Map Showcase and Review Thread

[tImE]

I return, with my newly updated Cerulean City.
It has been updated with regards to comments here and on DeviantART.

Spoiler:

[Serperion]

Originally Posted by tImE

I return, with my newly updated Cerulean City.
It has been updated with regards to comments here and on DeviantART.

Spoiler:

Since you aren't basing this as closely to Cerulean as FR/LG did to R/B/G I'll just imagine this as a regular town/city map.

This is a very well developed map in comparison to your last one, I think the inclusion of pavement was a good choice it shows this is a city not just some small town with a gym, your detail to levels is very well done especially around Cerulean cave which could have had a different colour palette but meh...

I'm not so sure about the change at the bottom of the map where there is the lower section I would've thought it was elevated. It does bring shape into question for me, it doesn't seem to entirely work to its finest.

The North-East section is excellent, whether you will permit any access to that darker water or not in Route 25 wouldn't faze me in the slightest it would open up more opportunities I guess but you don't have to.

This map has two things I don't like. The first is the 4th Gen guards being there. Whether you wanted female guards as to follow with Kanto's major police force or not. Though if you had updated them to 5th Gen with the rest of the map would've been nice. The second one is that Western entrance/exit, I'm not sure what you were exactly going for but if there was more separation between the Dirt path and the Road would've been better or if you melded the two together. Overall this map is significantly better than your last Cerulean Map and if you chose to keep this map as is that would still be great. 9.98/10

[tImE]

Thanks for the feedback!

Regarding the Police-officers:
This isn't a Generation 5 remake. More like... Generation 4.5?
I'm using the DPPt/HGSS Overworlds, in a more realistically sized tileset. (I thought it was strange how the doors were always smaller than the actual people)
And I have no intention of going over to Gen 5 Overworlds, I really dislike them.

About the South area:
I know in all other "remakes" the southern "middle path" has been elevated and not low down, but I didn't know how else to fit the ledge in there.
...
I might just fence the whole area off, and make it the Day-Care area? (Like Four Island or Route 117.)
There really was never any purpose for it, except to make it harder to reach the Day-care, which I think is silly, now that I think about it.

[Java's Missingno.]

Originally Posted by tImE

Spoiler:

I really like the fact that you used the different pavement styles so well, and I think the additional exits covered by policemen and barricades really add to Cerulean City's appearance in a logical fashion(An exit through a civilian's house? Why!?) I do feel, though, that the trees leading to Nugget Bridge need some indication that they aren't simply growing straight out of the pavement(Which may require new tiles or to use the ones which border the bike shop's backyard). Speaking of which, I think you might want to make the back of the bike shop a bit sandier, as the grass seems rather out of place for a business. Finally, Cerulean Cave looks very nice with the additional levels, but it feels too small. I'd try making another level of rock face and then having it narrow off.

A test map I drew of an early-game mountain pass(To get a sense of it - Just before a player would get Cut, but they would get Rock Smash closer to mid-game. The cave would lead to a town, as would the north, south, and east paths.)

Spoiler:

A player's house(I tried to go for a more lived-in look)

Spoiler:

[Serperion]

Originally Posted by Java's Missingno.

A test map I drew of an early-game mountain pass(To get a sense of it - Just before a player would get Cut, but they would get Rock Smash closer to mid-game. The cave would lead to a town, as would the north, south, and east paths.)

Spoiler:

I'll just review the first one the mountain pass. To put it bluntly it's good but not that good.

The good things: You've effectively used different land levels and landscapes. This can be refined to a more harsh path with more levels to make the journey more like a passage. The assortment of Grass and Mountain (not Rocks) is well done there is definetly a good amount of mountain for this route.

There are several trhing you could patch up however.

The first is the Rocks (not the Rock Smash rocks). These are too orderly like they were place there. Try to make them be replaced by something like higher or lower levels of the mountain to give it a more realistic touch.

Second is the Grass. Yes you can include grass however you should make it higher and have dirt on the lower levels. Definetly do not make the lower levels sand based unless you decide to include a water segment.

Thirdly is the house. I know in some pokemon games there is usually a house outside a mountain for healing purposes but this situation doesn't fit well, the house should look like it was carved by the mountain, use Rock or Wood based houses not Cement. A good choice would be something like Fortree City houses.

Fourthly, try to keep your path even in length, a small 1 square path in the middle looks really bad and try to include less obvious (go this way for cake) pathing. Patch it up so it looks more rugged. Demolish some of the path if you have to.

Lastly, this one isn't a minus this is just me asking. What is with the flowers and pokeball. I'm pretty sure a mountain is more likely to have trees than Flowers. The pokeball I don't understand It seems inaccessible unless you plan to include an exit through the house which you should show with dirt or sand paths.

Overall this map seems a bit rushed but it has some good potential give yourself a timeframe to work with and improve on this maps weaknesses so it looks like it belongs in a game (also you have a few block errors the one I noticed was on the West wall of the right mountain). 5.6/10

[Java's Missingno.]

While I respect your opinion, please allow me to offer my counterarguments:

Originally Posted by Serperion

The first is the Rocks (not the Rock Smash rocks). These are too orderly like they were place there. Try to make them be replaced by something like higher or lower levels of the mountain to give it a more realistic touch.

The intention was that the rocks WERE deliberately placed, as the path had been cleared at a recent point in time, as well as to define the property belonging to the house on the map.

Originally Posted by Serperion

Second is the Grass. Yes you can include grass however you should make it higher and have dirt on the lower levels. Definetly do not make the lower levels sand based unless you decide to include a water segment.

I see no reason that grass cannot be at that level, especially if the route follows along the easiest path as opposed to an artificial path.

Originally Posted by Serperion

Thirdly is the house. I know in some pokemon games there is usually a house outside a mountain for healing purposes but this situation doesn't fit well, the house should look like it was carved by the mountain, use Rock or Wood based houses not Cement. A good choice would be something like Fortree City houses.

For starters, a Fortree City house would've looked out of place, being a Fr/Lg style map. As such, it was really a toss-up and I decided to use one of the houses which provided some "behind-space" (For reasons I'll get to in a sec) Instead, I opted for the most basic-looking house I could, and believe it suits the style intended, although it admittedly is not the same as, for instance, the tin-roofed huts of the Sevii Islands.

Originally Posted by Serperion

Fourthly, try to keep your path even in length, a small 1 square path in the middle looks really bad and try to include less obvious (go this way for cake) pathing. Patch it up so it looks more rugged. Demolish some of the path if you have to.

I'm inclined to disagree by virtue of taste on this one; a path will narrow on less-traveled tangents often, and seemed fitting. As for the less obvious path, I actually followed how I believe the games' maps are designed, with a path more laden with wild Pokemon and an alternative path with more Trainers to battle.(Unfortunately I should have marked that the barebones path had Trainers on it, but at the time of creation I didn't have access to overworld sprites which would represent a Trainer.)

Originally Posted by Serperion

Lastly, this one isn't a minus this is just me asking. What is with the flowers and pokeball. I'm pretty sure a mountain is more likely to have trees than Flowers. The pokeball I don't understand It seems inaccessible unless you plan to include an exit through the house which you should show with dirt or sand paths.

The flowers are more an artificial touch, as they are essentially in the yard of the house. As for the Pokeball, the house is positioned with enough distance from the mountain's foot that a player could walk behind the house to obtain the item contained within.

[KingCharizard]

Originally Posted by Java's Missingno.

I really like the fact that you used the different pavement styles so well, and I think the additional exits covered by policemen and barricades really add to Cerulean City's appearance in a logical fashion(An exit through a civilian's house? Why!?) I do feel, though, that the trees leading to Nugget Bridge need some indication that they aren't simply growing straight out of the pavement(Which may require new tiles or to use the ones which border the bike shop's backyard). Speaking of which, I think you might want to make the back of the bike shop a bit sandier, as the grass seems rather out of place for a business. Finally, Cerulean Cave looks very nice with the additional levels, but it feels too small. I'd try making another level of rock face and then having it narrow off.

i gotta say i disagree with all this about the map in question, i think its very well done, infact its the best remake i've ever seen

[Serperion]

Originally Posted by Java's Missingno.

While I respect your opinion, please allow me to offer my counterarguments:

The intention was that the rocks WERE deliberately placed, as the path had been cleared at a recent point in time, as well as to define the property belonging to the house on the map.



I see no reason that grass cannot be at that level, especially if the route follows along the easiest path as opposed to an artificial path.


For starters, a Fortree City house would've looked out of place, being a Fr/Lg style map. As such, it was really a toss-up and I decided to use one of the houses which provided some "behind-space" (For reasons I'll get to in a sec) Instead, I opted for the most basic-looking house I could, and believe it suits the style intended, although it admittedly is not the same as, for instance, the tin-roofed huts of the Sevii Islands.


I'm inclined to disagree by virtue of taste on this one; a path will narrow on less-traveled tangents often, and seemed fitting. As for the less obvious path, I actually followed how I believe the games' maps are designed, with a path more laden with wild Pokemon and an alternative path with more Trainers to battle.(Unfortunately I should have marked that the barebones path had Trainers on it, but at the time of creation I didn't have access to overworld sprites which would represent a Trainer.)


The flowers are more an artificial touch, as they are essentially in the yard of the house. As for the Pokeball, the house is positioned with enough distance from the mountain's foot that a player could walk behind the house to obtain the item contained within.

So you are telling me your making an artificial mountain? If so please explain why, also on the counterargument about Fortree I was referring to using the Ruby ROM instead, the FR/LG just really only has concrete housing mainly because of Gen I but even the Sevii Islands weren't mountainous houses. Otherwise I can see that all your counterarguments are "valid".

[tImE]

The legend continues;
Vermilion City

Spoiler:

[Serperion]

Originally Posted by tImE

The legend continues;
Vermilion City

Spoiler:

First off, WOW! that is incredible for a map, loving everything. This map to me has no negatives so I'll point out my favorite things.

1) The Gym - Thank you for removing that accursed Cut tree that thing was such a pain in Gen I, I hope you decide to do the same for Celadon when you get to it. The gym alone is very well placed distant from the houses yet not too far away. I'm loving that you kept the left wall though.

2) The building Lot - Since I have no idea whether this was same time as R/B/G or in the future I didn't know what to expect but you've done an excellent job making it look like a definite starting sight, though whether you decide to keep that grass around the edge or not may enhance or hinder the image.

3) Miscellaneous items - I'm talking the Bin, Crates and Buoys. The Bin just seems appropriate probably because Vermillion is one of the larger cities. The Crates seem to just fit the port considering it was until Gen II the only dock for Ships, you could hide items behind the crates if you wanted. The third thing being those Buoys, they fit the scenery very well and make a good impression for the city

Overall very well done 9.999999999999999999999999999999999/10

[elarmasecreta]

Both the remakes of vermillion and cerulean look amazing! Gotta say i like the vermilion one better though, as i like cerulean better with some grass rather than all paved up. (Like in fr/lg)

[Derxwna Kapsyla]

Kanto Power Plant
Bringing power to the Kanto and Johto Regions around the clock!

Source Game: Touhoumon Faith & Prayer Version
This map is the basement of the renovated power plant, it's where the actual electrical grid is now. It's one of the first dungeons, and serves as the place where you fight Team Rocket for the first time. For some reason, Team Rocket has attacked the Kanto Power plant, and sabotaged the power for the region. Why? Nobody knows. What are they trying to achieve, i suppose you'll just have to find out.

14 Grunts (12 on this map, 2 more topside), 5 are mandatory. The two double battles are optional fights. The grunt around the 9 generators runs around them in Figure-Eight style, the one around the crates circles them.

There are four item balls, but one of them is a fake. Do you feel lucky?

This is honestly the first time I've attempted to construct an original dungeon, without copying any other maps. I'd really appreciate some legitimate and serious constructive feedback if possible, so I know how and where need to improve.

Warning, picture is large.
External Link: http://i.imgur.com/AnfWnrJ.jpg

Spoiler:

Edit: I already fixed that tile error near the 9 generators.

[Saving Raven]

Originally Posted by Derxwna Kapsyla

This is honestly the first time I've attempted to construct an original dungeon, without copying any other maps. I'd really appreciate some legitimate and serious constructive feedback if possible, so I know how and where need to improve.

I like it, it seems pretty cool. I like the idea of it and how its set up but it just seems...cluttered in some places, and empty in others: empty near the top left of the main map, and cluttered with the amount of barrels in one area. Good job! 8/10


heres a map of mine, its a hidden village from my forest, and players who manage to find this will have a nice reward ;P but you need to work for it! its a rough draft, and I need to add some cabins or huts, but this is a base.

Spoiler:

[Serperion]

Originally Posted by Saving Raven

Spoiler:

I'm gonna be honest your custom sprites don't go well with the FR/LG sprites, if you changed the FR/LG sprites to fit this would look amazing.

I'm not really seeing how this could benefit from cabins and huts maybe an underground city would put a swing on things, it is entirely your choice but you could have one main entrance which leads to each house.

Not bad for a draft but does need improvement. 6.8/10

[Ęℓαчиıı]

Originally Posted by Saving Raven

I like it, it seems pretty cool. I like the idea of it and how its set up but it just seems...cluttered in some places, and empty in others: empty near the top left of the main map, and cluttered with the amount of barrels in one area. Good job! 8/10


heres a map of mine, its a hidden village from my forest, and players who manage to find this will have a nice reward ;P but you need to work for it! its a rough draft, and I need to add some cabins or huts, but this is a base.

Spoiler:

I agree with Serperion.

The default RMXP tiles don't fit with the Pokémon tiles. At all. I think you'd be better off using the giant tree that is in Bugsy's Gym in HeartGold/SoulSilver with a few recolors. The innermost/outer ledges off the craters you're using the wrong curvatures. I would recommend recoloring one to fit these certain tiles.

If anything, you could switch over to HeartGold/SoulSilver tiles and you could fine many more tiles to fit this particular sections. However, it is decent for a rough draft. My rating is a 6.5/10.

[Saving Raven]

Originally Posted by Serperion

I'm gonna be honest your custom sprites don't go well with the FR/LG sprites, if you changed the FR/LG sprites to fit this would look amazing.

I'm not really seeing how this could benefit from cabins and huts maybe an underground city would put a swing on things, it is entirely your choice but you could have one main entrance which leads to each house.

Not bad for a draft but does need improvement. 6.8/10

I see what you guys mean, I wasn't entirely sure how good they were, but I needed a huge tree x.x
you have an interesting idea with cave people, but these are more forest people; they are devote "sages" to the pokemon mew. They are awaiting someone who is pure of heart from the "outer-realm" as they call it (basically a good person from outside the forest) However it is not the player XP
I may make their houses trees...

Originally Posted by Ęℓαчиıı

I agree with Serperion.

The default RMXP tiles don't fit with the Pokémon tiles. At all. I think you'd be better off using the giant tree that is in Bugsy's Gym in HeartGold/SoulSilver with a few recolors. The innermost/outer ledges off the craters you're using the wrong curvatures. I would recommend recoloring one to fit these certain tiles.

If anything, you could switch over to HeartGold/SoulSilver tiles and you could fine many more tiles to fit this particular sections. However, it is decent for a rough draft. My rating is a 6.5/10.

"The innermost/outer ledges off the craters you're using the wrong curvatures. I would recommend recoloring one to fit these certain tiles. "
^what do you mean? I'm not sure what you're referring to...
and as much as I love gen4 graphics, I'm using them for something else, and this map needs to be in gen3
However, would a recoloring of the logs work in a gen3 map? I love them so much >w<

[Serperion]

Originally Posted by Saving Raven

I see what you guys mean, I wasn't entirely sure how good they were, but I needed a huge tree x.x
you have an interesting idea with cave people, but these are more forest people; they are devote "sages" to the pokemon mew. They are awaiting someone who is pure of heart from the "outer-realm" as they call it (basically a good person from outside the forest) However it is not the player XP
I may make their houses trees...



"The innermost/outer ledges off the craters you're using the wrong curvatures. I would recommend recoloring one to fit these certain tiles. "
^what do you mean? I'm not sure what you're referring to...
and as much as I love gen4 graphics, I'm using them for something else, and this map needs to be in gen3
However, would a recoloring of the logs work in a gen3 map? I love them so much >w<

Look you've really only got to change the floor and the trees, you could change the tree tiles so they all interlock together to form a more dense forest. If you change the ground I recommend adding some shadows like you did with the big tree.

[Saving Raven]

Originally Posted by Serperion

Look you've really only got to change the floor and the trees, you could change the tree tiles so they all interlock together to form a more dense forest. If you change the ground I recommend adding some shadows like you did with the big tree.

change the ground?
what do you mean... do you mean make it like a dark dense forest? because this is more of a closed off area thats hilly and surrounded by trees; you can only access it by going through an underground cave.

[Serperion]

Originally Posted by Saving Raven

change the ground?
what do you mean... do you mean make it like a dark dense forest? because this is more of a closed off area thats hilly and surrounded by trees; you can only access it by going through an underground cave.

What I mean is make the trees inter-connect to show it is locked off, and change the ground to be shaded considering you did the same for the large tree.

[Rayd12smitty]

Hey guys. This is Route 3 from my game. I just redid it and fixed a few tile errors and stuff like that. It is meant to be "hilly" route, yet not mountainous. Down leads to the home town (Lily Town) and is blocked by trees until you have cut. Up leads to Vetus Town which I have yet to make.



A few quick facts on the route. The two trees that look different are Headbutt Trees. The house is home to a small business called "Tree Co." The owner is in the small area to the upper right that you can't get to until you can surf. She will give you a Treecko later on. (I made a Pun!) There is a hidden item on the small upraised area just south of the house, an item blocked by a route down the sideways stairs, and an item blocked by a Cut Tree in that little area in the upper left by the small pond.

[Maruno]

Originally Posted by Rayd12smitty

Hey guys. This is Route 3 from my game. I just redid it and fixed a few tile errors and stuff like that. It is meant to be "hilly" route, yet not mountainous. Down leads to the home town (Lily Town) and is blocked by trees until you have cut. Up leads to Vetus Town which I have yet to make.

A few quick facts on the route. The two trees that look different are Headbutt Trees. The house is home to a small business called "Tree Co." The owner is in the small area to the upper right that you can't get to until you can surf. She will give you a Treecko later on. (I made a Pun!) There is a hidden item on the small upraised area just south of the house, an item blocked by a route down the sideways stairs, and an item blocked by a Cut Tree in that little area in the upper left by the small pond.

Two small points: 1. Is the gatehouse necessary? 2. That bridge is only one tile "high", yet the player's sprite is more than one tile high.

Everything else is just my subjective opinion. The grass strips between layers of the cliffs look odd, although I realise this is probably just because of a limited tileset. The cliffs are perhaps a little more squared than they should be (most obvious in the major cliff areas, but there's straight lines all over the place). The path at the southern end stops for no real reason, contrary to what the abundance of paths in the rest of the map might suggest should happen.

Otherwise, it's a nice little route. There probably isn't any room for a few jumpable ledges, even if they might help with the hilly feel.

[Rayd12smitty]

Originally Posted by Maruno

Two small points: 1. Is the gatehouse necessary? 2. That bridge is only one tile "high", yet the player's sprite is more than one tile high.

Everything else is just my subjective opinion. The grass strips between layers of the cliffs look odd, although I realise this is probably just because of a limited tileset. The cliffs are perhaps a little more squared than they should be (most obvious in the major cliff areas, but there's straight lines all over the place). The path at the southern end stops for no real reason, contrary to what the abundance of paths in the rest of the map might suggest should happen.

Otherwise, it's a nice little route. There probably isn't any room for a few jumpable ledges, even if they might help with the hilly feel.

I cant really do anything about the strips between cliff layers. I've tried but I am limited like you said. Thanks I fixed the bridge and the path at the bottom. The gatehouse is necessary because I already have 6 maps connected to this the other way and the events are starting to make it lag.

[Rayd12smitty]

Alright. I fixed up my Route that I posted a few days ago.

Zela Region Route 3

Spoiler:

[Zodiac.]

Here's one of my maps, Route 1 of Pokémon Carbon.

Spoiler:

[Serperion]

Originally Posted by Zodiac.

Here's one of my maps, Route 1 of Pokémon Carbon.

Spoiler:

Its an ok first route although I don't like all the square shapes of it. The path at the top should just be one path not split I recommend keeping the lower half. Secondly a lot of your grass is very square-like and you should try to make it be more closer to the trees and make it more longer so that it looks like it is the end of the tree line. I like the idea of having the area elevate in the last quarter of the map but I'd recommend making it two different staircases having one go up one level and another go up two. Finally with that mountain on the right you could change that to become another exit to the route and have a strength boulder block it.

Overall this map is pretty generic for first route maps to a game. The main thing you should focus on is that unless if your hometown is big this route should look like it hasn't been touched by mankind. 7.2/10