Forums of the Megaverse®

Hotrod wrote:Small update today. I made a compass rose with an Eye of Eyelor in the middle. It seemed appropriate, since the Eyes of Eyelor are emblematic of the signature Splugorth technology of bio-wizardry. I made 2 versions, with two different sizes for the Eyelor eyes. I think I prefer the one with the smaller eyeball, even though the Eyelor eyes are supposed to be over-large in general.

Anything else you're doing to the map, Rodhot? I only ask for curiosities sake (the latest map is more than functional for my game purposes, but if you have any more tweaks I'm more'n'willing to replace THIS version with shinier one).

Oh, please don't use the latest version. 2 compass roses? Psh. I decided to go with the smaller one. In any case, I haven't posted it in its full resolution; photobucket only shows it at about 33%.

The bare geography map is done and posted in full resolution on DeviantArt (you can find it in my signature), and I don't plan on changing it, other than perhaps making it lighter so it prints well.

In any case, deciding where to stop is a fuzzy issue. I'm not sure how much more I should do. I could just release the map as is, but I feel like it needs a little something more. Perhaps a title banner and/or a frame and/or a legend. I don't want to crowd up the map too much, but I feel like I could add a few more elements. Unless someone points out a flaw, the functional parts of the map are done, I just want all the artistic elements in place and polished before I release the final version.

Status: The map has a frame. Here's a copy of the current draft.

Changes:
+I added a frame today using a method I've used before. I may change the texture for it from slate to marble or some other texture.
+I added in some etched-in text to the frame, but the words seemed a bit hokey, so I changed the font to dragonese (a Klingon font, actually) to make it look magic-y and mysterious. It'd be nice if I could use a Palladium rune font or mystic symbol font instead of the dragonese (Klingon) one I use. Are there any out there? Or does anyone know of some cool canon quotes about Atlantis?

+I also got rid of the compass rose with the silly-big eyeball.

All that's left for me to do now is add a legend and a title banner.

Status: All major elements are drafted. Here is a low-resolution copy of the current draft, which should be very close to the final version.

Changes:

+I fine-tuned the frame, swapping in a more crystalline texture and adjusting to improve the contrast between light and dark areas.
+I added a title. It's nothing very fancy.
+I added a legend. It's a bit fancier

I'm close to being done now. I'm thinking that I'll probably have the dragonese (Klingon) text go all the way around the map frame. I also want to seek out some fine-tuning suggestions from the experts at the Cartographers Guild. I'll probably have the final version out this weekend, so please pipe up now if you have any corrections, suggestions, or thoughts on the map.

I vote for a picture of splynncryth in a corner like a sea monster you see on old maps.

That's an interesting idea. Although the city icons are already based on Splynncryth's magnificent physique, it wouldn't hurt to try to tie in more theme-based elements. At the same time, though, I'd be hesitant to just paint him right into the landscape, since I'm going for a photo-realistic style. I had thought of trying to use Splynncryth as a compass rose, but that didn't work out for two reasons: his tentacle count of 11 doesn't gel well with a compass rose, and I liked the look of the Eyelor eye better.

Still, there are other elements. I may try to do something with the legend.

The final version is posted on DeviantArt!

Features:
+I added in a chain border around the legend, to reflect the slaving activities of the Splugorth. (I tried doing some tentacles, Alrik, but they didn't work out well)
+I rebalanced the water and land colors. This will make the map look much better for printing (I haven't printed it yet, so it may need a bit more rebalancing).
+I added a bit more definition to the mountains
+I re-worked the title, adding a bit of mystical swirl behind it.
+I re-did the scale to match the checker border, and positioned it to go with the compass.
+The Dragonese (Klingon) inscription goes all the way around the frame now. The font is KlingonTNG. Special geek points if you can decode what I wrote there.

Well, that's it, then. I had two goals for this map: put in as much cannon-accurate info as I could, and make something that's nice to look at. I hope this is helpful to you players and GMs out there.

"For Filbert!"

Fantastic

Annndddd my vacation planning just got a little easier("Stay the hell away from Atlantis!") Thank you!

Great job man ...way to make a Liberation Underground campaign a standard setting now in RIFTS. Well it's good for at least medium level characters.

I love it. There is nothing more unique in a post apocalyptic setting than the RIFTS continent of Atlantis. Great monster setting.

This is great work! What is the size it's designed to be printed at?

The final dimensions, with the frame, were 3575 x 2825 pixels. For printing dimensions, it all depends on what the intended end use is. If you want something photo-quality, then you should be looking at somewhere around 300 dpi, which would put you a little over both dimensions for a 8.5x11 print. If you don't care about the frame, you can crop it off. If you want to include it, and not lose anything on an 8.5x11 print, then you'll need a 600 dpi printer (or just get it printed as a photo).

Be aware that digital art usually appears a lot darker in print than it does on the screen. You may need to lighten up the image some (there's a tool that can do this in Paint). While you can blow up this map in a much larger print, keep in mind too that screen resolution is generally around 100 dpi, whereas good printed images are usually done at 300 dpi. I wouldn't recommend printing this at 100 dpi unless you were planning on putting it somewhere where you wouldn't be looking at it too closely, both because the image would likely come out grainy and because it costs more money (I learned this the hard way with one of my earlier maps).

Incidentally, please don't sell any prints of this map, unless your name is Kevin Siembieda, in which case, please PM me.

Nice work, Hotrod! Love it.

Though sea monsters belong on the map somewhere.

Absolutely fantastic
my hat off man you rock

Excellent job!

What's the piece of land in the upper-most left corner? Some part of the Carolinas?

Braden Campbell wrote:Excellent job!

What's the piece of land in the upper-most left corner? Some part of the Carolinas?

It's Nova Scotia. It's labeled, though I have to zoom in to see it, since I have a piddly 11-inch screen.

Huh. Never realized Atlantis was so close to the Maritimes.

Hotrod, this is really excellent work, and perhaps, in the not-too-distant-future, you and I can talk about some Jeretlan maps...

I based the inclusion and position of Nova Scotia by scaling Google Maps so that Bermuda and the Azores were in the right positions at the right pixel distance. Of course, it might be possible that Bermuda and/or the Azores positions have shifted positions. There's also a certain degree of distortion, since Google Maps shows all north-south lines as vertical, which can skew the perspective and relative positions slightly at the corners (the published canon maps tend to do this as well).

The Heroic Realm of Jeretlan? Color me intrigued. I enjoyed making the Regnum map, and I'd enjoy elaborating on some of the magical effects I came up with for the Atlantis map.

Hotrod wrote:
The Heroic Realm of Jeretlan? Color me intrigued.

It's a project that Kent Burles and I are kicking around ideas for...

Here's a little epilogue for this map project: I layered a bare version of the map onto Google Earth. Here's a screenshot.

It takes less than 2 minutes to pop the layer in if you already have Google Earth. Here's a step-by-step guide:

1. Zoom all the way in on the map of your choice. Right click it, and select "Copy". Open up Paint. Hit "Paste". Save this file to your desktop.
1. a. If you use the final map with the icons and stuff, and not the bare one, then I recommend that you crop the frame off. You can do this by opening the image in paint, using the "select" tool, and dragging diagonally across so that you select everything but the frame. Cut this, open a new paint file, and paste. Then save.
2. Open Google Earth. Make sure that the "Borders and Labels" layer box is checked.
3. Zoom in on the North Atlantic. You want Bermuda and the Azores to just be visible. Double click the "N" on the navigation tool in the upper-right hand corner to make sure that north is up.
4. From the top menu, select Add > Image Overlay. Hit "Browse" and select the map file on your desktop.
5. After a few moments, the map will appear on the view. Do NOT close the New Image Overlay interface yet. Grab the top bar of the interface and move it off to the side.
6. The map should be in roughly the right place and at roughly the right size, but it won't be exact. Now you need to grab and drag the yellow corners of the map to make it match real-life places. Fortunately, the map has three handy reference points: Bermuda, the Azores, and Nova Scotia. Move the corners around until the real-life points match up well with the map points. This won't be exact, but it should be fairly close.
7. Once you're satisfied, close the "New Image Overlay".

Enjoy!

This looks amazing! Great job!

All of Europe? I could probably do that, but I'd worry about the less-defined regions, like Scandinavia, Italy, Spain, and the Balkans. I could do the natural geography, but there wouldn't be much political stuff of interest in these large areas, while there would be a great deal of map information in places with books written about them.

... Or do you mean do a map of something in Europe? I was contemplating doing a smaller-scale map of Britain, or perhaps Germany. I may take a break before I do another Rifts map, though, and try my hand at another Fantasy map.

I have done some maps of the Middle East for the novel manuscript I wrote (some may remember its rough draft that I wrote on this forum called "Meyer's Mission"), but most of them are embedded with the manuscript and won't be released unless/until the manuscript itself sees print. Given Kevin's workload, I wouldn't count on it seeing a green light anytime soon.

arklight wrote:Rifter has Italy ruled but a Wolfen's that act like and dress like Roman's of old.

Incidentally, welcome to the boards, and I'm glad that my project thread here inspired you to join and post.

I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't own any Rifters. Also, I'm a bit confused about what you mean in your latest post.

Ah, I understand then. While I could give such a map a try, I generally like to try to do maps of well-defined, canon regions for my RPG maps, especially if it's a map I want to try to use down the road to pique the interest of Kevin and his crew.

Of course, you're welcome to commission me to make such a map.

Map Update. I was looking over this one earlier today and I didn't like how hard it was to see the regional borders, so I re-did them in color.

I'm in the process of optimizing this map (and others) for printing. Although these maps look fine on the screen, the first round of prints that came out were too dark and lacked adequate contrast. I'm trying some filter techniques to address this so people can print them out and use them on a tabletop.

Amazing! Keep them coming! PB please take notice!

Thats awesome. And if any region needed more detailed maps, its Atlantis.

Shorty Lickens wrote:Thats awesome. And if any region needed more detailed maps, its Atlantis.

Thanks, and I agree about the need for detail! One of the most challenging aspects of this map was how some places were named but not located, or located but not named. As a result, half a dozen of the cities on the map are nameless, and most of the smaller cities' locations are approximate guesses based on the geography and some sparse hints (such as "there are three other Kittani cities within 200 miles of Ki-Talan"). According to the text, there are about twenty cities in The Valley, but I could only account for 14 with names or locations. I could sprinkle in a half dozen more, but that would be pure guesswork

I would love to have made a "natural geography" version of this map like I did with the Northern Gun map I made, but there just wasn't enough information. None of the rivers or lakes have names, and only one of the described mountains has a canon location. An entire mountain range (the eastern one) is unnamed. Most of the islands on the map lack names or canon descriptions. Short of getting another Atlantis book or getting a sit-down with Kevin to get that kind of info straight from the source, this map is the best canon-faithful effort I can make.

Awesome how do I download a full scale version of the map?

Mlp7029 wrote:Awesome how do I download a full scale version of the map?

Click here. There should be a "Download media" button at the top of the page.

If that doesn't work, let me know, and I'll put something else up. There's an older version of the map on my DeviantArt page that I could update.

Hotrod wrote:

Shorty Lickens wrote:Actually, I think in the year 2014 we could probably do better.

I'd like a digital, interactive atlas of Rifts Earth. I'd pay for one if I could download it and access it any time.

Like Google Rifts Earth? As awesome as that would be, it isn't practical for me. I'm one guy with a laptop and a hobby, and the prospect of dynamically scaling up and down from a world view to a small region like Michigan's Upper Peninsula would involve several orders of magnitude more knowledge, work, time, and computing power than I have. If you want that kind of capability, your best bet is the Rifts NA map that's stickied on this forum. I hear Mobuttu is working on a global version.

Although the actual map I'm making is in far higher definition (Photobucket is showing it at 1/3 to 1/2 scale), and you could zoom in to a point, it doesn't take long before it gets grainy, since it's a bitmap. My computer and GIMP struggle at the current size (about 3300x2600 pixels). On my computer, 100% zoom yields a map that's about 3 feet by 2 feet of screen space (I'm working with an 11-inch screen, so I only see a piece at a time). Of course, I could do the maps in a vector program like Inkscape, but it wouldn't look nearly as good, and most people don't have vector software.

The best I could offer with this technique would be a baseline map with a variety of overlays. I haven't played with Adobe much, but I hear there are ways to do that in a single file.

1st off your cartography skills are awesome! I am curious though if you have looked into the profantasy software? I picked up the Campaign Cartographer program they make and it sets up hyperlinks to allow a zoom in type feature. I am actually trying to find any Rifts players that have done any work with the program to get advise on how to setup my own.

Thanks for the compliment! I'm glad you enjoy the map.

I have looked into Campaign Cartographer, but I decided against getting it for two reasons:
1. It costs money. The programs I use (GIMP, Inkscape, and WILBUR) are free and open source.
2. Many of the maps I've seen created with Campaign Cartographer look very similar, and I wanted to create my own look.

Having read up on Campaign Cartographer 3 (CC3), I can offer some insight into the program, but I can't delve too much into its nuts and bolts. Here are my impressions:

First and foremost, the program is made by geeks, for geeks. The whole point of Campaign Cartographer is to produce good-looking maps quickly, without the even-steeper learning curves of Photoshop or GIMP. In this, the program succeeds. As a tool for GMs, it's a great piece of software. I don't recall ever seeing a CC3 map that looked ugly or sloppy. A GM who wants to impress his players with good maps and provide a common frame of reference for the whole group would do well to buy this program and get familiar with it.

The underlying trick behind making this work is a big library of textures, shapes, objects, and graphics. The program's interface allows the user to grab a feature, place it, and scale it as desired. Since the source art is done to a dependable standard, the results are generally clear and consistent.

The downside is that you're limited to the library of art provided. You're not actually drawing much, but rather assembling pre-made features. Although the art provided is good, it tends to fit common genres. As a result, CC3 maps tend to look a bit generic. Injecting specific thematic elements, like the chain-bounded legend, Eye of Eyelor compass, ley lines, Bermuda Triangle, or Splugorth-body-part city icons in this map, would likely be difficult.

Understand, I'm not saying you can't make some very impressive maps with CC3, especially if you put a lot of time and thought into it. I can't tell you the best tricks to use (though there are some very helpful sites and videos out there, including the CC3 website, the Cartographers Guild (which tends to be dominated by photoshop and GIMP mappers), DeviantArt, and, of course, Youtube. What I can offer you are some tips from a guy who's seen some better and worse CC3 maps:

1. Vary the art you use. Don't use the same floor tile everywhere, and when you do re-use it, rotate it, flip it, or do something so it doesn't look like it was just tossed in there.

2. Take your time and think about the overall layout. Look at maps of real castles, catacombs, cities, and palaces for inspiration.

3. Don't try to jump the learning curve; it takes time to understand CAD-type programs. Start off with something simple, follow a tutorial, and build your skills from there. Make farmhouses, then inns, and then a small village before you try to create the Tombs of Gersidi or Chi-Town.

4. Most importantly, have fun with it, and please share with the rest of us if you come up with something you're particularly proud of.

Thanks for the insight! The little I have done with CC3 has turned out nicely although I am still a major Noob when it comes to any sort of cartography. The main reason I went for the program was for gaming purposes so it does what I need it to (granted no where near as nice as your atlantis map turned out LOL).

One reason I have gone towards the mapping ideas is the fact that most game systems don't give out maps anymore, they are either pages in the book which tend to have minimal details or absent altogether, and I have noticed players tend to become more involved with the game the more visual aids you provide. It also helps that I have an HDMI cable routed from my PC to my TV so the maps are on a much larger screen and during games I leave my maps on the screen so the players can assess what they want to do and where they want to go.

Thanks again for the tips! I will absolutely keep them in mind when I begin my mapping process.

A re-balanced and print-optimized version of this map is available as a high-quality print for this year's Christmas Surprise Packages! Just put it in as a request.

Hotrod wrote:A re-balanced and print-optimized version of this map is available as a high-quality print for this year's Christmas Surprise Packages! Just put it in as a request.

Always liked this map.