3D illustrations...

[handrawn]

interesting... but.... asking someone to enjoy this is rather like asking someone to enjoy the photograph of a meal, rather than the meal itself

[Gamerprinter]

I suppose, but the map is not an illustration, it's a tool to run the adventure with, so you don't treat like a photograph, rather the actual terrain that the vehicles will be using in game. Strangely the fans on Starfinder communities seem excited by this map. But technically as a usable map, it is the meal, not the photo of a meal.

What I mean is players will be placing tokens of their starships in a given hex on the map, move that token based on its speed (number of hexes it can move through per turn), use whichever facing (forward, port, starboard, aft) to fire weapons at the facility attempting to bring it's shields down. While a war game is not a board game, this is very much the "board" you play on - so it's the meal, not a photo.

[handrawn]

, this is very much the "board" you play on...

so if I understand correctly then, it is the plate; maybe the dining table; maybe even the layout of the restaurant ?

I can see what you are saying... but no action, no meal for those of use who don't do this sort of thing - a video of it in use would be nice....

it's rather like me posting up a set of choreography motion/easing curves that define steps which you can use with a cut-out rig to create your own animated dance routines... without posting any animation showing them in use [Stills won't cut it] - there are those who might find such an abstarct thing useful, but maybe not on TG

anyway as I said before, I do admire your ability to keep on outputting, and you obviously know who the work is for...

[Gamerprinter]

Also it is played online using Virtual Tabletop software. Roll20 is a popular one, images can be up to 72 x 72 inches, but limited to 70 ppi. Many other VT applications work at 100 or 200 ppi. So all my products - there's the illustrated adventure itself, then there is a printable PDF map, JPG files for virtual tabletop use, PNG files of any independent symbol - so the giant tentacle thing will be available as a transparent PNG file. And believe or not, I've had customers who downloaded a FREE adventure, and the included map, they had them printed to large format vinyl at 30 x 40 inches - even posting a photo of it on my Facebook page. That's not cheap to do, but that's how committed my marketbase is regarding their game supplements, and the stuff I create for them.

I still make plenty of maps on commission, and for my own work that is almost entirely created in Xara Designer Pro x11. Though, obviously, I'm using more 3D for some the elements in my maps. It's just that most of the maps I've been doing lately are for publications, and I prefer not to post not-yet-published maps. So I've been absent in posting to my Xara Map thread.

The game is literally being played in each players head. The map is a reference, and a means of utilizing the mechanics of the game for movement, attacks, or whatever else they are trying to do. Even though crayons on a white board can work for the game, and something people actually use, still a specifically graphically designed map is what every gamer expects, and every publisher feels is a required inclusion with their adventure products - hence why I get commission work.

[handrawn]

thanks for the explanation, I appreciate that; not into RPG myself as you will have gathered

[Gamerprinter]

It's very niche - millions play these games, but compared to video games or other mainstream entertainments - very niche.

[Gamerprinter]

So after joining the DSC League Discord community, one of the first requests I got was for an illustration and map (haven't stated the map yet) of a Drift Station. Imagine Absalom Station, for Paizo's Pact Worlds Starfinder setting. Absalom is a giant space station that represents the location of the homeworld of humanity, elves, dwarves and the other legacy races from Pathfinder, now located on a space station. Well the DSC League, sees the Drift Station as kind of an anti-Absalom. A creepy, alternate station located somewhere deep inside the Drift - kind of a cross between hyperspace if that accessed it's own layer of space with say the Astral Plane. When your Starfinder ship goes "FTL" it actually goes to the Drift and distances traveled inside the Drift moves vast distances outside the Drift when you exit. Also whenever you enter the Drift, you take things from the plane were on and take them into the Drift - that's how stuff on the outside gets inside. Now the DSC League preferred a more red cloudscape behind, but this is the best I could. I have to say, I've even impressed myself. This is modeled in Wings 3D, and lit, textured and rendered in Vue Creator... enjoy!

[Fred C]

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