The colors of the world are changing, day by daaaaayyy...

Scott Alexander · Post by **Scott Alexander** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 8:53 am

I think I might still be Senior Advisor or something to the MCS; if so, I apologize for my long absence and corresponding lack of Senior Advice (I moved house and am still working on getting a connection). But I intend to make up for it now.

Now that we're competing with the GSO I seniorly advise that we become much better than they are. As of now, our map is a little uglier and less realistic-looking than theirs. I totally admit this is my fault for making the map in MSPaint when I was fifteen. Erik and I came up with a few ideas for making it look nicer afterwards but we were always too lazy to put them into practice.

I've created a prototype map in a new set of standards that I think improve it a bit. There are some pictures below. If you like what you see, then I will send you what I've got and you can work on updating the real map to look like this one.

The new map isn't just physical or political or resource; it's everything stuck on the same image in a set of layers that can be toggled on and off for different views. For the purpose of these pictures I've posted four views: one corresponding to physical, one corresponding to political, and two new ones that are completely new. First of all, here's the "before and after" for one continent on the physical map:

http://squid314.homestead.com/files/Pic ... ysical.jpg

Here's the same continent on the political map:

http://squid314.homestead.com/files/Pic ... itical.jpg

Here's one hybrid view, a sort of combination physical/political. Notice how it gives full physical information on the unoccupied land to the west, and even within Shireroth's borders you can still see the mountain ranges underneath:

http://squid314.homestead.com/files/Pic ... 2view1.jpg

This one is sort of a "lay of the land" view: cities, mountains, resources, and country names, but no borders. Note how the mountains look a little different; I toggled off the topography effect because I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. Note how the unoccupied green goes from bright jungle-y green in the tropics to brownish grey near the poles. You can't see it in this shot, but the ocean also gets icier the further north you go:

http://squid314.homestead.com/files/Pic ... 2view2.jpg

Of course, you can get any view you want for any portion of the map on the original file, which is unfortunately in PSPimage form and therefore can't be posted on here, or edited by anyone without PSP (Vehendi! Do you have PSP?)

If people like the prototype, then if someone in the Society gives me an email address that can accept very large files I can mail it to them ASAP.

chrimigules · Post by **chrimigules** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 9:51 am

*Sheds a tear*

it's... so beautiful...

This is .psp as in Paint Shop Pro?

Post by **dr-spangle** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 11:07 am

ermmm... why do we need too... all that would really do is add extra reason for them to complain, as we would be coping them...

Iehova · Post by **Iehova** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 12:50 pm

That is... gorgeous... (and thanks for doing the map of Corum (Lesser Eura), the motherland looks beautiful.)

Seriously, Scott, have my first-born child or something*... it seems the only adequate recompense.

*DISCLAIMER: Please don't hold me to this.

Zatriarch Maximillideus · Fri Oct 13, 2006 1:06 pm

Delicious maps, Scott

However, once all the provincial borders etc are put on, surely such maps will look really cluttered?

Guido Zambelis · Post by **Guido Zambelis** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 1:34 pm

I'm probably sticking my neck out, but why not just redesign the map using AutoRealm or something? The fractals are very impressive

Babs · Post by **Babs** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 2:00 pm

From what I have seen of the illustrious 10.0, personally, I think that looks better, but, thats just my opinoin.

andelarion · Post by **andelarion** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 4:56 pm

I like how it looks. It's neat.

But....

The Paint version of the map has its advantages. It allows nations to easily post claims, as the map can so nice and easy be edited in paint. Editing the new map will be more difficult and it would take longer to update the big map, and would require more work.

Look at the GSO. The member nations can't edit the main map, so that gives the staff a huge back-log since they will have to do all the work in maintaining the map.

On Micras, when nations can post their own images of their claims, the work-load for the staff gets decreased, since it'll be a basic copy-and-paste piece of editing.

Something like that anyway

Guido Zambelis · Post by **Guido Zambelis** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 4:19 am

Yes, of course, I mean to use AutoRealm simply for the fractal feature (for the coasts), later edits could be done in MS Paint or whatever you wish.

Post by **Pete** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 5:58 am

We keep the paint version for claims then

Post by **Craitman** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 6:20 am

lv how cräiteland looks btw

still not really 2 sure about it though
i kinda like our unique style as it is

Post by **Vehendi** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 6:50 am

I don't like it too much. And Separatist and I are already working on two different extra versions of the map. He's making an NG map and I a illustrated one.

Nathan of Natopia · Post by **Nathan of Natopia** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 1:38 pm

I think these maps are really nice. They present a new, different style that will set it aside from the style we were discussing privately, the "Greg Dean" style which looks kinda like the style GSO uses. Both styles are very nice though. This one, however, could really distinguish the MCS from the GSO.

Scott Alexander · Post by **Scott Alexander** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 5:12 am

Responses to stuff:

Dr. Spangle, this isn't really the GSO map. I definitely looked at the GSO map for inspiration when designing this style, but only the same way I looked at a lot of other maps both real and fictional. I think the end result is actually better than the GSO's is because it takes a few of their ideas and expands upon them in different directions.

Clutter shouldn't be a problem because of the layer option. If you want to see provincial borders, you can turn on a provincial borders option. You might then turn off some other option to decrease clutter. Or if you want clutter, you can have it. The point is being able to have as much or as little clutter as you want.

IS IT, I don't know AutoRealm in particular, but I've used a similar program (Fractal Mapper). The rivers, borders, etc are indeed generated by that program, but I didn't want it to do the coastlines because the two goals of having nice fractal coastlines and having the continents and islands keep their current shapes are mutually exclusive. Also, it would take FOREVER to give all the parameters for a fractal that even approximated any of the current continents. And I kind of like the shape of the coastline we have already.

Babs, I haven't seen 10.0, and I didn't even know anyone was going to make any major changes beyond the usual "delete inactive nations" sort! If I knew the MCS was making upgrades on its own, then I certainly wouldn't have put so much work into this project!

Andelarion: your point is good, but that shouldn't be a problem. Each layer (for example, the political layer) can be saved as a jpg or MSPaint or whatever. So if you want to found a nation, I can give you the political layer, you can edit it to include your nation, and it will be almost as easy as before. The only exception is that I suppose a cartographer would need to manually add the cities. However, I anticipate that a layered design would make work easier rather than harder for cartographers because there wouldn't be problems with, say, erasing a city name that happened to go across a coastline.

Again, if anyone with PSP wants this, I can send it to them.

Post by **dr-spangle** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 5:35 am

why don't we just have 500 different styles?

so far we have normal and 3 others, any new styles?

Post by **Craitman** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 9:35 am

dr-spangle wrote:any new styles?

can we have a black 'n' white one?

Post by **dr-spangle** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 10:07 am

how about a colour by numbers mcs map?

Sepatarist · Post by **Sepatarist** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 3:26 pm

Well seing as though the beens have been spilled I might as well show you what I presented the Administration a few weeks ago, it's based on the map Greg Dean presented a few months ago.

The entire map has been complete for about a week and a half now...

kingjames · Post by **kingjames** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 2:04 am

The colours, those in particular, make the map look so more interesting and realistic. The original colours don't do the map justice at all!

Sepatarist · Post by **Sepatarist** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 3:16 am

Yeah, I agree with you, also I think we should start putting the names of nations on the map, that way we don't have to continually search for new colours!

Guido Zambelis · Post by **Guido Zambelis** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 12:16 pm

Sep, i like your ideas a lot!

Babs · Post by **Babs** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 1:02 pm

Je agree. But what for nations like New Brittania, Spread everywhere, and the same problem occurs with nations being unable to do simple modifications and claims, with the Paint colours it's easy, with colours like this it would be very complex for the computer illiterate or not so fab.

Post by **dr-spangle** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 1:25 pm

what about the fact that the more words you put on the map the faster it degrades as people can't see where boarders are behind words and guess...

Sepatarist · Post by **Sepatarist** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 3:14 pm

In such cases such as degradation and space the words can be put in the sea, especially for countries such as NB, the name can be put wherever it's capital/main area is.

Post by **dr-spangle** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 3:23 pm

anyone noticed we seem to be going back to many of the first map's ideas?

shotgun writing in the sea in my language