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Map Showcase and Review Thread

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Atomic Reactor

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Tried out a different Mapping style. Do you like?

Spoiler:

The main thing bugging me is the entrance to the north, that looks like it goes into a forest of some sort? It just doesn't look natural, it's way too dark. Make it like, a dark green or somehting. Also, how do you get there? Is there a one tile path to it? Because other than the thin path a tile north of the cliff, it doesn't look accessible.

The rest of it looks fine, NPCs may help it look more alive. I like the depth it has with the cliff tiles and such.

EDIT: I suppose it could be an exit, and be like, a secret area you get from a different entrance? That's probably what it is. If so, very intriguing.
 

Harvey_Create

Pokemon Apex Team Member
187
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11
Years
  • Age 27
  • Iowa
  • Seen Jul 12, 2015
The main thing bugging me is the entrance to the north, that looks like it goes into a forest of some sort? It just doesn't look natural, it's way too dark. Make it like, a dark green or somehting. Also, how do you get there? Is there a one tile path to it? Because other than the thin path a tile north of the cliff, it doesn't look accessible.

The rest of it looks fine, NPCs may help it look more alive. I like the depth it has with the cliff tiles and such.

EDIT: I suppose it could be an exit, and be like, a secret area you get from a different entrance? That's probably what it is. If so, very intriguing.

:L I actually just realized I forgot stairs. And I dont like the idea of forests, but I wanted 3 different Entries, so yea. As for the Shadow for the foresxt, It needs a TON of tweaking. But, once again, probably not happening. I think I need to sit down and actually sprite some decoration and stuff for routes. I am literally using grass, Mountain, Tree, Tall grass and flowers.
 

Arma

The Hyena
1,688
Posts
14
Years
Loving the map, Harvey. However, the small trees you used to fill up space look unnatural and ugly, imo.
 
189
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  • Seen Nov 23, 2023
I have to make a point that, when using vertical cliffs like that, that north-facing and south-facing stairs need to be longer. Pythagoras and all. See how the east- and west-facing stairs have height and length? Same thing. Given those cliffs are two tiles high, the north-facing stairs should probably extend to fill a whole tile in length while the south-facing stairs should be three tiles long.
 

Arma

The Hyena
1,688
Posts
14
Years
I have to make a point that, when using vertical cliffs like that, that north-facing and south-facing stairs need to be longer. Pythagoras and all. See how the east- and west-facing stairs have height and length? Same thing. Given those cliffs are two tiles high, the north-facing stairs should probably extend to fill a whole tile in length while the south-facing stairs should be three tiles long.

Another reason why I stick with gen 3 tiles. XD
 

SinfulGuroRose

Ignore me, I'm socially inept.
77
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10
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Could I get some critique on the home town? Hit me as hard as you can. (Also, is the grass too bright, or is that just me?)
And while I'm here, may I ask if anyone knows a way to make the view so you can't see off the edge of the map when you approach it? It takes 8 tiles on each side to keep the edges away from the camera, but that takes up a lot of space. ; v;

@ppooookkkkkkk:
If you don't mind my saying, the style of the beds, TV, and... whatever that red/brown thing is in the upper right room don't really match the styles of the other furniture. And there's some kind of blue pixely thingy in the middle room? It appears to be attached to the plant tile.
 

XmarkXalanX

Shadow Master
105
Posts
15
Years
I'm back, and ready for more criticism.

Route X5 from Neo Destiny. Still not sure how I'm feeling about the general layout of this Route. The southern exit leads to Route X3, the northern gate-exit leads to a forest, the eastern exit leads to a city.

View attachment 69323
 

Radical Raptr

#BAMFPokemonNerd
1,121
Posts
13
Years
I'm back, and ready for more criticism.

Route X5 from Neo Destiny. Still not sure how I'm feeling about the general layout of this Route. The southern exit leads to Route X3, the northern gate-exit leads to a forest, the eastern exit leads to a city.

View attachment 69323

I like where you're going with this, but it needs some work - it just looks sort of box-like (even the lake does, but its not so bad, as it is a lake, you can fix probably both problems by making it more rounded)

on the path towards the lake, you have those random trees all lined up, they sort of dont match the rest of the map(in any of their places) however, there they are being poorly used, anyone seeing it knows why they are there, and it's only for that sole purpose, instead it would look better if you had the trees in a zig-zag line like so:

-TT-
--TT
-TT-
--TT

you may want to reduce the amount of cluttered flowers - other than that is a pretty cool map

---
Could I get some critique on the home town? Hit me as hard as you can. (Also, is the grass too bright, or is that just me?)
And while I'm here, may I ask if anyone knows a way to make the view so you can't see off the edge of the map when you approach it? It takes 8 tiles on each side to keep the edges away from the camera, but that takes up a lot of space. ; v;

It seems pretty empty - while there isnt a lot going on in a starting town, it looks lifeless and boring
the pond makes no sense to be there so small and oddly placed - maybe if it was in the corner, and extended to the ends of the map curving from the left down to the bottom, it would look cool, and you could block off some stuff with rocks

there is a huge pile of light grass path with nothing there, its almost done for no reason and looks weird like that, not to mention there is a tiny patch under the professors lab - move the lab up a few tiles, and connect the paths together (I assume thats why you didnt) and it should look fine

finally, just add some decorations, maybe a fence too and make it look lively
 
Last edited:

pkmn.master

Hobbyist Game Developer
299
Posts
15
Years
  • Age 28
  • USA
  • Seen Jun 7, 2022
I'm back, and ready for more criticism.

Route X5 from Neo Destiny. Still not sure how I'm feeling about the general layout of this Route. The southern exit leads to Route X3, the northern gate-exit leads to a forest, the eastern exit leads to a city.

View attachment 69323


Your maps are slowly starting to improve!

I'd like to say, on top of Saving Raven's suggestions, that you still leave some open space. The area around the lake is a large open space. Spruce it up with a tree or two, or even a ledge. You also don't have to have your entrances and exits to the map so wide. Try to close them off some more with trees. Also, try and spread your flowers out some more. Flowers are great to use since they fill voids, just try and keep them spaced some. Finally, perhaps you should place a little piece of land in the center of your lake and put a hidden item or even a Pokémon there so that the player would find something when he/she surfs it. Lakes need a purpose most of the time, and it is usually to block off a path that requires surf to pass, or to hide item or cave. You usually want to give the player reason to explore it.
 

Radical Raptr

#BAMFPokemonNerd
1,121
Posts
13
Years
Testing out a different mapping style. No idea if I like it.
route_1_by_lostsoulsdev-d6iojdd.png

it really depends on how it's used, if its late in the game, or even half way into the game it seems pretty boring, there isnt much to do at all, and you would easily get through within a minute or 2, if its one of the first few routes though it's pretty good

everything is laid out very nicely and looks good, except at the bottom left near the sign, the mountain looks really weird jutting out in such a way, maybe if you remove the tiny tree and extend it 1 or maybe even 2 tiles it would look better

overall its a good test, I like how hilly it is, but it feels kind of tight
 

Harvey_Create

Pokemon Apex Team Member
187
Posts
11
Years
  • Age 27
  • Iowa
  • Seen Jul 12, 2015
Another reason why I stick with gen 3 tiles. XD

I hate Gen 3 tiles. Over used and boring. I have been trying to make my own tiles for my game. So it was morte original. As for the stairs Jim42, Ill see what I can do. I thought the ones leading up to the north were good, but I cant seem to get the Going down ones right(A bit harder to sprite)
 
25
Posts
16
Years
Hey guys, I'm kinda new to this whole mapping and stuff but I've created this little piece of map. Would gladly take any critique. :D
eysnI9w.png
 

Pharetra

zzzz
451
Posts
12
Years
  • Age 27
  • Seen Nov 23, 2021
Hey guys, I'm kinda new to this whole mapping and stuff but I've created this little piece of map. Would gladly take any critique. :D
eysnI9w.png

It's a very nice map, especially considering you're new to this. I really like the pond, it has so much detail. The only things bugging me are the strong outlines on the buildings, which clash a bit with the less strong outlines on for example the trees, and the free space south of the pond and north of the Pokémon Center.

Anyway, keep it up and I look forward to seeing more maps from you :)
 

tImE

It's still me, 44tim44 ;)
673
Posts
17
Years
Hey guys, I'm kinda new to this whole mapping and stuff but I've created this little piece of map. Would gladly take any critique. :D
eysnI9w.png

If you are new to mapping, this is really well done!

But, I have some critique for you.

1.
You have way too much decoration in the map. You have 3 different small trees, 3 diffwewnr big trees, 3 different tall grass, 7 different kinds of flowers, and the lots of water decoration.
I think the appropriate word here is moderation. You have WAY too much details and too many different kinds. Use only 2 or 3 different flowers, and try to group them more. Flowers tend to grow in groups, in towns. Don't use tall grass for decoration. And try not to use different trees in the same map, unless for a REALLY specific purpose. If you want to have different trees in your game, make the tree border have a mix of them, or change when you cross a sea or mountain, like in DPPt.

2.
You are using to small spaces for the player to walk. The map looks good as just artwork, but for a game, you have to consider that the player needs to have room to move. The red-roofed house only has a 1 tile wide area between the lab and itself for the player to go through. That is bad map design. Secondly, who would build their house so that they can barely reach it? It doesn't make sense. The same goes for the top right house. The flowerbox limits the tiles the player can walk through to 1 tile wide as well. Same problem.

3.
The map flows bad. There is no since of direction. Everything feels random.
When designing a map, you want the player to unintentionally walk towards things.
This is can be done by making the roads flow well, so the player wants to follow the roads, and they lead the player to the right area/house. It can also be done by interesting things, attracting the player towards the area or simply forcing the player to go that way.
Your map, has no sense of flow at all.
You need to make the roads more clearly lead to the buildings so the player can easily go there without having to think about it. You need to remove unneeded areas which distract the player for no value. For example the top left cornere behind the red house, or the empty area beneathe the lake. You also need to move the beigeroofed house, or the stairs behind it.
Right now, you are literally "hiding" the stairs behind the house, which is bad flow design. You want the exit to a town to be blatantly obvious and easy to get to.

Still, I give the map 6/10, because you have the basics on mapping down. You don't have empty space and you know how to use your tiles properly. This is still good, but it could be better!
 
25
Posts
16
Years
1.
You have way too much decoration in the map. You have 3 different small trees, 3 diffwewnr big trees, 3 different tall grass, 7 different kinds of flowers, and the lots of water decoration.
I think the appropriate word here is moderation. You have WAY too much details and too many different kinds. Use only 2 or 3 different flowers, and try to group them more. Flowers tend to grow in groups, in towns. Don't use tall grass for decoration. And try not to use different trees in the same map, unless for a REALLY specific purpose. If you want to have different trees in your game, make the tree border have a mix of them, or change when you cross a sea or mountain, like in DPPt.

2.
You are using to small spaces for the player to walk. The map looks good as just artwork, but for a game, you have to consider that the player needs to have room to move. The red-roofed house only has a 1 tile wide area between the lab and itself for the player to go through. That is bad map design. Secondly, who would build their house so that they can barely reach it? It doesn't make sense. The same goes for the top right house. The flowerbox limits the tiles the player can walk through to 1 tile wide as well. Same problem.

3.
The map flows bad. There is no since of direction. Everything feels random.
When designing a map, you want the player to unintentionally walk towards things.
This is can be done by making the roads flow well, so the player wants to follow the roads, and they lead the player to the right area/house. It can also be done by interesting things, attracting the player towards the area or simply forcing the player to go that way.
Your map, has no sense of flow at all.
You need to make the roads more clearly lead to the buildings so the player can easily go there without having to think about it. You need to remove unneeded areas which distract the player for no value. For example the top left cornere behind the red house, or the empty area beneathe the lake. You also need to move the beigeroofed house, or the stairs behind it.
Right now, you are literally "hiding" the stairs behind the house, which is bad flow design. You want the exit to a town to be blatantly obvious and easy to get to.

Hey, thanks for this good piece of critique, it showed my obvious mistakes which I didn't notice cause I was focusing more on making this town "pretty" rather than making it pracical to player/citiziens. I also reduced amount of flowers and trees I was using.
diFXkMA.png

Hope this is any better. :D
 

tImE

It's still me, 44tim44 ;)
673
Posts
17
Years
Hey, thanks for this good piece of critique, it showed my obvious mistakes which I didn't notice cause I was focusing more on making this town "pretty" rather than making it pracical to player/citiziens. I also reduced amount of flowers and trees I was using.
diFXkMA.png

Hope this is any better. :D

Wow, what an improvement.
It looks A LOT better now! :D

My last piece of advice will be the same as before though.
Less details. But this time, I'm talking about the lake. Don't overuse the decorations.
Since you are using a see-through-water-style, I recommend using the big and small underwater rocks as your only decorations. Otherwise it feels too random and cluttered.
Making the lake deeper using underwater mountain tiles is also a way to decorate.

You only should use surface-decorations on non-see-through-water.

This map is now 8/10

Keep up the great work!
 
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