Using Map Copy to Create Pretty Buildings

A trick which is old hat for most designers here is the use of the map copy function to “overlap” buildings. Some great buildings can be created; this screenshot by Trisatya (now Whoracle), this by Turty (now “aaa”) and this all utilise the effect. This article aims to explain not only how to perform this trick (since many people already know) but how to do so effectively.

A watery scene created using the map copy function to place buildings

How to Map Copy a building

Each building has one crucial tile which acts as a sort of “anchor” for the building. For a wall section or a tower, this is obvious because they only occupy one tile, but for houses and markets etc, it is slightly more complex. The easiest way to do this is simply to try map copying each square beneath your building until you find the “anchor”. These two images show the anchor points for a house and a market. It is easy enough to find the relevant tiles for other buildings – a good rule of thumb is the right-most tile for 2×2 buildings, and a tile towards the middle of larger buildings (such as barracks). Town centers are an exception; they can be split into separate components (the walkable and non-walkable elements).

Understanding Which Buildings Go Together

This is a much more creative process, but I think people would agree that this clash of architectural styles is less visually appealing than this simple building which mixes the same architectural style in a considered layout.

There are of course exceptions; the Mayan/Aztec graphic set sometimes combines well with the Chinese/Korean etc set. An effect I like is mixing buildings from the same civilisation but from different ages; a feudal dock next to a castle age market, for example. For this effect you need to use two players’ buildings.

Looking at the graphics of the individual buildings is the easiest place to make or break the look of your building. It is not enough to just mix buildings from one building set, as this picture shows!

The graphics in Age of Kings and The Conquerors are, I believe, very pretty. It would do them a disservice to mix them up without due consideration! Many of the buildings have doorways; take care to ensure that doors are either hidden from sight or would be accessible. Try not to have roofs colliding into each other. Try to avoid placing a stable in such a way that the horses would never be able to get out! Blacksmiths and siege workshops may coexist successfully, but think about whether a monastery with a bombard tower sticking out of its roof would work!

Further Tricks

Map copying buildings allows an extra trick which is a personal favourite effect of mine; you can place buildings on water with only a very small patch of land below. The picture you can see above and my pretty town contest entry demonstrate further the effect of placing buildings on water which is a rare look.

A useful trick is to map copy wall sections – this allows you to build a wall right up to cliffs, creating a more realistic fortification – or a more realistic bridge

A Few Good Combinations of Buildings

Below is a small selection of map copied buildings which will hopefully inspire you to create your own!

A house with a shed

A town center with a bell tower

Here, at panel’s suggestion, the tower’s shadow has been hidden by a clump of trees, thus disguising the true height of the tower.

A dock with a loading crane

A souk

Inns

This shot by Watson shows a combination of three buildings to make a fairly large inn. As you can see, it works with different building sets, so experiment with the different civilisations and ages until you get the look you want.

This shot by CarolKarine shows an inn towards the top of the image, created with a stable and a blacksmith surrounded by houses to make it look busier.

This shot, also by CarolKarine, shows a trade workshop (which is only available in the editor) being used as a storeroom attached to a castle – the same principle could attach a storeroom to a different building too.

The Golden Rule

The main thing with this technique is to practise and to experiment. Look through Continuous Screenshot Competition entries, Pretty Town Contest entries and blacksmith files with buildings in for inspiration and you’ll doubtless find some great ideas 🙂

Conclusion

So there you have it! A short introduction to map copying buildings effectively. One of the oldest tricks in the book, but hopefully approaching it with these ideas in mind will lead to some great new creations.

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