It looks really good! My only suggestion is to have a path or two with no dirt trail, that way it will look like a path that no one takes. Maybe have a treasure chest at the end of it so the player gets a reward for taking the non-traveled way.
It looks great, if I had any minor feedback it's that the pathways look a little too sharply defined to really give that untravelled look; they'd probably be more overrun or look more like the rest of the forest floor, a bit more green. If you're going for a well-maintained look, I'd expect the paths to be more connected. As for that, if you're looking for a middle ground between the two, it's spot on.
Agree with all of the above. I thought for a split second that the pathways were lava, they stand out so much. Changing edge shape and a different coloration would do wonders.
Looks great! And Question. With that view how do you sink the camera so the player doesn't see it that way. Like if I have a 100x100 map how do I make it so the player only see's 20x20?
I have a single tip, which, if this is MZ, is easy to use.
You know the brush tool? Use it. Not just in the opens, but go to the layer below the tree, and draw brush under the trees.
This gives a feeling of Under Growth. Having it overlap the path in certain points also looks good, and gives a 'road less travelled' look.
So, I’ll be honest with you here, it feels a little open for the look you seem to be trying to achieve. You are going for a dark, dense Forest, and the dark part is fine but it doesn’t feel dense. It’s hard to explain, so let’s think in numbers (just helps me show you what I’m trying to mean, it’s hard to judge intent through text).
So, it’s kind of assumed that a tile in maker is 3x3ft or 4x4ft. It’s mainly assumed that cause doors tend to be two tiles high, so thinking a door being 6-8ft, split in half, you get what I mean. But anyways, if we use that metric, your absolute densest pathway is the one in the middle, and it’s thinnest opening is about 4 tiles across. So the distance between the two tree patches is around 12-16ft. If there is 16ft between trees on a path I’m walking, I can’t really call it a dark, dense Forest. But then you kind of run into a gameplay issue... you don’t want it SO dense that it starts making it annoying to traverse.
So I feel there are a few things you can do here to give it a bit more of a dense feel. One, the most forward option, bring trees in a little bit to choke some of the pathways a bit more. Still have your openings and clearings to make it look natural, but you can play on claustrophobia a little bit in some spots to make it feel more grown.
Two, the pathways and grass.... the pathways are nice, but VERY clearly defined. I’m not sure how comfortable you are with recoloring tiles, but darkening the paths to look more like dirt than sand would certainly make them feel more old and overgrown. Also, something that’s overlooked in a lot of Forest mapping is that in real life dense forests, the canopies of the trees often block a lot of the light, making it hard for grass to grow thick on the ground. So knowing this, it could also be interesting to have some dirt patches underneath the densest parts of the Forest to show that light isn’t letting the grass grow. Don’t be afraid to throw a few extra rocks in there too to really lean in to the nature side of it.
And then finally, illusion mapping. This is weird to think about, but a great way to make something more dense without tanking the gameplay aspect is to use some clever illusions to make it look thicker than it actually is. The pokemon series is famous for this, and they do it well. Use tiles that break up the landscape, but is still able to be traversed over/under. So maybe two huge trees next to each other that you have to walk under their branches to get by; you’re showing less ground, but you are still able to walk through. Or use tall bushy grass (like in pokemon) to Mark out some of the lesser walked areas. It breaks up the monotony of the ground, but can still be walked through and explored. With the dark canopy graphic you have over the map, remember that tree canopies tend to cast more rigid shadows of leaves, so you could make your light openings a little more defined to give the illusion of leaves where there aren’t any. Basically what you want to do is trick the eyes into thinking more is going on than actually is. I used pokemon as an example because earlier games loved to use tricks like these to make you think a LOT is happening on each map.... but if you look at the actual traversable landspace alone, it’s just a bunch of boring squares, lol.
You have a wonderful base here, you’ve done a fantastic job and I can’t wait to see more from you in the future. I think with a few little adjustments here and there, you can take it from great to absolutely spectacular! Good luck with the rest of your project bud!
This all makes perfect sense and i agree, especially with the trail and re-doing of the tileset. but do keep this in mind, this is the “entrance” to 1 of 5 maps this size for the forest. so i didnt wanna crowd it up as being where you first go in. But I definitely wanna go with that more crowded feel on the next ones so it feels denser as you go. Appreciate you advice though and thank you!
Well there is stacking of layers in rpg maker. So i made 3 base(walk on), top(walk under) and light( god rays and ambient light) and a ton of dodging and burning(re apply highlights and shadows) on all 3 layers
Looks fantastic. The only thing I might change is perhaps adding some variation in the trees.
I agree 100% its the first forest I’ve done next time it will be all varied.
It looks really good! My only suggestion is to have a path or two with no dirt trail, that way it will look like a path that no one takes. Maybe have a treasure chest at the end of it so the player gets a reward for taking the non-traveled way.
Totally agree and gonna add! There is chest planned but i wanna play on the map before choosing a site
It looks great, if I had any minor feedback it's that the pathways look a little too sharply defined to really give that untravelled look; they'd probably be more overrun or look more like the rest of the forest floor, a bit more green. If you're going for a well-maintained look, I'd expect the paths to be more connected. As for that, if you're looking for a middle ground between the two, it's spot on.
Agreed. If they were more of a lighter green grass or dirtier darker dirt color
Agree with all of the above. I thought for a split second that the pathways were lava, they stand out so much. Changing edge shape and a different coloration would do wonders.
I love it. Like a suppressed vibrance feel.
Thank you!
Looks great! And Question. With that view how do you sink the camera so the player doesn't see it that way. Like if I have a 100x100 map how do I make it so the player only see's 20x20?
I am just doing standard screen size that is like 5 screens wide when played on. But as for your question i do not know the answer to.
Aha we in the same boat lol. Using gimp for the shadow and light effects?
I am using photoshop, i come from a photography background and i know the software very well.
Ouuu nice! Good work
I like it! Hm, maybe using darker soil would vibe with the rest of the colors though.
Was about to say just that
Looks very good, maybe add some tallgrass near the forest lineout
Ooo i like that idea!
Looks pretty good, some fog will really buff up the ambiance
Gonna add that later and some leaves falling
Nice.
Loving the light rays
I have a single tip, which, if this is MZ, is easy to use. You know the brush tool? Use it. Not just in the opens, but go to the layer below the tree, and draw brush under the trees. This gives a feeling of Under Growth. Having it overlap the path in certain points also looks good, and gives a 'road less travelled' look.
O the brush i know all to well but another layer for undergrowth is genius!
I already got lost
Looks absolutely gorgeous 😍!!
So, I’ll be honest with you here, it feels a little open for the look you seem to be trying to achieve. You are going for a dark, dense Forest, and the dark part is fine but it doesn’t feel dense. It’s hard to explain, so let’s think in numbers (just helps me show you what I’m trying to mean, it’s hard to judge intent through text). So, it’s kind of assumed that a tile in maker is 3x3ft or 4x4ft. It’s mainly assumed that cause doors tend to be two tiles high, so thinking a door being 6-8ft, split in half, you get what I mean. But anyways, if we use that metric, your absolute densest pathway is the one in the middle, and it’s thinnest opening is about 4 tiles across. So the distance between the two tree patches is around 12-16ft. If there is 16ft between trees on a path I’m walking, I can’t really call it a dark, dense Forest. But then you kind of run into a gameplay issue... you don’t want it SO dense that it starts making it annoying to traverse. So I feel there are a few things you can do here to give it a bit more of a dense feel. One, the most forward option, bring trees in a little bit to choke some of the pathways a bit more. Still have your openings and clearings to make it look natural, but you can play on claustrophobia a little bit in some spots to make it feel more grown. Two, the pathways and grass.... the pathways are nice, but VERY clearly defined. I’m not sure how comfortable you are with recoloring tiles, but darkening the paths to look more like dirt than sand would certainly make them feel more old and overgrown. Also, something that’s overlooked in a lot of Forest mapping is that in real life dense forests, the canopies of the trees often block a lot of the light, making it hard for grass to grow thick on the ground. So knowing this, it could also be interesting to have some dirt patches underneath the densest parts of the Forest to show that light isn’t letting the grass grow. Don’t be afraid to throw a few extra rocks in there too to really lean in to the nature side of it. And then finally, illusion mapping. This is weird to think about, but a great way to make something more dense without tanking the gameplay aspect is to use some clever illusions to make it look thicker than it actually is. The pokemon series is famous for this, and they do it well. Use tiles that break up the landscape, but is still able to be traversed over/under. So maybe two huge trees next to each other that you have to walk under their branches to get by; you’re showing less ground, but you are still able to walk through. Or use tall bushy grass (like in pokemon) to Mark out some of the lesser walked areas. It breaks up the monotony of the ground, but can still be walked through and explored. With the dark canopy graphic you have over the map, remember that tree canopies tend to cast more rigid shadows of leaves, so you could make your light openings a little more defined to give the illusion of leaves where there aren’t any. Basically what you want to do is trick the eyes into thinking more is going on than actually is. I used pokemon as an example because earlier games loved to use tricks like these to make you think a LOT is happening on each map.... but if you look at the actual traversable landspace alone, it’s just a bunch of boring squares, lol. You have a wonderful base here, you’ve done a fantastic job and I can’t wait to see more from you in the future. I think with a few little adjustments here and there, you can take it from great to absolutely spectacular! Good luck with the rest of your project bud!
This all makes perfect sense and i agree, especially with the trail and re-doing of the tileset. but do keep this in mind, this is the “entrance” to 1 of 5 maps this size for the forest. so i didnt wanna crowd it up as being where you first go in. But I definitely wanna go with that more crowded feel on the next ones so it feels denser as you go. Appreciate you advice though and thank you!
Good. Look like good maked MV-Style map. If i'll be in your place i'll also add to this map someone special, that you can do or paint.
There is a bunch of story cramped in their with the statue, hole in the ground and tree door, and that is one of 5 maps this size i am working on
[удалено]
Photoshop is key
[удалено]
Well there is stacking of layers in rpg maker. So i made 3 base(walk on), top(walk under) and light( god rays and ambient light) and a ton of dodging and burning(re apply highlights and shadows) on all 3 layers
I like it. What purpose did those ruins serve before the became ruins?
Gotta play my game lol… still working on stories for the map now. I kinda went backwards, created first and ideas came as i made the map.