It's not really about art, but geometry.

Here is what I mean. If the pitch of the roof was the same all the way around the ridges would describe a taller triangle from above at the ends of a rectangular building so that the distance between the roof ridge was the same on all sides (X). But the rooftops in that last image are squashed triangles, meaning that the end roofs are much steeper than the side roofs (Y is much shorter than X). This is a strange way of drawing a roof. I mean, it would work, but why would you bother? It's half way to a gable end. One or the other is more usual, but not some kind of half way construction.

Let me be a bit more clear about why I'm pointing this out. I have seen many rooftops generated by Watabou that look rather strange, even in isometric view (which is by its very nature strange compared to full perspective). These roofs are not 'wrong' per say, but are just really rather odd. And I wonder if Watabou really understand the geometry, or if this is perfectly deliberate on their part.

I think it is important just to to be aware of this oddity, so that people don't forever go around thinking that this is how to draw a regular hip roof building with equal pitch all the way around.

Or super-terrifyingly strong orange flavour?

Coming along nicely :)

As for the rice paddies I would probably just rely on drawing fields that go around the contours divided by simple walls of stone, then make a few identical sheets and stack them up with a glow effect on each sheet.

I don't know. I think the flow lines make it obvious that the water is water, and not some strange solid thing that's draped over the cliff.

How about changing the effects on that sheet (assuming they are on a separate sheet to everything else) You could blur them instead of having a glow around them. That would make them softer and just like pale streaks rather than hard-ended lines.

They would need to be on top of the fill as well.

Think about the light reflections on the surface of a river.

That's a great map :)

Yes, maybe there is room for forested hills in a style. The trouble is that adding just that one aspect doubles the number of mountain symbols required to make a default set. I will definitely think about it next time I have a look at Spectrum.

About histories.

The thing about history is that it isn't really separate at all. People mix all the time, and they watch each other all the time, so what you have is a kind of giant soap opera that last thousands of years, where one country does something and the others react in their various different ways - if what is done is momentous enough to warrant a reaction. So one history for a world would be ok, in my opinion. I would not expect to see separate histories for each nation.

That is not to be confused with the lies each nation tells itself to be able to live with what their forefathers have done, but that is more about the politics of a world. There is only one history, but countless lies that are told about it depending on who you are and where you were born and grew up.