MR. Nate wrote:I guess I'm not convinced that getting rid of 2, and asking for improvements is going to significantly change what people vote for. I think we're all aware that whichever map wins, it still has to make it through Final Forge. If a cartographer doesn't bring their best effort to the competition, then they probably don't deserve a second chance.
In any case, I don't think that the 4 maps currently in the lead are going to need major changes. Some people have expressed possibly one or two things that are questions about a particular map, but nothing so glaring as to turn off large numbers of voters.
who knows? i guess the only way to find out is if we try it. but prior to that perhaps a survey between cartographers should be done if they are willing to invest time and effort to further improve their maps if it is chosen for a revamp to go through 2 stages.
the whole revamp thing is for graphics only and since graphics are the most important here i think it's safe to say the first impression is really important. most people will cast their vote after a 30 second glance over the maps very few stay and watch carefully each map and then decide.
let's take a quick glance:
A: too much red
B: too shiny in the center
C: too white
D: too dark
E: is the water frozen? too bright
F: too spacy
wooo a shiny water alien map i'll vote for that.
oh crap it's not in the poll. oh well i'll vote for the google earth thingy cause it looks cool.
i'm willing to bet an arm and a leg that if wm mock map would have been added in the poll it would have amassed more votes than all other maps put together.
now let's take a better look:
A: yes it has a lot of red by that can be solve with 2 clicks. the beaver and coin could be removed and the text tweaked. but look at those nice maple leaves. smart thinking. overall a nice crisp touch
B: global lighting could use a reposition or a dampening and the title and legend should be repositioned. but i love the nice touch and especially the gorgeous mountains
C: perhaps a more pastelated chart of color could help this map. love the elevation chart and the representation. nifty idea.
D: the darkness is really cool. looks grungy. but it could use a bit of a gradient feel to it. perhaps it's a bit too strong. keep the feel but make it less.
E: too bright looking. perhaps darkening the water a bit would look better. and the mountains could use some tweaking as they seem to be the focal point of the map because of the contrast. love the title. nice gimmick
F: the borders are too blurry and in many places they aren't true to the background image. and the mountain pass simply scratches the eye. also while adding the maple leaf in the title might seem nice it actually isn't why only the second A is a leaf? why not all? it actually makes you read it as canOda. but look at how cool the earth looks. it makes you really see how big canada is. very nice.
“In the beginning God said, the four-dimensional divergence of an antisymmetric, second rank tensor equals zero, and there was light, and it was good. And on the seventh day he rested.”- Michio Kaku