Thinking of making a new map

[Sharpsh00ter]

Would anyone be interested in playing a map for the Great War American Front? The concept is that the British helped the Confederacy win the Civil War. WWI rolls around and Eorope is at war. There are 4 "Nations" in North America. Canada (Which also owns Maine, Montana Washington, Idaho & Oregon) called British North America, USA, CSA & The Mexican Empire (Mexico + Arizona, New Mexico, California & Nevada. Maybe do an Indian Teritory in the mountain states. If people are interested in playing it I'll make the map. We could throw in the Bahamas Cuba & some of the other islands.

[sailorseal]

That is a lot to fit onto a small canvas
Can you downsize?

[the.killing.44]

It's not too much — throw up a preliminary (and crappy if it has to be) image!

.44

[Sharpsh00ter]

Ok here is version 0 of the map. It's really crappy looking but I wanted to get the concept into visual form. My bloody PSP that I paid a ton of cash for last year updated itrself and now I need to buy a new liscense for the new version. So I did this one with MS Paint lol. Just incase this doesn't work I'm also adding a link.




http://i602.photobucket.com/albums/tt105/Sharpsh00ter/map20north20america.jpg?t=1245104135

[alex951]

how about cinco de mayo The holiday commemorates the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín

[sailorseal]

Thats less the you said you would include


Also I don't see the WWI theme

[neanderpaul14]

Would anyone be interested in playing a map for the Great War American Front? The concept is that the British helped the Confederacy win the Civil War. WWI rolls around and Eorope is at war. There are 4 "Nations" in North America. Canada (Which also owns Maine, Montana Washington, Idaho & Oregon) called British North America, USA, CSA & The Mexican Empire (Mexico + Arizona, New Mexico, California & Nevada. Maybe do an Indian Teritory in the mountain states. If people are interested in playing it I'll make the map. We could throw in the Bahamas Cuba & some of the other islands.

Hey by any chance do you read Harry Turtledove he wrote a book very similar to what you just described.

[RedBaron0]

Would anyone be interested in playing a map for the Great War American Front? The concept is that the British helped the Confederacy win the Civil War. WWI rolls around and Europe is at war. There are 4 "Nations" in North America. Canada (Which also owns Maine, Montana Washington, Idaho & Oregon) called British North America, USA, CSA & The Mexican Empire (Mexico + Arizona, New Mexico, California & Nevada. Maybe do an Indian Teritory in the mountain states. If people are interested in playing it I'll make the map. We could throw in the Bahamas Cuba & some of the other islands.

Hey by any chance do you read Harry Turtledove he wrote a book very similar to what you just described.

You beat me to it neanderpaul. I've read most of Turtledove's America at War series' and what is being described by Sharpsh00ter is pretty close to what Turtledove envisioned in his series'. I quick threw together a map showing what the political boundaries of North America pre-WWI at the beginning of the book The Great War: American Front by Harry Turtledove. Use it for inspiration, and I recommend anyone read any of Turtledove's alternative history books!

[Sharpsh00ter]

Yes I have read the Turtledove novels. That's where I got the basic idea. However I thought that id the british were going to get involves in the Civil War they would have wanted something for themselves. Thus the Oregon teritories and Maine going to Canada. The I thought if the Brits got involved (& thought of Zimmerman in WWI talking to the Mexicans about invading the US to keep them out of Europe) Why wouldn't the Mexicans want to recapture their lost teritories in the SW. And if all that is happening why not an Indian rebellion. The native peoples would have flocked to a banner and thus the yellow area. Heck it's all just an idea at theis point but I think it could be a fun one to play. Heck the conflict I just described could also be a fun one to play.


C

[RedBaron0]

That's true, if the Civil War lasted longer than a year. Turtledove is known for making very good educated guesses about how history will play itself out in this alternative universe. IF the South wins the Civil War, they needed to do it quickly to prevent the North's overwhelming population and industrial might to take affect. So by 1862ish the South has already won the war, without British or French intervention, but they recognize the CSA and become allies.

It's your map, spin you're yarn and set it up however you envision! I'm sure it'll have good gameplay options.

[Echospree]

The basic idea looks good.

The number 1 issue is simply that there are already quite a few maps of North America/USA, both done and currently being forged.

What sort of unique gameplay features can we expect to help this map stand out? Simply an 'alternative history' angle alone might not be enough, you either need something else, or something to drive that point home, and how the alternative history would really affect gameplay.

It could easily still be forged without anything else, but I think something else needs to be brought to the table here.

Now, your map is unique in the sense that it's centred on USA, and includes parts of canada and mexico, but not all. Is that going to be enough of a difference from other maps?

[AndyDufresne]

If there is a cartographer/group of cartographers thinking about working on this map, I encourage you (all) to familiarize yourself with these topics, if you haven't already:

How To Make A Map
Suggested Mapmaking Tools
Mapmaker's Guide to the Galaxy (under construction)


--Andy