DCS Revised: A Better Color Scheme

[erictom333]

Drex's DCS color scheme is all well and good, but it's been almost a year since the last real update. I'm fixing that.

Spoiler: WIP (23 Aug 2023)

Conventions

• Text is set in 9 point Arial with no anti-aliasing.
• Darker shades, in the left two of the five boxes, are created by painting over the color with 25% opacity black once and twice.
• Lighter shades, in the right two of the five boxes, are created by painting over the color with 25% opacity white once and twice.

Unlike the original DCS, the DCSR won't tell you how to use the different shades, as there are multiple differing schools of thought and the one in the current DCS isn't the one I use.
Layout

Spoiler: Layout map

Pink borders denote columns. Blue borders denote regions. Cyan borders denote subregions.

1. Geography, topography, bathymetry, climate, vegetation, soil types, land use
2. Scandinavia, British Isles, Iberia, France, Benelux, North Germany, South Germany, Italy (I)
3. Zapadoslavia, Yugoslavia, Greece, Romania and Bulgaria, Baltics, Ruthenia, European Russia, Siberia, Caucasus, Anatolia (II)
4. Japan, Korea, North China, South China, Eastern Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia (III)
5. Levant, Arabia, Persia, North India, South India, East India and Burma (IV)
6. Maghreb, West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa, South Africa, Indian Ocean (V)
7. Canada, Eastern US, Western US, Mexico, Central America, Caribbean (VI)
8. Gran Colombia, Andes, Brazil, Southern Cone, South Atlantic and Antarctica (VII)
9. Religion, demography, ideology, economic system, government, alliances and large states
10. Mythology, fantasy and ASB, space

Todo list

• Cutting down on colors in Venezuela; I don't think we need 42 colors for that one country.
• Adding colors for all 88 constellations (if I can fit them)
• Add to Religions: Cult of the Stars; Deism/secondary atheism

 

[Pragmatic Progressive]

• Cutting down on colors in Venezuela; I don't think we need 42 colors for that one country.

A good idea, but we should use those colours for other areas/situations.

• Text is set in 9 point Calibri with no anti-aliasing, although that is open to discussion.

Good that you get rid of antialiasing!

• Darker shades, in the left two of the five boxes, are created by painting over the color with 25% opacity black once and twice.
• Lighter shades, in the right two of the five boxes, are created by painting over the color with 25% opacity white once and twice.

I used the original formula once created by @Ashtagon (as far as I remember). But this might be easier. Is there a way to do it in paint.net, too?

 

[erictom333]

A good idea, but we should use those colours for other areas/situations.

Venezuela has 23 states and 1 capital district. DCS has a total of 42 colors for Venezuela, 11 more than Colombia, Ecuador, and the Guyanas combined. I think we can consolidate a few.

Good that you get rid of antialiasing!

Yeah, it was a major annoyance if I wanted to change a country's colors. I'm still undecided on what font to use: I'm considering either 9.5 point Calibri or 9 point Arial, as both have the nice property where lines are exactly 15 pixels tall, so you can just paste in text.

I used the original formula once created by @Ashtagon (as far as I remember). But this might be easier. Is there a way to do it in paint.net, too?

Just flood fill over with 25% opacity black or white.

 

[Pragmatic Progressive]

Are you open to proposals etc., @erictom333 ?

 

[erictom333]

Are you open to proposals etc., @erictom333 ?

Absolutely!

 

[Pragmatic Progressive]

Absolutely!

We definitely need more colours for Republican Britains. I struggled several times to find a colour for a liberal democratic Republican Britain. The Cromwell colour is okay for an authoritarian state, but frequently, it looks far too much as if Britain were communist.

Also, we do need a colour for lawless areas, i.e. areas in utter chaos where nobody controls anything more than a town or several villages due to chaos.

 

[erictom333]

We definitely need more colours for Republican Britains. I struggled several times to find a colour for a liberal democratic Republican Britain. The Cromwell colour is okay for an authoritarian state, but frequently, it looks far too much as if Britain were communist.

In general I don't like regime-specific colors, unless they are synonymised with a geographic entity or people. DCS already has a blue for "Liberal Republican Britain", does that not suffice?

Also, we do need a colour for lawless areas, i.e. areas in utter chaos where nobody controls anything more than a town or several villages due to chaos.

That's a good idea, although I'm not sure if that overlaps with the unclaimed/uncontrolled light greens we already have.

 

[shearsforest]

How do you plan to differentiate this from THICC?

 

[erictom333]

The geography section is finished. New features include: borders for subdivisions above first level (for example: statistical regions; countries in personal union; colonies of the same country; constituent countries of the UK; Poland, Finland, Khiva and Bukhara within the Russian Empire, et cetera); a color for lines of conflict; lawless areas, suggested by @Pragmatic Progressive; and non-water liquids for fantasy maps or other planets.

 

[erictom333]

Here's the first actual segment: Scandinavia. Now featuring colours for Kvens, Meankielis, Jan Mayen, Arendel from Frozen, and Santa's workshop. [Edit 1: Added Gotland and new aliases]

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How do you plan to differentiate this from THICC?

No idea, honestly.

 

[PobreCesar]

How do you plan to differentiate this from THICC?

Keeping the number small enough for them to be navigated?

Here's the first actual segment: Scandinavia.

Nice work.

 

[Pragmatic Progressive]

borders for subdivisions above first level (for example: statistical regions; countries in personal union; colonies of the same country; constituent countries of the UK; Poland, Finland, Khiva and Bukhara within the Russian Empire, et cetera)

Wonderful!

Here's the first actual segment: Scandinavia. Now featuring colours for Kvens, Meankielis, Jan Mayen, Arendel from Frozen, and Santa's workshop.

Also excellent. We should decide what we should do with far-left or other ideological colours. I would like a separate far-left Scandinavia colour, but wouldn't be opposed to a colour doubling for this (e.g.: Finnish Norway/Kvens). A far-right Scandinavian colour is superb, thanks!

 

[da Racontor]

Wonderful!


Also excellent. We should decide what we should do with far-left or other ideological colours. I would like a separate far-left Scandinavia colour, but wouldn't be opposed to a colour doubling for this (e.g.: Finnish Norway/Kvens). A far-right Scandinavian colour is superb, thanks!

I had an idea one time for extreme ideologies, but it would probably get in the way with these larger colors schemes.
For example, a far left color would be the normal color with a 25% red overlay, replicating the system used for protectorates and colonies.

 

[Pragmatic Progressive]

Looking through the Scandinavian segment, @erictom333 , what about a colour for a Monarchist/Stratocratic/German Finland? I think I would use Sakakunta for now... Also, what about a Spanish, Portuguese or Hispanic Scandinavia?

Another idea would be colours for American and British variants of Iceland and Greenland. Maybe even Hispanic/Spanish/Mexican?

 

[erictom333]

Also excellent. We should decide what we should do with far-left or other ideological colours. I would like a separate far-left Scandinavia colour, but wouldn't be opposed to a colour doubling for this (e.g.: Finnish Norway/Kvens). A far-right Scandinavian colour is superb, thanks!

In general I'm not a fan of ideological colors. I only use them if a country is undergoing civil war. Thank you for reminding me that I forgot the Gotland/far-left Scandinavia color, though.

Looking through the Scandinavian segment, @erictom333 , what about a colour for a Monarchist/Stratocratic/German Finland? I think I would use Sakakunta for now... Also, what about a Spanish, Portuguese or Hispanic Scandinavia?

Another idea would be colours for American and British variants of Iceland and Greenland. Maybe even Hispanic/Spanish/Mexican?

I have added "German Scandinavia", "Latin or French Scandinavia", "Iberian Scandinavia" and "American Scandinavia" as aliases for the Aland Islands, Lolland, Viking-Bergen, and the Faroe Islands; I doubt more specific colors are necessary.

 

[erictom333]

Great Britain. Now featuring colors for most (not all) English counties.

 

[Pragmatic Progressive]

In general I'm not a fan of ideological colors. I only use them if a country is undergoing civil war. Thank you for reminding me that I forgot the Gotland/far-left Scandinavia color, though.

That's okay. I would like a few more such colours (monarchist/republican and technocratic/militarist would be my main ideas - not much more though, and not every nation needs colours for a militarist state, e.g. a "militarist Congo" is much rarer than a militarist Germany, Britain or Scandinavia).

I have added "German Scandinavia", "Latin or French Scandinavia", "Iberian Scandinavia" and "American Scandinavia" as aliases for the Aland Islands, Lolland, Viking-Bergen, and the Faroe Islands; I doubt more specific colors are necessary.

of course such aliases are okay, too. In the British section, there are enough colours to represent different ideologies - there are specific far-right, far-left and Republican (liberal republican and authoritarian republican) colours, wonderful! And for a specific different ideology, I'll just use a colour for a county.

What might be cool though is one such county colour, maybe Lincolnshire or Leicestershire, doubling for a (modern) Absolutist Britain.

 

[erictom333]

Here's Iberia. I did a bit of reassignment, reordering, relabeling, and in a few cases cutting of colors.

(Edit: Added two more colors)
One question for the rest of you: I've changed the "Malaga/Turkish Spain" color from light blue to the purple I've been using for the Turdetanians, which I added as an alias. Should I keep the new purple, change it back to light blue, or make the Turdetanian color seperate or an alias of a different color?

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(Apologies for the late reply)

...
What might be cool though is one such county colour, maybe Lincolnshire or Leicestershire, doubling for a (modern) Absolutist Britain.

I actually repurposed Leicestershire from DCS's "Absolutist Britain"; I thought absolutism is too specific to warrant a color.

 

[Pragmatic Progressive]

I thought absolutism is too specific to warrant a color.

In earlier centuries you are of course right, most monarchies were absolutist. I was referring to a modern absolutist state in Europe, and of course I just propose a secondary Alias, not a separate colour.

One question for the rest of you: I've changed the "Malaga/Turkish Spain" color from light blue to the purple I've been using for the Turdetanians, which I added as an alias. Should I keep the new purple, change it back to light blue, or make the Turdetanian color seperate or an alias of a different color?

Honestly, I have no opinion on this since I've never needed either a Turkish Spain or Turdetanian colour.

Regarding "cutting colours" - it is a valiant effort, but I still think we need a colour for at least a Syndicalist Spain and maybe a far-left Catalonia. I would also like a colour for ETA/radical Basque state.

 

[erictom333]

In earlier centuries you are of course right, most monarchies were absolutist. I was referring to a modern absolutist state in Europe, and of course I just propose a secondary Alias, not a separate colour.

The only use I see for ideology colors are for if a country is in civil war, and I can't see any distinction necessary between regular monarchism and absolutism. If one is needed, use the dedicated ideology colors in the ideology section (coming eventually).

Regarding "cutting colours" - it is a valiant effort, but I still think we need a colour for at least a Syndicalist Spain and maybe a far-left Catalonia. I would also like a colour for ETA/radical Basque state.

I have no idea what syndicalism even is, and syndicalism was never implemented OTL (to my knowledge, and definitely not enough to warrant distinguishing it from communism or fascism in country colors), so a soft no to the first. Regarding "Far-left Catalonia", why that in particular? And "ETA/radical Basques" was originally going to be under France, but I might move it to Spain and give "French Basques" its own color.