by pikkio on Wed Sep 23, 2009 8:39 am
sorry for my late.. i can't speak when it was the time cause the topic was closed, and then i didn't saw the other topics (if they exist..) that discuss about this map.
first, i'm really not agree with the change of the names, cause without that sci-fi post-chrisis setting, this map is not so different from another american map with changed country bonuses, so it will be useless. the only thing that keep this map original and interesting in CC is the background setting. in my opinion, if you don't keep the original names, you must create a new setting that make a real and interesting sense for this country division, (and sorry, but i'm italian and probably i can't understand why can be offensive think about the Bible or Islamic fanatics that declare independent some territories, and it isn't the same for Cubans, that still remain in your new versions like a group that will conquer miami and few other US territories.. obviusly, i'm not offended from that because it's only fantasy, but personally i think that at now it's more normal to think about a degeneration of the powers of the church than of the cubans.. -let see the documentary "Jesus Camp" to better understand the actual situation about evangelical and other occidental religion fanatics in USA- ).
second, i wasn't with the flags texture for aesthetical reasons, but i can understand that use specifical flags of real actual groups can be offensive cause seems an accuse to them that thoose are their objective, so now i'm much more for a no-flag countries backgrounds.
the point is that when someone create a sci-fi setting, he looks at the actual groups and think that it can be one of the millions possibilities that someone (or something) may trasform thoose ideology in an extremist group. no offense for the actual members or for their ideology, in my opinion. hitler took the normal patriottic ideal and transform it in racism and intolerance. Stalin took the normal communist ideology and trasform it in a violent and exploitative dictatorship. if an author create a sci-fi setting with a bad communist or repubblican group, he means that there will be someone that degenerate the actual ideals of that group, and it can happens for one group like another one (and in this map happened to the most part of the world's groups..), and in paritcular that it's only fantasy sci-fi.
i love the sci-fi, expecially the '50-'70 (like P.K.Dick, for example) and i assure that in this genre are very normal to find settings like this, or better still, there are a lot of setting that can be more offensive than this map is. I read a book just this summer, that tells about a post-nuclear future where the texas be the only nation of survivors (with their nuclear bunkers) and then reclaim all the US and start a rewriting of history and culture telling that the texas was always the real boss of USA and manipulated the national politic, and also changing the literacy and arts in texan key. besides they use hormones to be bigger and stronger and they also use mexicans (that can't use hormones and are little and sick) like animal slaves.. To not leave aside someone, he assume that there is a big space metropolis flying around the Moon that is an independent State settled by Russian scientist and where now live a communist-like population with its good and bad things.. (the book is called "A Spectre is Hauting Texas", by Fritz Leiber, 1968). Yes, probably he started from the actual bad things of the texan ideologic approach, but then he used his fantasy and gone too far, so there's no real offense for the texans, and nobody censored this book (it was the '60, so think that at now we must have to be more liberal and not less..).
from its born, the sci-fi always tell stories that have the objective to keep in alert from the risk of the degeneration of actual situations (like pollution, or nuclear war, or extremist ideologies), and there wasn't a real intention to offense or critics entirely an actual group. keep in hand the flag of liberty of expression and don't change your setting!!
speaking about the map's graphic, better, without flags bacground, now try something that give more grunge or darkness feeling (your setting is a dark future, so make your map spreads that feeling).
That is all this whole fuss was really about. 
Hope you won't mind me leaving the name as République Québec!
