So, why draw maps yourself when you can just have the cat do it for you?

So, with visitor restrictions being relaxed a bit, it's was possible to bring the gang together once more for some roleplay. This weekend, the game took them to a sunken temple in a deep mountain lake, and what better to use for mapping the underwater scene than Sue's newest annual?

I am not completely happy with everything on this map, but it turned out quite ok thanks to Sue's excellent artwork.

I could have improved some details if I had more time, but it had to be ready for the game Friday evening, along with the map of the basement below (not shown here at this time, maybe I'll show it when my players are done with it), so time was short. It was quite good enough for the game anyways.

I could probably go in an improve it now, but since it has already been shown in the game to the players, it is kind of locked down in my eyes, so I am probably not going to modify it. But If I were to change it, I would have tried to make it look a little less bare in several areas.

Filling out outdoors areas was never my strong suit anyway though.

One major flaw with it is that it doesn't really look like the environment at a freshwater mountain lake. You don't have corals or seaweed, the vegetation is quite a bit different. But, all these things do help set the underwater mood, so I did decide that even if it wasn't completely realistic to the environment, it still served to enhance the map and reinforce the image of this being an underwater location, and I think doing it this way actually made for a better map for playing purposes.

All in all though, while it does have some flaws and some obvious mistakes, I am reasonably happy with how it turned out overall.

(Hi Res)

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:

• The Smithy
• The Stable
• The Library
• The Kitchen
• The Chapel
• Alchemist's Laboratory
• Rogue's Room
• Fighter's Room
• Wizard's Room
• Priest's Room
• Ranger's Room
• Paladin's Room
• Halfling Den
• Elven Abode
• Gnomish Hut
• Armorer's Shop
• Forester's Hut (including tree stumps)
• Torture Chamber
• Prison Cell
• The Garden
• City Streets
• Animal Pack
• People Pack
• Siege Weaponry
• The Castle
• Shipboard Equipment
• Dragon's Lair
• Mystic Portals
• The Inn
• Stained and Ruined Furniture
• Murder Victims

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.

Example - Post with gallery link, embedded image and attachment

This post includes an inline image, and a link to show a larger version from the gallery, as well as the same image uploaded as an attachment. There is also a link to the community atlas at the bottom showing how the forum automatically creates "rich" links just by pasting the URL on a line of it's own (the site you link to must support this to get the best result).

Full Size image here (Warning; large file)

See my full gallery here

The rich link below was created automatically by the editor by pasting "https://atlas.monsen.cc/Maps/Corgin" on it's own line and hitting enter.

Why would I need actual space for my keyboard and to move my mouse? And that cat tail is expertly trained to both click mouse buttons and hit keyboard keys whenever necessary (as determined by Jack)

A batch of great maps from @Quenten . This includes his contest entry, which means all contest maps are now in the atlas. I've also updated the contest page on the atlas site, and handed out the forum badges to the contest winners, so everything should be up to date.

As far as I know, the only thing currently in my backlog is a set of maps from @Wyvern . Everything else is either processed and added to the atlas, or I have gotten back to you requesting some kind of correction or information from you. So, if you are NOT Wyvern, but still miss me adding something you've sent me, please notify me immediately, as that means I've overlooked something. People send me maps multiple ways, as attachments to forum posts both in this common thread and in individual threads, as email and as forum PM's, so it isn't always easy keeping track of everything. I do always post in the forum when adding new maps, either in this thread, or in the WIP thread for that map, so if you haven't noticed me posting about adding your map, it might be wise to check the atlas.

Anyway, here's Quenten's new maps

Guess I'll make sure to actually submit my own entry as well. Here's the final version of the little smithy.

Time for another little challenge here in the forum. This time, the challenge is city streets.

The short basics of it; you have the month of October to make a nice street map. As in a single short street segment, not a large section of the city.

As usual, I am using the Community Atlas as a basic for the challenge. This time, I have picked the city of Dunor on Ezrute as the location.

I've marked out 20 street locations in the map below. To participate, just post in this thread stating which one you want. First come, first serve, if the one you want is already taken, you have to pick another. I recommend refreshing the page immediately after posting your claim just to make sure someone didn't manage to post the same claim just before you. Should that happen, edit your post to change your claim. I marked 20 locations for now, but should more people want to join in, I'll easily add more locations, so 20 isn't a limit.

As always, even if the challenge is set in the community atlas world, you don't have to submit your map to the atlas unless you want to, the competition is for everyone, contributing to the atlas or not. Likewise, this challenge is for every skill level. If more than 3 entries, we'll have a public vote for best map in the end, but the main point here isn't to be the best, but to challenge yourself. So, please participate even if you don't believe you don't stand a chance to win. Practice makes perfect, and competing in challenges is great practice.

You are free to choose whatever style you want for your map, the only requirement is that you make a street map matching one of the listed locations. If you do intend to contribute your final map to the atlas, you obviously have to adhere to the atlas guidelines.

I picked Dunor for this challenge because the city map doesn't give much detail about the buildings. This gives you great flexibility when making the street map, you are pretty free to make it the way you want. Give the city map a good look before starting to decide what buildings should be in that street location, and get to mapping. The street should obviously roughly match what you see in the city map (number of buildings, shape, placement), but it is expected that the less detailed city map won't be perfect, so do adapt, tweak and make it look nice, don't treat the city map as a straitjacket.

Please do take your time, and you are encouraged to make a WIP thread in the forum for your map. WIP threads are great inspiration for others, and a great way to get some comments.

(larger map)

You can grab the .fcw of the city from the atlas page.

Check out this map for an example.

The challenge will run for the entire month of October. Post your finished map in this thread when you are done.

(I'll update this list as I have the time, but please don't assume it is free just because I haven't gotten to update the list, check below if there are anyone claiming it, I am not watching this thread 24/7)

1. @Quenten
2. @Loopysue ✔️
6. @WeathermanSweden ✔️
7. @Chipohoy
11. @Autumn Getty
14. @Maidhc O Casain ✔️
17. @Dreadnought ✔️
18. @Raiko
19. @Lillhans ✔️
20. @Theschabi ✔️

==================================================

The contest is now over, and here are the 6 entries that were handed in before the end of the month. Please use the poll below to vote for which you think is the best one. The poll will stay open until the end of November 7th. When voting, please don't just look at the prettiest map, but also how well it solved the challenge, i.e. being a map of the selected location in the city of Dunor. This is a mapping challenge, not an art challenge after all.

For everyone participating, please remember this voting is just a bit of extra fun, the main things is taking part in this challenge and challenging yourself. There are people of all skill levels in this forum, and challenges such as this isn't just meant for those that stand a chance of winning the vote in the end, winning isn't the main focus here, but rather to participate. Even if someone should get 0 votes, don't despair, it doesn't mean nobody liked your map, it just means that nobody felt your map was the best of the bunch.

1. Maidhc O Casain (Location 14)

2. Loopysue (Location 2)

3. Lillhans (Location 19)

4. Theschabi (Location 20)

5. WeathermanSweeden (Location 6)

6. Dreadnought (Location 17)

Welcome to the new and updated forums.

As you can see, the new version do look a bit different than before. The new version doesn't support the same template as the old, and have different elements, so the look has been recreated for the new templates.

Mostly, you'll find things in much the same place as earlier, but here is a short list of changes and new features to get you all started.

I'll write more detailed writeups of some of the features later.

New Editor

The post editor is now a new fancy rich text editor. It allows you to easily use different styles like headings and lists by using the tools in the editor itself, no more writing html codes. It also allows for easy uploads of images, in addition to clicking on the image icon to be presented with a file picker dialog, you can also drag and drop images, and paste them with Ctrl + C.

The new editor should automatically turn any pasted URL's into hyperlinks, and turn links to some special media like youtube into embedded videos.

Profile Data

Your username and password and email is exactly as before, but some of the user data, like real name and custom profile fields did not transfer over because the new forum versions handles things a bit differently. So if you want your real name showing on your profile, please edit it and add it. You'll also want to check your avatar. To edit your profile, click the avatar icon in the top right

Whispers

The new version no longer supports whispers in conversations. Instead, it uses a more traditional Private Messaging system. All old whispers have been converted to PM's. Click the envelope in the top right followed by the All Messages link in the popup to see these.

Notifications

Next to the envelope icon is the notification bell. By default, the forum notifies you of all manner of things. Click the bell and then the settings icon right below it to customize your notifications, and which will be shown just on the bell (popup) and which will be sent as email.

Image Uploads

The forum still has an attachment limit at 2MB for images and other attachments in posts, but now you also have a personal image gallery on your profile. Uploads in the gallery is limited to 5MB per file, which should give you a nice hi-resolution image if you stick to .jpg.

Reactions & Badges & Points & Ranks

You can now react to posts by clicking the like, awesome, insightful and lol reaction buttons. Please don't let these be a replacement for a friendly comment though, it is much nicer to have someone say something, but a like still shows you appreciate something even if you don't find anything to say. Getting reactions to your posts grants you points, which when enough have been accumulated will give badges and ranks, which showcase your community involvement.

Post Editing

A common way of spamming is to post a seemingly helpful post, and later go back and edit it. To prevent this behavior, there is now a time limit for editing your posts. If you really need to edit an old post rather than just post a new comment with an update, contact a moderator. Members with higher ranks have a longer period, since trusted members probably aren't spammers.

Old Links

Not all old links to various spots in the forums will work anymore. I'll update the various stickies and such in the coming days, but if you encounter a link that doesn't work properly, such as in the Interesting Resources sticky, this is why.

Have fun, and go on mapping :)

I have a couple hanging around. All reproductions unfortunately, no originals.

Sorry for the image quality, but most of my stuff is hanging in a narrow hallway, so it is nearly impossible to get the camera far enough away to take a proper picture and getting proper lighting.

The one I kind of like the most is my tapestry though. The type of medium do lower the quality of details in the map, because it is woven, not just a simple cloth print, but that also makes it look very nice on my wall.

And some other ones, often purchased during travels:

Northern Europe

Iceland:

Europe: