WIP - The World of Rodinia

Blakey · July 2018

All,

I'm an utter newbie at this and this is my first effort at a map with CC3+. I've got a homebrew world, known as Rodinia, which has been in the making for 18+ years now. It's been the locale for my D&D campaigns for that period and one of the continents was the setting for the two novels I've published. But I've decided to revamp the whole place, starting with drawing some (I hope) good quality maps for it. So I have come here seeking feedback. Be as complimentary or as constructive as you like - I'll enjoy any good comments and try to learn from any constructive ones.

Here is my first effort. Any comments?

Thanks in advance
Blakey

Mateus090985 · July 2018

Lovely forms! Yours mountains and rivers make sense and I dont see any evident trouble with the terrains. I would put the Great Desert on the other side of the mountains range, but we have real world deserts that are similar with that one, so, is just a matter of taste here.

The text may improve if you put some sort of outside glow on it. It is a bit hard to read right now.

Congrats for the great work!

[Deleted User] · July 2018

I agree that this is very tasteful, and a great first map!. A few things - I would reduce the scale of the cultivated land (see the menu in the FS slot ast the estreme upper right of the program); and I would definitely add a scale. As well, I would indicate the equator and polar regions, and tropic zones- this will make placement of deserts more 'real', as hot dry deserts occur around 30 latitude, and cold dry deserts (ice fields and tundra) at the polar regions. Of course, I relise that this may onlt be the northern hemisphere, which it does look like.

Blakey · July 2018

Thanks for the response guys!

So, regarding the placement of terrain like the Great Desert, that is fixed as it's already a part of lore and been visited by characters, so I can't suddenly transport it across the mountain range. :) That is true of most of the major land features.

Reducing the scale of the cultivated lands is excellent feedback - thanks. I'll go and figure out how to do that when next working on CC3+.

Scale can be added. For reference this map is 3,500 miles by 1,750 miles. As you guessed it is northern hemisphere only (and probably only a part of the northern hemisphere). This is why there are jungles in the south and icy areas to the north.

I think I need to add some icy terrain to the top of Kiltland (I hate that name and it needs a rename).

Finally, regarding text, I agree it is getting a bit lost. I did have it glowing (default effect) but then it was really in your face. Maybe it needs to glow but reduce the "glare" if that is possible.

Does it need more detail? I've no cities marked on it - does it need them and if so how would you mark them?

Thanks
Blakey

CharlesWayneRobinson · July 2018

Nice! :-)

JimP · July 2018

At this scale, large cities could be marked with a circle or dot. Too many, and the map will be swamped and take longer to load or redraw.

I think naming a few of the major rivers, not any tributaries, and a few large forests would work to. But at this scale, you are looking at millions of square miles/kilometers.

Blakey · July 2018

Thanks Jim. Is there a standard symbol for cities at this "world" scale? I don't want to put down one of the typical city symbols as that would be way too big - I agree a circle for a city works - so is there a standard? Or do I literally just draw a dot? :) There are about 3 or four major capital cities which would deserve a mention.

I'll consider adding names to rivers - though I did not want to put too much text at this level. Maybe it will be clearer if I can highlight the text with a gentle glow as discussed above. I'll experiment.

Wyvern · July 2018

I wouldn't worry too much about apparent differences between the terrain of your world and Earth, Blakey. There are no hard and fast rules about where such things happen on our planet, after all, and where magic and other fantasy elements can occur, those can always be an extra source of explanations for any supposed "anomalies". Plus, polar areas needn't be icy at all. Geologically, broad-leaved deciduous trees have grown at Earth's poles in the past, when there were apparently no ice sheets of any size at all, for instance. Your world, your choices!

For the city markers, you could just draw a circle (or any other basic shape that takes your fancy), but for ease, you could equally use the symbols from the Geometry.FSC set in the Symbols > Maps > Filled group (these are varicolor symbols, so you can also indicate who owns which place by using different colours).

I'd be inclined to agree in keeping name labels to the minimum. Adding terrain-feature names at this scale is liable to make things look too cluttered.

[Deleted User] · July 2018

Those trees grew when the continents now at the polar locations were much closer to the equator - continental drift

Wyvern · July 2018

Quenten remarked:Those trees grew when the continents now at the polar locations were much closer to the equator - continental drift

In fact the first broad-leaved deciduous trees (angiosperms) have been identified as far as about 70° latitude from the equator in both hemispheres during the Cretaceous geological period (circa 145 to 66 million years ago). There are some basic notes on this Wikipedia page, but a quick search for similar topics will bring up more information. Coniferous forests extended still closer to the poles then, and also during subsequent less icy times on Earth, along with mixed deciduous-coniferous woodlands.

JimP · July 2018

Posted By: BlakeyThanks Jim. Is there a standard symbol for cities at this "world" scale? I don't want to put down one of the typical city symbols as that would be way too big - I agree a circle for a city works - so is there a standard? Or do I literally just draw a dot? There are about 3 or four major capital cities which would deserve a mention.

I'll consider adding names to rivers - though I did not want to put too much text at this level. Maybe it will be clearer if I can highlight the text with a gentle glow as discussed above. I'll experiment.

Some of the Annuals have markers for cities, capitals, and similar things. But they are a star for a major city, and a circle for smaller cities.

I found my biggest problem is deciding which Annual symbol set to use for which nation for cities, towns, castles, etc. in my game world.

Loopysue · July 2018

At world scale, and on a map this size, a dot is sufficient for a city. Think of a map of the Earth at this scale and size. Even the biggest city on Earth only has a dot. Its the biggest dot, but its still only a dot.

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WIP - The World of Rodinia

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