Broken Map, a few dam questions:

[Wraithwynd]

Taking a break from triggering I decided to work on my 3rd map for my campaign, the terrain, doodad placement.

It is supposed to be a mountainousness region, with a valley and a pass. I got a little lazy and copied and pasted mountain-type terrain I had from several maps I liked the result, considering that a lot of my hills and mountains were in felwood, ashenvle and other tile sets the switch over in the tile sets made for some interesting texture details.

However some of the results were unexpected one of the results was a broken river which created a place of very, very deep water and a place of very, very shallow water (Map 1 and 1b) the edge was pretty much straight across so I decided to dam up the river (image 2)

From inside the game the amount of fog and snow will reduce visibility a lot - however the dam will be seen in all of its splendor either by air (Image 4) or land (Image 5).

In the final map the dam and the river will have regions, around the dam I wanted fog to simulate water vapor (doesn't appear to work too well) further the regions have the water fall loop and stream loop.

I'm not happy with the dam its too plain, its lacking something... I will be adding trees around the map - icecrown and snowy variations.

I was thinking of maybe making the top of the dam walkable - so units can run across the top of the dam - I just can't figure out a nice way to construct a roadbed on top.

What does my dam need?

Any and all suggestions are helpful.

Cheers

Edit- Updated Images - Adding New post to explain.

 

[Mor)L(unE]

Hmm i dont really like the doodads you used for the dam, but otherwise. Looks good!

 

[Elfsilver Lord]

Look at a real dam. It curves slightly in and out. Also, water shoots out from the middle of the dam as well.

 

[FamousPker49]

That is a very nice start, I think if you could find some damish doodads, and curve it a little, that would be sweet

 

[Craka_J]

So far that is the best and first dam I've ever seen in Warcraft III. Props!
Keep it up!
The texture of the concrete dam part needs work though, and the stuff around the dam needs more of an environmental touch. Usually in areas where dams are built, there are mountains, forests, and usually a village or town of some sort very close to it.
~Craka_J

 

[Wraithwynd]

I removed a few of the unneeded images, and uploaded new images.

I tried the semi-circle kind of dam. Problem is when I go to move the water all of it collapses down into shallow water behind the dam. So I am stuck with my straight dam.

After fiddling with the old one, changing out a few Stone(1) which are nice and neat with a few Stone (3) which are cracked I decided the problem was it was too thin.

I completely removed it and decided it go with a massive dam, although straight across its shear mass would explain how it is holding back the water.

Of course Dams are supposed to do more than just hold back water, I am trying to build a water mill - kind of difficult to do with the lack of a real water wheel. I'm using the Pocket factory which has that cog thingy that looks something like a water wheel.

No its not done. I'm thinking about adding a layer of "tile" on the top composed of smaller squares of similar stone that are not so stretched out. and railings/banisters?

What more should I do to it?

 

[Bob27]

Well to get the same thing, you could just do the same thing couldn't you? Like open up the map you got the deep water from, maybe copy a 1x1 square of the deep water, and then paste it in the new map until you have a nice circular shape. That should work.

Anyway, like Craka_J said its probably the best dam I have ever seen in warcraft 3. Rep +

 

[Wraithwynd]

Well to get the same thing, you could just do the same thing couldn't you? Like open up the map you got the deep water from, maybe copy a 1x1 square of the deep water, and then paste it in the new map until you have a nice circular shape. That should work.

Anyway, like Craka_J said its probably the best dam I have ever seen in warcraft 3. Rep +

I'll give that a try and see what happens.

Thanks

 

[flamdo]

Heres an idea, You could scrap your current dam =P and replace it by stacking boulder doodads on top of each other with the water flowing out, you could also stack the fallen log doodad. Or you could cover the outside of your dam with either or. These suggestions are assuming this is a medieval map and not modern.

 

[Belgarath]

I think it looks better this way. Although, I'm gonna make a terrain about that now.

 

[Craka_J]

Good improvements. Lets see... what else do you find by dams? Pipes?
~Craka_J

 

[Belgarath]

Sorry if I'm interrupting, but I found a mill: http://www.hiveworkshop.com/resources_new/models/732/

 

[Craka_J]

That would go well at the bottom of the dam. If it were at the top, it'd just make the current of water going down the waterfall a lot more powerful and dangerous. But at the bottom, I honestly think it'd be realisticly helpful for water pumping and stuff like that.
~Craka_J

 

[Belgarath]

Of course Dams are supposed to do more than just hold back water, I am trying to build a water mill - kind of difficult to do with the lack of a real water wheel. I'm using the Pocket factory which has that cog thingy that looks something like a water wheel.

Yeah, just referring to that, thought iit might be helpful.

 

[Kwaliti]

Looks pretty good, however, you could add some ornamentics, so that the dam doesn't look so simple (Stonewrought Dam FTW)

 

[Craka_J]

I agree with l0w_kwality. Adding decorations to it such as pipes, barrels, etc. will certainly make it more interesting and more fitting.
~Craka_J

 

[Wraithwynd]

Below are the "final" images of the dam area of this map.

The real pain was the invisible platforms - the dam, the steps down to the pier are all pathed for walking. Sadly I can not load/unload from my boat onto the pier via triggers.

In the final version the dam and the stream below will light up (visibility across the region) as the player enters. As it stands I have the region set up to play the water fall loop one can hear the falling water before one reaches the dam.

It is also part of my main map cinematic where I have a team of pack horses and other units running across the top as the camera pans up and "north" of the dam.

In essence this was a lot of work for less than 5 minutes of viewing time for a game map. I figure about a minute of cinematic view time, and then the player crossing the dam maybe once.

LOL

 

[Wraithwynd]

Looks pretty good, however, you could add some ornamentics, so that the dam doesn't look so simple (Stonewrought Dam FTW)

I do not know this dam of which you speak...

 

[Kwaliti]

Google Stonewrought Dam

Looks nice now and please don't double post, we have an

button for a reason

 

[Gilles]

Looks awesome! Only thing you could do more would be to add more shrubs and environment things.

 

[Wraithwynd]

Looks awesome! Only thing you could do more would be to add more shrubs and environment things.

I will in the summer version of this map. Flowers and shrubberies. I'm aiming for the dead of winter - why in the heck are you going through the mountains now - kind of feel.

This is part of a cinematic, down stream a tad there is an attack scene where several character's die. Night Elf defeat is played and the whole scene is supposed to be bleak and cold and hopeless. As the camera "flies" up and over the dam where we catch sight of a team of humans and pack horses going across the bridge to the starting position of this map. Where we find the heroes breaking camp after a freezing night.

Later in the campaign the heroes (if they survive the other maps they are going to) come back to Harbold Pass where everything will be green, alive and deceptively pleasant. The summer version of this map will be full of plants and more critters.

 

[Gilles]

Sounds cool! Can't wait to see the cinematic.

 

[Nudl9]

Woah that dam looks pretty dam(n) nice
You only miss a little part, add some shrubs around the rocks, and at the dam wall.
Then it would look pretty nice! ^^

edit: oh and use river rushes btw, they ROCK!

 

[Craka_J]

Use river rushes and don't forget to tint them! Their default color sucks IMO.

You only lack environmental detail. Well... it's good but not good enough. Add more vegetation to densen the forest(s).
~Craka_J