Hawaii Dual

Ah, but I do believe that we covered the colors separately when only half the islands were shown. Now that the texture and background have been sorted we can revisit how the colors blend with everything else. I started to think they were a bit too bright after the glow was added.

Vexer is right and this was stated earlier in the thread, that when things are added, other things have to be adjusted to compensate. The red is too intense. The way it is set up with separate layers for each island in the North, you can simply "Lock Transparency" for the red island layer and change the colour with a Paint Brush, so as to keep the anti-alias on the edges. You can do the same for the South Island too, but the islands are all joined in one layer so be careful to keep the brush away from other islands. Also the territory dividers could be a tad less bold.

I think there is an easier way to adjust the colors than to use the paintbrush, or paint bucket for that matter. Just adjust the colors using hue/saturation. In photoshop select the layer you want to adjust then hit CTRL + U (Shift+Command+U on a Mac). In paint.net it's CTRL + Shift + U.

Yes, but as mentioned above Vexer, the 180 degree rotated south islands are all on one layer, which is why I suggested re-colouring the red island only. To achieve this, Clarke will first have to copy, paste and line up each south island as separate layers.

I am not a map maker. I am also sorry if this sounds out of line. I also want to make this clear that I am speaking alone and Clarke doesn't even know I am writing this. I can't believe the amount of scrutiny over this map. I have never seen so much nitpicking of a line or a color. It is no longer even his map. So what if someone thinks the hue is too bright on the red island. Guess what, It looks different on different screens!! I have seen maps ON THIS SITE that aren't nearly as nice as this one. If I were him I would have just given up weeks ago. I feel this is ridiculous.

I understand what you say. I made [url=https://mattiasbeimers.nl/assets/img/extern/d12/guitar-avatar-old.png]my own avatar[/url] a while ago, and went on creating it untill I thought it was good enough and put it up. And then the rest of the year I kept on being annoyed that I didn't put more time in it to make it better. So I finally did (after being inspired by how Vexer improved some maps) and now I am really happy with it. The point is, yes, it's not that hard to make a map that is better in quality than Great Britain for example. Sure, it is the best medium map on gameplay, absolutely perfect, but it looks quite bad yes. But at D12 making a map that is sort of good enough is not good enough anymore, the standards get higher all the time, the maps get better all the time, and old maps are either redone or thrown away. We all like the idea of hawaii double a lot, so we want this to be a map that stays, a map that survives the test of time. So we want this map to be better than the best map that is on this site. It is sometimes very hard though when you know it can be that little bit better, but you don't exactly see precisely what it is. So we become a bit nitpicky, and change small details untill it looks exactly right. Of course, everyone looks a bit different at a map, so sometimes commenters don't agree, but overall this map has become soooooo much better than it was on page 1. Imaging how much better it can be if we just go on improving it a few more pages. Yes, it takes a long long time, especially a first map will take a long time, but if he keeps up and holds on, this map is going to be one of the best maps on this site. That's in the end what Clarke will want it to be right?

I understand what you are saying. I also agree it looks a lot better than it did Day 1. Clarke and I were talking about it last night and he said he agrees it looks a lot better and he has learned a lot. He feels his skill has improved and he has better tools to use making the map than he had previously (thanks to aero). Most importantly, he really ENJOYS making these maps. I just can't help but feel discouraged at the nitpicking. But, it is what it is. With that being said, Thank you Matty for the input as to why it is that way.

Agree with Clarkette. This darn map and Clarke have been raked over the coals (I've been helpfully blowing on them!). But I think Matty makes best defense. People want this map to be the best because it's a GOOD map. It's generated lots of interest and lot's of comments. Which means a lot of people want the map to succeed and be great. The endless scrutiny and nitpicking is crap, no two ways about it. But it all comes from a good, (and I hope) helpful place. And Clarke's been so thorough about it. Going through one layer at a time, trying to get everything perfect. He should feel nothing short of proud about how good a job he's done. (Unfortunately his methodical method has generated a LOT more of the nitpickiness, just because he's opened up comments on every single aspect, one at a time.) Anywho, I really think this is getting pretty close to done. At least I hope so, cause I want to play on it ^^

There has been a reason for breaking it down to its constituent parts and all of this has been said above by Matty & Clarkette. To quote: [quote=Matty]We all like the idea of hawaii double a lot, so we want this to be a map that stays, a map that survives the test of time. So we want this map to be better than the best map that is on this site.[/quote][quote=Clarkette]Clarke and I were talking about it last night and he said he agrees it looks a lot better and he has learned a lot. He feels his skill has improved and he has better tools to use making the map than he had previously [/quote] I said initially that the program and available tools Clarke used, were not accurately reflecting his abilities and creativity. I asked him to break it down so that he could use all his original ideas and images and to see what they could become with a change of program & the feedback from the advisers and even though it slowed the process, it enhanced his map by 1000%. I might have done a few graphic things to an image or two, but that is my strength and would be utilised by any map maker at D12, it has in no way meant that any of this creation is mine and I have already told Clarke that he will be the sole author. Assisting with graphic retouching & organising a layer system in a Photoshop file, does not warrant co-authorship. Think of it like tendering parts of a job. I must stress that since sending the Photoshop file back to Clarke, I have had no "hands on" with it in any way and all the work you see has been done solely by Clarke. This map has served to give Clarke an insight into our world and an understanding of requirements and the tools required to achieve them. He will be amazed at how quick it all comes together once the base of the map has been accepted. Please remember that game-play has already been finalised, Capital positions have been worked on and all the geographic research has been done, meaning all the labels are correct & ready to be applied and bonuses have been finalised.

I do plan on using photoshop for my future projects. I am just too far down the road and I need to learn photoshop so I'd rather not start over now. I expect to have an update posted in about 24 hours from this post. Thanks for the encouragement. TTYS!

Please also note that the difference in time with this map and Cartographers maps is: The practise we've had with the tools and techniques is vast and we normally make 4 or 5 updates in a day, whereas you have to realise that making 1 tiny update after 24 hours+ and then if not correct, making the changes after another 24 hours+ really slows things down, losing momentum. I understand that you are doing it whilst at work, but that is the time handicap for this map. Imagine you put in 2 to 3 hours per night as most of us do, posting an update after 30 minutes, getting feedback, making changes, posting again, get a thumbs up, move on to the next items / additions. There is a huge timescale difference. Don't get me wrong, sometimes we don't get feedback until the next day and this can lose momentum too. Sometimes we have to leave it untouched for a few days to allow all the advisers to have their say with important things and again this slows things down. But even at this fast pace, maps still take weeks to months to develop.

Sorry Aero, He does not have much time for mapmaking at home. Unless, he sneaks out of the room once I fall asleep. lol....I am slightly demanding in the evening lol

SLIGHTLY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

LOLOL - Don't be too much demanding Clarkette, let him finish the job!

Haha, you guys are amazing :P