Hawaii Dual

I have just gone back to your previous update and used a different monitor and the colours don't seem to be as saturated in the current update, but are more saturated than the previous update you posted. That is the direction I would aim for with them.... that is the update that Psymon used to highlight the outline inconsistencies.

Here is latest update. The follow has been done today:

1) I retyped the red note about "territories can attack".

2) I completely redid the mini-map from scratch. I started by doing a save as and calling it a new file. Then I eliminated all layers except the texture, the island colors, and the island borders. Then I compressed all 3 layers into 1. Then I reduced to 33%. Then copied and pasted onto the original file. It does look better.

3) I dulled the colors down just a tiny bit more but I amped up the texture a tiny bit more also.

4) I moved the 4 names of territories that were on land off like the rest. I am okay with this but does anyone else think there will be confusion as to which label goes with which territory?

5) I flipped the connecting lines that Naathim asked about.

6) I cleaned up the edges of all of the islands that Psymon had highlighted on his drop box picture. While doing this I also found a few other places and fixed those as well.

Here is the update


Here is the same version with a few troop circles thrown to see how they look:

Now that is a map that will fit the D12 list of maps under "H".
When you see all the bright colours of the circles on it, the dark look of the map is good.

I think it's time to ask the map advisers their opinions and if there are no inconsistencies, spelling errors or legitimate objections to anything, we should go ahead and start working on the Capital positions.

I have made a 2,3,4 & 5 Cap's suggestion, which I will post as and when everyone is ready. Please all bare in mind that this is a highly connected map due to twin connections and that the standard rule of Cap's being on borders does not really apply, due to even an enclosed territory being a border to its twin.

hi psymon,@, it seems i caused some horrifying images of disturbing color combos to appear in your minds eye, and i apologize .
 i didn't really want to say more than that one post giving my expert Artistic opinion ,, but considering the effect of the comment , i will say this one last thing to clear up a grey area in our communication.

i blame my communicating skills, firstly, those who know me know i can have an irritating bluntness but my hearts in the right place.

1. whats in my mind is not what i caused you to envision, i think we saw different brightness to a turquoise tone. i mean, paradise beachy type of water is a mix of blues with something turquoise. And its the lighting and textures (which you use well in your maps BTW) that make it easy on the eye. And i trust the artists to make it look good, i was just trying to flip on the imagination light-switch.

So anchors bay, caribbean , new york color waters are swishing in my minds eye, and the notion of some turquoise in the mix, but toned down,  ,,seemed still in D12 harmony even if no other map uses actual turquoise, no other map uses a post card background image either.
 
2. i think the reason maps dont have a postcard or photo (double exposed) image is because to some people its a disorienting or distracting to a minor degree, since shapes communicate dimension and optical illusions work.
so the minds eye flips back and forth between a birds eye view and a horizon view. it has to block out one to concentrate on the other.

But if you all like it and want to go with it i say great! why not!
I like double exposure Art anyways, so no big deal.

3. nice job toning down the islands , that pink one looks much better now especially. so at least we agreed on that.

i am standing by my kudos, also.  Should be interesting play and its a good concept, congratulations on a good job.

Please , if i said anything disagreeable let it go, no need to comment to me because i am happy to sit back and wait for the map to enter into play . You could put dots and borders on a salvador dali painting and i would still give it a go.

oh, and i really like the lighting and texture of the east indies map water too , they would look good with any reasonable color.

if i made too long a comment, take solace in that i wont be writing more on the subject ,and dont hate me because i am beautiful.

The only thing I would say about the ocean (what I was trying to say earlier but wasn't very clear about it), is that I would add a slight texture to it, like the sea on Ancient Realm (which also has a background image). Nothing too drastic, but at the moment the ocean here looks like a sheet of plastic (that wasn't supposed to rhyme ).

Look at the ocean texturing here:

I wouldn't say it should be as prominent as in Ancient Realm, but I feel it would be better with something there. If lots of people disagree, then fine - this is only my preference. I would like to emphasise that a great job has been done here, and this is the only thing I would change.

Ok, so taking the time to make some funded comments.

First of all I like the idea of the map, but I think it can be improved in looks quite a bit still. As always, bear with me if I sound a bit negative, but me commenting like that actually means I like the map and think it has great potential!

So the first thing that strikes me is that the map is very dark and rather flat.
The flat thing is what Virtuosity in the post above means I think, because the background is just the one image. Adding a texture will probably fix it.

The dark thing is maybe because the colours are toned down so much, maybe it's the comparison with the background, not sure.
But right now the map has a bit a rainy feeling, which strikes me as weird for hawaii.
Personally I think the red and the pink islands are the best looking. The brown/yellow (almost greenish) one is a bit ugly.

Last remark: the "Territories can attack their twin on the other island" might look more professional in black or white instead of red.

,,,, i wish i had thought of the words flat and rainy,,

Well, it certainly looks better than it did previously. I don't have the technical abilities to discuss a lot of the things, so I'll just say what I like/don't like about it lol.

I do think it'll be a popular map with good gameplay. Although I'm a little iffy about the mirror borders. It will certainly be a mostly caps map, not enough chokepoints for deathmatch style. Which is perfectly fine, some maps are just better suited to certain types of gameplay.

The islands are too blobby for me. I did that with my first map too! Too smooth and round instead of following the actual land curves. Maui especially looks a little cartoonish. Oahu looks like a puzzle piece lol.

There's too much variation in style. The big brown logo for the map title, the big red notice about gameplay, the non-standard background. None of it gels for me. Needs a more coherent theme.

I think the region colors and textures look good. A bit washed out, but I like brighter maps, so I might be biased. The font is wonderful.

Change connection line from Kaena/Palau to Kaena/Molokai? And I'd make the connection lines all bend in the same direction, even on Lanai and Kahoolawe. Really going for that circle theme lol

I really do think this map will be just about as popular as Caribbean. Just a good map.

What if the blue background wasn't an "ocean" as people keep calling it. It is just that, a background. I guess with blue being the chosen background color around the islands it could appear as an ocean. I think that a texture similar to that of the Ancient Realm map would be too much with the background image. Is there a way to add a little texture to make it appear not so flat without taking away from the background image? I don't know, but I do LOVE the background and have seen great feedback (aeronautic) regarding not changing a thing about the background image.

I hadn't thought about it before, but I do really like Mattys suggestion about changing the color of the "Territories can attack". I think that will make a great difference.

I must say, that I only meant the image itself, this does not mean that it can't be textured. The Ancient realm background is still the same image Vexer used regardless of the added texture, but the texture he chose took a good background and turned it into a great background.

When I and many Cartographers like something that we put in our own maps, it doesn't mean that everyone will like it and it doesn't mean it can't be improved. Everyone of us listened to the advisers likes and dislikes and made many versions of everything until one was found that was liked by us and the advisers.

Even being a cartographer, what I say I like is not necessarily what it will end up like. Developing a map means keeping at it until you get the right vibe from the community, not one person.
I have a duty to only allow completion when the community and senior staff are happy. This map is getting better all the time with every update and by adapting it to what the very knowledgeable advisers are asking for, it will get better and better.

There are many textures to be found online, some with light & dark areas that would suggest light is coming from the sky.

I agree with Matty and naathim, though I'm not sure about naathim's suggestion on changing the connection lines since I'm not that good when it comes to game-play.

Okay here is the latest update. The following changes have been made:

1) Changed the text from red to the brown used in the title logo.

2) Re-did all of the connecting lines again to make the entire map have a more oval feel. Previously some of the connecting lines were too rounded and now they are flatter but that gives the entire map a more oval feel.

3) I added the texture to the background many asked for. I played with the opacity and hue. From that I selected 3 versions that have slightly different degree of color and opacity of the texture. The three are all shown below.

Before the spoilers, let me also say that I am not sure what is meant by the map seems too dark. I don't feel it is dark. When it was brighter, some complained it was too cartoonish. I will say the darker looks better with the bright troop circles on it. As far as Oahu is concerned, it is hard to do yellow without it looking like a traffic light. If you read my previous post concerning colors, Oahu must be yellow. Okay that is it for now. Here are the 3 version with the texture. Which is your favorite, A, B, or C?

VERSION A

VERSION B

VERSION C

B made me cream my pants. I love it!!

It's still a LITTLE faded looking on the territories. They don't need to be neon or anything, but they're a little too blah for me.

B. lightens it up a little , which is nice
- a little sun lighting like aero said might be nice
- the eye keeps getting drawn to the darkness of the Hawaii logo, i would lighten the brown a little
- i dont know why the water texture of B doesnt extend to the lower half, but it would be nice to see
- i agree with fendi when she agreed with naathim and matty whom i find myself in agreement with from what i said before
- do some people play this on phones and small devices? if so, i would look at the map from some small device to determine if the part that says "Territories can attack their twin,,," is clearly visible, if not, maybe a lighter color wash behind it? ( i promised not to say turquoise anymore,,) or slightly bigger type maybe needed?

To be honest I prefer Version A. When I requested an ocean texture, I envisaged a minor change that still left the background image as the main ocean feature. For me, B and C detract from the image, so A is best.

Also, on the text edit, it seems that a white dot appeared between the 'd' and the full stop of "island.". It's very minor but it jumped out at me, and now I can't help but notice it.

But I think that Version A is very nice.