From Darkness: A Worldbuilder

Hello, and welcome to my newest project here in NES, a worldbuilder!

What do I mean by that? Well, in this thread, we will be constructing an entire planet piece-by-piece, from its geology to its culture, with the intent that it will eventually be used for future NESes I run. The first phase will do geology and climate; later phases will model things such as the spread of mankind and the evolution of languages and cultures across the world*.

Given that the rules will adapt with each phase, I will not be posting them here - instead, they will get linked to the second post as each phase commences.

While methods of participation will vary from phase to phase, the general idea is the same: You post in accordance with phase rules. I will respond if there is a requirement for me to do so, otherwise, you are free to commence. While my amount of direct involvement will vary from phase to phase, I hope to keep both my interference and the level of commitment necessary in the early phases to a minimum.

As far as frequency of posting goes, it'll change by phase, but generally speaking, you'll be allowed to contribute so long as two other participants have since your previous contribution, or after 24 hours have passed.




*If you have any familiarity with linguistics - and this can mean intro-level or hobby level, as far as I'm concerned - I would be interested in knowing that.

Phase one of this project will cover both geology and climate. This will be done through the use of temporary provinces, which will be erased following this phase, and biomes of varying types.

To start with, here is a list of biomes, sorted by class:


To begin participation in this phase, you should select two biomes of different classes; you'll also be given three biomes (also of different classes) randomly. I encourage players to seek out biomes and classes that haven't been selected by those before them, for sake of diversity, but it's not really necessary for you to do so.


Before we go any further, here is the starting map:

Yes, it is quite large. We're going to be able to put a lot of detail in this world. For those of you who this is a problem for, don't worry, I'll be providing each section as it's own, smaller image to edit from.

Anyways, those of you who looked at the map will notice that it's currently split into two portions; the vast majority is gray, while a smaller portion is in white, and currently has provinces drawn in it.

This phase works as follows: Each white section is available to edit, and each will operate under different rules. It's my way of changing things up, so some regions will allow for vast archipelagos, while others might be restricted to continents. You can add one province per white section at a time, in accordance with that sections rules.

Each province should be drawn in black, with a 2-pixel thick pencil tool, and labeled with its biome. You may combine biomes, within reason. Please do not allow your labels to touch the borders of the province, since fonts don't erase as nicely. Please do not alter the size of the image, which, for reference, is 6250X3000.

For this first section, we're starting in what is intended to be a tropical region, though any province may be posted under appropriate situations. Your province must border at least two other provinces, though this includes the maritime categories.



Future phase rules to be linked here

You may now post.