# Community Participation > Mapping Challenge Archive >  November/December 2015 Challenge : Promising Loot in Musfat Spaceport

## Abu Lafia

Hello everybody,
I'm really excited to post my first wip for a normal challenge here, and even more so, because i was commisioned by Meshon with a great concept for a map. As he wrote already in this month's challenge thread, we were thinking of collaborating a bit more, and working together on a general theme for both commisions.
So, some days ago i got an incoming transmission:

_ Salazar, you old scoundrel! How've you been? I know we didn't part on the best of terms, but I'm willing to forgive and forget. Listen, I'm wondering if you still have that map. Where we saw it. Not that I'm planning to go get the loot for myself or anything, I just wanted to look at the map again.

It was that old space port, what was it called again? Way out in the dunes near that oasis, pretty broken down place, like it was built over top of some ancient alien ruins or something. Almost like a small town, except nobody lived there. Aside from those bandits who set up their camp there. I wonder if they're still around, or if someone else kicked them out. Lots of narrow streets and dead ends, kind of a maze, hard to find your way in without a map, right? I remember there were landing bays, three I think? But I don't remember how to get to the one where the ship was. I know there was a pretty good view from the gunnery tower but that didn't help much on the ground. Automated weapon systems to shoot down anyone who tried to come in by air and lots of strange machines scattered around. Some of those were traps I think. Be sure and mark those down for me. Not that I'd ever dream of going after that cargo myself...

Take care of yourself you old pirate, and don't go chasing after any valuable cargo by yourself, you hear?_

Here we go:
### Latest WIP ###


I started doing a nice Background parchment first. I thought about doing the map on a more modern/sci-fi type of "canvas", but i wanted to have a bit of a "treasure-map flair", so i went with it to start things off. Besides stylistic doubts, the background parchment came in handy, as i used the textures on it as inspiration and rough guidelines for the shape of the terrain. I imagined the spaceport in a desert valley bordered by an oil lake. The oil lake was an idea, that came up while thinking about the reason for building a spaceport in a desert region /on a desert planet in the first place (well, interstellar travel is somewhat "post-oil", but i think it could be of some use in the future nonetheless...  :Wink:  ).
With that at hand (we'll see what Meshon thinks about this idea...), there had to be a refinery complex too. So i blocked in some rough outlines for the major locations. 

*Landing zones:*These are the defining locations of the map. Two of them are built into the cliffs, where the hangars are dug in. These are platforms, constructed above the town's buidings. They where connected by a bridge, to shortcut the way through the maze-like medina below. Nowadays it is mainly destroyed. The third one will be be on the ground in between the houses. This will be the "central" location of the map, as it is connected to the map Meshon is doing. So the location isn't entirely fixed for now. Nearby the landing zones i'll add the mentioned automated anti-aircraft systems. Maybe i'll place some of them on roofs in the neighbouhood of the landing zones, and some on top of the cliffs.
*Gun tower:*The one mentioned, with a good view on the whole area. 
*The old refinery complex:* The area at the lakeside should be covered with silos, pipelines, refinery buildings and other "industrial" stuff  :Wink: .
*Gouvernor's Palace:* I added this building to have another major location and "point of interest". I thought the mentioned group of bandits could have established their camp there. Haven't fully fleshed this building out now, but it'll be sitting on top of a hill and is more of a well defended fortress.

Between these locations, there will be many nested(?)/interlaced(?) buildings (mostly flat-roofed) forming a maze-like system of narrow alleys and streets. I played around a bit with a texture i used for the buildings on my Kharoun map, but i'd like to make the buildings hand-drawn. I also thought about generating a random maze with one of the many free maze generators around, and use it as a base for this. I just started to make some of them, to get an idea of how they could look like.

For the coloring, i just used grey tones with the layer set to overlay/multiply. I liked the result, and will keep it for now.

The font is just a test of one of my freshly downloaded sci-fi fonts. Not really good to read, but i think i'll stick at least with the color.

Well, that's it for a start.  :Smile:  I'll discuss some further aspects, like the old alien ruins, questions regarding the scale, etc. in my next post.
Comments, critique, suggestions (especially from my fellow space pirate...) are, as always, very welcome!

Cheers,
AL

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## snodsy

Looks like your well on your way, nothing really to add, love the parchment for a space map, you worked it in nicely.  Great start, nice story and explanation.

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## Abu Lafia

Thank you snodsy, i'm glad you like it so far. Don't hesitate to point out anything if you can spare the time, since your suggestions and comments are always very helpful to me (even if not directed to my own work) and ofc greatly appreciated!  :Smile: 

I did some linework on the cliffs in the north. I tested different things, but in the end i went with a style i practised a bit the last weeks and which is obviously inspired by J. Edwards fantastic work. I also tried out how light and shading will look like on the background, to get a better feeling for the map.

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## Meshon

Okay, this is already about 100x more epic than I'd imagined. It's looking really good! I really like the elements you've got in play here and it's already developing beyond expectations. Thanks for leading off, and so stylishly too. Looks like a great place to hide a spaceship…

cheers
Meshon

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## ChickPea

This is going to be awesome! That close-up section of the cliffs looks amazing.

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## Warlin

Really nice. Nothing to add, only the pleasure to see it develop.

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## Abu Lafia

Thanks a lot guys, i'm very happy you like it so far! Especially the fact that my fellow old crew member himself seems to be pleased with my own additions to the place...  :Smile: 

So, after some days off, i threw myself again into this map:
### Latest WIP ###


As you can see i made some changes:
- I decided to scale up the refinery complex, as it seemed a bit too small compared to the rest and too cramped where it was.
- While doing the cliffs i changed the direction of the northern ones, to give the refinery a bit more breathing room  :Wink:  . Not sure about the overall composition now, but that's what came out in the process...
-I added some houses built into the cliffs (since doing the cliff-town on my Tarkir map, i fell in love with these kind of buildings  :Smile:  ) They are a bit smaller than the houses i sketched in on my first post, but i think the scale is better now compared to the refinery. It means there are way more houses to draw now ... yay!
- Halfway through the southern cliffs, i added the gun tower (I told myself to try this time a nicely structured workflow, but i can't help it, i'm too erratic doing maps  :Very Happy:  ). I'm actually pretty happy with the result for now. Have to wait and see how it looks with lights ans shades.
- I tried out another "sci-fi" font for this upload

Cheers,
AL

Edit: I have absolutely no idea how this white square smuggled itself into the image...just pretend it isn't there!  :Smile:

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## ChickPea

Looking good, Abu!

Your cliff buildings look great and I love how they're worked into the cliff face. The gun tower is just epic! Also, I like the new font better than the old one. Not quite sure what it was about the original font. Maybe it was just a bit too cliché? The new one works really well.

Great work so far.  :Smile:

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## jshoer

I'll second the comment about the cliffs and cliff-wall buildings! You did a great job blending them together, and using the combination of both to give a sense of height to the map.

I'm wondering if, as you're thinking about the oil lake, you've been keeping Saturn's moon Titan in mind?

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## J.Edward

The cliffs look great Abu.  :Smile:

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## Abu Lafia

> Looking good, Abu!
> Your cliff buildings look great and I love how they're worked into the cliff face. The gun tower is just epic! Also, I like the new font better than the old one. Not quite sure what it was about the original font. Maybe it was just a bit too cliché? The new one works really well.
> Great work so far.


Thanks a lot ChickPea! Drawing theses modern structures is way harder than i thought before (have to second Meshon's words about the long way to go, to actually be able to draw the things i have in mind  :Wink:  ), so i'm really glad you like them so far!




> I'll second the comment about the cliffs and cliff-wall buildings! You did a great job blending them together, and using the combination of both to give a sense of height to the map.
> I'm wondering if, as you're thinking about the oil lake, you've been keeping Saturn's moon Titan in mind?


Thank you Joseph, much appreciated! The shading to come might give more height/depth to the map aswell (i hope so at least  :Smile:  ). 
I haven't heard about the hydrocarbonic seas on Titan before, but it's really fascinating and have to research more on this. 
Originally, i just thought about an interesting (not nessecarily realistic...  :Wink:  ) geographic feature for a desert planet, and as mentioned above, a reason for people to settle there. I somehow liked the idea, that they don't even need to drill for the oil, just pump it directly from the lake  :Smile:  . Absolutely no idea whether something alike is even possible (given it's not on a "slightly" colder planet/moon like titan). 




> The cliffs look great Abu.


Thanks John!  :Smile:  As written before, i always loved the way you do cliffs on your maps, so they are heavily inspired by your work. But man, i really have to practice a LOT more on them (as on many other things)!  :Very Happy:  I think i should name them "Stevenson Heights" or something like this...

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## ChickPea

> "Stevenson Heights"


Haha! Yes! Do it.  :Very Happy:

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## Ilanthar

Nice! It has a star wars or serenity feeling to it, imho. Curious to see what will come next.

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## soggymuse

This is fantastic, Abu.  :Very Happy:  I love the markings on the landing zone. That's the kind of detail I normally forget to add. 

You've unfortunately lost some of the height detailing by moving the cliff, though; in one of the earlier WIPs (this screenshot, I think), the fact that the landing zone was halfway up the cliff was more obvious. Since adding the houses, you've sort of covered that a little bit. I think if you (re)moved the house closest to the northern landing zone, you'd get that detail back.

I'd also be inclined to redraw the section of cliff closest to the refinery again, too. I get why you moved it, but I think it'd look great if part of the refinery itself was also built into/under the cliff. That squarish building at the north-west of the complex, especially, could stand to have a touch of cliff over the top of its northwestern edge, I think.

The gun tower looks great! The piping between the refinery islands does get a bit lost against the oil lake, but maybe you could add some rust or something to all the metal to indicate disuse or lack of maintenance (assuming I've read into the bandit situation correctly). If the bandits are still there, maybe you could add a ship to one of the landing zones, too. You know, just to give yourself more work. >D

For the font... I kind of preferred the original, but it wasn't easily legible. I think the problem was the extra decorative elements. I'd suggest using the new one for labels, and keep the old one for the title just for a bit of extra pizzazz.  :Smile:

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## Abu Lafia

@ Ilanthar: Thank you Ilanthar! Yes, Mos Eisley is the obvious source of inspiration for this spaceport ^^, but i wanted to give it an own , more industrial, flair...

@ soggymuse: Thanks a lot for the feedback! Much appreciated. Yeah, i like the markings too. They were more of a test for now, to see how such things look on the background. I guess i'll add more such details, but priority is on the linework atm. You're right about the heights. In the earlier screenshot i put in a light/shade layer for the half of the northern cliffs as a test, but i took it down for the last update, as i wanted to do the whole shading in one turn. From experience with my other maps i learned, that it's better not to split the shading work up in too many working steps, otherwise it usually doesn't looked very consistent afterwards  :Wink:  . 
Adding some more cliffs nearby the refinery seems to be a good idea, i also felt like the area is lacking something. Thanks for the hint!  :Smile: 
 THe whole refinery complex is only sketched /roughly blocked in atm. (as i mentioned my workflow is a bit confused...again :/ ) There is still the whole linework to be added and as you suggested some rust and broken stuff, etc. to make it look really "kaputt". Then the whole complex will stand out more from the background i guess.
To use the first font as the title is a good idea, although i have still some other "sci-fi" fonts to test  :Wink: 
I hope to get some more things done today after some days off.
Thanks again! 
Cheers,
AL

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## J.Edward

> Thanks John!  As written before, i always loved the way you do cliffs on your maps, so they are heavily inspired by your work. But man, i really have to practice a LOT more on them (as on many other things)!  I think i should name them "Stevenson Heights" or something like this...


Always glad to inspire.  :Very Happy:  So many have and still do inspire me.
I would be honored good sir.  :Smile: 
Looking forward to another update.

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## soggymuse

Sorry about that, Abu. I tend to get ahead of myself on my own maps and skitter about from job to job because I get bored doing the same thing for hours on end. (: I think I'm getting ahead of you here, too. xD I just can't wait to see the finished map.

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## tainotim

Great work so far Abu! 

Cheers,
Tainotim

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## Bogie

I really like how the little buildings work into the different layers of the cliff.

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## arsheesh

Wow, I love the way you two collaborate!  This is looking great so far Abu, nice to see your hand-drawn stuff.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

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## Abu Lafia

Thank you guys. I'm glad you like it so far, very much appreciated!



> Sorry about that, Abu. I tend to get ahead of myself on my own maps and skitter about from job to job because I get bored doing the same thing for hours on end. (: I think I'm getting ahead of you here, too. xD I just can't wait to see the finished map.


No problem soggymuse, good to know, i'm in good company regarding this!  :Smile: 

So, here's another update:
### Latest WIP ###


I continued drawing more houses and tried to arrange them somewhat maze-like. I placed some of them partly under the landing platforms, to make the different levels more clear. I'm still thinking about what to make of the ancient alien ruins, Meshon ("Archie") mentioned in his description. Any suggestions are welcome!    
CHeers,
AL

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## snodsy

This is looking great, love the guns.  The font is perfect!

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## Abu Lafia

Good to hear you like the font snodsy. I absolutely trust your typographic expertise, so i'm glad there is one thing less to worry about on the map  :Smile: 

### Latest WIP ###


I continued on the houses and got a little lost in the details of the destroyed bridge, but i'm happy with the result so far. I hope the amount of rubble and dirt is enough to summon my dear team partner Meshon to this site  :Smile:  . I'm not entirely sure how to proceed with the central landing zone and the commisioned alien ruins, so i could need some guiding thoughts.

Cheers,
AL

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## J.Edward

The destruction looks good.  :Very Happy:

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## Ilanthar

Ooh, someone doesn't know how to use his ship's laser canons  :Very Happy: ? Very nice addings!

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## ChickPea

Looking good, Abu! I'm sure Meshon will approve of the dirt!!  :Very Happy:

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## Abu Lafia

Update:
### Latest WIP ###

Finally added the central landing zone. It is inside an crater-like ancient alien structures (isn't christmas the time for clichès?  :Smile:  ).
Also changed the canvas to a square format, as there was too much space left to be filled and not enough time to accomplish this.... I shaded and highlighted the alien structures to give an idea of the depth. Not sure about the coloring, as i'm working on my old monitor atm.
I hope to get this finished before the end of the year. 
I wish you all nice holidays!

Cheers,
AL

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## ChickPea

I like the cropped version with the tighter focus. It works just as well, and if it gives you a better chance of finishing, then thumbs up!

The only thing that jumps out at me at the moment is the circular crater thingie to the right. Everything on your map is top-down, but because this circle is slightly flattened it gives it a different perspective. Unless I'm misunderstanding your intent?

Hope you manage to work on this over the next few days and best wishes for the festive season to you too!  :Smile:

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## Abu Lafia

Thank you ChickPea. I know what you mean, but i couldn't see it (i guess due to the usual immersion in the work, resulting in a lack of reflexivity  :Wink:  ). Anyway, i moved the oval alien-platform and merged it with the governour's palace... I mean, what is better than building your own representative buildings on ancient ruins!  Not sure if it still gives the impression of a "mis-perspective" though...   

So this might be my last update:
### Latest WIP ###

There is still missing a lot of stuff i couldn't add anymore, even with the smaller canvas  :Very Happy:  (most important all the houses around the central landing area and ofc all those little details, many shadows, etc.). Nonetheless i tried to give you all an idea of what i had in mind and started today adding light and shade on the cliffs and most of the refinery (the refinery is still lacking that huge amount of knotted pipes and stuff i imagined for it though). I also changed the font again. With the map coming together step by step, i found the font was a bit to "clean" given the messy character of the spaceport.   
Despite some serious motivation issues and the yearly "end-of-the-year-trouble", it was a lot of fun every time i got back to the map and i try to finish it after the challenge. That's why i'm still very open to all sorts of comments, critique, suggestions, etc.   
I hope you enjoy it.
In case your new year is starting soon, i wish you all a good "transition" and may the hangover be bearable!  :Smile:  
Cheers,
AL

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## Ilanthar

Ouch, the street plans is even more chaotic than Mos Eisley's  :Very Happy: ! You really got a knack for the top-down view on this one.




> may the hangover be bearable!


Well, the main thing is "don't play with a lightsaber on a January 1st"  :Razz: !

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## Abu Lafia

Thanks a lot for the kind words Ilanthar, i'm glad you like it! Yes the houses gotten more dense near the centre. Mos Eisley? Never heard of that place!  :Very Happy:  
I found out, the challenge wasn't ending on December the 31 but is actually still going until "around the 3rd of January"... So i added some more houses to the map, mostly outlines and basecolours and also added some glass roofs on some of the buildings. I also put in two more labels of places of interest: the waterworks in the southwestern corner and the "Zahi-Bazar" ( the oval building in the south with the platforms on it). 
### Latest WIP ###

At least the map looks a bit less empty now.  :Smile: 
Cheers,
AL

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## Ilanthar

Nice additions. A lot of buildings... a lot of work! I know how it is. It's a very cool map and you're putting a lot of fun details in it, so I have to support you  :Wink: .

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## ChickPea

It's looking great. And chaotic!  :Very Happy: 

Your workaround on the perspective issue turned out well, probably even better than before.

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## Abu Lafia

Thanks a lot guys. Here's the final upload (for the challenge at least).
### Latest WIP ###

 Besides more buildings i experimented with drop shadows for the buildings. I also tweaked the colour of the background parchment. since i found it a bit too green. Maybe this impression is due to my new monitor (or better the old one...) but i think it looks better now.
Also, i put the spaceship Meshon did on the central landing platform. I think it's not perfectly "embedded" for now, but as mentioned before, i'm going to continue to work on the map after the challenge anyway.
I somehow miscalculated the amount of work for a map with so many buildings and linework for the landscape, details etc., so i couldn't finish it in time (to be fair,  motivational issues and christmas played a role too  :Wink:  ). Again, better planning in advance could have spared me some time, but map by map it gets a bit better i think.  :Smile:  The main thing i need to tackle on the next projects will be the consistency in the linework i guess.
Thanks for all the feedback critique and friendly support, i greatly appreciate it. Hope you enjoy Musfat Spaceport! 
Cheers,
AL

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## snodsy

This has come a long way, nice job, liked the old typeface, but like this one even better.  Maybe the Old refinery could have longer shadows, they look a little flat still. Your cliffs are superb!

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