IntroductionSo, you've got an interior of a building, but no building for it to be the interior of? Well, you have to admit that just sounds wierd. xD
Anyway, to solve this particular problem, I think its about time we create a little village, don't you? Now, I'm actually going to make it a cliffside forest village so I can show a few things in a single tutorial. What? It's not lazy, it's... Er.... Efficient! Yeah, that's right good! It's efficient!
So, let's get the train moving.
From the Ground, UpSo, as with the interior maps, we need to have a good, solid foundation. However, this time its far easier (as if it weren't easy before... xD). Just take the ground tile you want to use most, and flood fill the map.
Now, since this is going to be a mountain/cliffside village, we need a mountainside. Am I right? So, what I tend to do is take the brownish rocky autotile and draw a shape, in this case, a sort of crescent moon at the top left.
I recommend playing around and seeing what shapes you can come up with that you are happy with. Anyway, I'm sure you've noticed he autoshadow just stopping again like in the indoor mapping. This time, however, its at the top because we draw tiles any further up so the autoshadow doesn't kick is. Therefore, its once again time for that good old shadow tile!
After the shadow's fixed, it's time to make this into a real mountain! To do that, simply take the mountainside tile (in this case, the darker brown one) and using either one or two tile high blocks, place tiles in a random way that makes it look like the ground around them is on a different level.
Remember, only ever move the next tile(s) one space up or down from the last. After a few minutes, you'll end up with something like this. I also recommend using the non-passable shadow tile to add some depth to the levels.
The Map's "First Steps"Next up we need to add some life. This is relatively simple. Just take the long grass tile that fits with your chosen ground type, and place it around
randomly, and then do the same with the two-tree tile, filling in the trunk and top of the trees afterwards.
Now, I'm a fan of water in general. Rivers, oceans, lakes and baths (yes, baths) are all great! Therefore, I like to add water in every now and then. However, to make the water in maps work, you need to think about how it works. It needs somewhere to come from, and also will always travel down with gravity.
As such, I like to make a river come from offscreen, down the side of a mountain and into a ground level river. Now, it's important to remember streams and rivers are
not straight in real life, and nor should yours be.
Building Blocks of LifeAnd the next thing to add is actually the hardest and most tedious part; the houses. Now, house size is entirely up to you. I prefer to make two tile high houses, but there are some excellent maps with single tile high houses. For this though, I'll be using two tile high.
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I should mention, you'll almost definitely need to use the shift+click trick to fix the river when adding houses. VX likes to make the river end where the house begins, but that just looks ugly. Instead, copy a section that makes it look like it goes behind the house.
Now its time for more life, and windows. The windows are simple, just put them were you think they look both realistic and attractive. Oh! And make sure you leave room for the black door background! In terms of adding life, such as smaller plants and flowers, the rule of
random comes into play again. To be honest, that's really the only set rule for nature mapping. =P
Oh! I forgot another couple of things! Be sure to make the player able to access every house! For example, in the map for this tutorial I've had to add a bridge across the river. Secondly, every village needs a path, and once again dirt paths are rarely ever straigt, so treat it like the river.
Almost There!So, the maps nearly done, but there's a few things still missing... For example, is it me or does the waterfall look a little flat? Now that's something that cane easily be fixed!
Using the following event graphic set to animate and placed at the top of the waterfalll, it gives the effect of the water coming over the edge of the mountain. Remember though, the event is two tiles high itself, so you need to put it on the highest tile of the
waterfall tiles, and not the river tiles.
You should also add the event graphic on the left of that one to the bottom of the waterfall (this time on the river tile that meets the waterfall tiles). I also recommend putting some of the half submerged rock events (also animated) in the river, just to add a bit more detail.
The FinaleAnd last but not least, the in game test.
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[Mapping]VX Village Mapping - Asylum Style, Part 2 of my Mapping Tutorials. =)
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Sep 8 2009, 12:45 PM
;; And sorry my replies are so late everyone. I'm glad you all found this useful. 
