Alright, Sado. I know that this is an old topic by now, but I don't want to see you give up on map-making. I enjoy your company on TS, but you haven't been playing much lately, so I'm afraid that you are losing interest in KaM
Hopefully, if you are tired of playing, maybe I can awaken your interest in map making
There is potential in every map maker. I believe that. I understand that you were aiming for balance-- not looks-- in this map, so I'll try to keep that in mind, but understand I'm trying to be helpful when I say that this map is not pleasing to look at. I can't give individual tips on this map at the moment-- there are just so many things that need to be fixed, but that's understandable, because
this map is huge. Seriously, there is so much open terrain, even The Dark Lord would have a terribly hard time making the map look good.
My advice is practice on
smaller maps. Try making 2v2 maps, battle maps, or other things that can have a small map. Large maps take literally dozens of hours to make, and it can be quite cumbersome for expert map-makers like To, and rather impossible for beginners such as yourself.
Also, Sado, note that a lot of good map-makers have themes. This may make some maps look repetitive, but it enables map-makers focus on specific kinds of maps. For example, To is known for this deserts. Personally, I find deserts to be very hard to make, and I also think that they are quite ugly. However, To has done an excellent job at making deserts. They look alive and beautiful. I can't make good deserts (look at Oasis Struggle-- terrible), but I don't particular mind because that isn't where I focus my time and energy. So, in short, what I'm trying to tell you is to find a theme that you like, and practice it until you are comfortable with the editors.
Although being creative and having personal touch is important, KaM
does have "rules" regarding how certain things are done on maps. For example, some tress cannot be placed on certain terrain (E.g., deciduous trees trees cannot be placed on snow) Similarly, some objects cannot be placed near other objects because they clash (E.g., palm trees cannot be placed next to evergreens). I am considering starting a user-blog on many of these "rules," but for now, look Joymania's (The makers of TSK campaign) and The Dark Lord's maps for advice on what terrain is affiliated with what objects, and which objects go together, etc.
Okay, that was all general stuff, but I think that it will be more helpful to you than specific things. Nevertheless, I'll still give some deeper tips, too.
I see that you are already experimenting with terrain. Very good. I personally think that terrain is the hardest part of making a map. Making it blend enough and using it correctly takes years of experience. For now, I'll say that certain areas of you map have way too much of the same terrain (espically the large patches of snow and dirt) try to mix it up a bit.
Mountains are tricky, and I think that they are the 2nd hardest thing to get right. there are so many different ways of making mountains, and different tricks to make them look more natural, that writing all of them here would take an hour and really wouldn't be all that useful. For now, try this trick that The Dark Lord told me a short time ago: When starting your mountains, use a size 2 brush to elevate your mountains just a little. Then, use a size 1 brush to give your mountains "peaks." Also, use the size 1 brush to give the sides of your mountains variation so they look more sheer. Example:
For a long time, I was not good at making coal fields. After some tips from The Dark Lord, I realized that the easiest way to make a coalfield is to place each tile individually. Make sure that the tranisiton of "heavy coal" to "Light coal" is smooth. The Dark Lord gave an excellent example of this with a picture:
The whole map is rather flat. In the Remake editor, I use a size 2 brush, size 4 slope, and a speed of 6 to elevate "walkable" terrain. Just move the mouse in semi-circular patterns to give the area a "hilly" look.
For balance issues, I won't say much, because I'm not good at that. I will say; however, that your map gives WAY too much space to build. Seriously, in the tightest location, you can still build a "Revolution" size city. Give less room to players so they actually need to plan in order for them to have a good city. It's just boring when you have so much room and you don't need to plan at all.
Keep at it, Sado. It takes a lot of practice, but it is a lot of fun, and it's great to see yourself improve. I've been making maps for over four years now, and To and The Dark Lord have been for over six, so it doesn't happen overnight. Still, it's not like we've been making maps every day, so don't worry. It'll come faster than you think
Oh, and one more thing: Do
NOT use my maps in the Remake for advice on making good maps. They are horrible!!
Have a good day, and good luck!
):
Update (20 May 2013): I've improved the elevation on the whole map much, changed the style of the mountains a bit, fixed some inconsistencies (mixing different types of forests etc.)
