Review my FE:11 GBA Maps

[Turducken_Laguz]

Hello all! I am proud to present, what I personally consider, the Map Making equivalent to submitting a finger painting as a resume! Found below are (most) of the chapters in Shadow Dragon. The kicker, however, is they are a Frankenstein, amalgamation monstrosity! Tiles are flipped, multiple tilesets are used, you name it! And no, it isn’t done in the artsy Picasso way.

This is done by one who is self-taught in Tiled (I know less than the basics) but has grand ambitions!! Mostly I just wanted to get my ideas out there, so I wasn’t going for pretty. What I lack in talent, I make up for in…personality? Maybe?

Anyways, I just keep jotting down these ideas without anyone to bounce em back with, so critique is appreciated. And if seeing my attempts at “ART” stirs something within you, then please, undertake this. Because I am too lazy to want to actually learn and get better. Bottom line, just look at em and tell me what you think.

Also this is my first time posting here. Am I supposed to hide all the images? Who knows?
Edit: God this whole thing is a process. Dumping images w/out descriptions in the replies. Also the rest of the Ch descriptions. I’m not made for this much work.

Notes

• I meant to state, I’ve taken liberties in trimming map’ empty space to address GBA’s lower Unit/Class movement.
• Units: Placed to convey my general concepts. Purple Units are (ENMY) reinforcements. If an (OTHR) Unit is on an entrance, probably a VISIT recruit.
• Tile placements are mostly 1-for-1, but I am not sure of what each tile’s collisions are. Well, before shuffling the whole thing…
• Literally everything here is up for revision. Just getting my ideas out.
• Credit to WAve for those big bridge tilesets. Love using those suckers.

Ch.4: Battle in the Lea

• Made Matthis a Soldier (too many cavaliers imo)
• [NE] area I cut for the most part. Now an optional area which gives items, EXP, etc. Ignoring it though causes rear pressure.
• Breakable tree added so the extra path doesn’t punish you by taking more turns.

Ch.5: Champions of Aurelis

• Made the Wolfguard (OTHR) to diversify the map objective aside from just “reconvene w/ (PLYR) Units”.
• Made Vyland a Heavy Cavalier for diversity.

Ch.6: Fire Emblem

• Hardin auto-joins from the start. He served as Nyna’s retainer in the CH prior while the Wolfguard sought Marth’s aid. Hardin and Nyna regroup with them at Aurelis Castle.
• Rickard is (OTHR) because it just made more sense to me. Guessing they just didn’t have (OTHR) Units in the original.

Ch.6x: In War's Grip

• Athena (OTHR) defends Village, put pep in your step to recruit her and defend the village.
• Breakable trees to make pirate area seem more disjointed from the mainland.

Ch.7: Lefcandith Gauntlet

Ch.8: Port Warren

• Frustrated by empty space and shrank likely more than necessary.
• Made Roger a Soldier (too many armor, too)
• Recruit Radd in Base Convo, then Caesar from Arena (defeat, then pay him (free if w/ Radd))

Ch.9: The Pyrathi Dragon

• Wanted to make a “Fog of War”
• Added flier reinforcements, meant to showcase Jeorge.

Ch.10: Princess Minerva

• Made Maria (OTHR) because I can.
• +2 (ENMY) from [NE] for immediate pressure, 2 from [W] to feel less barren, 2 reinf. [SW] for westside pressure.

Ch.11.1: Knorda Market (New)

• Original map, mandatory Linde recruit. Defend her and the slave children (OTHR).
• Boss is a slaver. Kill slavers, no exceptions.
• Potentially Anna VISIT for Jake next Ch?

Ch.11.2: Archanean Pass

• This one was a crapshoot tbh.
• Get outta [SE] area and gun for the palace. Defeat Hero at the fort to open the gates. Use fliers (caution bows) or go narrow path.
• [SW] is direct tie-in to FE12 Ch prior to this map’s parallel. A place to request reinforcements? Idk I need some incentive down there.

Ch.12: The Ageless Palace

• Expanded [NW] for prisonbreak optional event for Midia’s group (pay Rickard in base convo, he frees em Turn##, gives basic weps, and has better EXP/Items/Drops. Also brief dialogue).
• [N] reinf. pressures rear (previously empty space).

Ch.12x: A Traitor's Worth

• Wanted to be “Fog of War”
• Horace recruit change: VISIT both villages, then TALK to Horace (Marth/Midia/Boah).

Ch.13: The Wooden Cavalry

• Filling empty space w/(ENMY). Spread out better and less ballistae.
• Small access paths for both suggestive-looking land elevations. Makes it look less angular and more natural land formations.
• Beck is a Bow Trooper like in FE12
• Grigas is a Bow Trooper because no one wants a ballistician on a throne tile.

Ch.14: Land of Sorrow

• Another crapshoot. Not much changed but trimming down on empty areas.
• Hoped to implement a Secondary Boss, maybe near the Vendor/Armory.

Ch.15: An Oasis of Magic

• Admittedly more fun to work on. Trimmed extra space, add a couple walkable sandstone in the center, and reinf. [SW] to feel less empty.

"Ch.16: The Battle for Altea, Pt.1&2

Ch.16: The Battle for Altea, Pt.1

• Made Two-Parter because I thought it’d be an epic conclusion to Marth’s personal subplot. But expansion created lots of water.
• Cross the first bridges and destroy them in an event, showing (ENMY) reinf. from [E] prison won’t reach.
• Escape [SW] to go directly to Ch.16-2. This is low risk/low reward; blocks Gaiden access.
• Seize [NW] fort to access Ch.16x. Higher risk path for more EXP and paralogue.
• [SE] reinf. meant for rear pressure.

Ch.16: The Battle for Altea, Pt.2

Ch.16x: Helena Castle

Ch.17: Star and Savior

Ch.18: The Sable Order

Ch.19: Manakete Princess

Ch.20.1: Camus the Sable

Ch.20.2: Grust's Last Bastion

Ch.20.3: The Lair of Fire

Ch.21: Clash in Macedon

Ch.22: A Knight-Filled Sky

Ch.22x: Esoteric Darkness

Ch.23: Dark Pontifex

Ch.24: The Dragonkin Realm

Ch.24x: The Alterspire

Ch.25: Chosen by Fate

• Enclosed
  

FE12-Bonus Eps.

[Turducken_Laguz]

I DON’T DO MOUNTAINS!!

[Turducken_Laguz]

Here are all the maps without the descriptions.

Summary

[Turducken_Laguz]

And the descriptions:

Ch.14: Land of Sorrow

-Another crapshoot, sorry. Not much is diff but
trimming down on some empty area.
-Hoped to implement a Secondary Boss at some
point, maybe near Vendor/Armory.

Ch.15: An Oasis of Magic

-Admittedly more fun to work on. Trimmed extra
space, add a couple walkable sandstone center,
and reinf. [SW] to feel less empty.

Ch.16-1: The Battle for Altea

-Made two-parter because I thought it’d be an
epic conclusion to Marth’s personal subplot.
However, expansion created lots of water area.
-Cross the first bridges and destroy them in an
event showing (ENMY) reinf. from [E] prison
won’t reach Marth’s army that direction.
-Escape [SW] to go directly to CH.16-2. This is
low risk/low reward; blocks Gaiden CH. access.
-Seize [NW] fort to access CH.16x. This is a
higher risk path for more EXP and the paralogue.
-[SE] (ENMY) are meant for rear pressure.

Ch.16-2: The Battle for Altea

-Starts from the village-y island. Buildings are
scattered [N] to be less barren. Note this cuts
out the [W] area of the vanilla map.
-Gray Tent is Secret Shop. Placeholder obviosly
-Divied [S] area of the center islands. Done to
be less barren and to segment Marth’s advance.
-Wanted Xane to break out at some point and
escape the map to discourage the player from
chokepoint-ing on the several bridges.

Ch.16x: Castle Helena

-Wanted this to feel more “Castle-turned-Fort”.
Made convoluted lore for this regarding Etzel
and Ursula, but that’s for another day.
-[W] 1-Tile path’s a pain, so decided on Murder-
Holes. Added breakable walls to open up a bit,
but still somewhat cramped, unfortunately.
-Wanted one of Arran/Samson (OTHR) to reinf.
this CH (whichever wasn’t recruited). Probs w/
decreased Base Stats and worse items.
-Possible Turn Limit CH to quell the turmoil in
the fort before reinf. comes from Altea’s [W].

Ch.17: Star and Savior

-Minimal changes. Random [SE] reinf., padding
for the [N]. Also thought Marth could get an
actual Promotion here.

Ch.18: The Sable Order

-SO MUCH EMPTY SPACE!! ;-; Added Village [NW]
to give incentive and reference FE12.
-Wanted the (ENMY) Paladin at the [S] center
fort to be Belf and recruited somehow idk. Neat
tie-in for FE12. Less shoe-horned.

Ch.20.1: Camus the Sable

-Two-Parted this to make Camus’ death forced.
He loses, Marth won’t kill him, and internal
Grust stuff results in the bridge’s destruction.
With an ambigious death like fall-damge, coming
back as Sirius is less retcon-y.
-However, the map does seem kinda small…

Ch.20.2: Grust's Last Bastian

-Lorenz’ time to shine! While a third Grust
general takes his faction and King Ludvik to
find reinf. in Macedon (mostly just saving the
king tbh), Lorenz stalls as a convincing decoy.
-Recruit or kill Lorenz, up to you. Either way,
you’re finding out where that general and Ludvik
went to. Thanks, Lorenz.
-Really trimmed the bottom area.

Ch.20.3: The Lair of Fire

-Made a mainline CH instead of Gaiden, so get
a hold of King Ludvik and his goldenboy general.
Can’t let em convene w/Macedon, ya know?
-Pretend the water is lava. Added more travers-
able area to lessen the map’s emptiness.
-Wanted [SE] and [NW] to be more rural mountain
areas, while the center is volcanic & encircled
by the mountain range.
-Small bridge General is Larissa, and [NW] fort
Great Knight is that scum who killed Camus.
-Recruit Nyna at the start of the CH. Facing
against Camus’ killer, it seems pretty fitting.
-Potentially a Turn Limit CH.

Ch.21: Clash in Macedon

-Really wanted to revamp this empty canvas of
a chapter. Lots of land elevations to detail
the rough terrain, dif. routes for your split
army to take, each w/ dif. obstacles. Sure, up
the middle is fastest, but… lotta baddies.

Ch.22: A Knight-Filled Sky

-Okay, so the [W] of this map exists for like,
no reason. Would rather flesh out the castle
itself and the [E] passage leading up.
-Just one reinf. from [SE] for a lil pressure.
Same reason for [NW] bandit.

Ch.22x: Esoteric Darkness

-Minor alteration of an FE12 Bonus CH. This
needs some explanation. I wanted Linde to be a
more “Secondary Protag”, delving into concepts
like Gotoh’s mentorship, Miloah’s relations to
Linde, and Gharnef’s descent into a jealousy-
fuelled madness. This’d be a penultimate CH for
those newly fleshed out subplots.
-Serves as a minor subplot for Hardin, who I too
want as a 2nd Protag. Like, possible allusion to
who he’ll become. idk I’m brainstorming
-Possible “Fog of War”. Even though a desert CH,
it’s not too bad due to very few sand tiles.

Ch.23: Dark Pontifex

-Initially hoped for the fake Gharnefs to be a
buildup, defeating them before a mandatory win
v. Gharnef. But requiring a Starlight user to
avoid softlock is tricky. Maybe Gotoh is gained
this CH instead of Endgame?
-Minor changes. Cut height lenght, added (ENMY)
to defend chests, and a reinf. Thief.

Ch.24: The Dragonkin Realm

-So…So many trees and mountains, it’s awful.
-Made [S] Shrine enclosed until unlocked, a Hero
and 2 Manaketes guarding. Inside, tho, you gotta
work hard to revive that dead ally. Someone
decided to lock an entire frickin dragon in it.
-Flier reinf. at [SW] and [NE] because those
areas are emptier than my head.
-Maybe should nix Thief so he doesn’t spoil the
feral, dragon-y surprise.

Ch.24x: The Alterspire

-Not too different from vanilla, mostly just
cut down the height of walls.
-Didn’t want Nagi to be recruitable. Rather,
just make her the boss of the damn place. Give
that lil bit of EXP and goodies before truckin
to the finale.

Ch.25: Chosen by Fate

-Guess what? Ya know Medeus’ center area? Where
you can just Warp in and murder the sucker?
NOPE! Covered until unlocked, so play through
the damn chapter, yeah?
-Changed the approach to Medeus’ throne to be
more like in FE3. Idk just felt better.
-I hate the doors, the stupid fluctuating per
Turn doors. Change em or get ride of em, idk
but do something please. It is awful.

[Jotari]

Your land of fire is looking very watery. Why not use the lava tileset?

[Turducken_Laguz]

I didn’t look hard for one at the time. Just worked with what I had
while I was having my hyper-fixation.

Here’s a different version I did more recently after a bit of looking.

[Jotari]

Do you plan on making an actual GBA version of Shadow Dragon with these changes? The potential gameplay alterations interest me more than the map recreations.

[Turducken_Laguz]

I’ve had mechanics and utilizations of these alterations in mind, but a lot the programming and balancing can be frustrating for me. I’m the kind of perfectionist who stares at a tree tile for an hour wondering if I should’ve moved it left one space instead.

I am off-and-on playing with the idea of a short, “Grust-centric” 5-Parter during events of Shadow Dragon. A connection point for a lot of empty concepts, such as involvement of King Ludvik, emphasizing the ambiguity of Camus’ retcon-y fate (quite the trek to the nearest body of water, my guy), the current states of Grust’s heirs and the King and Generals’ relations with them, an Elincia-esque recruitment of Nyna, and Belf’s whereabouts. Etcetera, etcetera.

[Jotari]

Oh that’s very interesting. My next project I’m planning to do is essentially going to be exactly that only with Macedon. A 12ish chapter Campaign dealing with how they came to be allied with Dolhr and how Michalis became king. I was going to market it along with Pyrathi as a selection of games called the Archanea Alliance with a grand ambition of giving every Archanea country its own game. Maybe we could work together on something like that.

[Turducken_Laguz]

That’d actually be really cool, yeah. Don’t hesitate sending a message if you ever want to lend a hand, considering I’m not really getting anywhere on my own lol. Same with your stuff. Not sure how much I can help, but I’ll do what I can.