Map Thread V

[euio]

Not a bad map; it's a lot like some of the stuff I used to do.

I liked it better when you did that stuff.

And Gamb, the flag doesn't look good white because really, without the fading, it's already white. What you could do instead is either but a border around the flag or change the bacground colour of the map from white to some other colour.

 

[Krall]

I liked it better when you did that stuff.

Well, maybe you'd prefer it if I did stuff like this:

"For hundreds of years the Lokks had lived under the rule of the Arapten Empire. Their women were stolen from them, the men were beaten and made to labour in the mines and the fields until they could no longer move. Their children were taken soon after birth and raised as slave warriors before being marched to death in the name of a monarch who ruled over them without right.

Nothing lasts forever. Everything burns, eventually.

The Arapten were retreating, reeling from a defeat in a war with a power whose name has been lost to time. As they fled across Lokkic territory their soldiers burnt and salted the land in order to deny it to their enemy. They took the women and what loyal men they could find and ran. For a time, food was gold to the Lokks. They could grow no wheat to make bread, and little grass remained to sustain their cattle. But they were soon distracted from their hunger by a greater danger.

The Arapten's enemy, whoever they were, never entered Lokkic territory. They had stopped, or perhaps disappeared. No one knows. No one remembers. The Arapten, realising this, decided to march on Lokkic soil once again. But this time, the Lokks were not so complacent.

Though their population was dwindling and they could barely sustain themselves, the Lokks took up arms against their former rulers. Thousands died. Mountains were formed out of Lokkic and Arapten skulls alike.

At first, there was no obvious victor. There is an old Lokkic saying, "There is freedom in death; he who dies is not defeated, but free", and on this occasion the Lokks stayed true to these words. No matter how terrible their foes; no matter how high the odds were stacked against them; no matter how inexperienced they were, they fought, and fought, and fought, and won. Hundreds of years of tyranny were ended by the selfless sacrifice of tens of thousands of Lokks.

Out of the ashes of the Lokkic tribes arose a new order, the Empire of Einesraum. Einesraum, or "One land" in Old Lokkic, was a loose confederation of tribes, that later became a tight alliance of nations. The Emperor - whose full titles were "Emperor of the One Land, Chosen of the Gods and of Men, Defender of the Lokks, Keeper of the Imperial Crownlands" - was to always be a member of the Council of Imperial Succession, and would be elected by the coucil for life. The Council was made up of various nobles, prominent merchants, various heads of state and royals who were, ex officio, members of this council. In addition to holding a powerful position in society, along with a powerful position on the Council, the Emperor also rules over the Imperial Crownlands; specific territories that have shifted and changed over the centuries.

Some time since the Empire's creation it has become the case that royals and monarchs are the only viable candidates for the Imperial Throne, and that the Throne is dominated by a few, prestigious nations. One such nation is the Great Kingdom of Lothsgarraum.

Named for Lothsgar, a famous Lokkic leader who went from an impoverished farmer to the leader of a vast army of warriors, and who purged the lands in the south of the Arapten, the Great Kingdom was originally small, restricted to what are now its northernmost areas. However, as Lokkic dominance has become increasingly evident, Lothsgarraum has grown considerably. Now it is worthy of being a Great Kingdom (for no country within Einesraum can be an Empire; this would be a challenge to the Emperor's power) and has dominated the Imperial Throne and the Council for several decades.

The ruler of Lothsgarraum - the Great King of Lothsgarraum, Son of Lothsgar and Commander of the Lokks of the South - is, at present, a frail and cunning man named Haugyr. His lineage can be traced back to Kuandar, the Skeleton King of Kansehlie, and the House of Gjannerigg. Whilst frail, Haugyr is by no means senile. Kuandar was his personal tutor in his youth, and through him Haugyr has gained a unique insight into the inner workings of the Empire, and of the world as a whole. He has maneuvered himself onto the Imperial Throne, and has managed to keep his honour the whole way. In his own country, Haugyr has expanded southwards, and has captured powerful trading ports such as Verrez and Os Mujandar (now known as Nahbehefe Genzog). Lothsgarraum's economy is flourishing as a result, and trade between the Lokkic nations has reached a new high under Haugyr's leadership.

Lothsgarraum maintains an informal alliance with Kansehlie. Nothing is said; nothing is signed, but both countries know they are brothers in blood and in arms, and they will fight back-to-back come what may."


For those of you who are interested, "Lokk" is homophonous (i.e. pronounced the same as) "lock", though the pronounciation "low-k" is also acceptable.

Also, here's a bit of info that I couldn't really work into my description of Lothsgarraum, and have only just thought up myself (yeah, I make up this stuff as I go along). Kansehlie's name means "council land" or "land of the council". They got this name from the fact that the Council of Imperial Succession has reliably met there every time they have convened (barring a few occasions involving wars in the area, and Emperors who despised the Kingdom of Kansehlie).

I hope you guys like it!


A higher quality version of this map can be found here:
http://kurarun.deviantart.com/art/The-Kingdom-of-Lothsgarraum-122626596

 

[Shaucker]

...

*looks at*

*sighs*

*gives up mapmaking and writing 4EVAz~*

 

[Krall]

*looks at*

*sighs*

*gives up mapmaking and writing 4EVAz~*

Haha!

Awww, does little Shaucker want a hug?

 

[Shaucker]

...

Shaucker will kick Krall in the fork if he so much as touches him I really love the map. If pushed for criticism, I think the colours are a little overpowering? I like maps to look more muted, especially if they're supposed to be old maps.

 

[B_Munro]

Not quite sure whether to put this in Future Maps, so I’ll put it here - it’s a future, but not _our_ future. Rather, it’s a future inspired by the “Future History” writings of Heinlein. It’s not explicitly ASB, since I leave out mention of rolling roads and moon rockets slightly more expensive than a used car.

It’s sometime in the middle of the 21st century, and the US is under a one-party hardline theocratic regime, and as isolated from the rest of the world as North Korea OTL. Hawaii, not shown on this basemap, is an independent republic (yes, there occasionally are good reasons to secede. If a large part of the nuclear-armed navy revolts against government orders during a civil war and puts you under their protection, you may even get away with it).

There was a limited nuclear engagement during the 20th century, in which the US got its hair messed, the USSR got a bit chewed up, and Europe-especially central Europe - got a massive drubbing.

The USSR managed to pull itself together after near-disintegration, but lost some bits, and in the 21st century pulled out of an increasingly troublesome south Turkestan, feeling that the place was more trouble than it was worth - it is generally not considered a first-rank power any longer, although the profusion of socialistic and communist regimes that have came and went over the rather economically unstable last 90 years have made it seem more influential than it actually was.

A surviving French government in the south of the country expanded north into the radioactive north and what was left of Germany, and is currently ruled by the descendants of an adventurer who claimed he was the rightful heir to the throne of Napoleon Bonaparte. The French Empire is not a first-rank power either, but it is powerful enough to dominate much of a depopulated and exhausted European continent, especially those bits that used to be Soviet puppets.

The various whacky dictatorships and “emergency regimes” that dominated Europe in the immediate post-war era have generally mellowed, although (as in the case of the deeply loony Pannonian Christian Republic) there are some regions which have never quite recovered the 20th century, and most of Europe is run by undemocratic governments. An exception is the Central European League of Salzburg, organized by the Swiss (lightly hit by the war, save for the horrible, horrible radiation) and the ex-Soviet general occupying what used to be Saxony. Surrounded by unpleasant neighbors, the League maintains a position of heavily armed neutrality, as does Finland (now with 20% Soviet refugees!).

The genuine first-rate powers (aside from the US, which would be one if it emerged from it’s current position of HermitKingdomism) are the Federated Democracies, an extensive international free-trade-military-defense-and-annoying-talent-shows union with members on every continent, and the Chinese Union, an oppressive one-party regime with global aspirations.

The Federated Democracies includes several sub-organizations. These include the New Commonwealth, which in the troubled 21st century has picked up some former members looking for safe harbor, and which is led by a Canada rather more populous than OTL. (England and Wales regained self-government in the 2030’s, after a lengthy post-nuclear-horrors period of rule from Canada). There is also the Jakarta league, a defensive union initially formed in the face of Chinese expansion in SE Asia, and the mostly Arabic North African Confederacy (whose inhabitants really don’t get the Olde South jokes).

India is probably the single most powerful member of the Federation, but in a world where globalization never went as far as OTL, has taken rather longer to reach economic takeoff, and is still fairly backwards, although relatively more advanced as science and engineering power than OTL India in 2009. (It was reluctant to move away from neutrality and join the team with the British on it, until Chinese expansionism got really alarming in the 21st century.

The other big power is China and its South African allies: both one-party states with theoretically leftist governments but actually rather capitalist economies, and a deep distrust for Europeans and champions of such disruptive notions as free elections and a free press. China avoided getting involved in the War, due to an earlier and noisier break with the USSR, and moved to reform its economy earlier, although, like India, it was hampered by the wrecking of the European economy in the 20th and the withdrawal of the US in the early 21st centuries (the US still has some trade, but it’s mostly food and machinery for raw materials lacking inside the US boundaries). It’s a more state-driven economy than OTL China, with a military and space industry vastly larger than OTL, and has a rather larger population than our China as well (no one-child program): much of its population must supplement their diet with vat-grown food yeast and synthetics, although at least there’s no woman shortage.

South Africa is less autocratic than China, but is still a one-party state, and has “encouraged” most of it’s white population to leave. The ruling party has ambitions of eventually uniting all of Black Africa under its rule, and it finds the “meddling” of the French and their allies and the Federation in African affairs most annoying.

Socialist Arabia fell apart in the 2010s, and is now divided between the orthodox Neo-Marxist Greater Syrians and the Shariatists to the south, who blend socialist universalism and Islamic orthodoxy in ways that make outsider’s heads hurt. The Iranian dictatorship is doing quite well, thank you for asking, and has some major-power aspirations of its own.

A few countries here and there also follow variant forms of Marxism - the Peruvians have managed a remarkable job of Stalinist modernization, and at the cost of only 4-8% of their population (depending on who’s doing the counting). Japanese find the fact that their own eccentric version of Communism translates in English as “national socialism” rather annoying: they are, after all, a neutral nation, albeit rather heavily armed in case the Chinese try something, and can perhaps be considered the first _genuinely_ “planned, scientific” socialist state in history, with computers rather than commissars.

Brazil is also a substantial power, and Mexico is doing fairly well, although that 20-foot wall topped with barbed wire and smart-gun nests is rather an eyesore. People _will_ keep trying to sneak into Mexico from the United States.

Also not showing on the map is the People’s Republic of Antarctica, formed at first by some whacky Soviet scientist who refused to accept the authority of the new Soviet government over his research station. As a side effect of the war, the US supported this, and ended up subsidizing the absurd microstate. It might have gone the way of Sealandia, but after theocrats took the Senate and White House and started shredding the constitution, the by then quite large number of US science bases seceded and joined the Republic. Today, the Republic is still subsidized, now by the Federation, but as a nation founded mostly by scientists, it has the higher rate of patent production per capita of any country on earth. It’s currently over 10,000 inhabitants mostly live underground, in insulation-lined ice caves heated by nuclear power…

The world has less global warming problems than OTL probably will have by that time, having embraced nuclear power rather more enthusiastically and having developed high-efficiency solar power earlier than we did: South Africa’s solar power farms in the western deserts are quite visible from orbit. (glittery!). Other fields of technology are more or less advanced: computer science isn’t that far developed over OTL 2009 - for one thing, this TL developed the semiconductor rather later and was curiously slow to abandon the use of vacuum tubes. Space travel and exploration, funded by a mix of government and private enterprise, put a man on the moon in the 1980’s, and an international expedition reached Mars in 2008, but space exploration has slowed since the US went poco loco. The Chinese and the Federation have bases on the moon, and they and also the French and the Soviets have manned orbiting science stations, but most people are rather skeptical re Chinese claims that they will put a man on Mars as part of the celebration of the 110th anniversary of the reunification of China under Mao. (Who is praised and buried deep, deep, deep).


Bruce

 

[B_Munro]

And here's the map proper.

 

[Thande]

Well, maybe you'd prefer it if I did stuff like this:

Nice bit of on-the-fly sub-creation. The map's quite good, too.

 

[Krall]

Shaucker will kick Krall in the fork if he so much as touches him I really love the map.

Thank you! For the compliment, I mean, not the threat of fork-kicking...

If pushed for criticism, I think the colours are a little overpowering? I like maps to look more muted, especially if they're supposed to be old maps.

Ah, I see. I'll keep that in mind for my next map.

Nice bit of on-the-fly sub-creation. The map's quite good, too.

"Quite good"?! My friend, what I create is art! Not that I'd expect your inferior, northern brain to understand that!

Thanks for the praise, though.

I've noticed that I somehow managed to feck up the image and remove the little wave-like lines that I'd made along the coast. They should be there now (but they look crap on the GIF version of the image).

 

[Beedok]

My attempt to put the early 20s of dimension 459 onto a map of different projection and scale...messed up a bit, for some reason Prussia and Austria just didn't turn out.

 

[iori]

It's sort of random, in that I did'nt have a clear cut idea of why it's like it is, but yeah. This started out as a map of the European Battle Groups,
until I realized that their are some countries in multiple groups thus making the effort futile.


Key;

Europe;
Britannian Union (Light Red)
Československo Republika (Light Pink)
Deutschland, Föderalistische Union von (Brown)
Éireann, Saorstát (Dark Green)
Française, République (Blue)
Grønland, Republik af (Light Green)
Ibérica, Reino (Orange)
Italiana, Repubblica (Green)
Jugoslavija, Kraljevina (Dark Orange)
Lietuvių-lenkų Federacija (Red)
Magyar Királyság (Light Purple)
Otatürkia Federasyon (Off Green)
Rossiyskaya Imperiya (Pink)
Scandia, Federal Konungariket (Fog Blue)
Shqipërisë, Republika e (Burgandy)
Ukrayiny, Res public (Gold)

Near-Abroad;
1. Algerian Republic
2. Canada, Dominion of
3. Iraq, Hashemite Kingdom of
4. Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of
5. Kazakh Empire
6. Lebanese Republic
7. Morocco-Sawahari, Federated Kingdom of
8. Persian Empire
9. Syria, Hashemite Kingdom of
10. Tunisian Republic

 

[Marxist Plums]

Well, maybe you'd prefer it if I did stuff like this...http://kurarun.deviantart.com/art/The-Kingdom-of-Lothsgarraum-122626596

That is.... phwoar!
Also, how do you get the coastline effects? It'd certainly make my maps looks more authentic.

 

[euio]

Well, maybe you'd prefer it if I did stuff like this:

"For hundreds of years the Lokks had lived under the rule of the Arapten Empire. Their women were stolen from them, the men were beaten and made to labour in the mines and the fields until they could no longer move. Their children were taken soon after birth and raised as slave warriors before being marched to death in the name of a monarch who ruled over them without right.

Nothing lasts forever. Everything burns, eventually.

The Arapten were retreating, reeling from a defeat in a war with a power whose name has been lost to time. As they fled across Lokkic territory their soldiers burnt and salted the land in order to deny it to their enemy. They took the women and what loyal men they could find and ran. For a time, food was gold to the Lokks. They could grow no wheat to make bread, and little grass remained to sustain their cattle. But they were soon distracted from their hunger by a greater danger.

The Arapten's enemy, whoever they were, never entered Lokkic territory. They had stopped, or perhaps disappeared. No one knows. No one remembers. The Arapten, realising this, decided to march on Lokkic soil once again. But this time, the Lokks were not so complacent.

Though their population was dwindling and they could barely sustain themselves, the Lokks took up arms against their former rulers. Thousands died. Mountains were formed out of Lokkic and Arapten skulls alike.

At first, there was no obvious victor. There is an old Lokkic saying, "There is freedom in death; he who dies is not defeated, but free", and on this occasion the Lokks stayed true to these words. No matter how terrible their foes; no matter how high the odds were stacked against them; no matter how inexperienced they were, they fought, and fought, and fought, and won. Hundreds of years of tyranny were ended by the selfless sacrifice of tens of thousands of Lokks.

Out of the ashes of the Lokkic tribes arose a new order, the Empire of Einesraum. Einesraum, or "One land" in Old Lokkic, was a loose confederation of tribes, that later became a tight alliance of nations. The Emperor - whose full titles were "Emperor of the One Land, Chosen of the Gods and of Men, Defender of the Lokks, Keeper of the Imperial Crownlands" - was to always be a member of the Council of Imperial Succession, and would be elected by the coucil for life. The Council was made up of various nobles, prominent merchants, various heads of state and royals who were, ex officio, members of this council. In addition to holding a powerful position in society, along with a powerful position on the Council, the Emperor also rules over the Imperial Crownlands; specific territories that have shifted and changed over the centuries.

Some time since the Empire's creation it has become the case that royals and monarchs are the only viable candidates for the Imperial Throne, and that the Throne is dominated by a few, prestigious nations. One such nation is the Great Kingdom of Lothsgarraum.

Named for Lothsgar, a famous Lokkic leader who went from an impoverished farmer to the leader of a vast army of warriors, and who purged the lands in the south of the Arapten, the Great Kingdom was originally small, restricted to what are now its northernmost areas. However, as Lokkic dominance has become increasingly evident, Lothsgarraum has grown considerably. Now it is worthy of being a Great Kingdom (for no country within Einesraum can be an Empire; this would be a challenge to the Emperor's power) and has dominated the Imperial Throne and the Council for several decades.

The ruler of Lothsgarraum - the Great King of Lothsgarraum, Son of Lothsgar and Commander of the Lokks of the South - is, at present, a frail and cunning man named Haugyr. His lineage can be traced back to Kuandar, the Skeleton King of Kansehlie, and the House of Gjannerigg. Whilst frail, Haugyr is by no means senile. Kuandar was his personal tutor in his youth, and through him Haugyr has gained a unique insight into the inner workings of the Empire, and of the world as a whole. He has maneuvered himself onto the Imperial Throne, and has managed to keep his honour the whole way. In his own country, Haugyr has expanded southwards, and has captured powerful trading ports such as Verrez and Os Mujandar (now known as Nahbehefe Genzog). Lothsgarraum's economy is flourishing as a result, and trade between the Lokkic nations has reached a new high under Haugyr's leadership.

Lothsgarraum maintains an informal alliance with Kansehlie. Nothing is said; nothing is signed, but both countries know they are brothers in blood and in arms, and they will fight back-to-back come what may."


For those of you who are interested, "Lokk" is homophonous (i.e. pronounced the same as) "lock", though the pronounciation "low-k" is also acceptable.

Also, here's a bit of info that I couldn't really work into my description of Lothsgarraum, and have only just thought up myself (yeah, I make up this stuff as I go along). Kansehlie's name means "council land" or "land of the council". They got this name from the fact that the Council of Imperial Succession has reliably met there every time they have convened (barring a few occasions involving wars in the area, and Emperors who despised the Kingdom of Kansehlie).

I hope you guys like it!


A higher quality version of this map can be found here:
http://kurarun.deviantart.com/art/The-Kingdom-of-Lothsgarraum-122626596

That is awesome beyond words. I love that emblem in the cartouche.

However, I question your descision to make Lucida Blackletter the primary font.

 

[TheNordicBrit]

Better version of last one.

What about this one? The descriptions slightly difficult and also I think the flag looks better. Another map like his will follow for a different country.

 

[TheNordicBrit]

United Kingdom of Alba and Eire:

 

[Darkaiz]

What about this one? The descriptions slightly difficult and also I think the flag looks better. Another map like his will follow for a different country.

Looks awesome. I like the effects (that makes the paper look old and kinda withered)

Are these nations a part of a TL you have done? Do you have more of these images with nations + flag? (anything on sweden.... perhaps? )

 

[ImperialVienna]

What about this one? The descriptions slightly difficult and also I think the flag looks better. Another map like his will follow for a different country.

United Kingdom of Alba and Eire:

You may want to think about writing the royal numbering/styling out. I dunno, but it just looks odd, especially for the III and IV.

 

[TheNordicBrit]

Looks awesome. I like the effects (that makes the paper look old and kinda withered)

Are these nations a part of a TL you have done? Do you have more of these images with nations + flag? (anything on sweden.... perhaps? )

Thanks

I'm sort of in the process of making this TL. Right now I'm making more countries but I'e only done the above two so far. I only started it the other day so I haven't got that far. And I'll make a Swedish one if you really want me to

 

[TheNordicBrit]

Sweden-Norway Union, with easier to see Roman Numerals

 

[Krall]

That is awesome beyond words. I love that emblem in the cartouche.

Thanks!

The dragon and horsemen thing is the flag of Lothsgarraum. I haven't decided exactly what it symbolises yet, but the checkered part in the middle represents conflict, the horsemen represent the Lokks, and the dragon either represents, well, dragons or the Arapten.

I got the dragon and horsemen symbols from a font on dafont.com that has a load of other dragon/horsemen/griffon/unicorn symbols. It's rather useful, I'll see if I can find it for you.

However, I question your descision to make Lucida Blackletter the primary font.

It wasn't my first choice, but my first choice looked a lot worse and was, on occasion, barely legible. I think Lucida Blackletter fits in with the rest of the map. What font would you prefer?

That is.... phwoar!
Also, how do you get the coastline effects? It'd certainly make my maps looks more authentic.

Thank you!

I made the coastline effects using InkScape. To it you need to draw a coast line and then connect the ends up. Copy that shape, and then use the "paste in place" option on the edit menu. then go to the path menu (I think) and click "outset". What I did then was to change the path's colour to blue and make it slightly transparent. Then I copied that shape, pasted it in place, did "outset" on it again and made it more transparent. Then I did that once or twice more, and voila!

Oh, and before you try that, you ought to select the shape with the coastline and any islands and use Ctrl + K to make them one shape. That way the outset lines from the islands won't overlap with the ones from the coast.

Here's a bit of a screenshot to show you how the result should look: