Atlas Elyden #45 - Cyhlagharr - (High-res)
Added 2019-06-19 17:00:02 +0000 UTCEdit: I've updated the text box to detail the Cyhlagharri war with Erebeth, which makes more sense that the old text box about piracy. I'm saving that one for use in another map about sea trade. Thanks Royal Frazier :)
As always, here's the high-res version of my latest map, exclusively for patrons pledging $5 or more a month - thanks so much for your support :)
This is available to use as per the CC licence on the image itself.
Comments
I have thought of a wiki, but I already spent far too much time that would be better spent actually making content managing my social media pages and keeping patron and deviantart in order, and running a wiki page would be far too much work on top of that. I am working on getting the encyclopedia finished, but the amount of content that I add to it with every map I make makes it very difficult - it’s now close to 600,000 words, and I;ve just about finished editing the ‘A’ entry and maybe 5 - 10% of other entries, from the content form the atlas maps, so there’s a while to go before the entire thing is finished, and even so it will be a ‘living document’ that will constantly be updated by myself. Once I reach that point I’ll make a pdf available to patrons and will offer to print out copies to those who are interested, including myself. I’ll post an updated pdf each month after that. Perhaps I can do that now, though there’s a lot of unpolished entries in there, so I’m not sure what people would prefer. .
Nate Mangion
2019-07-07 15:26:47 +0000 UTCYour first message about this was enough to convince me to change the textbox - when pointed out by someone else, it just makes sense for whatever is in that page to be about the region depicted in the map. Though piracy is tangentially related to this region (its inhabitants are notorious pirates and slavers), it makes more sense to keep this textbox for use in a map that's actually about piracy in the Inner Sean, and either get rid of it entirely on this map, or keep it specifically about Chylagharri history, including the contested region. Also, to be clear about the content - The atlas is one of 5 volumes that make up the encyclopaedia. The back of the atlas will have an exhaustive index with every label marked by the grid numbers/letters and page numbers, for ease of cross-reference with the encyclopaedia. All the labels on the map will have an entry in the encyclopaedia - these were uploaded to patreon as a separate post for those interested in reading more on the regions.
Nate Mangion
2019-07-07 15:21:03 +0000 UTCHave you looked at running your own Wikipedia website on your computer? This is where I'm heading for world building. Im running thebitnami package of MediaWiki with the popup extension. Then you wouldn't need page numbers. Any named thing would have its own page, accessed by clicking on it. The popup extension puts a small preview of that linked page up so you can read the first paragraph of the linked article. Often enough to give a reader context without leaving the page they are reading. You see this on Wikipedia if you haven't disabled the feature. I love it. When reading about someone else's world, you read so many names with no context. Having those little popups give you just enough of a summary allows to go keep reading. I think it is ideal for this type of thing. I am looking at other packages of MediaWiki, but if it doesn't support popups i won't consider it.
Royal Frazier
2019-07-07 15:20:30 +0000 UTCI know you call this an encyclopedia, but in my mind it feels like an annotated atlas. But that may be impression because of the many maps you post. As an atlas or as a visual-oriented encyclopedia I would expect the text and images upon a two page spread to be very specifically related. So page numbers referring you to some other pages may feel too research papery. And the work that sets up for you indexing...yikes. The blurb talks about many countries and piracy within the seas and some developed history that altered the problem of piracy. But it also isn't about the concept and history of piracy or slave trade in Elyden, which a general encyclopedia would probably have broad subject articles for. It really does feel like it belongs to a map of the inner sea... Perhaps where the map specifically addresses matters of trade and cross cultural influences. I have an old Hammond Atlas from 1971 that I loved as a kid. Your maps always make me think of it. Atlases use t he visual to communicate info. My atlas given an agricultural- resource map wit h E a ch country. Shows c olored areas of farm, grazing, mining, timber with names or codes for major crops, herds, and periodic symbol of elements mined. It also has sections of historical maps, colored no topography, that shows historical state and spread of re ligions, countries, war movements, politics, migrations. I could see specialized maps focusing on a subject in an area from a time span in history that would pair well with this type of text. Atlases tend to have zero prose -taking a hard line on the definition of an atlas. Which is unfortunate. I spot this on things in that 1971 atlas that I don't know about. For instance Czechoslavakia has a different colored border splitting it. The maps are crowded because they show every town of population 2,000 or more. I eventual spotted a larger point sized text that showed a Czech Republic and a Slovak Republic. But only Czechoslavakia was listed as a country with a flag. To me, explaining features that are unusual on the map is a must.
Royal Frazier
2019-07-07 15:12:40 +0000 UTCThat's a good idea actually. I'll add it to the LONG shortlist of changes that I need to do to 'finished' maps, though I'll push it up the to-do list so I get it done once the map I'm currently working on is done. Thanks for the suggestions!
Nate Mangion
2019-07-07 12:37:49 +0000 UTCI assumed it would explain the cross hatched region, which I assume in a disputed border region. The previous blurb box addressed that its a nation of oghurs and does mention their borders are in flux with neighbors. Contextually I would expect the current border dispute to name the nation in conflict. I can't figure that from the map. While changing borders are common throughout the world, any dispute of the day is always a big deal to those stuck living through it. And the atlas would be a snapshot in time, something that would become outdated more and more as each year passes.
Royal Frazier
2019-07-07 12:34:07 +0000 UTCVery good point. You know, I was actually thinking when doing this if I can make a full map of the Inner Sea, detailing shipping routes and if it makes more sense to fit the piracy sidebar in that. Would adding page numbers ( links in the case of an online version) to the entries mentioned in the sidebar help?
Nate Mangion
2019-07-07 12:30:08 +0000 UTCI did wonder why you choose to use the Piracy inset on this map. Reading it, you can't see any of the geography it speaks except briefly in paragraph five. It doesn't seem to reflect interest in the subject of the map. I kept looking at the map for the island Gate and other names mentioned. This blurb might serve better on a map that presented the whole of the inner sea.
Royal Frazier
2019-07-07 12:26:38 +0000 UTCI understood the problem
Impesio
2019-07-01 19:48:54 +0000 UTCI dont know why but when I zoom the imag it does not zoom
Impesio
2019-07-01 19:45:33 +0000 UTCI've re-uploaded the high-res file just in case I had uploaded the wrong one originally
Nate Mangion
2019-06-27 12:37:40 +0000 UTCis it only me? I cannot get a resolution over 600x800 when opening this image
Impesio
2019-06-27 11:36:33 +0000 UTC
