09-19-2015, 05:09 PM
So, the recent revival in regional activity having lead to a revival of interest in the regional map, some questions about how we handle the map now arise.
Basic Information
Earlier threads
The main thread about our original map, whose cartographer was Domnonia, ran from 2006 to 2010 and is at http://s10.zetaboards.com/IDU/topic/707772/23/#new.
The future of the map after Dom had been gone for a while was discussed at http://s10.zetaboards.com/IDU/topic/708329/1/.
The work of Embolalia, extending to his [uncompleted] 'NS Globe' project, was discussed at http://s10.zetaboards.com/IDU/topic/708347/6/#new from 2010 to 2012.
And some work that Belschaft began in 2012 is discussed at http://s10.zetaboards.com/IDU/topic/7431840/2/#new.
'Fractal Reality'
This is a concept that was used at times during earlier map-making and other RP within the region, and that has also been used by other RP-ing regions as well. Basically it not only invokes the 'Multiverse' concept, in which numerous alternative versions of reality exist in some way "parallel" to each other, but says that areas in one version of Reality can come into temporary or prolonged contact (or even exchange places altogether) with areas from other versions, thus helping to explain such matters as multiple nations claiming to occupy the same areas in terms of RL geography, nations appearing & disappearing as their players create them or let them cease to exist OOC, how some nations' histories feature earlier contact with (and perhaps colonists from) countries that aren't on the same maps (At one stage we even had a nation within the region that had two completely different histories, with colonisation from two separate sets of RL cultures, both simultaneously true!), the presence of various species of plants or animals [or other life-forms] that "really" belong in particular RL ranges, and even wholesale changes in the regional maps such as those that Embolalia made... and the Bermuda Triangle?
^_^
Oh, and this also allows for inter-Reality leakages of heat and moisture into or out of specific areas, thus giving them climates slightly different from what would logically be expected from their actual situations, although diffusion [and so on] mean that this still shouldn't be taken to extremes: You still shouldn?t get tropical rainforest in proximity to an ice-cap, for example, unless the latter is relatively small and at a significantly higher altitude than the latter? As I recall, this was used to explain why Malabra?s southern districts have a tropical climate rather than just a sub-tropical one.
Initial Questions
1. Which basic design do we use? There is Domnonia?s original map (visible @ https://app.box.com/shared/fqplfsbso0) on which the region consists of two adjacent continents and various islands, Embolalia's revised design (visible @ https://raw.githubusercontent.com/embola...leproj.png) with those two continents combined but with some further land-masses then added nearby for placing nations belonging to certain other regions, there's a version of the latter without those surrounding lands, there's the possibility of taking the original map and making only some of Embolalia's changes, there?s using RL maps which obviously would not suit those of urrs who have already created more detailed maps of our own nations that fit into either of the non-RL maps, and there is creating a new map altogether but including the current shapes and [possibly] relative locations for any existing nations whose players do not want to see those details changed.
2. Which format do we use for the map's master copies? 'Vector-based' formats such as .pdf & .svg would allow saving the maps as smaller files, and may provide greater flexibility in some respects, but are probably less accessible to the membership in general than 'pixel-based' formats such as .png (which I think is the best option in this category), .bmp, .gif, or .jpg, which might prevent some people who would otherwise want to work on the maps from doing so?
3. Where do we set the map in terms of latitude, and how wide would it extend in terms of longitude? A reference to the original map either in our forum or on NSwiki said that the basic area was from c.22o to 60-somethingo North, although with Dom's consent I added some extensions northwards from The Ursine Northlands, and this seems reasonable to me although I recognise that some people might also want extensions for their own nations southwards into the tropics. If we keep degrees of latitude and longitude on the same scale as each other then this will tell us the region's extent in degrees of longitude too, and I have a table saved [somewhere] that gives the actual distances per degree of longitude for relevant latitudes.
4. For how long are nations kept on the map after they OOC either cease to exist or move into other regions?
5. Should there be a qualifying period of residence, or perhaps level of activity, required before a nation can claim a place on the map?
Basic Information
Earlier threads
The main thread about our original map, whose cartographer was Domnonia, ran from 2006 to 2010 and is at http://s10.zetaboards.com/IDU/topic/707772/23/#new.
The future of the map after Dom had been gone for a while was discussed at http://s10.zetaboards.com/IDU/topic/708329/1/.
The work of Embolalia, extending to his [uncompleted] 'NS Globe' project, was discussed at http://s10.zetaboards.com/IDU/topic/708347/6/#new from 2010 to 2012.
And some work that Belschaft began in 2012 is discussed at http://s10.zetaboards.com/IDU/topic/7431840/2/#new.
'Fractal Reality'
This is a concept that was used at times during earlier map-making and other RP within the region, and that has also been used by other RP-ing regions as well. Basically it not only invokes the 'Multiverse' concept, in which numerous alternative versions of reality exist in some way "parallel" to each other, but says that areas in one version of Reality can come into temporary or prolonged contact (or even exchange places altogether) with areas from other versions, thus helping to explain such matters as multiple nations claiming to occupy the same areas in terms of RL geography, nations appearing & disappearing as their players create them or let them cease to exist OOC, how some nations' histories feature earlier contact with (and perhaps colonists from) countries that aren't on the same maps (At one stage we even had a nation within the region that had two completely different histories, with colonisation from two separate sets of RL cultures, both simultaneously true!), the presence of various species of plants or animals [or other life-forms] that "really" belong in particular RL ranges, and even wholesale changes in the regional maps such as those that Embolalia made... and the Bermuda Triangle?
^_^
Oh, and this also allows for inter-Reality leakages of heat and moisture into or out of specific areas, thus giving them climates slightly different from what would logically be expected from their actual situations, although diffusion [and so on] mean that this still shouldn't be taken to extremes: You still shouldn?t get tropical rainforest in proximity to an ice-cap, for example, unless the latter is relatively small and at a significantly higher altitude than the latter? As I recall, this was used to explain why Malabra?s southern districts have a tropical climate rather than just a sub-tropical one.
Initial Questions
1. Which basic design do we use? There is Domnonia?s original map (visible @ https://app.box.com/shared/fqplfsbso0) on which the region consists of two adjacent continents and various islands, Embolalia's revised design (visible @ https://raw.githubusercontent.com/embola...leproj.png) with those two continents combined but with some further land-masses then added nearby for placing nations belonging to certain other regions, there's a version of the latter without those surrounding lands, there's the possibility of taking the original map and making only some of Embolalia's changes, there?s using RL maps which obviously would not suit those of urrs who have already created more detailed maps of our own nations that fit into either of the non-RL maps, and there is creating a new map altogether but including the current shapes and [possibly] relative locations for any existing nations whose players do not want to see those details changed.
2. Which format do we use for the map's master copies? 'Vector-based' formats such as .pdf & .svg would allow saving the maps as smaller files, and may provide greater flexibility in some respects, but are probably less accessible to the membership in general than 'pixel-based' formats such as .png (which I think is the best option in this category), .bmp, .gif, or .jpg, which might prevent some people who would otherwise want to work on the maps from doing so?
3. Where do we set the map in terms of latitude, and how wide would it extend in terms of longitude? A reference to the original map either in our forum or on NSwiki said that the basic area was from c.22o to 60-somethingo North, although with Dom's consent I added some extensions northwards from The Ursine Northlands, and this seems reasonable to me although I recognise that some people might also want extensions for their own nations southwards into the tropics. If we keep degrees of latitude and longitude on the same scale as each other then this will tell us the region's extent in degrees of longitude too, and I have a table saved [somewhere] that gives the actual distances per degree of longitude for relevant latitudes.
4. For how long are nations kept on the map after they OOC either cease to exist or move into other regions?
5. Should there be a qualifying period of residence, or perhaps level of activity, required before a nation can claim a place on the map?
But I think if we want to keep things straight we can use a bit of creative role-playing to justify the take-over of lands. That way the map will become more a living and breathing thing. If we look at Earth's map, borders and countries have changed all the time. We could have a "museum of maps" or something and enshrine older versions for posterity. Or perhaps find a way of naming certain regions after their important predecessor.