low level = 1-10

LOL, maybe im guilty of thinking low lvl = 1-100.

We'll I think somthing the size of Stoneholme would be wasted if filled with lvl 1-10 mobs only, but if thats what you want...

I'll reserve the right to be silent now, and let the nay-sayers be nay-sayers =)

Either way i'll work on my maps and on recording sound effects, and anyone who wants to help can feel free to do so.

So what are the strengths to large levels with few players?

When you're wandering the large, dry spaces of Arizona, meeting someone else is an event.  Not so when you bump into some jerk on the phone on an NYC sidewalk.

Also, trafficking goods becomes more of a potential service.

Plus, I really can be too distant to help at the moment, which is a huge bonus.

Exploration feels more... peaceful, convincing, anxious, exciting when the nearest safe/populated area isn't 15 seconds away running.


Still, exploration in a repetitive environment is not as compelling.  I like to explore every nook, but only when they're unique and occasionally lead somewhere.  I'm certainly not going to search thirty duplicate rose gardens because one supposedly contains something curious.

Is there room for a giant world with only a few unique parts in it?  Honestly, I haven't seen a successful version.  Civilization has auto-generated maps and every one works.  Morrowwind was the hugest game ever, but kept duplication down to a minimum.  That world was crafted.  And I can't even hear the music to Gothic without wanting to explore it again.

I think the key would be to have few small towns with long one-dimensional connections.  That way you preserve distance and isolation, but you don't have to fill a whole map with detail.   You can limit map design to a series of roads along ravines, through dense forests, and along mountain ridges.  That way, every little piece you add serves to move the player further into the wild.

well heres how i look onto it. A very large city could be reserved and a project to opening a huge world with it one day. Why open a huge world? to have thousands of dungeons maps and quests that makes so many differnt items and chars that are so different in both style and items from the other rather then every1 virtually the exact same with the same items. Maybe even starting every noob in citys all over this world to make him different from others. maybe around all major cities the levels are low and gets higher as you venture away. I personally would love to see something like that but i know there are many who would strongly disagree with me on this. But planes i'll throw together a part of the poor area, and some of the farming areas.

Cool.  I have one farm area about half done.  Not exceptionally remarkale, but farms don't have alot of chance to be remarkable (being that they are farms and prone to NOT having money)

So here is what i have made for one of the first farm templates, since i haven't officially mapped yet, any input from experienced mappers (and from those who know farms) would be appreciated

http://screamingflower.dontexist.org/daimonin/media/graphic/temp/farm1.png

i think the image file is about 1/2 a meg, so those who has a slow connection be warned! (and those who have a fast connection be warned that my upload connection is not the fastest... but still pretty good!)

Farm looks good . I especially like the chicken coop.

Cheers,
Unislash

realisticly, we need more peasant-type looking mobs...

Hehe, thats one of the nicest farms I've ever seen (if you see my family farmland... the only product we grow are weeds, and more weeds).

Cheers,
Anich

Smaller farm is here, again, please give me feedback on what can be improved on the farms.  Please note that the line of trees are a windbreak, and since they are on the south side of the farm obviously this location gets hefty south-to-north winds (and this should only interfere with crp growth in early spring and late fall, so it should be good).  It also blocks alot of the farm, but so you know there is a doggie, and a well, and another cart and some other stuff.

http://screamingflower.dontexist.org/daimonin/media/graphic/temp/farm2.png

have fun!

EDIT: another here, more of a cattle based operation

http://screamingflower.dontexist.org/daimonin/media/graphic/temp/farm3.png

Veeery well done! as mentioned before, may be it is too clean a bit, but i think u mentioned that details woukd be added later from farm to farm differently - so, again: ty for doing nice stuff like that!

Next one, added a bit of weeds to this one, let me know as always, i seek to reach perfection in these things =)

http://screamingflower.dontexist.org/daimonin/media/graphic/temp/farm4.png

Of course this one has an outhouse instead of the standard bathroom, and is more of a single person farm (poor guy doesn't have a gal)

Anyways, still the southern windblock.

Unislash: are there any extra peasant type looking mobs in mapwiz vs. trunk?  I can't seem to find more than one or two suitable mobs to live in these farms....

And another one

http://screamingflower.dontexist.org/daimonin/media/graphic/temp/farm5.png

One of the 40x40 farms, and is based on cattle.  You can't see it because the trees are blocking it, but there are sets of partitions with a water trough and hay piles.  Anyways, comments/concerns/advice is always welcome.

2 more:

http://screamingflower.dontexist.org/daimonin/media/graphic/temp/farm6.png

http://screamingflower.dontexist.org/daimonin/media/graphic/temp/farm7.png

First one is a horse farm (a city needs horses you know)  And the second one is a wheat/hay farm (one of many to come).  I was placing these hay/straw bails everywhere, and then it occurred to me... where are they coming from?  Well, i'll solve that question with swift map making action!

Anyways, trees, as always, get in the way, but there they are, comments are always useful.

Well, good work planes . I still think it'd be much better to not use these as templates and just use them as... unique maps (i guess ). Anyway, about the peasant guys. The trunk and mapwiz repositories are supposed to work together, not separately. In fact, the mapwiz archs are very limited, and only (are supposed to) include archs that are *not* in the trunk yet. SO, the question you should be asking is if there are any peasant like mobs in the b4 branch vs the trunk (and the answer is that the trunk should have all that is in the B4 branch and then the newest stuff. Still, not sure if there are any new npcs).

Cheers,
Unislash

Well to be honest Unislash, i'm only going to use a template 3 times.  So chances are you REALLY won't know that its just a template (amoung 300+ farms are you going to notice that there are multiples of some of them?  Propably not so much, unless you use them for waymarkers or something...)

Regardless, if you want the files you may use them in the game, but i would be sorely disappointed if you used them and then said: well we don't like your city cause we used all your buildings in other parts of the game.  That would probably be very disappointing.

Anyways, i was having so much fun making these that i made a track to go with them too, so now i have homey farm music.  Although i haven't posted it on the Daudio website yet.

Seriously though i'm looking for feedback here on the maps themselves (not so much the usage).