Map Thread XX

Status
Not open for further replies.
Wild. What's the relationship between China proper and OTL southern China (Kanton, Hokkien, Poyan, Wuton, etc.) and interior China (Szechuan, Yunnan, Pekow, etc?)
There's a very thoroughly written but complicated history there revolving around the Koxinga, the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, and an Ottomanesque WW1 turn of events for northern China in the restoration of the Ming. I won't be able to get into that now. It will come out in the map plate post on my website for the region.

But in terms of the current relationship, the Magin states are equivalent to the settler states of the British Commonwealth. Since the early Qing domination, the provinces in the south have been autonomous, even when they rallied under the Ming (it can be said that they used the Ming just as much as the Ming based in Taiwan used them). They are dominions that have been granted more and more self-autonomy over the latter half of the 20th century as the Ming became restricted as a constitutional monarchy tied to China (the northern provinces).

The southwest, Jieshan, are historically well integrated provinces of the former Ming and Qing but which are ethnolinguistically divergent from the main Sinic peoples in the southeast. They too took the same historical path as mentioned above. Szechuan (Sichuan) is just grouped here for geographic association and not technically cultural.
 
And, as above, here's the description:
To make things more interesting, I made some changes on the climates and rivers around to somewhat blend in things, so there are no boreal forests in Middle Earth; the Forodwaith is a steppe; Gondor has a more tropical and maybe wetter climate; the Misty Mountains (and others) are connected to the Rockies; the Rio Grande is shorter and starts in Mirkwood (while its OTL source is now a part of the Forest River, which feeds the Long Lake); the river that drains the Long Lake now drains int the Gulf of Mexico; and what remains of Rhun is now almost the same climate as coastal Texas, with a bit of it being semi-arid desert
I guess you know that the climate pattern you envisioned for southwestern America is not plausible? Since it's alt-geo, I know it's already fantastical, but are you looking for suspension of disbelief on multiple levels or are you trying to stick to climate realism with your alt-geo?
 
I guess you know that the climate pattern you envisioned for southwestern America is not plausible? Since it's alt-geo, I know it's already fantastical, but are you looking for suspension of disbelief on multiple levels or are you trying to stick to climate realism with your alt-geo?
Suspesion of disbelief on multiple levels
 

Aurantiacis

Gone Fishin'
Ok here is what I recently posted in my original thread on this forum.

Click on the image or here the higher quality version on Deviantart. You can also view the original Reddit post here.
View attachment 640054

For a general overview of the project, check out the website: https://www.atlasaltera.com

For an in-depth explanation of the map, watch the video or listen on Anchor: https://anchor.fm/telamon-tabulicus
Stupendous work, especially on the research of foreign toponyms and that ATL script!
 
Stupendous work, especially on the research of foreign toponyms and that ATL script!
Thanks! I had a look at your profile and I have to say I myself am impressed with your work.

Also, too bad I just came across your work because it would've been great to collaborate on this given the knowledge you have of Chinese and the amount of research you put into the toponyms of your series in Southeast Asia.
 

Aurantiacis

Gone Fishin'
Thanks! I had a look at your profile and I have to say I myself am impressed with your work.

Also, too bad I just came across your work because it would've been great to collaborate on this given the knowledge you have of Chinese and the amount of research you put into the toponyms of your series in Southeast Asia.
Much appreciated for your kind words. If you'd like any help on stuff like that in the future, feel free to hit me up.
 
Last edited:
Arstotzka V1.0

arstok (1).png
 
Inspired by B_Munro's Reign of the Superpowers, I have created another ASB map with a different set of powers. I do not exactly followed the previous creations' profiles but here's the border sources:
- Great Britain from B_Munro's The Reign of George VI, 1900-1925
- Brazil from Isaac Beach and CyberPhoenix001's Brazilwank
- Sultanate of Egypt from Magnysovich's Teutonic Empire
- Sikh Empire from wildviper121's The Sikh Empire (Sarkar-i Khalsa), 1720-1912
- Chinese Tsarat from Comte de Dordogne's The Chinese Tsarat under Romanov rule
- The Netherlands and Dai Viet from B_Munro's Odd Superpowers

Obviously this map is also heavily Code Geass-ish, as you can see from the names. With that said, all of this started when Napoleonic France won the Battle of Trafalgar and successfully invaded the British Isles after that. Subsequent battles drove the British and the Portuguese off their motherlands and to settle down in the New World, though the British had to fight a bitter war to get rid of the US. In Europe, Napoleon started his conquest in Russia, captured Saint Petersburg and pursued the fleeing Romanovs up to the Urals. In the aftermath, European Russia was divided into 3 smaller nations, including a revived Novgorod Republic. The Ottomans would be Napoleon's next target, but before he moved in the Balkan, Mehmed Ali Pasha approached the Emperor and made a deal to divide the Turks' realm together. Meanwhile, the sizable Russian remnants approached the Chinese border at the time the Qing government was busy suppressing the Eight Trigrams Rebellion, and that was the start of the transition from Qing to Jirjak. The influx of Han refugees from the North and the vassalization of Souther China (Later Ming dynasty) bolstered Emperor Minh Mang to enter an alliance with Burma to destroy Siam once and for all. However, after Siam was down, the alliance now had to witness the rise of the Sikhs to the West and an encroaching Dutch Empire-in-Exile to the South.

P/S: I didn't calculate the GDP numbers seriously so please just take it for fun. Also this is the first time I tried out a different water color, it works for most except the French and the Swedish. :frown:
I changed the colors of France and Sweden and I like it much better now. Also adjusted a few borders and added outlines for landmasses.

Some in-world lore:

- The Frankish Empire is the world's foremost superpower and also the oldest state among them (if you count the proclaiming of the Imperial State of Namyuet as the birth of a new entity). Although not as militaristic as they once were, the Empire still maintains the second largest standing army on Earth. Gallicanism and Neo-Carolingianism are the two pillars of Frankish soft power propaganda, mainly aiming at nations in the former Mediterranean world. For matters outside of Europe, the Franks remain pretty unenthusiastic unless things involve legal issues which need to be settled in accordance with the Federation Charter (many call them laws nerds nowadays). Still, they have their fair share of legal headaches, as when the Iberian Union challenged them to acquire the status of Morocco's Protector.

- The Britannic Federation prides itself on being the second richest economy in the world despite loosing the homeland (still ranting that they would have surpassed the Franks decades ago if it hadn't been the case). What were once Indian reservation zones under the Yankees are now special economic zones run autonomously by the natives, with assistance from advisors directly appointed by the Crown (or so they said). The Deep South is still an underdeveloped backwater compared to the nation's economic heart in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence region and resents the Crown for the privileges given to the natives. Externally, the Federation is butting head against Brasilia to protect the rights of its fruit companies in Central America.

- The Commonwealth of Brasilia is still recovering from many years of warfare against its neighbors to ensure its own integrality and establish hegemony over the southern subcontinent. As a result, they remain the least populated one among the superpowers despite attracting a fair share of immigrants from Europe (mostly Catholic conservatives). Unable to compete directly against the economies of the Franks and the Brits, the Commonwealth has re-branded itself as a world hub of luxury manufacturing. Brasilian goods, especially its wine, coffee & canned fruits, are extremely popular in the Middle East and South East Asia. Recently they have initiated a long series of negotiation with the government of Namyuet for exclusive rights to open coffee plantations there.

- The Caliphate of Cairo is seen as the rightful leader of the Islamic world and successor of the once mighty Ottoman Empire (the Turks still manage to hold on to whatever left for them though). Since half a century ago, the purge of the Mamluk elites has paved the way for the eventual centralization of power in the hands of the House of Alawiyya. While the Caliphate does not contest the influence of other superpowers in parts of Africa outside its sphere, it zealously maintains the control over the Arabian peninsular, even preventing Persian attempts to annex Basrah on multiple occasions. They once proposed that Unguja should become the headquarters of the newly established UFN (much to the protest of Zanzibar) but have since invested heavily into the island to turn it into a haven of tourism.

- The Chinese Tsarat is the weirdest oddball among the superpowers. Founded by the fleeing Romanovs when the Manchus were on their last legs, the Tsarat had gone through several decades of social upheaval, purging the nation of undesirable elements by the standards of Eastern Orthodoxy. Surprisingly though, the current Patriarch of Vladimore (OTL Shenyang) has a very warm relationship with the Dalai Lama in Lhasa, much to the chagrin of the Imperial Family. Ruling over a dissent population, the Tsarat has to limit itself from intervening militarily into matters of its neighbors and settle things with economic pressure instead. For some reasons unknown, the Romanovs revived an ancient practice done by the Mongols before by always marrying a Joseon princess to their future heir.

- The Khalsa Confederacy is the world's most militaristic nation with nearly 2.5 million standing soldiers, more than twice the amount of Francia. When British power in India collapsed due to French invasion of the Home Islands, the Sikhs quickly expanded and managed to establish control over most of the subcontinent in the next 5 years. Despite their lack of naval tradition, the Confederacy successfully built up an alliance network along the coast of the Indian Ocean which is capable of challenging the Dutch. Pretty religiously tolerant, they often receive warnings for accepting religious dissidents escaping from surrounding superpowers, especially the Tsarat. However, the sheer size of their domestic market makes words just words.

- The Imperial State of Namyuet is the superpower reigning over South East Asia and a signification portion of the South Pacific Ocean. Ascending in the aftermath of the Qing-Jirjak transition, Namyuet absorbed a huge influx of Han refugees and internally claimed the Mandate of Heaven. Externally, they still pay nominal respect to the Later Ming - a new Han dynasty emerging in Southern China, but everyone knows this is just because they need a good buffer against the Tsarat. Together with their Brother Empire of Burma, the Namyuetians have turned the South China Sea into their personal lake and eaten into the sphere of the Dutch. A Neo-Confucian civilization through and through, the Namyuetians are still suffering from a cultural lag due to their conservative mindset.

- The United Republic of the Cape is the new entity forged by the remnants of the Dutch Republic, following the loss of the Seven Provinces. They are not considered to be on par with the superpowers though they often pretend and act like one (at least they are acknowledged as the most democratic nation in the world). This overconfidence and the lacking population base cause them to be overstretched, trying to match the Sikhs and the Franks in the Indian Ocean and Terra Australis. In recent years, the Dutch government has shifted their focus to the filmmaking industry in order to promote their "liberal" way of life and gain an edge in the unfolding global Soft War.

- The United Federation of Nations is an international body that acts as a forum for the world's major powers to meet up and discuss matters of grave importance. The idea was first proposed by the Franks when their intelligence service caught signs of Dutch attempts to form a Transatlantic coalition with the Brits to reclaim their homelands. Although the Federation disregarded such a rhetoric, the Frankish Empire couldn't ignore the possibility that they might have to fight against multiple superpowers at the same time. This time, it was the Franks who approached the Caliphate to make a pitch and fortunately things worked. A long heated debate over the location of the UFN's headquarters soon followed before it was settled to be the Golden City. Since the foundation of the organization, most conflicts between the superpowers have been limited to skirmishes. Culture has become the main battleground nowadays.

Reign of the Superpowers v2.png
 
Last edited:
From our recent map game's completion. @BlazingRoman 's Magrathea. Below are the world and religion maps I designed for the sake of aesthetics. I also want to thank not only @BlazingRoman but also @Vitalian @SeaCambrian @Year802701 @Gust @iPolytheistic_tsar @Eparkhos @Blacklister and all other contributors to the map game.

POD is indeterminate and the butterfly effect got hammered quite a lot, but overall, it was a fun map game !
Check us out right here ! : https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...e-phase-map-game.505417/page-19#post-21802069

MAGRATHEA : A MAP GAME
5uL02un.png
st04MYI.png


Here's also an example of the lore that we have from my turn :
gm0gFy8.png
 
Last edited:

Eparkhos

Banned
A group of maps of Middle Earth (based on one map I found on Deviantart) I finished today:
View attachment 640163
Since I already posted it there, here's a copy of the description from DA


And, also, something of a shitpost map I also threw together quickly of this Middle Earth jutting out western North America (the rest of the worlda is from the internet):
View attachment 640165
And, as above, here's the description:
Hey, do you have a link to the geography/landform basemap?
 
Hey, do you have a link to the geography/landform basemap?
Yes, its here: https://www.deviantart.com/taivaansusi/art/Expanded-map-of-western-Middle-earth-495209530

From what I can find it was the map of some Finnish LOTR RPG (the RPG's creator seems to have been the one who posted it on Deviantart).

There's also one I found sort-of-showing the eastern half, although (since I am in the process of turning it into a climate map to post here later) I will tell you that the two don't match in many places, with somem changed geography, base-size of the map and the angle (the eastern one has a slight tilt to the right). But, since it could be useful, here's it as well: https://www.deviantart.com/mairon666/art/The-East-of-Middle-Earth-Third-Age-784013709
 

Eparkhos

Banned
Yes, its here: https://www.deviantart.com/taivaansusi/art/Expanded-map-of-western-Middle-earth-495209530

From what I can find it was the map of some Finnish LOTR RPG (the RPG's creator seems to have been the one who posted it on Deviantart).

There's also one I found sort-of-showing the eastern half, although (since I am in the process of turning it into a climate map to post here later) I will tell you that the two don't match in many places, with somem changed geography, base-size of the map and the angle (the eastern one has a slight tilt to the right). But, since it could be useful, here's it as well: https://www.deviantart.com/mairon666/art/The-East-of-Middle-Earth-Third-Age-784013709
I meant the Earth basemap.
 
I meant the Earth basemap.
Oh, that one I found here on AH.
The current biome worlda, while good for general use, is quite flawed. It had several unpainted islands/minor peninsulas, the placement of the biomes themselves is dubious, and most importantly, it's based on the Wikipedia map, which is poorly sourced -I still haven't found the original map. Here it is with some minor fixes.

View attachment 469926

Now, there are many ways to classify terrestrial biomes and there is no a single standard: trust me, I'm a biologist and we can't agree. However, the World Wildlife Fund is one authority on the matter, and fortunately for us, they have a pretty good and detailed map for us to use.

http://studentclimatedata.unh.edu/climate/biome/WWF_BiomeMap.png

Even better, some AH.com users had already started to translate it to Worlda back in 2016, but it stalled. Still, it's here:

b8wJxo5.png


Anyone wants to help me complete it? It would be an invaluable source for worldbuilding.

Maybe we could adapt Wikipedia's color scheme when it's done (I like it better honestly).

I also have some interesting maps of human land use and aquatic ecosystems to make it even more complete. Unfortunately all biome maps are idealized vegetation; that is, not what exists in reality, but what could or did exist, with no human land use. I have some maps about farm, pasture, terrace, and urban land use that we can use to overlay it over a biome map and get a full picture.

So, any volunteers?
 
Top
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top