City Of Trindlum - will the community help me?

[Ilgoth]

Hey!

My name is Ilgoth and I am new here. I found out about you some hours ago at university while eating my lunch, and I immediately felt the need to register and get into this. I've a burning itch to draw some maps and I think this is the right place to get into?

Since late September, I've been writing a fantasy book. While I've been writing it, I've been building the capital city, Trindlum, in Minecraft. I know it might sound weird to you people, but it is my drug. Trindlum has expanded quite a lot and it is getting extremely tricky, having underground places and so forth. While I've also blogged about this in Minecraft community (even started Youtube channel for it), many followers have felt the need of me explaining the locations better. Which eventually lead me to conclusion I need a map.

So I bought Campaign Cartographer 3 with City - / Dungeon Designer add-ons and been learning it quite nicely. I'm also ready to do some stuff in Photoshop as well.

Before I start making the map for Trindlum, is there any advice you would share with me to improve it? As said, I've been building it so I really need to follow the layout I've done in Minecraft which ofcourse makes this a bit easier.

- Any tricks to present height changes?
- Details: how accurately you do these? Meaning, how 'densely' you put details in your maps?
- The workflow; is there certain stages of making the map?

Hopefully you guys have the time to help a rookie, thanks for reading.

~ Ilgoth

[Chick]

Hi Ilgoth, welcome to the Guild!

[Wingshaw]

Can you post an image/map of your city, even if just a rough sketch at this stage?

THW

[Ilgoth]

@chick, thank you for warm welcome.

@TheHoarseWhisperer; sure! Looks post below.

[Ilgoth]

I made a render from backup files. The southern buildings aren't up to date, but otherwise pretty much. Hopefully this answers better.

I will be writing a bit of a backstory tomorrow and also sharing some plans with the peripheria.

[Wingshaw]

That last image is the one that I was waiting for. I'm a bit unclear about what you are wanting to do, but if you simply want to make a map of that settlement, the first thing is to start converting it into something more diagrammatic. Depending on your ability, there are two ways to do that: print the image, and then simply trace over it on a new piece of paper, taking care to make it look more natural (curvy); or, open it in a computer drawing program (say, Photoshop, GIMP, or even Paint), and, essentially, doing the same thing--painting (on a new layer, if that is possible with your software) it in.

If you take the second option, it is possibly best to stick with just the landshape to begin with, and don't worry about the other features. If doing it by hand, perhaps include other features as outlines, so you do not have to keep printing, and scanning.

THW

[Ilgoth]

Thanks THW, I think I got the working process in my mind now. Will start working on it as soon as got time to do it. Will post here, when got something.

And as I mentioned, a small summary on the history of Trindlum:

History Of Trindlum


Founded on the coast of Rifted Sea, Trindlum became an important location for its neighbours. Not only it provided shelter for eastern people heading west, but newly set mining facility’s discovery of new minerals set its destiny to become the major metropolis of its time. Not too many years later, Trindlum had thriced its size and was declared as the major city state of its area.

Size of your city brings power over your neighbouring lands. Power comes with responsibilities and enemies to your reign. Trindlum was no different and it didn’t take too long for it to face its first military challenge against northern coalition called ‘Prithe’, formed from two different cultures joined together to end Trindlum’s reign over The Midlands. The Conclave (Trindlum’s version of government) decided to take the battle on northern meadows, just on the other side of The Trin Mountain. This decision proved to be a correct one. Pritherian bandits were forced to attack on slightly rising slope, giving huge advantage for Trindlum’s men in arms. The battle was won at the cost of a few thousands and the bandits withdrew back to the north, which is still habited by the descendants of these attackers. North is an unstable place and going there would mean the death of any citizen Of Trindlum. The old blood between these two powers is told through the years and remain unforgotten until settled.

Regardless of its known peaceful charm and interests in commerce, the nobles of Trindlum realized they can’t rely to expect same values from the other cultures. The decade of the military construction began by building the wall around the Old City part, which was the western path for the enemy to take with possible odds to win. Forts were raised, but this wasn’t enough for the nobles. The new weaponry must be created and the engineers came up with powder based projectile weapon, which fired small ball of coal or iron (=musket). Once again, Trindlum had succeeded changing the history and this time it changed all the principals of military strategies. The word of new mystic weapon spread fast and calmed down the world with its existence. For a moment, as it would be only matter of time, when other cultures would get their hands on this new invention.

Battles and incidents abroad aren’t the biggest threat for Trindlum. The true challenge is to keep the city going. City this large, housing more than 750 000 residents, needs large amounts of all resources. Food, clothing, building materials. And holding onto these is the key. Challenge being, these resources and materials aren’t inside the city walls. Exception being the mining network, which only entrance is guarded by military residence. For its nobles, Trindlum is an economical time bomb to go off. Like the sick son, who always wants more. It’s been said that your reign lasts only the time it doesn’t grow too much and when it does, it will face its inevitable fall.

This day, Trindlum is still growing with estimated population of 915 000 and economy has turned down-slope. Small salvation lies in the new invention of the airships, which also made possible of advanced machinery to be developed and the third harbor, which raises the possible volume of incoming exports. Trindlum is standing, but the upcoming events would be the start of the new, darker era and lot of Trindlum is subject to change.