Quo Vadis Monthly Symbols?
Ralf
🖼️ 16 images Mapmaker Administrator, ProFantasy
Hi folks!
We are looking for feedback and suggestions on the future of the Monthly Symbols. If you have ideas or just want to let us know what you'd like to see, comment on the blog post (link below) or here in the forum thread with your suggestions.
Thank you!
Comments
More overland classical Greece and Japanese buildings, as well as Polynesian stuff.
For his cities, also the same, and more specialty buildings.
I would love to see dungeon/floorplan symbols expanded for SS4. I always seem to be missing some symbols for my maps. I would love to see small sets based on rooms/professions, such as:
For overland, I wouldn't mind some more decorative elements, like more ships, airships (both those that look like a fantasy variant of a modern zeppelin, and the more high fantasy ones that look like an actual huge ship carried by a ballon). Different city styles from various cultures and time periods are also very appreciated, I wouldn't mind seeing some modern-looking cities to plop down on that map, and perhaps some steampunk-flavored ones too.
Steps for Mike Schley that are straight at both ends and don't go over a 5ft area.
Marsh terrain for dungeon maps
When new symbols are added can we have them the same size as existing symbols please. The recent snowy trees are great, they're just a little too big, bigger than a conifer symbol that already exists.
Autumnal trees and Spring trees.
More basic symbols for cities and towns etc, eg as opposed to having art of buildings on overland maps, have various circles or squares or icons to represent towns and capitals and ruins etc, more like an Ordnance Survey map.
A new tundra terrain, I really don't like the current one.
In the same vein as the dwarven/elven/orc symbols for towns and cities, hellish/angelic towns/cities.
More Oriental building styles (Arabian/Japanese) and African style city symbols.
For dungeons, more pillars and statues.
Carpeted floor terrain.
Marbled floor terrain.
Round stone steps.
Round Houses.
A darker natural stone terrain.
Sandstone terrain
Roof tiles/slates terrain
I think the monthly symbols have been great! I'm using the Mike Schley Overland style for my big world map because it has a lot of variety, so the monthly freebies being for that style has been perfect.
I'll echo a couple other comments and say some city and fortress symbols for other cultures would be good. Specifically, I needed a Japanese-style castle and had to borrow one from a different style, which only kind of fit.
Post apocalyptic is the excellent option. Looking at other similar programs, none have a platform for this type of style. A futuristic post apocalyptic style will also be very useful to use alongside the cosmographer in space campaigns.
I can suggest in case you want to build an apocalyptic scene, we can also suggest important and essential images.
I also miss Mesopotamian, Japanese/Chinese constructions and could also consider generic Central American constructions (Incas, Mayans and Aztecs).
Autumn trees.
Mike Schley (SS4) is a favorite for dungeons and battle maps, but I agree with Monsen that there are many opportunities to expand SS4 but maybe expanding the symbol selection for SS2 Dungeon A can also be considered. I always try to create a map in SS2 D-A first but frequently end up defaulting to SS4 because of the much larger symbol selection. More choices are usually better even if is more options for existing symbols.
Mine symbols with a theme: Orc, goblin, kobold, dwarf, etc.
More crypts, sarcophagi, coffins
General merchant shops: more shelves with various merchandise, weapons racks, etc. with a top-down perspective
Wagons, food carts, market stalls
Small shrines
Horse troughs
Docks: Cranes, hanging nets, net makers shop, drydocks, bollards, mooring points, more boat/ship symbols
For cities, I'd suggest row houses mixing house sizes, materials of (roof) construction and shape. As one speaker commented during a mapping seminar recently, many fantasy city maps show single houses ("Americanized"), but the reality of many medieval cities contained no space between buildings in most poorer neighborhoods.
Most worldbuilding "how to" literature points out that many cities will be co-located with rivers, lakes & coastlines but I feel that the dock ward symbols are underrepresented in many styles.
I agree with Quentin. I would love to see more Japanese/Asian inspired architecture, both in cities and as single buildings. I have seen maps where people design cities with the overland assets and more culturally varied architecture could allow for cultural areas within a city.
I think more variety in mountain and hill assets would also be welcome. in particular, assets that work well with different colors.
I agree. My favorite game style with my friends is futuristic - Gamma Knights, Warhammer, Gurps Future.
I use Cosmographer and Fractal terrain and I really miss an annual with images that can be used more in this theme - I looked in them all and didn't see anything like it.
Hello dear fellow mappers.
I would love some bonus content for dungeon maps / floorplans, especially SS4.
It's a beautiful style, but the rather unique look sometimes makes it difficult to substitute other assets if I really, really need a symbol that's not in the catalogue.
Monsen's suggestions are already pretty good.
I would add:
I would also welcome Japanese / Chinese / Indonesian add-ons for the Mike Schley Overland style or additional Content for Cities of Schley.
Lots of additional content for cities of Schley, please
I vote for Dungeon assets as well. I totally agree with EukalyptusNow: SS4 is beautiful but hard to expand on. Things I miss on a regular basis are especially:
Treestumps! These allow for battlemaps with trees, but without the leaves blocking the view.
more things that could be used to block off paths on the battlefield, like these "caltrop palisades" (I don't know how they're called:
Oh: and more things that nicely fit into a wall on a hex grid. I totally love this fireplace, as it's totally natural and it takes a whole hex tile, so there are no discussions about if someone can stand in this tile or not:
I joined my 3 posts (one of them with successive additions) into one to make it easier.
I separated by subfolder of the program.
I hope it's easier.
All are OVERLAND related:
Default Terrain:
sky effects (sunset, sun, moon, cloudy etc)
stone streets/roads (similar to citys/dungeons using schley style) .
Scrub grass are squared, this is dificult to make "round" effects like following mountains/rivers
Lava Ground and Ashes Ground
Default Road:
Default River/water: more water colors like dungeon style
Borders/Political:
Some Birds flying in different positions, alone or togheter, like swalow group - good for aerial visual among clouds.
Rainbow
Wind roses option - growing in vector style to make more easy apply on map.
Icon Cartouches to insert words and/or text inside.
Dragons, Reptiles, beholder, airship zepelim , Tarrasque, Spider, Boar, elephant, lion, harpy
Multicolor Heraldics
Minerals/Mountain:
Mountains:
One more cavern, that with 2 peaks around entrance are very dificult to paste close (do multiple entrances) one and another.
1 or 2 more clouds image.
high waterfall (like mountain waterfall icon without mountain)
Natural Features:
bowl-shaped cliffs - mostly them are convex. except the straight one.
Also Cliffs like Spectrum Overland have with infinite visual poiting north. Very usefull to maps north orientated.
Craters like Spectrum Overland Style
Structures:
mine entrance
Roman/Greek Style & Chinese/Japanese
Orthodox structures
Adobe structures (example yemen buildings)
bee/wasp/bug earth nest
Diferent Head/statues like Moai, sphinx etc
Wood palisade rounded and squared and Wood watch Tower
Rounded Stone Wall, Tower and Gate + wall.
Menhir and more types pinnacle (such rounded one)
Floating Island/Mountain
gnome structures
HOBBIT STRUCTURES!!! 😍
Single Hut Structure
Graves
Pillars Ruins
Temple Ruins
Tower Ruins (maybe when release a set images - like Japanese for ex. same images in good condition and ruined ones).
Docks
Horizontal curved Bridge
Horizontal Straight bridge
watermill
market icon
Vegetation:
Icon Scrub grass are squared, this is dificult to make "round" effects like following mountains/rivers
Flowers and brushes (can use the small one Jungle fill 1, but dont have Brush aspect).
perharps use same icon from scrublands to make a default terrain with this view. will be very useful on big maps.
Stones (as par lindstrom style)
More Creepy stuffs such cimiterys, tomb, gravestones, old church, ruined temple, profane sites are always welcome.
And create Post apocalypse/steam punk style Cartographer month content to merge with his style and take advantage of hundreds of symbols already existent (mountains, ruins, vegetacion etc) from the Medieval Overland Style.
Demon/Underworld and/or (togheter) Other Planes structures (perharps consider this and monthly content on annual cartographer)
I hope it's not too late :)
So here we go:
Thank you!