Hi Everyone,

Been awhile since I lasted posted a map. I have been taking the last month or so to get all of my data properly georeferenced so I can do all of my mapmaking in QGIS/ArcGIS Pro. I started out with QGIS, which works great for manipulating the data and analysis (GRASS is amazing!), but the labelling engine really let me down. Biggest issue I had was that the "hitbox" for determining label collisions seems to be, essentially, the entire text box surrounding the label. So if I want to have labels that have a high letter spacing, like for a Nation, with other labels for cities, rivers, etc. "in between" each letter, I can't really do that in QGIS. The Maplex label engine in ArcGIS Pro is absolutely phenomenal, and is much better about being precise with collisions, and generally just has better options than QGIS (as is expected when comparing a free tool to a paid solution). For the labelling engine alone, it was worth it to me to buy a basic ArcGIS Pro license. I am still using QGIS for any hardcore analysis or manipulation, since I'm obviously not going to shell out for the Spatial Analyst extension, but the final map gets put together in ArcGIS Pro.

Anyways, here's my first map out of ArcGIS Pro, with final touches being put together in Affinity Designer:

Sohntu.jpg

Sohntu
Sohntu is located the northernmost region of the Kadoran continent, bordered to the south by the Republic of Gyim. Much of the region was devastated during the Eternal War over 2000 years ago. At the time, Sohntu contained one of the last remaining Imperial Cults left over from the Age of Legend, and it's people today are descended from the survivors of the war, ruled over by the ancestral dynasty of the last remaining Atun (Mortal dieties that were worshipped during the Age of Legend). Although they engage in trade with other regions throughout the Plys Sea, they are largely very protective over their internal affairs, and not much is known about their culture.