February 2019 Challenge: Laugdenor's Tower

[ladiestorm]

When all else fails, go to the source. In this case, that means heading over to the profantasy forums and posting my issues. Thanks so much to Mouse and Ralf for giving me the solution! And thankfully, it's such an easy solution to implement, but something I never would have thought of. The question now, is, are my shadows long enough to convey a tall tower? General consensus... are they good where they are now? or do I need to make them longer?

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[damonjynx]

Looking good Storm. Re your shadows: they look fine if it’s a little after midday, i.e. the sun is just past it’s zenith. If you intend to show the tower later in the day, the shadow would need to be longer.

[Mark Oliva]

as Azelor says, the sun could be right overhead (irrespective of time, Mark )

That's right. The sun doubtless is right overhead at midnight.

[Mark Oliva]

The question now, is, are my shadows long enough to convey a tall tower? General consensus... are they good where they are now? or do I need to make them longer?

There really is no fast answer to that question. Ramah has a different opinion, but I think if you make your own test, you might go with mine instead. At sunrise, the sun is on the southeastern horizon (northeastern, if you're in the Southern Hemisphere). Because the sun is so low, the shadows are long. As the day goes on, the sun moves into the southern (northern in the southern hemisphere) sky and is higher. Shadows become shorter. As the day moves towards sunset, the sun sinks lower into the southwestern (northwestern in the southern hemisphere) sky and the shadows become longer again.

However, that's only one of three decisive factors. The time of year plays just as important a role, as does latitude. The sun is highest in the sky at summer solstice (in June in the northern hemisphere, in December in the southern hemisphere) and lowest at winter solstice (in December in the northern hemisphere, in June in the southern hemisphere). The higher the sun is in the sky (summer), the shorter the shadows. Likewise, the lower the sun is in the sky (winter), the longer the shadows.

Your map uses the default global sun position of CC3+, sun to the northeast, which is morning in the southern hemisphere. The only way to determine technically whether your shadows are long enough is to calculate your latitude, time of day and year and height of the building.

Blessed are those who listen to a sermon two days in a row! Or as the billboards used to tell us when I was a kid: The only thing better than an Eskimo Pie is two Eskimo Pies!

Servus,

[Naima]

Coming along nicely, goid choice for the floor.

[ladiestorm]

@Mark - one of the other things I'm trying to take into consideration, is how high in the sky this island is floating. Take into consideration that this tower is located on a very small plateau on the side of a mountain tip that has been broken off and is hovering a few hundred feet higher than it's base. Would the elevation of the land in the region, the height of the mountain, and the distance of the mountain tip from its base need to be taken into account as well?

[ladiestorm]

The mapping continues. We all have our areas where the mapping can become tedious, and here is mine... having to recreate elements to keep the continuity. In my case, the garden... I have it almost half way done, and of course, when I get to the third level, I will have to do this all again. But it's getting there, and you can start to see the surrounding area.

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[Azélor]

What if.... it's not the shadow of the sun but the shadow cast by the explosion of a super novea?
Any angle would be plausible but I would be concern if it's close enough to cast a shadow like that.
Maybe not a good idea.


[QUOTE][@Mark - one of the other things I'm trying to take into consideration, is how high in the sky this island is floating. Take into consideration that this tower is located on a very small plateau on the side of a mountain tip that has been broken off and is hovering a few hundred feet higher than it's base. Would the elevation of the land in the region, the height of the mountain, and the distance of the mountain tip from its base need to be taken into account as well?/QUOTE]

Assuming we are still talking about the shadow: Yes but only if the area beyond the cliff is shown on the map. The shadow could stretch miles if it's high enough.

[Mark Oliva]

The mapping continues. We all have our areas where the mapping can become tedious, and here is mine... having to recreate elements to keep the continuity. In my case, the garden... I have it almost half way done, and of course, when I get to the third level, I will have to do this all again. But it's getting there, and you can start to see the surrounding area.

In FM8, I simply would copy the entire garden, insert the it into the new level and the reduce the size by the desired percentage. I have it in the back of my mind ... quite erroneously perhaps ... that one can do that in CC3+ too. However, it's been too long since I've made a map with CC3+ that I can remember how (if, indeed, at all). Maybe Remy Monsen has something in the Tome about mass copying and pasting of objects groups?

[Mark Oliva]

[QUOTE=Azélor;395011]

[@Mark - one of the other things I'm trying to take into consideration, is how high in the sky this island is floating. Take into consideration that this tower is located on a very small plateau on the side of a mountain tip that has been broken off and is hovering a few hundred feet higher than it's base. Would the elevation of the land in the region, the height of the mountain, and the distance of the mountain tip from its base need to be taken into account as well?/QUOTE]

Assuming we are still talking about the shadow: Yes but only if the area beyond the cliff is shown on the map. The shadow could stretch miles if it's high enough.

I agree with Azélor's advice.