I think all he would need to do is change out the medallions and it would probably serve for just about anything. I would fix the splines first though. I didn't even notice it before now but a few of them are partially lost. I guess you would have to extend the lines out through the rest of the map manually (unless there's a larger version)? It's a very cool looking entry in any case.

Every time I make a compass rose I think about the image it will go on and create from that space. So it seems to me that most of the time the compass rose is built for the map. There are some that are created to be more generic and they might have greater usability. I like my compass rose for instance but it's not going to work for just any map.

I think that if you took any of these rose's and put them on the right map they would be excellent. If you were to place one of the other roses on that same map however it would look less than stellar. A few would translate well on almost any map. Your compass for instance would be perfect for a wooden fortress or a map of the wild frontier. It wouldn't be so hot on an urban city map though. Mine either for that matter.

So, while I don't disagree with you (because I always try to be a little different myself), I am not surprised by how the voting has gone. It's actually pretty much what I expected. Knowing your audience is important too. I think it's also fairly obvious that most here are Fantasy lovers and creating that direction is naturally going to garner votes. Every now and then a science fiction entry does really well but it has to be smokin because the audience is not quite as big. Personally, I love fantasy but I want to go into Sci-fi because there just isn't enough of it around in my opinion.

When I started joining in on these challenges I always went in thinking, "Man, I hope my entry doesn't suck." Being in the pack or coming in 2nd, 3rd, 4th meant I did alright, especially with the talent level around here. At first I used to sit and watch the votes clicking in but then I found that I was better off by just moving on to my next project. That way if my entry tanked I wasn't all bummed out because I was already in the middle of something better anyhow.

All that said, there are certainly those here who vote for uniqueness but it's not often that uniqueness alone wins. It still has to be awesome. Plus, we do have a number of voters who just pass through, take a quick look, and cast their votes.

I actually expected Hai-Etlik's entry to come in first place because I think it would work for a larger variety of maps as it is. I love my entry and I think it's very cool but I'm not shocked that it's not the most universal. The most important thing is that I learned a new technique when I made this and I will be able to use that from now on whenever I need it.