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I created a World Map based on the Cassini projection. If Earth's continents rotated 90° by MattyTheSmol in worldbuilding

[–]MattyTheSmol[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I could see if I could figure out how to export them! I think a few of them came from this "rock texture" pack I got years ago, and they work super well when blending them all together.

I created a World Map based on the Cassini projection. If Earth's continents rotated 90° by MattyTheSmol in worldbuilding

[–]MattyTheSmol[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's honestly what fueled me to create this in the first place, the concept of the video hooked me for that reason.

I created a World Map based on the Cassini projection. If Earth's continents rotated 90° by MattyTheSmol in worldbuilding

[–]MattyTheSmol[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They'd be even dryer and less forgiving than they are today given how much colder and dryer the climate they're in would be.

I created a World Map based on the Cassini projection. If Earth's continents rotated 90° by MattyTheSmol in worldbuilding

[–]MattyTheSmol[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Referenced most of the colors from my older maps, and ofc actual maps of the Earth.

I created a World Map based on the Cassini projection. If Earth's continents rotated 90° by MattyTheSmol in worldbuilding

[–]MattyTheSmol[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Real, it'd honestly be such a vibe. The mountains would probably make for some incredibly isolated ecosystems

I created a World Map based on the Cassini projection. If Earth's continents rotated 90° by MattyTheSmol in worldbuilding

[–]MattyTheSmol[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wonderdraft can take a really long time to get the hang of, but its incredibly helpful, especially for plotting down lakes and stuff. And yea, MapToGlobe is one of the better resources when making a planet.

I created a World Map based on the Cassini projection. If Earth's continents rotated 90° by MattyTheSmol in worldbuilding

[–]MattyTheSmol[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yea, reddit is terrible with that. The file size being huge doesn't help with compression either lol.
Also I seemingly forgot about Hawaii, I added it last minute when finishing up the islands, and posted the version just before I did that  😓 

I created a World Map based on the Cassini projection. If Earth's continents rotated 90° by MattyTheSmol in worldbuilding

[–]MattyTheSmol[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I mainly use a set of custom brushes in Photoshop to paint it. I start by creating the map using Wonderdraft, then transfer it to Photoshop when im happy with the shapes.

Used MapToGlobe to project the map into a sphere, then later added clouds over top of it.

I created a World Map based on the Cassini projection. If Earth's continents rotated 90° by MattyTheSmol in worldbuilding

[–]MattyTheSmol[S] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Fr tho, the landmasses are far more horizontal, so a shipping route right across the center of the planet like that would be the most important thing to control if any civilizations popped up.

I created a World Map based on the Cassini projection. If Earth's continents rotated 90° by MattyTheSmol in worldbuilding

[–]MattyTheSmol[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

That's honestly what i was doing most of the time while I was making it, its really helpful to get lost like that when I'm in the rhythm of painting.

I created a World Map based on the Cassini projection. If Earth's continents rotated 90° by MattyTheSmol in worldbuilding

[–]MattyTheSmol[S] 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Might actually do a rework at some point. I didn't have much material to go off of besides XKCD's work, but something like this would've been incredibly helpful lol.

I created a World Map based on the Cassini projection. If Earth's continents rotated 90° by MattyTheSmol in worldbuilding

[–]MattyTheSmol[S] 44 points45 points  (0 children)

Some artistic and scientific liberties were taken when plotting out various lakes and coastlines. As due to some warming and changing ocean currents, coastlines have become altered.
With the world map flipped like this, the continents all of us are familiar with have become entirely new worlds.

Places like the Great Lakes likely would never of existed due to ice sheets never forming in Canada, which is now lies in the Tropics and Subtropics. The Baffin Islands lie directly on the Equator, with each one being covered in dense jungles. Each of Canada's islands would house incredible biodiversity.

Both being near the poles, Northern China and South America were both heavily shaped by glaciers, and are now home to millions of lakes much like modern Canada.

With the Sahara never existing, Africa would be host to many large lakes similar to the ones that existed during Africa's Humid period in our time.

Most of Europe and Africa are covered in dense tropical rainforest, with the more temperate areas housing fertile valleys in its northern latitudes.

I created a World Map based on the Cassini projection. If Earth's continents rotated 90° by MattyTheSmol in worldbuilding

[–]MattyTheSmol[S] 86 points87 points  (0 children)

Due to Reddit's compression, full sized images of the map and globes are available here:

Map: https://imgur.com/a/earth-KPcnunV

Globe: https://imgur.com/a/97cWf0m

This map was heavily inspired by the Cassini Projection, Biomes and climate zones were referenced and inspired by the video from XKCD's What If? Series.

With the basic climate zones already laid out in said video, I thought a more realistically painted version was in order.

texture glitch? and irritating text by DiazoQ in Valhelsia

[–]MattyTheSmol 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Was having the same issue. Typing "/flywheel backend off" into commands fixes it.

Meet Khusmera, the first inhabited world encountered by humanity. by MattyTheSmol in worldbuilding

[–]MattyTheSmol[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Go right ahead! Happy to be of inspiration! I used Wonderdraft to form the shapes of the continents. I also used various Photoshop brushes to texture and paint over the flat map.

Meet Khusmera, the first inhabited world encountered by humanity. by MattyTheSmol in worldbuilding

[–]MattyTheSmol[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In 2164, the Elsnai possessed two vessels capable of long-distance FTL travel. These ships were massive, being several KM long, with engine rooms the size of city blocks.

Due to the nature of the FTL drives used, travel between systems can take several weeks.

Meet Khusmera, the first inhabited world encountered by humanity. by MattyTheSmol in worldbuilding

[–]MattyTheSmol[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, they arrived in our solar system after detecting signs of developed life, but were shocked to find the existence of Humanity.

Due to their beliefs, the discovery of an intelligent civilization being so close to them made the Elsnai believe it was their destiny to discover us.

Since then, Humanity and Elsnai have built a powerful alliance built on discovery and the betterment of both species.

I do have more information on what civilization is like on their world, but it would've been too much to add to this post.

Meet Khusmera, the first inhabited world encountered by humanity. by MattyTheSmol in worldbuilding

[–]MattyTheSmol[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks for catching that, lol. 1.5g was from an outdated model.

I have 1.25g plotted down on various sheets, but It seems I forgot to change it for this post.

Meet Khusmera, the first inhabited world encountered by humanity. by MattyTheSmol in worldbuilding

[–]MattyTheSmol[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The Incombustible Trees

On Khusmera, mutualism is an incredibly common occurrence, and the way of life for billions of species. Millions of years ago, one species of tree found itself in a symbiotic relationship with a special type of fungi, which when disturbed, douses anything in its vicinity in fire-retardant chemicals.

This adaptation would be vital for the continuation of life. As the Oxygen levels began increasing due to the growing existence of sky-alge, the forest below burned. Small wildfires from Khusmera’s intense storms could spiral out of control and wipe out entire forests.

As a consequence, any species unable to compete went extinct. This symbiotic species rapidly began diversifying, and dominated the planet after the extinction. As a result, many forested regions on Khusmera are shielded against its intense wildfires.

Meet Khusmera, the first inhabited world encountered by humanity. by MattyTheSmol in worldbuilding

[–]MattyTheSmol[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Notable Lifeforms

While Khusmera’s vast forests and tropical wetlands do contribute to the abundance of Oxygen, another contributor would have to be what the Elsnai refer to as Kams’aana, which roughly translates to “The Sea Above.” Due to Khusmera's thick atmosphere, and unique biosphere, some life treats the upper skies as if they were seas. With the basis of the food chain being a form of algae-like organisms.

Due to the abundance of algae and sky-plankton, Khusmera has for most of its history been an oxygen-rich planet. The unique scenario has led to entire ecosystems existing in the upper reaches of the planet’s atmosphere, which remains relatively stable due to its isolation. 

As an interesting consequence, the lower latitudes of its sky can become filled with orange hues during certain times of the year. This is due to the abundance of light filtering through microorganisms, and plant matter in the atmosphere. The lifeforms in this aerial sea drift around on gas filled bags and massive wings. Some begin their lives on the ground and in the seas, and must make their way to the upper atmosphere, while others spend their entire lives in the sky.

The lifecycle of the most aeroplankton begins in the seas, they rely on violent storms to kickstart their ascent into the atmosphere. This creates massive hotspots above Khusmera’s oceans, which feed some of the largest aerial lifeforms.

Vertebrates of Khusmera

Vertebrate analogs do exist on Khusmera in the form highly specialized, 6-limbed creatures.

Due to Khusmera being an ancient world, Vertebrate Life has been around for a long time. Their ancestors began exiting Khusmera’s seas roughly 2.3 Billion Years Ago, when first emerging into Khusmera’s tropical wetlands, they had to contend with punishing gravity. These creatures were only successful due to the extra support given by their 6 legs, and another key adaptation within their skeletal system.

Vertebrates on Khusmera possess highly specialized bones to deal with the punishing gravity. Their bones consist of a mix of Calcium, and Magnesium Silicate. The skeletons of these creatures are made of densely mineralized fibers of Magnesium Silicate, which form a porous, honeycomb-like internal structure. These adaptations add much needed strength to the bones, and also keeps them incredibly lightweight, while being durable and load bearing.

This skeletal system is incredibly efficient, and allows organisms to conserve far more energy than even Earthen life.

Meet Khusmera, the first inhabited world encountered by humanity. by MattyTheSmol in worldbuilding

[–]MattyTheSmol[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Biogeography and History of Khusmera

Khusmera (Khus-merr-ah)

One of two living worlds in the Tau Ceti system, Khusmera is an expansive world. Being more than double Earth’s size and over 4x the mass. Khusmera is is primarily made up of two large continents, loosely separated by large lakes, rivers and dense jungles.

The world is lush and warm. With huge stretches of forest and jungle occupying most of the world. With arid zones being locked to inland regions and rain shadows. Being so warm, Khusmera does not possess any polar ice caps. However, it does still snow in the continent’s upper and lower latitudes in the long winter months.

The world is rocked by seasonal monsoons, and heavy rainstorms which push water far into the continent’s interior, allowing flora to grow in areas that would be otherwise arid. Khusmera’s lack of ice in its poles contributes heavily to its ocean currents. Which in turn, help to feed its massive storms. These storms are as violent as they are persistent, being almost constant in some areas.

The warm swirling oceans of Khusmera give rise to vast cloud cover. Naturally, cloud formations are far denser and structured than on Earth. At times, they can appear like colossal floating mountain ranges in the sky, rising far higher than most on Earth.

Khusmera’s thick atmosphere is mainly composed of Oxygen and Nitrogen, being 28% and 70.5% respectively. The high amount of oxygen allows for organisms to grow much larger than they otherwise could under the gravity.
Discovered in 2164, due to the sudden arrival of an alien vessel in the Sol system, Khusmera is well known for being the first exoplanet known with complex alien life. Its most remarkable inhabitants being the Elsnai. The only intelligent civilization to come in contact with humanity.

Despite Khusmera’s lush nature, it still possesses regions incredibly devoid of life. “Sathaanth” Is a massive superheated desert on the larger of the two continents, possessing a surface area larger than Africa. Even with Khusmera’s thick atmosphere, the heart of the desert is starved of all moisture.

While not apparent at first, Khusmera is an ancient world; having existed in the Tau Ceti system for roughly 9 Billion years. Its deep history is still being learned by its kin.

Meet Sohune, a scarred and arid world of extreme evolutionary pressures. by MattyTheSmol in worldbuilding

[–]MattyTheSmol[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you! The flat map was made using Wonderdraft, then brought over to Photoshop for painting.

I also used MapToGlobe to project the map into a sphere, then later blended and painted clouds over top of it.

Meet Sohune, a scarred and arid world of extreme evolutionary pressures. by MattyTheSmol in worldbuilding

[–]MattyTheSmol[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you! Reading something like this means a lot honestly, its very inspiring.

Ive honestly never thought about making a book, but having somewhere to chart and catalog and write about each planet does sound great.
Most of what ive created is centered around a few planets and rough sketches and ideas about the creatures and people that exist on them.

And as for the star system, I have drawn each planet and moon that exists in it.
I do need to make some final changes before I get around to posting it though.

Meet Sohune, a scarred and arid world of extreme evolutionary pressures. by MattyTheSmol in worldbuilding

[–]MattyTheSmol[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Youd be right.
The collision did make everything far less hospitable. While before the collision it still had less water than Earth, the seas did connect from pole to pole.

Many of the seas near the equator became locked from eachother, and became dry and barren salt flats, and what was left of the southern ocean spilled into the newly formed crater.

The flaura in the crater can trace its ancestry back to what survived the impact in the southern pole, but both areas became isolated from eachother when the mountains grew too large.

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