Who and What are we?
- We are a Cartographical organization within the Sovereign Charter that means we create and display maps for the Sovereign Charter. What we specialize in is high detail maps. With full and unique access to all of the source code for the Sovereign Charter map we are uniquely placed to provide the best quality and a variety of formats and projections.
We call ourselves the "Cartography Committee" stemming back from our history in the 2nd iteration of the Sovereign Charter where we managed the map as ordained by the Council of Rebirth, since then we have taken on a new status that is no longer tied to the government and this enables us to work without the stipulations of bureaucracy that plagued our Committee in our former life.
What makes us different
- As the former primary management of the Sovereign Charter map, we are uniquely placed to offer an unparalleled map creation service. Unlike other Cartography organizations, the Cartography Committee has a number of members that are signed up to keep on top of the map. Aside from the Sovereign Charter's constitution we are also completely unfettered by any other laws of the Sovereign Charter and consider ourselves actively independent of the Sovereign Charter government and its regional political machinations. However while free from regulatory burden we set ourselves high standards.
Transparency, Honesty and Consistency, these are the values that we adhere to and where other organizations are subjective we aim to be objective
Our members are currently:
Vermandois
Frezko Islands
and two members who have chosen to keep their identities to themselves.
While you can apply to join the Cartography Committee we are not currently looking for any new members.
What we're doing
- First and foremost this is not designed to be an "alternative map", due to loss of data, the hexagon system was lost and had to be built afresh and the hexes we have are actually bigger, in that they cover more area. This is designed to be a map for those that wish to pursue the world in a different manner, a world with magic and technology yes but a world that is governed by different principles, a fresh start for those who are relatively new to the region although established but don't have the influence they rightly deserve.
We plan to do things differently too in order to prevent some of the problems that have occurred on other maps. Lack of control and too much freedom (there's no such thing right?) has meant that many nations have preferred to locate themselves thousands of kilometres away from each other and this looks visually bad and it is also politically bad at least in terms of interactions. Many nations have found themselves or considered themselves too far away from the action to realistically get involved. What we're going to do about this is to restrict what part of the map is open and fill that up (mostly) before allowing expansions.
We also plan to prevent dotting, this is really a display element only. We won't accept claims for singular separate hexes but that doesn't mean you can't have a colony there. In fact it might make for a good role-play if someone does decide to claim the hex that your colony is in.
Perhaps our most important thing we'll do differently is to have a clear set of guidelines and a clear and transparent appeals process.
The Map
The known world
10k x 5k Map | 5k x 2.5k Map
Scale: 6.25km² (2.5km x 2.5km) per Pixel on 10k x 5k map.
The complete world
40k x 20k Map (!200MB!) |20k x 10k Map (!100MB!) | 10k x 5k Map
How to get on
- Getting onto the map is a simple affair and the process will be outlined below. Please bear in mind that there will be certain restrictions on the territory you can claim.
- Limited Selection
- You may only select territory from the maps that are part of the "Known World".
- You are entitled to 8 hexes to begin with.
- Except for the first nation, all other nations must have a line of sight with at least one other nation, of a minimum of three hexagons. Islands are exempt.
- Nations are not allowed more than three clumps of territories and single hexes are not permitted except where there are no other claimed hexes.
- A "Clump" must not be further than 4 hexes away from another clump.
- You may only select territory from the maps that are part of the "Known World".
- Puppets
- Puppets must be registered with the Cartography Committee and may have their own territory but will be clearly marked.
- No player may have more than two puppets on the map and all puppet territory is open for another player to claim.
- Players that have undeclared puppets will lose all claims and any right to claim for two weeks.
- Puppets must be registered with the Cartography Committee and may have their own territory but will be clearly marked.
- Ceasing to Exist
- If you should cease to exist you will immediately lose all your rights to be on the map as only members of the Sovereign Charter are entitled to be on it.
- These guidelines are up for review at any point and may be challenged under the appeals system.
- Copy an image of The Known World (or the section in which you wish to claim territory) to your system, the displayed image should be 800px by 400px.
- Open the image in your chosen image editor (e.g. Gimp, Paint, Photoshop)
- Mark the selected hexes or draw the borders of your desired territory.
- Save the claim.
- Upload to an image hosting site (e.g Photoshop)
- Post a link to the image on the website in this thread with your chosen name for the territory
Claiming Process
Appeals
- Do you have a problem with a decision made by the Cartographer? Do you wish to find information? Then the appeals process is just for you. With a Committee of multiple members behind the map, we have the luxury of being able to scrutinize each others decisions.
- Any Cartographer here is able to make any ruling they wish. This decision can be appealed or asked for a "Second Opinion".
- Should an appeal be made it will be considered by the Committee and a full decision will be given.
- Should you be dissatisfied with this decision we consent to a judicial review of the matter by the Regional Court.
- We will publish our decisions on appeals to a dispatch page.
It must also be made clear that while a Cartographer can make a decision, another Cartographer has 48hrs in which to challenge it for whatever reason. This is to enable us to have a system of scrutiny.
Update Schedule
- Working with large maps and providing attention to detail that our members deserve can be tough and laborious, especially as all of our staff are unpaid volunteers. To prevent wasting resources and time the Cartography Committee have discussed and implemented an update schedule that we aim to work towards time permitting.
- The Known World
- The Known World will be updated twice a month or once every two weeks.
- Reasoning: It is significantly easier to update The Known World as the source size is 1/16th the size of the complete map and most of our more experienced staff are able to handle this map easily and effectively.
- The Known World will be updated twice a month or once every two weeks.
- The Complete World
- The Complete World will be updated every three months.
- Reasoning: Owing to its huge and complex size, the map is the hardest and most resource intensive to update and require significant effort and persistence. It is not worth while to undertake this cost unless significant changes need to be made.
- The Complete World will be updated every three months.
Extra Stuff!
- Getting on is a simple process, but what happens after you're already on.
- What happens when I Cease to Exist
- Your Claim will also cease to exist and you will be removed from the map in due course. This will happen regardless of whether you return before the map has been updated, you will have to reapply for the hexes. There is no grace period, unless you manage to revive before anyone has taken notice
- Can I expand?
- Yes! One hex per month is granted while empty space exists, further expansions up to an extra five hexes per month can be gained by role-play or creative writing. Post in the thread and a Cartographer will get back to you. Any approvals are subject to a 48hr challenge period at which time you may ask to appeal that decision directly to the entire committee.
- Can I move or relinquish territory
- Yes, just let the Cartographer know, you cannot give territory to someone else unless a Cartographer approves (subject to 48hr challenge period)
- Can I appeal a Cartographer decision
- Yes! You can. Simply state that you wish an appeal and it will be considered by the entire Cartography Committee and we'll get back to you. Beyond this you can take the matter the Sovereign Charter regional court. Unfortunately, opting straight for the court without allowing us first a chance to resolve the situation, will have you removed from the map.
- I have a disagreement with another player
- You can either go straight to the Sovereign Charter court system or you can discuss the matter with us. Remember the President of the Sovereign Charter is your representative so you never have to resolve the matter alone.
- Can I get access to the source?
- Possibly, please put in a request for what you want and we'll try to get you what it is you need.
- The scale is different. Why?
- The scale is exactly the same, the size of this map conforms to the area of the planet as agreed in the 2nd Charter. That is on a 100km²/pixel on a 10,000 x 5,000px map. We've zoomed in 4x that amount giving you unparalleled detail.
- How many pixels to a hex?
- There are 156,274 pixels per hexagon. Eight hexes translates to 1,250,192 pixels.
- Do I have to be based on Land?
- No. You can be seaborne or airborne with a slightly different set of symbols to indicate your position. However these are at the Cartographer's discretion due to the work involved.
- I have another question...
- Please make sure to ask in the thread and we'll deal with it as soon as we can
