Mapping the caverns

[ffutures]

For my "country cave mystery" adventure I've designed a cave complex, originally a mine, which realistically would have a lot of overlapping sections at different depths. Mapping that sort of thing is a bit of a sod, what I've ended up doing is draw it so that all of the areas are linked to a common vertical shaft at different depths - I've then drawn each level separately, and a plan of the complex as a whole, with the levels in different colours, at smaller scale.

I think this works, but the plan of the complex as a whole isn't as clear as I would like. Anyone got any thoughts on ways I could improve it?

Plans of the top level and the complex as a whole are behind the cut

Comments

[zanda-myrande.livejournal.com]

Erm. The first thing I thought of was building it in 3D (not that I would be able to do such a thing, but you might). The other thing would be to provide a front elevation, as it were, with the levels colour-coded as you've done here.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

A front elevation is a possibility - I could do a 3D model, I suppose, but it wouldn't be easy and I'm not sure it would be worth the effort.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Just tried a front elevation and I think it's a bit too confusing - sorry.

[soren-nyrond.livejournal.com]

If it were me (which it isn't), I would have done 2 copies of the overhead map, one with the "odd" entrances and plans, and the other with the "even" ones, thus minimising the overlap. The depth notes certainly help, but the overlapping rooms leave me a little lost.

Soren, the "other" Nyrond

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

I think that may be a bit confusing too. What I may try is to model it in 3D on my PC - it'd be a bit of a pain but somewhere I have a program for extruding 2D pictures as 3D shapes, I think - and put a picture of the model by the plan for each level, with the appropriate bit highlighted.

Or start from scratch and redo the whole thing so it's easier to map, of course...

[raygungothic.livejournal.com]

I have a whole pad of isometric paper and I'm not using it very quickly, so if that would help, I could post you some. (just exaggerate the separation between layers)

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

No need, I've a program that prints it.

Maybe I'm looking at it wrong - this is someone's home, not the evil death dungeon of Dr. Dangerous. I ought to prepare the estate agent's prospectus, with drawings of the "charmingly dank grotto with bijou hot spring" and the "guest cave with sleeping pits for six" rather than mapping it in detail! Then just say a little about what can be found in the various areas and leave it to referees to make up the rest.

My reason for thinking of this just now is that this afternoon I decided that a (not incredibly exciting) section about coastal trade and the benefits of building something vaguely like the Suez Canal would be more fun if I wrote it as a share prospectus from the dodgy financiers behind the scheme...