[Abandoned] Guatemala

by **jleonnn** on Wed Dec 22, 2010 8:28 pm

on the updates guys, but thenobodies, what are the problems?

by **jleonnn** on Thu Dec 23, 2010 5:10 am

Guatemala v12

Click image to enlarge.

-I lowered opacity for the borders
-I made the borders thinner in certain areas
-I changed the border so it looked like peten was not bordering El quiche.
-I darkened the ocean
-I changed some borders to avoid touching the texts.
-I added some shadows for the land area and the legend

by **natty dread** on Thu Dec 23, 2010 7:46 am

Not bad, but how about something like this:

Click image to enlarge.

by **jleonnn** on Thu Dec 23, 2010 7:58 am

So you want the colours to be slightly less bright?

by **natty dread** on Thu Dec 23, 2010 8:53 am

I also tweaked the colours slightly to make them more colourblind friendly. Then, I also added a gradient overlay with a very small opacity on top of everything, this will give the map a more "natural" feel.

by **jleonnn** on Thu Dec 23, 2010 9:35 am

what's a graident overlay?

by **natty dread** on Thu Dec 23, 2010 12:22 pm

You make a layer that goes over everything on your map (except the legend). On this layer, you'll draw a white-black radial gradient, it'll look like a spotlight (sort of), center it on that green bonus area as it is the brightest one. Then set that layer on very low opacity, like 20% or less, and set the blend mode to "hard light".

Key is making it very slight, not too noticeable. Subtle.

by **Victor Sullivan** on Thu Dec 23, 2010 1:11 pm

I have a few issues with a few things:

1. Looking at the Gulf of Mexico/Pacific Ocean, it appears that Guatemala is hovering above the water, while the rivers look completely flat.
2. The rivers are far too thick and look absurd.
3. You spelled "Ciudad Capital" wrong in the legend.
4. Does Péten really need to be one territory? It looks extremely awkward in comparison to the rest of the map, and I think it needs to be split up for gameplay reasons as MrBenn pointed out above.
5. Graphically overall, this map looks very plain and rather uninteresting, to be honest. You need to step it up a notch and go big and extravagant to define this map's identity, even if that means scrapping what you have now (which, I should clarify, you may not have to at all).

-Sully

by **jleonnn** on Thu Dec 23, 2010 10:22 pm

on it, but sully, any suggestions on how to making the map less plain? And sorry, my Spanish ain't that good.

by **Victor Sullivan** on Sat Dec 25, 2010 2:15 am

jleonnn wrote:on it, but sully, any suggestions on how to making the map less plain? And sorry, my Spanish ain't that good.

More texture, less flat colors. Stylize it to fit Guatemalan culture. And I took Spanish in high school, so I'll be able to help you with your Spanish to certain extent, at least, so no worries

by **jleonnn** on Sun Dec 26, 2010 5:06 am

mucho grassias senor

by **jleonnn** on Sun Dec 26, 2010 9:02 pm

what do you mean by "flat colours"

by **thenobodies80** on Mon Jan 03, 2011 6:19 pm

jleonnn wrote:on the updates guys, but thenobodies, what are the problems?

I mostly agree with Victor Sullivan

Victor Sullivan wrote:I have a few issues with a few things:

1. Looking at the Gulf of Mexico/Pacific Ocean, it appears that Guatemala is hovering above the water, while the rivers look completely flat.

the shadow must go.

Victor Sullivan wrote:2. The rivers are far too thick and look absurd.

and i'm unsure about the existence of some..

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:Guatemala_Topography.png

Victor Sullivan wrote:4. Does Péten really need to be one territory? It looks extremely awkward in comparison to the rest of the map, and I think it needs to be split up for gameplay reasons as MrBenn pointed out above.

This is a important thing, probably the first one, you need to fix. Look this post for more suggestion about it --> viewtopic.php?f=468&t=117281&start=90#p2721590

Victor Sullivan wrote:5. Graphically overall, this map looks very plain and rather uninteresting, to be honest. You need to step it up a notch and go big and extravagant to define this map's identity, even if that means scrapping what you have now (which, I should clarify, you may not have to at all).

Victor Sullivan wrote:More texture, less flat colors. Stylize it to fit Guatemalan culture.

Here, Victor hit the nail on the the head. Your map "lacks of personality", what makes this different from this.
What elements make Guatemala unique/famous in the world....the habitat? nature? Maya Ruins?

Work on colors, try to use something related with the country, maybe the flag colors (with different shades) are better than a red-purple-green-orange mix ?
Finally, why Izabal lake has become part of the ocean?

by **jleonnn** on Wed Jan 05, 2011 1:29 am

k on it

by **jleonnn** on Wed Jan 05, 2011 5:57 am

Though I'm not sure if I can fit a small map of the world in there

by **jleonnn** on Thu Jan 06, 2011 4:51 am

What do you guys think would fit Mayan culture?

by **jleonnn** on Fri Jan 07, 2011 6:48 am

version 13

This is the best I can do really.

Click image to enlarge.

suggestions will be appreciated

by **Victor Sullivan** on Sat Jan 08, 2011 8:25 pm

Alright, lemme try to give you some more specific, doable changes:

Drop the names of the surrounding countries completely.
Ditch the black outlines of your rivers and make them thinner.
Try a different font, it isnt quite working for me.
Make sure your rivers are geographically accurate. If they are not, maybe consider putting a forest impassable in the place(s) where the river is inaccurate, to keep gameplay the same and justify your subtitle (the land of forests).
Update the map year
Try something different for the legend, as the information on the minimap is rather squished.
Does your colour scheme come from the flag colours? If not, it should.
Your abbreviation explanations at the bottom left need to be less smashed together.
The images are nice, assuming they are relevant to Guatemala.

Cheers,
Sully