[WIP] Niva Realm

[Iggy]

My second world and I thought it was time to check for some possible reactions. I wanted to do things slightly differently from my previous map (still a WIP too) and came up with the idea of a single so called "super continent" with countless smaller islands elsewhere. The continent is perfectly habitable, the islands (those coloured in orange) are not, nothing grows there, don't bother planting anything. No rivers are drawn because of the small scale of the map, three major mountain ranges are present (tectonic plate collisions) with other minor mountains scattered across (basically where I wanted them). The map is to be used in a novel, the purpose is not to create a map 100% scientifically possible (which it probably is not). The red line running across the continent is the wall protecting the eastern half for "bad stuff" in the western part. On the left hemisphere you can see black islands who I have yet to edit, but those don't matter to the story at all, only the continent matters. I am also questioning whether or not I should drawn forests and such on the map or leave it for more regional maps. Any thoughts?

Here's the map;


Direct link

Of course I forgot to mention; the north and south pole on the right hemisphere are grey because their climate layer is visible, that is one of the colours to indicate the climate. The black dots are locations without names.

[Iggy]

Right. I made some drastic changes since only the main continent matters. I copied it to a new file and increased the size to 12,000 x 12,000 pixels. This meant I had to redrawn all coastal lines, a tedious task done at 3 times zoomed in. Some islands were redrawn to make for a more interesting land shape but I'm still not satisfied with the whole shape. What you can see below is nothing more than plain and simple land form, I want to have a final form before continuing.

So, any comments?

[Iggy]

Right.

Anyway, I encountered an issue I'd like to hear some opinions on. The map, in his current Photoshop format, is a huge 3,28Gb. The major reason for this massive file size are the texture layers that span the whole 12,0000 x 12,000 pixel sized image. I already have grouped sections of the map (roads, rivers, vegetation, mountains, ect.) with each holding more layer groups but still, I think this is going to grow way over my head if I don't use a more practicable approach. I am thinking of making parts of the map in their own Photoshop file and import the map as a flatten image into the big map. This is easy to do with the islands, they are already their own scrap of land but the issue lies with how to divide the huge landmass into chunks that can be worked on in a separate file. Does anyone have an idea on how to tackle this?

I also decided to use the Mike Schley style from the recently released Campaign Cartographer 3+ version. I was working on the big island at the top right part of the map, here's the current status;



Obviously not complete but this is a work in progress for that.

[Azélor]

how many texture layer do you have ? 3.2GB is huge even for a 12 000 x 12 0000 px.

[Iggy]

how many texture layer do you have ? 3.2GB is huge even for a 12 000 x 12 0000 px.

I have 10 layers with each a ~ 300Kb patterns applied. How this caused the file size to explode form 135Mb to 3.28Gb is beyond me.



I did some testing yesterday and shrinking the map down by 50% had barely effect on the file size.

It's those pattern layers all right, when I delete the group "Continent" the file size drops from 3.28Gb to 400Mb.

Maybe worth mentioning is the exact version of Photoshop I'm using, it's the CC 2014 version (latest updates and all).

[Pmumble]

I'm very new to all of this mapmaking business but I do know some technics:

If you're using CC 2014 look into using "Linked Smart Objects". They automate the process of flattening a group of layers into a single image that is imported into the parent drawing. I used this method to separate a 14GB file into a number of smaller 1-3GB files in a very large project recently and it works well. You also get the bonus of being able to no destructively apply filters on the object(merged image). If you make a change to the smart object in its file and save it, it will automatically update it's merged image in all its parent files.

I chose to isolate collections of layers into their own files (floors), but it could be used for something like quadrants as well. The tricky part is figuring out what groups you need to work smoothly. Sometimes I need to import an outline layer from one file to another for reference.

Of course reducing the size is probably the best first option. The less complicated the better. Once you start this process you need to start synchronizing layer styles and such across all the files and it adds a lot of overhead.

I'm using this style of masked full size texture layers and having the same exact problem. I'd love to find out there is a better way.

[Iggy]

Okay, I exported the two ocean layers into their own PSB file (good for 350Mb) then imported that file into the map as a linked smart object, then I deleted the original ocean layers from the map. Look and behold, the file size jumped up again from 3,28Gb to 3,58Gb. What the.......

Edit; Reducing the image size down to 8,000 x 8,000 pixels dropped the size to a more acceptable 1,62Gb. I think I need to leave it at this size and not try to put as much as detail of the map in one file as possible but merely stick to the main details of the terrain.

[Pmumble]

If you're just exporting a single layer then yes, that won't reduce the size because the merged image is always going to account for 1 layer's worth of image data at your image dimensions/depth in the parent file. It only works when you're merging image information to reduce size.

I'd hope there's a better way to create a larger map with a smaller file size though, hopefully one of the experts will drop us a hint.

Looking forward to following your updates on this map.

[Iggy]

Apologies for the low size and image quality but the file size restrictions on this forum is rather irritating. I posted this update to show the progress on the mountains, the three major mountain ranges are placed, they look extremely jagged because of the Mike Schley icons I use from CC3+. Some large hills are placed as well. Before I continue, however, I believe it's time to determine the climates in the region, the scrap of land you're looking at is rather large (think North plus South America together and you'll get the idea). I only hope I can get away with a minimum of deserts while still having a sort of realistic climate. Or should I draw rivers, forests and the like first?

Oh, the red horizontal line is the equator, the thicker red line running from north to south is a massive and ancient wall dividing the continent (And although not inspired by in any way, think the Wall from Game of Thrones / A song of ice and fire only made of solid stone and that's roughly the picture). The structure does let rivers pass, it's builders were clever enough to realize the importance of rivers to the climate of land.

[Iggy]

I've been following Pixie's tutorial on placing climates and arrived at task 4 (placing the winds). I'm not sure if I got the directions correct, could someone give any indication whether or not I'm doing it right;

January winds;


July winds;