Trying to Figure the Scaling for an Overworld Map

[Sir Trevis]

As the title says, I'm trying to figure out the scaling and dimensions to recreate an overworld map that I originally drew in MS Paint (See the first attachment below) I recently obtained CC3+ and set off trying to map the large island/small continent that I've named the Forest of Death (not creative, but effective for its intents and purposes). I used the default 1000x800 template for the map. I'm in the process of rescaling some of the mountain and vegetation symbols on the smaller islands, but I've attached the CC map as it currently stands.

I'm kind of asking 2 things:

1) I'm not entirely satisfied with the CC map yet. Love the software, though. Is there anything I could do that might make it better?

2) Moving forward, what kind of suggestions do you have for dimensions and scaling as I map the other continents and islands of the world?

[Tonnichiwa]

Hi Sir Trevis, Welcome to the Guild.

Interesting looking world. I guess one of the first things I should tell you is that CC3+ works on real world scale. So for instance, the map that you made to the default settings means that it is 1000 miles by 800 miles. So if you know how many miles you are working with for your original map, then recreating it in CC3+ is simply a matter of setting the map template to the correct mileage, (maybe with a few more miles thrown in for a border) and you would be good to go.

One thing to keep in mind when making a map that is large though is that the larger the map, the less individual details that will be seen. If you are making a map of an entire world, rarely if ever will you see capital cities on the map. You will usually only see mountain ranges, giant forests, deserts, jungles, large inland lakes (similar to the great lakes in the USA), etc. Depending on if it is a world political map you might see the borders of countries if they are large enough.

It usually isn't until you get into regional maps that map out countries or provinces or things like that where you will start seeing capital cities, more details on mountains, rivers, major roads, etc.

And of course, when maps go for local areas, that is when you will see things like individual buildings in cities, minor roads, and pretty much lots of detail.

I hope that helps.

[Azélor]

Both islands have different shapes.

[Sir Trevis]

Both islands have different shapes.

Yes, I'm aware of this. My goal wasn't to recreate the shapes exactly, but more to get a rough resemblance of it. The smaller islands weren't there in the beginning either, but I think it makes it look better.

Interesting looking world. I guess one of the first things I should tell you is that CC3+ works on real world scale. So for instance, the map that you made to the default settings means that it is 1000 miles by 800 miles. So if you know how many miles you are working with for your original map, then recreating it in CC3+ is simply a matter of setting the map template to the correct mileage, (maybe with a few more miles thrown in for a border) and you would be good to go.

One thing to keep in mind when making a map that is large though is that the larger the map, the less individual details that will be seen. If you are making a map of an entire world, rarely if ever will you see capital cities on the map. You will usually only see mountain ranges, giant forests, deserts, jungles, large inland lakes (similar to the great lakes in the USA), etc. Depending on if it is a world political map you might see the borders of countries if they are large enough.

It usually isn't until you get into regional maps that map out countries or provinces or things like that where you will start seeing capital cities, more details on mountains, rivers, major roads, etc.

And of course, when maps go for local areas, that is when you will see things like individual buildings in cities, minor roads, and pretty much lots of detail.

I hope that helps.

I was aware that CC3+ is set in miles, however I wasn't aware of much should be seen from different perspectives. Being new to the whole mapping thing, I hadn't really given it much thought. I'll definitely take this into consideration, though, and I may have to rescale my map. I think in the process of taking it to CC3+ I was trying to make the map a bit too big and it may have been throwing me off. Thanks for the advice. I'll be sure to post more maps as I get them done.

[Sir Trevis]

Also, some other detail I didn't mention is that my plan is to map individual continents and combine them into a larger overworld, then map regions from there. Any tips for this process? I've got an idea of how to do it, but I'd like it to be as smooth as possible.

[Sir Trevis]

I made it back around to this map, finally, and decided to nix whatever plans I had for the smaller islands. I cleared the symbols and terrain from them and did it over. I also was able to rescale the map to a 500x500, but the island itself is about 320x340 miles.

### Latest WIP ###