are from the soon to be released CSUAC and Bogie collections.

My thanks to all my Profantasy friends, particularly Mark Oliva, Ladiestorm, and Lorelei in the continuing development of this plan, which started as a humble kitchen without walls, and ended up becoming an entire building with all the fixtures and fittings, down to the drapes.

Progression:

This is the first tentative steps of a mapper who has never done a floor plan in her life!

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Mark helped me discover that I could do walls, even though I didn't have Dungeon Designer

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Then everything started to get a bit more serious, and the intention to finish the project that started as a test became real.

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It was about then that I discovered I had a scale problem - the building being relatively tiny in comparison to the size of the map as a whole. Here it is shown with a few sketch lines suggesting the final composition.

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Unfortunately there is something of a break in the proceedings here, since I don't seem to have very much in the way of pictures to show you between then and now, but the current version is shown in the following post (it being too big to upload here).

[Mouse]

This is the current version of the Ground Floor. Comments and suggestions on improvements welcome

[Mouse]

This is the current First Floor (level 1), which was initially created by making a copy of the ground floor. I decided it was an awful waste of map space having so much general scenery in the picture, because you've already seen it all before at the ground floor level, so I trimmed the size but left the scale alone, to make the observatory the focus. With hindsight, I realise I should have made the bigger map the top level. I think that's the custom, but the way it is just makes more sense to the story, since most of the action happens in the kitchen - the very first thing I drew.

[Mouse]

The second floor (level 2) is far less finished, consisting of just the bare structure. There is a cartographer's studio in one of the rooms, used by the astronomer Domar, where he has laid out the precious pages of the Book of Errispa, drawn by himself and his father after many years of observing the other world through the telescope. One room is a junk room with a ladder to a trap door in the roof - access to the observatory. The other two rooms are full of inventions (or they will be). Eonat's mother was an inventor, and her work gathers dust in this area. This map was easily produced by copying the bare bones of the level below. I didn't have to do any trimming this time. The problem I have with finishing it any time soon, is that I need some time to generate all the book specific things that go on this level.

[Mouse]

This is the third floor (level 3). Again, its a direct copy of the level below it, and you might think this is an easy one to finish, but I have to draw the (hopefully) magnificent telescope that goes in the dome. The roof is flat, unusually for a house of this type, for it is dangerous to have a flat roof where there are flying predators about, but this is what Domar's father, the first Astronomer to the Sayer Court, did to the building to clear the view for his telescope.

[lorelei]

This is the current version of the Ground Floor. Comments and suggestions on improvements welcome

I just LOVE this map so much!!! The depth you show on the bottom cliffs is amazing!!! Great job

[Mouse]

Hey Lorelei *) When I get around to drawing the telescope the concept of its general appearance will be largely down to the interest you have already shown in this project. You gave me the dome and the curtains, but most importantly you gave me a couple of excellent 'mad astronomer' type graphics to inspire the telescope (yet to be done, but I can feel it coming on now).

Thank you most kindly for all of this *)

Feel free to use the cliff technique. All I did was add a bit of blurring with a series of sheets of Solid 10 (about 4 I think), in combination with Shessar's famous Cliff and Stream tutorial. If our machines were set up in any way that was at all similar (which we already know they are not) I would email the file across to you so you could see exactly how I did it. Unfortunately all you would get is a whole load of red X marks right now.

Maybe once the new Vintyri Collection is released in a few days time it will be easier, because all us Beta testers will finally have the same setup. LOL!

(In case you're wondering, I now have the main three - CC3+, DD3 and CD3 - juuuust... not quite in the same state as anyone else's right now!!!)

[lorelei]

Well then...I expect you to name the telescope Lorelei. lol.

[Mouse]

I hadn't thought of naming it anything, but now you mention it... but of course - Domar's 'baby' would have a woman's name, wouldn't she

Yes - deal! The telescope is now called Lorelei

[Bogie]

Fantastic maps Mouse, Great use of the textures and objects. As I look around the map I keep remembering where many of the objects came from. The large light colored rocks are on the top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia Park near Bar Harbor, Maine. The Deacons Bench in the Ground Floor Dining room is in my sister-in-law's house. Several of the books in that room are in my son's room.

If you need a telescope I have a couple that may be large enough, or may give you ideas. Neither are made by me but are both posted on the DundJinni Forums.
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