Midantine of the Sehterre Basin

[jplet]

Hey all! Found out about this place a while ago and I've been lurking for a while now. Discovering Warlin's Atlantide maps were a turning point for me and really solidified my sense of what I could do with my work, so he was a major point of inspiration for a lot of the material I've been working on the past few months.

Just a little bit about me: I DM for a group in a homebrew setting, I've done all my own maps up to this point and I've been experimenting with different styles as the game's progressed, and I think these game out pretty good. Feedback is welcome and useful for future maps, so anything you can give me I will gladly take and run with!

[XCali]

I like this! This is a good map.

The whole night and day on the same map is actually something I have been considering lately. It is hard to pull off, but you have a good start here. If your buildings are on its own layer, it would be better to get the lighting right. Look at the GOLD district. It seems as if the there is one big light above the buildings there, which would be strange unless there is indeed a big light floating above those buildings. Now look north of 8 into that alley way, that seems more like the light is coming out of the buildings instead of above the buildings. Same with north of 10.
So, my advice would be to try and reduce the light that is above the buildings, while promoting the light that is between the buildings. (Look at your own house at night and see how much light is hitting on top of the roof. One way of getting an idea. )

Btw, just a question, 13 seems like a reeeeeeeeally huge building. Is it meant to be so incredibly big? If it is, it does make one wonder at what is going on inside.

[jplet]

@XCali thank you!

It’s the first map I’ve ever applied a nighttime color palette to, I really like the effect of it on a cityscape and I definitely intend to keep playing with it, both revisiting Midantine and with future maps. I do appreciate the lighting advice, too; those are really good points I’ll keep in mind on the next pass. Part of the reason for the vagueness of it is that I needed to have the map at least presentable in under a week so I could show it to my D&D group; we meet Sundays and play over Discord and Tabletop Simulator and I really wanted to at least give the impression of night lighting to set the tone during the game. They’re currently in town for a raging annual winter solstice festival (Day of the Dead x Christmas x Martis Gras), and I really wanted to try and convey that atmosphere, but the crowds and wagons and tents I added just looked like a pixelated mess on Tabletop so ended up getting rid of them but left the lighting as-is cuz that was at least still clear at low res.

As for 13... Its like a Mayan pyramid, but at the scale of one of the Giza pyramids; Midantine was the capital city of an ancient kingdom and the original inhabitants buried their dead kings and their immediate families in that pyramid. The peak has (well, had) a sizeable temple and open plaza and underneath in the pyramid base is an extensive series of tombs and catacombs. After the city was annexed by Hirbas and the line of Midantine kings ended, the pyramid was maintained by the natives for its historic significance. These days, though, it serves a more vital function to the living as the home for the city’s gate (the giant glowing watery blue orb that now occupies the top half of the pyramid), linking the city to the Abyss and warding off the miasma that now plagues the world.

[MistyBeee]

Hi Jplet and welcome to the Guild ! You did a good job on this map and I'm glad to discover a new fellow map maker.
Thus I agree about the light comments by XCali, I'm in love with your night colors : congrats !

[Diamond]

I love what you did with the night-time colors - still perfectly legible, but very atmospheric. And welcome to the Guild; you definitely picked the right person as inspiration in Warlin.

[jplet]

Made some adjustments; picked a different typeface for all the font and adjusted some of the frame stuff, and did a little detail work with the lighting on the night map.

[XCali]

Now that is what I'm talking about!!!
Love the changes. I also like your elevation on the map.
Well done with crafting a great map.

[CraftyGepetto]

Beautiful map! I particularly like the ruins outside the gates - you really nailed the sketchy foundation outlines. The night color is great, too, especially the torchglow from the walls. The brief history of the city brings more of it into focus and adds a layer of narrative and depth.

Cheers,

@Gerret