Community Efforts

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Every now and then, a project is being done part or in whole, by the community. The best-known example is the creation of the Dwilight map, which was done entirely by the community.


Current Projects

I (Tom) am looking for one or more volunteers to update the maps of all the islands. What I need is a layered feature map of all the islands, in Photoshop or some other layer-supporting format (PNG or TIFF may work, haven't tested). All of these should be greyscale:


Warning: This is a "work in progress". I'll update this page as I learn more about the details I need. So make sure to check back often, and sorry in advance if some updates obsolete work you've already done. If you don't want to risk that, wait until this warning goes away. :-)


Layers needed

  • Elevation Map - this should be a greyscale heightmap. Don't bother to add detail not present on the map, or if you like you can. The important part is that altitudes blend properly, i.e. sharp where the map shows cliffs, soft where plains go into hills that turn into mountains.
  • Ocean, Lakes and Rivers (check for bridges, which usually interrupt the magic wand tool)
  • Forests, Mountains and other land types (desert, plains, ice, etc. - each on its own layer) - use greyscale to show density where appropriate, e.g. for the forests.

Example Workflow

  • Take any world map.
  • Using a magic wand, select the ocean, rivers, etc. and (on a new layer) fill that area in with either black or white, leaving the rest transparent. Paint over the bridges manually
  • Using a brush or a lasso tool, draw in the various land types, each on its own layer, and fill them in, leaving everything else transparent. Make sure to leave no gaps inbetwen, so hills going over into mountains should be painted flush on each other, with no border inbetween.


Example File

There's an example file in Photoshop format at:

This is not the only way to do it, it just illustrates what I mean, e.g. using greyscales to show the forest density or the elevation, etc.


This is a bit of manual work for someone who is familiar with Photoshop or another drawing tool. Before you do all the work, make a quick example of a part of one world and send it to me (tom@lemuria.org) first so I can check whether it is how I need it to be.


Your advantage will be helping a new cool feature in BM come into existence, and being among the first to see it, long before anyone else does.