Post by _ZeuxisX_ on Jan 2, 2022 8:19:00 GMT
Since around March '21 I've been working on a successor to my old USA West template map which is now almost 10 years old. I wanted to showcase my progress, since this place could always use a little more activity and I'm pretty proud of how far I have come in this endeavor. If anyone requests it, I will post the scn files of the farthest progress for each of these maps.
My first attempt had me trying to completely redo the original file, but ultimately this attempt was abandoned because of the size of the map and dissatisfaction with the overall quality.
My second attempt was a vast improvement. I started over with a 350x400 map and the and results were immediate. I spent an insane amount of time on this map, and had even been placing objects/trees throughout my way across the map to accelerate the process. However, this costed me dearly as when I was about 85% finished with the map I had somehow placed so many objects that the game would crash when taking screenshots, which were my only tool for making sure my map was accurate. I reverted to an old save and finished the terrain painting but ultimately I felt as though there were many areas of my map that needed reworked and I decided that the only way to improve the map further was to start again.
The third attempt at the map is very recent, within the last week or so. I created a 400x400 map and decided to copy Soty's method for making the USA East map like I should've done all along. I painted a 20x20 square grid (which was an awful experience that took about 2 hours on its own), and in GIMP plotted the grid over my reference map to serve as a template for me to make the map as accurate as humanly possible. I'm already very happy with the results and it has the makings of a true successor to Soty's original map and a much needed improvement upon my old one.
Overall, this project has probably taken about ~270 hours so far. Its insane how much effort is needed to fully utilize the largest map sizes in EE. Every part of the process is painstaking, from the terrain painting, to the elevation work, but even as I'm burnt out and busy with school, coming back to this from time to time is always satisfying and leaves me wanting more.
Additional note: I have about 140+ screenshots of my work on my these maps throughout the process and probably way too many different builds/saves of the maps to count. If I ever complete this, Soty owes us a sequel to Manifest Destiny that takes place in Western America
My first attempt had me trying to completely redo the original file, but ultimately this attempt was abandoned because of the size of the map and dissatisfaction with the overall quality.
My second attempt was a vast improvement. I started over with a 350x400 map and the and results were immediate. I spent an insane amount of time on this map, and had even been placing objects/trees throughout my way across the map to accelerate the process. However, this costed me dearly as when I was about 85% finished with the map I had somehow placed so many objects that the game would crash when taking screenshots, which were my only tool for making sure my map was accurate. I reverted to an old save and finished the terrain painting but ultimately I felt as though there were many areas of my map that needed reworked and I decided that the only way to improve the map further was to start again.
The third attempt at the map is very recent, within the last week or so. I created a 400x400 map and decided to copy Soty's method for making the USA East map like I should've done all along. I painted a 20x20 square grid (which was an awful experience that took about 2 hours on its own), and in GIMP plotted the grid over my reference map to serve as a template for me to make the map as accurate as humanly possible. I'm already very happy with the results and it has the makings of a true successor to Soty's original map and a much needed improvement upon my old one.
Overall, this project has probably taken about ~270 hours so far. Its insane how much effort is needed to fully utilize the largest map sizes in EE. Every part of the process is painstaking, from the terrain painting, to the elevation work, but even as I'm burnt out and busy with school, coming back to this from time to time is always satisfying and leaves me wanting more.
Additional note: I have about 140+ screenshots of my work on my these maps throughout the process and probably way too many different builds/saves of the maps to count. If I ever complete this, Soty owes us a sequel to Manifest Destiny that takes place in Western America
