Heads up Round 2 hopefuls, you can now check out the rules!

[Chris Lambertz]

Rules for Round 2 are now available for your perusal :)

[Season 9]

Chris Lambertz wrote:

Rules for Round 2 are now available for your perusal :)

Uwee hee hee kekekekeke!

ThE CuLL mUsT Go On, tHe SaCrIfIcE iS NEEDED.
BrInG fOrTh tHe TrIbUtEs!
ALL WILL BE MINE, ALL SHALL BE NINE!

[Dieben]

Chris Lambertz wrote:

Rules for Round 2 are now available for your perusal :)

Thanks Chris! This is immensely appreciated!

[hewhocaves]

Just to clarify, the map must be on an appropriately sized grid, though not necessarily the provided grid?

[Chris Shaeffer]

Exciting! I'll start drawing tonight. Just in case...

In what way do we submit the 50-word descriptive text?

[Nazard]

Rules text wrote:

Entry title and descriptive text must be submitted through the submission tool at paizo.com/rpgsuperstar.

[Chris Shaeffer]

Thanks! Missed that on the first couple read-throughs. :p

[mbauers]

Ok, so the rules state it has to be a 72 ppi.jpg. Is that the same as a 72 dpi resolution jpg?

If not, how can I tell if it's 72 ppi? I checked the properties to find the 72 dpi.

[Wren Brown]

FYI, the sample grid provided is a .PDF format file but the rules specify that the entry must be in a .JPG format. This may present a techincal challenge for some contestants.

[Wren Brown]

mbauers wrote:

Ok, so the rules state it has to be a 72 ppi.jpg. Is that the same as a 72 dpi resolution jpg?

If not, how can I tell if it's 72 ppi? I checked the properties to find the 72 dpi.

It's the same thing. dpi = dots per inch. ppi = pixels per inch.

reference link

[Garrick Williams]

30x24 is a lot of space for a single encounter.

[Jason Dandy]

if this question is somehow not permitted, please do not reply to it and let me know so i can delete/edit it.

so...encounter map...for this format, if one wanted to have a trap door or secret door, how does that work on the map itself? isn't it intended to be something cartographers can turn into a map the players would be looking at? is it just advisable for these to not have secret stuff?

[Nazard]

Garrick Williams wrote:

30x24 is a lot of space for a single encounter.

Looking at the example flip mats that Paizo has for sale, they all seem to contain multiple "rooms" or encounter areas. This is along the same idea as Round 4 last year, just without all the text specifying the actual encounters and tactics, etc.

[Captain Phoenix]

Garrick Williams wrote:

30x24 is a lot of space for a single encounter.

More space is better than too little space though right. And you can play around with ranges...

[Jacob W. Michaels]

Jason, I would do the map as what the GM would see, i.e. include secret doors.

[Jason Dandy]

Jacob W. Michaels wrote:

Jason, I would do the map as what the GM would see, i.e. include secret doors.

i would be a fool to not take the advice of a man who's voted in every season 9 we've had..and that's a LOT of season 9s! ;)

(serious: thank, man!)

[Season 9]

Jason Dandy wrote:

Jacob W. Michaels wrote:

Jason, I would do the map as what the GM would see, i.e. include secret doors.

i would be a fool to not take the advice of a man who's voted in every season 9 we've had..and that's a LOT of season 9s! ;)

(serious: thank, man!)

Kekekeke...

ThE EnD iS NINE!!!

[dafelsheim]

So, question regarding the rules for generating maps digitally.

Quote:

Your map may be hand-drawn or computer-generated (maps generated in Photoshop, MS Paint, or similar are acceptable).

Does this include map programs like Campaign Cartographer and Dundjinni?

[Tom Forkbeard]

Does the map have to be specifically Golarian i.e. on a dark alley off of Main Street in Absalom, or can it be general fantasy themed? i.e. a dark alley with piles of garbage

[Jester David]

It'd be neat to see the final superstar's map (or one of the Top 4/8's map) get made as a flip-mat and used for an encounter (or 2 or 3) in the final adventure.

[Zombieneighbours]

Wow...72dpi...that is a very low resolution map. Looks like my work so far is totally obsolete given it is a 24x30 inch map at 300dpi.

[Captain Phoenix]

Tom Forkbeard wrote:

Does the map have to be specifically Golarian i.e. on a dark alley off of Main Street in Absalom, or can it be general fantasy themed? i.e. a dark alley with piles of garbage

Quote:

Entry must be a map of a fantasy-themed location on Golarion appropriate for an encounter. You may create a map for an encounter set in a city, wilderness, dungeon, or any other fantasy Golarion location appropriate for an encounter map. You may present a map designed for a specific encounter, or one useful for a variety of encounters.

I'd say that means go with the first option.

[Anthony Adam]

Now to work out if my scanner has a 72dpi option, I know it has 150, 300 and 600... I have a horrible feeling the other step down was 75 and not 72 >.<

And for once no curve ball in the rules to throw my half baked ideas!

Time to start drawing! :D

[Nazard]

Anthony Adam wrote:

Now to work out if my scanner has a 72dpi option, I know it has 150, 300 and 600... I have a horrible feeling the other step down was 75 and not 72 >.<

And for once no curve ball in the rules to throw my half baked ideas!

Time to start drawing! :D

Maybe the 72 dpi is the curveball this year, testing our ability to handle the technical aspects of freelancing!

[Arianwen]

For people worrying about resolution: it should be easy to go to a lower dpi in a graphics program. As others have pointed out elsewhere, GIMP will do more than you need and it's a free download. In GIMP, you can open an image, click "Image -> Scale Image" and type in the dpi you want out. That's it. Other graphics programmes should be similar, but dpi shouldn't be a game changer!

[Gabriel Almer]

Agreed, changing resolution in a graphics program is not a big deal at all.

72 dpi is probably close if not identical to the resolution in which maps will be presented on the website. That makes it somewhat easier for contestants to plan ahead. In previous years, contestants had to deal with different resolution requirements (high resolution for the submission format and a much lower resolution in the presentation format on the website), which, in some cases, led to incomprehensible labeling. Of course, real superstars figure that out and plan accordingly...

[Anthony Adam]

Arianwen wrote:

For people worrying about resolution: it should be easy to go to a lower dpi in a graphics program. As others have pointed out elsewhere, GIMP will do more than you need and it's a free download. In GIMP, you can open an image, click "Image -> Scale Image" and type in the dpi you want out. That's it. Other graphics programmes should be similar, but dpi shouldn't be a game changer!

Sounds easy enough, just hope GIMP works and installs on Win 10 ? >.<

[Arianwen]

Anthony Adam wrote:

Arianwen wrote:

For people worrying about resolution: it should be easy to go to a lower dpi in a graphics program. As others have pointed out elsewhere, GIMP will do more than you need and it's a free download. In GIMP, you can open an image, click "Image -> Scale Image" and type in the dpi you want out. That's it. Other graphics programmes should be similar, but dpi shouldn't be a game changer!

Sounds easy enough, just hope GIMP works and installs on Win 10 ? >.<

Looks like you should be fine.

[Ambrosia Slaad]

If you are running Windows and just need a program to convert or resize it (and none of the actual painting abilities in a program like GIMP or Paint-Net), I'd highly recommend my old stand-by, IrfanView.

[The Raven Black]

Mac-user here. Feeling lonely :-/

[Kiel Howell]

The Raven Black wrote:

Mac-user here. Feeling lonely :-/

It was your choice to alienate yourself...

:P

[Sam Harris]

Chris Lambertz wrote:

Rules for Round 2 are now available for your perusal :)

The maps and encounter round always generates some magic. Can't wait to see what wondrous locations the contestants dream up.

[Ambrosia Slaad]

The Raven Black wrote:

Mac-user here. Feeling lonely :-/

I can't afford to replace this ancient overheating Core 2 Duo laptop, let alone get back into OS X. :/

I've heard good things about XnViewMP for OS X, but I've never used it.

[The Raven Black]

Thanks AS :-)

[Jacob W. Michaels]

dafelsheim wrote:

So, question regarding the rules for generating maps digitally.

Quote:

Your map may be hand-drawn or computer-generated (maps generated in Photoshop, MS Paint, or similar are acceptable).

Does this include map programs like Campaign Cartographer and Dundjinni?

Yes, both programs are acceptable. That said, I would look at last year's map round and the comments on the entries for some words of caution using them.

[rewind]

The Raven Black wrote:

Mac-user here. Feeling lonely :-/

Acorn 5 is on sale in the Mac App Store. Pixelmator is another great app. Affinity Designer might be an even better choice for map design, but it's also the most expensive.

[dafelsheim]

Jacob W. Michaels wrote:

dafelsheim wrote:

So, question regarding the rules for generating maps digitally.

Quote:

Your map may be hand-drawn or computer-generated (maps generated in Photoshop, MS Paint, or similar are acceptable).

Does this include map programs like Campaign Cartographer and Dundjinni?

Yes, both programs are acceptable. That said, I would look at last year's map round and the comments on the entries for some words of caution using them.

I appreciate the advice!

[Wren Brown]

Anthony Adam wrote:

Arianwen wrote:

For people worrying about resolution: it should be easy to go to a lower dpi in a graphics program. As others have pointed out elsewhere, GIMP will do more than you need and it's a free download. In GIMP, you can open an image, click "Image -> Scale Image" and type in the dpi you want out. That's it. Other graphics programmes should be similar, but dpi shouldn't be a game changer!

Sounds easy enough, just hope GIMP works and installs on Win 10 ? >.<

make sure you get GIMP2, but yes its not a problem. I reset my current test map dpi to 72 last night with no issues. Using Win 10 and GIMP2.

[Nazard]

So do the 50 words have to contain the map's title, like the Round 1 items?

[Garrett Guillotte]

tl;dr
I've converted the provided PDF to a 72 dpi JPG. Download it from my Dropbox and use whatever image editor you want; as long as you don't change the image's dimensions, you should be fine (no legal warranties or guarantees).

Don't get thrown too much by the dots per inch/pixels per inch requirement. As I noted at length last year, the only thing that really matters is the image's pixel dimensions. The provided PDF grid is 24 inches by 30 inches; at 72 dpi, that's 1,728 pixels by 2,160 pixels (24 times 72, by 30 times 72). If you submit an image at with those same pixel dimensions, you should be fine.

Doing it yourself, in OS X
1. Download the PDF provided in the rules.
2. Open it using OS X's built-in Preview app.
3. Export the grid by clicking the File menu, then clicking Export...
4. Select JPEG as the format, and set the Resolution to 72 pixels/inch. (Crank up the quality, it shouldn't matter much as long as it's not turned all the way down to Least).

In Windows
If you have Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader installed, you can follow a similar set of steps to export a JPG from the PDF provided in the rules.

Otherwise, consult your PDF reader's documentation.

Either OS, in Photoshop
Open the PDF in Photoshop. You should see a window pop up prompting you for import settings; the details depend on your Photoshop version, but you should see a Resolution option under Image Size. To confirm it, try setting the Image Size under the Image menu; make sure it's 1728 pixels by 2160 pixels and the resolution is 72 pixels/inch.

[Anthony Adam]

Anthony Adam wrote:

Now to work out if my scanner has a 72dpi option, I know it has 150, 300 and 600... I have a horrible feeling the other step down was 75 and not 72 >.<

And for once no curve ball in the rules to throw my half baked ideas!

Time to start drawing! :D

Dammit! Yeah, I thought so, it's lowest setting is indeed 75dpi >.<

Looks like I'm downloading Gimp then.

Edit - Test conversion on a jpg which the properties showed horizontal and vertical as 97 dpi, after scaling and reexporting the jpg, they show as 72 dpi... so I think... I know what to do! >.<

[Garrett Guillotte]

MS Paint, Windows Vista/7/8/10:

1. In Paint's Home tab, in the Image group, click Resize.

In the Resize and Skew dialog box, select the Maintain aspect ratio check box so that the resized picture will have the same aspect ratio as the original picture.

2. Click Pixels, then enter 1728 in the Horizontal box for a vertical (portrait) orientation or 2160 in the Horizontal box for a horizontal (landscape) orientation. If you're using the official map template, the Vertical box's number should contain the opposite value.

MS Paint, Windows XP and earlier:

1. On the menu bar at the top, select Image -> Attributes…

2. Use a width of 1728 and a height of 2160 for a vertical (portrait) orientation, or a width of 2160 and height of 1728 for a horizontal (landscape) layout.

Remember, the goal is to have an image that's 1728 pixels by 2160 pixels. Regardless of anything else, that is a 24 inch by 30 inch image at 72 pixels per inch.

[Owen K. C. Stephens]

Nazard wrote:

So do the 50 words have to contain the map's title, like the Round 1 items?

I always recommend checking each round's Official Rules

In this case the statement "NO other material may be presented beyond the map's name, what is on the map itself, and the 50-word descriptive text." should make it clear that the name is separate from the 50-word descriptive text.