Hello again!
Long time with no updates, basically because I got discouraged by the lack of progress with the map. But after a few months the other day a YT video about world-building made me think about this project again, and so I'm working on it again.
I'm working with Azelor's climate map of world as a guideline. He himself has said in the past it'd need revision, especially since I added more mountain areas since then, but as for now I have no other source to work with, so it'll have to do. I don't mind fixing the terrain as needed if I get a new climate map. Hopefully he does indeed manage to automate the process of figuring out climate as he's trying to do (http://www.cartographersguild.com/sh...l=1#post271412)
Azelor did it - Climate 2nd version.jpg
Basically what I've done is:
1) Territorial (simple, I would like to try make them look pretty) borders of the Empire (Municipalities, Counties and Provinces), 6 of each in each since 6 is the magic number in the culture controlling that territory. Still to do: Regions and Hinters +other countries/societies on the rest of the continent.
BORDERS.jpg
2) Terrain template using the method the devs of Crusader Kings II/EUIV/Victoria (great games) used to make their terrain maps: http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/691...terrainmap.png (I can't find the original source).
I used Azelor's climate to place the desert, plus to determine when vegetation was as a forest (on temperate climate) or as a jungle (on tropical climate).
I used the terrain code from the above Victoria 2 terrain map.
I still need to figure out where Marsh terrain would happen. I won't differentiate woods from forest, and Farmland, which for me mean specially fertile terrains that's neither plains or forest/jungle, I'll wait until I have the rivers (and for that I need to be sure of the mountains placement first) to place, since I figure they'd be related.
TERRAIN TEMPLATE (24MAY15).jpg
3) With the template as a guide, experiment with terrain using Saderan's famous tutorial, which after many past tries with no success, I finally seem to be getting the hang of it.
Terrain Sederan 31MAY15CUT.jpg
I need to work on how to do the mountains because though I use the more simple technique Azhel shared to do them, I'm still not sure of what I'm doing with them.
I also need to figure the best way of painting the desert, since the base color the Saderan tutorial works upon is not right.
So this is what I've done so far since last time (I did work on the Conlang associated to the world A LOT though, so name labels will need corrections when I'm ready to do them again).
I guess I'd like some basic input if anyone is still interested on this project, as in, have I made a big mistake with terrain placement? Am I breaking any golden rule? Any problems you detect in general?
Thanks for reading!
EDIT: I officially don't know what the heck am I doing anymore with the terrain, so I'm stuck and frustrated again.