Subterranean Math Romp

There is nothing at all interesting about a small cave storage room with a couple of NPCs in it (and there is nothing at all vague about this entire sentence, either) is there?

I realize I have been quiet these past few days, but that's just because I have been working on a rather large map- which is now complete.  It consists of eight areas; six of which make up one of the two final areas in Omnia's introduction/demo.  

Generally-speaking, I can make anywhere between one and four maps a day,  depending on the size and complexity of the map in question- and how heavily I edit the tilesets for that particular area. I do realize that doesn't sound like very much, but as I've said before, I do edit all of my tilesets; which can be as simple as cutting and pasting something from one tileset onto another, or as complicated as recoloring, repositioning things, "clustering" small objects together and occasionally going in for extremely small one-or-two-pixel edits when needed.

I am one of those strange people who genuinely does enjoy mapmaking, which is something else I believe I've already said. Now, when it comes to mapping, I do know that there are a ton of different guidelines such as the "Rule of Three," which states that there should be something interesting to look at every three tiles. And there's something that's been written about keeping screen tints, pictures and fogs on the more subtle side. While those are all well and good, I do not adhere to those rules. 

In no way should anyone consider me to be a mapping authority, as I honestly do not think there is one correct way to make a decent map. While I do agree that truly square or rectangular interiors should be made extremely sparingly and that no two maps should be identical under any circumstances, I throw the rest of the mapping guildelines out the goddamned window. To me, a map has enough decoration when it looks interesting without being overwhelming, it serves as a piece of visual storytelling and is no longer empty and boring. There is no reason to overly clutter a map with another object every three tiles. Nor is there a reason to leave everything empty and dull. I don't know if anyone else alive will understand what I'm talking about when I say I "eyeball" my maps and let them come together organically as I'm working on them, but that's exactly what I do. 

Once I have made the layout for a map, I (of course) start to fill it in with detail, without acknowledging anything I've read at all about mapping guidelines and "rules." As long as my walls are three tiles high (one tile for the roof and two for the walls) and the floor has been placed, I will furnish my maps with appropriate decorations until i think they look full enough to be interesting- and that they make sense to me.  Once I'm happy with how they look, I will add things such as fogs,  pictures (when appropriate) and screen tints. Yes, I do layer those fogs at times. What works for me might not work for someone else, but I think if I can do something, anyone can.

All of that being said: I only have one more large area to map for Omnia's introduction/demo. This map is going to take a while to make, as it really isn't just one single map- it's a large area with many small places that can be explored. Altogether,  I believe Dalhurst will take anywhere between fifteen and twenty maps to complete. Which means I will be editing just as many tilesets, so it should take maybe a week or two before the last demo area is fully mapped. Of course, I'm not going to be silent while I'm working on it, I'm just not going to be showing or talking much about that particular area- because  I am a pain in the ass who will avoid dropping spoilers at all costs.

 Tonight, after I make dinner, I will start editing the first tilesets for Dalhurst and sometime either this weekend or early next week, I think I'll make a mapmaking video for the hell of it. I'll also be dropping some world lore and other things both here and on my Bluesky page while I'm working on Dalhurst.