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View Full Version : What's up with the random wild differences in map quality? (Map name spoilers)



villadelfia
June 2nd, 2016, 10:49
So, yesterday, I got the complete set of official 5e modules.

In general I'm quite happy with it, the text is nice (though there are quite a few typos, where can I submit these?) with all of the included art in the only way to get that art in a digital format.

However, I've noticed the map quality is all over the place, take for example Out of the Abyss:


You have maps like the Troglodyte Lair Map which is stored at 2979x2427, which results in nicely sized squares.
But then you have maps like the Oozing Temple, which is stored at 941x767, resulting in squares that are frankly a bit too small, and I know that the maps purchased from the artist himself are provided in a very high resolution (3375x2750 in this case, even if you scale that down, you could make it a lot bigger than the one provided.)
For city maps, on the one hand you have blingdenstone which is stored at a staggering 4050x3300, which is even bigger than the map provided by the artist himself (3375x2750) and you can tell that the pixels are a bit blurry.
But on the other hand you have menzoberranzan, which is stored at a mere 1109x800, which makes it hard to make out details.
The same comment as blingdenstone applies to mantol-derith as well, but that one is stored at a staggering 5709x4652! That's 70% larger than the size it was originally drawn at by the original artist (3375x2750), and you can definitely see the blur.


Then you have maps where you provide only GM versions, which is a bit silly, because I know that the artist provides a player version of both menzoberranzan and velkynvelve.

In the other campaigns and adventures, similar things can be seen.

So basically my question is: Why so inconsistent? At first I thought it would be due to 32-bit memory limitations, but then you put in gargantuan maps and images like blingdenstone and mantol-derith, so that surely can't be it?

Luckily I have purchased all the maps from the original author as well, so I can put in the missing or undersized maps, but that does require me to carefully replace links and encounters, which I would rather not have to do.

EDIT: Also, I'm disappointed that the image of the elf casting insect swarm from the PHB isn't included...

Zacchaeus
June 2nd, 2016, 11:39
The maps in all of the modules are the ones supplied with the module from the publisher. The artist or cartographer may well provide other maps for sale but those are not the ones that necessarily find their way into the published adventure. I can't speak for the particular modules that you mention but for many of the modules that I developed for FG one of the constant headaches was manipulating the supplied maps to a size that I could draw the FG grid on. Additionally in many cases there were no player maps as such; so the map provided would have to double as a DM map and a battlemap. Usually the DM map is shrunk down a bit.

You will find a number of community produced maps here (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?27298-Extensions-Modules-Pregens-and-other-5E-resources) for some of those adventures which you might find useful.

Bugs in any 5e products should be reported here (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?27299-5E-Bug-Reports).

villadelfia
June 2nd, 2016, 12:13
I am quite amused that WotC has such an inefficient process.

I had always imagined that they just sent you the original pdf of the books and the source images that they used to create the pdf. I can't imagine why they don't send you the original resolution art, they licensed it and have the rights to it.

Zacchaeus
June 2nd, 2016, 13:03
I am quite amused that WotC has such an inefficient process.

I had always imagined that they just sent you the original pdf of the books and the source images that they used to create the pdf. I can't imagine why they don't send you the original resolution art, they licensed it and have the rights to it.

They do. What I am saying is that the artist may well produce maps for sale by themselves at completely different resolutions as to what appears in the original adventures.

villadelfia
June 2nd, 2016, 13:24
Aha.

Say, if you have the pdfs, could you please update the PHB package to include the art of the (half-)elf casting insect plague on page 253? The other half-page art in the spells chapter would be nice too.

Zacchaeus
June 2nd, 2016, 13:47
Aha.

Say, if you have the pdfs, could you please update the PHB package to include the art of the (half-)elf casting insect plague on page 253? The other half-page art in the spells chapter would be nice too.

Indeed, there seems to be quite a few missing pieces of artwork from that chapter - probably because it can't be placed in the same place in the FG module as it is in the PHB. I'll note it for review; thanks for reporting.