Making Maps: Showing off and getting help

ericthered · 02-06-2018, 09:45 AM

A while back I was thinking that I find most sci-fi war games to be too small in scale for my taste, and I realized that ogre was probably the scale I was looking for. I've just started to get into ogre, and I found the map program. Its awesome. I've started making maps representing real places. The first one is here, focused around Utah lake and Provo.

A few observations I made while making the map:

Wow, the scale for the game is enormous! There are almost half a million people living on this map.

The map demonstrates several odd things about Utah, such as where the desert is found, and just how crammed between the lakes, the deserts, and the mountains most of the people live.

This map feels rather cramped, and it looks like GEV's and infantry will rule the day, perhaps supported by the occasional howitzer. Helicopters would be really nice for this scenario, if one house rules in rules for them. Even if you only use them as transports.

A few questions:

I'm not sure how to do mountains properly. Unfortunately, all the places I want to do first have mountains. I've got rubble defining the edges, and the big bald peaks are indicated with mountain symbols. I've tried to give the ranges shape using rubble lines to indicate ridges. How is the best way to do this? is it worth it? I've read that you should use rubble around forest to indicate a mountain, but some parts of these mountains are pretty bare. What's the best way to indicate mountains?

I'm not sure how urban an area needs to be before marking it as city. On this map, dense suburbs are marked as city. Is that the correct interpretation?

Is the map too small? I know this area well, and I found myself wishing I could include certain neighboring regions, like all of the northern city, and the fields to the south that make it possible to go around the lake. Is this a special case, am I thinking too epic in scale, or does ogre really like big maps?

Is there anything else I did wrong, or could do better?

Does anyone have any areas they'd like me to do next?

02-06-2018, 09:45 AM	#1
ericthered Hero of Democracy Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: far from the ocean	Making Maps: Showing off and getting help A while back I was thinking that I find most sci-fi war games to be too small in scale for my taste, and I realized that ogre was probably the scale I was looking for. I've just started to get into ogre, and I found the map program. Its awesome. I've started making maps representing real places. The first one is here, focused around Utah lake and Provo. A few observations I made while making the map: Wow, the scale for the game is enormous! There are almost half a million people living on this map. The map demonstrates several odd things about Utah, such as where the desert is found, and just how crammed between the lakes, the deserts, and the mountains most of the people live. This map feels rather cramped, and it looks like GEV's and infantry will rule the day, perhaps supported by the occasional howitzer. Helicopters would be really nice for this scenario, if one house rules in rules for them. Even if you only use them as transports. A few questions: I'm not sure how to do mountains properly. Unfortunately, all the places I want to do first have mountains. I've got rubble defining the edges, and the big bald peaks are indicated with mountain symbols. I've tried to give the ranges shape using rubble lines to indicate ridges. How is the best way to do this? is it worth it? I've read that you should use rubble around forest to indicate a mountain, but some parts of these mountains are pretty bare. What's the best way to indicate mountains? I'm not sure how urban an area needs to be before marking it as city. On this map, dense suburbs are marked as city. Is that the correct interpretation? Is the map too small? I know this area well, and I found myself wishing I could include certain neighboring regions, like all of the northern city, and the fields to the south that make it possible to go around the lake. Is this a special case, am I thinking too epic in scale, or does ogre really like big maps? Is there anything else I did wrong, or could do better? Does anyone have any areas they'd like me to do next? __________________ Be helpful, not pedantic Worlds Beyond Earth -- my blog Check out the PbP forum! If you don't see a game you'd like, ask me about making one!