This map is not the entire planet. It's a super continent in the northern hemisphere. In CC3 it's 10.5k by 6k square miles. I can see how it can be a concern to question why there is so much going on in one map. That is because I have designed this world to be hosted on a single shard server. Kind of like Eve, but with no loading screens, all seamless. I am thinking way out side of the box for this world when it comes to mmos. I am hoping not to have multiple servers. But that's another conversation.
I would agree. When the map is zoomed out, it doesn't look as compelling until you zoom in, in my opinion. Mmorpgs are more focused on content then how realism the world is. The more realistic the world is, the more a player can be immersed in it.
I am the same as you, once you found something that's been around for so long you're attached too it even though it's not that great. And because I am still attached too it, I can't see it in my head to go about it with more realism. That's why I was hoping to find help on here .
The reason for the clutter is simply to show the difference for each zone. There is a lot of different environments for this world. Because CC3 is limited at certain times until they come out with decent annuals that would compliment the current symbols it's hard to do that. I don't know why, but for some reason it will be difficult for me to use less symbols. I may be the only one on this forum who likes a lot of symbols or "clutter". To me it shows detail. Maybe it's the only way for me to show detail.
I like your idea to make it a more realistic pangaea style. The only problem with that is, I am still attached to zooming in and showing the detail of zones with high resolution. Also, this is the largest canvas size in CC3 I could make a map to render without crashing. If I can somehow overcome the clutter/detail part I might be able to do it without zooming in and seeing each place with a crisp resolution.
The Phantom Cauldron is an interesting area lore wise. I am glad that it's attractive to you. Do you currently play mmos? If so so which ones? Or which ones have you played?