Long term changes and ideas to come for the Regional Map
Feb 28, 2019 6:28:40 GMT -5
Markanite, Paffnia, and 5 more like this
Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2019 6:28:40 GMT -5
Hey there everyone, Pengu here! First off, let me say how thrilled I am to get this opportunity to be your Official Cartographer. I have a lot of really great ideas for how we can make the map even more unique, and I'd like to share some of the changes and ideas with you.
First off, I love the style of the map, but I hate the file type. Let's be honest, JPEG is a wonderfully small type of file, but it comes out looking terrible on some computers, and makes edits stand out in a bad way. During some free moments of my day, I'll be taking the time to sit down and redo the map in glorious PNG. That means bigger file size, but everything will look crisper, and make editing much more seamless. I'll also be saving an alternate project file for future Cartographers so that they can have the base file where every name, flag, and graphic add on can be moved or removed when a person leaves, or requests their home to be moved to another area. This will also help with everything looking more standard, with fonts looking identical that way you don't have to be aware which are the new names and which aren't...not to mention, future cartographers won't have to go down to microscopic level to add a name to an open landmass, only to have people have to squint to read it. This means increasing the base size of the map, but I think in the long run this will be highly beneficial.
Speaking of increasing the base size, I've got another neat project in mind down the road for the regional map...specifically for your maps specifically.
Have you ever thought "Well gee, it's nice to see my name on a map, but I'd love for people to see what my nation looks like up close!" ? Well I've got some great news for you!
Down the road come summer time at the latest, that thought may become a reality.
I'd like to discuss a pilot project that I'm eager to get started on and introduce somewhere down the road. I call it Operation: National Geographic: The 10KI Edition. I assure you this is purely just a fun project name as opposed to the idea of creating a magazine centered around the various nations of this region...but who knows? Maybe down the road that may also become a reality.
In reality, this is more of a vast undertaking where each qualified nation on the map would get their nation's map on a much closer scale. Their capital would be set, any national landmarks would be added in, natural aspects (forests, mountains, rivers) would also be mixed in if applicable, and so on. It'd basically be a legitimate map of each nation, like you might find when opening up a fantasy book and seeing the map on the first couple of pages.
How each nation would differ outside of the shape of the landmass, I've thought of a couple of various ideas:
*Natural status of each nation would depend on how your NS Nation is described. If your nation is described as a "barren, inhospitable landscape," for example, your map may show a distinct lack of forests or even greenery in general, looking more rocky and barren. Gargantuan nations would have more cities, while smaller nations would have a handful. If your national animal is in abundance...you might see the occasional "(national animal here) sanctuary" or nesting ground, whereas an extinct or reaching-extinction animal may get mention in your factbook in either remembrance of the animal, or discussing a restaurant being the go-to place because of how they prepare the animal.
*Nation age-types could be triggered by both preference as well as items bought in the shop. Investing in purely mining and farming items could sway your nation to be more of a medieval/old-style type. Investing in factories and shipping could bring your nation into the modern age, and investing in National Improvements and Special Items could usher your nation into the futuristic era. The more you buy in specific categories, the more it alters the style of your nation. If you buy a couple of National Improvements/Special Items but invest more heavily in farming/mining items, your nation could be a more futuristic era...but with a heavy influence on the medieval style. If you're wanting a specific style for your nation, you could invest in certain items to push that preference.
*National Factbooks outside of NS could be established for nations highlighting some key factors, with influences taken from NS statistics of your region. Are you big into Scientific Advancement, but have a short average lifespan? Is the leading cause of death from being pelted by water balloons? Then your day-to-day for your average citizen in (insert capital city name here) can most likely be described as working on some project to eradicate disease, only to be hit by a rogue water balloon and die.
These are some of the biggest ideas I have at the moment. If I had the skill, another idea would be making each nation clickable leading to the person's NS nation, as I think a really interactive type of map like that could be neat. Alas, my skills are limited to map making and placing, and not that type of unique coding.
But overall this would definitely be a big project but I think it's one that would make things a bit more interactive and exciting, and may even make for some interesting games and roleplays centered around the various nations. It's definitely an expansive project that will take a bit of time to really implement, but I think once it does, we can really see some remarkable stuff happen.
Is this something that you'd like to see happen? What are some changes you'd like to see for how the regional map is done?
If you have any comments, concerns, questions, or the like, please feel free to submit them in here. I'm always happy to answer questions, and I always appreciate feedback.
I'm really looking forward to continuing to make the map an enjoyable thing for people to jump into!
First off, I love the style of the map, but I hate the file type. Let's be honest, JPEG is a wonderfully small type of file, but it comes out looking terrible on some computers, and makes edits stand out in a bad way. During some free moments of my day, I'll be taking the time to sit down and redo the map in glorious PNG. That means bigger file size, but everything will look crisper, and make editing much more seamless. I'll also be saving an alternate project file for future Cartographers so that they can have the base file where every name, flag, and graphic add on can be moved or removed when a person leaves, or requests their home to be moved to another area. This will also help with everything looking more standard, with fonts looking identical that way you don't have to be aware which are the new names and which aren't...not to mention, future cartographers won't have to go down to microscopic level to add a name to an open landmass, only to have people have to squint to read it. This means increasing the base size of the map, but I think in the long run this will be highly beneficial.
Speaking of increasing the base size, I've got another neat project in mind down the road for the regional map...specifically for your maps specifically.
Have you ever thought "Well gee, it's nice to see my name on a map, but I'd love for people to see what my nation looks like up close!" ? Well I've got some great news for you!
Down the road come summer time at the latest, that thought may become a reality.
I'd like to discuss a pilot project that I'm eager to get started on and introduce somewhere down the road. I call it Operation: National Geographic: The 10KI Edition. I assure you this is purely just a fun project name as opposed to the idea of creating a magazine centered around the various nations of this region...but who knows? Maybe down the road that may also become a reality.
In reality, this is more of a vast undertaking where each qualified nation on the map would get their nation's map on a much closer scale. Their capital would be set, any national landmarks would be added in, natural aspects (forests, mountains, rivers) would also be mixed in if applicable, and so on. It'd basically be a legitimate map of each nation, like you might find when opening up a fantasy book and seeing the map on the first couple of pages.
How each nation would differ outside of the shape of the landmass, I've thought of a couple of various ideas:
*Natural status of each nation would depend on how your NS Nation is described. If your nation is described as a "barren, inhospitable landscape," for example, your map may show a distinct lack of forests or even greenery in general, looking more rocky and barren. Gargantuan nations would have more cities, while smaller nations would have a handful. If your national animal is in abundance...you might see the occasional "(national animal here) sanctuary" or nesting ground, whereas an extinct or reaching-extinction animal may get mention in your factbook in either remembrance of the animal, or discussing a restaurant being the go-to place because of how they prepare the animal.
*Nation age-types could be triggered by both preference as well as items bought in the shop. Investing in purely mining and farming items could sway your nation to be more of a medieval/old-style type. Investing in factories and shipping could bring your nation into the modern age, and investing in National Improvements and Special Items could usher your nation into the futuristic era. The more you buy in specific categories, the more it alters the style of your nation. If you buy a couple of National Improvements/Special Items but invest more heavily in farming/mining items, your nation could be a more futuristic era...but with a heavy influence on the medieval style. If you're wanting a specific style for your nation, you could invest in certain items to push that preference.
*National Factbooks outside of NS could be established for nations highlighting some key factors, with influences taken from NS statistics of your region. Are you big into Scientific Advancement, but have a short average lifespan? Is the leading cause of death from being pelted by water balloons? Then your day-to-day for your average citizen in (insert capital city name here) can most likely be described as working on some project to eradicate disease, only to be hit by a rogue water balloon and die.
These are some of the biggest ideas I have at the moment. If I had the skill, another idea would be making each nation clickable leading to the person's NS nation, as I think a really interactive type of map like that could be neat. Alas, my skills are limited to map making and placing, and not that type of unique coding.
But overall this would definitely be a big project but I think it's one that would make things a bit more interactive and exciting, and may even make for some interesting games and roleplays centered around the various nations. It's definitely an expansive project that will take a bit of time to really implement, but I think once it does, we can really see some remarkable stuff happen.
Is this something that you'd like to see happen? What are some changes you'd like to see for how the regional map is done?
If you have any comments, concerns, questions, or the like, please feel free to submit them in here. I'm always happy to answer questions, and I always appreciate feedback.
I'm really looking forward to continuing to make the map an enjoyable thing for people to jump into!
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