Commonwealth of Marathon

MandelSoft · January 10, 2009, 07:29:57 AM

Nice MD, Dustin. This is the first time that I stopped by here.

By the way, I used this method of making a map too!

bat · January 10, 2009, 07:32:08 AM

Fantastic second part of the tutorial there! And great work on that map, it is looking beautiful!

alan_vzla · January 10, 2009, 08:20:09 AM

Tha map surely looks great, very good job!... Looking forward to more!
Alan

TheTeaCat · January 10, 2009, 09:57:28 AM

Wow Dustin
I just got caught up on all the recent stuff.
Goodness there was a lot

Tutorials on mapmaking , marvellous mosiaics, Some of the most amazing individual pics I've seen for quite a while

I'm at a loss for words

And there's the pics of your testing of the STR - run out of suitable words to compliment you with

With such good quality MD it's no wonder you flew into the Classics

TTC

paroch · January 10, 2009, 10:14:20 AM

Hi Dustin - that's an incredible tutorial you've put together for us there. I certainly look forward to having a little play with that, for sure.

Thanks for sharing it.

Paul

Jmouse · January 10, 2009, 01:00:23 PM

Well, when you started fooling around with cartography, I was interested. Now I'm impressed. Very impressed. You've produced a beautiful map and, I am sure, inspired many to follow your example.

You continue to amaze and delight with your great ideas...
Joan

Eliteforce · January 10, 2009, 09:44:57 PM

Wow that looks great, every detail is taken care of. Now with the transportation infrastructure take care of, will as much care be taken for the power/water too?

I'm also very curious to how you will zone it and whether you make the entire island a massive shore to shore city or more spread out with medium density.

I like the way you are doing your mayor diary by making everything you do a tutorial, it helps us not smart mayors make our cities even better.

All I can say is

dsrwhat316 · January 11, 2009, 01:41:28 PM

Thank you, Dustin, for such an in-depth tutorial! This is getting me motivated to make a similar map of my own.

I think you deserve a karma point for your tutorial. Perhaps the staff will notice...

~ Dan

sim_link · January 11, 2009, 06:43:44 PM

Great tutorial, thundercrack83! The finished map looks great, it gives a really good idea of the road nework in Marathon!

projectadam · January 11, 2009, 11:56:47 PM

Dustin,

Yet again, another excellent tutorial. Unfortunately, my Adobe Creative Suite 3 does not get along very well with Vista and my Photoshop closes upon opening. I was trying to use InfraView and Paint but not having a program that uses layers takes out the ease of doing this method. I plan on having a throw down with Vista sometime this month and see if I can slap some compatibility into it so I can show off a map of the train system in Braska. Wishing you the best for 2009 and now I know what you are doing up late at nights, you are watching Good Eats

metarvo · January 12, 2009, 05:19:36 AM

Wow, that's professional, Dustin! Once again, it seems as though anything can become a tutorial in CoM. This is one of the factors that makes CoM shine. Not only do you build, make, and do wonderful things, but you explain your methods of doing them. I truly enjoyed this update, Dustin, and I'm ready for more.

turtle · January 12, 2009, 06:01:55 AM

Wow, very nice map. I like your meticulous approach. Thank you for sharing

/Thomas

thundercrack83 · January 12, 2009, 10:18:18 PM

Arthur (art128): Thank you, Arthur!

deathtopumpkins: Thanks, my friend! I hope you can get your hands on a copy of Photoshop!

Maarten (mrtnrln): Hello and welcome, Maarten! I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one using this method to make maps. I'd love to see your finished product sometime. Hope to see you here again soon!

bat: Thanks!

Alan (alan_vzla): Thanks, Alan! Much appreciated, my friend!

Derry (TheTeaCat): Welcome back, Derry! Thank you so much for your very kind words, my friend—coming from an MD master such as yourself, it makes me feel quite good! Thanks for coming by, I hope to see you here again!

Paul (paroch): Thanks, Paul! If you play around with it and come up with some maps, I'd love to see them! Though, I'm sure I will over in WEST END, which would definitely make my day!

Joan (Jmouse): Hi, Joan! Thank you for your kind words, my friend! I'm glad you enjoyed both the tutorial and the finished map. Despite the tedium, it was actually a lot of fun making it. I'll be making more in the future, I'm sure. Thanks for stopping by!

Eliteforce: Thank you, my friend! To be honest, I don't put much thought into the power and water other than trying to come up with a realistic central location for the power supply, then connecting it to the rest of the area accordingly. As for water, I suppose I could take the same approach—I'll have to think more on it! Thanks for your kind words, and for putting the spark in my head!

Dan (dsrwhat316): Thanks, Dan! Like I said to the others, if you make a map of your own, I'd love to see it! Take care, my friend!

sim_link: Thank you so much, and welcome to Marathon! Oh, and you can call me Dustin, if you'd like!

projectadam: Thanks, my friend! I hope you can get your compatibility issues straightened out, as I'm sure maps of Braska would be simply fantastic! Oh, and you hit the nail on the head, too—I usually catch an episode or two of Good Eats in the wee-hours, depending on if it's on. I'm a pretty big fan of Alton Brown, and it's funny how his approach to cooking could be applied to MDing! Thanks for coming by!

metarvo: Thank you so much! I'm so glad that you enjoy the tutorial approach to things, too. I like to do it whenever possible not only to show how I do things, but also in case I'm doing something wrong—that way, everyone can help out and steer me in the right direction! Hope to see you here again soon, my friend!

Thomas (turtle): Thank you, Thomas! "Meticulous" is a good description, it was pretty nerve-wracking to get the process all figured out, but we got there in the end!

Well, after my trip and an extended stay at my girlfriend's for the weekend, I'm finally back at my own computer, brainstorming where to take things here in Marathon...not that I wasn't brainstorming the entire trip, anyway!

In the meantime...another tidbit—

I'm trying to achieve that wonderful "rain effect" that I've seen on more than one occasion by our great Photoshop engineers here at SC4D. I think I'm on the right track—using a Texture Overlay, then reducing the opacity—but I think I'm off on the texture. Then again, I could be completely off on the process, too! Trial and error...it'll get you every time!

If anyone has any tips on it, I'd be more than grateful!

threestooges · January 12, 2009, 11:48:09 PM

Off on the texture or not, that looks quite good. Must be a heckuva storm the way the pic is obscured, but it looks good. Looking forward to seeing where the brainstorming leads you, and I hope the trip was good.
-Matt

Jmouse · January 13, 2009, 12:41:15 AM

My first visual impression was dense fog. Still, it might rain any minute.

As for experimenting with PS, sometimes I wonder if even the Adobe creative team really knows what all this software will do - I doubt it!

I'm playing around with the opacity sliders in layers right now, too, albeit in a different kind of application. Still, I can sympathize with the frustration and cheer for the occasional success!

Hope you had a pleasant weekend, and glad to know you returned safely...
Joan

*EDIT* What is that tan building in the lower right quad? It looks almost crooked - kind of like an optical illusion. Or maybe I just need a bit more sleep!

deathtopumpkins · January 13, 2009, 03:58:54 AM

I was thinking it was fog... Though whatever it is, it looks fantastic!

Simpson · January 13, 2009, 04:03:05 AM

Hi Dustin
I'm sorry that I missed some incredible updates my friend
Thank you for the tutorial, also the last teasers are fantastic

I'm looking forward to the next update/teaser

Take care,
David

Ennedi · January 13, 2009, 04:53:18 AM

You are making a fantastic work Dustin, so many different things happen in Marathon every few days, but everything looks consistent and professional

This is really one of the best and most informative MDs!

As for rain and such things - try to look free Photoshop brushes in the Web. Type "Photoshop, free, brushes" and you will find a lot of them. Brushes are a very powerful tool. You can type also "Free, Photoshop, brushes, rain" or "...clouds" or "...water" and you will see what will you get

Adam

rooker1 · January 13, 2009, 05:09:08 AM

Hello,
Incredible has become your standard and this last picture is no exception at all.
I got the idea that it may have been a foggy picture before the rain, but very nice effect none the less.

Robin

art128 · January 13, 2009, 10:02:11 AM

Welcome to page 30 my friend

Great picture there Dustin

I really like this rain effect, even if it's look more of a fog effect

And it's the Rush Hour for the trains ?

Can't wait to see more !

Arthur.