OpenGeofiction

TheMayor's diary

Recent diary entries

(Re-)Introducing Deodeca

Posted by TheMayor on 27 March 2022 in English (English).

The reimagined, rebooted Deodeca project is now available for mapping. The new Dominion of Deodeca is intended to be an English-language state-based project that is meant to be something of a counterbalance to the American-inspired Federal States of Archanta to the east, a nation comprised of Commonwealth-inspired former colonies that remained loyal to the Crown when the FSA initially declared independence.

Deodeca is not intended to be the “OGF version” of any real-world nation, although Canadian and Australian influences are anticipated.

Sketch map

Deodeca also includes a new collaborative territory named Agawaskway, a southern Ontario-inspired region organized by varnel_maiser.

If you are interested in participating in the project or have any questions about requesting a territory, please let me know.

Happy mapping!

-Mayor

———

Deodeca is one of several state-based collaborative projects in South Archanta, including Ardencia and the Federal States. All three projects have several vacancies and ways for interested mappers to get involved.

Beta Testing

Posted by TheMayor on 27 August 2021 in English (English).

This is the first post-transition user diary entry. The Transition Team is continuing to migrate servers and test functionality in the new environment.

(Re-)Introducing Seneppi

Posted by TheMayor on 27 April 2021 in English (English).

The collaborative state of Seneppi

On behalf of my fellow state coordinator Ernestpcosby, we are happy to invite mappers to join Seneppi, the Midwestern U.S.-themed collaborative state in the Federal States of Archanta. Seneppi – which includes the former state of Walkegan – represents a broad cross-section of mapping inspired by the Great Lakes region of the United States, including the following areas:

  • Wallawaukee, a modern major FSA city located on the shores of the largest of the FSA’s Grand Lakes;
  • Gramercy and Clinton, two aging cities that were historically the headquarters of the FSA’s auto manufacturing industry but more recently have found themselves as part of the FSA’s “Rust Belt”;
  • the Lake City suburbs, highly auto-oriented suburban sprawl oriented along several trunk highways and motorways radiating out from Lake City;
  • Finch Hill, a small master-planned city that will serve as Seneppi’s new state capital;
  • Gleason, an older river-based city that has reinvented itself as a regional educational and health care hub;
  • and more!

We are seeking mappers who are interested in helping to map one of these urban areas, or who would be interested in adopting a more rural county with small towns and a strong agricultural presence. If you are interested in this Midwestern-style collaborative project, please reach out to myself or Ernestpcosby.

About the FSA

The Federal States of Archanta (FSA) is one of the OGF community’s largest collaborative efforts to date, with dozens of mappers working together to map one of the OGF world’s modern superpowers. While the project has historically been based on the United States and southern Canada, we strive to use North America only as an inspiration and the FSA continues to evolve with its own unique culture and style. Mappers are welcome to participate in the project in one of three ways:

More information regarding the FSA project can be found on the FSA Dashboard.

Happy mapping!

-Mayor

Location: -41.857, 144.135

Federal States Updates

Posted by TheMayor on 11 August 2020 in English (English).

Hello fellow mappers! If you’re new to OGF, or if you just haven’t checked out southern Archanta in awhile, allow me to (re)introduce you to the Federal States of Archanta, one of the OGF community’s largest collaborative mapping projects. The FSA is home to a variety of North American-style mapping, consisting of 62 separate states and two territories.

In case you missed it, the FSA is now home to an open collaborative “blue” state, Michisaukee, where all mappers are welcome to join us, no prior approval required! Be sure to check out the information page about Michisaukee for more information.

If you’re interested in something more collaborative, we have a wide variety of collaborative states (and Huntington, our capital city) including some recent additions. If you are interested in participating in one of these collaborative states, please reach out to the appropriate project coordinator to get started.

If you want to dive in and be a full stateowner, you’re in luck: we do have some vacant states available that are ready for you. State (and West Massodeya county) requests do have to go through the usual OGF territory request process; before requesting a vacant state I encourage interested potential stateowners to send me a message to discuss what you have in mind and where your vision could be a good fit in the Federal States.

If you’d like more information about the Federal States project and who we are, visit the FSA Dashboard.

Happy mapping! -Mayor

Location: Bemboka, Bega Valley Shire Council, New South Wales, 2550, Australia

FSA Mapping Challenge - Capital Cities

Posted by TheMayor on 1 July 2019 in English (English).

Hello everyone. I am TheMayor, the FSA project coordinator. Thursday, 4 July is Independence Day here in the U.S., and since there have been a few recent discussions about the proposed government structure for the FSA, I’m offering up a mapping challenge for the Federal States: between 4 July and 2 Aug, stateowners are encouraged to map and develop their state’s capital city. Since everyone maps at different speeds and have different time constraints, like other mapping challenges this is pretty open-ended. But if you need inspiration, here’s a prioritized list of what to focus on:

  • Designate a state capital. If you haven’t already named a state capital, do so and update our wiki article.
  • Map the capitol area. The seat of your state’s government should have, at a minimum, a capitol building where your state legislature meets; an executive mansion, where the governor lives; and a high court for your state. These areas are often master planned, but they often are not. Use your imagination and tailor your capitol area around the context of your capital city.
  • Map the nearby capital city area. State workers and legislators need places to live, work, and shop, so map accordingly. If your capital is older, these areas will likely be within walking distance of the primary buildings; if your capital was developed later, when automobiles became common, your capital may have a different layout.
  • Add travel infrastructure for visitors. State capitals are destinations for business travelers and tourists (if your state capital has a prominent place in your state’s history). They’ll need hotels, restaurants, etc. near the capitol area. They’ll also need ways to get to and from your capital, so don’t forget train stations, airports, etc.

If you think your state capital is already in good shape, our national capital can use some work as well. Get more information on Huntington’s development in this thread and let me know if you’re interested in becoming a more active part of our national capital collaboration.

Non-FSA members are welcome to join in the mapping challenge as well for lower-level capitals or county seats in your own territories.

If you aren’t a current FSA member and you’re interested in joining our American-style mapping project, learn more about the project and feel free to reach out to me if you’d like more information about who we are and what we do. If you’re ready to apply for a state, check out the OGF overview map and request a state from the admin team.

Happy mapping!

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

Posted by TheMayor on 29 August 2018 in English (English).

I’ve been working on Lake City in the FSA state of Minnonigan for several weeks now, and I noticed one of my neighbors to the southwest… Compare downtown Lake City to downtown Greenstone.

I’m flattered.

Location: -41.563, 141.460