A New World: a project in cartography, Usergroup made!

[colton24]

Okay, I think I need 9 people to make a usergroup, so I need to wait a bit more. First thing would be planning the world as a whole, then the other maps could come. Things we need to think of:
What time period is this world currently in?
How many continents are in this world?
How many countries are in the world? Is land evenly distributed, or do a few empires dominate the world?
What sort of land to sea ratio will there be? Will it be a rocky planet or a flat one? Will forests be impassible to the people, or are they thin and easy to navigate through?
How has this world changed overtime? What major wars has there been?
How isolated are people? Do nations of different continents ever interact?
What valuable resources are there and where are they concentrated?
Most importantly, what are we calling this new world?

Edit:

Creating the usergroup

I don't know. I have never made a usergroup before.

In the Clans area there is a form you send on an E-Ticket.

Not sure, but I think more than 9 people have already signed-up. Let me count

EDIT: I got 9 with 2 thinking about it

[Pedronicus]

Things we need to think of:
What time period is this world currently in? a long time ago
How many continents are in this world? 7
How many countries are in the world? Is land evenly distributed, or do a few empires dominate the world? land isn't evenly distrubuted. you need big, medium and small continents for balance
What sort of land to sea ratio will there be? Will it be a rocky planet or a flat one? Will forests be impassible to the people, or are they thin and easy to navigate through? who cares if it's a rocky planet. you're working on a 2d screen. this ain't Avatar. forests aren't impassable. during WW2 rivers like the Rhine were the real obstacles in getting to berlin, not the forests. lava rivers could seep into other maps from the dragon realm (see below)
How has this world changed overtime? What major wars has there been? The Dragon Wars, when dragons forced all the tribes to flee to the outer continents.
How isolated are people? Do nations of different continents ever interact? very isolated since the dragons laid waste to the centre of the world
What valuable resources are there and where are they concentrated? Oil in Iraq and crystals in the dragon realm.
Most importantly, what are we calling this new world? The Dark Ages

If this is going to be a fantasy land, I strongly suggest you have a Dragon Realm. impassable borders being lava (There is no map with fire / molten lava / hot shit as an impassable border). you could have volcanoes that are like jump gates

[sailorc]

I love this idea! I've always been interested in fantasy stuff like this. I would be interested in developing the history, gameplay, and such. I just can't help graphically. There are so many possibilities. I would love to help brainstorm.

We could build our own Middle Earth.

I was going to post this exact thing after reading this thread.

What time period is this world currently in?

We could create our own 'era', but I've always liked things like this to be Middle Ages-ish with swords and stuff.

[sully800]

If this is going to be a fantasy land, I strongly suggest you have a Dragon Realm. impassable borders being lava (There is no map with fire / molten lava / hot shit as an impassable border). you could have volcanoes that are like jump gates

I'm all for lava in the dragon lair. (Let me also point out that I'm surprised we have no prehistoic/dinosaur maps with lava impassables)

[natty dread]

The "middle-ages" fantasy is such a cliche... I'd rather see a fantasy world living in the industrial age: steam engines, arquebuses... but mixed with races with magical powers... that'd be so cool.

Think about it...

[Evil DIMwit]

The "middle-ages" fantasy is such a cliche... I'd rather see a fantasy world living in the industrial age: steam engines, arquebuses... but mixed with races with magical powers... that'd be so cool.

Think about it...

I'd second steampunk over medieval if we must choose one, but of course it's plenty possible to do both.

[skeletonboy]

I think a humans/elves/dragons/wizards etc would be better just as the traditional fantasy.

[the.killing.44]

I think a humans/elves/dragons/wizards etc would be better just as the traditional fantasy.

…isn't that the traditional fantasy?

[Pedronicus]

I think a humans/elves/dragons/wizards etc would be better just as the traditional fantasy.

…isn't that the traditional fantasy?

well I've always thought that getting it on with Keira Knightly and Kate Beckinsdale in a threesome was a traditional fantasy, maybe we could have the hot lesbian land?

[natty dread]

Think of it... in a steampunk/fantasy crossover you could have dwarves building railroads, wizards with enchanted arquebus shooting bullets made of dragon teeth, and all manner of cool stuff...

Dragon Airlines competing with Zeppelin Transport Service...

Newspapers run by Forest elves...

Frost Giants enslaved and used as refridgerators...

that sort of stuff.

[the.killing.44]

I think a humans/elves/dragons/wizards etc would be better just as the traditional fantasy.

…isn't that the traditional fantasy?

well I've always thought that getting it on with Keira Knightly and Kate Beckinsdale in a threesome was a traditional fantasy, maybe we could have the hot lesbian land?

Awesome ≠ traditional.

[captainwalrus]

Think of it... in a steampunk/fantasy crossover you could have dwarves building railroads, wizards with enchanted arquebus shooting bullets made of dragon teeth, and all manner of cool stuff...

Dragon Airlines competing with Zeppelin Transport Service...

Newspapers run by Forest elves...

Frost Giants enslaved and used as refridgerators...

that sort of stuff.

Kinda like rise of legends a bit? I see what your saying. Sort of like all the medieval fantasy worlds would be like once they got industrialized and desegregated everything.

[natty dread]

Think of it... in a steampunk/fantasy crossover you could have dwarves building railroads, wizards with enchanted arquebus shooting bullets made of dragon teeth, and all manner of cool stuff...

Dragon Airlines competing with Zeppelin Transport Service...

Newspapers run by Forest elves...

Frost Giants enslaved and used as refridgerators...

that sort of stuff.

Kinda like rise of legends a bit? I see what your saying. Sort of like all the medieval fantasy worlds would be like once they got industrialized and desegregated everything.

Exactly. Also, for inspiration, read the manga Full metal alchemist. It's not exactly a fantasy world, but it's an industrial age world of humans which use a sort of magic (referred as alchemy) although they consider it a form of science... also they fight against monsters known as homunculi.

I really like that manga. If you can't be bothered to read, at least watch the anime, although it's not as good...

Anyway, I'm not suggesting we do anything like that, just throwing it out there as an example of how cool it can be to cross over an industrial age world with fantasy.

Although they also have cars and handguns in that series, I wouldn't like to take it that far to the future... just so that steam engines and gunpowder would be high tech stuff, not something that every person could afford... Armies would still very much use swords, bows and crossbows, simply because it would be a lot cheaper to arm your men with them. Firearms would be expensive, since few know how to make them, and the secret is closely guarded by the powers that be, for obvious reasons...

[captainwalrus]

I have sent the request for the group, and we kinda have 9 people (sorry IH if you didn't want to do it, I needed one more and you said maybe...) but I think a smaller group would be better. Once the usergroup is up and running I will start the official brainstorming.

[colton24]

I have sent the request for the group, and we kinda have 9 people (sorry IH if you didn't want to do it, I needed one more and you said maybe...) but I think a smaller group would be better. Once the usergroup is up and running I will start the official brainstorming.

What was the final list?

[captainwalrus]

It is by no means final, but I put down you, sully, natty_d, IH, Evil_DIMwit, skeletonboy, naxus, YKenneth and sailorc

[colton24]

It is by no means final, but I put down you, sully, natty_d, IH, Evil_DIMwit, skeletonboy, naxus, YKenneth and sailorc

I guess I didn't mean final, but when you sent the E-Ticket.

[natty dread]

A thing to consider would also be: will the fantasy world be a comical one, like Discworld, a serious one, like Middle Earth (for example), or something in between?

[naxus]

A thing to consider would also be: will the fantasy world be a comical one, like Discworld, a serious one, like Middle Earth (for example), or something in between?

my votes go serious and then spin off that

[cairnswk]

i'd like to join in this project, but i'm afraid i may not have the time due to RL work, study, and maps already in development. I would however like to drop by occassionally if possible to see what is going on and perhaps contrinute something positive if i can.

As a starting contribution, if any of you have these books, then perhaps they will give you some ideas.

1. Drawing & Painting Fantasy Landscapes and Cityscapes by Rob Alexander ISBN 1-84566-189-3
2. The Complete Fundamentals of Drawing by Barrintont Barber ISBN 978-1-921318-37-5
3. the Dragon Chronicles, The Lost Journals of the Great Wizard, Septimus Agorius, The Five Mile Press ISBN 1-74124-898-1

[WidowMakers]

In Please

[sailorc]

A thing to consider would also be: will the fantasy world be a comical one, like Discworld, a serious one, like Middle Earth (for example), or something in between?

my votes go serious and then spin off that

I agree. I'd rather it be like a world full of legends and myths (maybe a map of a legendary battle?).

Although they also have cars and handguns in that series, I wouldn't like to take it that far to the future... just so that steam engines and gunpowder would be high tech stuff, not something that every person could afford... Armies would still very much use swords, bows and crossbows, simply because it would be a lot cheaper to arm your men with them. Firearms would be expensive, since few know how to make them, and the secret is closely guarded by the powers that be, for obvious reasons...

That sounds cool. Kinda like the late Middle Ages, with gun powder be a recent discovery.

It's also an interesting idea of yours to make it industrialized. What would a fantasy be like industrialized, I wonder?

[Evil DIMwit]

Again, I don't see why we can't just make maps that take place in different eras if we want different tech levels. That's what we do to our world, anyway.

[ender516]

Again, I don't see why we can't just make maps that take place in different eras if we want different tech levels. That's what we do to our world, anyway.

Quite right, the existing maps stretch from historical maps of Greece and the lands of Gilgamesh through to interstellar maps which would seem to be set in the future. This new world (new universe?) was proposed by captainwalrus as including mythological and historical maps as well as regional ones, although he has gone on to say we should decide what the current time period is. I like natty_dread's steampunk idea, but we shouldn't limit ourselves to a single time period. If we need a current time period, pick the far future, and then all sorts of time periods become "historical" maps.

[natty dread]

We need a "current" time? But but, time as a linear concept is sooo lame...

Let's just say - from our point of view - there is no now. There could even be several alternative timelines... You know, a starting point in history, and then several choices how things could have developed from there...

It'd be so cool to make a map with parallel realities...