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Sneak Peek At Ghosts of Saltmarsh Maps
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<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 7777779" data-attributes="member: 22779"><p>Heh, Times is an ugly font that would turn me off of any map. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /></p><p></p><p>And, yeah, you want to use those fancy squirrely fonts? Make it hard to read? Next map please. </p><p></p><p>The point of a map is to be used. Particularly a map for D&D. It's not an art piece only. It has to be functional. Which means anything that makes it harder to use is bad. Thus, randomly choosing a compass rose to point to the left, using hard to read fonts, using odd parchment colors that bleed into the map itself, are all examples of poor map design.</p><p></p><p> [MENTION=2445]WaterRabbit[/MENTION], I'm frankly rather surprised that you are arguing so vehemently on this to be honest. Yes, there is a top of a map. Because maps often have writing on them and the writing is oriented to the top of the paper. Which, virtually always, is north (or close enough to north anyway). Which has been done for virtually all maps for the past 500 years. Heck a quick Google search of 16th century maps proves that. Maps are a pet thing for me. I love maps. I spend far too much time perusing old map collections because it's a bit of a hobby. </p><p></p><p>You know what I don't see in all those collections? Maps with north to the left of the page. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /> In all the years I was in the army, never saw that either. We used grid coordinate maps, down to a 100 meter square, and yet, the maps were always oriented north to the top (or close enough). When using a paper map when orienteering, you orient your map so that the map follows the compass, not the direction of travel, which means the top of your map will almost always point north. When using a chart on a ship, you don't rotate your map in the direction of travel.</p><p></p><p>True, car navigation does do that, mostly because you're limited to a very small screen and partially for convenience. And, yup, my navi says, Turn left or Turn Right, and, guess what? When you live in a country which has spaghetti for roads, it's incredibly confusing. When you have five or six roads coming into the same intersection, and the navi says, "turn right", it's pretty hard to know what to do without looking at the map. Sure, Americans and Canadians have it easy. Your cities are square. Virtually all intersections are at 90 degrees. No problems. In countries without gridded cities, navies get a whole lot more difficult to use.</p><p></p><p>-----</p><p></p><p>HOLY CRAP!. I have read the Hobbit I don't know how many times. Lots. I never, ever realized that the map was screwed up. It never occurred to me that north wasn't to the top of the page. Yeah, I know it says, "West blah blah blah" and so on, but, it never actually registered in my head. Yikes. Welp. Learn something new every day.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 7777779, member: 22779"] Heh, Times is an ugly font that would turn me off of any map. :D And, yeah, you want to use those fancy squirrely fonts? Make it hard to read? Next map please. The point of a map is to be used. Particularly a map for D&D. It's not an art piece only. It has to be functional. Which means anything that makes it harder to use is bad. Thus, randomly choosing a compass rose to point to the left, using hard to read fonts, using odd parchment colors that bleed into the map itself, are all examples of poor map design. [MENTION=2445]WaterRabbit[/MENTION], I'm frankly rather surprised that you are arguing so vehemently on this to be honest. Yes, there is a top of a map. Because maps often have writing on them and the writing is oriented to the top of the paper. Which, virtually always, is north (or close enough to north anyway). Which has been done for virtually all maps for the past 500 years. Heck a quick Google search of 16th century maps proves that. Maps are a pet thing for me. I love maps. I spend far too much time perusing old map collections because it's a bit of a hobby. You know what I don't see in all those collections? Maps with north to the left of the page. :D In all the years I was in the army, never saw that either. We used grid coordinate maps, down to a 100 meter square, and yet, the maps were always oriented north to the top (or close enough). When using a paper map when orienteering, you orient your map so that the map follows the compass, not the direction of travel, which means the top of your map will almost always point north. When using a chart on a ship, you don't rotate your map in the direction of travel. True, car navigation does do that, mostly because you're limited to a very small screen and partially for convenience. And, yup, my navi says, Turn left or Turn Right, and, guess what? When you live in a country which has spaghetti for roads, it's incredibly confusing. When you have five or six roads coming into the same intersection, and the navi says, "turn right", it's pretty hard to know what to do without looking at the map. Sure, Americans and Canadians have it easy. Your cities are square. Virtually all intersections are at 90 degrees. No problems. In countries without gridded cities, navies get a whole lot more difficult to use. ----- HOLY CRAP!. I have read the Hobbit I don't know how many times. Lots. I never, ever realized that the map was screwed up. It never occurred to me that north wasn't to the top of the page. Yeah, I know it says, "West blah blah blah" and so on, but, it never actually registered in my head. Yikes. Welp. Learn something new every day. [/QUOTE]
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