@Loopysue - Yep, the video was on the homepage, though as it came up in the "recommended" list, I didn't need to use that to watch it.

Oddly, video 2 still hasn't shown-up in the notifications list for me, so I guess now it likely won't. It was odd that both video zero and video one were/are shown there, just not video two.

Haven't come across anything quite like this before on YouTube, though it definitely has its quirks - and I gather now also more ads, for which they're not going to be paying the affected video owners. Charming...

I was trying an experiment using the Black & White Towns style from the 2015 CA. Never having used it previously, I was following along with a printout of the PDF mapping guide. Most of the style is defined by various symbol catalogues, and accessing those was straightforward enough. However, when I tried to find the drawing tools, they don't load automatically with the style now, so for instance clicking the All City Drawing Tools button, as described in the PDF, simply brings up the default (colour) CD3 drawing tools.

I eventually located them - there are four "Par Lindstrom" drawing tool catalogues listed, so this is not a simple task - under "Annual Par Lindstrom City BW". This is particularly confusing, because when choosing the style from the New Drawing Wizard this comes up as just "Annual Par Lindstrom BW"! (Though you have to be looking among the "Cities" styles to find it, of course.)

While this is fine, and merely a minor irritation to someone experienced enough with CC3+ to get around this quirk, I can imagine someone coming to it fresh and following the directions in the PDF mapping guide might find this more problematic. Maybe the PDF mapping guide text could be tweaked to reflect what the process now is for loading the proper drawing tools for this style? Assuming it isn't some other glitch, that is (probably mine if so...).

Not sure it will work well enough, but for the pit, you might try drawing a thin line around the top edge of it on a Sheet above the rest of the pit, and apply the same Wall Shadow Effect to it as the rest of the level's walls already have. That should shade the pit the same way as the walls, and hopefully make it not so flat.

I can confirm that! A long time ago, I came across a book with a lovely map, which turned out to be a rubbishy, derivative novel; never read it again or any more in its series, and refuse to give it publicity now!

Rather liked the weird pink-purple map, just to be contrary. As that can be added using the RGB Matrix Process though, it's not an essential for the Grimdark style, of course!

Liking the paper texture too.

EDIT:

Should also have mentioned - colours and all that - that Sue's Spectrum Style Part 2 has just been released into the wild via the November Cartographer's Annual!

Chanced-upon something of possible interest in this line today. The OneBookShelf download sites (DriveThru RPG, etc.) are currently running their annual Hallowe'en promotion, part of which is to hide away spooky freebies behind Hallowe'en-themed miniature graphics on various pages scattered across the site, as a kind of treasure hunt. One of those freebies this year is an RPG called Xas Irkalla. It normally retails at $15, reduced to $11.25 in the Halloween Sale at present, but free using the special link.

Firstly, you must have an OBS account (free to open) to download anything from the site, but you don't have to give them more than a few basic details to do so (no credit card or bank info, for instance). Secondly, Xas Irkalla is an adult, hard, very deadly RPG that uses the Strain survival-horror system. It is definitely not for the faint-hearted. But, y'know, this topic is about grimdark, so... This is the core book, so ALL rules and details about the setting needed to play the game are included.

Oh yes, the special freebie link! Use the "My Library" link at the top right of the normal OBS page. Once there, scroll to the foot of the page, and towards the lower right corner, you should see a glowing pumpkin head. Click that, and the freebie will be added to your cart.

If you'd like to hunt for others, there are at least 11 more to be found just on DTRPG.