Stable

[meek75]

This is a stable I have been working on in the past couple of days. It is a setting I often find a need for in both fantasy and western themed games, and I haven't't found too many options already out there. Suggestions are welcomed. I did versions for both day and night with and without grids. I haven't started work on the upper level yet, but my plan is to make is mostly empty with some bails of hay scattered about. Suggestions for the upper level are also welcome.

[Gamerprinter]

While I could see a lantern included, I probably wouldn't over light the place with a bunch torches... torches/fire and stable/barn equals burning animals... You probably want to minimize the amount of lighting available. I haven't seen many barns/stables with many/any lights of any kind, even modern ones. Other than that, it seems to work. Barns/stables are such easy structures to map, I always make them from scratch whenever I need them.

[Jacktannery]

I think your stable is great meek75 - well done. Only thing I would say is that I'm not clear how a person would enter the small office - it feels like a door is missing. Also it feels like the wooden floor, desk and barrels in the office are a completely different colour to the wooden stalls and troughs, however that might be intentional to draw attention to the office or reflect different lighting?

I particularly like the main ground texture - super choice, and a great neutral colour that works very well with the stable stalls and hay.

[Bogie]

Nice work Meek75! I agree with the others, great ground texture. The wood floor is an awesome textures also, but here, I think it needs to be a little darker and the color should be a little less saturated. Otherwise, well done. I also like that you provided day/night and grid/no grid versions. I personally don't like grids but others rely on them, so nice to have both.

[schattentanz]

If you don't find a solution for something, create a solution yourself!
Cool Approach!

Nice maps, too.
Somehow I'm missing a door to the room in the lower right corner ..

Depending on what era those stables are used for, you can find different kinds of stuff on the upper level, such as a crate with smaller tools or bigger ones standing or lying around, blankets (used by the slaves, to sleep on), a crane looking out the front window (you know, to bring those balls of hay down) ..

Just some ideas



Kind regards,
Kai

[meek75]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I'll work on implementing them and post some updates soon.

[meek75]

Here are some revised versions of the stable. I took your advice and got rid of most of the light sources. I just kept one by the front door. I did day and night version with and without grids. I also did a couple of quick upstairs maps. It's just hay fro now, but I might add more stuff later. For RPG purposes it makes for a nice scenario for sneaking around the hay. There are also holes cut in the floor to drop hat down into the stalls. This can also be used to enter/exit the upstairs by players looking for alternate routes.

Stable(Day light no grid).jpgStable(Day light with grid).jpg

[Jacktannery]

Hate to say this but I preferred the first ones!

comments:
- the grid colour of 'stable_upstairs-day-grid' is very offensive, to my eyes. perhaps use a different colour, or black?
- the light effect on 'stable-day-light-no-grid-.jpg' looks odd because there is too much green in your 'sunlight' overlay layer. Ditto the oval light effect in the office. Your best bet is probably just to use a very pale orange colour with NO green in it for this effect.
- the wooden floor of the office in the first map was MUCH better than the wood plank floor texture you are using above. You should go back to the original floor texture, and just desaturate that layer (I see you use GIMP: go to the layer with the floor texture; menu>COLOURS>BRIGHTNESS/SATURATION opens a dialogue box; reduce saturation by 60% and if necessary make the hue a little greener and less orange). Also do this with the desk - its just too red.

I really like your upstairs layout and haybales.

[Gamerprinter]

Looking at your loft, the wood grain seems to be 90 degrees from the direction the planks go, rotate the texture so it follows the direction of the planks - would look better I think.

[meek75]

Ok, another round of revisions. The grid on the upstairs level has been a pain. No grid looks right because of the wood texture under it. I went back to black and thickened up the lines a bit. I could use a different wood texture, but the one being used now matches the texture of the walls. I did change the direction of the wood grain so it matches the directions of the planks (can't believe I missed that!). I also changed the color of the sunlight. I almost just removed it altogether, but decided to wait and see how you all reacted to this color. Thanks for the feedback! I'm just an amateur, but its fun.
Stable(Day light no grid).jpgStable(Day light with grid).jpg