# Mapmaking Discussion & Philosophy (WIP/Critique) > Sci-fi/Modern Mapping >  [WIP] Empire of Humankind

## Daelin

Alright, so this is my new big project, and I think is coming along nicely already. This is probably going to be my biggest map yet, because I intend to stick a metric ton of stuff in this thing.

As you can see, its a really big chart of planets of this fictional Empire of Humankind. The setting is the same universe as my previous Katafraktus VII map, which is to say the far future where humanity has spread across the galaxy, encountered numerous alien species and settled dozens of planets. I plan on including most, if not all of these planets (if I can fit them in), give each of them a little description, and, if possible add trade lanes, points-of-interest and a bunch of other stuff.
I plan on really getting detailed with this map, and not just skip past stuff that I would've liked to include, as with previous maps. So, yeah, this is definitely going to take some time.

So feel free to C&C on anything you can think of.

----------


## Najmir

Subscribed!

That planet top middle looks a little wierd. You may need to scrap that one! 

The only thing I would say in criticism is that aside from the one small planet they are not varied enough in size. Also the planet bottom left the features seem a little too big. Maybe a candidate for size reduction.

Nice start, I look forward to the rest.

----------


## Daelin

> That planet top middle looks a little wierd.


Which one is that, exactly?

Remember, more or less everything is still very much a WIP. Everything will change along the way, much of it drastically.

----------


## tilt

I think Najmir was joking about scrapping earth - the original  :Smile: 

very nice looking indeed - looking forward to see more  :Smile:

----------


## Daelin

Ahaaa, of course... That joke went right over my head.

Anyway, next WIP:

----------


## tilt

very cool - so now I wonder... I see Mars has gotten a lot greener since I last visited... *lol* ...  do the landscapes that has appeared on confirm to the landscapes on the red planet - or is it free fantasy?   :Smile:

----------


## Daelin

The planet Mars hasn't changed since my first post. Maybe you just thought the planet called Haaigon was Mars because it look more like it. Well, actually, it _is_ Mars, un-terraformed, "borrowed" straight off the net and given a planet-spanning megalopolis.  :Razz: 

The Mars that is the actual Mars is also "borrowed", if you will, from this thread, with a bit of retouching done, and a cloud pattern added. Whether it is based on the actual geography of Mars, I cannot tell.

----------


## tilt

Hi again, I was only curioius to if "the green mars" was a correct copy of the "red mars" (the real one) just terraformed - or if it was just fantasy ... the "visiting mars" was a joke  :Wink:

----------


## Daelin

Latest WIP. The thing is kinda taking shape now. Need to make a whole bunch of more planets, but in the process of "requisitioning" some from other sources.

Once such source is a map by newcomer Muddle, which can be seen here. He has given me permission to use it, so props to him for a great map! His work has been turned into the planet "Muddle's First", and I think the style goes great with overall look of my project.

----------


## tilt

still looking good - like the addition of the routes, very nice  :Smile:

----------


## Daelin

Latest WIP. Think I managed to get a few decimals closer to being done, from maybe 5,6% to 5,8% completed. OMG...

Oh yeah, and I've gotten the permission, from the legend himself, a2area, to use his totally awesome composite satellite image of Torentine. So, yeah, The current planet I made from it probably won't be the final version (doesn't do the map justice.  :Very Happy: ), but I'm really grateful for that, so thanks a bunch, mate.  :Razz: 

Any comments and criticisms would be welcome, even appreciated, so SPEAK!

----------


## tilt

really cool.. like the small details like the relay stations, and "Mærsk-Benelux Mining"   :Smile:

----------


## Diamond

This map is a level of awesomeness I can barely comprehend.  Kudos to you sir, and all your hard work; it looks fantastic so far.

----------


## wormspeaker

Ok, I wasn't convinced at first. I didn't see how that was going to become a map. Now, however I'm completely convinced. That's pretty awesome!

----------


## Andartar

It's coming along very nicely!  :Smile:

----------


## Daelin

Latest WIP.

Okay, I decided that huge wasn't quite big enough. So the map is now ridiculously big. Not quite mind-blowingly enormous, but getting there.
Added a few more planets. I'm really working hard to fabricate all those non-settled worlds, like small moons and un-terraformed terrestials. And struggling to come up with even more silly means of transportation ("Quantum Pneumatic Conveyor Tube", whaaaa!?).

So now I've gone back a few percent, to about 2% done. Nice work, self!  :Neutral: 

Also, since the file size is now so enormous, I've had to lower the quality of the JPEG compression significantly, to get the file below the 4,77mb limit. That's a bit of a shame, since it pretty much messes up all the little details I'm working so hard on. Once the map is 100% done, I'll probably have to find an image hosting site so you all can enjoy it with minimal compression. Unless the limit gets raised, which might be a possibility by the year 2017, which is probably when the map will be done.  :Razz:

----------


## Ascension

Some of those planets look freakin awesome, very nice.

----------


## tilt

It just looks fantastic - I get a sudden urge to play space games again...   :Wink:

----------


## Daelin

Okay, I have officially entered loony country. I didn't feel the rather boring icons for stations, relays, etc. were cutting it, so I decided to "borrow"/craft some cooler-looking ones. I can't quite tell if these are any better, since they have to be rather small, if I want to avoid making the map even bigger (:O)... Do they even look like anything? Let me know what you think.

I've managed to get around the file size problem by making the background a straight black. Apparently, that counts for about 80% of the compression efficiency. So now the other stuff, like planets, look a little sharper again. That'll have to do for now.

Oh, and thanks for the positive comments so far...

----------


## Andartar

Just a thought.. why would you put two fleet bases in an asteroid field? And I hate to be a bore but I think that the old icons were really doing the trick.

----------


## Steel General

This is just a whole bunch of coolness! Great job so far!

----------


## Diamond

Personally, I liked the original icons better...

----------


## Daelin

Okay, I'monna have to revert the icons now. I can totally see the folly of my vision now! Or maybe its just that I'm too easily swayed by people's opinions... Or maybe I'm just a bit neurotic with this map... Anyway, I think I'll try something a little... different. We'll see.

@Andartar
The original look of the asteroid field had the docks on the edge of the field, which is arguably a strategically advantageous position, since it limits the directions from which the docks can be attacked. I wasn't quite satisfied with the look of the asteroid field, so I redid it and the docks ended up inside the field. I have removed a part of the field now, so it should be clear that the bases are actually entrenched within "pockets" (likely man-made), inside the field.

----------


## tilt

I like the new icons - just to make you a bit more neurotic  :Wink:    .. liked the old ones too, but maybe they were to discreet?

----------


## Daelin

Bah, I think I found the style I'll go with. I'll most like give each of them a colored part, like the Collapse Gates and the Wave Relays have now. They'll be easier to distinguish and it'll fit better into the legend that I'll probably get around to at some point.

Anyway, I got a few more planets and traffic lanes done. Boy-oh-boy, this Empire of Humankind sure is getting mighty big.

----------


## Steel General

And again I say Nicely Done!

----------


## Diamond

That is a beautiful piece of art and may I just say that it makes me feel all squishy inside when I look at it.

 :Very Happy:

----------


## tilt

I need a faster machine *lol* ... the colors for the stations etc was just what was needed - great job  :Smile:

----------


## Daelin

Next WIP... 20,3%

----------


## a2area

WOW.. that IS COOLLL... I see you gave Torentine a nice fat home! (0:  I also have a 2 planet system you can include.  PM me and i'll email you full size overlays.

----------


## Sapiento

Very impressive!

----------


## Gandwarf

Very, very nice Daelin. Have some rep.
Normally I don't care that much for space maps (just not my thing), but this one is uber cool!

----------


## altasilvapuer

Very intriguing, Daelin.  I really love how you've taken a very artistic route with this representation, and yet it still feels functional.  To me, it's like I pulled up a map on some ship's computer and queried it just for the planets of the Empire.

Logical.  Fluid.  Brilliant.

-asp

----------


## someguy

Hay that map will be perfect for my next space opera game. Would you be willing to do a version of this map with a clear or white back ground and black lines and lettering? 

I want to print it out to put on my game room wall, but that much black ink will be hella expensive.

----------


## Daelin

@someguy

Well, the map is far from done, the target being at least 100 hundred individual planets or stations. But if you want a really quick white background version of what I have so far, pm me your email, and I'll send a jpg to you.

----------


## Daelin

It's been some time since my last WIP post, so here is what I've been up to.

Probs to a2area for letting use even more of his totally awesome work, the twin planets Gotha and Israh (to the "south" of Earth). My planet conversions can't possibly do his originals justice, as these are just scaled-down parts of two much larger maps that he's made. I took the liberty of adding some lights to indicate heavy urbanization, but other than that, this is all a2area's work. Thanks a bunch, dude!  :Very Happy: 

I've made some minor rearrangements of the transit network, so the planets fit in a little better, but most of the time I've spent simply making more planets. I've done a handful of them myself, but to tell the truth, most of the new additions are textures, ripped right off the web, from places like NASA and various sites found through Google. They've been put through a few filters and given some minor tweaks and then made into planets.

Anyway, let me know what you think!

----------


## tilt

just keeps getting better and better. Makes me want to make a planet just to get in there  :Wink:

----------


## Daelin

Oh, please do, Tilt! If it fits in, style wise, I'd definitely include it!  :Smile:

----------


## Jaxilon

Dude this is great! I don't know how I've missed this one, must have been going on while I was buried in work and then busy with a challenge project. Originally when I bought GURPS I intended to run a space campaign but it ended up being a future earth collapsed into a mid-evil setting because I didn't see myself being able to spend the months of time it would take to just come up with the planets. I may very well borrow this and see if I can muster up the chutzpa to try again.

And if Tilt gets a planet I think Jax should too! I mean who wants to live on a planet that sounds like a dead ball? "Tilt"...I mean really  :Smile:  ---> Sorry for you youngsters or those who don't get the reference.

You know thinking about it, this type of Space map could make for another community project like the one we already have if the guild ever wanted to take on another one.

In "GURPS space" there is excellent information about planet building, atmospheres and all kinds of stuff, a good read for anyone into space building. I may have to dust that off and create a planet just for the fun of it.

Thanks Daelin, definitely Rep worthy.

----------


## Daelin

Hey, Jax, if you want a planet in my map, go right ahead and make one. I will include any submitted candidate as long as they meet the requirements, i.e. looking "realistic" and fitting in with the general style of the other planets. I'll even let you name it if you want!

And I might look at that GURPS thing. I was originally going to include short-ish description boxes for each planet. As I progressed I could see that simply wasn't possible. I also do a bit of writing, so I'm thinking about making a small companion book, where each planet gets a detailed description, including climate, population, industry, special characteristics, etc.. It could also feature small thumbnails with each planet. If I can find time for all of this, of course.  :Razz:

----------


## Diamond

That map makes me despair of ever completing my own half as good-looking...   :Very Happy:

----------


## Daelin

Ha, you and me both, Diamond. I was considering entering this month challenge, but I gave up that idea pretty quick. What little free time I have, outside of school and work, this map is the time sink of the century.

----------


## zhar2

Umm i cant see any of them, they all appear as containing errors.

----------


## Jaxilon

Daelin, if you know of a game store that might let you look at the book you will see what I'm talking about. It has a pretty detailed Planetary Record form showing all sorts of details when designing a planet. Such as atmospheric pressure, density, axial tilt and climate. It has stuff about the size of a star and how many planets it can hold in it's orbit...that kind of stuff. There are different types of biospheres, moons etc.  It even has tables for generating random planets. For example, it gets into how a planet's size, gravity and density are interrelated. Knowing any 2 of these will automatically give you the third. This of course would influence the type of life that would be found. High gravity planets would have to have very strong creatures. Likewise if you were going to visit one you would need to be prepared, depending on just how much higher it was from earth...to high and you wouldn't even survive.

It is probably the best game resource for planet building that I have seen. I never played traveler so I'm not sure if they have anything. Well worth a look. 

A lot of the book will have information on planetary drives and ships and overall space travel, those types of considerations. It's one of the nice things about many of the Gurps books in that they are made to help you build your own game worlds more so than say DnD (at least back in the days when I knew it which was long ago). At any rate, it's what I have so it's what I use and every time I look at it I start dreaming about attempting to create what you are working on.

----------


## Jaxilon

zhar2 - You don't see the thumbnails in any threads on the site or just this one? Sounds like something is off with your browser to me.

----------


## Diamond

> Ha, you and me both, Diamond. I was considering entering this month challenge, but I gave up that idea pretty quick. What little free time I have, outside of school and work, this map is the time sink of the century.


No, I meant YOUR map.   :Very Happy:   I envy your talent.

----------


## Daelin

@Diamond
No, I understood. I've seen your work, and you could definitely make something just as awesome. You'd just have to spent a ridiculous amount of time on it.

@Jaxilon
Well, I'll probably not include such scientific info as axial tilt and gravity with _every_ planet. I'm not going for the super realistic approach, but just creating a universe where I can be creative and write some silly fiction.
I'm going for something along the lines of this - http://issuu.com/mordheim/docs/calixis_sector - which from Warhammer 40,000.

----------


## A R Frost

Daelin.
That is one awesome map. I just spent the last 30 minutes looking at the copy I downloaded so I could view it close up. WOW!!! Let me say that again WOW!!! 
It is completely worth paying to have it blown up to say 6ftx4ft and framed to hang on the wall. I showed it to my wife, who isn't into sci-fi or fantasy and she was just as amazed as me at the detail and design. I'll be doing what ever needs to be done to get a finished copy of it. It will look awesome on any wall in my home...

----------


## zhar2

> zhar2 - You don't see the thumbnails in any threads on the site or just this one? Sounds like something is off with your browser to me.


just on this thread.

----------


## zhar2

Btw daelin i see you have used some textures from celestia addons, dont forget to state aqnolegdement.

----------


## Daelin

@A R Frost
You don't really have to do that much. Just wait, really... Once I'm done (probably in the same year as the map is set), I'll see about making a printable version available.

@zhar2
Yes, you are absolutely right, and although I have acknowledged this before, I will happily do it again: I have "borrowed" the textures for Venus and Mars from the Celestia application. Credit goes to whomever created those outstanding pieces of theoretical fiction, respectively. I have not asked for their permission (because I don't where to ask...), but I hope they will allow me this artistic licensing of their fine work.

Also, if you do a couple of Google Image searches with the right word combinations, you will find that the majority of my planets are similarly "borrowed" from there. I have not asked for permission to use any of those textures, either, as that would be logistically impossible. Whoever you are, I acknowledge your work and thank you for your gracious ignorance of my unscrupulous thieving.  :Very Happy: 

God bless the internets. That is all.

----------


## Daelin

Yet another WIP version. Not that much has changed. Just some more planets. And some simple framing art. I might add more to it, I've got some ideas laying around.

I've tried looking for another way of displaying the images. The size limit on the files on this forum means that I can't show you the background star-scape, plus I also have to lower the quality of the jpg compression slightly. The only image-hosting site that seems to allow 10mb+ files and has unlimited bandwidth is www.bayimg.com, but I keep getting an error message when I try to upload images of a certain size, so that's not working.

Do any of you have any suggestions? I can just keep uploading images with stuff missing, but I'd rather let you see all the details. And I guess there's a reason for the size limits on the guild...

Anyway, enjoy!  :Very Happy:

----------


## Ramah

I know very little about star maps and usually just look at them and think "hmm... looks good but is it different to any other I've seen?" but even I can see that this looks really good.  :Smile: 

As to your dilemma, how about just posting an area of your image at full size so we can get a taste of what it is that we are missing?

----------


## Daelin

Ah, well, I could do that, of course.

This is 4,5mb:

----------


## someguy

I'd be willing to host the image for you.

----------


## Coyotemax

I've had great results with deviantart.com - I have a file on there that's almost 17 megs, and never got a complaint.

----------


## Daelin

Yeah, deviantart worked perfectly:

http://daelind.deviantart.com/art/WI...kind-161369817

Hopefully, they'll keep letting me upload WIPs with no restrictions on disk space and bandwidth.

@someguy
Thanks for the offer, I might take you up on that, if the need should arise.  :Smile:

----------


## bartmoss

Very nice. I love how you automatically have a good idea of what the different worlds are like, plus it's got a bit of a space opera-ish feel to it, it'd work really well for something like Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon etc.

----------


## Daelin

Next WIP...

http://daelind.deviantart.com/art/WI...kind-162073926

What's this tunnel that I'm in? And is that a light, down there, at the end?
Please do continue with the comments, people, both the positive and the relevant points of criticism. I feed on this!

I've started work on the "encyclopedia" or simply companion book, that I'm planning to go along with the map. But it's still not that fleshed out, so I'll wait a bit before posting it.

----------


## Ramah

Looks amazing. So much detail on this map. As I said previously, star maps aren't really my thing but this really does look great.

I searched for some kind of criticism I could level at the map and the most I could come up with (and this is just guesswork on my part) is: would the starfield show up as brightly through the various nebulas and the Caeros Rift as it does for the rest of space? I get the feeling that those particular stars behind/in front of those particular celestial...er... things... should have their opacity lowered. As I say, just guessing on that and could well be wrong but it just looks a little off to me.

Anyhoos, great stuff.  :Very Happy:

----------


## Coyotemax

My favourite thing is the naming.  Couple of nice references in there (Panther Moderns!) and it really feels like this has built up over a long period of time, very organic in feel (odd saying that with all the tech in there, but it's the only word I can find for it).

(and glad the DA suggestion worked for you..)

----------


## Daelin

@Ramah
Well, most of the nebulas are NASA images, snatched right off the net. They usually have a whole bunch of stars showing through them, which I then remove with PS, and then lower the opacity of the whole nebula slightly so that my own stars are showing through them. But now that you mentioned it, I'll probably look into upping the opacity but lowering brightness so that they're less see-through but not so stand-out-ish.

@Coyotemax
Ah, a fellow Gibson fan. Glad you noticed that one, out of literally hundreds of names. Since I have to come up with so many names, I usually pick what comes off the top of my head. There are a few other references in those names, some only Danes will pick up on, and not even then.

----------


## Zavael

great stuff  :Smile:  like the naming of additional info like republics, technology, organization names etc  :Smile:  keep on  :Smile:

----------


## Able

I am very impressed thank you for all your hard work  :Smile:

----------


## Antheon

That's exactly what I wanted to do for my friends RPG but to see it with so much love for the details ... I'm speechless! Your artwork is outstanding and shall have a special place in my collection of adorable maps. I need to ask you one thing, though: The Manaroth Expanse (the southern nebula or whatever you call it) seems to have an rough edge near the 'x'. Maybe it's my monitor but it looks odd to me. Keep up the excellent work! Repped you.

As for the image hosting: You could try imagehost.org or I could provide you with the space needed too, should DA complain. : )

----------


## Daelin

@Antheon
Yeah, that particular nebula hasn't worked out so good, so I'm probably gonna change it.
And DA seems to be working for now, but thanks for the offer!

----------


## Daelin

Sigh... Another WIP:
http://daelind.deviantart.com/art/WI...kind-162857518

----------


## someguy

Sadly the full rez isn't viewable. I wonder if they are sizing it down?

:edit: Oh, you can see it in all its glory if you click on the download link on the left hand menu.

----------


## Daelin

Now you can!  :Very Happy:

----------


## Antheon

What's with the sigh, Daelin? I hope you're not rushing things just because we, in our divine geekness, want to see more planets filled into your gorgeous star chart ... ; )

Is it possible that you added four new planets and didn't label them? At least I found four nameless ones - or haven't found them earlier. Furthermore, I found the planet New Innsbruck and bursted into laughter as I lived for many years in Innsbruck. Good to know that this name remains in the far future. : D
And you got rid of that nebula ... At first glance I thought those two planets between Titan and Israh are 'siblings' but then I realized that I can not measure the distance between planets by looking how close they were placed to each other. I believe it would be cool though to have some 'sibling'-planets (if there aren't any described in your companion book that I still have to read yet ...)


Antheon
_wondering about planetary siblings_

----------


## Coyotemax

On DA if you go to your edit option (up near the favourite/download/etc links), you can choose the display option (variety of resolutions up to fullsize) as well as directing to the download link...

----------


## Daelin

@Antheon
No, the sigh was meant as sign of working so dog-on hard on this.  :Razz: 
And no, there is absolutely no coherency to the relative size of the planets, their location and the distance between them. And the planets that are just floating around with no connection to "the network" are simply planets I haven't placed yet. 
And you know what, I've totally forgotten to name your planet and give you the credit I promised...

@Everyone
The larger of the two unnamed planets that is to the immediate southwest of Earth, the one with the glowing lights, is called Eneath and is made from this outstanding map made by Antheon. I've taken the liberty of making a few moderations to it, like hue, and added clouds and the urbanization lights, but what should hopefully be a pretty cool-looking planet is mostly Antheon's work. Thanks for letting me use it, dude, I personally think its one of the best-looking planets. So there you have it.

@Coyotemax
Yeah yeah, I forgot to set the full display size to original the original size. It should be okay now.

----------


## Antheon

Nah, that's okay with me because I have forgotten it myself. : O
I just looked after the new worlds and encountered the nameless ones. Good to know about the floating planets, so I know where I have to watch next time. ; )
And about the credit: You're welcome! As I said before I'm honored to know that my map is floating somewhere in this epic artwork! However, I think that Torentine is what I would call best-looking planet. So, a2area deserves the praise for it, just as well as other 'planet-providers' here at the Guild! : D


Antheon
_feeling flattered nonetheless_

----------


## Daelin

And another WIP:

http://daelind.deviantart.com/art/WI...kind-163390210

I think I'm approaching the next phase here. What that is, I don't know exactly... But I have started reviewing the planets, and I'll probably replace a few of them, 'cause some of these just aren't cutting it.
Anyway, let me know what you think. What planets don't look that great?

----------


## arsheesh

Wow, that is a massive map you've got there!  And so lifelike too.  I like how each of these planets seems unique in some way, though I'm still trying to figure out what those metallic looking contraptions on Qrosher are (whatever they are they must be freaking huge!).  Very impressive work Daelin.  Repped.

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

----------


## Daelin

@arsheesh
Oh, well, that's because I haven't put in description for it yet. It's supposed to be the same kind of "terraforming sphere", like those around Felipadune and Union III. And yes, those things are _freaking huge_. They basically transform a planet completely, literally from the ground up; they rearrange plate tectonics, build mountains and oceans, seed a breathable atmosphere, create custom-made ecologies and prepare worlds for colonization. They are indeed machines of epic proportion, but they need to be, because the process of terraforming is slow, as in it takes millennia, from start to finish.
I'll detail this (if I EVER get around to it) in the companion book I'm also writing.
And thanks for the nice comments, of course!

----------


## Diamond

Just noticed 'Gein Skin Industries'.  lol

----------


## A R Frost

Impressive as always. Really like the way this is coming along. And thanks for the new background, it looks great on my dual 24inch monitors.  :Cool:

----------


## Daelin

Okay, so this will probably be the last WIP I post. Next post should be the finished map. I'm only missing a couple of planets to fill some space and then its on to placing a whole bunch more stations, and adding some minor details and stuff.

Enjoy...
http://daelind.deviantart.com/art/WI...kind-163912961

----------


## mearrin69

Holy smokes. That's extensive. Can we see it full-size when you're done? I kept wanting to zoom in. Great work!
M

----------


## Daelin

Gah, I forgot to set the full-size view again. Should be viewable in original size now.

----------


## tilt

wow, you've added a lot since I last looked - its fantastic and a bit overwhelming  :Smile:

----------


## Legiazus

Damn impressive. Excellent job!

----------


## wormspeaker

I love this map even more every time I see it. =) I will definitely need to print it out and use it as a map for an over-the-top space opera campaign some day. Are the sizes of the planets on the map representative of the actual size of the planets, relative political importance, relative economic importance, or population? Or some combination thereof?

----------


## Daelin

@wormspeaker

The sizes of the planets are their actual physical size, relative to each other. I kinda had to limit the sizes of the planets, because it wouldn't be practical to depict Earth and, say, Jupiter (either Earth is 1x1 pixel or Jupiter takes up 90% of the map). But since all the planets are terrestrial (humans can, in theory, land on all the depicted planets), their size is relatively close to Earths.

----------


## someguy

Yay! more planets! 

So are you going to write descriptions of the worlds, or is this just going to be one huge, cool, map.

----------


## Daelin

@someguy

No, the map is done. See it here.

----------

