New Map and Boarder Idea

[Wayfinder]

Hello everyone! I am working on my game and looking for some feedback on my design. I want the region my game takes place in to really feel like a dense wilderness. To make that happen I had the idea of making a tree boarder using multiple trees overlayered and I have images attached to show what I mean. I have also included an early draft of one of my towns that still needs some filling in. For the trees, I've made the outer most edge on the left, right, and top passable. The player is able to walk through this area be below/behind the foliage. What are your thoughts on this? SO far I've really enjoyed playing with the art I've found and am looking forward to making some more original art later.

 

[ThatWelshOne_]

I think the concept is fine, but I'm less sure about the execution. In your two sample images, the trees all look of different art styles. But I think the biggest thing for me is the colouring. Does it make sense for trees in the same environment to be completely different colours? And what about different species of tree? Would you expect to see oak trees growing next to pine trees? I dunno, I'm not a tree expert, but something to consider.

 

[Wayfinder]

I think the concept is fine, but I'm less sure about the execution. In your two sample images, the trees all look of different art styles. But I think the biggest thing for me is the colouring. Does it make sense for trees in the same environment to be completely different colours? And what about different species of tree? Would you expect to see oak trees growing next to pine trees? I dunno, I'm not a tree expert, but something to consider.

To answer your questions about coloration and species, yes. In a healthy forest there is a diversity of trees growing together. This limits the negative impact on things that may be a blight to forests like ash bores and gypsy moths for example. When you have a section of forest dense with a single species it has the risk of a mass die off if something those particular trees are vulnerable to takes up habitation in the forest.

For coloration, this can be the result of several things. It can mean a deficiency in nutrients to the tree, it can be a sign of its level of maturity, and even an indication of the condition of the root system.

The region my game is themed after is my home state of Wisconsin. Unfortunately the last forty-ish years its long tradition of conservation has been under attack in an effort to repeal a great deal of legislation that protects our forested lands here. This plays a role in the story of the game. Wisconsin is also home of Aldo Leopold and Gaylord Nelson, the founder of Earth Day. I had the opportunity to grow up in a community where I could participate in a lot of conservation efforts and I'm using a lot of those lessons as events within the game.

 

[HollowGap]

I tried doing something similar back then. Tree placement with no pattern. Put as many variety as possible. The result looks nice, but development-wise it's a time sink. It adds several hours to what could have been done in just one. RPG Maker is also just not suited for this since you have to manually add the tree pieces. You might want to use Tiled for this.

 

[Wayfinder]

I tried doing something similar back then. Tree placement with no pattern. Put as many variety as possible. The result looks nice, but development-wise it's a time sink. It adds several hours to what could have been done in just one. RPG Maker is also just not suited for this since you have to manually add the tree pieces. You might want to use Tiled for this.

The time is not an issue for me. My main concern was how large it made the tile set. I've aimed to keep it to a similar size as the base outdoor set that comes.with essentials. I've done the bulk of my work in Paint.net. Are you familiar with how the size of the tile set impacts game play?

 

[HollowGap]

Yes, at certain point tileset length adds to the lag. That's why RPG Maker isn't built for this.

 

[Wayfinder]

Yes, at certain point tileset length adds to the lag. That's why RPG Maker isn't built for this.

Most of what I've learned about game dev has come from Thundaga and his Youtube videos. I'm unfamiliar with Tiled and how it works with Pokémon Essentials. Is it as beginner friendly as RPG Maker? Does Tiled allow you to use larger tilesets?

 

[HollowGap]

I'm unfamiliar with Tiled and how it works with Pokémon Essentials. Is it as beginner friendly as RPG Maker?

You have to use PSDK instead of Essentials. It still uses RPG Maker when it comes to eventing, but mapping takes place almost entirely in Tiled.

If you have never heard of the kit, I made 2 games using PSDK:

• Battle Spotlight
• Ghost of Knowledge

If you've used Essentials and RPG Maker before, learning how to use PSDK is quite easy.

Does Tiled allow you to use larger tilesets?

Yes. You can also use multiple tilesets for one map. You can use as many layers as you want.

Honestly, I would never want to go back to mapping in RPG Maker. Tiled is just too convenient.

 

[A.I.R]

You have to use PSDK instead of Essentials. It still uses RPG Maker when it comes to eventing, but mapping takes place almost entirely in Tiled.

If you have never heard of the kit, I made 2 games using PSDK:

• Battle Spotlight
• Ghost of Knowledge

If you've used Essentials and RPG Maker before, learning how to use PSDK is quite easy.


Yes. You can also use multiple tilesets for one map. You can use as many layers as you want.

Honestly, I would never want to go back to mapping in RPG Maker. Tiled is just too convenient.

Who do you convert them to rxdata?

 

[Wayfinder]

You have to use PSDK instead of Essentials. It still uses RPG Maker when it comes to eventing, but mapping takes place almost entirely in Tiled.

If you have never heard of the kit, I made 2 games using PSDK:

• Battle Spotlight
• Ghost of Knowledge

If you've used Essentials and RPG Maker before, learning how to use PSDK is quite easy.


Yes. You can also use multiple tilesets for one map. You can use as many layers as you want.

Honestly, I would never want to go back to mapping in RPG Maker. Tiled is just too convenient.

Any tutorials for PSDK or Tiled you recommend?

 

[Invatorzen]

Any tutorials for PSDK or Tiled you recommend?

You can find both here ;D