Map Thread XXII

[Godot]

Me: You know, I really miss the internet.
My great-grandson: I wish I got to experience processed foods.
The Trans-American secret police officer eavesdropping on our conversation: What was that?
My great-grandson: Nothing. Praise Calloway.
Me: Praise Calloway.
Police officer: Damn right.

Me, thinking nostalgically of micro plastics and red dye 40

Serious note though, lovely work.

 

[Entrerriano]

Care to elaborate? That was the salient point which triggered the entire post: the presence of an old patch on the map. That is what I raised an issue with.

I'm fairly sure water's post was more about the map being just an OTL worlda with some very minor changes at all

 

[CHKeeley]

I'm fairly sure water's post was more about the map being just an OTL worlda with some very minor changes at all

If that's what they meant then fair enough, but a critique like that is generally couched in terms like "why don't you consider the butterfly effect and introduce some new dynamics into your scenario rather than stick with mostly OTL history". That is pretty standard and a lot more useful for worldbuilding and scenario development. The post in question instead said that, "I highly encourage you to try using a blank basemap and drawing new borders yourself vs copypastaing off an old map." To me, this reads that the issue is less about the scenario's minimal changes to OTL or the existence of OTL polities and more about just reusing (copypasting if you like) basemaps. Which, in my opinion, is perfectly acceptable if that isn't the focus of the user's scenario.

 

[Black]

Continuing my CP victory series.

 

[bindle]

This is really cool! What’s up with those little red states on the southern St. Lawrence? And are the populations of these countries fairly low?

The red states are the marches, military-run frontier regions mostly embroiled in constant war. Prisoners are often sent to mine in the Northern Marches, a desolate place run by state-supported private corporations.

The population of the world is slightly lower than it is now (around 6-7 billion?). Growth in the mid-century was countered by climate change, starvation, and war. The Trans-American Republic is one of the few regions with a higher population in 2100 than in 2000, as immigrants from Mexico and South America fled north from the heat.

 

[Emperor-of-New-Zealand]

he map thread obviously isn't for debates like this, but I didn't see anyone really pushing back on that so I figure I'd say it.

Without wishing to fire unwarranted shots, the particular person responsible for this debate has a tendency to make it every so often.

The map threads have been getting gradually more toxic and gate-keeper-y because of the things you guys are mentioning and it's honestly just pathetic.

Seriously just let people post their damn maps. There's no rule that says you have to comment on them. If you think it's "low effort" or whatever then just pass it by and wait for one that suits your aesthetic preference better. Every time I see a post talking about map quality all I'm really seeing is something along the lines of, "Boohoo, this person who made this thing in their free time for free for no other reason than they wanted to hasn't catered it to my exact specifications even though nobody cares about them!"

 

[Ophois]

Me: You know, I really miss the internet.
My great-grandson: I wish I got to experience processed foods.
The Trans-American secret police officer eavesdropping on our conversation: What was that?
My great-grandson: Nothing. Praise Calloway.
Me: Praise Calloway.
Police officer: Damn right.

This gives the same vibes as this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/imaginarymaps/comments/11ccsva

(very much not mine)

 

[DracoLazarus]

The map threads have been getting gradually more toxic and gate-keeper-y because of the things you guys are mentioning and it's honestly just pathetic.

Seriously just let people post their damn maps. There's no rule that says you have to comment on them. If you think it's "low effort" or whatever then just pass it by and wait for one that suits your aesthetic preference better. Every time I see a post talking about map quality all I'm really seeing is something along the lines of, "Boohoo, this person who made this thing in their free time for free for no other reason than they wanted to hasn't catered it to my exact specifications even though nobody cares about them!"

Yeah, it doesn't even have to be their own maps.
It can even be someone else's maps, a webfind, so long as they provide the source for it.
As long as it's not deliberately shitposting, it's fine.

 

[iori]

I just finished an OTL map of the political systems of the world, if you'd like to see it and comment, please visit the Political Maps Thread post.

 

[Merovingian]

From the same TL as that Russian Alaska scenario I did a while back. The Soviet Union(Советский Союз, Sovetsky Soyuz), officially known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics(Союз Советских Социалистических Республик, Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik) and sometimes colloquially known as Russia(Россия, Rossiya) or the USSR(СССР, SSSR), is a large transcontinental country in northern Eurasia. Officially a federation of constituent republics, in practice power is heavily centralized. The Soviet Union came into being following the October Revolution brought about by the Russian Empire’s defeat in the Great War. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed with the German Empire led to the independence of Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Finland, and the United Baltic Duchy while Russia collapsed into civil war between the communist Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin and the anti-communist White Army.

The Russian Civil War would end with the Bolsheviks taking power over continental Russia while the Whites retreated to Alaska. Lenin would not like long after his victory, however, dying in 1924 and being succeeded by a certain Leon Trotsky. Trotsky’s two main rivals, Nikolai Bukharin and Joseph Stalin, would both be arrested, with Stalin dying in prison. In 1937, Trotsky’s USSR launched a surprise invasion of the Hetmanate of Ukraine and the Kingdom of Belarus, launching the German-Soviet War. While the Soviets enjoyed initial successes under the generals Tukhachevsky and Zhukov, they would eventually be beaten back by the 1939 German counteroffensive. As the Soviets began to endure heavier losses, Trotsky was voted out of office by the Soviet Politburo in 1942 and his old rival Nikolai Bukharin was released from prison to take the reigns of power.

Bukharin made peace with the Germans on January 7th, 1943, returning all land taken from the German Empire and its allies(except for the warm water port of Crimea). Bukharin’s government then set about transitioning the Soviet economy away from the inefficient central planning which had dominated, though still paying lip service to the doctrines of Marx and Lenin. Having failed to militarily defeat the capitalist powers, Bukharin decided that instead, the Soviet Union would economically outcompete them. Bukharin died in 1954, but succeeding governments continued his policies. Today, the Soviet Union is the world’s second largest economy, behind the United States and ahead of the Republic of China. Since 1992, the Soviet Union has been led by Gennady Zyuganov. Controversially, Zyuganov’s government has overseen a rehabilitation of Leon Trotsky’s image and increasing belligerence with the west, particularly over the status of Alaska.

 

[Jupiter's Auroras]

The red states are the marches, military-run frontier regions mostly embroiled in constant war. Prisoners are often sent to mine in the Northern Marches, a desolate place run by state-supported private corporations.

The population of the world is slightly lower than it is now (around 6-7 billion?). Growth in the mid-century was countered by climate change, starvation, and war. The Trans-American Republic is one of the few regions with a higher population in 2100 than in 2000, as immigrants from Mexico and South America fled north from the heat.

Are they at war with those countries on the northeastern seaboard? Are they trying to retake that land? What’s their relationship with the western states? And what is the main ideology or culture that unites/united this new country?
Again, cannot undersell how creative this is job well done

 

[Black]

Continuing my CP victory series.

Looks like Christmas 1965 may not go so well for the British Empire.

Continuing my CP victory map series. I present a whole buncha maps

Continuing my CP victory series.

 

[walmart]

cp victory continues

A few things, Japan ruled through a puppet ROC anything south of the Great Wall. Restoring the Qing would not happen, given their unpopularity.
If you are going with a Japanese Philippines(a pre-1900s pod), it should be a republic given the lack of any native monarchy.
The borders of Indo-China don't make sense. Laos was it's own protectorate and adding Cochinchina to Cambodia would anger the more important and larger Vietnamese population. In addition, a Cambodian Cochinchina would make the nation majority Vietnamese.
The Burmese monarchy was already removed in the 1800s.
The Pakistani movement was led by secularists and I would add more of the Punjab to it.

 

[Black]

A few things, Japan ruled through a puppet ROC anything south of the Great Wall. Restoring the Qing would not happen, given their unpopularity.
If you are going with a Japanese Philippines(a pre-1900s pod), it should be a republic given the lack of any native monarchy.
The borders of Indo-China don't make sense. Laos was it's own protectorate and adding Cochinchina to Cambodia would anger the more important and larger Vietnamese population. In addition, a Cambodian Cochinchina would make the nation majority Vietnamese.
The Burmese monarchy was already removed in the 1800s.
The Pakistani movement was led by secularists and I would add more of the Punjab to it.

You are certainly correct on a few things. I ended up retconning Philippines to be a republic for future maps. And no it wasn't taken from Spain or the US but instead became an ally after independence (I know that isn't super realistic but the POD is a more passive United States which only really began flexing its muscles later than otl).
I went with Kingdom of Burma because of fears that without a monarchy it would fall to Communism. The dominate powers of this timeline are all constitutional monarchies so I think monarchism would be a more popular option for new states looking for a central figure to unite around. Particularly in Burma where the ethnic minorities want federalism while the Burmans want to consolidate power within themselves. A Buddhist monarch is a way (maybe not the best way) to try to keep the country united and without a communist takeover.
Indochina borders were mistake.
The Pakistani movement ittl is a far right islamist one. Pod is 1916 plenty of time for different independence factions to take the lead. And I went with Britain being more heavy handed in resisting independence than they were in OTL. As for the borders it's an active civil war in that map so that's just the areas under their control at that snapshot in time. I will do a post civil war India at some point (probably the last map before doing a few Anglo-Japanese war.
As for Empire of China I just figured Japan would consolidate their Chinese holdings into one puppet government.

 

[Bleh]

A few things, Japan ruled through a puppet ROC anything south of the Great Wall. Restoring the Qing would not happen, given their unpopularity.

I would think that would make it the perfect candidate for a puppet government: one that is detested by its subjects and fully reliant on Japanese support to remain in power

 

[bindle]

Are they at war with those countries on the northeastern seaboard? Are they trying to retake that land? What’s their relationship with the western states? And what is the main ideology or culture that unites/united this new country?
Again, cannot undersell how creative this is job well done

- The Trans-American Republic's goal is to unify North America (or at least the old USA). So yes, they do frequently declare war on neighboring countries. The biggest of these wars was fought (and won) in the Arctic over important trade routes. But as of 2100, the "republic" is overextended and unstable, making their expansionist rhetoric empty at best.
- Trans-America is less openly antagonistic towards the western countries. Rather than military targets, places like Amazon and California would be moral and propaganda targets. Amazon is a corporate dictatorship, while California is run by an "AI" (actually just a bunch of guys pretending to be an AI). These nations exist in opposition to the fascistic, low-tech ideology of Trans-America.
- Sometime in the 2060s, the United States faced many internal crises, mostly the result of climate change and waning influence. An agrarian, luddite, libertarian ideology became very powerful, arguing that cities and states should be allowed to... take matters into their own hands when it came to immigration and human rights. The next few decades saw every little sliver of the United States splinter into a thousand different ideologies, a period called the Dying Days that most people don't remember fondly. So, in the 2080s, when Wolf Calloway came with his strongman creed, backed by Big Men and Big Corporations, many people accepted him with open arms.

I initially made this world for a podcast I wanted to make. It would be a history of the 21st century told from the perspective of the year 2100. References would be made to all sorts of crazy events (like the Dying Days), but the context wouldn't come until later. All while, in the background, Wolf Calloway's empire slowly begins to fall apart. I don't know if I'll ever end up making it (mostly because I doubt anyone would listen lol), but it's still something I think about from time to time. Thanks for your questions!

 

[DUWANG]

Continuing my CP victory series.

Makes me wonder the possibilities of the Project Babylon/V-3 cannons but using railguns.

Although I doubt even the strongest gigantic railgun facilities would survive the arrival of ICBMs.

 

[walmart]

: one that is detested by its subjects and fully reliant on Japanese support to remain in power

That would mean Japan would have to put more resources into China which is something they want to avoid.

 

[iori]

Makes me wonder the possibilities of the Project Babylon/V-3 cannons but using railguns.

Although I doubt even the strongest gigantic railgun facilities would survive the arrival of ICBMs.

An actual large battery of rail guns would be able to shoot ICBMs down; an ICBM cruise speed is around 15,000 m/ph (24,000 k/ph) while an actual developed (as opposed to experimental) railgun system would be able to fire rounds anywhere between 10,000-30,000 m/ph (16,093-48,280 k/pH).

 

[Bleh]

That would mean Japan would have to put more resources into China which is something they want to avoid.

The post is pretty clear that the transition from "eat all of China for the Emperor's glory" to "maybe this is too expensive" has been recent and is not fully realized yet. Establishing a puppet state at all indicates a willingness to invest resources into keeping an area subdued and when establishing a puppet state it makes sense to have their bottom line reliant on your interests, not theirs. Whether or not Japan regrets that decision in this TL is another question entirely.