Saturday, August 8, 2015

A Whole Pile of Maps

I began this project approximately 11 years ago, this month.  I remember calculating out the principles by which the map would be spaced, working out the hex plotting latitude-longitude grid before using the data from fallingrain.com to identify the locations and elevations of cities.

Hah.  I don't suppose I thought then that I was going to get this far.

Since then, I've twice redesigned the maps below visually to make them more presentable and interlocking.  I don't think it is a bad amount of work.  My only issue is that, despite my efforts, making all the detailing (fonts, colors, etc.) consistent across all maps continues to elude me.  That's because, over the years, I've changed my mind about something . . . and applying those changes to every label, every hex, is always an annoying process.

But I'm bitching about something that only I care about.  I would imagine most wouldn't notice.

The maps below include only those I have put on the wiki.  An expanded image of each map should be visible by clicking the map seen in the links.

A 03 - Jotunheim
A 04 - Kara Sea
A 05 - Laptev Sea
A 06 - Laokkoy

B 01 - Lofoten
B 02 - Lapland
B 03 - Yak'Margug
B 04 - Ob Gulf
B 05 - Lower Yenisey
B 06 - Tunguska

C 01 - North Sea
C 02 - Baltic Sea
C 03 - Lithuania-Poland
C 04 - Upper Volga
C 05 - Ural Mountains
C 06 - Ob & Irtysh
C 07 - Lungos
C 08 - Angara
C 09 - Lena

D 01 - Germania
D 02 - Carpathians
D 03 - Danube Mouth
D 04 - Don & Volga
D 05 - Buzachistan
D 06 - Qanda
D 07 - Balkhash
D 08 - Altai
D 09 - Khangai
D 10 - Yablon
D 30 - Brittannia

E 01 - Spain
E 02 - Italy
E 03 - Greece
E 04 - Anatolia
E 05 - Asia Minor
E 06 - South Caspian
E 07 - Khorezm
E 08 - Turkestan
E 09 - Tarim Basin
E 36 - Portugal

F 01 - Gaetulia
F 02 - West Libya
F 03 - Cyrenaica
F 04 - Lower Egypt
F 05 - Palestine
F 06 - Babylon
F 07 - Persia
F 08 - Registan
F 09 - Punjab
F 10 - Himalayas
F 11 - Tibet
F 12 - Namkin
F 41 - Canary Islands
F 42 - Morocco

7 comments:

  1. Your maps never fail to impress me. I've been redoing the ones for my campaign and essentially copying the format exactly (aside from a few changed fonts) right down to the colour scheme.

    I always forget how much my players appreciate maps as well: while in the real world I don't often pore over maps, in roleplaying games they have always carried some sense of wonder and excitement. They bring out all this wonder: "What's this town like?" or "Woah, that forest is huge!" or "Look at how far we went today, guys!"

    I've definitely heard plenty of that last one on hikes: a good sense of scale and a map can make even going from point A to point B feel like such an accomplishment.

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  2. Nothing to say, but I'm looking at them.

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  3. I am always pleased to see your map posts. The amount of care and sheer volume of effort you have put into this project is an inspiration and a challenge to me every time.

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  4. As a fellow cartographer, I love your maps and I love your approach to them. I spend countless hours perfecting the aesthetics of my maps--and I'm very proud of them--but as far as information density and usefulness to the party goes, yours beat mine hands down. Where can I find a key for the colors you use?

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  5. I need to apply myself to it. I'll do so.

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  6. These are awesome! Do you have these (specifically: B 01 - Lofoten, B 02 - Lapland, C 01 - North Sea, and C 02 - Baltic Sea) in psd or xcf format that you would be willing to share?

    Thanks.

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  7. Sorry, Davout, I do not. I'm only sharing the pngs.

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