It needs a scale so that we know how far it is from one place to another...could be an island could be a continent. While not technically needed a border would be nice (in cartography it's called neatlines 'cuz it sort of finishes off a map and it also keeps the eye from wandering off the page).
If the radiance of a thousand suns was to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One...I am become Death, the Shatterer of worlds.
-J. Robert Oppenheimer (father of the atom bomb) alluding to The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 11, Verse 32)
My Maps ~ My Brushes ~ My Tutorials ~ My Challenge Maps
I think it looks absolutely great, with a single caveat - I'm completely thrown out of any immersion in the world of the map when I see the "Cairngorm Peaks" and "Newcastle Pointe" as they're real places, more or less. See the Cairngorms and Newcastle.
As you can see by most of the names on the map, I was going for a British feel to the names. I can honestly say that I didn't know that Newcastle was a real place, although I would be willing to be that there are a couple more places that also have real world counterparts, such as Newhaven or Norham. I'll take it as a compliment that I thought of names that actually ARE in England. I also don't remember ever seeing the Cairn Gorms, so I didn't intend to steal the name, but it's possible that I subconsciously remembered the name from somewhere.Originally Posted by Kyndylan
Newcastle is hardly that distinctive. "New" or "Old" tacked onto any generic term is still generic; it is a basic construction for place names. If a random generator with nothing but meaningful modern English words that would logically go into place names could generate the name, it just isn't that specific. (Compare to "New York" which is meaningful only given the place name "York".)
Hehe, indeed, if they are creations that are meant to sound British you've done a superlative job. It wasn't really a criticism per se, just a personal note that I thought you should be aware of!
Oh, I agree that Newcastle isn't a particularly distinctive name in and of itself - but it's a major major English city nonetheless. If it was some tiny little village I wouldn't be so bothered. I can't think of a good American example off the top of my head, but say you were reading in Spanish and saw a place called "Los Angeles" ... what would your mind spring to? It looks out of place to me, and just pulls me right out of any immersion....but maybe that's just me.
So... you'd disbelieve a map of Texas, Nicaragua, or Chile? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Ang...ambiguation%29) Although, actually, Los Angeles is a far more unusual name than Newcastle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newcastle).
Not disbelieve, no, but it would draw my attention and distract me. And if it was an English name even more so. For instance, I'm from Oxford, England, and I always do a double-take when I see Oxford, MA. My thoughts are usually along the lines of "ha - fake Oxford. Copycats...".
I think the exact same thing about all of those Main Streets out there. No other reason for the name, gotta be a copycat, right?
If the radiance of a thousand suns was to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One...I am become Death, the Shatterer of worlds.
-J. Robert Oppenheimer (father of the atom bomb) alluding to The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 11, Verse 32)
My Maps ~ My Brushes ~ My Tutorials ~ My Challenge Maps
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote