hi people, i have been building a sff universe. we designed this map of two sister cities set in our universe with architecture students.. what do y’all think of this direction?
What is the goal of the map, and what is your setting?
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Map seems pretty chaotic with a lot of different ideas and styles. So I guess that your world is different in that. More chaotic, less ordered, with a lot of cultures and races in one place.
Also, I guess that the city is going to be much larger than this, because of infrastructure, logistics, and resources.
This map is an important metropolitan centre in our universe (MAYA). The city houses 6 anthropomorphic species with VERY different morphologies (bird-like, snake-like, ape-like, shape-shifting species etc). The city is a melting pot of all of their unique architecture styles. The different colored sections represent the concentrations of different species populations across the city.
The larger concept of this twin city is that the upper city (Seema) is a planned city, and the richer of the two. The river flows through here first, providing access to clean water. The lower city (Dhaara) developed over time with an influx of immigrants and workers. Its layouts are more chaotic and a result of unplanned, organic settlements. The water flowing downriver from Seema to Dhara is already polluted before it reaches the poorer people in the city.
We have developed extensive infrastructure and transport systems for this city. There's too much to go into all of it here, but there are waterways, air palanquin networks etc. We're going to publish a lore book that also deep dives into the history and politics of this city.
Awesome! I feel quite good that I've managed to deduce that your city is multi-race and multi-cultural :) That means you've done it really well. Bully for you!
The lore behind your city is very inspiring! One thing to say is that if you plan to traverse the river against the current, then you need some sort of engine, or long pulling ropes from the river banks.
Also, with the city being this diverse, there are gonna be a lot of problems with tolerance, acceptance, and communication overall. Hope your government is strong.
Also, I'd work the verticality out. Bird-like species are gonna surely love some highs, but snake-like not so much.
Mby one thing, that doesn't go well with me. Based on the map and a very, very rough estimate, this city should house a population somewhere around 1 to 5 million humanoids (depends on verticality). This is really big problem for the fantasy-themed cities. Mby not for SFF, but I think, that this city would feel like Coruscant from SW.
Anyway, don't mind me .... these are the only things I can say about what is not perfect with me. This is an excellent and inspiring work!
I was about to say… as an architect this is a really beautiful map and I wanted to ask what tools/software were used to draw it and then I saw that you designed it with architecture students haha.
Another comment mentioned that it’s quite chaotic and a mix of different styles and ideas. That’s not necessarily a bad thing and I don’t think the comment was intended to be taken negatively. To me it’s extremely intriguing. It makes me curious to learn more about how those various forms, what’s their significance, how they came to be and generally why things are the way they are. There’s lots of storytelling potential!
It seems like a dream city sandbox : the whole urbanism was designed by conglomerate of people with love for aesthetics, putting their mad cool ideas on top of each other
I laughed out loud, too loud for "lol" to qualify. I've known architecture students. It is a joyful time when practicality doesn't matter.
Whenever I see fantasy cities with perfect curvilinear shapes I think of the unfortunate surveyors who had to map those lot lines to ensure conformance to the shapes.
Maps are defined by their uses. As someone who has to make maps pretty frequently for work I would ask you to consider what your use case is. As a navigational aid it’s far too zoomed out without labels for major roads or landmarks. To me it feels less like a map and more like a satellite picture. (This is fine if your use case is artistic but it lacks the clarity needed for much else)
It's a mish-mash of large scale architectural designs. Feels less like a functional city people would live in and more like a prayer to the Crawling Chaos realized in urban planning.
What is the goal of the map, and what is your setting?
---
Map seems pretty chaotic with a lot of different ideas and styles. So I guess that your world is different in that. More chaotic, less ordered, with a lot of cultures and races in one place.
Also, I guess that the city is going to be much larger than this, because of infrastructure, logistics, and resources.
This map is an important metropolitan centre in our universe (MAYA). The city houses 6 anthropomorphic species with VERY different morphologies (bird-like, snake-like, ape-like, shape-shifting species etc). The city is a melting pot of all of their unique architecture styles. The different colored sections represent the concentrations of different species populations across the city.
The larger concept of this twin city is that the upper city (Seema) is a planned city, and the richer of the two. The river flows through here first, providing access to clean water. The lower city (Dhaara) developed over time with an influx of immigrants and workers. Its layouts are more chaotic and a result of unplanned, organic settlements. The water flowing downriver from Seema to Dhara is already polluted before it reaches the poorer people in the city.
We have developed extensive infrastructure and transport systems for this city. There's too much to go into all of it here, but there are waterways, air palanquin networks etc. We're going to publish a lore book that also deep dives into the history and politics of this city.
Awesome! I feel quite good that I've managed to deduce that your city is multi-race and multi-cultural :) That means you've done it really well. Bully for you!
The lore behind your city is very inspiring! One thing to say is that if you plan to traverse the river against the current, then you need some sort of engine, or long pulling ropes from the river banks.
Also, with the city being this diverse, there are gonna be a lot of problems with tolerance, acceptance, and communication overall. Hope your government is strong.
Also, I'd work the verticality out. Bird-like species are gonna surely love some highs, but snake-like not so much.
Mby one thing, that doesn't go well with me. Based on the map and a very, very rough estimate, this city should house a population somewhere around 1 to 5 million humanoids (depends on verticality). This is really big problem for the fantasy-themed cities. Mby not for SFF, but I think, that this city would feel like Coruscant from SW.
Anyway, don't mind me .... these are the only things I can say about what is not perfect with me. This is an excellent and inspiring work!
Or you need long sticks and quite a lot of people. Also tide might work for it if this is a delta.
Also there are a lot of snakes that like trees.
I was about to say… as an architect this is a really beautiful map and I wanted to ask what tools/software were used to draw it and then I saw that you designed it with architecture students haha.
Another comment mentioned that it’s quite chaotic and a mix of different styles and ideas. That’s not necessarily a bad thing and I don’t think the comment was intended to be taken negatively. To me it’s extremely intriguing. It makes me curious to learn more about how those various forms, what’s their significance, how they came to be and generally why things are the way they are. There’s lots of storytelling potential!
It seems like a dream city sandbox : the whole urbanism was designed by conglomerate of people with love for aesthetics, putting their mad cool ideas on top of each other
Love it.
Thank you!
That just instantly draws you in doesn't it? Beautiful and intriguing. I'd read the book this was in on the maps merit alone.
Gorgeous!
Thank you!
its beautiful!
I am glad you like it!
I love it! Feels like revachol
This is so cool! I want to learn how to do stuff like this by hand
Gorgeous drawings.
set in our universe with architecture students
I laughed out loud, too loud for "lol" to qualify. I've known architecture students. It is a joyful time when practicality doesn't matter.
Whenever I see fantasy cities with perfect curvilinear shapes I think of the unfortunate surveyors who had to map those lot lines to ensure conformance to the shapes.
Maps are defined by their uses. As someone who has to make maps pretty frequently for work I would ask you to consider what your use case is. As a navigational aid it’s far too zoomed out without labels for major roads or landmarks. To me it feels less like a map and more like a satellite picture. (This is fine if your use case is artistic but it lacks the clarity needed for much else)
It looks so cool. Looks a lot like a petri dish culture. Was that the inspiration?
When i first looked at this i was instantly reminded of the Dark Continent panel from HxH. Beautiful work!
Beautiful!
It's a mish-mash of large scale architectural designs. Feels less like a functional city people would live in and more like a prayer to the Crawling Chaos realized in urban planning.
GOATED
Thanks a ton!