Community Atlas - Continent D - Empyrius

Tonnichiwa · February 2017

I've got a lot of the mountains down but I'm not sure I like the way they look. I've been trying to follow the FT map closely with the placement of the mountains.

CharlesWayneRobinson · February 2017

You don't have to follow the FT for the mountains, only the coast. The idea is to backfill the world map when the continents are done.

[Deleted User] · February 2017

Damn it Charles, I was trying to follow the mountains in Artemisia.

Tonnichiwa · February 2017

Hmm. I think I will re-do them so they look more natural to my eye then. I don't think I like this version of the map. I see different places where I would put mountains. Thanks for reminding me Charles.

Monsen · February 2017

Posted By: CharlesWayneRobinsonYou don't have to follow the FT for the mountains, only the coast. The idea is to backfill the world map when the continents are done.

Well, I did ask people to use them as a loose guideline, but the importance is making something that looks good and hopefully a bit natural.

Shessar · February 2017

For Alarius, I put mountains where they were on the FT map, but didn't follow the lines exactly. Instead, I tried to make them look 'right'. It took a few tries to make it work.

Dogtag · February 2017

This is just my opinion, of course, but those mountains seem very large to me, given the scale of the map. Or, at least, they seem very densely laid out, again given the scales. Just a thought to chew on.

Wyvern · February 2017

This is one of the most difficult continents to design using symbols, because it's just so huge - north to south it's virtually the length of the Americas on Earth, after all. Indeed, this is something I'd be inclined to use just contour-coloured areas to show major terrain features, and not try to use symbols at all. Even the greatest cities (the size of New York, London, Paris, etc.) should be just dots at this scale, for instance, while some of those mountain areas might be Tibet-like plateaux, rather than chains of mountains.

Tonnichiwa · February 2017

@ Dogtag: Yeah, the FT map has them covering an absolutely huge area. I don't really like the way they are laid out at all on that map but it's what we have. But brought the mountains down to size 1 on this next map. I still don't like how straight some of the mountain ranges are. I may have go go in and add some curves on the ones in the west as they seem a bit straight to me.

@Wyvern: Yeah, it is very difficult to do with Symbols, but if I just decide to use contours to make the mountains then maybe we should just use the map from FT as that would be basically the same thing. If people would rather we do that with this land mass then I can stop working on it and we can use that. I am ok with it either way as I am much more of a regional mapper than a world mapper or continent mapper. I tend to do countries and things like that.

Anyway, here is a map where the mountains in the east look a bit more natural to me. But getting those sideways mountains down right is turning into a pain with these symbols.

So another issue I see with this map is that as I turn on the sheets and effects, some of the smaller island looking parts of the map have the land fading out and the ocean layer underneath showing. Anyone have any idea how to fix that so the island areas don't look like the sea came in and flooded them? (though that might be a great idea, to have those islands flooded like that)

JimP · February 2017

May have to put the islands on their own sheets and lesser effects on them.

Shessar · February 2017

It always takes me a few tries before I'm happy with mountains too. Why are mountains so danged difficult? LOL

Posted By: JimPMay have to put the islands on their own sheets and lesser effects on them.

Yep, that's what I did on the other large continent.

Loopysue · February 2017

Can I be a bit contrary (possibly upsetting the applecart) and say that I actually preferred the shape of the mountain ranges the first time around?

The broader belts were more realistic. Its just that the mountains themselves were a bit too tidy, and there wasn't enough of a fade out back into the flat land.

Gathar · February 2017

I kind of agree with Sue: I think currently your mountain ranges are too narrow. I suggest you have a look at https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/image/color_etopo1_ice_low.jpg
Your mountain ranges are almost all like the Andes Cordillera, and the name cordillera come from the word rope, and means a mountain range that is long and narrow. But even in north America, the Rocky Mountains, which clearly are a belt, are much wider. And if you look at Himalayas, it's yet another story.

I think it's not so easy to show a wider mountain range with symbols in CC3+, but maybe if you used a larger scale for those symbols (of just gave up symbols at that scale?)

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Community Atlas - Continent D - Empyrius

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