Help Thread: Map Rating/Review Thread

[reshilegend]

Rom: FireRed
Game: A hack I'm working on currently.
Type: A starting route (maybe a bit too detailed?)

Just made this map for a hack I'm currently working on. I've been reading some advice on this thread but some feedback on my actual map would be helpful. Thanks!

The amount of detail is okay. What I've noticed is the fact that the mountains stop right before the border blocks, which looks strange to me. Play around with the border and add variety while trying to make sure that the player doesn't see the transistion from the mountains to the trees outside the border. Also, the player doesn't actually have to go over the mountain tiles here, which could be changed as well to make things more interesting. It is a starting route though, so it's up to you in the end.
In general: Definitely try to improve the border. More space to go through (2 blocks wide or more, that one block of space next to the ledge is not enough), more trees in the middle, etc.
Playtest a lot to get a feeling for the map and how you can improve it.

 

[Tim!]

Rom: FireRed
Game: A hack I'm working on currently.
Type: A starting route (maybe a bit too detailed?)

Just made this map for a hack I'm currently working on. I've been reading some advice on this thread but some feedback on my actual map would be helpful. Thanks!

This is the first time I rate a map and the first time I post one.
I like this map. The map seems fine to me. Perhaps some narrow passages for the player. Other then that, I think the route will be pleasant to go through.

Just 1 other remark. I find it odd that there is a pushing boulder, as it is just the starting route. I would wait till after the first town to add this. But that's just how I see it.

Now, for my very first map.

Map Name: Map 1

Map Game: Fire red

Comments: My first map. It hasn't got any purpose. The only purpose it could have is to be a route to go to another town. I only played around with everything and tried. It isn't a map for a hack or anything.

Mapshot:

 

[Alexander Nicholi]

The design is good, but there are a lot of tile errors with the trees and fences. It may be a good idea to purpose those cliffs (i.e. don't just have them be there, make them useful), and you may want to get rid of those rocks next to the trees as they look a good bit out-of-place.



Here's a map that's soon to be released in my ROM hack, Pokémon Citrite. It's called Mt. Massive:

Spoiler:

 

[Mana1]

Now, for my very first map.

Map Name: Map 1

Map Game: Fire red

Comments: My first map. It hasn't got any purpose. The only purpose it could have is to be a route to go to another town. I only played around with everything and tried. It isn't a map for a hack or anything.

Mapshot:

Your map has a pretty wide connection, which is pretty unusual and normally makes levelscripts more fiddly if you're planning on anything happening as you enter the map.

This wideness and the lack of paths and structure in your map leave it with no real direction. You should use trees to sculpt some kind of outline to your route (not just using a huge block on one side and a long straight fence on the other). As Nick said your tree-block looks like its stacked up on errors at the moment :(.

I'd recommend you switch up the dimensions - if a map goes from top to bottom then it should be taller than it is wide. That will immediately give your map a bit more shape, which will lend with the direction.

2/10

Here's a map that's soon to be released in my ROM hack, Pokémon Citrite. It's called Mt. Massive:

Spoiler:

Really good mountain shape generally, and the tiles suit. There is one small problem in the layering - those stairs on the left go up three tiles, however that 'peak' just to the left' actually ends up a bit confused, due to you the bit below.

Overall though, strong map. Maybe it could do with a bit more decoration (some snowy trees/grass) but I know snow tilesets are often a bit limited anyway.

8/10

 

[Le pug]

The design is good, but there are a lot of tile errors with the trees and fences. It may be a good idea to purpose those cliffs (i.e. don't just have them be there, make them useful), and you may want to get rid of those rocks next to the trees as they look a good bit out-of-place.



Here's a map that's soon to be released in my ROM hack, Pokémon Citrite. It's called Mt. Massive:

Spoiler:

Your map has a pretty wide connection, which is pretty unusual and normally makes levelscripts more fiddly if you're planning on anything happening as you enter the map.

This wideness and the lack of paths and structure in your map leave it with no real direction. You should use trees to sculpt some kind of outline to your route (not just using a huge block on one side and a long straight fence on the other). As Nick said your tree-block looks like its stacked up on errors at the moment :(.

I'd recommend you switch up the dimensions - if a map goes from top to bottom then it should be taller than it is wide. That will immediately give your map a bit more shape, which will lend with the direction.

2/10



Really good mountain shape generally, and the tiles suit. There is one small problem in the layering - those stairs on the left go up three tiles, however that 'peak' just to the left' actually ends up a bit confused, due to you the bit below.

Overall though, strong map. Maybe it could do with a bit more decoration (some snowy trees/grass) but I know snow tilesets are often a bit limited anyway.

8/10

Good eye! Took me forever to figure out what you were talking about lol. Inception!

Alex, the map itself looks good in terms of EM-style snow tiles and the layout is easy to walk around. The only thing I don't like is

Can't tell if you have it set to 2 movement rows ... I hate in games where you can only walk one tile paths, doesn't make it comfortable for the player to move around.

Also, like Mana said. It's kind of plain. Needs decorations. Mountains have trees (i.e. this picture or this one.

If the problem is not having any tiles for that or know where to get them, I decided to be awesome and compiled a few free public tiles for you:

Spoiler:

Add some decorations and go from a 8/10 to a 10/10 in my book :P

 

[LilBueno]

Map Name: Native Village
Map Game: FireRed
Comments: This will be the starting town for my hack. It's actually the first map I ever made thanks to Lost Heart's tutorial. I'm still getting used to mapping since I literally just started learning how to hack. It's a rough draft as I practice and there are changes that will be made eventually (especially once I learn how to create my own tiles [that's a thing, right? #nohackingknowledge] and insert other tilesets). For now, I'm thinking of changing that crappy and random bush pattern, rearranging the flowers. I originally used grass for the path, but think dirt/sand makes it look better. The left house is supposed to belong to a gardener, but I might drop that idea and replace it with something else or at the very least change the flower setup. The dock on the right is going to be used for a special event if I can figure out how to implement what I'm planning; if not, it'll either be closed off with trees or something of the sort. The trees on the left are purposely misaligned with the rest; it's something I'm going to try to do for a less blocky feel, but I think that'll mess with the borders? I know there's a corner missing from the path by the sign. I fixed that after I noticed. Long story short: starting town ver.0.0.1.
Oh, yeah. It's rainy weather.
Mapshot:

Spoiler:

 

[chrunch]

Map Name: Native Village
Map Game: FireRed
Comments: This will be the starting town for my hack. It's actually the first map I ever made thanks to Lost Heart's tutorial. I'm still getting used to mapping since I literally just started learning how to hack. It's a rough draft as I practice and there are changes that will be made eventually (especially once I learn how to create my own tiles [that's a thing, right? #nohackingknowledge] and insert other tilesets). For now, I'm thinking of changing that crappy and random bush pattern, rearranging the flowers. I originally used grass for the path, but think dirt/sand makes it look better. The left house is supposed to belong to a gardener, but I might drop that idea and replace it with something else or at the very least change the flower setup. The dock on the right is going to be used for a special event if I can figure out how to implement what I'm planning; if not, it'll either be closed off with trees or something of the sort. The trees on the left are purposely misaligned with the rest; it's something I'm going to try to do for a less blocky feel, but I think that'll mess with the borders? I know there's a corner missing from the path by the sign. I fixed that after I noticed. Long story short: starting town ver.0.0.1.
Oh, yeah. It's rainy weather.
Mapshot:

Spoiler:

In general you should try to avoid using tall grass in towns (even if it's inaccessible) unless you have a really good reason for it. Other than that it's not bad for a first map. I think the paths are a bit big and I don't like how the map is basically one big square, you should try filling in the empty spaces and giving the map more of a structure. For a starting town I suppose it's acceptable but in future maps I would avoid just making one shape and filling it with houses, it makes it look really simple and boring.

 

[Urnighter]

Map Name: Native Village
Map Game: FireRed
Comments: This will be the starting town for my hack. It's actually the first map I ever made thanks to Lost Heart's tutorial. I'm still getting used to mapping since I literally just started learning how to hack. It's a rough draft as I practice and there are changes that will be made eventually (especially once I learn how to create my own tiles [that's a thing, right? #nohackingknowledge] and insert other tilesets). For now, I'm thinking of changing that crappy and random bush pattern, rearranging the flowers. I originally used grass for the path, but think dirt/sand makes it look better. The left house is supposed to belong to a gardener, but I might drop that idea and replace it with something else or at the very least change the flower setup. The dock on the right is going to be used for a special event if I can figure out how to implement what I'm planning; if not, it'll either be closed off with trees or something of the sort. The trees on the left are purposely misaligned with the rest; it's something I'm going to try to do for a less blocky feel, but I think that'll mess with the borders? I know there's a corner missing from the path by the sign. I fixed that after I noticed. Long story short: starting town ver.0.0.1.
Oh, yeah. It's rainy weather.
Mapshot:

Spoiler:

I think there's a little too much empty space in the middle into the bottom left. I'd say either add something there or reduce the size of the map and push everything a little closer together. The paths also strike me as a little too wide, but that might just be me. I'm new to mapping too so I'm not sure.

My Map: http://imgur.com/aIoYzi1
Map Name: Fortree City (Edited)
Map Game: Emerald
Comments: I plan on making a small Emerald hack with some new areas and larger cities/towns. This is my first map ever and I wanted to start with Fortree since it's my favorite city. I always wished the cities were a little larger with more areas to explore. The idea with the house opening up over the water is that kids like to jump in the waterfall and then get out over to the left. The player wouldn't be able to exit that house over the water, though.

 

[Artemis64]

I think there's a little too much empty space in the middle into the bottom left. I'd say either add something there or reduce the size of the map and push everything a little closer together. The paths also strike me as a little too wide, but that might just be me. I'm new to mapping too so I'm not sure.

My Map: http://imgur.com/aIoYzi1
Map Name: Fortree City (Edited)
Map Game: Emerald
Comments: I plan on making a small Emerald hack with some new areas and larger cities/towns. This is my first map ever and I wanted to start with Fortree since it's my favorite city. I always wished the cities were a little larger with more areas to explore. The idea with the house opening up over the water is that kids like to jump in the waterfall and then get out over to the left. The player wouldn't be able to exit that house over the water, though.

The treehouse near the bottom of the map in the middle (with the really long entrance) looks odd -why does the entrance stretch all the way across? Shouldn't it only be one small entrance on the left and one on the right?
Also, what is the point of having the map extend that long? The gym is at the top, so what would motivate players to get all the way there, apart from having to get to the next town? I understand that you are trying to expand the cities, and while I enjoy the exploration factor, I really wouldn't enjoy digging through that area unless I find some hidden gem there.
This one is probably a personal thing, but I don't like the Emerald tileset. To up the exploration factor, you ought to use new tiles, as the map wouldn't feel truly fresh if you simply reused the same old tiles from R/S/E.
Rating: 7/10
And here's my map:
This map is a remake of Petalburg Woods that might or might not be used for a remake of Emerald- I haven't decided on what kind of hack I want to do yet.
Anyways, here's the map:

Spoiler:

 

[Danny0317]

And here's my map:
This map is a remake of Petalburg Woods that might or might not be used for a remake of Emerald- I haven't decided on what kind of hack I want to do yet.
Anyways, here's the map:

Spoiler:

Well, to start off, I think the map is great. It's spaced out properly, which I like a lot, I like the logs and mushrooms too, they're nice little additions. However, the tiles.. I'm not a fan of. I don't like them. They make everything seem too dark, and "bubbly" in my opinion, and I don't like the contrast between the logs. So my suggestion is, keep the map as is, but with better tiles.

Now, for my map:

Name: I don't have one yet. Have some ideas for it though..
Credits: They're in the Pokemon Empire thread, but the houses, I'm not sure. I think they're by the Red X, I need to ask Le, he showed me them.
Comments: The top part will have poisonous mist.

Spoiler:

 

[chrunch]

Name: I don't have one yet. Have some ideas for it though..
Credits: They're in the Pokemon Empire thread, but the houses, I'm not sure. I think they're by the Red X, I need to ask Le, he showed me them.
Comments: The top part will have poisonous mist.

Spoiler:

There are too many 1 tile paths and the ledges don't seem to do anything other than force the player to circle back around the map to get to them. They should be used to create shortcuts in routes or block off areas you only want accessible from one side, not to needlessly annoy the player.

These tiles also look awful. Should definitely be fixed up, at first I even thought they were tile errors.

 

[gabrielmr]

There are too many 1 tile paths and the ledges don't seem to do anything other than force the player to circle back around the map to get to them. They should be used to create shortcuts in routes or block off areas you only want accessible from one side, not to needlessly annoy the player.


These tiles also look awful. Should definitely be fixed up, at first I even thought they were tile errors.

I highly agree with you, I think that the idea of the map is awesome but this little errors freak me out

 

[PiGreat]

Now, for my map:

Name: I don't have one yet. Have some ideas for it though..
Credits: They're in the Pokemon Empire thread, but the houses, I'm not sure. I think they're by the Red X, I need to ask Le, he showed me them.
Comments: The top part will have poisonous mist.

Spoiler:

It's a pretty nice map, but as others have said, the tiles seem sort of off. That being said, though, the trees seem to work well with the 'poisonous mist' theme you have going on; the murky colour gives everything a swamp-like feel. I'd say maybe make the ground and water a little bit darker if that's what you're going for. If not, then I'd parrot the others' suggestions and advise changing the tree tiles (maybe to something brighter).
6/10.

Map name: Andante Village
Map game: Pokemon Firered
Credits: All of these tiles are from WesleyFG.
Comments: The starting town for my hack, Pokémon Sonata version. It's pretty shoddy, as you can see - it's my first 'proper' map. The upper middle bit seems too empty; I'm contemplating putting a house in there but I want an opinion from you guys first.
Map:

Spoiler:

 

[tzujm33]

@Danny map I like the map, the only thing i dont like are that there are many one tile paths, i give it 8/10

@PiGreats map

As you said yourself, the upper part looks pretty empty. What i also dislike is the shape of the town- it really looks like a square which doesnt look good on small towns imo (but is alrigth in city maps). I would try to make the border a bit more irregular.
I give it 5/10.

 

[Kostas]

I tried my best to do a new starting town for my hack.
Please tell me your opinion.

Spoiler:

 

[J B]

I tried my best to do a new starting town for my hack.
Please tell me your opinion.

Spoiler:

First post, so i can't quote the link... sorry.

The houses and fencing look fine, although you will have a big issue with how much open space there is. if a player leaves a house at the top looking for the lab there will be a considerable amount of time where they can see nothing in any direction aside from grass.

You might want to try adding some more houses, gardens etc. Or simply lower the size of the map. Oh and this is just my preference but i think the paths are a bit to wide it will probably look better if they were thinner.

 

[Uncommon]

Hi everybody! I've been practicing my mapping for a hack I'm working on. I had fun making this and figured I'd share and see if I can get any advice on improving it. It's a land bridge across a mountain lake. I was going for a very natural, organic look. I know a have a little bit of one-tile path going on on the bridge; I would address that if I were to use this in a hack. Beyond that I'd appreciate any constructive criticism or advice! In particular, I'm looking for ways to draw curving, natural borders without having them look too jagged.

Map Shot:

Spoiler:

Credits: Project Unamed 2 tilebase by huntercrash/E.C. - art credits to Dante, Seiyouh, Pey!, Shawn Frost, Zein, and Zeo

 

[Hiro TDK]

Map Shot:

Spoiler:

Here's the thing: I reeeally like your idea for a map and the execution of the under water features as well, but like you said, the bridge is a little too small. It doesn't feel enough like a Pokemon map, and it requires far too much navigation for what is ostensibly a straight line. Also, are the sides supposed to be open for travel? I think that the map may be a little to short. Between the open sides and the brevity, it feels more like it bridges a river than a lake.

Seriously though, I love the idea a lot, and it looks pretty as is, it just needs a bit of tweaking. 7/10

EDIT: Here is a map that I've been working on getting into SoulSilver. It's a remake of Route 23, shown next to it, from Fire Red/Leaf Green.

Spoiler:

 

[iiCyle]

A map I've work this day.. Can you guys rate it? Would appreciate it more from criticisms. I'm looking for a way to improve it

Spoiler:

 

[J B]

A map I've work this day.. Can you guys rate it? Would appreciate if you guys give criticism. I'm looking for a way to improve it

Spoiler:

Not too sure what sort of criteria to judge a world map by, first impressions would be there is a ton of water routes so your character is going to have to get surf very early or go on a lot of boat trips to make that map playable. Also the mountain in the middle could be made a tad smaller to make some room for the island just left of it because I can't really see that under the city marker.

Guess Ill submit one today ~
A unspecified route for Pokemon Crescent.
Ignore the black tiles, I was working with a older version of the rom and did not have them to hand.

Spoiler: