#map tutorial

Maps…. using the map from @trinitywc as an example becoz It’s my most recent... 

Hi all! This is my first time making a tutorial and it’s on making maps! I’m not an expert in geography but I am writing two fantasy books right now and I’m kinda tired of my options for inspiration being fantasy Europe like ASOIAF’s world:

Or my own world of potatoes in water:

Ew. Below is a tutorial for a digital-based method of making your own maps. Traditional-based for this method here soon to come! Continue reading below for map making fun!

Hey there! If you saw the first part of my map making tutorial, you’ll remember I promised a more “analog” method of making maps with trees! But that method requires access to a digital program that at least has layers. This method only requires you to have a picture of tree leaves that you can print out. Below is how to make a map with pencil and paper!

I actually got this question five times so I’m going to make this a bit of a step by step tutorial? Sortof. I’m assuming we’re working from 0 here. With handy links to the brushes i used at the bottom and also links in the text to some examples!

First step is the hardest! You’ll have to determine the shape of your continent, it helps if you know a bit of basic geology to make it all work! I knew I wanted a mountain range shaped like a dragons head and kind of worked from there! Look at other fantasy maps, like the lord of the rings/hobbit maps for reference! Try to think of what a landmass has to provide for people to live there and how much space that will require. You will want your map to properly mirror the scale of your province/continent/land. (FR COUGH COUGH) 

So once you have the shape and you’re satisfied with it, you’ll be tempted to go ahead and start dotting cities and villages all over, but try not to. Start with the geologic basic! Mountains, rivers, forests, plains, deserts, etc etc. This will help you determine where your land is most habitable, with access to water, wildlife or land people can cultivate. Rivers can spring from natural holes in the ground, but most commonly they sprout from the mountains or hills and wash down towards the sea, taking the easiest route. (though never in straight lines!)

Are there any borders in your lands? Natural or otherwise? Now is the time to dot them, so you don’t accidentally misplace an entire city! 

Once you have all that geological (boring) stuff done, you can begin determining the positions of your cities and villages. This is completely up to you! Something to keep in mind is that water brings life, so coastal cities or cities near a river are always a good idea. Try to think of the basic needs for the inhabitants again. Where do they find food and water? How many people are in the settlement and how much provisions would they need (Not exact science of course, but there should always be access to the basics at least)

Once you’ve got your cities and villages marked down, it’s time for roads. Roads are like veins to a continent. They supply cities with trade, and will determine how quick someone can get from A to B. Roads are typically built to take the simplest route between destinations, but sometimes there is a mountain or a river in the way, or a house for that part, so to give it a realistic feelings, don’t just make them straight lines. We’re making a fantasy map, not an architectural drawing! 

For the finishing touch you can decorate your map with symbols, in my post I used symbols for cities, monuments etc, they will help make your map more interesting to look at! You can also add pictures of the local wildlife that roams on that part of the map (red dead redemption style)  

I hear you saying right now

“Am I supposed to draw all those mountains and trees and buildings by myself?”

No, of course not! I didn’t. I downloaded several brush packs from deviantart to help me complete this map! If you want you can make your own brushes or just draw everything by hand, sure! It’d make it a touch more personal, but it does take up a lot of time, which is why i opted for the existing brushes!

This is the brush pack I used the most!

Some extra mountains for variety!

There are a hundred options for other brushes out there, though! Search around! 

So this rich Benefactor has a hole in his bedroom, behind his bookshelves. Who doesn't these days?!

The challenge in this is that I didn't want the Player to snoop around the house, find the hole before talking to The Benefactor. Cue the visibility conditions.This is what I do to get around there being no "sliding" actions to reveal hidden doors.

As you can see, it is dependent on objectives. I used a Dialogue type to switch the visibility state of the two bookshelves but you could have used an Interact With Object also. Either way, I needed an NPC to ask me to do it. I didn't know The Benefactor's name (would I ever?) but I did have an idea how he looked.

The Clothes do not maketh the man

But they sure do help! The Costume editor is the same editor you used to create your first character, albeit one major difference, here you can add and mix any armour sets together and try to streamline something wearable with the use of colours. Sadly, the Shirts and Pants sections have a very poor selection and there is just so much colouring one can do.

Now that you have an NPC, the work to be done in Dialogue can be pretty straight forward, I will get into a few things about dialogue in an upcoming post. There is nothing special to note about the Story side either.

So I cheated a little, so what?

In order to achieve the bookshelves trick above, I had to cheat a little. There are no move action (except for Patrols when dealing with Encounters) that can be applied to items. Knowing that the Player wouldn't be in the room when the bookshelf switch occurred, allowed for it to work.

Bookshelf A is the "Closed State" of the hidden tunnel. Bookshelf B is the "Open State". A is set as Visible immediately when the map loads, that way if the player is snooping, it's properly hiding the passage. It is set to disappear when the first objective (Dialogue with Benefactor) is completed. B is set to appear when the same objective is completed. It is set to never disappear once it has appeared, since the bookshelves do not need to go back into their original position.

The logic behind this is that any dialogue that ends with an answer that isn't marked as "Fail to meet Objective", successfully passes the objectives and moves to the next one. So as long has you didn't comply with the NPC, the Objective that regulates the bookshelves, is in progress. When you accept to go down to the basement, you successfully end the Dialogue Objective and the bookshelves switch positions.

Side Note: My quest required the Player to come back out and speak to the NPC again. So as I duplicated the original map to move the Spawn Point, I also had to change the logic behind the bookshelves a bit. A had to only be visible once the last objective (Dialogue Objective with quest item found in the basement as requirement) was completed. Of course, I had to set it to be invisible while the same objective was in progress. B set by reversing the visible and invisible states of A.

Throughout the first few posts, I will be dealing with the same example. I have decided to make three campaigns, each with three quests. This has to do with the game's current limitations of 10 campaigns and 10 quests. I probably keep the last quest slot open because I am claustrophobic.

Now let's get right down to it, that's why you're here anyways.

Your first map.

The first quest is pretty straightforward. Your reputation is starting to grow and you caught the attention of a wealthy benefactor. He sends a messenger with a note, asking you to meet him at his house.

But first, he needed a house.

Since you managed to find your way here, I will assume you are already familiar with creating a new quest and switching to the map tab. I am going to select "interior" and choose a main room to host the meeting. I chose "Human Interior Room - Medium Square 01" and a hallway leading in, "Human Interior - Hallway Straight Short", containing the Spawn Point. Both of which I kept the lighting set to "Lamps" with no ambient sound.

After placing both tiles down, you can click on the Interior Room and select "Populate" to get a generic set of details (chairs, bookshelves, etc) added to your room. The hallway isn't considered to be detailed, one would assume, because the populate option will not work on it. I didn't really like the cookie cutter setup this time, so I decided to remove it and do my own thing.

If you ever change your mind and you want to add some of the filler back, here's what you need to do: Duplicate your room, populate it, group select everything and move it into you current room.

Lord Copypasta would be proud.

I know, you're not here to learn how to insta-model your map, so here's what you're here for; the gritty and dirty tricks of the trade.

I know the 3D Editor is nice, but you're going to have to switch between both the map layout mode and the 3D editor...unless you don't have enough computer juice to switch between mode in 2 minutes, in which case, you're going to waste a lot of time either way.

Drop everything you will need on the map first. I used to only drop one item of each and then copy paste multiple times in the Editor, but I stopped doing it. Here's why:

First bug that is going to annoy you to no ends, the Paste bug. This is when you are editing in 3D, you copy and paste an item. When you want to move it, you'll notice that it doesn't have its "Core" box (this is the white wireframe cube in the middle of all objects). When handling small to medium objects, it is not that bad, but as soon as you want to move the bigger stuff, like building a bridge for example, you will find yourself wondering when this game switched styles to "Escape The Room", blindly looking for that hotspot that will allow you to move your object.

In The Benefactor's study, I wanted to have a bar. So I dropped all the bar pieces on the map layout, used the grid to align them, and then switched to 3D. Everything will be set on one axis, cutting down on the time needed to make everything seamless.

What do you mean, what's that doughnut? Oh that! That's just a hole in the ground behind The Benefactor's bookshelves, what were you doing in his room anyways? There are actually three bookshelves, one permanent and two in different quantic stages; one that is out of the way when his active quest is underway, the other replaces it when the quest is done.