Help Thread: Map Rating/Review Thread

[colcolstyles]

I like this map very much,it's got nice playability,lay-out and I like how you gave the cave some depth. I would add something on the right though,it's a little empty there.Also you could play with the colours of the sign a bit,it's kinda bright.A 8.75/10.
for my map:​

map name: route 4.
map game: darkblack
map credits: alistair,alucus and zein.​

map:

Spoiler:

sorry for the low quality,it's a big map.You can open the closed cave entrance with Brick Break.

​

What you've done with those tall stacks of rocks is pretty neat. Admittedly, it looks a little weird but I applaud you for thinking outside the box. It almost looks like the site of some ancient ruins or something like that. I like it and it's a shame that the player will never get the chance to see all the stacks on the western side of the map.

What I don't like, however, is the fact that everything is squished vertically. The player will have very little room to maneuver and that will start to get very frustrating. It also doesn't look good but that's just my opinion. I would recommend doubling the height of the map and stretching everything out to give the player more space to breathe. Additionally, your style of tall grass placement (where the entire map is covered with it) is also very annoying for the player but I can't force you to change that.

Other than those two things, though, this map looks pretty good. I like the general concept but the main thing to watch out for is the playability. Also, is there supposed to be a stair tile below the eastern cave opening? It's hard to tell because the map is scaled down but it looks like that's just a normal mountain tile below it. Finally, there seems to be a lack of rocks on the eastern side of the map. There are tons on the western side but they just stop after the central pond.

 

[Crimson Stardust]

I like this map very much,it's got nice playability,lay-out and I like how you gave the cave some depth. I would add something on the right though,it's a little empty there.Also you could play with the colours of the sign a bit,it's kinda bright.A 8.75/10.
for my map:​

map name: route 4.
map game: darkblack
map credits: alistair,alucus and zein.​

map:

Spoiler:

sorry for the low quality,it's a big map.You can open the closed cave entrance with Brick Break.

​

Forgot about the rating,,xD
anyway looking at the maps, i have to agree with colcolstyles, the stacks of rocks are unique but for me at the same time weird looking, and not all of them can be seen in-game. The path to walk on is some place squash [ and also some place is 1 tile wide] as it does look long 1 width but not in height, i am very sure if it is longer in height it will look much better and you can make more space for the player to maneuver around the map easily.

Map Name: Route 1
Hack of: Pokemon Dimension Legends: Alternate Worlds
ROM Base: Fire Red
Comments: The first route you will arrive after the first town in my hack. I did check for errors but i might have miss some or most of the errors.

Spoiler:

 

[jabberjabber8]

Sorry no quote but the post above me:
First of I want to say I love the tile set, and the different types of tree's gives good variety however I think having the very tall grass is a bit odd for route 1 (depends on your hack though). The only other concern I have is there is no route back that allows the player to avoid wild battles... all though that is not a major problem.... all in all I am just trying to find things to say because there is not a lot wrong with that map... well done.

My map...
route 1. fire red.
Should have flowers but if it does not its the wrong pic so just ignore the lack of flowers...

 

[E.C.]

Sorry no quote but the post above me:
First of I want to say I love the tile set, and the different types of tree's gives good variety however I think having the very tall grass is a bit odd for route 1 (depends on your hack though). The only other concern I have is there is no route back that allows the player to avoid wild battles... all though that is not a major problem.... all in all I am just trying to find things to say because there is not a lot wrong with that map... well done.

My map...
route 1. fire red.
Should have flowers but if it does not its the wrong pic so just ignore the lack of flowers...

the mapping looks nice but i don't like the ledges, it makes the map feel unnatural, so i would suggest changing that,and that's pretty much it. 8/10

EDIT: going to post a map.

map name: none
Rom base: fire red
Comments: my favorite map so far.
map: is on attachment.

 

[jabberjabber8]

the mapping looks nice but i don't like the ledges, it makes the map feel unnatural, so i would suggest changing that,and that's pretty much it. 8/10

EDIT: going to post a map.

map name: none
Rom base: fire red
Comments: my favorite map so far.
map: is on attachment.

To start open up the first attachment
Once again let me start by saying nice tile set, specially on the mountains and tree's, but onto the criticism first off i hope the 2 house i highlighted in the light green colour are important because they tend to stand out a bit and if they are you need to put a sign outside the south one. Next I don't quite understand what the need for the path highlighted in blue is as it does not seem to lead anywhere... And finally this is just my opinion but the mountain corner blocks highlighted in red look a bit odd (this might just be me but i know you can make good tile sets so you might want to improve that)
Edit:
sorry i found more stuff... You might want to look at the paths, this is a established cty with the gym but the paths look wild with changing widths and disappearing all together in some places...

Sorry about the pic and the moan i had paint opened and i was bored... But all in all its still a very good looking map and i would defiantly enjoy playing it

Now onto my maps
Map 1. = elite charzards map annotated...
Map 2. = the second floor of victory road...
Map 3. = The map i posted before i fixed the Leges with more trees and grass...
All maps are from fire red.

 

[E.C.]

To start open up the first attachment
Once again let me start by saying nice tile set, specially on the mountains and tree's, but onto the criticism first off i hope the 2 house i highlighted in the light green colour are important because they tend to stand out a bit and if they are you need to put a sign outside the south one. Next I don't quite understand what the need for the path highlighted in blue is as it does not seem to lead anywhere... And finally this is just my opinion but the mountain corner blocks highlighted in red look a bit odd (this might just be me but i know you can make good tile sets so you might want to improve that)
Edit:
sorry i found more stuff... You might want to look at the paths, this is a established cty with the gym but the paths look wild with changing widths and disappearing all together in some places...

Sorry about the pic and the moan i had paint opened and i was bored... But all in all its still a very good looking map and i would defiantly enjoy playing it

Now onto my maps
Map 1. = elite charzards map annotated...
Map 2. = the second floor of victory road...
Map 3. = The map i posted before i fixed the Leges with more trees and grass...
All maps are from fire red.

for the cave map, the cave is very empty, you need to add more rocks that are placed randomly, and add the leaking water tile thing, also, the rocks you placed there cant be like that, it looks unnatural, rocks cant be used in a straight path to prevent someone to move to the other side. anyways i give this map a 5/10.

map name: none
Rom base: fire red
Comments: no
Map: is on attachment.

 

[Pokepal17]

Forgot about the rating,,xD
anyway looking at the maps, i have to agree with colcolstyles, the stacks of rocks are unique but for me at the same time weird looking, and not all of them can be seen in-game. The path to walk on is some place squash [ and also some place is 1 tile wide] as it does look long 1 width but not in height, i am very sure if it is longer in height it will look much better and you can make more space for the player to maneuver around the map easily.

Map Name: Route 1
Hack of: Pokemon Dimension Legends: Alternate Worlds
ROM Base: Fire Red
Comments: The first route you will arrive after the first town in my hack. I did check for errors but i might have miss some or most of the errors.

Spoiler:

Though I have a discrepancy against natural mapping, I have to say that I absolutely adore this map. It has such a nice route-feel to it, and it contains the perfect combination of playability and beauty. I love the tileset too. Using a two different kind of trees really suits the map. Overall, I have to give this map a 10/10.
Great job; keep it up! :3

 

[Alice]

Forgot about the rating,,xD
anyway looking at the maps, i have to agree with colcolstyles, the stacks of rocks are unique but for me at the same time weird looking, and not all of them can be seen in-game. The path to walk on is some place squash [ and also some place is 1 tile wide] as it does look long 1 width but not in height, i am very sure if it is longer in height it will look much better and you can make more space for the player to maneuver around the map easily.

Map Name: Route 1
Hack of: Pokemon Dimension Legends: Alternate Worlds
ROM Base: Fire Red
Comments: The first route you will arrive after the first town in my hack. I did check for errors but i might have miss some or most of the errors.

Spoiler:

This map makes me happy. Very rarely do I see a decent natural map, much less one this good... Good grass placement, good tree placement, good paths, good ledges... There's really nothing bad about it. 10/10
Edit: I just noticed, you have a solid border of trees all the way around the map. That's a no-no imo. Otherwise, still great.
------------------------------
My map:

This is my first time ever ever ever ever mapping in Firered... and it's really difficult to do with my style. The fact that the small trees are 3 tiles high, and not being able to make some certain tile edits, makes it really difficult to manage space well, when placing mountains/trees in this style... so I think that's the biggest problem with this map. For example, one of the caves being in the very top row of the map, and a lot of areas being either too empty, or too tight.

Oh, and after reading that thread about how long it takes people to map, I decided to time this one. It took around 2.5 hours. It'd probably like an hour shorter if I had been using Emerald though. lol

Spoiler:

"image removed"

 

[~Poke~]

My map:

This is my first time ever ever ever ever mapping in Firered... and it's really difficult to do with my style. The fact that the small trees are 3 tiles high, and not being able to make some certain tile edits, makes it really difficult to manage space well, when placing mountains/trees in this style... so I think that's the biggest problem with this map. For example, one of the caves being in the very top row of the map, and a lot of areas being either too empty, or too tight.

Oh, and after reading that thread about how long it takes people to map, I decided to time this one. It took around 2.5 hours. It'd probably like an hour shorter if I had been using Emerald though. lol

Spoiler:

"image removed"

I really like this map, tree and cliff placement especially. This style of tree placement is my favourite, and I can imagine your pain with the 3 block high small trees. One thing I'm not quite liking is the positioning of the paths, usually I would like to see them either further from edges or spilling over. This is just nitpicking though so a nice 9.9999/10 for you :)

Now for my map :D
It's in Ruby

Spoiler:

It's a cave with a small ice puzzle in it. Not currently in a hack, but I might use it.

 

[PoisoNinja]

My map:

This is my first time ever ever ever ever mapping in Firered... and it's really difficult to do with my style. The fact that the small trees are 3 tiles high, and not being able to make some certain tile edits, makes it really difficult to manage space well, when placing mountains/trees in this style... so I think that's the biggest problem with this map. For example, one of the caves being in the very top row of the map, and a lot of areas being either too empty, or too tight.

Oh, and after reading that thread about how long it takes people to map, I decided to time this one. It took around 2.5 hours. It'd probably like an hour shorter if I had been using Emerald though. lol

I actually like this one quite a bit. I'm very new to the whole mapping thing, but I'd have to say; you did fairly well on this one. Personally, I'd give it a 8/10. The natural look flows very well..

My Maps:
Now keep in mind that I'm a complete mapping noob (not for long though ;P), but here are my first three, which were all done yesterday. They do have flaws, but i am trying to teach myself the basics, and personally I feel they did get progressively better.. I do still need tons of practice though.. I just wanted to see what you guys thought. Oh, I'm using FR, by the way.

 

[jabberjabber8]

I actually like this one quite a bit. I'm very new to the whole mapping thing, but I'd have to say; you did fairly well on this one. Personally, I'd give it a 8/10. The natural look flows very well..

My Maps:
Now keep in mind that I'm a complete mapping noob (not for long though ;P), but here are my first three, which were all done yesterday. They do have flaws, but i am trying to teach myself the basics, and personally I feel they did get progressively better.. I do still need tons of practice though.. I just wanted to see what you guys thought. Oh, I'm using FR, by the way.

Just start of if your new to mapping and start posting maps here your going to get a lot of critisim but don't be put off its all constructive... (tends to happen to me a lot)

That in mind the small town map and the route map are packed with tile errors, on the small town map the buildings are made from lots of different tile sets witch just looks odd, And the pathways don't have boarders in places aside from that though the map is set up nicely.

Next up there is the route map you did get better on this I like the natural feel you have given to the map, also the rock and flower placement is good its does not look like you have over done it. however once again there is a lot of tile errors specifically on the rock corners and tree tops. all though the map looks good the rock road in the top right seems to serve no purpose...

Lastly my favourite of the 3 maps is the large town you have fixed most of your tile errors here and there are just a couple at the ends of the path I like the path up to the gym personally but a lot of people will tell you one tile width paths restrict the player and are a bad idea. and again in my opinion grass in tons is not a bad idea, but once again popular opinion is grass in towns = NO.

Keep up the good work, And keep posting and rating it will really help...

Right my map, not quite sure weather it works...
On fire red route 21 is the route between pallet town and cinbar island that you can only use when you have surf, i have made the first half a lake and made the second half part of the mainland. I dont really know weather it works or not so feel free to tell me its crap...

 

[E.C.]

Just start of if your new to mapping and start posting maps here your going to get a lot of critisim but don't be put off its all constructive... (tends to happen to me a lot)

That in mind the small town map and the route map are packed with tile errors, on the small town map the buildings are made from lots of different tile sets witch just looks odd, And the pathways don't have boarders in places aside from that though the map is set up nicely.

Next up there is the route map you did get better on this I like the natural feel you have given to the map, also the rock and flower placement is good its does not look like you have over done it. however once again there is a lot of tile errors specifically on the rock corners and tree tops. all though the map looks good the rock road in the top right seems to serve no purpose...

Lastly my favourite of the 3 maps is the large town you have fixed most of your tile errors here and there are just a couple at the ends of the path I like the path up to the gym personally but a lot of people will tell you one tile width paths restrict the player and are a bad idea. and again in my opinion grass in tons is not a bad idea, but once again popular opinion is grass in towns = NO.

Keep up the good work, And keep posting and rating it will really help...

Right my map, not quite sure weather it works...
On fire red route 21 is the route between pallet town and cinbar island that you can only use when you have surf, i have made the first half a lake and made the second half part of the mainland. I dont really know weather it works or not so feel free to tell me its crap...

heh, you are starting to get better at your maps, the first time you posted here, your maps weren't so good, but i can see that you are making progress, i don't see anything wrong with the map, but when you go up the stairs and head south, the mountain looks weird because it just ends without connecting to another mountain, maybe you want to fix that, there is a tile that you can use so the land in the south looks more elevated. my rating is a 8/10

im going to repost my map since no one rated it.

map name: none
Rom base: fire red
comments: none
map: is on attachment

 

[~Poke~]

heh, you are starting to get better at your maps, the first time you posted here, your maps weren't so good, but i can see that you are making progress, i don't see anything wrong with the map, but when you go up the stairs and head south, the mountain looks weird because it just ends without connecting to another mountain, maybe you want to fix that, there is a tile that you can use so the land in the south looks more elevated. my rating is a 8/10

im going to repost my map since no one rated it.

map name: none
Rom base: fire red
comments: none
map: is on attachment

This is a nice map in my opinion, with good tree placement. However, I'm finding a few flaws. The gym appears to be hidden away behind the museum(?) and there is only a thin walkway to get there, so unless a guide shows the way it will be hard for the player to find. Also, the path behind the mart seemingly serves no purpose and will mislead players (unless an event occurs there). Another complaint of mine is that the cliffs near the bottom left/right are way too square - but I don't think they're seen in-game so that can be ignored.


Overall, I rate this map 8/10. Most things are done well, but it doesn't stand out much and there are a few flaws in design.

---------

My next map, a possible contender for starter town in my new hack (though it could easily be repurposed) is quite unique, I hope.

Made on Ruby with default tiles.

Spoiler:

The cave WILL be accessible through the building at the top-left.
No, I haven't scripted it yet...

 

[MattII]

My Maps:
Now keep in mind that I'm a complete mapping noob (not for long though ;P), but here are my first three, which were all done yesterday. They do have flaws, but i am trying to teach myself the basics, and personally I feel they did get progressively better.. I do still need tons of practice though.. I just wanted to see what you guys thought. Oh, I'm using FR, by the way.

Rating: 6/10
Reason: The layouts aren't too bad, but you've got an absolutely huge number of tile errors, especially around the buildings and water.
Suggestions: Put a lot of work into fixing those tile errors.


Now for mine.
Map Name: Petalburg Woods
ROM Base: Emerald
Comments: Never liked the old woods, they felt too small, so I decided to upsize them.

 

[jabberjabber8]

Rating: 6/10
Reason: The layouts aren't too bad, but you've got an absolutely huge number of tile errors, especially around the buildings and water.
Suggestions: Put a lot of work into fixing those tile errors.


Now for mine.
Map Name: Petalburg Woods
ROM Base: Emerald
Comments: Never liked the old woods, they felt too small, so I decided to upsize them.

Good variation on the tree's you did not just stick to one type. There are a grand total of 0 tile errors i can see and the general layout is good, however main concern is that you have "upsized" the map a bit to much its just looks empty to me, you might consider adding more grass patches but then you risk using to much for a early route so i think the safest bet you have is to make a little but smaller... good effort though especially if that's the first map you have posted...

My map:
Route 25 from fire red
This is the route leading to bills house, i have changed it a bit and added a cave in the south west corner where I plan to put a level 35 ish regirock....

 

[Crimson Stardust]

Good variation on the tree's you did not just stick to one type. There are a grand total of 0 tile errors i can see and the general layout is good, however main concern is that you have "upsized" the map a bit to much its just looks empty to me, you might consider adding more grass patches but then you risk using to much for a early route so i think the safest bet you have is to make a little but smaller... good effort though especially if that's the first map you have posted...

My map:
Route 25 from fire red
This is the route leading to bills house, i have changed it a bit and added a cave in the south west corner where I plan to put a level 35 ish regirock....

hmm.., you edit the map? why don't you just map it from scatch, i can still see the original look abit..xD
anyway let's get to the rating,
Almost everything look squarish, even both the pon is squarish even though there are the same as the original one, i can't say much since you did not really edit it much for me to rate except that the mountain leading to the cave is too blant for me, it is just too empty from the path at the start to the cave, and if i my eyes is not playing tricks on me, there is tile error for the small errors for the background of the small rocks is not for the mountain or maybe it is just my eyes.Since it is 1 am now
Rating: 2/10
Here is my map,

Map Name: Bliss Canyon
Hack of: Pokemon Dimension Legends: Alternate Worlds
ROM Base: Fire Red
Comments: It is the Canyon you reach after the short rest at the small 2nd town in my hack which is the path to the third town and also a cave to other towns. As you can see many empty spaces around the map, since i map this for my hack i only map the areas which can be seen in-game and it is a hassle to map the rest..lol

Spoiler:

 

[pkmntrainerpaul]

Map Name: Bliss Canyon
Hack of: Pokemon Dimension Legends: Alternate Worlds
ROM Base: Fire Red
Comments: It is the Canyon you reach after the short rest at the small 2nd town in my hack which is the path to the third town and also a cave to other towns. As you can see many empty spaces around the map, since i map this for my hack i only map the areas which can be seen in-game and it is a hassle to map the rest..lol

Spoiler:

I really like this map, but I think you should add some more flowers and smaller trees to fill up the empty space, and I'm not talking about the empty space you aren't able to see in-game ;)

 

[hackerofdarkness]

hmm.., you edit the map? why don't you just map it from scatch, i can still see the original look abit..xD
anyway let's get to the rating,
Almost everything look squarish, even both the pon is squarish even though there are the same as the original one, i can't say much since you did not really edit it much for me to rate except that the mountain leading to the cave is too blant for me, it is just too empty from the path at the start to the cave, and if i my eyes is not playing tricks on me, there is tile error for the small errors for the background of the small rocks is not for the mountain or maybe it is just my eyes.Since it is 1 am now
Rating: 2/10
Here is my map,

Map Name: Bliss Canyon
Hack of: Pokemon Dimension Legends: Alternate Worlds
ROM Base: Fire Red
Comments: It is the Canyon you reach after the short rest at the small 2nd town in my hack which is the path to the third town and also a cave to other towns. As you can see many empty spaces around the map, since i map this for my hack i only map the areas which can be seen in-game and it is a hassle to map the rest..lol

Spoiler:

I simply adore this map even though the tiles are a bit overused neither less the pallets are quite smooth though in some places in the map there is a huge gap of empty space perhaps add a few more trees then finish it with the long grass either way a beautiful map
Rating:9.5

Map Name: Nubeta Forest
Hack of: Pokemon Firered
Rom Base: Firered
Comment:I really haven't finished this map yet so there may be a few errors but either way this forest blocks the gateway to Nubeta City hence why there's a gate house,also this forest is home to many exotic Pokemon that are only found in the forest.

Spoiler:

 

[PoisoNinja]

I simply adore this map even though the tiles are a bit overused neither less the pallets are quite smooth though in some places in the map there is a huge gap of empty space perhaps add a few more trees then finish it with the long grass either way a beautiful map
Rating:9.5

Map Name: Nubeta Forest
Hack of: Pokemon Firered
Rom Base: Firered
Comment:I really haven't finished this map yet so there may be a few errors but either way this forest blocks the gateway to Nubeta City hence why there's a gate house,also this forest is home to many exotic Pokemon that are only found in the forest.

I really like the idea you have going here and it doesn't look too bad.. Some of the tree placements do look a bit odd though (I think its mainly just the way the trees are shaped..), they just have a lot of sharp angles, mainly in the two top corner areas. Same for the pond, the shape looks awkward to me. maybe some trees in the grass, to give more of that natural feel. It has potential, I would like to see it finished..

My Map:
ROM: FireRed
Info: This is a cave leading up to regirock, followed by the chamber that will hold him..

 

[E.C.]

I really like the idea you have going here and it doesn't look too bad.. Some of the tree placements do look a bit odd though (I think its mainly just the way the trees are shaped..), they just have a lot of sharp angles, mainly in the two top corner areas. Same for the pond, the shape looks awkward to me. maybe some trees in the grass, to give more of that natural feel. It has potential, I would like to see it finished..

My Map:
ROM: FireRed
Info: This is a cave leading up to regirock, followed by the chamber that will hold him..

for the first map, there are tile errors on the water, you cant use the water tiles like that, there cant be regular water and then water that is running faster, so you might need to fix that, also add a few more rocks on the paths so it looks more like a cave. my rating is a 5/10

map name: none
rom base:fire red
comments: i used the big tree on the outside of the map because it doesn't fit on the border block.
Map: is on attachment.