Welcome to Teruvkia, an Atlas-style map

[Peter Toth]

Greetings to everyone who's passionate about fantasy cartography and conworlding.

First of all, I apologize for my faux-pas a month ago, when I impetuously posted an incomplete map to the "Finished Maps" section. I'm still reeling from regret concerning that experience.

I've also discovered that the majority of Guild members prefer viewing the classic Tolkien-esque maps, as opposed to the atlas-style maps that I enjoy creating. So I hope this entry doesn't disappoint you; perhaps in the future I will foray into the Tolkien-esque realm as my craft develops, constructive criticism provided.

To those master Guild members specifically (Arsheesh, Pixie?), please criticize this piece to help me continually refine my craft. Also, because I'm considering buying a faster computer, I'd like to ask all Guild members the question: What type of system (amount of RAM, processor, etc) are you using to process your maps? What specifications do you recommend for lightning-fast processing of geographical/topographical features?





Thank you all for visiting Teruvkia. In a couple weeks, I'll invite you to explore another intriguing land more exciting than the last...

Peter

[Azélor]

Also, because I'm considering buying a faster computer, I'd like to ask all Guild members the question: What type of system (amount of RAM, processor, etc)

I'm not sure what is more important between CPU and RAM but ram is cheeper. The bottom line is 8Gb
Pick 16Gb to be confortable but it might be overkill for mapping unless you are working on huge maps. You can buy less RAM now and add more later if you have a limited budget. You need to make sure you have enough memory slot on the motherboard. Some come with only 2 or up to 8 for the more costly ones.

Graphic card help in processing graphics and reduce the work needed by the CPU and RAM. Not nececarly a top priority here.

You can build your own dream pc here https://pcpartpicker.com
Ill tell you if pieces are compatible or not.

[Azélor]

No need to worry about the other post. We don't always have something meaningful to say, which means at leat that it was not aweful.

The map is good but I sense that the mountains have been placed by a generator. Is it Fractal terrain? The software has the stange habbit of surrounding landmasses with mountain ranges. Not impossible but I'm not sure it is realistic.

[Naima]

I have a 32 gb ram ddr4 and 1080ti gtx ...

I like to paint on huge psb files that are several gbs usually , and yes, they lag a lot ...

[Pixie]

Hi there,

I'm all for atlas-style, realistic looking, maps... and all for conworlding (even if it's the first time I see this word!), like before, you caught my attention. And then you go and compare me with Arsheeh calling me a master guilder - now, that's going too far to please me. I'm a small, insignificant, ant, by comparison to the actual master-level members of the guild.

This particular map, to me, adds nothing to your previous works. You've done better already. Here's one thing you could try: in the last stage of "working the rivers", run a strong smooth at low altitudes, as river basins don't normally have that kind of canyons all the way to the sea.

Concerning computers. I just got a super lightweight laptop with 16 Gb ram and a 256 Gb SSD drive. I'm loving how quick it gets things done.

[Peter Toth]

Thank you for all your computer hardware suggestions, as well as your criticism. In response to Azelor's question, the mountains were actually sculpted by hand in GIMP. I created a detailed and realistic mountain texture in Wilbur, then miniaturized it for use in GIMP as a brush. I realize the mountain ranges are out of scale (rather large) for this conworld, assuming it has the same dimensions as the Earth; however, I'm severely limited by my processor and RAM. In placing the mountain ranges on my middle continent, I tried to duplicate North America's general scheme--Rockies near the west coast and the Appalachians near the east. The other continents I just varied that basic scheme in a random way, but that randomness might have been unwise. And in response to Pixie's suggestion, I will certainly try to eliminate the canyons at low altitudes on my next map, using larger settings for Incise Flow before finally computing the rivers. By the way, I've decided to go with 16 Gb of RAM and a large solid state drive, and skip the video card. Thanks again for everyone who offered a suggestion, for I strive to get better at producing high-quality atlas-style maps. I believe it's a highly underrated art form.