das said:
You have to know where to look.
Great map, though some adjustments, as usual, might be in order:
- Didn't we agree to keep the far north semibarbaric?
It's claimed, with some centers of population, but the vast majority remains semibarbaric.
- The western parts of the Mainland, apart from some coastal bases, are rather unlikely to come under Imperial rule.
I disagree. (Hence, why they're on the map

). It's not so much that they're worth a lot, but that they have nothing stopping their colonization, being mostly taiga with a narrow band of fairly temperate climate. It's the Empire's version of Canada.
- By contrary, why are there some Gulf states left independent? THESE the Empire would crack down upon early.
"Blue Gray" and "Dark Purple" were collaborator nations, in tight royal marriage to the Empire. "Light Green" (we need names. Now.) was pretty much shattered, so while it seems like a lot, they lost most of their territory.
- Completely disagree about the eastern continent. The north should definitely be Imperial. The center and the south will most likely be independent, bases aside, though in the center there will probably be a puppet state of some sorts.
No. The north is mostly desert, and the Empire, in my invisioning, didn't want to bother fighting a protracted guerilla war, and thus took some Yemen-like strips and left the nomads in the center to fend for themselves, ala Saudi Arabia.
The green state is an ally of the Empire, most likely, and furthermore, being in deep jungles, is unlikely to be a conquest. In the center and south, by contrast, there's really nothing to stop the Empire. The continent would be isolated from the others enough that diseases would take a significant toll upon their contact (say, around 33-50%), so they would be decimated, and with the Empire in a colonizing mood, there would be really no one to stop them. The few states left are the equivalent of a slightly bigger and more successful Zulu mixed with Lakota--enough to fend off the Empire long enough to get them to sign a treaty which was thouroughly favorable to the Empire--but nothing more.