WIP - Udhillayah - City on the edge of the desert

[woekan]

idhilayah2.jpg

Hello,
It's been a while (like 4 years) but I have recently started up my cartography again,
since I am the dungeon master for a new D&D campaign.

I am looking for tips and critiques on this map.
The City of Udhilayah, a city on the edge of the desert with about 5000 inhabitants.

My main concerns with the design are the folowing:
- It seems to empty. What is it missiing? More trees? Textures? Objects?
- The river does not seem to merge in with the background that well. Any tips on that?

Thanks,
Jan

*updated version*

Udhilayah2.jpg

[Ascension]

I think if you add some rust and some brown that it will liven things up and maybe some green along the riverfront. Take a look at google earth or flash earth and you will see a lot of colors beside just sand.

[Cirias]

One of the main things for me is that your buildings are very flat, so you could run a bevel effect on those, as well as overlaying a tile texture, to get a pitched/3D look. I think the desert is a tough setting for a city map and I imagine it is tricky balancing the barrenness against the areas of vegetation and other features.

Nice work so far

[Jalyha]

I guess this is as good a place as any to post my first post in ages...

I think what's wrong with your map (and especially the river/blending) it's that it's not nearly green enough - even for a desert.

The reason deserts are sandy and brown instead of green like most of the rest of the world, is because there's no water. You *have* water. You have a huge river (comparative to city size, for a desert river, lol... I mean it's not the Nile, but...)

Water makes things grow.

Grass. Trees. Other vegetation. Crops. A (very general) rule of thumb is that a river can feed vegetation for about 5 times its width on either side. That would make *most* of your map green.

A river city in a desert isn't going to be as round as other cities, either. People are going to move *along* the water before they move away from it.

mapppy.png

Obviously some structures will follow the roads, but most should follow the water.

Also, the trees/vegetation will be less dense in populated areas, and as you move away from the water.

Like the other answer said, it's best to look at lots of maps of different desert rivers on Google maps or something to get a feel for the layout

[Wingshaw]

Hello woekan.

Five points:

First, I think you may be right about the vegetation alongside the river. Don't forget, though, that, in Egypt, irrigation was used to expand the fertile parts of the adjacent land.

Second, the relocation of the city towards the river edge is not, in this case, necessarily guaranteed. The reason being that you wouldn't use up your farmland in that way (although humans often have a tendency to settle in places/patterns that are not in their long-term interests.

Third, I actually think your desert looks good (notwithstanding the extra vegetation Jalyha mentions). If you think it looks too empty/uninteresting, that's good; that's how a desert should look (although there are all kinds of deserts, and the vast empty expanse is only one kind).

Fourth, because I didn't say so earlier, nice job so far. Your streets have a fairly realistic layout, and I really like the texture you've got for the desert. The river is a bit problematic, but perhaps adding more greenery will solve that. Also, my two suggestions for this city are:
--more density: I think you should really fill up the urban space with more buildings, especially within the confines of the wall on the other side of the river. That would make it a more realistic city. There's a few other good reasons for increasing the density: more buildings, higher, and built right against the street, would provide shade and relative coolness in the desert heat. Similarly, in Arabic/Egyptian cities, extended families would often live in different houses on the same block. If this city is reminiscent of those cultures (and, I would argue, even if it is not), the physical structure of the city should reflect the social structure.
--go over the street layout, and tidy up a few of the roads. There's one place near the bottom of the city where three medium-sized roads almost converge, but don't actually touch. That is an unlikely event, and offers a good place to put a plaza (or, at the very least, a crossroads). I'm quite sure there are other places in the map where the streets could be tweaked a bit.

Fifth, welcome back Jalyha.

THW

[woekan]

Thanks for the tips! Especially Jalyha.

Here is the version i ended up using in my D&D campaign. For the next map i'll make i will be sure to implement the tips about the vegetation next to the river.
Udhilayah2.jpg

[Jalyha]

I hadn't thought that farmland would be placed alongside the river simply because one flood could wash away an entire year's crop and your village/city would starve. Then again, that would mean the city would need to be aware of more/better irrigation techniques. Hmm.

I understand it's a moot point now, since the map has already been used for its intended purpose, but I think a river/desert city would need to follow the river, primarily, with the farms much closer to the city proper than they would be elsewhere? :s


Idk, I'm a bit rusty lol

[Wingshaw]

I have to disagree with you there, Jalyha. Farming alongside desert rivers is very important and productive. The Egyptian civilisation being the best case study. The floods you mention could be devastating, but their entire culture pretty mich existed around those floods. The reason: the flood waters brought valuable nutrients that were deposited on the floodplain, helping the farmers for the next year.

And sorry woekan for the possible thread-jacking.

THW