Karros: The Birth of a World (WIP)

[Nomadic]

I think you'll need some boundaries going off the edges of the maps and joining up on the other side. Right now it looks like your continent is one big plate that's shattered into smaller ones, surrounded by a single large ocean plate that isn't moving or doing anything.

That's because I didn't do any ocean plates.

[EDG]

That's because I didn't do any ocean plates.

You didn't make any at all? Or did you just not show them here? They're going to influence what's going on at the coastlines of your continent - an ocean plate subducting under a continental plate will cause volcanoes and mountains along the coastline, an ocean plate subducting under another ocean plate will result in island arcs like Japan as the sediment piles up to make islands, etc.

[Nomadic]

You didn't make any at all? Or did you just not show them here? They're going to influence what's going on at the coastlines of your continent - an ocean plate subducting under a continental plate will cause volcanoes and mountains along the coastline, an ocean plate subducting under another ocean plate will result in island arcs like Japan as the sediment piles up to make islands, etc.

I haven't done any yet since I am trying to get ahold of my "partner in crime" for the map. Actually since you seem to know what you're doing, here's the alpha map. You are more than welcome to scrutinize it and throw out some pointers/images on where you think would be good for fault lines (both oceanic and land based).

[Ascension]

I know it's not much but...that's a very interesting shape...I'm diggin it.

[Karro]

You didn't make any at all? Or did you just not show them here? They're going to influence what's going on at the coastlines of your continent - an ocean plate subducting under a continental plate will cause volcanoes and mountains along the coastline, an ocean plate subducting under another ocean plate will result in island arcs like Japan as the sediment piles up to make islands, etc.

I haven't done any yet since I am trying to get ahold of my "partner in crime" for the map. Actually since you seem to know what you're doing, here's the alpha map. You are more than welcome to scrutinize it and throw out some pointers/images on where you think would be good for fault lines (both oceanic and land based).

I think what EDG is trying to say is that not only the land masses but also those portions of the world that are below land are parts of tectonic plates, whether continental or oceanic, and that these plates all interact with each other. Further, tectonic plates are continuous around the globe.

The way you currently have this divided up, if we assume that this one land mass represents the sole super-continent on the planet, then there are a large number of smaller continental plates that make up this land mass, and then one ginormous oceanic plate that makes up the rest of the (submerged) surface of the world, and which completely encompasses the smaller plates.

If this is the case, the tectonics will make for a world very different from earth, at least in the short term. I'm honestly not really sure how the plates would move when these smaller plates crash against the super-plate. At any rate, your next step, if you decide that this is in fact the way of this world, would be to determine the relative movements of each of the plates. In my own world-building, I worked with the assumption that tectonic plates follow something similar to a coriolis pattern (albeit flowing on currents of subterranean magma), but a massive super-plate is likely to disrupt that pattern considerably. (Also, I'm not sure that it would necessarily be true that plates would follow a coriolis pattern, but at least it made sense to me, and gave me some logic for how and why my plates were moving in the directions they were moving.)

[Nomadic]

I think what EDG is trying to say is that not only the land masses but also those portions of the world that are below land are parts of tectonic plates, whether continental or oceanic, and that these plates all interact with each other. Further, tectonic plates are continuous around the globe.

The way you currently have this divided up, if we assume that this one land mass represents the sole super-continent on the planet, then there are a large number of smaller continental plates that make up this land mass, and then one ginormous oceanic plate that makes up the rest of the (submerged) surface of the world, and which completely encompasses the smaller plates.

If this is the case, the tectonics will make for a world very different from earth, at least in the short term. I'm honestly not really sure how the plates would move when these smaller plates crash against the super-plate. At any rate, your next step, if you decide that this is in fact the way of this world, would be to determine the relative movements of each of the plates. In my own world-building, I worked with the assumption that tectonic plates follow something similar to a coriolis pattern (albeit flowing on currents of subterranean magma), but a massive super-plate is likely to disrupt that pattern considerably. (Also, I'm not sure that it would necessarily be true that plates would follow a coriolis pattern, but at least it made sense to me, and gave me some logic for how and why my plates were moving in the directions they were moving.)

No what I meant was that I hadn't yet decided on the placement for oceanic plates. Even the land plates aren't a certainty yet. So I just glossed the ocean over for now until I am sure how I want the plates to separate.

In other news my partner in crime showed up and said he was willing to help work with me to figure plate placement and drifting. That doesn't rule out the ability for you all to give feedback on your ideas. Things are still very new so it's all just beginning to get going. This is the tedious part where the map layout is decided (the fun part comes when we actually start 'coloring' the map).

[Karro]

No what I meant was that I hadn't yet decided on the placement for oceanic plates. Even the land plates aren't a certainty yet. So I just glossed the ocean over for now until I am sure how I want the plates to separate.

In other news my partner in crime showed up and said he was willing to help work with me to figure plate placement and drifting. That doesn't rule out the ability for you all to give feedback on your ideas. Things are still very new so it's all just beginning to get going. This is the tedious part where the map layout is decided (the fun part comes when we actually start 'coloring' the map).

Ah, I missed that point.

Well, then, good luck!