Help Thread: Map Rating/Review Thread

[Arma]

9/10
I really like your mapping style. I do think some of the paths are a bit narrow though, that's what's holding you back from getting a 10. XD Anyway awesome job, and keep working like this.

 

[Crimson Stardust]

My Rate:
My Map
Map Name: Some Region...
Hack of: Firered
Credits: Me for mapping, Ray Maverick for this intense tileset.
- Note I am aware of some Tile errors, I just cant be bothered to fix them..

Sorry man..:')
Map : 7/10

Reasons: This is really a big map..and it looks stunning from first glance since it is so big i was lazy to scan the whole map. for the sake of rating i did..haha..Well how many maps is this exactly? haha..anyway the mountain really look very nice but i think you can make more improvements on them like the different level of the mountain should be look different, at least abit different instead the same shape, it will look more nice if it is different and more trees.. Now the map itself looks filled, at first glance but there is still many empty spaces which you can add something. For the trees, i don't know why you use two styles, the top look squarish(placement of trees) while the rest looks scattered. You can combine both but the way i see it does not blend together that well. All in all...haha..it is a very good map..:)

Note: Forgive my bad english. It is not really my first language..xD and all this is my opinion, some other people might have other opinions..

Now is my map!!!
Map Name: Give me a cool name for it..xD
Map game: Fire Red
Notes: This is the third town of my old hack if i am not wrong. It is meant to be a simple town so yeah..:) and i map it for my hack so ignore the tile error at some of the place because the player wont be able to see them...and ignore the border...haha

Spoiler:

 

[chrunch]

My Map:

Map Name: doesn't have one, based off Petalburg City
Map Game: Fire Red
Comments: This is my first map so I was a little hesistant to change too much. The open area in the tree line along the bottom of the map contains an item.

For your first map it's okay I guess, but there are many improvements you could make to it. For one thing, the bottom two houses should be moved up a bit so that they're easier to access, one tile paths are bad. :x The lake that the city is in is completely square, it should be adjusted so it looks a bit more natural (even if you're going for a gamefreak style, most maps still aren't almost a perfect square. The majority of the map is also empty, try filling it up with decorations like flowers and a bit more path. Good effort on making your first map though. :) 2/10

Now is my map!!!
Map Name: Give me a cool name for it..xD
Map game: Fire Red
Notes: This is the third town of my old hack if i am not wrong. It is meant to be a simple town so yeah..:) and i map it for my hack so ignore the tile error at some of the place because the player wont be able to see them...and ignore the border...haha

Spoiler:

This looks like a really nice map. :) Good placement of the houses, as well as filling in the map, and the natural-looking trees. The only complaint I have is that one of the houses has a bit of a narrow entrance (the middle-left one) and that almost the whole space is filled with the large pathway. But those are more personal complaints. Good job on the map, it ooks really natural and I love it! ;D 9/10

 

[SpadeEdge16]

Rating: Map by Crimson Stardust
The whole thing looks really nice, I like the custom tiles everywhere and the greenery is placed very naturally for a small town. The only problem I have is with the building at the bottom right, it doesn't seem like it's being viewed from the same angle, like how the other houses you can see the tops of them at an angle, while this building you seem to be looking at head-on. Other than that, great map! 8/10

My map:
name: Pallet Town
game: FR
notes: I'm not trying to base this off of any kind of animated version/realistic depiction of Pallet Town, I just like the idea of having maps that are much bigger than their original size, while still being similar to the original in the game.
The player's house is on the top left, the two top right houses are Blue's and Red's, along with Oak's lab in the corner.
https://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c304/starkat_/PALLETTOWN_zps2c9e807e.png

 

[masterquestmq]

Rating: Map by Crimson Stardust
The whole thing looks really nice, I like the custom tiles everywhere and the greenery is placed very naturally for a small town. The only problem I have is with the building at the bottom right, it doesn't seem like it's being viewed from the same angle, like how the other houses you can see the tops of them at an angle, while this building you seem to be looking at head-on. Other than that, great map! 8/10

My map:
name: Pallet Town
game: FR
notes: I'm not trying to base this off of any kind of animated version/realistic depiction of Pallet Town, I just like the idea of having maps that are much bigger than their original size, while still being similar to the original in the game.
The player's house is on the top left, the two top right houses are Blue's and Red's, along with Oak's lab in the corner.
https://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c304/starkat_/PALLETTOWN_zps2c9e807e.png

I'm always a fan of large maps. As for yours I think you made a solid start. Unfortunately it seems a bit empty. To big a big map like that you must ensure it's playable. My advice perhaps fill it in with more green life to fill up the map.

Other suggestions & views
a) Love the waterfall and the way its constructed well done
b) try to eliminate one box pathways to the lab cause I think Oak would of invested on proper path ways to his lab :)
c) Like the fact that you included oaks backyard there well done
d) Not really sure what that bridge is for cause its a pathway to nowhere as far as I can see


Other than that like I said I like big maps... Just fill it up a bit more and I think it'll be perfect

Rating: I don't rate

All the best my friend

 

[~Anbuja]

https://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c304/starkat_/PALLETTOWN_zps2c9e807e.png

Well it seems u had a good idea of a map, and you started it pretty well, but it seems u got lazy in the making of it and left a lot of empty space that couldve been used alot better lol.

The left blue house should've have a path leading to its door as all other houses too, doesn't really make sense not having one.
I can also see that you used alot of 1 tile paths like the one to reach to Oak's lab or the waterfall on the left side, or after you cross the bridge,try to avoid 1 tile paths as much as you can, since they down the playability of a map alot.

My sugguestion would be to fill some places more with trees like some where u left them entirely alone and some ponds would'nt hurt the map. In Oaks backyard you coul maybe close it entirely and add some wild grass to make it more appealing but that is just my style.

Overall a well thought map but with some things that got forgotten, keep up the work and you might get alot better at mapping then you already are :>

 

[Jim Boob]

Now is my map!!!
Map Name: Give me a cool name for it..xD
Map game: Fire Red
Notes: This is the third town of my old hack if i am not wrong. It is meant to be a simple town so yeah..:) and i map it for my hack so ignore the tile error at some of the place because the player wont be able to see them...and ignore the border...haha

Spoiler:

I do really like the look of the map so it is hard to give criticism but, at first glace the building in the bottom right does look out of place, and the use of 4 different types of house on one map might be a tad to much, it looks good as a map shot but might feel odd actually playing the game. Finally having tree's covering the front of houses is something I have never seen before and I cant quite make my mind up on that so you might need another opinion.

Overall a really good map 9/10


Right ho, I have not made a map in at least a year so this was kind of a test run to see if I have completely lost it... =p
(sorry cant post pictures or url's yet, so here is the deviant art link.)

Spoiler:

 

[masterquestmq]

I do really like the look of the map so it is hard to give criticism but, at first glace the building in the bottom right does look out of place, and the use of 4 different types of house on one map might be a tad to much, it looks good as a map shot but might feel odd actually playing the game. Finally having tree's covering the front of houses is something I have never seen before and I cant quite make my mind up on that so you might need another opinion.

Overall a really good map 9/10


Right ho, I have not made a map in at least a year so this was kind of a test run to see if I have completely lost it... =p
(sorry cant post pictures or url's yet, so here is the deviant art link.)

Spoiler:

I love this map... simple as that.. this is exactly what a route should look like. the sheer randomness of the tree placement really shows the traits of a mapper that is aware of his/her surroundings
the grass has been placed perfectly too.
It just a simple well done map. Nothing much that one can comment further
well done

Changes
Personally say 5 more flowers randomly placed would be more than enough
That's all I can add it seems pretty flawless from my computer screen......

Rating: Don't rate but I really enjoyed your map you haven't lost your touch at all.

 

[~Anbuja]

Spoiler:

Well at first look it looks pretty decent :>

But still it feels on some parts pretty empty, for example when you come in the map from left an when you're almost at the middle it feels empty the most there, maybe some more natural palced trees could fit in there or your best option would be a sand path that kind of leads through the map, since the player wouldnt know where to go along.

Also between the spaces of the trees feels empty too for example the tree formation at bottom right, might want to fill some random little rocks, since mountains are close or even little trees.

The beach top right feels a little bit empty and unnaturaly mapped too.

Those little flowers kind off hurt my eyes when i look at them (might be just my eyes) but since it doesn't have todo with pallete lets skip it lol, but if they would be replaced with the red flowers everyone would see that theyre sometimes placed too close each other.

And i can see right now like 4 tile errors(Top Middle tree on sand,Bottom mountains here and tehre some) which aren't some errors that are unfixable though.

Overall pretty decent map, and no you didn't lost it, just gotta get the flow back;>

 

[hinkage]

Right ho, I have not made a map in at least a year so this was kind of a test run to see if I have completely lost it... =p
(sorry cant post pictures or url's yet, so here is the deviant art link.)

Spoiler:

I have to disagree with the other two ratings of this. It's too empty and has no consistency. It's disguised to look natural but in reality is easily maneuvered; at most, you only have to walk through two tiles of tall grass.

Diagonal maps don't really work well for Pokemon. The map would be better for any game that doesn't use a grid-based system. So overall, it's playability is pretty bad.

Rating: 3.5/10

 

[Jim Boob]

My map:
name: Pallet Town
game: FR
notes: I'm not trying to base this off of any kind of animated version/realistic depiction of Pallet Town, I just like the idea of having maps that are much bigger than their original size, while still being similar to the original in the game.
The player's house is on the top left, the two top right houses are Blue's and Red's, along with Oak's lab in the corner.
https://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c304/starkat_/PALLETTOWN_zps2c9e807e.png

The map does not look to bad but there a few things that could be improved in my opinion, mainly the sheer size of it, i do like to see large starting towns but it does not seem like you have enough buildings to fill that amount of space that in combination with the sparsely placed tree's leaves the map with a lot of open space that would be very frustrating when actually playing the game.

Also you have done a great job of making the cliffs look natural, but then the edges of the map form a perfect square, it might be best to go with the natural look or the tradition look instead of mixing them.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Taking on the criticisms of the last map posted was kind of difficult as hinkage rightly said it hard to make a playable diagonal map so i scraped that completely and started again.

It is meant to be a mid game route, There is probably some tile errors on the tree's I cleaned a lot of them up but I doubt I found them all at this time of night, and I am aware of the huge tile error on the back of the house but unless I decided to insert this is to a hack is not worth fixing.

(Warning fairly big map - 60x70)

Spoiler:

 

[X80relianthope]

the map above, is realy good i like the tiles but the trees seem to be spread out a little much.but im back from a long time of not mapping or rom hacking so dont take my word for it ;D

map name:none
game:ruby
credits:go to everyone from pokemon lght platnum( i legit just used the tiles and palletes, not goig into a real game so it shouldn't matter much)
extra: first map in a long time, go easy and let me know what you all think. :D

Spoiler:

 

[SpadeEdge16]

Rating map by X80relianthop: It's a pretty good base, but you could use a bit more to fill it up, like some trees in the blank spaces, also it has a mart and pokecenter, so id assume there would be people there to use them, so maybe a little house or two. These are all just things that could be added, its a nice set up for now. the only thing i dont particularly like is the bottom right where there's grass for wild pkmn in the small corner, i would say either add more throughout the map, or at least make it stand out more than being secluded in a corner.
my rating: 6/10

My map:
FR hack
name: pallet, route1, viridian city, route 22, route 2, pewter city
This will be my map for the demo that i will soon be releasing for my hack, the demo will go up through pewter city, viridian forest is also included, its the grouping of trees on route 2. I threw them all together to get an overall rating. im just trying to keep most of the original cities, but with maps edited to what i personally like, or edited for storyline purposes. Let me know what you think!
https://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c304/starkat_/GAMEMAP_zps8d6717cc.png
also, i know its pretty small, feel free to save it so you can take a better look at it, if you wish. but if you know the kanto map, it should be pretty easy to tell what's what

 

[Blah]

Rating map by X80relianthop: It's a pretty good base, but you could use a bit more to fill it up, like some trees in the blank spaces, also it has a mart and pokecenter, so id assume there would be people there to use them, so maybe a little house or two. These are all just things that could be added, its a nice set up for now. the only thing i dont particularly like is the bottom right where there's grass for wild pkmn in the small corner, i would say either add more throughout the map, or at least make it stand out more than being secluded in a corner.
my rating: 6/10

My map:
FR hack
name: pallet, route1, viridian city, route 22, route 2, pewter city
This will be my map for the demo that i will soon be releasing for my hack, the demo will go up through pewter city, viridian forest is also included, its the grouping of trees on route 2. I threw them all together to get an overall rating. im just trying to keep most of the original cities, but with maps edited to what i personally like, or edited for storyline purposes. Let me know what you think!
https://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c304/starkat_/GAMEMAP_zps8d6717cc.png
also, i know its pretty small, feel free to save it so you can take a better look at it, if you wish. but if you know the kanto map, it should be pretty easy to tell what's what

That map, atleast for me, doesn't zoom in all the way. It's pretty blurry. Though from what I can see you're trying to adopt a "natural" mapping style type. Sadly from this far I can't spot any tile errors (I say sadly but it's normally good if there aren't tile errors :P), maybe if you post one part at a time it'd be easier.

Oh, and another thing I noticed is that you're editing existing maps. It's OK to do so and there's no problem with it, but when it's noticeable it seems a little sub par. Maybe if you changed the map connections? Like instead of the home town branching up, and the second town branching up...ect like the default Fire Red game. You should change it :)

Yeah, I can't rate you without a clear map but from what I can see it looks pretty good.

My turn!

Spoiler:

EDIT:
Credits to Kyledove and Cope for tiles
BTW You initially go from left to right

 

[hinkage]

My turn!

Spoiler:

EDIT:
Credits to Kyledove and Cope for tiles
BTW You initially go from left to right

I like the layout of it. The trees are pretty natural, but not so much that it hinders the player. It's like Game Freak style. It wouldn't hurt to add a tiny bit more variety with the trees, tho, such as with the ones above the ledge in the bottom left.

The splotches of sand contribute nicely, but the middle area is still pretty empty, so I'd make the sand a lot bigger there. Or, you could remove that part, and replace the other sand tiles with those light-green grass ones. (Like the pathways in Pallet, Idfk what they really are.)

Also:
-Grass is too blocky and unnatural.
-Random fence in bottom left is out of place. I know you did it cuz of the ledge, but you can do treetop + ledge if you do some tile editing.
-Flower placement doesn't flow very well. I dunno, they just look weird to me. My own usually look pretty weird to me too tho, no idea how GF makes it look good.

Rating: It reminds me sorta of Route 102 and 29. It's simple, but pretty cool, so I'd have to give it an elephant/10; toaster/10 with fixes.

 

[Blah]

I like the layout of it. The trees are pretty natural, but not so much that it hinders the player. It's like Game Freak style.

I studied too many Game Freak maps :P

It wouldn't hurt to add a tiny bit more variety with the trees, tho, such as with the ones above the ledge in the bottom left.

By variety you mean make it look more natural?

The splotches of sand contribute nicely, but the middle area is still pretty empty, so I'd make the sand a lot bigger there. Or, you could remove that part, and replace the other sand tiles with those light-green grass ones. (Like the pathways in Pallet, Idfk what they really are.)

You are right, the middle is extremely empty. I originally had 2 people there, but it seemed like too much. Maybe the light green path will fix that.

Also:
-Grass is too blocky and unnatural.

Kyledove tiles #1

-Random fence in bottom left is out of place. I know you did it cuz of the ledge, but you can do treetop + ledge if you do some tile editing.
-Flower placement doesn't flow very well. I dunno, they just look weird to me. My own usually look pretty weird to me too tho, no idea how GF makes it look good.

I agree, the fence looks retarded there; I don't know what I was thinking. As for the flowers, GF always places them in patches together, where as I just put in 2 together. If you look at their maps you'll know what I mean.

Rating: It reminds me sorta of Route 102 and 29. It's simple, but pretty cool, so I'd have to give it an elephant/10; toaster/10 with fixes.

My expert deduction skills and years of experience tell me the first letter of your word/10 scores translates to 8/10; 10/10 please don't confirm if I'm right or wrong.

Thanks for the rating. It much more constructive than what I was expecting to get :)

 

[Reb0rn]

That map, atleast for me, doesn't zoom in all the way. It's pretty blurry. Though from what I can see you're trying to adopt a "natural" mapping style type. Sadly from this far I can't spot any tile errors (I say sadly but it's normally good if there aren't tile errors :P), maybe if you post one part at a time it'd be easier.

Oh, and another thing I noticed is that you're editing existing maps. It's OK to do so and there's no problem with it, but when it's noticeable it seems a little sub par. Maybe if you changed the map connections? Like instead of the home town branching up, and the second town branching up...ect like the default Fire Red game. You should change it :)

Yeah, I can't rate you without a clear map but from what I can see it looks pretty good.

My turn!

Spoiler:

EDIT:
Credits to Kyledove and Cope for tiles
BTW You initially go from left to right

NIce starter route, looks a bit empty thoug 6/10

My map:
Map name None
Map Game maybe
Map comments: just some rehab, really.
Map

Credits: www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=297199

 

[Echidna]

My turn!

Spoiler:

EDIT:
Credits to Kyledove and Cope for tiles
BTW You initially go from left to right

I'd have to give it an overall 5/10. Yes the trees aren't straight lines but still, there isn't much variation in the tiles nor the line-ups of the trees.

------------

Spoiler:

Credits: Shawn-Forest for the tiles. [Link]
This isn't any particular map, just something I felt like putting together ;;

 

[Mana1]

Spoiler:

Credits: Shawn-Forest for the tiles. [Link]
This isn't any particular map, just something I felt like putting together ;;

I think the problem with this map is the empty space takes up way too much of it - especially when you consider there is no wild grass at all (is it a town or a trainer route?).

The way you have used rocks as decoration, probably to make it look less empty, looks quite messy. Personally, I think rocks should stick closer to the mountains and avoid interrupting paths. Speaking of which, the green-grass path looks bad. Too big, and the tile itself isn't my favourite either, don't be afraid of doing 2-tile paths rather than three.

Tips:

• Use trees more to define the route the player should take.
• (If this is a route) provide 'pools' of grass to the side of the path.
• Beware of border issues when you're mapping for real.

6/10

 

[LocksmithArmy]

Spoiler:

Credits: Shawn-Forest for the tiles. [Link]
This isn't any particular map, just something I felt like putting together ;;

Personally I do not like the layout of the random rocks, the dirt path alone has enough character to carry the map, although there are major "odd" spots in the dirt path. like near the lower right house where the dirt surrounds one spot of grass on 3 sides, then does it again... just a little "funny" (not funny ha ha)
to me it looks like aroute and needs some tall grass, it would be quite good with some tall grass around... I like your mountians, they are quite natural... i give it a 6/10... not alot of work is needed to make it really good.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

well I wanna yammer a bit on here... so enjoy reading ;)

first off I know my mapping skills completely blow... hard... so I figured I would have some of my original maps critiqued so maybe next time I make a hack it will look better :)

I will post some of my "better" maps (i have a few truly horrid maps I put in my last hack) and I will be explaining a bit about them so you can partially understand why some elements are in them... these 2 maps were made after looking and reading quite a bit of the comments in this thread... (trying not to make the same mistakes as others)

[NOTE: these maps have been edited in paint to be used in my players guide, ignore the obvious edits]

first up is my favorite original map...

Map Name: Guardian Meadow
Hack Name: Pokemon - Ultra Violet Version
Game Base: Fire Red

Spoiler:

this is a post E4 map, you are going to get latias, you start at the little building (coming out of an underground path) and head south, (you can see latias to the east) and you must surf, the rocks guide the player south into the grassy area, but if they navigate the rocks they can go east and avoid the grass (staying in the water longer tho). either way they must continue east off the map onto another map (not shown) that simply makes a U turn back onto the map... this was done because of spriting issues (the 2 sprites, latios and latias could not be on the same map without messing up eachother). once you have made it back onto the mian map you fight latias, if you catch her and try to leave, latios will fight you (only if you caught latias) while you are on the second little "Uturn" map...

Next up

Map Name: Haunted Forest
Hack Name: Pokemon - Ultra Violet Version
Game Base: Fire Red

Spoiler:

its a smiple twisty path that forces the player through alot of grass to fight ghost and dark type pokemon... the point is to simply head north out of the forest (or south on the return trip) to the north is a unique event and to the south is more forest (not haunted) and the southern forest is one of those HORRID maps I mentioned earlier... this map, however, is filled with a thick fog... fyi...