Mega City Morphs - Sci-Fi City Geomorphs

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away I made a few citymorphs and was one of the featured artists on the Inkwell Ideas Citymorph dice Kickstarter.

Now I am about to run a new Judge Dredd campaign (Mega City Blues) its time to spruce up Sector 55 with some new sci-fi orientated Mega City geomorphs.  So far I've created a set of 9 tiles which you can download here Mega City Morphs Set 1 zip

I have submitted these to Dave's Mapper in the Sci-Fi City collection and they should be available soon.

example of 9 tiles arranged in a 3x3 grid

The whole point of this exercise was to generate a quick and dirty map for my Judge Dredd campaign which I am running online in Discord / Roll20.  You can follow the exploits of Judges Hammer (Apo), Teal (Mark) and Uthred (Ryan) in the Sector 55 Blues weekly session reports.  

I will also be publishing occasional articles where I detail house rules or tips which make my GMing life easier.

Sector 55 Mega City One

Happy geomorphing.

Let's Blow this Kid and Go Home!!

Wow, the Dungeonmorphs 2 kickstarter has unlocked THE CITY STRETCH GOAL and with a little bit more we could have, wait for it....

CITY RUINS !!!!!!

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO BE LIKE LUKE AND BACK THIS KICKSTARTER

Let's be like Luke and hit that £19K Stretch goal.  I've already upped my pledge level to 3 sets of dice, and if we shoot through £16K everyone gets a...

SECOND BONUS DICE per set!!!!

so if you're a 3 set backer you'll get 6, yes count them, 6 bonus dice.  That's an extra set of dice right there and it will cost you nowt, nish, nada, zero, zilch, nothing.

Come on guys and girls this is just too good an opportunity to pass up.

I want my Ruins!! 

Almost There... Almost There...

...as Red Leader would say. 

Over the weekend the Dungeonmorphs 2 kickstarter funded and it's almost unlocked it's second dice set stretch goal, only $1000 bucks to go!

There's still time to jump on board this project and push forward to hit that stretch goal.

If you back at the 2 dice set pledge level you'll have 10 dice (+ 2 bonus dice) to create your villages and cities.  All for a measly $40 ($3 a dice). 

If there are any FLGS stores reading this, you can still grab a retailer bundle on your customers behalf and save even more money.

Click the picture to become a backer

Joe will be releasing some proofs of the city dice designs later today, so come on guys, share this with your friends, get them to pledge and we can unlock some AWESOME.

RPG Mapping in Sketchup Part 5 - Building your City from a 2D image

In my previous videos I shared all the sketchup techniques I use to create 3D buildings in my games.  Now it's time to start building a city from the ground up using a 2D image as a reference. 

This is the image I used in the video

I'm using one of my citymorph sketches but you can use any image which will import into sketchup, just make sure that you have some sort of scale in mind.  If you've not seen the amazing Dungeonmorphs 2 kickstarter which inspired this tutorial check out the link on the right side of the page.

In the next video I'll be finishing off the roofs and showing you how you can turn your models into "components" which allow you to duplicate your buildings or citymorph tiles and expand it even faster.


Related Posts:

• Part 1 - Unhiding the 3rd Dimension 
• Part 2 - Simple Buildings, Walls and Roofs 
• Part 3 - The Cross-Gable, Gambrel and Mansard Roof 
• Part 4 - Adding Features and Sketchy Styles

RPG Mapping in Sketchup Part 4 - Adding features and Sketchy Styles

In part 4 of my RPG Mapping in Sketchup series I show you how to add smaller features such as chimneys, towers and dormers to existing models. 

I also show you how to make your models look hand drawn using the styles pallette.  This is particularly useful if you are going to use the model in your own player handouts either as maps of the city or as first person point of view scenes.

Sketchup lets you to export your model as a 2D image so you can do further editing in a bitmap editor if you want to add in characters or other elements.




Related Posts:

• Part 1 - Unhiding the 3rd Dimension
• Part 2 - Simple Buildings, Walls and Roofs 
• Part 3 - The Cross-Gable, Gambrel and Mansard Roof 

RPG Mapping in Sketchup Part 3 - The Cross-Gable, Gambrel and Mansard Roof.

The next installment of my short video series on RPG Mapping in Sketchup covers the three other simple roof shapes found in most top down RPG maps.

The Cross-Gable roof is essentially just two gable roofs which intersect, commonly found in "T" "X" and "H" shaped buildings.  The Gambrel (or Dutch style) roof is a common double height roof shape popular for larger buildings like barns and is found all over Europe and the USA.  The Mansard roof is another common double height roof style, the second roof section can be gabled or hipped.




Related Posts:

• Part 1 - Unhiding the 3rd Dimension
• Part 2 - Simple Buildings, Walls and Roofs 

RPG Mapping in Sketchup Part 2 - Simple Buildings Walls and Roofs

In this second part of the series I show a quick and easy technique to draw simple buildings with the 3 most common type of roof shapes; the Gable, the Hip and the Double Hip Roof.  Using this technique you can use sketchup to quickly construct models of buildings for use in your own RPG campaigns maps or as scene setting handouts for your players.



In the next part I'll demonstrate techniques to create the Cross Gable, Gambrel and Mansard roof shapes. 

Related Posts:

Part 1 - Unhiding the 3rd Dimension

RPG Mapping in Sketchup Pt 1 - Unhiding the 3rd Dimension

As you know I got commissioned by Joe Wetzel for his Dungeonmorphs 2 Cities and Villages dice project on kickstarter, which requires me to make lots of geomorphs with buildings on them.

After a while you look at your collected sketches and think OMG all my buildings look the same.

Sketching out the idea process - not sure if any of these will be in the final product

This is caused mostly by the constraints of making sure the design is legible and that they fit on a 1inch d6.  In search of inspiration I decided to experiment with roof shapes and turning them into 3D buildings using sketchup.  Enjoy...

Citymorph Dice Kickstarter from Inkwell Ideas

Who woulda thunk it?  Citymorphs has spawned a kickstarter!!

Roll your own Cities!!

Inkwell Ideas head honcho Joe Wetzel has gathered together a few of the RPG communities morphing cartographers, myself included, and is kickstarting a version of his popular Dungeonmorph Dice but this time with city designs.

The aim is to produce a set of 5 dice with which you'll can quickly "roll up" your own city map.  There's pledge levels for all sizes of pockets with PDF/Font versions available from $5 and a set of dice for only $20.  They're pretty substantial at 1 inch square (so have dictatorial thunk of authority when they hit the table).  Unlike a lot of custom dice which might just predict the weather, random direction or what body part you've hit, these also function as regular dice and are pretty unique. 

The first set is a mix of City/Village designs,  but the project has far higher aspirations and includes stretch goals to create further sets with designs for Ruins, City Walls and Harbours.  The more money Joe can raise, the more designs he can get into production and the more variety you can create.  With plenty of stretch goals to unlock on the way like free bonus dice and dice trays available, it's a win win situation! 


Pull them out in your group and hear your friends gasp in amazement as they lust after your cool new dice, buy them for your roleplaying partner as a gift, they'll love you all the more for it.   

So if you're interested go to the Dungeonmorphs 2 kickstarter page and become a backer.

Citymorphs #025 to #029

My apologies for the unplanned hiatus in citymorphing, unfortunately my proto career as a blogger does not yet pay the bills.  Here's four more tiles to satisfy.

 #025 - Canal 002

Another canal tile with a bendy bit in it.  Hopefully this will line up properly this time.  I will get round to fixing #006 Very Little Venice at some point in the near future.

 #026 - Slum 001

Not everyone in Morphia lives above the poverty line as demonstrated by this slum district.

#027 - Arena 001

Since the Colliseum was built this smaller arena has had to suffice with smaller scale entertainments such as public executions and beast fighting.

#028 - Arena 002

The owners of the Arena found that there are a few notable advantages to a smaller venue... It can be flooded and mock naval battles can be staged!!

Citymorphs #021 to #024

Another 4 Citymorphs this week, and the secret theme is revealed...

#021 - Hospital District

A tightly packed complex of hospitals clinics and spa nestled in some parkland make Morphia the envy of most of her neighbours.  Morphians benefit from the wide variety of treatments for most common ailments and not just battlefield injuries. 

#022 - Beverley's Hills

Some of the richest Morphian residents have chosen to set up their homes in this lush but stepped landscape which overlooks the town.  Thought to have been created by an enraged mage many hundreds of years ago is the real secret that it keeps the residents looking young beyond their years... 

#023 - Citywall Breach

Many years ago in the last great siege this section of wall was breached in a powerful explosion, fusing the remaining stones together.  Over the years the residents using this new shortcut have worn a path over the earthmound and through the breach establishing a thoroughfare. 

#024 - Market

I thought it was about time that I provided a marketplace for the inhabitants to buy and sell all of life's little essentials.  A wide variety of stalls occupy the dirt square with a fountain at it's centre.  Animal pens are to be found in the southeast corner of this tile and the borders are filled with an assortment of cannopied shops and restaurants.









And the secret theme?

If you arrange tiles #013 to #022 in order they spell out CITYMORPHS, see:

which I've also added to my T-Shirt Store.

Enjoy

I've been Dave'd...

For all of you out there following the Citymorph articles I've been posting, Dave Millar has kindly included my morphs in his Dave's Mapper Tool.  Admittedly citymorph's need a bit more fineagling than most but the results are very rewarding.  5 minutes spent rotating and swapping the odd tile here and there and hey presto!

A medieval urban sprawl is born...

Citymorphs #017 to #020

4 more Citymorphs for you this week, have you spotted the secret theme yet...

#017 - The Docks

The Bigger vessels need somewhere sheltered to do their running repairs out of mainstream river traffic.
A recent addition to the docks are the three large cranes which are singularly responsible for halving the stevedore labour force which would have been loading and loading the ships that berth here.  Needless to say the Stevedores Guild is mobilizing as we speak and there is likely to be an all out strike. 

#018 - The Keep

If the city walls should be breached the Morphian Lord has somewhere heavily fortified to retreat to.  However, in times of peace it has become little more than a museum in which to house many of the cities archives and is popular among the scholars of the university district.  Several enterprising market traders have therefore set up their stalls within its shadow to catch the passing students who are alway in need of parchment, writing instruments and ink. 

#019 - The Bath House District

Morphians like to keep clean so the municipal council invested heabily in it's public waterworks schemes.  The Great Bath House in the centre is fed continually with clean water and it disgorges it's waste into the river.  Only the richest can afford the luxuries of private bathing in these sumptuous surroundings.  Downstream are the ever popular public bathing steps where even the common man can bathe in full view of his peers.    

#020 - The Bastille

Morphians who fall foul of the law are incarcerated in this prison which rests on a pillar of bassalt giving its inmates commanding views over the city.  The Barracks block at the foot of the hill ensures that there is a ready supply of soldiers to keep any unrest among the prison population to an absolute minimum.

Citymorphs #013 to #016

Four more citymorphs to keep your appetite's whetted...

#013 - Parkland - 002

A small urban park surrounded by small buildings and some sort of barrack type building possibly a stables.  I leave the rest up to you. 

#014 - A River Runs Through It

More open spaces to keep the population healthy and happy.  A river runs through this one with a sort of tunnel affair.  On Sundays you just can't move for Anglers trying to land the big black pike that is rumoured to live in the river... 

#015 - Crematorium

Despite all the green spaces when you shuffle of the mortal coil your relatives won't wont you cluttering up the house so they bring your corpse here.  If you're rich enough they might bury you in one of the few grave plots that they've still got free, otherwise it's up the chimney like the rest of us. 

#016 - Temple District

The Gods like their worshippers to build big ostentatious Temples in their honour and big wide avenues along which to process.

Citymorphs #009 to #012

A big thanks to Risus for the plugging Citymorphs in the Geomorph Roundup.  Here's four more:

#009 - Parkland

Too many orderly streets makes the morphians walk in straight lines, they need to feel the wind in their hair and wet grass under their toes.

#010 - Citywall Bastion

Every old city will have seen it's fair share of war and it's ruler may have built some sort of defensive wall for the people to hide behind.  Notice the groundworks to elevate this section and the set of stairs to get those archers up high.

#011 - Citywall Straight

A straight section of citywall this time.  When laying this tile make sure you've built the stairs and earthworks on the same side otherwise the siege will be over in minutes.

#012 - Citywall Gatehouse

The wall needed some way of keeping the riffraff out but allowing the townsfolk in, so here's a useful gatehouse.

Citymorphs #005 to #008

The first batch of Citymorphs taught me a few lessons (like making the jpgs 300 pixels square) and that if they are going to be used by a randomizer engine I'll have to incorporate some features like edge tunnels if I want another point of tesselation.  So here are four more...

#005 - Harbour and Canal

Another harbour tile, this time with a river or canal, adding a new middle edge feature, I'm still learning here... 

#006 - Very Little Venice

All towns and cities are going to have a river running throught them in some way, so here's a tile with a river bending through it's middle.  Of course to keep it tesselating I had to add in some bridges and edge tunnels which needed a bit of thought.

#007 - Harbour and factory

Enthused with the transparency experiments on the bridges of #006 Very Little Venice I decided to give the factory in this tile a bit of smoke for it's furnaces and of course some coal barges to keep those fires burning.  I have no idea what the factory makes but its location close to the harbour is ideal for exporting its products and importing its raw materials..

#008 - The Chasm

A few years ago a great chasm opened up in the ground and swallowed some buildings.  The river has greated a lake at the chasm's bottom but it must have found a tunnel to flow out of as it always seems to stay at a constant level.  The locals have recently built a bridge to keep some traffic moving through this area but some of the ruined buildings still rest precariously over the chasm edge.

Citymorphs #001 to #004

Inspired by Risus and Dyson, I've started geomorphing, but as I mostly enjoy DMing urban environments I thought I'd try something a bit different.  So here are the first in a series of Citymorphs:

#001 Palace District

Every city has to have a big cheese and they need a nice place to crash, of course the hangers on and other courtly types need somewhere to live close which makes for a similar architecture and style.

#002 Colliseum

The people have bread, so give them a circus.  Print off 2 of this tile and you have a whole colliseum for them to while away the hours watching chariot races.

#003 Harbour

Maybe your city is also a port, if so it'll need somewhere to land those ships and some warehouses to store goods and cargo.  It'll also need some sort of harbour master's buildings to control what comes in and what goes out.

#004 Municipal Buildings

With all this commerce going on there's got to be some sort of tax collection and administration going on.  Civil servants like nice buildings to make them feel important so grand architecture and domes are the order of the day.