Have I Mentioned These Maps Are Big?

I just wanted to put out a quick update as we are now through a couple levels of the undermountain and am reviewing where things are at.  Note this update/news primarily impacts folks running DOTMM currently/imminently - so before WDH DMs stop reading, I'll put a quick teaser out: in the next couple of weeks I'm hoping to announce a new way to access my content for WDH that will hopefully save Foundry DMs even more time - more details to come!

TL:DR of this post is that I will likely be splitting up some of the DOTMM maps into 3 or 4 releases instead of the 2 previously announced just to keep my sanity/workload/effort manageable and not get burnt out by mapping these gargantuan maps! This means a slightly slower progress through the adventure, but no change to my Patreon release schedule (still aiming for 3-5 paid releases / month).  

I want to be up front with everyone who supports me so you always know what to expect when it comes to new content releases.  I've been putting a lot of hours into the maps of the first 2 levels (an unsustainable amount) and still barely squeaking across the finish line each week for release. I don't want to shortcut these maps - I want them to be detailed, accurate, and to support immersive gameplay.  I also want to be transparent about how I came to this decision and want to use data to be informed about what I'm doing...so I did some math on map sizes.

The average map for Waterdeep Dragon Heist was 3071 grid cells: that is width x height x # of floors.  That's a generous estimate as most multilevel buildings didn't span the full map but I think it offsets the sizes calculated for DOTMM below.  That does not include seasonal variants, but in reality those primarily involved swapping out some terrain textures and sprinkling some weather in - far less work than laying out maps, filling them full of assets and producing custom assets to finish them off.

To highlight a few sizes (full list attached if anyone is bored/curious enough to look):

• Trollskull Alley (my first "big" map): 72x50x1 = 3600
• Heartbreaker and Hellraiser: 34x34x6 = 6936
• Kolat Towers: 28x38x7: 7448
• Trollskull Manor: 11x15x5 = 825
• Old Tower: 15x20x3 = 900

And then there is Dungeon of the Mad Mage.  Have I mentioned these maps are big?  Okay good :)

• Level 1: 128x166x1 = 21248
• Level 2: 118x166x1 = 19588
• Level 3 (just finished the map layout for it...omg!):  175x228x1 = 39900

For the first 3 levels, this means the DOTMM maps have an average size of 26912 grid cells.  I am currently splitting those in half for releases (so 13456 grid cells per release); this still dwarfs the WDH map releases. Now of course every single square of the map isn't covered in playable space - but if we compare it with the average above - not every cell of a multistory map was used either (ie levels 2 and above had 'empty space' for the air/stuff below it) - which I think should be roughly comparable.  Let's put this another way - by the time I release the finished Level 3 map I will have generated more 'finished map area' in 3 levels than I did for all of WDH (80736 > 79849, not counting seasons).  

These maps are fun.  I'm excited to fill out each room and see what each new area or level holds (I haven't read the adventure fully yet...keeps it fun and challenging to map it!)  I've been pouring countless hours into the first couple levels and want to make sure I make it all the way down to the Mad Mage's lair - these changes will hopefully allow me to do that.  If you read this far, thank you and I hope this makes sense and provides explanation for what effectively amounts to less content each paid release - not ideal but the only way we are making it through this adventure.  Thank you to everyone who continues to support my work and allows me to keep doing this!