Having some trouble with Excel mapping

[Kebron]

So the issues I'm having are all related around rooms that aren't in the seemingly 'correct' order, depending which direction you come from...

So say you have a 4x4 square area. Except when you come from this one angle, its no longer 4X4. Its now 5X4. How do you anotate that on excel?
I've thought of just trying to put in a box at an angle or something but I can't even figure out how to do that, its driving me crazy anyone experianced the same thing and can help?

[Feco]

I'm not sure staff policy on mapping, but I assume it's fine as long as you aren't distributing them.

If it were me, I would simply put "transition cells" between each room, that way, if there is an inconsistency, you can simply lengthen the transition area to make it fit.

Just making mental note, it's actually rather surprising how consistent the world is, at least in populated areas.  I find it easy to make mental maps that more or less work out.

EDIT:  Maybe I've misunderstood your problem.  I can't recall any areas that "stretch" depending on which way you enter them, but rather only areas that don't really line up.  Sorry for that, if that's the case.

[solera]

Pen and paper.

[Marauder Moe]

Armageddon does not correlate perfectly in Cartesian space.  That is, there are more than a few rooms where you can do something like go n, e, s, then w and not end up where you started.  Most of the time it's due to an area scale transition, like world/outdoors scale, city scale, and building scale.

Anyway, while I don't think automatic map making is forbidden by Armageddon rules, I think it is discouraged.  I agree that, at most, you should probably just make hand-drawn, landmark-based maps.

[Kebron]

I'm thinking I might hafta make it a more simplistic map for basic navigation based on landmarks, clearly doing individual rooms is not working for me.
And yes, its the issue that stuff doesn't line up

[Feco]

I'm thinking I might hafta make it a more simplistic map for basic navigation based on landmarks, clearly doing individual rooms is not working for me.
And yes, its the issue that stuff doesn't line up

Transition cells would fix the problem, more or less, but yeah I suggest doing something simplistic like everyone else has said.  It'll make giving directions IC much more interesting, and will keep you engaged in the game.

[bcw81]

I map out everything in a certain area (eg. Tuluk, Alllanak, The Gol Krathu, The Vrun Driath, etc.) and that seems to have everything fit normally.

[Kebron]

I started in luirs and it doesn't fit

how do you use transition stuff?

[maxid]

I started in luirs and it doesn't fit

how do you use transition stuff?

Excel can do transition to a different page with a link you can click.  That's the only way to make city states/wilderness work.  And there are nonlinear bits in the game.

[valeria]

Usually in my excel mapping I'll just make a note in the cell.  Or for interior areas, like barracks etc, I will put an expansion of that area somewhere off to the side of the main map.

The interiors of Luirs, Tuluk, Allanak, and Red Storm all have their own sections.  I think Luirs might actually have two interior sections on my map.

[solera]

I'm thinking I might hafta make it a more simplistic map for basic navigation based on landmarks, clearly doing individual rooms is not working for me.
And yes, its the issue that stuff doesn't line up

Transition cells would fix the problem, more or less, but yeah I suggest doing something simplistic like everyone else has said.  It'll make giving directions IC much more interesting, and will keep you engaged in the game.

Yes.  I've found it a lot more help than plotting every room, even for places like the labyrinth.  Of course , I have to have a sketch map showing Tuluk, Luirs and Allanak in front of me to work out which way to ride.

[Synthesis]

I've found that if you put the entire city of Allanak as like...the 4x4 square or whatever it is when you walk around the walls (same thing for Tuluk, but larger), with Luir's and Red Storm as a single cell each, the entire rest of the desert lines up perfectly.

You just have to map the cities on separate tabs, because they're "zoomed in" with respect to the rest of the worldmap.

[Harmless]

Not to be a smartass because that's genuinely not my goal. But if you regularly travel around certain regions, you'd be amazed at the kinds of mental maps you can make.

I don't use maps and I pretty much always know where I am. Patterns of visible exits changing.. [e, s, w] [e, s, w] [e, w] [n, e, s] and so on just speak worlds. It's kind of scary.

And then you get the occasional landmark and it becomes painfully obvious.

The sensation of actually being lost is an excitement I haven't had the luxury of enjoying in quite a while. And ICly I am currently unable to take that risk for some time now.

I envy you.

[BleakOne]

I do mental mapping too. I've always been good with that sort of thing though.

Remembering lots of names is something I have trouble with.

[RogueGunslinger]

Yep, 100% mental maps here too.

[Morrolan]

Today, my character was in a bunch of samey-samey rooms, and headed for a special room with something in it.  I got lost, so I just tapped into my intuition and let my fingers do the walking.

Just as I was thinking, "this is never going to work" I stumbled upon my target room.

Crikey, apparently I have mental maps stored in my subconscious.

[valeria]

I think it's somewhat ironic that after I make the map, I almost never have to look at it again.  Unless I'm confirming that there is in fact a shop that sells X in place Z.

[Delirium]

^ same. Making graph paper maps allowed me to visualize the area and solidify it in my brain, so they sat in a drawer for ages until I managed to lose them.