Looks very very very bland.
You should add more details to the area.
This feedback is not very good. Good feedback is kind specific and helpful. Saying it looks bland is kind of blatant, and could be interpreted in a host of different ways. So it isn't very specific. Asking someone to add more details is also very open ended. What kind of details should he be adding? Seriously, it's just not specific enough to be helpful imo, and comes off as lazy, and a little rude.
If I were to critique Blam's work I would start by listing a few things I liked about the area. Then I would move onto a few of the problems I saw and how I would go about fixing them.
This feedback is not very good. Good feedback is kind specific and helpful. Saying it looks bland is kind of blatant, and could be interpreted in a host of different ways. So it isn't very specific. Asking someone to add more details is also very open ended. What kind of details should he be adding? Seriously, it's just not specific enough to be helpful imo, and comes off as lazy, and a little rude.
If I were to critique Blam's work I would start by listing a few things I liked about the area. Then I would move onto a few of the problems I saw and how I would go about fixing them.
Hello guys, I am back from a long break! It is not the first nor the second long break i took from minecraft, I hope this time I won't run out of inspiration/motivation.
Anyhow, I did some progress on the first area in my map "Alchemist's quest #1: Water of Life".
The area is called "The Pedestal of Beginning". I am still working on the dungeon that branches from this area that will contain the objective item.
Your thoughts? Ways to improve it?
Looks good :-) Idea is great, shape and setup rare good.
I'd suggest working on mixing contrasts a bit, and transitiong colors. Right now, there's a very hard difference between dark and light, and between water and walls. You're able to see every little piece of the walls/coast, which makes it so they must be interesting in order to not look like a big, folded box. It's great to have to the platform stand out (always make sure there's 1/2 main things to look at in an area, so you don't get lost looking a the picture), but the harsh color contrasts don't really work well this way.
Thanks for the feedback guys! I'll try to make the pedestal itself better looking and try to add some details without taking away the strength of the island. Small islands in the lake below is an amazing idea imo.
Edit: didn't notice rubisk's comment - I really didn't think of it that way... something about the walls has always annoyed me and now I know what.
Hello guys, I am back from a long break! It is not the first nor the second long break i took from minecraft, I hope this time I won't run out of inspiration/motivation.
Anyhow, I did some progress on the first area in my map "Alchemist's quest #1: Water of Life".
The area is called "The Pedestal of Beginning". I am still working on the dungeon that branches from this area that will contain the objective item.
Your thoughts? Ways to improve it?
Honestly not a fan of this. The "pedestal" part seems kinda dull, with very little on it to make things interesting. Making matters worse are the walls and the sheer amount of empty space, but mostly the walls are weak. You're mixing a super smooth block that has a very industrial look with natural blocks, creating a really messy wall design. It doesn't have much flow to it. The lights also don't feel super great as they're just running along the wall without really guiding the eye anywhere. The lack of color is the final thing that sorta makes me not like this, as I'm just looking at a fairly static area with only two bits of color anywhere on it. A more natural feel with some better block choices for the wall could improve things somewhat.
On the other hand, say that there's nothing keeping the player there. Pedestal of Beginning, so it's a spawn point. Maybe the way to the first intersection is through an underwater passage or something, there's not a lot we can see there. Given that, having very little to see would be half the point, since you're not sticking around, and said pedestal symbolizes safety, sanctity, and everything you're gonna have to walk away from. Having it lit makes it the only important thing in the room- whether or not that's desirable is for you to decide.
Only trouble then is that if you spawn on the thing, there's no way to draw the player's attention to it from afar, wasting some visual impact if that's something you're going for. I suppose I can't speak too much though, having never made maps.
So now that 1.9's touched down, what're we all thinking about it? I see that it's either coincided with or spurred a flurry of creative projects, which I love seeing. How wildly are old maps affected?
Regarding that... I did some things to explore around the pedestal, on the cliffs and walls. I think the player will have a good look of his safe start point when he is hammered by monsters
Something that might be keeping the player on the pedestal itself is a fear of progressing into the darkness? idk. He can probably farm some wheat or other food before progressing, if he wants too... I want my map to be enjoyable for both players that storm it and to players that take it slow.
The only thing that I reaaallly care about is the elytra. Endless possiblities for areas!
Worked a while on pretty much redoing an old area that i hated, here's a screenshot of it now:
I honestly can't tell what I'm looking at in this screenshot. It's all just a same-ish color and looks both messy and bland. What I can kinda see just looks like a few generic buildings and some random perfectly straight pillars. The lack of any real variety in the design just makes it super hard to look at and makes me well... not want to. Needs a lot of work, both making it look less bland and also to fill in the extreme amount of horribly dead space you have there.
Worked a while on pretty much redoing an old area that i hated, here's a screenshot of it now:
I like the shape of it but the colors are all too messy... The stone/gravel/coal ore color scheme is so unpopular today. Apart from that, the eroding in this area is overdone, making the terrain all too noisy and rough. So basically splash some new colors and smooth it out and your'e good to go.
The idea seems nice. It's a bit basic though, and the box-like shape is a bit off-putting if it's not expanded upon. The roof could especially benefit from additional work. The actual paths seem quite unique though!
What additional detail exactly? Anything that comes to mind would make it look noisy and messy... I personally don't like over-detailing.
You have some "vine" stuff started on the ceiling with the leaf blocks. Using those to stretch a bit down the walls would be one thing to do. More pipes could be another, smaller ones. A bit of broken stuff/depth along the walls couldn't hurt either, alongside making them more rounded and less so boxy. I'd completely round out the ceiling and make it more like a dome personally.
Does anyone here has any experience with making a CTM that uses mods? Or just a mod?
Depending what mod. To beat a ctm you need to not only be good at combat, but also know minecraft well. To make a good modded CTM you need to make challenges that are based on the mods.
It would be more a mod to get around, do you know Achimedes Ships mod? It lets you make a custom airship or boat. They player would be able to grow the airship with things found in dungeons who will be in mountain tops or in the bottom of a ravine.
It is still very much just an idea. I have first to wait until the mod updates to 1.9 and see if I can also make the travelling interesting and dangerous. To mind comes making narrow passages to which the player would need to adjust the ship, and shooting threats so you will need walls and maybe need to protect the ballon? (No idea yet if the ballon can burn or not.)
A huge sky-map with floating islands, dungeons, and stuff. Exploration over 9000!
This feedback is not very good. Good feedback is kind specific and helpful. Saying it looks bland is kind of blatant, and could be interpreted in a host of different ways. So it isn't very specific. Asking someone to add more details is also very open ended. What kind of details should he be adding? Seriously, it's just not specific enough to be helpful imo, and comes off as lazy, and a little rude.
If I were to critique Blam's work I would start by listing a few things I liked about the area. Then I would move onto a few of the problems I saw and how I would go about fixing them.
Okay.Edited my comment.
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Curse PremiumLooks good :-) Idea is great, shape and setup rare good.
I'd suggest working on mixing contrasts a bit, and transitiong colors. Right now, there's a very hard difference between dark and light, and between water and walls. You're able to see every little piece of the walls/coast, which makes it so they must be interesting in order to not look like a big, folded box. It's great to have to the platform stand out (always make sure there's 1/2 main things to look at in an area, so you don't get lost looking a the picture), but the harsh color contrasts don't really work well this way.
Thanks for the feedback guys! I'll try to make the pedestal itself better looking and try to add some details without taking away the strength of the island. Small islands in the lake below is an amazing idea imo.
Edit: didn't notice rubisk's comment - I really didn't think of it that way... something about the walls has always annoyed me and now I know what.
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Retired StaffHonestly not a fan of this. The "pedestal" part seems kinda dull, with very little on it to make things interesting. Making matters worse are the walls and the sheer amount of empty space, but mostly the walls are weak. You're mixing a super smooth block that has a very industrial look with natural blocks, creating a really messy wall design. It doesn't have much flow to it. The lights also don't feel super great as they're just running along the wall without really guiding the eye anywhere. The lack of color is the final thing that sorta makes me not like this, as I'm just looking at a fairly static area with only two bits of color anywhere on it. A more natural feel with some better block choices for the wall could improve things somewhat.
Worked a while on pretty much redoing an old area that i hated, here's a screenshot of it now:
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Curse PremiumI like the shape so far, but the whole area's a pretty bland color. Maybe spice it up with a bit more color? Excited to see where you're going though.
Regarding that... I did some things to explore around the pedestal, on the cliffs and walls. I think the player will have a good look of his safe start point when he is hammered by monsters
Something that might be keeping the player on the pedestal itself is a fear of progressing into the darkness? idk. He can probably farm some wheat or other food before progressing, if he wants too... I want my map to be enjoyable for both players that storm it and to players that take it slow.
The only thing that I reaaallly care about is the elytra. Endless possiblities for areas!
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Retired StaffI honestly can't tell what I'm looking at in this screenshot. It's all just a same-ish color and looks both messy and bland. What I can kinda see just looks like a few generic buildings and some random perfectly straight pillars. The lack of any real variety in the design just makes it super hard to look at and makes me well... not want to. Needs a lot of work, both making it look less bland and also to fill in the extreme amount of horribly dead space you have there.
I like the shape of it but the colors are all too messy... The stone/gravel/coal ore color scheme is so unpopular today. Apart from that, the eroding in this area is overdone, making the terrain all too noisy and rough. So basically splash some new colors and smooth it out and your'e good to go.
Simple and beautiful.
How is this for an intersection?
This looks pretty good. Cool concept, original and everything, but the walls could use a bit more detail.
(Also, I could see this being a bit annoying to navigate, don't know how you'll figure it out in the actual map.)
I don't care about the Xs. You can call me Navarog. Or Nava if you really want to be a hipster. It's fine.
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Retired StaffThe idea seems nice. It's a bit basic though, and the box-like shape is a bit off-putting if it's not expanded upon. The roof could especially benefit from additional work. The actual paths seem quite unique though!
Walls are too plain,they need more details.
And I don't like this wool blocks.They looks out of place.
What additional detail exactly? Anything that comes to mind would make it look noisy and messy... I personally don't like over-detailing.
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Retired StaffYou have some "vine" stuff started on the ceiling with the leaf blocks. Using those to stretch a bit down the walls would be one thing to do. More pipes could be another, smaller ones. A bit of broken stuff/depth along the walls couldn't hurt either, alongside making them more rounded and less so boxy. I'd completely round out the ceiling and make it more like a dome personally.
I asked my mate to somehow add mod for § into command blocks in 1.9. He did that!
Depending what mod. To beat a ctm you need to not only be good at combat, but also know minecraft well. To make a good modded CTM you need to make challenges that are based on the mods.
A huge sky-map with floating islands, dungeons, and stuff. Exploration over 9000!