Errispa

[Mouse]

This is a world map I've been putting off mapping for some considerable time now, but I need to get it sorted out.

Some may remember the first map I ever uploaded here at the Guild last summer, called Ethran, which showed the shadow of a twin world I called Errispa, but nothing of Errispa itself.

Well, after a lot of false starts, this is the world I've chosen as Errispa:



And this is the Equirectangular projection I exported from Fractal Terrains 3:



There are as yet no added details, but that is because I need to make an important decision about the projection for the world map. A bit of story is probably appropriate here...

Domar is an astronomer, in fact he's the only one on Ethran (where all the people are). He has worked out for himself that the twinning of the worlds is unstable, and that there will be either a catastrophic collision, or an equally catastrophic departure. He doesn't understand the forces holding the two worlds together, and in fact they defy the laws of physics because they have a lot more to do with 'magic' and 'demi-gods' than physics. He has, however, reasoned that Ethran is dying, and that the only hope his grandson has of living to adulthood is to somehow cross the void to Errispa, even though their culture is late middle-ages, and they have no means to do it the conventional way. That aside, however, he has also reasoned that if anyone does get to Errispa what they will need is a map - an atlas. So he's spent the last 20 years of his life patiently observing the sister world and drawing it a little piece at a time in a huge (and now very precious) book...

I'm not going to go any further than a few key regional maps with Errispa, but I do need to produce a decorative world map, and also a practical version on which to show certain features that are referred to in the story.

The sensible map projection I've chosen is the Compact Miller



The possible projections I have selected for the decorative map are these two:

A Mollweide...



Or a Nicolosi Globular (Two-Hemisphere)



The problem is I can't decide which! LOL!

All comments and advice welcome

[damonjynx]

Mouse, apparently you favour both equally, if that's the case I heartily recommend embracing chaos; roll a die, odds it's option 1, evens option 2, flip a coin or if you roll a die that's faces are divisible by 3, 1/3 option 1, 1/3 option 2, 1/3 pick a different projection (if there is such a thing)! I'm afraid the technical side of cartography is beyond me at the moment!

Other than that, really cool looking project and excellent story. Will there be folk attempting to steal his work for their own agenda's...

[Mouse]

Mouse, apparently you favour both equally, if that's the case I heartily recommend embracing chaos; roll a die, odds it's option 1, evens option 2, flip a coin or if you roll a die that's faces are divisible by 3, 1/3 option 1, 1/3 option 2, 1/3 pick a different projection (if there is such a thing)! I'm afraid the technical side of cartography is beyond me at the moment! ...

Oh you and me both! I couldn't tell you what the difference is at all, other than some of them look nice, some look sensible, and some just look downright weird

I don't think there's a perfect projection for anything, but loads of best fits. I downloaded this earlier and was playing around with the full range of NASA projections...

...Other than that, really cool looking project and excellent story. Will there be folk attempting to steal his work for their own agenda's...

Oh you betcha!!! Looooads of trouble

[handsome_unlimited]

awesome! i love it. my vote would be for the Nicolosi Globular. i have no idea why, but i've never liked the look of the oval projections like hammer and mollweide. then again, i'm boring and like the equirectangular version most of all...

[damonjynx]

I don't think there's a perfect projection for anything, but loads of best fits. I downloaded this earlier and was playing around with the full range of NASA projections...

That's cool. If I knew what an equirectangular thingy was I'd probably download it and have a look! Will your story a) be a novel or b) multi-part series? I ask because this is way too much work for anything smaller than a novel.

[Voolf]

This looks very promising Mouse. And knowing your skills with CC, guess it's gonna be great. Go for the two hemisphere, always two, two is more then one, the wow effect will also double

[Quenten]

I prefer the two hemisphere projection (which I use a lot in Fractal Terrains). I do try to get it so no landmass crosses 2 hemispheres though, but I am not sure where you derived your maps, and how wedded you are to the land masses. Otherwise I would stck with equirectangular, despite its distortions the closer you get to the poles.

[Mouse]

awesome! i love it. my vote would be for the Nicolosi Globular. i have no idea why, but i've never liked the look of the oval projections like hammer and mollweide. then again, i'm boring and like the equirectangular version most of all...

Thanks Handsome

Equirectangular is cool, but there is way to much distortion towards the poles for my needs, which are 1 formal map, and 1 decorative (which might possibly feature in part on the cover design). The Miller Compact is also distorted, though not quite as badly as the equirectangular - a compromise... but then, all map projections are compromises

That's cool. If I knew what an equirectangular thingy was I'd probably download it and have a look! Will your story a) be a novel or b) multi-part series? I ask because this is way too much work for anything smaller than a novel.

An equirectangular projection is the way that most planet skins are presented for download on the web. Its twice as wide as it is tall, and the distortion towards the poles (which are represented by the entire length of the top and bottom edges of the projection) is totally horrendous, but most of the time we get away with it because the interesting part of most planet maps is usually more towards the 'more habitable' equator than the poles.

But of course its a novel! LOL! I thought we were all writing novels... weren't we? Nowadays just 1 book is never enough. Readers expect at least a trilogy, if not more, so I guess I'll have to get all 5 of mine nicely lined up and ready for the off. The map of Errispa is actually more important than the map of Ethran... but that's all I want to say right now

This looks very promising Mouse. And knowing your skills with CC, guess it's gonna be great. Go for the two hemisphere, always two, two is more then one, the wow effect will also double

Thanks Voolf

There's a whole lot more guessing than you know, as I haven't decided yet whether I'm going to do a CC3 map, a GIMP map, or a hybrid of the two. I need to do something original and completely different. I pulled it off once with a CC3 map of Ethran, using nothing but the native CC3 fills and effects (give or take an ice texture I made for myself),but I'm not so sure I can do it again (be completely original and different I mean) without drawing at least some of it by hand.

I'm leaning more towards the Nicolosi Globular two hemisphere map myself this afternoon (with the additional adjustment of moving the hemispheres together so that they touch in the middle), but because its a lot of work thrown away if I change my mind later on I will give myself a couple of days to be sure of my decision before I make a proper start. I also have a real life commitment that may make me incredibly slow for the next fortnight at least

I prefer the two hemisphere projection (which I use a lot in Fractal Terrains). I do try to get it so no landmass crosses 2 hemispheres though, but I am not sure where you derived your maps, and how wedded you are to the land masses. Otherwise I would stck with equirectangular, despite its distortions the closer you get to the poles.

The map is an FT3 world with added island chains and filled in lakes. Later on (when I've figured out the overlay system properly) I will make a more realistic globe of Errispa ready for the obligatory author's webpage.

All the projections I've displayed above are beautiful to me, but for different reasons. I'm already seeing the border decorations in my mind's eye, rather than the otherwise awkward blank spaces the more decorative projections currently have around them. It won't be 'Francesca Baereld' when I'm done with it, but that's the general idea. Although maybe I've raised expectations a little too high just by saying that out loud! LOL! Its something I dream of being able to do, as I'm sure a lot of others do too. The cluster of landmasses I am interested in are all complete, though divided between the two hemispheres. I may try to adjust the position of the projection to position them more attractively if I decide to go with the Nicolosi Globular Projection for the decorative map, rather than the Mollweide.

I think I must be missing something in FT3, even though I've just re-downloaded and reinstalled the software and its updates this morning as a result of reading your comments, because I can't find the two hemisphere projection you refer to. That was originally why I tried the NASA software. I must be doing something wrong to not be able to see it, but that's no surprise - I muddle my way through most things and make more than the average number of mistakes before I accidentally get it right

[waldronate]

I've probably mentioned this before, but http://www.progonos.com/furuti/MapPr...C/cartTOC.html has a great deal of information about map projections. You might want to look at adding a grid to get a solid impression of the kinds of distortions that you're seeing. For whole-world projections, I like the Hammer projection. Some folks are put off by the continuously-curved grid, but I find that to be part of its appeal.



The two-element projection in FT is called "AE Hemispheres" and it's a composite projection with two azimuthal equidistant elements on the same display at once (it may not have made it into the final shipping versions). FT uses the Projection.txt file to define composite projections such as the two below that are composed of various Sinusoidal elements. I didn't do a great job on the interface for those, though.

[Ilanthar]

Very nice landshapes! I'm looking forward to see this develop.