April 2008 Entry: Islands in the endless streams

[SpamValiant]

Wow!

I have to admit, su_liam, you've pretty much nailed the response I was going to give. The chart has been through a lot to get to it's destination, but it's been looked after as well as possible in the circumstances. Kind of like the letters Cyrano ran through enemy lines so that they could reach Roxane.

At the same time you're definitely making this trip sound a bit more hazardous than even I had imagined! I haven't made provisions for a desert, and though there is a swamp, I hadn't realised that it would make the messenger quite so ill. Poor bloke doesn't even have a name yet! I hope he recovered properly before trying to swim that fecatory swamp (and does that word mean what I think it means? You'd think the sanitation in royal castles would have evolved past the 'chucking it out of the window' stage...)

[su_liam]

At the same time you're definitely making this trip sound a bit more hazardous than even I had imagined! I haven't made provisions for a desert, and though there is a swamp, I hadn't realised that it would make the messenger quite so ill.

Well, of course, our Prince planned a less hazardous route for his Princess. The Messenger, too, would not have chosen so hazardous a route. He had no power to decide where the currents might drive him after his schooner foundered in the storm. Added a bit to the journey.

Poor bloke doesn't even have a name yet! I hope he recovered properly before trying to swim that fecatory swamp (and does that word mean what I think it means? You'd think the sanitation in royal castles would have evolved past the 'chucking it out of the window' stage...)

I can't find fecatory or fecuid in the dictionary, so I guess we'll have to go with feculent. And, yeah, it means what you think. I'm assuming this is a normal fantasy world with a technological level somewhere in the King Arthur to Pirates of the Caribbean range. Magic might make a difference, but why waste precious manna on something only the serfs will smell?

[SpamValiant]

okay, finally time for a little update. I've been on duty all weekend so no real chance to work on the map, but I have managed to get the poem/riddle pretty much sorted. Just a little polishing needed

So with the layout coming together, I spent tonight trying to add a few coastlines to my parchment, just to see how it feels. Attached is the result so far - I think the layout will be pretty much this, but I might change the style. I'm fairly happy with it but I need to see it with place names on etc before I decide if this is the way I'm going. (Thank god it's a monthly challenge not a weekly one!)

Anyway, not sure if it's considered poor form to solicit advice on challenge maps, but if not feel free to tell me what I ought to do!

More to come over the weekend since I'm not working this time (yay

[RobA]

Solicit away! (never though I'd say that in public)...

I like the look and want to know where you are going with it... The little clusters of islands seems to be telling me something, but what, I can not say...

-Rob A>

[SpamValiant]

Well, I was mainly going to ask for opinions on the coastal style, whether the shading lines work or if maybe for a plain, battered map like this I should go for something simpler.

But looking at it today, after a night's sleep, I actually feel better about it than I did before, so I think I'll keep to this style.

Once I've got the last few island layouts sorted I'll then need to consider fonts, and then whether the map will bear a few landscape marks (hills, mountains etc - I promised a swamp and I'd also like to get in that desert of su-liam's!), and then finally whether to just touch it witha hint of colour. But TBH, all of that is the funstuff compared with polishing off the bleedin' poem. Back to the grindstone...


EDIT - just got back from work, and on my way out to see friends. Thought I'd post the result of last night's session - moved a few islands around, deleted some, added others. Put on most of the island names, still need to finish one small cluster and then all the mainland names. The test will be faded and blended to match the rest of the map once it's all finished....

### Latest WIP ###

[SpamValiant]

Well, I managed to finish off my list of island names, and also come up with names for the coastal towns (incidentally, I think I've managed to avoid repetition but if you spot one let me know!).

Spent the afternoon tinkering with town images, ended up making my own, not sure if I'm convinced but they'll be easy enough to change if I come up with something better. Might tone down the colours a little on these....

Starting to feel like it's coming to life now, but because it's a bit cluttered I'm not sure if it will tolerate more detail like roads or landscape marks. We'll see.

If you're wondering, the blank space at the top will house the Prince's hastily scribbled riddle, so I'm not going to fill it with other stuff.

Anyway, that's where we are up to now, here's the WIP

### Latest WIP ###

[Badger]

Looking great.. I love the colors

[RPMiller]

This is really a cool piece. It gives me an idea for a tutorial and the focus of a story on a map. Wouldn't it be tragic if the messenger got into a sword fight and the map was stabbed through by a thrust that ruined the exact location for the meeting?