Mapping changes over time
Are there any comparatively simple ways to map changes over time (shifting political borders, cities at different stages of growth, river courses changing after major earthquakes, the introduction of major landmarks, etc.) in CC3? The obvious solution is to have a separate sheet for each point in time that is represented, but then you lose the advantage of having separate sheets for things like borders, roads, etc. unless you do the tedious thing of making (e.g.) a separate "Borders" sheet for each point in time, a separate "Roads" sheet for each point in time, and so forth.
The other choice is to save a different map for each point in time, but then you have to have some way to synchronize changes to the underlying landscape if you later decide you want to change something (say, put in an island, shrink a mountain range, etc.).
Is there an easier way?
The other choice is to save a different map for each point in time, but then you have to have some way to synchronize changes to the underlying landscape if you later decide you want to change something (say, put in an island, shrink a mountain range, etc.).
Is there an easier way?
Comments
As long as you don't have too many things that change over time, doing it in one CC3 map is probably still an option. Although, as the previous poster said, it'll probably make more sense to handle it via layers, as you don't have to copy the sheet effects for each new layer. If things get too many to handle comfortably in one map, doing separate maps is the way to go. You can always spread changes to the underlying map (which should normally be rare) via using clipboard copy.
I used the map I first came up with, saved it to a different filename, and modified it to show those same islands from centuries before.
Each change has it's own map, a traceable history of a make-believe world. My earliest maps were all hand drawn. Campaign Cartographer, and the wonderful ability to save as "Kingdom Name - current game date" has made this a breeze.
Sometimes I'll pull up an old version of a map and see a long abandoned city that inspires an idea for a new adventure. A detailed history can make a fantasy world believable. Maps are what track that history.
How you track that history is up to you of course, but saving each change as a new map makes looking back in time a breeze.