1st map done with CC3+

This was my first map with CC3+. Please give me your input! What do you think?
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Comments

  • Not bad at all for your first ever map in CC3+!

    Everything is recognizable, I see the sizable graveyard on the right - what is the story with the ruined buildings - I know it has to be interesting. ;-)
  • LoopysueLoopysue ProFantasy 🖼️ 39 images Cartographer
    Welcome to the Profantasy Forum Nacon4 :)

    (and please forgive me if you've been here for years - its 3.30 am here in the UK)

    Not at all bad for a first map. I'm sure there is a perfectly logical reason for this, but I'm very curious to know why the numbers are tilted to diagonal?
  • Not bad at all for a first.map!

    If I may be allowed, there is one thing I might suggest. I notice your hex grid on this map sits on top of everything else. It's rather strange to see a grid on top of trees and bushes! :)

    There is an easy way to fix this. If you open up the sheets (by left clicking on the two boxes on the left of your view window) you will probably notice your grid sheet near the bottom of your list. This means it's one of the last things to be drawn. Left click on it, that the left box is checked, and it's highlighted in blue. Then left click on the move up button until it sits where you want...in this case under your trees. :)

    I hope to see more maps from you!
  • Posted By: CharlesWayneRobinsonNot bad at all for your first ever map in CC3+!

    Everything is recognizable, I see the sizable graveyard on the right - what is the story with the ruined buildings - I know it has to be interesting. ;-)
    Thank you Charles! The 'graveyard' is actually about thirty motorcycles (the actual town graveyard is considered to out of town. Beyond the wall). The ruined buildings are the original temple of the town. Bikers who now control the town, destroyed it. The next night a priest for a dark power who left the next day and never came back; invoked his deity and this temple was there the next day (complete with statue!)

    This map is for a game module in the rpg RIFTS and so I did some unconventional things with it. :)
  • Posted By: LoopysueWelcome to the Profantasy Forum Nacon4 :)

    (and please forgive me if you've been here for years - its 3.30 am here in the UK)

    Not at all bad for a first map. I'm sure there is a perfectly logical reason for this, but I'm very curious to know why the numbers are tilted to diagonal?
    Thank you, LoopySue! Well the numbers wouldn't move when I put them in. I tried getting them to move; and I was getting rather cross with it, and just let the number's enter the way they wanted to. Sorry about that.
  • Posted By: LadieStormNot bad at all for a first.map!

    If I may be allowed, there is one thing I might suggest. I notice your hex grid on this map sits on top of everything else. It's rather strange to see a grid on top of trees and bushes! :)

    There is an easy way to fix this. If you open up the sheets (by left clicking on the two boxes on the left of your view window) you will probably notice your grid sheet near the bottom of your list. This means it's one of the last things to be drawn. Left click on it, that the left box is checked, and it's highlighted in blue. Then left click on the move up button until it sits where you want...in this case under your trees. :)

    I hope to see more maps from you!
    Thank you LadieStorm! Well, I wanted to show the scale of the map; and while the map legends are useful, they are also hard to read at that scale. So I left the grid in for what the players would see when I let them see part of the map. I can take those out and show you the result, if you'd like?
  • Thank you, everyone for your comments!
  • This is for everyone that was concerned with my graveyard.
  • LoopysueLoopysue ProFantasy 🖼️ 39 images Cartographer
    Posted By: Nacon4
    Posted By: LoopysueWelcome to the Profantasy Forum Nacon4 :)

    (and please forgive me if you've been here for years - its 3.30 am here in the UK)

    Not at all bad for a first map. I'm sure there is a perfectly logical reason for this, but I'm very curious to know why the numbers are tilted to diagonal?
    Thank you, LoopySue! Well the numbers wouldn't move when I put them in. I tried getting them to move; and I was getting rather cross with it, and just let the number's enter the way they wanted to. Sorry about that.
    You don't have to apologise. I was just curious to know :)

    I'm not really sure about why they wouldn't move. Are they just ordinary text, or a symbol of some kind? If the text has become rotated you can "zero" it again by hitting 0 on your keyboard before placing it.
  • Posted By: Loopysue
    Posted By: Nacon4
    Posted By: LoopysueWelcome to the Profantasy Forum Nacon4 :)

    (and please forgive me if you've been here for years - its 3.30 am here in the UK)

    Not at all bad for a first map. I'm sure there is a perfectly logical reason for this, but I'm very curious to know why the numbers are tilted to diagonal?
    Thank you, LoopySue! Well the numbers wouldn't move when I put them in. I tried getting them to move; and I was getting rather cross with it, and just let the number's enter the way they wanted to. Sorry about that.
    You don't have to apologise. I was just curious to know :)

    I'm not really sure about why they wouldn't move. Are they just ordinary text, or a symbol of some kind? If the text has become rotated you can "zero" it again by hitting 0 on your keyboard before placing it.
    Well I really don't want people to be confused by the maps I'm making. The numbers I was putting in are the number's function built into CC3+(the big 123 button on the right. I use it as it auto-increments, which saves me buku time putting the numbers in!) But I notice that CC3+ doesn't want you messing with the numbers after they've put down. Removal of the numbers left permanent holes in the map in the shape of the number I put in. So when I was doing the placing the numbers, I'd got back to my autosaves, or my original maps saves to get a version that didn't have that particular number in it. They always tilted, but since they all tilted the same way-I could live with it. ;p
  • They could be on a frozen layer.
  • Posted By: JimPThey could be on a frozen layer.
    A frozen layer? What is that, and when does it happen?
  • If you look at the action bar across the top... You have so.e boxes up there. They are,the map you have open, then the sheet you are on, then the catalogue you are working with(I think, not at.my comp ATM) line width, then your current layer, then one or two others.

    If you click on the LAYERS ox, it will bring down a menu, much like the sheets menu. There are 3 boxes beside each layer. The first set of boxes allow you to select the layer you want to put so.ething on... Like wall features for doors, windows and levers. The second box allows you to hide a layer, that helps when you are trying to figure out where your stuff us going...how it's grouped. The third box allows you to freeze layers. Anything on a frozen layer cannot be selected. I tend to freeze my map border a lot, so that if I'm working with so.etbing close to it, I don't accidentally select it.

    If you open your layers menu, check to see if there is an F in any of the third column of boxes.
  • edited September 2016
    Posted By: LadieStormIf you look at the action bar across the top... You have so.e boxes up there. They are,the map you have open, then the sheet you are on, then the catalogue you are working with(I think, not at.my comp ATM) line width, then your current layer, then one or two others.

    If you click on the LAYERS ox, it will bring down a menu, much like the sheets menu. There are 3 boxes beside each layer. The first set of boxes allow you to select the layer you want to put so.ething on... Like wall features for doors, windows and levers. The second box allows you to hide a layer, that helps when you are trying to figure out where your stuff us going...how it's grouped. The third box allows you to freeze layers. Anything on a frozen layer cannot be selected. I tend to freeze my map border a lot, so that if I'm working with so.etbing close to it, I don't accidentally select it.

    If you open your layers menu, check to see if there is an F in any of the third column of boxes.
    I did, and there it was on Templates. I'll just have to remember that in future maps. Thank you, Ladiestorm!
  • DogtagDogtag Moderator, Betatester Traveler
    edited September 2016
    Hi Nacon4. First, I'd like to add my congratulations on a nice first map. I hope you have fun running your game with it!

    The TEMPLATE layer is meant to be "frozen" unless you need to make changes to template-specific items or if you accidentally placed something on it, so I wouldn't worry about it.

    I'm guessing the "permanent holes" you saw when deleting numbers weren't actually permanent. They were probably just there because CC3+ doesn't refresh the screen automatically after every change you make. That would be very resource-intensive for your computer. If you delete the text labels and then click Refresh my guess is CC3+ would redraw the screen and the "holes" would disappear.

    That said, if you want to un-rotate your text, you can try the following. Remember to save your file before you do anything, just to be safe.

    To remove the rotation from all text in the map:
    1. Click Change Properties image.
      The cursor changes so you can select your text and the Command line displays  Select entities (0 picked):.
    2. Right-click and select Entity Type from the pop-up menu.
      The Like entity: dialog box displays. It contains a list of different CC3+ entity types.
    3. Check the box for 2D Text, and then click OK.
      The dialog closes and all text in the map is selected.
    4. Right-click and then select Do It from the pop-up menu.
      The Change properties dialog displays.
    5. Click the Pick text properties button.
      The Text Properties dialog displays.
    6. Change the value of the Angle field to 0 (zero), and then click OK
      The Text Properties dialog closes and the Text check mark in the Change properties dialog is now checked.
    7. Click OK.
      The Change properties dialog closes and all the selected text in your map straightens out! You're awesome!

      Now you need to clear the "2D Text" selection setting.
    8. Click the Change Properties button again (or any button that will require you to make a selection).
      The cursor changes so you can select your text.
    9. Right-click and select Entity Type from the pop-up menu.
      A dialog box displays.
    10. UNcheck the box next to 2D Text, and then click OK
      The dialog box closes.
    11. Press Esc to cancel the button you clicked.
    By default, text rotates starting at the left end of the text baseline rather than the center of the baseline. As a result, a possible side effect of straightening your text could be that the text appears just slightly to the right of it's original position. If necessary, you can move all the text at once by clicking Move, Scale, Rotate image and then right-clicking and choosing Prior from the pop-up menu to select all the text again so you can move them all at once.

    I hope that helps. Obviously, this is all just if you even want to un-rotate the labels.

    Lastly, you might want to consider changing the color of your hex grid to a darker color. It vanishes over the grass, which is a huge portion of the map and could make it a challenge to determine distance over those areas.

    Once again, nice job on your first map!

    Cheers,
    ~Dogtag
  • Hey, it wasn't all that long ago that I was new, asking these types of questions. I bought my cc3+ in Feb/Mar. My first maps were passable, but atrocious!! You'll learn the tricks and techniques, we all did.

    One of the things that helpex me...was to go through each of the manuals as a step by step tutorial. Do so.e tutorial base maps. Those will teach you the basics... and if you are anything like me...just reading them won't make much sense...but using g them as step by step Instructions will make things click faster.

    Once you understand the basics...if you don't already have the Tome of Ultimate Mapping, Most people here will Highly recommend it! It hasn't been updated to cc3+,yet,. It even so... You can go through the PDF and it's a more in depth manual of ALL of the profantasy products. It covers so.e of the more advanced techniques that really help a map come to life!
  • This is good for a first map but the one thing I noticed was the huge number symbols you have on it. I would make them smaller on the map. Otherwise everything you are going for seems to be evident. Good first try!
  • Hi Dogtag! Thanks for the procedure I will copy and keep close to my desktop! Hey LadieStorm, this and my first Dungeon

    http://forum.profantasy.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=6386/

    was done with the manuals (although I threw aside the manual for DD3 and just did it, and I learned a lot in the process). I'm going to get Fractal Mapping next month and the Tome the month after that. So you see, it's on my list! :) And I may just reverse the order now that you mention it.

    Hey Kevbeck43, yeah the numbers are big; but that was for my benefit. I have a hard time reading small text (like what were typing in now). Plus the numbers were only for me. I was going to hide them when I printed up the map for them. I will lock the map so even with the viewer they can't see the numbers. As to the symbols, this was my finished map-this is usually taken up in my index in MsWord where I flesh out everything in the scenario. This one was easy. The one that I'm doing for my first Dungeon (see link above) will be a bit harder!

    Thanks everybody!
  • I tried your info on my numbers. Better, I hope?
  • DogtagDogtag Moderator, Betatester Traveler
    Looks good! But, you removed the grid?

    In any event, it sounds like your players are in for a treat.

    Cheers,
    ~Dogtag
  • Posted By: DogtagLooks good! But, you removed the grid?

    In any event, it sounds like your players are in for a treat.

    Cheers,
    ~Dogtag
    Thank you. I hid the grid, when I turn it on next it'll be under the trees! :)

    LLAP!

    Nacon4
  • DogtagDogtag Moderator, Betatester Traveler
    Ah. Personally, I prefer the grid on top of everything for overland, city, and other maps at this scale. I only like symbols on top of the grid for battle maps or maps with a similar small scale. That's just been my experience gaming over the years, so it's what I'm used to. The important thing is that you find it useful.

    Cheers,
    ~Dogtag
  • LoopysueLoopysue ProFantasy 🖼️ 39 images Cartographer
    The numbers look a lot better now :)
  • Thank you guys! I'm glad everyone likes the numbers now. They'll probably be less confusing to my first cousin (who caught several mistakes I'd made when I first put this together)!

    Yeah, Dogtag, I might just leave the grid on top. I'll have to see what the players have to say about it. :)

    LLAP

    Nacon4
  • DogtagDogtag Moderator, Betatester Traveler
    Either way, I do still think you may want to change the grid's color so it's visible on the grassy areas.
  • Posted By: DogtagEither way, I do still think you may want to change the grid's color so it's visible on the grassy areas.
    Hmmm, methinks you have the right of it. I'll try and see if I can do that with the properties button.

    Thank you!

    LLAP

    Nacon4
  • Posted By: DogtagAh. Personally, I prefer the grid on top of everything for overland, city, and other maps at this scale. I only like symbols on top of the grid for battle maps or maps with a similar small scale. That's just been my experience gaming over the years, so it's what I'm used to. The important thing is that you find it useful.

    Cheers,
    ~Dogtag
    Like this?
  • DogtagDogtag Moderator, Betatester Traveler
    edited September 2016
    Yes, though I'd make exceptions to the grid-on-top rule for the compass rose and the map scale. You also might want to add a Transparency effect to the GRID sheet. Stay with a 50% value and play with the setting until you like it. That will make the grid visible without being overpowering. Again, these are all just suggestions.

    It looks nice to me.

    How is a dungeon related to motorcyclists, again? Ha ha ha!

    ~Dogtag
  • Posted By: DogtagYes, though I'd make exceptions to the grid-on-top rule for the compass rose and the map scale. You also might want to add a Transparency effect to the GRID sheet. Stay with a 50% value and play with the setting until you like it. That will make the grid visible without being overpowering. Again, these are all just suggestions.

    It looks nice to me.

    How is a dungeon related to motorcyclists, again? Ha ha ha!

    ~Dogtag
    Yeah, I will play with the transparency of the grid.

    It's actually the town that's the module (although I gave some thought to having the Inn have multiple levels and when I tried that CC3+ blew my original town map away-so I had to rebuild it from scratch). The rest I'll leave to my cover sheet to explain the basis of the module.

    The Unholy Alliance

    A biker band of Crazed Demon worshippers has teamed up with some monsters who found an underground spring that flows to the sea. The band of bikers have been in control of the town of Justin for almost a year now. At every full moon another innocent life is sacrificed to the unspeakable thirst of the evil one, with another being given to the horrible fate of the deep ones. The bikers have started raids in other villages carrying off people for multiple sacrifices for their evil god. All is not lost, soon a band of travelers will arrive on the scene. Will they have what it takes to defeat these madmen and monsters?! Soon we will find out!

    LLAP

    Nacon4
  • Posted By: DogtagYes, though I'd make exceptions to the grid-on-top rule for the compass rose and the map scale. You also might want to add a Transparency effect to the GRID sheet. Stay with a 50% value and play with the setting until you like it. That will make the grid visible without being overpowering. Again, these are all just suggestions.

    It looks nice to me.

    How is a dungeon related to motorcyclists, again? Ha ha ha!

    ~Dogtag
    There are several post-apocalyptic rpgs that have this sort of outlook.
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