test content
Logo
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc
MAKING BETTER ENVIRONMENTS - A how to post
apocrs1980
Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Silverstars Posts: 0 Arc User
FORUM POST
Hey everyone, Apoc here,
I wanted to take some time out to write up a detailed post with some hints tips tricks and suggestions when creating your world in the foundry. I had a few people ask for a write up of the process I go about when crafting the environment and figured I would do up a post to see if I can help anyone else in this area, and at the least maybe spark some new ideas.
So here goes.
MAP SELECTION AND BUDGETS:
As everyone knows we are limited to how many objects per map we can place, because of this it can directly impact your environment for better or for worse depending on how you choose to utilize them.
INDOOR MAPS:
indoor maps have their drawbacks and their advantages here are a few:
Pros:
Dynamic lighting has much more impact, you can set to where there is no light and choose only to light with dynamic lighting. This gives a very dramatic look to the map
Sounds can be placed per room and also have a filter applied to them such as an echo or hall reverb.
Easier to manipulate assets in 3D edit, since all Y values are the same for every indoor room.
Maps have “kill volumes” (A volume of space located at the bottom of the map which instantly kills anything that touches it.) this is great for jumping puzzles and environmental hazzards.
Cons:
Limited building space.
Not as many backdrop options.
no default out door area assets to snap to your rooms. (Any outdoor environments have to be faked and built from scratch.)
Hey everyone, Apoc here,
I wanted to take some time out to write up a detailed post with some hints tips tricks and suggestions when creating your world in the foundry. I had a few people ask for a write up of the process I go about when crafting the environment and figured I would do up a post to see if I can help anyone else in this area, and at the least maybe spark some new ideas.
So here goes.
MAP SELECTION AND BUDGETS:
As everyone knows we are limited to how many objects per map we can place, because of this it can directly impact your environment for better or for worse depending on how you choose to utilize them.
INDOOR MAPS:
indoor maps have their drawbacks and their advantages here are a few:
Pros:
Dynamic lighting has much more impact, you can set to where there is no light and choose only to light with dynamic lighting. This gives a very dramatic look to the map
Sounds can be placed per room and also have a filter applied to them such as an echo or hall reverb.
Easier to manipulate assets in 3D edit, since all Y values are the same for every indoor room.
Maps have “kill volumes” (A volume of space located at the bottom of the map which instantly kills anything that touches it.) this is great for jumping puzzles and environmental hazzards.
Cons:
Limited building space.
Not as many backdrop options.
no default out door area assets to snap to your rooms. (Any outdoor environments have to be faked and built from scratch.)
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Post edited by apocrs1980 on
0
Comments
Pros:
They have the most space to build custom environments
They have a large selection of additional backdrops to choose from.
Has the option of using “cluster” assets.
Cons:
Can not place multiple sounds in the back drop as you could individual rooms,
Dynamic lighting is diffused by the backdrop lighting.
Y values can be very tricky to get correct on terrain that is deformed or has varying heights, as they Y values change if left set to “terrain.”
With this in mind there are a few thing new authors should be aware of, due to the large scale of out door maps in relation to your budget on assets, it's too easy to make the mistake of trying to make a large exploration map and running out of assets to place.
This leaves areas of the entire map feeling empty and unfinished.
It's okay to tackle something like this but only if you have a very clear understanding of the asset library, their budget costs, and how to best utilize effective placement and budget management.
My suggestion would be to plan a path on any out door maps you use, walk a path on the empty map, where do you want your players to go? Walk the path several times, if it does not feel right and you can not envision what you want then move on to a different map. And repeat the process. I call this process “prospecting.”
Once a path is established make a smaller “playable area” on that map, and then pull out every asset you want to use in a non playable area and use it as your “palette” from here I will go in to 3D edit mode and copy the assets I want to place and paste them in the locations I want them.
Prefab maps are okay, but remember they will be redundant, decorate and light the heck out of them to transform it in to something of your own. Nothing is worse than seeing the same indoor map 300 times in every quest, do something to make yours stand out.
Once finished, WALL OFF YOUR AREAS! Invisible walls are great when used properly! They can keep the player in the playable area so that areas of your map which you do not want them to see can not be accessed. Invisible walls also serve another purpose, they can dramatically increase the FPS by optimizing the map, using them to wall off areas that you want the player to see that are asset and FX heavy can improve the performance of the players experience (especially those with lower end PC's.)
The other thing invisible walls do it help with path nodes for patrolling NPC's and Encounters.
If the terrain is cluttered and uneven this can cause the nodes to render unevenly when the world bakes after publishing, this can cause them to path incorrectly or clip into walls or objects, placing an invisible floor just under neath can help provide a solid flat surface or the nodes to generate on. Placing an invisible wall for a ceiling can also help keep mobs and players in the playable area, this is especially important when players use knock back and pop up abilities.
Ravenloft
Look for@Apocrs1980 or visit the main page here or Ravenloft here
Is there a way to remove all lightning in an interior room that is placed there by default? I.E. The annoying torches and sconces that are automatically placed and can't be removed. I can cover them with details but the light remains unless I override it with another light.
Fun 15-20 Minute Heavy Combat Quest with a difficulty slider. Hand crafted environments and encounters.
Code: NW-DSVCX8LD4
Thread URL: http://nw-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?257391-Protect-the-Caravan
Details are KEY! My rule of thumb if something does not look right, or does not make sense, DON'T USE IT! The environment your players go through should tell just as much of the story as your narrative does. Even if your quest is to go in with no story what so ever and only kill creatures, your environment should still tell us the story.
What do I mean by this exactly? Take in to consideration what encounters you have in this area and think of it in terms of this:
What happened before they were here?
What happened in this area while they were here?
Is this area evil, good, or neutral in nature?
Ask yourself this with every area you create! For example,
I have a cave system with Trolls in it. Why are the trolls here? Did they recently occupy the cave? Or have they been there for a while? What have they brought with them/established structure wise? Where do they eat? Sleep? Hang out? These questions will help you when designing your cave system and putting in your assets.
You map can tell time – Remember when creating a feature that has been there for a long time consider what happens in the real world, Plants will over grow, structures will crumble. Not everything is perfect (aligned straight up and down.)
If something was recently built it should be clean, straight, well maintained, if something is abandoned assets should be cooked (with exceptions for foundations) over grown and crumbling. This makes it far more interesting to look at.
Never leave an area of a map empty including the ground! Only if it's done on purpose for the story, it never looks good and is a hallmark of armature map making. Use assets to decorate your floor, such as dirt, rubble, rock, grass, there is a large library of assets for ground cover, use them to your advantage, most players spend 90% of their time playing looking at the ground.
A wall is not always a wall and a pot is not always a pot, due to the limited number of assets in our library be creative, you can use floors for walls and ceilings granted they look good, That scaffolding may make for a nice shelf, those hanging herbs may make for a nice plant if turned upside down and placed in a pot. Play with your assets and see what you can use them for, cleaver use of them can always over come obstacles.
Rule of three, Choose three types of building assets example would be (stone,wood, and stucco) and stick to the theme when you use more than this the envirnment starts to look over done, and it's hard on the player's eyes, not to mention it looks unprofessional. Nothing is worse walking in and being assaulted by a lot of objects that range from golden to blue, purple, red, green, bricks, wood, ruins, well...you get the idea. If the assets do vary from the theme it should be fore good reason and part of the story.
COLORS:
Use dynamic lighting whenever and where ever appropriate, if you have a light source it should cast light! Keep in mind that assets can only be dynamically light by once light source and typically it's the source closest to it, Dynamic lighting can be very tricky, too close to an object can leave it over exposed and glaring, while too far away can barely be noticed at all, play with the placement until you get the desired effect/shadows from it.
If you have interesting architecture especially in the back ground light it up! Do not lat it hide in the dark, dynamic lighting can have a huge visual and dramatic impact on your environment when used correctly.
Colors play a HUGE role in the story,
Evil places are low lit, dark, and contain colors of red, purple, black, and green and use cool hues.
Places of good nature typically are brightly lit, they have whites, yellows, blues, and warm hues.
Leaving a map unlit is never a good idea, unless done on purpose.
OBJECT PLACEMENT:
Use 3D edit mode it is your friend! If it's hard to see where an object is being placed raise it up and yse the X+Y slider on the manipulation box there will be a green vertical line that you can use to line up the object exactly where you want it, and when you use the Y slider your have a horizontal yellow line that will show you the bottom of the object, as soon as that yellow line disappears, your base is touching.
If all else fails I use a 5x5x5 invisible wall (small square box) because it shows up bright red on the 2D editor and is easy to find. Place one and change it's editor view to highest priority, then go into 3D edit, copy it and past it where you want your object, NPC, Encounter, or patrol point. Use the X,Y, and Z values of that pasted box to get an exact fit for your object and then delete after use.
And finally,
Rule of thumb, IF IT LOOKS BAD DELETE IT! Never say to your self, “Eh, good enough.” If your feeling uninspired take a break from it and only come back when your creative juices are flowing and your truly excited about what your building. When you get that feeling of “Oh man I can't wait for everyone to see this!” it's a good time to build.
Ravenloft
Look for@Apocrs1980 or visit the main page here or Ravenloft here
Yes in your edit backdrop button there is a lighting slider to where you can change the lighting type, you can select "no lighting" for this.
Ravenloft
Look for@Apocrs1980 or visit the main page here or Ravenloft here
hmm Can't seem to find that.
When i click edit backdrop it just gives me Backdrop override which affects the lighting like a fog but not the light sources.
The only other thing in there is Sky Override which doesn't affect the default light sources either. (For example black and white just makes everything black and white, good for dream sequence or something)
This is what it shows when I click Edit Backdrop
*Edit*
Oh just found what you were referring to. You have to goto the properties of the Room you place and change it to be "no Lights" under the room property. It's not under the backdrop tab.
Fun 15-20 Minute Heavy Combat Quest with a difficulty slider. Hand crafted environments and encounters.
Code: NW-DSVCX8LD4
Thread URL: http://nw-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?257391-Protect-the-Caravan
I finished part one of "The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh U1" if you want to try it.
NW-DB9Q7NCWR
Part 1 - NW-DB9Q7NCWR
Part 2 - NW-DHKJD78SM
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Ravenloft
Look for@Apocrs1980 or visit the main page here or Ravenloft here
Shadows are as important as light. If you have a night scene. Don't fill the map with torches. Here and there is fine. Think of it this way. If you were the inn keeper, and you only had one torch, where would you put it...your the inn keeper. If it is night, it is suppose to be dark. Don't light up your villages like Las Vegas. People in the middle ages (I know this isn't the middle ages, but the concept is the same) went to bed when it got dark. There would not be a whole lot of lights out. Just enough to see the side of a building across the street. That is it. Player will still see the little sparkly trail to follow, don't mess up your village by putting too many torches out.
Layer rocks to create interesting topography along trails, streams, wood lines. Come up with a ratio of plant life that makes sense to you. I put three bushes for every one tree, tall grass patches in sun lit areas, sporadic grass in shadowed areas. Where there is water there is mossy rocks.
Butterflies like the sun, bats like the shadows. Enemies look more dramatic when you first see them as a silhouette. Animals running across the screen here and there adds to the realism. Don't just put them on a looping path, time it so that it runs across the path when you know the player is going to be there.
When placing NPCs, pay special attention in the direction they are facing. Pick the angle to where the back ground looks the best, then improve the look of that area. Think of your NPC interactions as your money shots for your environment. You know the player is going to be starring right at that part of your map for a few seconds longer than any other part of your map. Make it look as good as you can.
Randomness is good if it is intentional, To design your environment, you must think of how things are used. Does something being in a particular spot make sense? For example: Clothes lines hanging in the shade makes no sense. Stop thinking of your environments as just a video game. Think of them as real places, and design them as if they are real places. Consider your design based on real things. The more effort you put into thinking that way, the better your map will look.
In wide open play areas, think of the path your players are going to take to reach each objective. These are the areas you want to concentrate your detailing on first. Don't waste all your time detailing a part of the map where you have no objectives, Give that area minimal detail. Focus your detail where the players are going to be.
Sometimes stuff is knocked over. This is that intentional randomness I was talking about. Mess up some stuff to make it look not so perfect. The real world is not perfect. If your tavern has everything in it's right place, with nothing out of place or knocked over, than it will look like a doll house. Kick over a chair, put a spilled tankard on the table. There needs to be a trash barrel behind the bar with flies and garbage on the floor. Mess stuff up for realism sake.
Clusters require pruning. When I put in a cluster, the first thing I do is go in and take away stuff that is obviously out of place. Then instead of moving things around, I look for areas where more stuff should be. Then I shift things around to make it perfect. If you just drop a giant cluster of stuff on a map and leave it like that, you just made <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font>.
Okay I have said enough.
NW-DMIME87F5
Awaiting a serious response from the developers on the abuse of the review system by other authors.
Video Preview
A Nobleman's Request - NW-DIYMYKKVY (Avg. 33 mins)
D&D Home Page - What Class Are You? - Build A Character - D&D Compendium
Quest Title: Don't "Count" on it - Ch. 1
Short Code: NW-DQ3H4MXKG
Duration: 15-20 minutes
DAILY FOUNDRY ELIGIBLE? Yes!
Author : @labmouse43
Short Code : NW-DJHHV5CGY
Name : The Frosty Protologist
Duration : 15 minutes
The other issue is all this time spent to create these maps will often being lead nowhere. Unless your quest is a remake of a well-known DnD module, you are part of a big guild that simply upvotes your work, or well-known from closed beta, any new entrees to the foundry quest are thrown out into the void without any taking a look at it.
It's unfortunate but the game has potential, and this post shows what is needed for good map design (especially the part about the rooms). It's just too bad there isn't a huge audience for creative works unless you're already established.
Creator of The Thamus Blade campaign
Chapter 1 - Rescuing Answers: NW-DC64NKE5B
Chapter 2 - Following the Horde: NW-DHVMWBW9D
Chapter 3 - Memories: NW-DJHWOYMOY
Creator of The Golden Beard - NW-DCPDAN254
And good point about the environment telling part of the story. Blood stains leading the way through the dungeon. A barrier made from crates (which are also around before the barrier room) to separate the bandit part of the map from the undead part, etc.
In the writing world, they say "Show, don't tell." The same is true here. Use environments and NPC animations to show what's going on and then you can avoid the walls of text required when you tell it. Making quests is more like making a movie than a book.
Everything else in this thread is great, but I do want to throw out a "dissenting opinion" here. Not just on this specific point but to several similar points that have been brought up.
My dissenting opinion: use darkness SPARINGLY!
If you turn off default lighting or are going with a nighttime outside, PLEASE make sure you have a properly calibrated monitor (2.2 gamma with an SRGB color profile) with properly calibrated in-game brightness (having used the in-game brightness calibrator). Then, play your quest in regular, indoor, DAYTIME lighting (I don't mean in-game... I mean your actual physical workspace should be well-lit with regular indoor lighting and monitor/brightness calibrations done under these conditions, not at night in the dark of your cave/office).
There are a LOT of quests that are WAY TOO DARK. Not intentionally; not in an "oooo suspense" kind of way. Just in a simple "wtf I can't see where I'm going in this stupid effing cave" kind of way. If you turn off default lighting it is imperative that you play through under the above described monitor/lighting conditions; if you can't see what you are doing (and if not being able to see wasn't your intention), ADD MORE LIGHTS!
Remember, making believable/realistic maps isn't about realism! Just as in theatre, illusion is far more powerful and effective than the real thing when it comes to conveying the desired intent. A dark scene that is realistically dark is simply hard to see. A dark scene that is scary and tense is actually very well, but very carefully, lit.
WIP
Great thread! Love it, some very handy tips. I was wondering if you (or anyone else reading this thread) could help me create an outdoor city street from scratch.
So I've been fiddling with the Foundry for a while and trying to make an original city street, not one of the defaults. And, by the Gods, is it hard! Some issues I'm running into, needing help or input on:
1) Cobblestones. The only way I've seen to make a cobbled street is to use the "stones" decal on the ground, over a hundred times! That...can't be right, can it?
2) Gardens. Tips on making separate plots of land for community gardens/tree housing? I'm currently using the "dwarven curb" to fence off a garden section, but it looks a little odd, and I can't help but wonder if there's a better way.
3) Side Trim. A lot of the premade buildings have side trim, especially on corner houses. I can't seem to find the appropriate building piece that includes side trim -- any help? (Again, I'm trying to avoid premades whenever possible.)
4) Concave Building Pieces. All the building pieces -- again, not the premades -- are slightly concave. Ordinarily no big deal, but when I want to, say, situate one piece next to another, it results in a noticeable hole between the two. Some building pieces helpfully clip together, thus removing the hole (the brick ones) and some refuse to do so (the stucco ones). Again, any help?
Once again, thanks for your time!
Most building/construction tilesets have some kind of pillar or column element that works very well as a joint between large elements like this and can hide any weird seams/clipping problems.
I too struggled with this a little bit, trying to get the right look when building the village of Barovia, the best advice I can give is use wall assets and flip them on the R 90 degrees. It may take a while to find the asset that has the right look for waht your going for.
Afterwards, sink them in to the ground and line them up in your 2D edit, then once you have 4 or 6 of them at the thickness and length you want for your street, go back in to map preview and see how they work together.
For Barovia I used the Vellosk tile set to work as a make shift cobble stone.
The other thing is break up the uniformity!
Once you have a asset that you like the look of, break it up by switching the tiles so that there are all not facing the same direction.
For cobble stone it can also work in you favor to slightly raise and lower pieces by .25 and -.25 here and there on the Y axis. or even slightly raising it by using a slight rotation to create a grade up and down.
Other things to consider when breaking up uniformity is using ground assets, like dirt, rocks, & moss.
Use trim for curbs but make sure whatever you use matches that of the asset you chose for your road in construction materials and color, otherwise it will just look odd.
The other idea is using a empty map that already has a road as part of the baked terrain and using just a section of that map to build your village, remember, always always prospect and walk your empty maps until you get one that "feels" right for the design your going for.
as a side note, I found that vellosk ruins pieces make for nice pavement for a side walk.
This can be a little trickier as we are lacking assets to create mounds of grass, but this can be accomplished by prospecting a good empty map and planning on where your garden will go. also, flat terrain can work as well.
The only items I have found so far for gardens are moss covered rocks, ground grass tufts and dense bushes, and ivy.
You can use the ground stones you talked about earlier to create you pathways in the gardens and use natural looking lights, this can be from a magical ambient glow from a magical source, a natural carved wood post with a lamp on it, or even a more defined and deliberate iron built lamp post. Again, it depends on the mood your trying to set and the lore behind the town your creating, do what looks and feels right to you. Oh, and pick out a nice fountain feature
There are a few assets that can work nicely for side trim, look at vellosk pillars, stone columns (these were originally for fences), and wood beams. Again play around and look through your asset library always keep in mind that anything that asset was intended to be can potentially look great substituting as something else.
Turning off your snap to grid in the upper right and then manually aligning these pieces until they fit closing up the gaps work, or if they have a manip box doing this in 3D edit.
Ravenloft
Look for@Apocrs1980 or visit the main page here or Ravenloft here
OMG, I can't agree more! I have spent the last week doing review trades and nearly every single mission I reviewed had issues with being too dark. You are putting hours and days into making this world, show it off! Put in fog and dynamic lighting to get the "dark" but stop just making it dark. Dark tells me you don't want me to see your map.
Pay attention to your surroundings. No, we don't live in the middle ages and you won't find horse drawn carts on the street outside your local 7/11, but the principle remains the same.
When you're outside (or even inside), look around you. Pay attention to what you see. Map making and map building in the Foundry is like being an artist, or a sculptor. Except that you don't have to be able to draw or paint - Cryptic's done all that for you. Think about what you're looking at and why those things are where they are.
The best maps - the best art - imitates life. This isn't easy, because so much of what happens in life happens without us thinking about it. Right now, I'm looking at a shelf of computer parts. It has various types of boxes, cables, some hardware. Some of the cables are coiled, some are hanging down from the shelf. One of the shelf's supporting arms is slightly twisted and hangs downwards a little.
There's a pile of keyboards on the shelf. About halfway up, the person who put those keyboards there obviously decided to switch them around because he was starting to get a real leaning tower of pisa effect. If we had a keyboard item in the foundry and I was trying to build this shelf, I'd be sure to switch up the direction of the keyboards. I wouldn't just drag and drop them and place them exactly on top of each other, pixel perfect.
Life doesn't work that way. Barrels and buckets will be knocked over. Ladders don't always lean perfectly straight at the wall. Stone walls meander a little, from side to side, etc.ec.
The thing to remember is - you don't have to make it all up.
Life will give you the blueprint. You just need to modify that blueprint to better fit your specific needs for whichever map you're working on.
However, I am having major issues with the tunnels used later in the quest. I can't say too much without giving further storylines away, but, these tunnels existed before the group known as The Dark Creed showed up. Originally, these tunnels were used as a means for several of the paranoid nobles in Blacklake to store their riches. Not long after this started happening, large, intelligent spiders moved in to the tunnels, chasing out the nobles who went down there, and forcing them to barricade the entrances they had in their basements. After the Nashers came in and kind of took over Blacklake, the Creed started kidnapping the peasants and rebels in the area and taking them down into these tunnels to try and break them mentally and turn them into members of the Creed.
So, that's as much of the story that I can give away. I am trying to get the tunnels looking good, but there aren't many things I can think of. I have a few rooms with captives, and the rest of the area is just rooms. I don't even know where to begin on the design of this. I mean, I like the design I have, but as far as what each room is used for...well...I don't really know? Aside from storing victims, I am not really sure. I started adding some spider webs, paintings, things of that nature, but I am running out of ideas and I really want the tunnels to kind of pop. Any suggestions?
The other thing I have been having trouble with is no where near as long winded. I was VERY impressed with the tavern you created for the Ravenloft campaign. It was breathtaking, and it made me literally stop all my work on my second campaign and try it from scratch. Essentially, you are going in to a very large mansion. I started my custom build, with large entrance area, ceiling, walls, etc. I also wanted a working second level. The only things I seem to be having issues with as far as that goes is a) the balcony walkway and b) doors.
The entryway is very typical, with stairs leading up to a second landing, with areas you walk through to get to other rooms. However, I am having issues with it because I have NOTHING to put on the side of it. I have looked and looked and looked and cannot find anything. I thought there was some fencing or something that looked fancy, wire, something. I currently am using the dwarven things you mentioned before, but I am not liking the look of it. What are some ideas you may have for something like this? Thanks!
RIP - Dirty Politics May 21st, 2013 - July 30th, 2013
Well, you have a very rich backstory set up, why not start there? Design vaults where the nobles would have hidden their riches, organized, shelving, pigeon holes, racks, etc. Then knock some of it over, cover the hallways between these areas and the blocked "entrances" with cobwebs, rubble, maybe collapse one of the vaults. Just work in chronological order, It started as vaults and hallways, then it fell into disrepair and use by spiders, and now into your "creed" group. A collapse and perhaps a caved-in tunnel the spiders used to get in? Portcullis or other HEAVY doors, perhaps with elaborate locks? Furniture pushed to the sides, covered in cobwebs, knocked over, partially buried in the cave ins?
All of that is going to make the narrative you just gave us come alive in that environment. Once you have that you can then look at what you have and decide what areas the "Creed" are using for interrogation, where they spend time, guards, areas they have blockaded (maybe with some of the furniture from the vaults). Great maps to see this type of work would be "Kidnapping in Blacklake" and "Any cave can lead to adventure". Both have areas that have "evolved" into what they are now.
It can get tedious after a while.
NW-DI8PEGHIB - "Those Steamy Neverwinter Nights"
No tavern is actually like this, but in theater, the setting is just as important as the actors and the action. There should be some subtle things, but most of the setting should be just as obvious as any of the actors involved.
Same thing in my quests. If it is light, I want it to be OBVIOUSLY light... if it is dark, I don't just set the lights to off and add some heavy fog... add tree cover too! Yes, it means the dark areas leave you blind, but I also throw in light source (perhaps fires of some sort), this does a few things: relieves some of the darkness (but only in select spots), makes the actual DARK areas even darker (due to tricks of the eye and mind) and also creates the illusion for the player of where they need to be. That goes back to the tip mentioned earlier, to spend more time on where the player will be, and less on places they will not be.
If you take the large flat plain map (absolutely nada on it), place trees all over it, turn it night time, kill all possible lights and even add cloud cover... it will be near pitch black. Add two houses, one in each corner. Now, add fires in a curve around the edge taking the longest path from corner to corner. Give a simple objective of "Reach the Other House" and an NPC saying that it isn't always the most prudent choice to follow the trail. The trail will say go straight across, but most players (probably 80+%) will follow the fires instead, because natural survival instinct says stay in the light, and as the center of the map is absolutely dark... we don't want to go there! It gets even worse, if we add shapes moving in the center (and they could just be horses and pigs or something, non-hostile NPC's) When we get sound, adding in the right sound will make the odds even more in favor of staying in the light.
And the only things we have used then are campfires, trees, a couple houses, backdrop, a talking NPC, and a few 'flavor' NPCs... the darkness played its part correctly...
The quest I am working on starts off in the bright daytime sun, moves to dusk, then to night, then back to daytime... So, I am using lighting as its own part in the story.
Website Dedicated to Foundry Tutorials: www.NWUGC.com Twitter: @NWUGC
Gold or Bones!!
In my experience Ive run into some weird/ little exceptions 'Indoor Maps' like Caves and a few others like the tiered dungeon rooms, kinda differ 'their are a few rooms that have multiple levels
great tip, I prefer to do it this way too.
another great tip, I just wanted to add that, its not too fun to just run into an invisible wall. So if you can make it seem like there is actually a reason for the path to be blocked its always better
Example: A Forest tree line backing up your invisible wall, or A row of wooden barricades thrown together to block the enemies advances (adding an Imaginary context to things adds a ton to the sense of immersion "realism")
I never thought of a "Rule of three" but it's a good 'n short/ memorable way to explain picking a pleasing palette.
the slider is great for fine tuning, but most the time I like to just select the object 'left click in the box but not on any of the lines' for quicker more basic adjustments.
lots of good tips/ ways of thinking. also I would like to add, put thought into map transitions. Example: if you exit a map through a Giant gate, it's kinda disconnected to load into the next map through a sewer grate. it all go's back to forming an elaborate context to whats going on in the "Universe" your playing in.
lol that's pretty good :]
I get what your saying 'this would save a beginner time' but this is only true if you lack imagination and make you quest so linear that they will only ever be on the path you set. "or you like/ prefer linear progression, which is cool too. I just don't like making that a tip to tell beginners"
I have the same opinion of your comment/ tip "time it so that it runs across the path when you know the player is going to be there" although that is slightly better.
Yeah I get where your coming from, but don't get jaded :] and don't make content for recognition. make it cus you enjoy it
So true!
that's the impression I got form "Shadows are as important as light." just filling your environment with torches and camp fires isn't always the best way to go about it... (IMO)
lol, that's what I love about being creative in a community. your statement is very true "when it's true" lol and "false when it's not true"
Dam... that was a well spent half hour!
OP After reading your thread I'm definitely gonna have to check out your quest 'and a few of you others too' (I was never interested in running it by my self and getting owned, but now it might be worth a massive stack 'o pots just to see your maps)
I very much agree with/ share your 'Design philosophy's'
BOOM! WALL 'O <Censored> Text!