rate my first map i made
>>96437154Not bad, what program?
>>96437509illwinters floorplanner on steam its like 6 bucks
>>96437154Not knowing any of the features (creatures, obstacles, treasure, etc) of the dungeon, I'd give it like a 5/10. It's 100% useable and you can still have a great time with it, don't feel like that's a knock on you, but when you go and look at it the dungeon is very linear. The thing with dead ends is that - while they are a place to put content (much like a treasure chest in a room is) - they themselves don't actually meaningfully effect navigating the dungeon, or give value to the choices players make while doing so. Looking at your map in a broad fashion, you essentially have a linear path, which does branch into 2 options in the middle, however those 2 branches ultimately converge into the same linear path again.
>>96437749 does every cave/dugon encounter have to be some OpenWorld concept? caves can tend to be pretty linear
>>96437749>>96440319it's a shame the bethesda dungeon is as prevalent as WASD in popular culture. D&D is not a video game, and also isn't the real world (I bet none of you have ever even been in a tourist cave much less the real thing in the wild).That said dead ends are great. You have to let go of the video game concept of "always forward" and stop handwaving the return journey as if nothing respawns. dead ends offer a no-way out scenerio as something comes up behind the party to create tension and/or complicate their return to the main loop.>>96437154natural caves come in all shapes and sizes but there are also made structures underground be they strongholds, lairs or mines. often they can have had many uses, sometimes they are built into (or out of) a natural cavern. you can have lava tunnels or worm/bullet tunnels too as an origin. regardless consider what lives there now and what are the spaces for. Is there an old or current animal den? was there a forge in use or from long ago? is the dead end carved out for storage or living quarters? are they just wandering mine tunnels that followed ore veins or have they been mined, improved and connected? where does the kobold tribe gather and eat? goblins, duergar, dwarves or any number of other ground dwellers may have made or modified this place, or be currently residing in it. you can also have areas where a beast (owlbear, small dragon, etc) occupies part and the local residents know to stay out of that area, maybe even have a back door they use. add a barricade and a cave entrance to an area. also I'd have a secret tunnel across the top connecting the square room at the top and that tunnel nub in the curve to the right. maybe they'll find one side or the other and it will make a loop, maybe they won't. just keep going over the why and what, why is this room here why this passage? what was it used for what is it used for now?
>>96437154Nice skyrim dungeon OP
>>96440319yes. your players will notice linearity and feel robbed of character agency. the lack of paths-not-taken will also make the location feel small and less mysterious
>>96440319It's better when it's more open because it gives the players and enemies more options. If they get into a fight in that first little area, the enemies are just going to choke them out at a bottleneck and it'll just be a boring grind.
>>96437154Need a several more entrances, because realistically one cave-in or a blockade and the guys inside are totally fucked. Like a ladder on the green spot (which I assume to be a open roof area) should start, and one in the alchemist lab/torture chamber (if its that deep a ventilation shaft is needed). Preferably every dead end should have a secret exit.
>>96441280Not how real caves work, guy.
>>96441366real caves are just as labyrinthine on the Z-axis as they are on the x- and y-axes, so if realism is the goal then we need a different approach entirely
>>96441420Not all of them are, no, and that wouldn't change the design of the cave.
What's the scale?I would have guessed 1sq=10ft but the assets make that look stupid, like a twenty foot long bed. That's why I don't like putting that kinda shit on a map. If it's 1sq to 5ft like a combat map it's pretty fucking cramped.I like the isometric and 3d look of whatever program you used to do it but overall, and without knowing any context, it's like 2 on 10? It's mostly dead end hallways and has no visible variance in height. How can we actually rate a dungeon without knowing anything about it in the first place? There's no Key, no info.
>>96440319some dungeons can be more linear than others, yes.>>96441086>players will notice linearity and feel robbed of character agencysolved by having the world as a whole provide that. if some dungeons are more open and sprawling and others are smaller and linear, its okay, because they experience a broad spectrum and can simply leave the more linear dungeons if they aren't enjoying it and travel elsewhere.
>>96440465I can't tell if you're being ironic or notyou think non-linear dungeons were invented by skyrim?
>>96442349>solved by having the world as a whole provide that. if some dungeons are more open and sprawling and others are smaller and linear, its okay, because they experience a broad spectrumThat sounds like shit. I'd rather experience things that are simply fun instead of fun sections and then absolute dogshit.>simply leave the more linear dungeons if they aren't enjoying it and travel elsewhere.Oh you're a nogames, that explains it. For the newbies in the thread, a great way to burn your GMs motivation up is by constantly making them shelve everything they've prepared.
>>96437154Hello Todd!Will we get an UE6 remake of Skyrim before TESVI?
>>96442368smaller more linear adventure sites are perfectly fine for monster lairs and similar that pop up while traveling >>96442368i run multiple games a week in a shared campaign world, people come and go and experience things at different times in different areas of the world.
>>96437154looks like a spiderwebs software game
>>96442424Yeah yeah nobody cares nor believes you.
OP here made some more for fun
>>96443784Is this like a canyon or crater? Also is that black spot on the left corner on the top deeper hole functioning as a entrance to another level.
>>96443784The first map is kinda good but still has too much linearity imo. Having a connection between the westmost rooms/nooks that goes all the way up to the entrance would open it up nicely.
>>96444147>>96444063Both are one map just different levels that black hole is another exit/entrance the bottom is a cliff side around the swamp
>>96437154>>96437549>>96437749Looks very cramped. Who are we saving?
>>96442361almost every Skyrim dungeon is linear, so I hope that's not what he's saying (iirc some of the big dwemer ruins had multiple entrances and routes)
>>96443784This one is pretty good, I like it. It has good strategic depth. Players can either brave the narrow bridge, or chance upon the elevated path. Both players and what they encounter can use the environment to try and gain an upper hand.
>>96443784I suggest making the second map transparent in areas other than the ledge.You can then put it directly on top of the first one when you reveal the area and ranges are easier to track.
>>96440319A natural cave should be much different from a dungeon that has been built and added onto over time, often by different species.
>>96437154Loads of nothing/10
>>96437154I think the map itself is oklike that other anon said 5/10 but certainly playablehowever a map is not a dungeona dungeon is what the players can interact withtraps and obstacles, shortcuts, and encounters, treasure and oddities that tell a story etc. since we don't know anything about those things it's impossible to tell you if it's actually going to be fun playing this thingthat being said, sometimes "nothing to write home about" is perfectly adequate for a gameit may not be the best session your players will have, but it's an unrealistic expectation that every session will beso yeah, sometimes just ok is perfectly ok
