WIP Oasis map.

Chalace

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Decided it would be better to have this as it's own post, much easier to update.
- Replaced all of the images with a new host so should fix that issue.

As i started a new map ill try update each stage so people can follow.

1. Know what you want to create. (Simple sketch on paper) Last thing you want to do is go in blind. Include;
  • Theme - Desert, Marsh, Island, Light woods, Dark woods etc.
  • Features - Towns, Camps, large structures,water body, borders etc.

2. Collect and organize all the tiles/objects you will us.
  • You don't want to be scrolling through 10,000 objects repeatedly. Do it once and pull out anything you want to use for the map. (You can see in the screenshot i organized a few sub-folders containing everything i may need)

3. Check that any unconventional idea is actually do-able.
  • In this case, i want to create an Oasis, however i also want the town to be integrated.
  • First issue here is that the only bodies of water in the Mir2 set are either the sea which is of no use, or the Bichon river that relies on stone walls for a portion of the edges, again no use. So i opted for the Mir3 alternative.
  • Now because we are using both Mir2 and Mir3 tiles so close together there is a potential issue of blending the floor tiles. It took some time but i have managed to, using a combination of Mir2 and 3 sets make it look OK.


This is not 'the map' simply quick testing to make sure that you can make different 'sets' work together and not look stupid.
adhpis.png


4. Create the large structures separate and save them as objects of their own. In this case i know i want a player town integrated with the body of water, and i know that i want a large Orc fort.
  • These generally contain a lot of adjoining objects and takes a fair amount of time to get set up. You don't want to spend an hour making the town walls just to realize it all needs moving a few inches to the left. (This will happen) Saving them as their own object once you have the layout set allows you to place/move/replace the whole thing in one go.

---------- Post Merged on 17-10-2017 at 12:47 AM ---------- Previous Post was on 16-10-2017 at 08:31 PM ----------

Town with integrated oasis created; and saved as an object.
334uhif.jpg


---------- Post Merged at 10:35 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 12:47 AM ---------
Main enemy fort created, saved as object.
30thob4.jpg


5. This is when i would make a test map containing the 2 objects to run around, test the dimensions, make sure the size feels OK for what i want. These are large objects and the landscape will the designed to merge around them, changing them later on will be a lot more work.

  • Subsequently extended the SW & NE walls of the town by 2 lengths.
  • Re-made the water using more appropriate looking set.

6. Landscape - Now we are on to the real map design. Define the main landscape features. (You should already have this from step (1) now it's just a case of creating it. The focus here is to define the borders and segregate specific areas.
  • Limit yourself to only borders here. do not create all the small intricate paths etc.

- Finally got this stage done. It ended up being a fair bit bigger than i expected. 800x800 (House by the water for scale reference)
- The water looks a bit off, but in-game it works fine.
- Now that i have all of the Mir3 objects, i will build the town around 1/2 of the water, (tonnes more building variations) instead of encasing it in the wall.
2vbr9k5.png


- Segregated areas.
i4hc7q.png


7. Detail - How you proceed here is pretty much down to personal preference. Depending entirely on your priorities, efficiency vs quality.
  • Choose a segment to work on, one at a time.
Personally i would 'complete' a small area, maybe 2x2 screen size. this way i am comfortable in knowing exactly what it is i am aiming for in terms of object placements, style and tile blending. Then it is simply a case of replicating the 'theme' across the rest of the chosen segment.

Edit: Still more to come for this, I will show progress right to the end. Currently building all of the Mir3/Shanda objects, lots of cool stuff to put on here! Just going to take some time.
 
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OhBaby

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have you got any fully completed maps you could post some screens of? i like your work its nice mate
 

Tai

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How come you went so big? I feel like I'd never want to see sand again :nightmare:
 
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LightBringer

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Looking good again mate!
When I finally compile everything in a structured format I will be making some dungeons (hopefully) to get me started with map editing!
 

SmavidDavid

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How come you went so big? I feel like I'd never want to see sand again :nightmare:

Kind of agree, Sand is quite a meh tile set, has good parts but look at Monchon, just soo boring.

Personally, I would of half way thru map or on one corner done a different cliff / tileset to break map up, also allows for transition to another map set without revisiting sand temporarily.

The top corner I feel would be better suited to a woodland area with those walls as they are timber based, so need a woodland area surrounding, with fields directly next to it where the trees used to built once stood. Woodlands don't turn desert before people say they cut all trees down, grass would've taken over.

Mixed feelings on desert walls next to deep blue water, looks awesome but same time no. Oasis is nicer looking though with lighter water, how does that marry upto the Mud walls?

Otherwise I'm glad to see you're zoning maps, me and iJam have both experimented with this, much like what Paragon is doing, but we actually made 6-7 separate maps to stop RT'ing across all zones & stop spawn spread. How are you intending to split yours? Map or just spawn zones.
 

Chalace

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How come you went so big? I feel like I'd never want to see sand again :nightmare:

Just personal preference i guess. Its not actually that big in comparison, most official maps are 600+ minimum with minimal 'content'. Just large compared to what i made before.

Baring in mind this is for my own project, so i already have the majority of the 'reasoning' in place, it's not just random stuff stuck in to use up space. I dislike indoor maps, so the majority of hunting places will be outdoor areas. Not differentiated by map x or y but segments of maps.

In essence i want to create a world, not the usual 5 province maps that are never used with 20 separate dungeon maps. (Think WoW zones as an example, off the top of my head)

The segments also have distinct 'themes' so it wont be simply the same visuals everywhere, they will feel different. Hard to explain in words, but i think it will become more apparent as i progress.

Hope that helps give a better idea.
 

Far

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Does look like it could be a lot of sand - so definitely needs some grassy areas to at least break it up.

The wooden walls seem like an odd choice for a sand area, but maybe that's just because i've always known it as PB walls in grassy areas.

Overall looks like it could be another really good map. I'm glad you're aiming high with the large maps, much more impressive to see.

I'd be excited to play a server with these new type of maps, its very much a rarity. Had a nice feel playing Paragon - and although that's an official map, as I'd never ran around it before it gave a great new feeling to it, not knowing exactly where i needed to go.
 

Chalace

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kind of agree, sand is quite a meh tile set, has good parts but look at monchon, just soo boring.
Because they are lazy. I have just off the top of my head 5 or 6 different 'styles' of desert area that can all be integrated together to break it up. They also generally lack any kind of secondary focus. 50 screens of sand with a few trees is going to be boring no matter what without it.

personally, i would of half way thru map or on one corner done a different cliff / tileset to break map up, also allows for transition to another map set without revisiting sand temporarily.
The transition is already set, as the whole wold is for the most part already planned out. It's also pretty simple to modify a transition segment should anything change at a later stage.

the top corner i feel would be better suited to a woodland area with those walls as they are timber based, so need a woodland area surrounding, with fields directly next to it where the trees used to built once stood. Woodlands don't turn desert before people say they cut all trees down, grass would've taken over.
Actually never considered this, ill have to come up with something.

mixed feelings on desert walls next to deep blue water, looks awesome but same time no. Oasis is nicer looking though with lighter water, how does that marry upto the mud walls?
- Now that i have all of the mir3 objects, i will build the town around 1/2 of the water, (tonnes more building variations) instead of encasing it in the wall.

otherwise i'm glad to see you're zoning maps, me and ijam have both experimented with this, much like what paragon is doing, but we actually made 6-7 separate maps to stop rt'ing across all zones & stop spawn spread. How are you intending to split yours? Map or just spawn zones.
Spawn zones seem to work fine, as long as the segments are suitable 'bordered'. The odd mob might wander off, but it's not game breaking.

---------- Post Merged at 11:49 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 11:38 AM ----------

Does look like it could be a lot of sand - so definitely needs some grassy areas to at least break it up.
Ye of little faith.

The wooden walls seem like an odd choice for a sand area, but maybe that's just because i've always known it as PB walls in grassy areas.
I made sure to test it beforehand of course, it looks fine in a desert setting.

Overall looks like it could be another really good map. I'm glad you're aiming high with the large maps, much more impressive to see.

I'd be excited to play a server with these new type of maps, its very much a rarity. Had a nice feel playing Paragon - and although that's an official map, as I'd never ran around it before it gave a great new feeling to it, not knowing exactly where i needed to go.
Maybe one day :k

---------- Post Merged at 01:33 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 11:49 AM ----------

any plans of release or?

Not before the whole project is complete, No.
The whole point of the guide is so you can make your own!

---------- Post Merged on 24-10-2017 at 10:58 AM ---------- Previous Post was on 23-10-2017 at 01:33 PM ----------

Wait... the Paragon map is from Official? I just assumed it was custom made.
 
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Far

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Yeah it's one of the newer Shanda maps, which has also now been more recently shrunk (made worse) and added to wemade mir2 official.
 

Chalace

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Good to know. I actually considered using the city part, (not for this map) tho was reluctant as i assumed it was someones custom work. If its official then i don't mind.
 

SmavidDavid

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Good to know. I actually considered using the city part, (not for this map) tho was reluctant as i assumed it was someones custom work. If its official then i don't mind.

iJam has actually frozen off all woodland areas and had turned just the city into a map alone. It is a big city, I would be reluctant to using unless you had it as a boss map with various bosses around town and in shops.
 

LightBringer

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iJam has actually frozen off all woodland areas and had turned just the city into a map alone. It is a big city, I would be reluctant to using unless you had it as a boss map with various bosses around town and in shops.

It looks to be a nice event map too, plenty of space to play with!
What's the actual map size, as I have never actually checked.
 

Chalace

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It looks to be a nice event map too, plenty of space to play with!
What's the actual map size, as I have never actually checked.

560x600

Map size in general isn't an issue in itself, its about how well the space is utilized.

Your right in saying big maps are generally boring, but that's simply because the design of most the outdoor maps we have is severely flawed. They have a big town, with at best a handful of other 'points', a random house or watchtower beside an exit etc. over the whole map. The rest is just tiled floors with a few trees.

Maybe its because they are not designed for hunting on, as one would expect from say a dungeon. Tho if you consider the size comparison between any standard 5f cave/temple and what an open map allows for, they wont be so different.

Tho all of that aside i think people perception is slightly skewed in favor of whats 'normal'. If we take PT for example, that's 7/8 floors of basically the same wall tile, that is laughably simple and less than interesting to even look at. I'm sure we have all spent an unmentionable amount of time in there over the years.

So as a serious question, why is that more generally accepted over an outdoor map? Despite it being without a doubt far less visually pleasing.
 
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Chalace

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Trying to build the SMtiles atm... Makes me want to sit in the corner and cry.

---------- Post Merged at 06:59 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 03:53 AM ----------

There is literally no indication whatsoever how some of this are supposed to be built. :@:
 
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