Im making a 1492 map of the world as my first try at making a good map. Now it will not be pretty but it function and be as historically accurate as Warlight will allow me to. Im starting in the US. and working my way from there. If there are any tips people would like to give me to make it better they will be appreciated. Also if something is wrong tell me and I will rectify it to the best of my abilities.

Here is the link for what I have done so far: https://www.warlight.net/SinglePlayer?PreviewMap=43117

Well, the aesthetic I can't really tell at this point, and it's also very historically inaccurate.

No colonial powers had really settled anywhere, not even in the Caribbean where Colón was travelling.

Also, these place names are really nonexistent at 1492. Use this map for placenames: https://www.warlight.net/Play?PreviewMap=14112

A good place to start is here: http://geacron.com/home-en/?&sid=GeaCron196559.

During this time period, not every nation in the world was civilized (technology advances in warfare, social, etc), thus I do not believe everywhere should be maps or make them colonizable wastes with very little bonus associated.

The further back in history we go, especially with nonEuropean parts of the world the more difficult it becomes to research accuracy since so little is actually known. I wish you good luck.

From looking at it right now, I think you have to rework your dimensions for the map. Currently, it looks rather warped in a bad wap.

^
Perfect summary.

I like the idea, but I think to do a proper world map it has to be at least 1580 or something.

Well I do like the feedback. The reason it looks wrapped is because of the map im tracing it from. Ihave added some more territories also: https://www.warlight.net/SinglePlayer?PreviewMap=43117.

It's not historically accurate already.

I am trying to make a world map but the USA map was helpful. I really want to thank the person who gave me the atlas map because I have been trying to find maps for my paint maps I have made using the QBAM map style. Also it is a ruff estimate at best unless there is a way I could make smaller territories and preserve the bonuses. What dimensions would you suggest?

Edited 4/26/2015 03:29:31

What would I suggest?

Using this instead - http://coloringpagesjos.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/199137-map-of-native-american-tribes-in-usa.jpg

zxyctycz- That would make for an awesome map!

And I agree with Жұқтыру here- calling this map the world in 1492, as you have it right now, is wrong. I can clearly see defined states, something that never existed in 1492. Use zxyctyz's Idea. Also, you have some warping problems. If you are trying to trace a map from an image, when you size it, hit ctrl while you drag it. It will scale more nicely and reduce the warp by far.

It appears to me that you are making a big map, and are trying to use freehand curves. You may run into file size issues if it gets to be too many territories. You may want to use beizers instead.

He's actually said that he's going to now make it along 1776 lines, which will make this better.

Thanks for the native american map. So I have decided like everybody else that indeed the map is very warped. This is due to the fact that this is my first time using inkscape. So I do not know the finer details to make this a clean map. As far as using ctrl all that I use as of now is ctrl+L to make sure there are not so many nodes. So please explain to me how to make a nice map in a step-by-step format. Oh and thanks for the responses so far.

So I started using the Beizer curves and I believe that may have helped alot. I have redone the map and corrected West Florida. To fit the armies Florida will get a circle in the middle of it. I hope to have the Eastern US done by today.

Looking better!

Edited 4/27/2015 21:36:18

As for making great maps, its more of thing you have to figure out yourself. There are a multitude of ways to make great maps, and everybody seems to have a different process. If you need help look at the maps that Apollo and zxctycxz are developing. That will help you visualize what you need to do.

Apollo- https://www.warlight.net/Play?PreviewMap=40070
zxctycxz- https://www.warlight.net/Play?PreviewMap=41700

Edited 4/28/2015 15:49:22

I'm having a break with map making at the moment. You see, I have to juggle between my YouTube channel and Map Making on WarLight, and the creation of the Thirty Years' War and A Tale of Four Cities has left my channel in serious disrepair, so it's going to be my focus for the next few weeks.

The WW2 map is almost ready, however, it just needs to finish being tested.

I just figured this out out by accident today-

When making your curves, set the opacity to 75%. That way, you can clearly see where the territories overlap or lay next to each other. If they overlap, It will look like a single line with 100% opacity thoroughly through the line. When they lie next to each other, both lines will be at 75% opacity. It makes things by far less of a pain.

That's if you do it by hand, there are a lot easier and quicker methods. This does not make it the pain of the process. The one I use:

https://www.warlight.net/Forum/10806-easy-tutorial-making-clean-map-borders

My map won't be out for awhile.

I follow Bane's logic that hand editing a map will make it better than computer editing, despite its tediousness and the time to acclimate to it. This just goes to show that there are many different ways to develop a good map.

Bane logic