Time for a first look at the Project 1: Crater

It will be a crater circa 10 km across and around a kilometer deep. The sketch above shows it cut off, but the whole circle will be part of the area covered.    

The total area will be 50 km (ca 30 miles) across. The reason I'm using metric here is that the tools I'm using works best in metric.

Other prominent features in this project will be a canyon or chasm 20 or so km long and around 5 km deep. I want to test out a large vertical range,  on earth that is roughly 9 km, so a 10 km elevation range should be enough to give even a fantasy or sci-fi world enough to give the right awe factor.

On earth we have oceans that are twice that deep in addition to mountains, so this is something I will have to try and achieve as well. For this project no oceans (water or otherwise) are planned, since I want to introduce features gradually a few at the time. This project is mainly about setting scope, format and presentation.  But if my elevation range tests work out well, the elevation scope for this project might be bigger than 10 km.

Some additional features like lava tubes and numerous other ideas will be added as well, and presented here as I get to them. A technical in depth description for Cartographer Backers will be posted soon when I have got the actual work under way.

A first progress report will be posted for everyone in week or so when I have some first results to show.

Thank you again for your support, we are now on a journey to build our first world together!  

Hello Everyone, thank you so much for wanting to join. Thanks to You we are off to a great start!

This first post I will detail my plans for getting things started and the first steps forward.

The first project is in the early planning stage (read: in my mind) at the moment, and will be fleshed out in the coming couple of weeks. Working title will be "Crater" and I plan to have it done in November.

I want this project to set the standards for detail levels, presentation and deliver a full range of content. Everything from a highly detailed top down view, isometric 3D, cut out to show special locations.

During the time I'm working on this I plan to release a general update to all backers every two weeks with an overview of progress and where things are headed.

Higher level backers will receive more frequent updates and I will ask for your help in deciding how things should look. This projects decisions will focus on detail levels, size and resolutions, types of views.

For you Trailblazers, I will make frequent postings on technical stuff as well. So expect to post my deliberations about splicing, resolution, devices and texturing.

One of the main goal for this project is to "set the scope right", meaning properly map a piece if deliberately challenging terrain.

Choosing Crater as a first projects is so I can concentrate on the geological and put things like vegetation and rivers on hold. This time its about the terrain itself and how to best present it. Hopefully it will result in a map that can be as useful in a sci-fi as in a fantasy setting.

When we have this done right it is time to introduce lakes and rivers, forest and a whole bunch of other mapping challenges.  

Lendore Isle is still scheduled to be the first Creative Commons project, but both Le Lakofka and myself have been summoned to a project yet to be properly announced. So I no firm start date for Lendore Isle yet.

A couple of projects to work out the kinks before tackling a complete  location with everything is something I hope you can agree with me is workable way of start off.

Thank you again for joining! 

Here is a first glance at what kind of maps I'm aiming for. 

My Patreon is now live and plans are in motion. Stay tuned for my first projects and a road map for things to come!