OpenGeofiction
Altenwildbad - or: my "mapping strategy"
Posted by joschi81 on 27 January 2016 in English. Last updated on 28 January 2016.Hello fellow mappers,
a few months ago I posted a question here: What is the best mapping strategy when you (unfortunately or luckily?) have selected a territory that requires more than a lifetime to fill it up with a satisfying level of detail? Starting in one or several points (e.g. cities) and draw up to a high level of detail within a few selected places? Or the “other way round”, very sytematically start from a very low zoom level resp. level of detail (rivers, lakes, railways, motorways, main roads, forests resp. mountain ranges) for the whole territoy and then become more detailed step by step?
Well, the general response was: Do it as you like! But the way I did it way unsatisfying for me: Drawing one city in a high level of detail, getting tired of it before it is finished, stepping over to another one, then, in between, trying to fill up some regions with the general features in a nice way… Nothing seemed to be finished.
Now, I have found a good way (for me): Drawing a certain region with even more than just the general features , so that it looks nice up to zoom level 12 approximately. Then, randomly, draw certain places up to a high level of detail. Thus, when browsing my part of the map, you will discover some places with interesting details and some regions with (hopefully nice) general featueres. I’m doing this righ now for my region of Kelmtal-Borgenland.
So, if you wish, have a look at the randomly chosen and (quite) detailed place I have drawn today - Altenwildbad - and then zoom out a bit and have a look at the general layout of the region.
Happy mapping!
joschi81
Discussion
Comment from Thunderbird on 27 January 2016 at 20:38
This is a personal choice, I think. I really like what you’ve done with Kalm!
Personally, I have been mapping a very detailed city and have not gotten bored yet. But like you said, it will likely take me years to fill my country to a satisfying level of detail. I do have everything planned out in my head, I just prefer to work in detail.
Altenwildbad seems like a nice little valley town.
Great job!
Comment from Demuth on 27 January 2016 at 20:42
Right now, I’m doing the back-and-forth method, focusing on small detail, then pulling back and fixing coastline, putting in natural features, although both of those actually end up requiring as much detail as the city stuff it seems. Mostly doing small urban detail at the moment, I’m trying to get [Mynninghamn] (http://opengeofiction.net/#map=13/48.4279/158.2209) and its suburbs in fairly extensive detail.
But I like a lot about your method. A few questions: Do you put in major natural things - rivers, significant forests, lakes, mountain ranges - first, then put in hamlets, villages, towns and cities based on what makes sense from the natural things, then your roads and rail? Or do you do it a section at a time?
I guess my biggest frustration comes from my very haphazard build of my first country, Wiwaxia, and now I really want to be as accurate as possible with Østermark, looking at lot of maps on OSM. But I feel like I just can’t possibly know enough about geology, weather patterns, how terrain is formed and the ramifications for everything from the shape of lakes to where mining makes sense and what would be mined there, not to mention purely map questions, like how to create realistic-looking suburbs. But I keep plugging away.
Anyway, your mapping always looks amazing to me, it’s definitely an inspiration.
Comment from Yuanls on 27 January 2016 at 21:11
Normally I use a ‘rolling’ method. Although my country, Glaster, is rather small, I am a very unproductive person and take ages to finish things, whatever they are.
This ‘cycle’ happens a few times before the city is fully complete. After that, I fill in smaller details, like industrial areas and city centres and polish it off (Decton, [Stewhampton] (http://opengeofiction.net/#map=15/51.8042/129.1706))
After completion, I move on to another area to map, and the cycle begins again.
On the subject of your maps, I like them! You’ve done a great job of mapping AltenWildBad.
Comment from joschi81 on 27 January 2016 at 22:39
Thanks for your comments!
@Thunderbird: Patriot City looks amazing. Because of the mixture between grid style neighbourhoods and more organic ones, and especially the transition between both types, it looks perfectly real. Like you, I have my country in my head. And I like working in detail as well. A bit to the north/north-west of Altenwildbad you will find the cities of Mahnern and Vennburg. Both are mapped in a very detailed way - but only parts of it is ready yet.
@Demuth: Mynninghamn looks wonderful. So many nice details, nice organic and realistically looking street grid. I have two suggestions: The Bulleraelven Tunnel connecting Östrastation and Centralstation (sorry, to lazy to switch keyboard layout for the right spelling) needs to be longer at both ends. Otherwise it has too steep gradients. Even for smaller ships, the water needs to be quite deep here. And: Some motorway intersections/exits seem to be a bit too small in my point of view. About my mapping method: In most cases I start drawing roads and railways first, having natural features like rivers, forests, hills, mountains and so on in mind. Often, I think: I want to have a road here, a railway there… then I develop the natural features “around” the built ones. But in many cases, I set up the terrain in my head first, only that often I do not draw the natural features in the beginning, but add them later.
@Yuanls: I like your “rolling” principle. You have so many places mapped in a very high level of detail already. And you set up the “general” features for many parts of your country. This is somehow close to how I do it. I have one suggestion for Wyndham: Delete the inner motorway ring and focus on the outer one. The inner one is too close to the city centre, in my point of view. Looks like a belt the someone but around the city in a much too strong, unhealthy way. It should be a nice 19th century boulevard ring, in my point of view. But this is only a detail…
Great job, I say to all of you.
Comment from isleño on 28 January 2016 at 01:24
For anyone interested in a different mapping strategy, which happened to be really successful for me, the way I did the first round of Onnutu details was simply a “long march” from one end of the country to the other.
It was actually encouraging because I could see my progress slowly spreading across the islands, and zooming out would always show me the “light at the end of the tunnel,” as it were. I was able to see exactly how much mapping was behind me and how much was still ahead, and it was easy to estimate the amount of time still to go. I plan to do the second round of Onnutu details the same way, as a “march” from one end of the country to the other.
Of course it helps to have a small country for this method, but even with a larger country at least it would give you an idea of your speed, allowing you to easily calculate the amount of time you’ll need to get the level of detail you want across your whole territory.
Comment from Luciano on 28 January 2016 at 03:31
I guess I’m quite strange - it is impossible for me to think of an area that I’m working on as “finished.” As a result, any mapping system where I think of doing an area, “finishing it”, and moving on …. well, it doesn’t work for me.
I have to think of my process as a “stepwise improvement.” I kind of follow the method isleño describes, but without seeing any light at the end of the tunnel. I work across a territory, doing various “projects,” and if I reach one end, I just start working across it again, now focused on some other set of projects. So, for example, I’m slowly working across the Ardisphere placing my land cover / land use polygons, and meanwhile, I’ll zoom in and place hamlets and small towns, or I’ll work across an area with a little more detail on roads or some other feature - parks, churches, schools, etc.
A lot of things are “inspiration driven” - I think of some feature or concept I want to map, and I focus in on it for a period of time. I rarely reach a sense of completion with these inspriations - I tend to lay down enough detail to “capture” the inspiration, then go back to my stepwise improvement. Occasionally, my inspiration will get obsessive and I’ll reach a great deal of detail on a particular feature, but even then, there will remain elements I want to work on later.
Never finished.
Happy mapping.
Comment from isleño on 28 January 2016 at 05:51
I should probably clarify that, for me, the words “finished” and “complete” don’t necessarily mean that I’d be forever done mapping in such an area. They just mean that the area no longer appears unfinished or incomplete to me. So even after Onnutu gets all its land-use filled in, and even after it has topography and everything (which would give me a huge sense of “completion”) I can still see myself adding further details. I guess the difference is that those details won’t be added “for completeness” but more like “for fun”… if that makes any sense. ;-)
Comment from histor on 28 January 2016 at 09:25
There are three aspects. The first is to give structure to a country (rivers, mountains - most drawn as wood, places of cities and towns, motorways, railways, national “primary” roads, boundaries of the provinces). If you are ready with this, in lower zoom-level you have a satisfactory look to the country. This can be a pleasure of its own.
The other side is the detailed town. As in reality, the heart of the town is the most important area. There are - as in reality - more special and historic buildings and so this places are drawn with more details as endless suburbs with rectangled residential blocks. The own look (and I think the look of other user) goes more to the inner structure of a town. Yes - most of my towns have an individual heart - but in the outer areas often is a lot of blanc space. And indeed my towns have greater cemeteries and golf-clubs, because with this some km² are filled.
Then for me the net of public transport is important - railways, metros or streetcars. Two ways = First the urbanisdation and then the transportation or - as real til 1910 - first a pionier-streetcar or metro and the urbabisation follows the line.
Third the filling of the area - fields, woods, villages, grassland, heath, rocks and so on. Let me say it so: This is more work as innovation. Do do this longer time, you are not able at every day.