Melan
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Status Replies posted by Melan
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I thought to write you directly so as not to take the main thread off-topic, I hope you don't mind.
And I would have written sooner, but I've been tied up dealing with idiots occupying armchairs at the Saigon consulate.Regarding reading material about city growth, a lot of what I know comes from pratical experience and multiple city planning and history books. So I don't have one ready source to give you, sorry.
But if you know that you're looking for a pattern, and you know that there are two main types to be aware of, then you can use satellite maps to see the 'why' of sity growth.
Open your Google maps and pick an old city. I suggest starting with one of these: Moscow, Paris, London, New York City (including the surrounding burroughs), Bangkok, Dublin, or Hong Kong. What you first want to look for are the geometric patterns that show planned growth. Once you have these pinned down, then identify the asymmetric growth. If you're using Google maps, you can go to street view and look for physical structures (hills, rivers, depressions, etc. _and_ pre-existing geometries from parks, statues, monuments etc.) that created the sprawl.
Historic geometries will not be as straight and true as modern ones. So a planned road from 1500CE will have some twists and turns between its start and finish, but the points themselves will mostly remain geometrically aligned. (Example below. The asteriks are points and slashes the roads.)
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*-----------*
\ Here |
| be |
/ Rocks \
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I have read Monaugh's book; it is excellent! Very useful in thinking about level design, too. I think I first read about it on these forums, then purchased a copy.
On your question, I have ideas about how the City looks and works in general - lack of open spaces, organic construction, rapid industrialisation that's still struggling to keep up with demand, and very little if any planning (beyond some basic public works). This is a core idea that is open to development in multiple directions. I also try to experiment with new ideas, so Penny Dreadful 2 or 3 is fairly different from Disorientation, which is different from Rose Garden. For example, PD3 is built on a stretch between canals and a hilltop fortress, which is different from Disorientation's waterfalls and steep streets, or Rose Garden's massive, derelict noble palaces. The basic idea dictates the details. So there is some logic o it - even though the results are not plausible in conventional reality. Springheel's TDM missions are definitely more realistic in this respect.
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I thought to write you directly so as not to take the main thread off-topic, I hope you don't mind.
And I would have written sooner, but I've been tied up dealing with idiots occupying armchairs at the Saigon consulate.Regarding reading material about city growth, a lot of what I know comes from pratical experience and multiple city planning and history books. So I don't have one ready source to give you, sorry.
But if you know that you're looking for a pattern, and you know that there are two main types to be aware of, then you can use satellite maps to see the 'why' of sity growth.
Open your Google maps and pick an old city. I suggest starting with one of these: Moscow, Paris, London, New York City (including the surrounding burroughs), Bangkok, Dublin, or Hong Kong. What you first want to look for are the geometric patterns that show planned growth. Once you have these pinned down, then identify the asymmetric growth. If you're using Google maps, you can go to street view and look for physical structures (hills, rivers, depressions, etc. _and_ pre-existing geometries from parks, statues, monuments etc.) that created the sprawl.
Historic geometries will not be as straight and true as modern ones. So a planned road from 1500CE will have some twists and turns between its start and finish, but the points themselves will mostly remain geometrically aligned. (Example below. The asteriks are points and slashes the roads.)
*---___----*
| |
*-----------*
\ Here |
| be |
/ Rocks \
* *-
Thanks for your comments! If you are writing with reference to The Painter's Wife, do note that most of the basic street geometry is the work of Shadowhide, who built it about five or six years ago (he is no longer active on the forums). All later contributions, including mine, are refinements of that basic blueprint.
That said, my designs follow fairly similar principles based on organic city growth patterns. My main reference work is Christopher Alexander's great Pattern Language, combined with personal experience visiting old cities throughout Europe (mainly the Mediterranean). While my personal research field is a bit different, I do work in regional studies, and have a natural interest in city development.
Of course, there are two caveats:
1) My cityscapes are rooted in surrealism, not realism - they are architectural fancies, not socio-economic experiments;
2) they also serve gameplay (navigation, stealth, route-finding, climbing, etc.), which is an important consideration, too.
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New year, new beginnings. Happy new year everyone!
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Have a good one!
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Hurricane Florence is knocking on our door. She's due Thursday evening. Atm it's a direct hit. Ouchie!
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Stay safe and sit it out!
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My son Nolan was born on Friday 10:51 PM. Everyone healthy and half and tired. I won't be around for the next few weeks.
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Not really TDM-related, but I have just released a RPG fanzine: http://beyondfomalhaut.blogspot.hu/2018/03/zine-echoes-from-fomalhaut-01-now.html
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Not really TDM-related, but I have just released a RPG fanzine: http://beyondfomalhaut.blogspot.hu/2018/03/zine-echoes-from-fomalhaut-01-now.html
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Sotha: fanzines are actually a very old thing, they have just experienced a revival lately.
I think I do have an audience of sorts who like my stuff, although I have been fairly inactive on the RPG scene in the last few years. We'll see!
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An awful, shameful political crisis in my country. Things have come to a head. However, I hope all these massive revelations will provoke change. The people finally seem encouraged to make a difference. Hopefully, they will. Whenever I won't be foaming at the mouth over the whole sorry situation, I'll keep working on my TDM projects.
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And apparently by the Calabrian Ndrangheta itself?
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KingSal is now imho, the king of mappers. You people will be blown away by his latest masterpeice.
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Sooo, a TDM Christmas?
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Well this sucks... I've used Photobucket for years and now you have to pay to allow other sites to view img links. All I gotta say is F%ck these guys, anybody else have a recommended permanent image hosting service?
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Tumblr is pretty good for this.
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That moment you log into TDM forums and suddenly feel nostalgic...
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Welcome back!
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Some new fan missions released since 2016 I definitely should try out?
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The Ravine is long, hard, and brilliant.
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Surprisingly, Thief 5 could be happening. http://www.pcgamer.com/a-new-thief-game-might-be-in-development/
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Grave robbing. How classy.
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Finally got my Bachelor's degree (: Still feels kinda surreal tbh...
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Congratulations!
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While we are on topic, my book, "Reindustrialisation in Central Europe", has been published in hardcover! 10 years of work, 328 pages, and a beautiful cover: https://68.media.tumblr.com/da1d8329ae2e08337c324a5d75dd1ccb/tumblr_onts829YcT1rxmn3vo1_1280.jpg
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lowenz: Unfortunately not... but I actually have an edited volume coming out at Routledge this year.
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While we are on topic, my book, "Reindustrialisation in Central Europe", has been published in hardcover! 10 years of work, 328 pages, and a beautiful cover: https://68.media.tumblr.com/da1d8329ae2e08337c324a5d75dd1ccb/tumblr_onts829YcT1rxmn3vo1_1280.jpg
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Thank you, all!
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Ph.D. defense coming up tomorrow. Getting more nervous every minute... ;-)
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Congratulations!
...and welcome to the fold.
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I wonder what the maximum amount of hours is to be considered a speed build? .... Asking for a friend.
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This shoulda been a thread.
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I wonder what the maximum amount of hours is to be considered a speed build? .... Asking for a friend.
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^^^^^^^
T H A T
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Playing a game today that I passed by twenty years ago. (Blood: Cryptic Passage) The levels and atmosphere are still fantastic. Age does not take a toll on good design. From the sounds inside and outside the lighthouse, to the music, to the secrets, to the way things are interconnected, you can tell a lot of effort was put into this!
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Playing a game today that I passed by twenty years ago. (Blood: Cryptic Passage) The levels and atmosphere are still fantastic. Age does not take a toll on good design. From the sounds inside and outside the lighthouse, to the music, to the secrets, to the way things are interconnected, you can tell a lot of effort was put into this!
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How does it compare to regular Blood?
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So, I got one of them there fancy level design jobs I've been hearing about. Actually, it was mostly because of my FM that I posted here. Thank you all for the support as I worked on it!
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Congratulations!
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We are Greenlighted!! Now what?
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Now? Party hard!!!!
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I sick. Tode in da node. Sleepy. Productivity zero.
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Have a good rest and get well!
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