Several questions regaring caves
Hi all,
I've been messing around with DD3 for a couple of weeks now. I'm trying to build a system of caves. It is a huge system and I plan on using it in Realm Works (D&D5e) as an adventure map to stream on my tabletop. However, I seem to never really get anywhere so a couple of questions:
1) I know this is a hard question to answer but what size would you make the map? I've been trying 150 x 100 (too small) and have now moved to 200 x 200 but it still seems relatively small.. Which export settings would you recommend with the size you'd recommend? They should be somewhat detailed since I will be using them on the virtual tabletop..
2) How can I create ledges in caverns? This one really baffles me.. I've been trying but I just cannot get it to work.. For instance, I want to place a bridge overlooking a deep pit but I just cant get it to work..
3) In the same line, how can modify/place terrain *IN* a cave? I want to change the floor of a cave so it shows some different details but when I place terrain and redraw, it vanishes! I tried placing it on another layer of screen but I am a very inexperienced CC3 user so I don't really know what I am doing..
Thanks a lot!!
I've been messing around with DD3 for a couple of weeks now. I'm trying to build a system of caves. It is a huge system and I plan on using it in Realm Works (D&D5e) as an adventure map to stream on my tabletop. However, I seem to never really get anywhere so a couple of questions:
1) I know this is a hard question to answer but what size would you make the map? I've been trying 150 x 100 (too small) and have now moved to 200 x 200 but it still seems relatively small.. Which export settings would you recommend with the size you'd recommend? They should be somewhat detailed since I will be using them on the virtual tabletop..
2) How can I create ledges in caverns? This one really baffles me.. I've been trying but I just cannot get it to work.. For instance, I want to place a bridge overlooking a deep pit but I just cant get it to work..
3) In the same line, how can modify/place terrain *IN* a cave? I want to change the floor of a cave so it shows some different details but when I place terrain and redraw, it vanishes! I tried placing it on another layer of screen but I am a very inexperienced CC3 user so I don't really know what I am doing..
Thanks a lot!!
Comments
2. Generally, put them on their own sheet, and add some bevel and shadow effects, that should make them appear elevated.
3. This is because sheet order. You can change the sheet order to have terrain (the OUTSIDE sheet) appear on top of the FLOOR sheet, or you can add a new sheet and just move selected terrain entities to that to avoid affecting all terrain.
I'll offer my two cents. Monsen, and others, may provide better answers. But, as a relatively new person, maybe my discoveries will be of some use.
1. The size you make the map is in feet. This has nothing to do with screen size. When you export, multiply your desired screen dimensions by 72 (for a standard screen density) to arrive at the pixels needed.
2. Ledges... well, Bevel, Lighted may be your friend here. Also, Sheets are definitely your friend. First, create a new sheet for the ledge effect you want, then start adding the appropriate effects at the right sizes. I suggest looking at existing sheets that do a little of what you want, then copy those effects to your sheet and modify to taste. Play with Bevel, Lighted, it can't hurt!
3. Again, as in #2, create a sheet you want your terrain to live on and place your new terrain on it. Make sure that sheet is further down in the list than the cave sheet (can be right under it if you wish). The terrain you drew hasn't actually vanished, it's just on a sheet under your cave floor (likely the Background sheet, or some other). You can use Info->List on the cave floor to see what sheet it is on. To find your new terrain, you could hide the cave floor layer.
I don't know of a good cave tutorial. I did find playing with the fractal command settings gave some better results for me, but, that's best for you to experiment with as it will help with understanding the tool.
Hope this gets you going in the right direction.
I'm still playing around with scale and size. I made a 250x200 map but it is all very cramped at the moment. I did manage to get a nice detailed export though. Nice enough for Realm Works. This part of CC3 still is quite unclear to me but I will experiment further.
It is not the prettiest map ever and it's not finished but this is what I made so far, thanks to your advice!
I would like to make the deep areas (which are now almost black - I used the solid fill style) a little more interesting but this will do for the next session! I would also like to give the cave edges a sharper look.. The sheet effects are still a mystery to me so I used the standard settings for DD3.
Finally, I have to find out how to automatically cut the edges in CC3 instead of using paint to cut them out but those are minor points.
To render just exactly the area you want at just exactly the resolution wish you might try reading up about and using the Save as/Rectangular Section JPEG function. I don't use anything else when exporting maps.