the project
terraficta started back in 2003. For the last five years, it has been a work in progress and most likely will remain so in the future. Its basics lie in the maps of pen & paper roleplayin games, especially those of HârnWorld and The Black Eye.
The goal of terraficta is to create visually appealing, aesthetical, and at the same time detailed and (pseudo-) realistic maps. Maps that immerse the viewer in the scenery rather than drown him in abstract terms and figures. Maps that - at a glance - convey a feeling for the lay of the land as a person within the area depicted would perceive it rather than to provide exessive absolute data.
Providing direct information rather than derived data - giving the viewer a feeling for the steepness of the slope through visual representation rather than having him derive the information through calculating height increase in relation to distance, for example, is what terraficta maps are supposed to be about.
Ultimately, the terraficta maps are to conjure up vivid images of the areas they depict - from the gentle slopes and settlements nestled in narrow valleys to the foam of the great waterfall and the smoke coming out o the great castle's chimneys.
While most technical basics are rather well defined and set, I still find myself discovering new ways of doing things and coming up with new requirements for the templates. Also, personal taste changes over time, so appearance and design are additional factors which keep me working on the project. However, most changes come up when I work on a particular map and they are comparatively minor or custom. Therefore, most of them never actually make it into the official, published templates, which is why updates have grown scarcer.
I hope you will enjoy terraficta.
