If you are a Serious Fan of Baldur's Gate.. [Mind Blowing Maps!]

WithinAmnesia

I have found something amazing over at Baldur's Gate: The Sword Coast Chronicles.

There are new settlements in once thought explored and empty areas..

There are new interesting dungeons, crypts and ruins off the beaten path that we missed!

I show you a link here for an amazing map of the Sword Coast and supporting concept page.. I advise you though to please create an account with the website to view their content. I did, and I was Very much pleased with my decision!


http://www.bgtscc1.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=34364&start=60 (Xzar takes credit)
(Open in a new tab for full image zoom)

Oh yes Another Mind Blowing Map! Please look at this.. (It is not perfect but it gives you a general idea *cough* bandit camp *cough* Area Codes Misaligned *cough, cough*)

http://www.shsforums.net/topic/52371-master-area-map-files-for-baldurs-gate-i/

It is a small, small, small world after all!
[So about the the Frozen Fortress?]

OurQuestIsVain

All those maps put together makes me wonder what kind of game BG would have been if they didn't separate the areas. It would be a nightmare for those of us with OCD that have to clear out every last spec of fog. It would be interesting to explore the Sword Coast as if you were playing an MMO though. Seeing the Friendly Arm Inn standing tall in the distance...

WithinAmnesia

OurQuestIsVain said:

All those maps put together makes me wonder what kind of game BG would have been if they didn't separate the areas. It would be a nightmare for those of us with OCD that have to clear out every last spec of fog. It would be interesting to explore the Sword Coast as if you were playing an MMO though. Seeing the Friendly Arm Inn standing tall in the distance...

It would feel less epic I think.. I played some Everquest and well.. It just is not the same style and area progression as Baldur's Gate Diablo and even Runescape. The amount of work would increase to insill that sense of distance and epicness.. Just imagine if you could see Beregost from Candlekeep.. It would feel more like a big city map than a sprawling open-world wilderness adventure. Although I plan on making such a 3D game with non isometric maps but it would require LOTS of work to create the same feeling of epic distance that Baldur's Gate did with simple top down map grid type game play.. It many ways the Original Baldur's Gate has a similar mapping technical style as the Original Legend of Zelda..

WithinAmnesia

Also there are more Areas, Towns, Dungeons and Ruins that we missed on our Original Baldur's Gate Maps..

[Update II (1.2)]

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Who Also fought the Drow within the Underdark of the Unofficial Baldur's Gate Expansion: Dark Side of the Sword Coast and found these [Excellent Magical] Treasures? (Like if you did?)

OurQuestIsVain

WithinAmnesia said:

OurQuestIsVain said:

All those maps put together makes me wonder what kind of game BG would have been if they didn't separate the areas. It would be a nightmare for those of us with OCD that have to clear out every last spec of fog. It would be interesting to explore the Sword Coast as if you were playing an MMO though. Seeing the Friendly Arm Inn standing tall in the distance...

It would feel less epic I think.. I played some Everquest and well.. It just is not the same style and area progression as Baldur's Gate Diablo and even Runescape. The amount of work would increase to insill that sense of distance and epicness.. Just imagine if you could see Beregost from Candlekeep.. It would feel more like a big city map than a sprawling open-world wilderness adventure. Although I plan on making such a 3D game with non isometric maps but it would require LOTS of work to create the same feeling of epic distance that Baldur's Gate did with simple top down map grid type game play.. It many ways the Original Baldur's Gate has a similar mapping technical style as the Original Legend of Zelda..

I had the same thought. It wouldn't be the same. What is it about simple area transitions that makes the game seem more epic?

Although, you wouldn't really be able to see Beregost from Candlekeep. There would be hills and trees and such. If the maps were all combined in a 3d game there would probably have to be some extra area added to make it seem more realistic.

BelgarathMTH

Remember the area transition times? The smallest time it takes to walk from the edge of one map to another map is 4 hours, and more often it's 8 or even 16 hours.

The splices don't really work, because there is a large amount of empty wilderness terrain not shown.

scriver

Except the travel times were clearly tacked on after the map had been cut without much afterthought of how well they would combine. Hence why you still have the southernmost streets of Beregost in the map directly below it despite having travelled for hours, or the westernmost of Beregost poking into the High Hedge map despite there supposedly being 8 hours between them.

CField17

Very cool! I love checking out maps of faerun. Very interesting!

lastknightleft

some maps have no travel time whatsoever, bergerost, the temple, and the road south of bergerost all have no time passage to move between them.

Jarrakul

Yeah, it's odd to see how some maps clearly flow into one another, and yet have substantial travel times between them. Beregost does have two adjacent areas with no travel time (to the south and east), but that's really the only case where two areas are mechanically acknowledged as truly adjacent, in spite of what the splice implies.

Grum

Thanks for sharing this. I especially like knowing how much there is north of Baldur's gate. Some of this really makes me want to see those flaming fist outposts and the ruins that didn't make it in game.

Calmar

If they had stuck to that concept, the game would have developed in an entirely new direction. Just look at Darkhold and the areas North of Baldur's Gate. If that's genuine concept art, they seem to have planned for the whole Sword Coast except Amn.

elminster

Durlag's Tower is too far north here I think. It supposed to be south of the Wood of Sharp Teeth and somewhere near Gullykin/the Firewine Ruins.

TEMNOZORAN

The official Ad&D 2nd edition addon box : " Campaign guide to the Forgotten Realms" include a complete map of the world, including areas of BG1 and BG2.

It include a squared map with the distances.

"The Forgotten Realms boxed set was upgraded in 1993 to the AD&D 2nd Edition game rules, which was later republished in 1996.
Contents

"A Grand Tour of the Realms" – 128-page perfect-bound book describing the geographical regions of Faerûn
"Shadowdale" – 96-page book on the town of Shadowdale including the adventure "Beneath the Twisted Tower".
"Running the Realms" – 64-page book describing suggested ideas for running a campaign in the Realms
8 Monstrous Compendium pages
6 card-stock accessory sheets
4-fold out maps
2 transparent hex-grid overlays for use with the maps"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Forgotten_Realms_Campaign_Setting_Revised_Cover.jpg

WithinAmnesia

@TEMNOZORAN I will plan on finding those amazing guides and maps when I can must the respectable funds to do so. As of now though, I will have to make-do with internet 'borrowing without permission'. YO HO Pirate's Li[f]e For Me..

Fiendish_Warrior

WithinAmnesia said:

OurQuestIsVain said:

All those maps put together makes me wonder what kind of game BG would have been if they didn't separate the areas. It would be a nightmare for those of us with OCD that have to clear out every last spec of fog. It would be interesting to explore the Sword Coast as if you were playing an MMO though. Seeing the Friendly Arm Inn standing tall in the distance...

It would feel less epic I think.. I played some Everquest and well.. It just is not the same style and area progression as Baldur's Gate Diablo and even Runescape. The amount of work would increase to insill that sense of distance and epicness.. Just imagine if you could see Beregost from Candlekeep.. It would feel more like a big city map than a sprawling open-world wilderness adventure. Although I plan on making such a 3D game with non isometric maps but it would require LOTS of work to create the same feeling of epic distance that Baldur's Gate did with simple top down map grid type game play.. It many ways the Original Baldur's Gate has a similar mapping technical style as the Original Legend of Zelda..

Granted, it's been years since I've played and might be misremembering, but I feel like Morrowind pulled it off. I just remember feeling initially overwhelmed with the size and, as I grew accustomed to it, feeling hugely impressed with the diversity of the geography, the expanse of the realm, and all of the different caverns, crypts, dungeons, and tombs that weren't even essential to the plot. I had a lot of fun dungeon crawling in that world. One of my characters had the intent to kill the "gods" and I did precisely that, but IIRC, it makes the game unable to be finished.

TEMNOZORAN

There is another product for cartographer like you @WithinAmnesia

http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Forgotten_Realms_Interactive_Atlas

with this, you should get all the maps and informations you need.

It is very precise, you can even enter the places wich are on the map !

The best map evere made for a RPG

TEMNOZORAN

I made some pictures of my maps

they are in french, Candlekeep = Château Suif

Beregost is 240km from Durlag Tower

Baldur's Gate > Beregost :280 km
Candle Keep > Friendly arm Inn following the roads :200 Km
Athkatla > Candle Keep : around 340km

You shall notice that the video games maps are not at the good scale, for obvious reasons: they would be too big !

TEMNOZORAN

When I made these pictures I realized how rich is the universe of the Forgotten Realms.

It would be great if some game designers create adventures in all these places.

I have a dream...

WithinAmnesia

I am a bit burnt out from the digital side of my life.

I will be back designing and scheming with more passion after a 'natural interest cycle' happens with myself. I know myself well enough to know how I naturally work and that is that I do this basic natural interest cycle with my passions in my life: Start - Overdrive - Burnout - Start - Overdrive - Burnout - Start - Overdrive - Burnout - Start - Overdrive - Burnout - Start. I usually bounce around in a big circle from subject to subject. For example before I was in 'Baldur's Gate Overdrive' I had burned out developing my 'Internet Tanks Project' and before that I had burnt out from my 'Passion Driven M.M.O.R.P.G.'.

I am starting to model in 3D more and more so I think that I will naturally progress more into that skillset as of late and possibly that will lead into some scripting. I am now 'currently' working heavily into trying to help develop a custom private Server for World of Warcraft as a hobby while doing some general life re-moving and 'community Airsoft investments' until that does its natural course. After that, only then I will naturally see where I will lead myself within my next ongoing cycles of 'development interest empires'.

DJKajuru

Once I tried putting together pictures to make a map of the whole saga :

WithinAmnesia

@DJKajuru That is too cool that the 'Semi-Original Baldur's Gate Map' connects with the Baldur's Gate II Map. Also what is up with the Ocean to the east on the Baldur's Gate II map it is way too out of place to be the inner sea.. Uneducated / Lazy Artist perhaps?

DJKajuru

WithinAmnesia said:

@DJKajuru That is too cool that the 'Semi-Original Baldur's Gate Map' connects with the Baldur's Gate II Map. Also what is up with the Ocean to the east on the Baldur's Gate II map it is way too out of place to be the inner sea.. Uneducated / Lazy Artist perhaps?

Yes! It's right below the Cloudpeaks!

The east water , According to @WithinAmnesia 's map, is the Chiontar River.

WithinAmnesia

DJKajuru said:

Yes! It's right below the Cloudpeaks!

The east water , According to @WithinAmnesia 's map, is the Chiontar River.

With all respects kindly sir.. The Chionthar river my elven arse! Look at this map of Faerun:

Notice that lack of a huge body of water until 'Maybe' The Dragonmere and or that 'small' lake "Lake of the Long Arm" but that is a HUGE stretch. Also I realized that the areas of the first and second game's maps were so close but I did not notice that the semi-original map was created as a piece to fit onto the second game's map.:S

@DJKajuru Peace Friend.

DJKajuru

@WithinAmnesia , what if the Faerun map was drawn incorrectly? I don't know how canon a game can be, but I can assure you that my characters have seen a river with their own eyes!

Fiendish_Warrior

I thought I had figured out the traveling discrepancies in BG the other day. It never occurred to me before, but when you get waylaid, it gives you a look at the route our adventurers take to go from A to B. To put it politely, my party seems to take the most indirect, least obvious, most circuitous route possible to get to their destination. The other night, for example, I tried to travel from Gibberling Mountains to FAI (a fairly straightforward path) and was somehow waylaid not too far from east of the Lighthouse. We clearly have no sense of direction. No wonder it takes 8 hours to get from Beregost to High Hedge! We probably just zigzag our way over there and detour to the local watering hole.

DJKajuru

Fiendish_Warrior said:

I thought I had figured out the traveling discrepancies in BG the other day. It never occurred to me before, but when you get waylaid, it gives you a look at the route our adventurers take to go from A to B. To put it politely, my party seems to take the most indirect, least obvious, most circuitous route possible to get to their destination. The other night, for example, I tried to travel from Gibberling Mountains to FAI (a fairly straightforward path) and was somehow waylaid not too far from east of the Lighthouse. We clearly have no sense of direction. No wonder it takes 8 hours to get from Beregost to High Hedge! We probably just zigzag our way over there and detour to the local watering hole.

For a long time I had been skeptical about the traveling time that characters take from a place to another. Until I started reading LoTR . Tolkien describes so well the enviroments where the characters walk , that it makes me feel the same when my own BG characters travel.

WithinAmnesia

Free Likes and Stuff for everyone after this post because yolo - have fun *so sick of house work*.