Hi guys, i just started making my own game today. Everything seems to be going along the tracks nicely, but i have stumbled upon some problems that require someone (an artist) who knows what he's doing. (not me)

I am making a demake of Mount&Blade called Musket&Nade, set in fictional country with a map similair to that of europe. The technology is working nicely, i will be able to start working on the game mechanics soon, but the map gives me some problems. I need an image which will not lose too much quality (pixelization won't be apparent) when zooming in 5 times. The way i picture it is having a picture of terrain without too much contrast, with color transitions being smooth.

I tried to make this multiple times, but it didn't quite work out, so i am asking you...
Can you take the attached template image and draw some smooth looking terrain over it?

The color should be like the respective place IRL, except for yellow zone, which should be desert'ish.


Btw, how is my logo?


An example of how smooth the transition should be (map of M&B:Warband)
http://images.wikia.com/mountandblade/images/b/b6/MapCalradiaWarband.jpg

np.

but i require royalties

np.

Not exactly what i had in mind...
Just zoom in on that image about 5 times and you will be like "dem pixels"...
No that won't do, but thank you troll.

Just click the + button and you can zoom in over 9000 times!

Seriously though, satellite images can be a good source for terrain. Also, try making the image 5x larger instead so it gets mipmapped when you zoom out instead of enlarged when you zoom in (1:1 pixels at max zoom).
In any case, I'm doubtful many people will take their time to draw an image for you just because, especially with your somewhat vague description. Maybe if you make a post in the help wanted forum with some more information about your project someone will want to collaborate with you on the development.

Just click the + button and you can zoom in over 9000 times!

Seriously though, satellite images can be a good source for terrain. Also, try making the image 5x larger instead so it gets mipmapped when you zoom out instead of enlarged when you zoom in (1:1 pixels at max zoom).
In any case, I'm doubtful many people will take their time to draw an image for you just because, especially with your somewhat vague description. Maybe if you make a post in the help wanted forum with some more information about your project someone will want to collaborate with you on the development.

Well, the image i need is 2500x1800, which seems like a good size, getting image with size of 10000x7200 pixels would be difficult and as for the sattelite images, i don't need buildings visible, as my game will have overlaid images representing them (castles, towns).
And another thing is, i cannot capture all of the europe in hq with one shot, since i can only capture my screen.
Would you know of any hq downloadable images of europe?

Getting a team is not really an option, because a team needs to be in constant contact and i don't want others counting on me to get this working/finished (the feeling when you are the last on team in CS xD). Working alone takes away any dependencies and allows for much more flexible development, imo...


So, for reasons of playability, i need a simple "retexture" of the image...
Would this be possible? Anyone?
...

Noone? Okay, i'll do it myself...

I am also working with sat maps and I bought Google Earth Pro . Also you can buy sat imagery via DigitalGlobe . If i were you I would create a 4096 * 4096 quad texture and in photoshop I would start placing sat imagery and deleting non important parts . You can use 10-20 and by simply using the faded edges brush on the eraser you will have blending . In 2 hours it's done and it will look great . And you don't need painting skills , i also have little painting skills .

As for the pixels .. it's impossible to get what you want with only one image . You will need to search through the engine you use for detail texturing . In principle you will create a mask ( or by vertex paint ) with different colours and each colour will have a detail texture . This is what your example uses , this is what I use , this is how this problem is solved usually .

You could always make it stylized and rip a parchment texture from somewhere and draw stylized features on top of it, like it was a physical map. Might be easier than trying realistic-looking terrain.

If you need work done, I might suggest using the classifieds system rather than the forums.