Pittsburgh: Neighborhoods & Bridges

[natty dread]

Well there is still some pixelation...

If you're working in gimp now, I can point you towards a post I wrote on the basics of mapmaking in gimp...

http://www.conquerclub.com/forum/viewto ... 8#p3015779

[League]

much obliged

[League]

Updated for the latest in our work. How's she look? The slight pixelation is not on the original map. For some reason when I post as a JPEG is shows up like that

Click image to enlarge.

[natty dread]

The artifacts happens because JPEG is a lossy format, it uses a certain algorithm to compress your graphics in smaller size. JPEG works best (and was designed) for digital photographs, where the artifacts caused by compression aren't as visible.

I suggest saving your image as PNG, which is a non-lossy format.

As for the map... well, it's a start. Not a bad start, although it will need lots of work. But that's what we're here for, to help you along the way

I like the background. Where is the background image from?

That really thick black line on the south side of the map needs to go, though. It doesn't look too good.

[League]

the background is a historic map of Pittsburgh located on Pitt University's digital library http://digital.library.pitt.edu/maps/1872ind.html

I see what you are saying about the black line. It is obnoxiously huge. Guess since I've been staring at it for so long that I just learned to ignore it. Fresh eyes are good!

[ckdoeswork]

Good work League.

Natty, thank you very much for the feedback and for the suggestion that you are all here to help us make it better. that is appreciated, and we'll be happy to have the more experienced CC mapmakers make refinements.


I say we fix that line, save it in the right format (and maybe change the bridge reinforcements to +3 for 5 bridges, +5 for 8 bridges) and then send it into the official submission process.

How do we do that? what is the next step for submission?

[natty dread]

design brief thread http://www.conquerclub.com/forum/viewto ... 3&t=105502

[isaiah40]

the background is a historic map of Pittsburgh located on Pitt University's digital library http://digital.library.pitt.edu/maps/1872ind.html!

I like the background. Just a word of caution here, please make sure that the image is in public domain. We don't want to run into any problems down the road. Other than that your making some progress, so keep up the good work!

[League]

An excerpt from the copyright link on the same page as that map was found:

Unless otherwise noted, the majority of the books in our full-text collection and maps included on the Historic Pittsburgh website are in the public domain

[League]

Click image to enlarge.

[League]

Just wondering when ckdoeswork and I can expect to hear anything back on this map. It was submitted a few weeks ago and we are just curious how far along the process is.

[natty dread]

Ah, sorry. So much stuff going on here that must have slipped my mind... you guys need to post more frequently

Anyway... I kinda worry whether everything is going to fit all right on the small version. Your current map is 700x750 while the limit for a small map is 630x600...

In fact, you have so much "wasted" space on this map, and with the bridges, the map is fairly complex, so you should probably optimize the usage of image surface here.

Backgrounds and such should be secondary elements. Right now, the background of the map seems more prominent than the playable area... when it should be the other way around.

Also, I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been creating a GIMP tutorial that you might want to read, it's in the tools&tutorials subforum... there's 2 parts of it done at the moment, 3rd one coming soon.

Anyway, back to this map... I would suggest redrawing the map, this time going for a large map size of 840x800, and making the land area stretch all over the map, minus what you need for legend & title - and those should be minimal but legible.

Then, when you do the land outline, try making it thinner and less blurry than what you have now.

Also, the legend font doesn't work. It's pretty much unreadable. Try some other font?

[League]

Ok great! I'll see what I can do about all that. And no, I hadn't noticed your tutorials on gimp. I'll give it a look!

[League]

also, do you have any suggestions for making the map more prominent without changing the background? Thats one part that I'm fond of

[isaiah40]

You can reduce the opacity of the background, that way the map will be more prominent. That is make it lighter. If you need help I'm sure natty will help you out here and there

[natty dread]

You can reduce the opacity of the background, that way the map will be more prominent. That is make it lighter. If you need help I'm sure natty will help you out here and there

Hm, no offense Isaiah, but I wouldn't recommend that. The dark background actually provides a good contrast for the playable area.

I'd more recommend using space more effectively. So that less of the background would show through... let me make a mock-up to show what exactly I mean.

[natty dread]

More effective space usage (don't mind the poor quality of the image, it's just a mock-up):

Click image to enlarge.

Notice how the land area spans to the whole image, and the other elements are arranged around it. This also leaves some room in the lower right corner, where you can either put more gameplay instructions if it becomes necessary or you can use it for some visual elements that fit the pittsburgh theme...

[League]

Ok I appreciate the time it took to throw an example together to give me a visual idea of what you were talking about. I'll see what I can do

[MrBenn]

Ok I appreciate the time it took to throw an example together to give me a visual idea of what you were talking about. I'll see what I can do

I'm watching with interest

[League]

OK after a long break from staring at this map (and some pressure from ckdoeswork) I finally decided to sit down and get back at it. I enlarged the map to make better use of the space, adjusted a few borders while I was at it and I'm not sure if I'm going to keep the style of the key/instructions. Looking for feedback on the font style/layout. Let me know (particularly natty dread who has been of utmost help on this).

Click image to enlarge.

[ironsij0287]

Whether you keep the legend font or not, I say that it looks much better than before just by simply being way more legible.

I'm confused on the Crosstown Blvd statement on the bottom. That seems to suggest that Troy Hill and Knoxville can attack each other, but looking at the map you have Liberty Bridge and Veterans Bridge between them as well. The map makes me believe that Crosstown is the link between Liberty and Veterans attacking but the statement at the bottom is sort of confusing.

[League]

ah yes I can see how that might confuse people. You would have to control Veterans bridge and Liberty Bridge in order to fully utilize Crosstown Blvd, but the concept is the same. You can use Crosstown Blvd for easy access to the other side of the map. I'll change the wording. Thanks for pointing that out!

[League]

reworded instructions.

Click image to enlarge.

[koontz1973]

Looking for feedback on the font style/layout.

The coloured bonuses are nice and straight, all lining up neatly, but the 3 lines of Any Bridges giving 3, 7 or 15 bonus are skewed.

You seem to have some space above DAHNTAHN-7, so it might be OK to move all of them onto one column. This would give you more room for the bridges bonuses.

I know you have just re worded the instructions on Crosstown Blvd, but it still reads as if I can attack any territory between the 2 mentioned. (Try something like- If you control Veterans Bridge and Liberty Bridge, Troy Hill and Knoxville can attack each other using the Crosstown Blvd.).

[League]

Looking for feedback on the font style/layout.

The coloured bonuses are nice and straight, all lining up neatly, but the 3 lines of Any Bridges giving 3, 7 or 15 bonus are skewed.

You seem to have some space above DAHNTAHN-7, so it might be OK to move all of them onto one column. This would give you more room for the bridges bonuses.

I know you have just re worded the instructions on Crosstown Blvd, but it still reads as if I can attack any territory between the 2 mentioned. (Try something like- If you control Veterans Bridge and Liberty Bridge, Troy Hill and Knoxville can attack each other using the Crosstown Blvd.).

again, this is exactly what I'm looking for from you guys. I want this to be as simple as possible for players. If there's anyone else out there who's following this PLEASE offer up advice if you have concerns or questions. Thanks Koontz.