Hawaii Dual

Yes, it looks like everyone prefers texture 2.2 and yes, I would either increase the dark blue screen a little or if your background images are less than 100% opacity, I would also try a solid colour base to find that richer colour for the whole thing.

People are liking it just as it is, but I believe they will start to call for the background changes later when the islands start to look "blaring".

Okay I will increase the blue filter screen to 7.5% & 10% and show you how both look.

Expect update in a couple hours.

Okay here are our updates of Texture 2 version 2.

A: Has NO navy blue filter screen
B: Has navy blue filter screen with opacity of 12/255 (about 5%)
C: Has navy blue filter screen with opacity of 18/255 (about 7%)
D: Has navy blue filter screen with opacity of 24/255 (about 9%)

So which one do we move forward with? Or do we want to make the filter even darker?

Texture 2.2A

Texture 2.2B

Texture 2.2C

Texture 2.2D

I prefer the darkest one (D), because it enhances your background image contrast, which was why I said to drop the opacity of the images in the first place, as I knew the enhanced richness of the colour would do this. It now makes it look like you've raised the opacity of the images again.

Did you try a solid base colour, these can really make a difference to the colour without darkening it too much?

I am hopefully not slowing things down for you, I always intend for my suggestions to be things you can play around with, until you feel you have found the best colour and that it suits the look of the map you are hoping to achieve. Things get quicker when the map basis is achieved.

Is it possible for you to send me the layers of the 2 background images in a Photoshop file by PM? I would like to show you what I mean, but can't do it without the layers.

I'll send you a PM.

wow, all i can say is i am still partial to the version on Page 9

(Clarke wrote: "Here is the update I promised with the slight increase in color for yellow, green, and orange. Admittedly this looks better to me as well....." etc.

Posted: 11:26 PM, 20 February 2015 | Post #132 )
~~~[the last spoiler of page 9]~~~

it would be interesting to see that with the new bright island colors, tho i suspect they may need to be toned down 4% or so,, 

[but if for some reason, you folks are seeking darker water and brighter islands, at least consider a look at the lighting reflections aero posted] But i am still for the one on page 9 as far as ocean.
 The new islands have better contrast and much nicer edges/borders , ( of course if you wanted to take them one step further, you would surround each island border with a near white blue mist that gives the feeling of shoreline and shallower waters near shore. maybe an 8th of an inch thick, but that may be excessively arty)

but have at it chums, im still a page 9 -last spoiler , map water advocate ,(at least till i see the new version all together) .. tho i gotta admit, the newer versions soften down the background image very nicely , its just a pity to lose the light blue colors of page 9.

FYI to all concerned: Expect an update in about 12 hours or less. I sent my background layers to Aero and he did some work with them. So i will post my current "2.2D" and his image and we can see how they look.

Okay here it is. This is the updated version (lets call it 2.2E) that Aero tweaked a little. He started with 2.2D which was the current favorite and just played with it some. I want to draw your attention to the top of the taller palm tree and the area around the purple and yellow islands. I must say I prefer the new 2.2E. Please weigh in, and if there are no objections, I would like to move on using 2.2E.

TEXTURE 2.2E

This is a significant improvement. Let's move forward.

Agreed, lets push on...

So the next thing to discuss is the shape of the islands. Previous versions (image below for your reference) have been critiqued as being too much of a blob or too cartoonish. As you can see in the image 2.2E above, all of the islands have been carefully redrawn. These new drawings are more realistic, accurate, and detailed. The only island which might still be criticized as blob like is orange. However, that is what the island looks like. Google it and see for yourself.

Now at this time I ask you to only consider the shape of the islands and not the colors, textures, or glow around the islands.

Here is the previous version for reference. Please share your thoughts on the new shapes of the islands. THANKS!

OLD BLOB LIKE ISLANDS

The new islands are just fine. Accurate shapes was all I was after. The crisp, clean lines look excellent. If you draw them smooth and then add a blur on top of it, they do just end up looking blobby. But these look great.

The only thing I will say is you might want to expand the Northernmost grey/white island to make it a little wider for name/circle. When you go to trace it or draw it, just expand by idk 20 pixels or so. However much you think looks good, but not too overblown. But that's just a little suggestion that you could completely ignore and it would still be fine. It might just be it looks a little smaller without the blur is all.

Looking great Clarke!!

The new islands that have been on screen throughout the background phase, are far better shaped. They are more realistic and less cheesy without a doubt.

If they receive a thumbs up as they are or after addressing issues or concerns, before moving on to the next stage, please remember to address Fendi's concern about the bleeding of the land outside the outlines in the marked places.

Please remember all, we are just remarking on the land shape here.

@Axobongo, please only remark on the stage that Clarke is developing. Up until now, the retouching has just been about the background and the islands have only been placed on for reference to tone.

@Naathim>I do understand about the ideal desire for the troop circles to be able to be completely contained inside the territory. So, believe it or not, some of the islands (white, grey, and orange) have already been made bigger relative to the other islands. So my concern is making them too big and they then become unrealistically distorted. So I am kind of on the fence with this issue. Lets see what others have to say.

@Aero>Yes, I did notice some of the "bleed through" from the islands. I think using PNG instead of JPG makes it better, but when I looked closely, there is still some of it. So I will address this today.

This being the guide, there is also the fact that geographic maps don't always allow the circle, the label or both to fit completely within the territory, due to their required accuracy, natural territories and limited dimensions & scale.

Italia is a good example of this, where in the north the circles overlap the sea.

I would say, for geographic maps with limited dimensions, don't overlap the sea any more than is absolutely necessary, always keep the circles & labels intuitive to game-play and keep them as aesthetically centred and closely related as possible.
Some maps use a circle overlap to replace a bridge or connection line, such as Tamriel.

The most important thing is, if the territory is so small that the circle will overlap another territory, then something has to be done with the size of the territory, scale of the map or the removal/merging of the territory.
Bare in mind some circles will also have to move if they are used as a Capital position, due to the extra outer white circle.

I think these new shapes are much better than the old ones. Also, I wouldn't distort the map for circle/label fitting unless it's confusing, which is not the case because territories are very far from the rest.