Day 30 - Wrapping Up

And that’s 30 days down. Time flew by. The project didn’t exactly happen the way I had envisioned it, but I made some serious progress. Also learned a lot of new Blender stuff as I went along. I’m still pretty new to this, so I’m mostly just messing around until I find a good way to do something, and then keep doing that until I inevitably find a better way. A few more years of this and I should be pretty good at it :P

I finished up the loose ends these last few days (well, most of them anyway). Made a first version of the clouds, but they don’t look that good yet. It’s almost as if they’re just flattened white spheres that I sprinkled around the map edges… :P These will definitely get another pass whenever I think of a way to do it better. Right now I’m out of time, and they’re still better than an empty void.

Full map:

And for those who didn’t see it earlier, here’s Link’s house more close up:

The next thing I’m going to do is get every area to the same level of detail as in the “Link’s house” picture, so that should keep me busy for a while. Still need to make the slopes and water better, but I haven’t found a good way yet, so I’m leaving those for now.

It’s been a fun 30 days again. I’m already looking forward to future DK30s. I’ll probably post any major updates to this in Discord, but I’m marking this project as completed now, since the goal was to get a good start in, and that I certainly did :)

And a final bit of self-discovery: Starting new things is scary to me. I always think of all the millions of ways it probably won’t work out, and then I almost never start to begin with. But whenever I do start something, it usually turns out to be very fun. Sometimes I should just use my brain less (or in more productive ways at least :P) and just get out of my comfort zone and do more things. Even if this would’ve been a complete failure, I at least would’ve known and could move on (or try again another time, with more experience). Anyway, enough rambling. Time to browse everyone’s projects to see how they panned out. I’m a bit behind on that :)

Day 28

Going to wrap up this DK30 by adding some clouds on all sides of the map, just like when you view the map in the actual game (see image below). That will look better than an empty void, and it’s a nice way to end this DK30.

I tried just adding clouds but they’re too close to the map. So, I stretched everything further out, and I’m going to spend the last 2 days plugging up the gaps in the back, fixing some height differences, adding some more filler trees and stuff, and adding the clouds back in again.

Current progress:

In-game map with clouds:

Day 27

I was listening to my country’s politicians debating the corona crisis, so I needed to do something that didn’t require a lot of attention. Ended up fixing the walls around Eastern Palace. And by “fixing” I mean I deleted half of them, but that still counts!

The left and back walls didn’t fit well. Not even if I mangled them a bit more. The back wall was also blocking the Witch’s hut, which I didn’t like from the start. I ended up deleting those walls. You probably still can’t see the Witch’s cauldron (I didn’t build it yet, so you definitely can’t see it right now), but at least the hut is visible.

Eastern still looks very messy. I’m hoping the eventual details will clean it up a lot, and I think they will.

Day 26

Almost done with this area. Might do another pass when the whole map is at this level of detail. I noticed I gave the slopes a completely arbitrary color. I was probably lazy when I first started out and just eyeballed it, and only noticed it now. Will have to get used to this new color.

Day 24

I’m slowly but surely making progress. Getting a bit more used to the fact that making all these little things takes a lot more time.

Here’s my progress on Link’s House (and surrounding area) so far.

I lowered the path a tiny bit to give it more depth. I should probably make an actual transition between the path and the grass, or at least fill up the gap, but I’ll leave that until I’ve given the transition some more thought. The path, and also the slopes, are still very flat. Maybe I’ll do those next.

Day 23

Made some blades of grass and a tree trunk today. Also improved the flowers, wooden poles and power glove rocks.

Day 22 - Start of Week 4

I did not have a very productive week, but I did learn some important things. For instance, I kept trying to make a tree that looked like the in-game tree, and there just wasn’t enough space for the roots. I kept making a very mediocre tree and starting over, it was very discouraging. Then I finally realized I shouldn’t try to copy the exact shape, because it likely just wouldn’t work in 3D, and you wouldn’t even be able to make out the detail from afar. I have a fairly decent looking tree now. I will fiddle with it some more later, but it’s looking way better than before at least.

I’ve decided I’m going to spend week 4 on getting Link’s house and the surrounding area looking better. I’ll make higher quality versions of everything there. Probably not the final versions, but at least a lot better than it is now.

I’ve also decided it’s probably best to do one whole area, then move on to the next. So far I’ve just done some random stuff, but now that I’ve got a little cluster of upgraded things together it’s much more noticeable.

I was actually going through a bit of despair when I started doing details and there was no more major noticeable progress. Doing details turned out to be pretty hard after going on half-autopilot for the later parts of the map. Now that I’ve made a few detailed parts I’m starting to get more confident again.

Going to be a fun last week!

Day 18 - Change of Plans (Again)

Tried out vertical slopes. Everything looked square and boring, not like it should. I realise now the angles are a way bigger part of the look and feel of the game than I thought. Also tried something in between, but it still changed the geometry too much and threw everything off. So, keeping the original look then, much less work, and now that I’ve seen the alternatives it actually looks pretty good after all.

This means there’s nothing left to do but add details (if you don’t count the fact that the sides and back of the map are giant holes, and there’s still some faulty walls, and parts that need touching up…)

Actually started with details a couple of days ago, since my vertical slope revelation came pretty quickly after my last post, and I discovered I’m terrible at doing small details (due to lack of experience). Watched a couple more tutorials to see how others go about doing certain things, and that helped a lot.

Here’s a small update. I’m working on Link’s house, the bridge, and the wooden poles. The old house and bridge are floating next to them as comparison. Everything is a work in progress, but it’s looking a bit better already.

Day 16

I made the majority of the small items scattered around the world. Made another high res render, and it really bothers me how slanted all the slopes of the raised areas are. I thought it looked kind of reasonable in the small pictures, but up close it’s just too much.

High resolution image. 12000 x 8000, open at your own risk: https://i.imgur.com/OnrKeqU.jpg

There’s some render noise. Will have to up the sample count for the final image, but not important right now.

So, going to tackle the slopes then, see you next week :P

Day 14 - End of Week 2

Well, not really much news. Made some bushes, statues, rocks and more. It really does add to the atmosphere.

Made a high resolution render today, in what I estimate will be close to the final size (12000 x 8000 px). Then I zoomed in until it would be equal to 1 meter width on my monitor. Could totally make out the Master Sword, so that’s awesome. I’ll post a high res image here once I’m done filling in all the little bushes and stuff.

I’m going to use the remaining 2 weeks to add more placeholdery low detail stuff, and to fix more problems I still didn’t get to.

I’m also pretty sure I’m going to make all the slopes vertical instead of angled like they are in the game (not the ones you walk on, but the edges of mountains, and parts that are elevated). They’re only angled because it gives the 2D game more of a 3D look, but I didn’t want to deal with differently sized areas, so I went angled as well. In certain areas I’m forced to make angled to vertical transitions, and it doesn’t look great. Also, some areas don’t fit and will have to be vertical anyway. Might as well change everything, so that’s going to be fun.

At least I won’t get bored anytime soon. On to week 3! I probably won’t update as frequently anymore since the changes are now way smaller than before, but don’t worry, I’m still building :)

Day 13 - Master Sword

Started by making the Master Sword area today. That thing is so tiny from far away, a bit of a shame, but can’t really help it. Eventually I’d like to add some fog and some god rays to at least make it stand out a bit more, but that’s way down the line.

I Also fixed some issues with Death Mountain and Zora’s Lake. And I removed that stupid-looking slope directly west of Hyrule Castle, and added one north of Kakariko. This also lowered the lumberjacks, Sanctuary and the graveyard by one level. Now the different areas actually connect together everywhere. Well… almost everywhere… Need to add another slope to the lumberjacks or Lost Woods, but that’s for another day.

When I was done with these things it was about time to quit, so I took one final look at the map and actually thought: “Now, tomorrow I’ll build…wait a minute! All the areas are there, just need to add in some more decorations!”

So, from now on the progress will be a lot less noticeable. I’ll be adding things like ladders, caves, bushes, random statues and things like that. All still low detail of course, just some blocks that represent what’s supposed to be there.

Day 12 - Zora’s Lake & Witch’s Hut

Today is a national holiday in the Netherlands, so off from work and loads of time to build.

I started building the Witch’s hut area. It’s done, but I can’t prove it because it’s mostly blocked by Eastern Palace. Oh well, on to Zora’s Lake. Ended up making 2 extra slopes so the area would actually work in 3D. Then found out my slopes were being blocked by Death Mountain anyway. Also, the whole entrance to Zora’s lake is blocked by Death Mountain, so I ended up moving the whole lake back and to the right. You go through a loading screen to get there anyway, so who knows what Link is up to during that time…

Also built the area between Eastern Palace and Lake Hylia. And Hera’s Tower on top of Death Mountain.

I decided I’ll add one more downward slope to the back of Kakariko, so that I can lower Sanctuary and the Lumberjacks by 1 level, to get all the areas to match up in height a bit better.

Day 11 - Desert

Today I built the desert and the area south of Kakariko. Had to change the terrain a little bit in both areas, but it was less disastrous than I expected it to be. Will need to do some upgrades later, but that pretty much goes for everything I’ve built so far :P

Day 10 - Lake Hylia

Created a big part of Lake Hylia today. The south cliff face is blocking the view of the path. I don’t like this, but not sure how to fix right now. Some parts don’t connect to each other properly but I got tired of fiddling with it and stopped for today. Luckily it’s a part that’s not visible from this angle anyway, so it’ll go on the ever growing todo list.

Day 9 - Death Mountain

Built a big part of Death Mountain today. It started out really easy, and I thought I wouldn’t have much trouble today. I was wrong. I just started at an easy area. Got most of it done though. Will have to tweak some parts later, but this will do for now.

Also built the Lumberjacks area, and Sanctuary. Lost Woods doesn’t properly connect to the Lumberjacks area yet, I’ll get back to this eventually.

Day 8 - I Changed My Mind

I thought some more about the remaining 3 weeks, and I came to the conclusion I want the rough version of the map done before I’m going to add details. I think it would be cool to have a low detail map first, so I can compare it to the finished one when it’s done. I had the detailing as a week 2 goal because I assumed I’d have the rough map done before that, and I’m going to stick to that plan, just on a different schedule.

Doing it this way also allows me to see major progress every day, which should convince me to keep going even more, though I don’t think I’ll need the extra push. Finally, if I fix all the problems the map has before I start doing the details, I won’t have to keep worrying about that part, which might make detailing more relaxing.

Anyway, I made the Lost Woods today and reached the north side of the map. Well, if you don’t count the Master Sword area and Zora’s Lake… Those are on a different map picture, so they don’t count today. I’m starting to run into height differences now, and it’s slowing me down a bit, but so far it’s manageable with only a few creative edits.

Oh, and I improved the trees a bit. Couldn’t stand those giant columns anymore, haha.

End of Week 1

I started the day by making screenshots of Zora’s Lake and stitching them together for about 15 minutes. Then I used my brain and just downloaded a complete picture of the area instead.

I spent the rest of my time creating Eastern Palace. Some walls turned out a bit thin (because this part doesn’t actually fit in 3D), or a bit blocky, but this should all be fixable. I’ve reached the west, south, and east borders of the map now. The north is next. And then I need to fill in the gaping holes I left along the way.

So, it’s the end of week 1. I didn’t complete all my goals, but I’m really happy with my progress. I think I’m about one third of the way there with this simplified version of the map. So far I’ve skipped most of the hard parts, so there’s still lots of work to be done.

I’m going to be making Link’s house more detailed next week. Should be fun. I’m looking forward to seeing parts more polished, and I’m really wondering how much of a difference it’ll make from far away as well.

Day 6 - Kakariko Village

I’ve reached the west side of the map today by adding Kakariko Village. I’m starting to run into height differences that are proving quite a challenge, mostly because thinking in 3D while mostly viewing top-down is too hard for my brain. But also because there’s not that many great places to add extra slopes.

I Only have 1 more day of map building to go so tomorrow I’ll probably just build the desert or something, avoiding the problem until there’s nothing left to build. Future me isn’t going to be happy when he finds out…

Also, I noticed the Master Sword pedestal and Zora’s waterfall aren’t included in my map. Good thing I played the game on an emulator so I can make screenshots without UI, and kept savestates everywhere for easy access. Past me is pretty smart sometimes.

Here’s the current map. It’s starting to look more like an actual world:

Day 5 - I’m Getting the Hang of This

I’ve reached the southern edge of the map. I’ve built the desert entrance and flute boy area today.

Day 4 - Oh God, This Is Going To Take Forever

Yeah, about those week 1 goals… It turns out I have severely underestimated how long it takes to make a rough outline of this map. I’ve never made anything like this before, so I’m just winging it. This map does not make sense in an actual 3D environment, and I discovered I prefer fixing problems on the fly, so that my rough outline is actually more usable later on.

Here are some examples of things that don’t really work in 3D:

Here you move up 3 levels when you go from south to north. Or do you? Because when you walk around, you don’t move down at all, but you’re magically back on the bottom floor.

The backside of Hyrule Castle is apparently built over the moat. You don’t see this in-game because the screen doesn’t scroll that far.

Death Mountain. Yeah, not sure how this works… Again hidden by screen scroll.

These are just a few of the problems I’m trying to solve. It’s doable so far, but it does require some creative edits.

I now see that is taking way longer than I expected, but it’s a lot of fun seeing the world come together bit by bit. I’m also learning a lot of new stuff again, which is great. It took me a while to find a good way to go about things, so my first few hours were pretty much “wasted” if you look at it from a progess standpoint. Had to arrive here some way though, so I don’t mind.

This is what I’ve got so far:

So, not that much yet, but it’s a start :)

The resolution can go infinitely high BTW. It’s just low now because it makes previewing easier for me.

So, I’ll probably start doing the areas that I want to do the details for first, since I’m not going to finish this whole rough outline in just a few more days. That way I can still do my goals for the following weeks, and I’ll get a sense of what a detailed version looks like too.

Day 3 - It Has Begun!

I’ve spent most of day 1 and 2 playing Super Mario Maker 2, which just had a new major update (Nice timing, Nintendo… Awesome update though). Also watched a lot of YouTube; accidentally got sucked in and all of a sudden it was time to go to bed. I did manage to set up the blog on my personal website, so I can keep tracking my progress after this DK30 ends. I might link it later, after I finalize the layout, and un-uglify it.

Started actually doing Blender today. Loaded the map I found on the internet (thanks, Ian Albert, for saving me hours of making and stitching screenshots together). Here’s what the map looks like:

I decided it would probably be a good idea to make every square of the map 1 Blender unit, for easy measuring. I was real proud of myself for thinking ahead this far.

However, this also means that the total size of the map is about 5 kilometers long and wide, while everything I previously made was a couple of meters at most. I then spent about an hour figuring out why my cubes wouldn’t show up in my camera view, or showed up with messed up lighting, and started doubting my earlier decision to make the scene this huge. I eventually found out there’s different settings for viewport clipping and camera clipping, and that you can’t have minimum and maximum clipping distances that are too far apart. Also, setting the minimum clipping distance on the camera too low magically makes you unable to move objects, including the camera. Took a while to figure out what the problem was there.

Eventually got everything to work. Grabbed a coffee and a snack to celebrate my victory. On to actually building stuff now!