Larger-Scale Strategic Realm Map Design

Status: temporary scratch document for analysis.

This document captures the larger-scale map concept discussed on May 2, 2026. It is not an authoritative replacement for the current Valenar docs yet. It is a design fork for a bigger, more readable strategic realm map.

The main point:

This is not mapv8/mapv9 scaled up.
This is not the current 500m / 60K Location Valenar contract.
This is a new large strategic map target where each Location is a major
playable territory.

Scope

This document is about the map and what the map's land units contain.

Covered:

larger realm/province/location scale
what a large Location is
how Sites, Features, Buildings, settlement cores, roads, rivers, lakes, and overlays fit into a Location
what appears on the 3D strategic map
how a fantasy strategic generator should create this map
what the existing generated images imply for Location, Feature, and settlement presentation

Not covered here:

combat resolution
MC skill formulas
economy balance
quest scripting
final UI layout implementation
exact SECS stat definitions

The map is allowed to feed those systems later, but this document stays focused on the map shape and map-contained world objects.

Session Generated Images

Actual session-generated images were inspected from:

/home/herki/.codex/generated_images/019de4fe-a007-7fe2-9f88-22c5511a6036

There are 30 PNGs dated May 1, 2026, from 22:07 to 23:39. Most are around 1548x1016. They show a progression from early 2.5 km2 Location UI concepts into the stronger large-scale realm/province/location target.

Do not treat every generated image as equally authoritative. Some images still show the older fine Location scale. The final useful direction is the later large strategic map sequence with Järva March, Blackpine March, Iron Hill, Wardheart Capital, East Gate Trace, hydrology, control, threat, army, and layer stack views.

Session Image Scale Read

The images imply this concrete scale:

Shieldheart Frontier area:
  18,900 km2
  8 Provinces
  64 known Locations

Järva March Province:
  2,360-2,460 km2, depending on image variant
  8 Locations

Large Location examples:
  Pine Hollow:       298 km2
  North Road:        312 km2
  Blackpine March:   346 km2, sometimes 386 km2 in earlier variants
  Ashfen:            356 km2
  Iron Hill:         368 km2
  Shrine Coast:      387 km2
  East Gate Trace:   393 km2
  Southfen Coast:    206 km2 in one geography variant

This supports a target where a Province has around 5-10 large Locations, and a large Location is usually around 250-500 km2. The 2.5 km2 screens are useful for content categories and building examples, but not for the final map scale.

Image Groups

1. Painted Strategic Concept

File:

ig_05e459d47980948c0169f5157fa61c81918e635ed121189601.png

This image shows two related views:

Settlement View for Blackpine March.
MC Expedition View for Blackpine March.

Useful elements:

hand-painted fantasy-atlas terrain
gold outline around the selected province/location
forests, mountains, rivers, roads, and corruption zones visible in the map
named Sites/Features: Ore Vein, Old Road, Shrine, Abandoned Fortress, Demon Fissure, River Ford Camp
settlement-side panel with control, role, resources, threat, Features, and routes
MC expedition-side panel with camp, loadout, planned route, discovered Features, and available activities
dotted route path connecting known Features and camp

Design implication:

A large Location/Province should be a readable fantasy territory with several
distinct Sites and Features visible on the map. MC travel is not tile-by-tile
micro movement; it is a route through known/unknown Sites inside and between
large territories.

Problem to avoid:

The image is more polished illustration than practical implementation target.
Use the visual language, not the exact painterly density as a required first
implementation.

2. Older 2.5 km2 Location Screens

Files include:

ig_0ddbb1a7bedeabdd0169f517113fcc8191a1de93dded6e6b41.png
ig_0ddbb1a7bedeabdd0169f517c39bc08191a94d8f504e598884.png
ig_0ddbb1a7bedeabdd0169f51ae5c3a48191ad0e09320b07afe8.png
ig_0ddbb1a7bedeabdd0169f51b3ba3bc8191abcb3dd020f40101.png

These show Thornwall, Wardheart Capital, and Thornwall Fields at 2.5 km2 scale. They are not the desired final scale. They are still useful for categories.

Useful categories from these images:

Core Base state: claimed, surveyed, Shieldheart/Core Base tags.
Core Buildings: Great Hall, Shelter Row, Storehouse, Palisade, Workshop, Watchfire.
Capital/Core facilities: Wardheart Nexus, Great Hall, MC Quarters, Camp Workshop, Training Yard, Infirmary, Storehouse Vault, Map Room, Ritual Circle, Forge Seed, Watch Gate.
Farming Location buildings: Farm Plots, Well, Granary, Shelter Row, Watch Post, Tool Shed.
Local signs: water, forage, shelter, danger, taint.
Construction queue and build slots.
Designation panel for a farming Location.

Design implication:

Keep these building and facility categories, but move them into large-scale
hosts: Core Site, Feature Site, Outpost, District, or Location panel. Do not
keep 2.5 km2 as the final strategic Location scale.

3. Large Location Dossier / Feature Screens

Files include:

ig_0ddbb1a7bedeabdd0169f5181861988191a6b9e4f7a968ac28.png
ig_0ddbb1a7bedeabdd0169f518b1c0b881918ed6cd0799ad5a93.png
ig_0ddbb1a7bedeabdd0169f5272e23208191b73afb8fc0128b3d.png

These are key large-scale references. Blackpine March appears as a large Location of 346-386 km2, with partial control, province membership, route security, taint edge, known/unknown Features, and internal map icons.

Blackpine March contents shown across variants:

Old North Road
Ruined Watchtower
Iron Hill Ore Vein
Hidden Spring
Shrine Ward
Ashfall Hollow
Pinewood Camp
Dungeon Mouth
unknown undiscovered Features

Important numbers and states:

Area: 346-386 km2
Known Features: 6/11 or 7/11
Travel inside Location: multi-day
Camp safety: fair
Route risk: moderate
Taint edge: present
Primary terrain: mixed forest and hills

Design implication:

A large Location can have 8-11 possible Features, with only some discovered.
The UI should support known, partly surveyed, unknown, and undiscovered
Features. The map should show only a small readable set of icons while the panel
holds the full detail.

4. Feature-Hosted Buildings

Files include:

ig_0ddbb1a7bedeabdd0169f5176824ac8191bb0488e84c4c85cd.png
ig_0ddbb1a7bedeabdd0169f51bed7200819190b1b7da68ef9251.png
ig_0ddbb1a7bedeabdd0169f522d35efc8191b248721846ed1fc8.png
ig_0ddbb1a7bedeabdd0169f52376e10c8191b3878a978ff9c05a.png

These show the strongest building model for the larger scale: buildings are grouped under the core holding or under specific Features/Sites.

Blackpine March examples:

Wardheart Core / Wardheart Outpost:
  Great Hall
  Storehouse
  Shelter Row
  Palisade

Old North Road / Old Road Station:
  Road Station
  Watchtower
  Stable Yard
  Supply Depot

Iron Hill Ore Vein:
  Mine Works
  Timber Supports
  Ore Yard
  Smithy
  Guard Post

Shrine Ward:
  Ward Circle
  Chapel
  Cleansing Post

Design implication:

Buildings are not scattered as individual house models on the main 3D map.
They belong to hosts:
  Core Holding
  Feature
  Site
  Outpost
  Route/Crossing
  District

The map can show one host icon. The panel shows the buildings inside that host.

5. Economy / Resource Location

File:

ig_0ddbb1a7bedeabdd0169f5248ca7c48191bbdec693114a7e64.png

Iron Hill is shown as a 368 km2 mining-focused Location.

Resource Features:

Iron Hill Ore Vein
Quarry Face
Old Mine Tunnels
Coal Sink
Tainted Shaft

Buildings by Feature:

Mine Works
Timber Supports
Ore Yard
Quarry Works
Stone Depot
Survey Camp
Guard Post
Coal Pit
Seal Outpost

The image also shows a production chain:

ore extraction -> smelting -> metal goods

Design implication:

A resource Location can contain multiple resource Features and multiple
Feature-hosted building clusters. It should also expose local blockers such as
cave-in risk, demon tracks, insufficient guards, and route bottlenecks.

6. Province Governance And Development

Files include:

ig_0ddbb1a7bedeabdd0169f522169d9081919e572b5cf04205b8.png
ig_0ddbb1a7bedeabdd0169f522855d4c81919c61cd9f32d2ebc0.png

Järva March appears as a frontier Province with 8 Locations, population around 18.4k, province control around 47%, route safety around 58%, and taint pressure at the eastern edge.

Controlled Location examples:

Wardheart Capital
Blackpine March
Iron Hill
North Road
Ashfen
Pine Hollow
Shrine Coast
East Gate Trace

Province-level concepts shown:

governor assignment
province edicts
controlled Location table
province projects
outposts
garrison
food/metal income
route safety
taint pressure
supply reach

Design implication:

The Province is the management layer above Locations. It aggregates control,
routes, garrison, projects, edicts, economy, and threats. It should not replace
Location detail; it summarizes and coordinates it.

7. Area / Multi-Province Map

Files include:

ig_0ddbb1a7bedeabdd0169f524e9ad988191be7202244b9482a6.png
ig_0ddbb1a7bedeabdd0169f52792a1a88191ba57d7ec17cd4159.png

Shieldheart Frontier appears as an 18,900 km2 area with 8 Provinces and 64 known Locations.

Province examples:

Järva March
Westmere
Stoneholm
Ashen Lowlands
Silverpine Wastes
East Gate March
Southfen Coast
Greyvale Woods
Northwatch Reach in one variant

The images show:

controlled, contested, neutral, and demon-held Provinces
major routes
taint front
capital/core settlement
outposts/forts
demon gate
point-of-interest markers

Design implication:

The larger world can be organized as Areas containing Provinces, and Provinces
containing large Locations. If a Realm is around 45,000 km2, it can plausibly
have two to three area-sized regions like Shieldheart Frontier.

8. Geography And 3D Geography

Files include:

ig_0ddbb1a7bedeabdd0169f525405e0c81918ff1518cc184ddaa.png
ig_0ddbb1a7bedeabdd0169f528f73bc88191b3278f50c66a06e3.png

These are the clearest style references.

Map treatment:

painted/3D strategic atlas
visible mountains with height and silhouettes
forest masses
lake and coastline
rivers as readable blue corridors
roads as thin route lines with nodes/crossings
province border as strong gold outline
Location borders as thinner pale/gold lines
controlled/tainted areas as colored overlays
icons for capital, outpost/fort, resource Feature, point of interest

Design implication:

The target visual style is not a flat hex grid and not the current mapv9 green
terrain viewer. It is a stylized 3D/painterly strategy map with readable
territory borders, terrain identity, and selective icons.

9. Hydrology

File:

ig_0ddbb1a7bedeabdd0169f52a4fd9bc8191ad9f1cf00fdffa0e.png

The hydrology view shows Järva March with:

2 river basins
1 major river
7 tributaries
3 lakes
5 fords
water quality states
watersheds
flow arrows
crossings, bridges, and fords
floodplains
fisheries
corrupted runoff

Named hydrology details:

Headwaters, clear and cold
marsh, stagnant
deep lake, good quality
corrupted runoff, poor quality
watermill candidate

Design implication:

Rivers and lakes are not decorative. They create crossings, water quality,
marshes, floodplains, fisheries, routes, settlement candidates, and corruption
problems.

10. Control, Threat, Army, War Room

Files include:

ig_0ddbb1a7bedeabdd0169f52597ffec8191b504bfea5dbd030f.png
ig_0ddbb1a7bedeabdd0169f526c23fc48191bd10bce289822edc.png
ig_0ddbb1a7bedeabdd0169f52886c00481918f2bab2a551d0a10.png
ig_0ddbb1a7bedeabdd0169f529e1e73881918fc2cb857ac9edfc.png
ig_0ddbb1a7bedeabdd0169f52ac17ef4819194dd7e06e829828b.png
ig_0ddbb1a7bedeabdd0169f52b31399081918d5d13f600fe270b.png

These show the map as an operational board.

Visible systems:

control percentage per Location
contested and enemy/lost Locations
taint edge and tainted lands
gate pressure
shield coverage
raid routes
threatened routes
safe routes
front lines
hostile stacks
friendly armies/garrisons/militia/scouts
patrol zones
fallback lines
offensive push arrows
choke points
bridge/ford penalties
siege progress
supply reach and route safety

Design implication:

The large map must support overlays as first-class render products. The same
terrain map must be readable in geography, control, routes, threat, army,
economy, Features, hydrology, and custom layer presets.

Session Image Design Verdict

The session images settle the direction:

Use the large strategic map direction.
Do not use the old 2.5 km2 Location scale as the Realm map.
Use Blackpine March / Järva March / Shieldheart Frontier scale bands.
Represent Buildings through core, Site, Feature, district, route, and outpost
hosts.
Render a stylized 3D/painterly strategic atlas with clear borders, roads,
rivers, lakes, icons, labels, overlays, and zoomed detail.

The core visual target is:

Järva March 3D Geography + Hydrology + Control/Threat/Army overlays

The core data target is:

Shieldheart Frontier
  Area: 18,900 km2
  Provinces: 8
  Known Locations: 64

Järva March
  Province: about 2,460 km2
  Locations: 8

Blackpine March
  Location: about 346 km2
  Known Features: 7/11 or 8/11
  Hosts: Wardheart Outpost, Old North Road, Iron Hill Ore Vein, Shrine Ward,
         Pinewood Camp, Hidden Spring, Ash Hollow, Dungeon Mouth

Critical Scale Decision

The old/current Valenar documents talk about:

minimum Location footprint: 500m x 500m
possible production budget: tens of thousands of Locations

That is a fine-grained exploration/simulation scale.

The larger strategic map discussed here is different:

Area / frontier region: around 18,900 km2 in the session images
Realm size: around 30,000-60,000 km2, with 45,000 km2 as a useful target
Province size: around 2,000-5,000 km2
Locations per Province: around 5-10
Location size: usually around 250-500 km2
Total Location count: around 90-180 for a 30,000-60,000 km2 realm

At 250-500 km2, a Location is not a small local tile. It is a territory the player can understand as a named place.

Concrete session-image examples:

Pine Hollow       298 km2
North Road        312 km2
Blackpine March   346 km2 / 386 km2 variant
Ashfen            356 km2
Iron Hill         368 km2
Shrine Coast      387 km2
East Gate Trace   393 km2

These are not 500m cells. They are large map territories, usually 15-25 km across depending on shape.

Hierarchy

Recommended hierarchy for the larger map:

Realm
  Province
    Location
      Site
      Feature
      Building / Improvement
      Army / Party / Caravan marker
      Overlay state

Optional middle layers can exist if needed:

Realm
  Region
    Province
      Location

But for the main playable map, Province and Location are the important units.

Definitions:

Layer	Meaning	Approximate Size
Realm	Whole playable campaign map	30,000-60,000 km2
Province	Political/geographic region	2,000-5,000 km2
Location	Main clickable strategic territory	250-500 km2
Site	Named point or sub-area inside a Location	local
Feature	Notable generated thing inside a Location	local to regional
Building	Abstract structure or upgrade attached to a core/site/district	local

The Province is the map's mid-level planning unit. The Location is the main gameplay unit. Sites and Features are the interesting contents inside a Location. Buildings are upgrades and infrastructure, not individual houses placed on the 3D map.

What A Large Location Is

A Location is the player's main selected land unit.

At this scale, a Location should be able to contain:

one dominant terrain identity
one or more secondary terrain patches
one main settlement, camp, fort, ruin, crossing, mine, shrine, or special anchor if appropriate
2-6 important Sites on average, with capital/landmark Locations able to hold more
3-12 Feature records, not all discovered at once
a road segment or route choice if the Location is connected
river/lake/coast adjacency when relevant
one or more resource potentials
threat or taint state
ownership/control state
army/party/caravan markers
a small number of visible map icons

A Location should not be treated as "one thing". It is a land container.

Session-image example:

Blackpine March, 346-386 km2
  terrain:
    mixed forest and hills, river branches, old road, taint edge

  visible map:
    gold Location outline, internal road, river/creek lines, feature icons,
    border to tainted lands

  contents:
    Old North Road
    Ruined Watchtower
    Iron Hill Ore Vein
    Hidden Spring
    Shrine Ward
    Ashfall Hollow
    Pinewood Camp
    Dungeon Mouth
    unknown Features

  possible use:
    frontier holding, road security, mining, shrine warding, camp/outpost,
    taint-edge defense, feature investigation

Strategic Location Record

A large Location should eventually have data shaped roughly like this:

StrategicLocation
  id
  name
  parentProvinceId
  areaKm2
  polygon
  centroid
  labelAnchor
  terrainClass
  terrainTags
  elevationBand
  slopeClass
  forestCoverage
  wetlandCoverage
  plainsCoverage
  mountainCoverage
  waterCoverage
  fertility
  moisture
  timberPotential
  foodPotential
  stonePotential
  orePotential
  ancientness
  routeImportance
  chokepointScore
  defensibility
  settlementSuitability
  outpostSuitability
  travelDifficulty
  riverAccess
  lakeAccess
  coastalAccess
  roadAccess
  bridgeOrFordIds
  neighbourLocationIds
  siteIds
  featureIds
  buildingIds
  controllingFactionId
  controlState
  taintLevel
  shieldCoverage
  threatLevel
  knowledgeState
  overlayStates

The numeric facts are the truth. Labels are summaries.

For example:

terrainClass = Wooded Riverland
tags = ForestEdge, RiverAccess, FertilePockets, ModerateTravel, HiddenRuin

The UI can show the readable class. Generation and gameplay should use the underlying facts.

Location Visual Budget

Because there are only around 90-180 large Locations, each Location can be more visually expressive than a 60K-location map.

But the map still needs discipline.

Recommended visible items per Location:

unselected ordinary Location:
  terrain + border + maybe one icon

unselected important Location:
  terrain + border + settlement/fort/ruin/resource icon

hovered Location:
  label + control + danger + 2-4 known traces

selected Location:
  label + Sites + Features + roads/crossings + overlay readouts

province zoom:
  all Location borders, major sites, main roads, rivers, armies

realm zoom:
  province borders, capital/core icons, armies, main rivers, major threats

Avoid showing every building or every minor resource on the 3D map.

Terrain Types

Large Locations should have dominant terrain identities, but the generator should still store mixed composition.

Possible terrain classes:

Class	Map Meaning	Likely Contents
Open Plains	easy travel, farming, visibility	farmstead, road, camp, battlefield
Wooded Plains	mixed food/wood land	forest stand, hunting trail, old road
Deep Forest	cover, timber, danger, poor visibility	grove, hidden shrine, ruin, camp
River Meadow	fertile water-adjacent land	ford, bridge, mill ruin, farms
Marsh	slow travel, water, herbs, danger	reed pool, causeway, shrine, taint runoff
Rocky Upland	stone, ore, slope, defensibility	quarry, mine, pass, watchtower
Mountain Pass	chokepoint and travel gate	keep, road station, old bridge
Lake Country	fishing, docks, sacred/hidden sites	dock, island ruin, reed beds
Coast	trade, fishing, landing, exposure	harbor, beacon, coastal fort
Blighted Land	taint, low safety, special resources	fissure, ash field, ward ruin
Ancient Heartland	dense old-world traces	ruins, roads, archive, ward stones

The terrain class should be readable from the map at a glance.

Sites

A Site is a named point or sub-area inside a Location.

Sites are more concrete than terrain but broader than individual buildings. They are the things the player can select, investigate, secure, develop, or use as anchors.

Recommended count:

ordinary Location:
  1-3 known or discoverable Sites

interesting Location:
  3-6 Sites

capital/core/landmark Location:
  5-10 Sites

Sites can start hidden and only appear after scouting or investigation. A large Location can also have more Feature records than Site records: for example, Blackpine March shows 7/11 or 8/11 known Features, but not all of those need to be fully developed map Sites.

Site examples:

Site	Typical Host Location	Map Role
Settlement Core	fertile, river, pass, shielded land	main built anchor
Travelling Camp	any safe or semi-safe land	temporary MC/party position
Ruin Field	ancient, forest, hill, old road	investigation and salvage
Mine Outcrop	rocky upland, mountain	resource extraction
Quarry Face	rocky upland, cliffs	stone extraction
Lumber Camp	forest	timber outpost
Farmstead	plains, river meadow	food outpost
Watch Post	pass, hill, border	warning and defense
Ford	river meadow, crossing	movement chokepoint
Bridge	road river crossing	route infrastructure
Dock	lake/coast/river	water travel and food
Shrine	forest, lake, hill, ancient land	morale, ritual, cleansing
Ward Circle	ancient, tainted, Nexus-adjacent	shield and taint gameplay
Road Station	old road, pass, frontier	logistics and route safety
Beacon	hill, coast, pass	warning network
Gate Scar	corrupted, high pressure	threat source

Site lifecycle:

hidden
  -> clue
  -> discovered
  -> surveyed
  -> secured
  -> developed
  -> maintained / contested / abandoned

A Site can host Buildings after it is secured or claimed.

Features

A Feature is a notable generated thing inside a Location.

Features can be natural, ancient, hostile, corrupting, logistical, or story related. They are the reason a Location has special actions, blockers, clues, risks, or development options.

Feature families:

Family	Examples	Can Become Site?
Natural Resource	herb meadow, grazing ground, clay bank	sometimes
Water	spring, stream, pond, reed pool	sometimes
Forest	forest stand, old-growth grove, hidden copse	sometimes
Mineral	ore vein, quarry stone, collapsed mine	yes
Travel	ford, old bridge, road trace, mountain pass	yes
Shelter	cave, ruined shelter, defensible hollow	sometimes
Ruin	ruined mill, fallen watchtower, standing stones	yes
Threat	hostile camp, ambush site, demon lair	sometimes after cleared
Corruption	black ash patch, blighted field, fissure	sometimes after cleansed
Landmark	named peak, sacred grove, lake island	sometimes
Nexus	dormant Nexus, wardheart, leyline anchor	yes, special
Settlement Opportunity	fertile basin, sheltered hill, old town mound	yes
Story	unique generated or scripted anchor	yes/no by rule

Feature principles:

Feature existence is generated world state.
Discovery state controls what the player sees.
A Location should not show Features that do not exist.
A hidden Feature should appear as a clue only when discovery allows it.
Feature rewards should be causal. A ruin gives ruin-related results, not a random global bonus.
Feature placement should use suitability, budget, spacing, and story bias, not independent random rolls per Location.

Feature discovery states:

hidden
clue
discovered
surveyed
handled
developed

Example from the checked images:

Ruined Stonework
  first state:
    unidentified feature
    known: circular stones, buried marks
    unknown: purpose, depth, danger

  possible findings:
    ward pattern
    buried center
    movement below

  later:
    identified as Dormant Nexus
    central socket buried
    south edge tainted
    nearby threat blocks founding

That is the right pattern for larger Locations too. The scale changes, but the Feature model stays strong.

Buildings And Improvements

Buildings should not be individually placed as tiny models across the 3D map.

At this scale, Buildings are abstract strategic records attached to:

Settlement Core
Site
Outpost
District
Route/crossing
special Feature

The 3D map can show a simple icon, small cluster, silhouette, or upgraded marker when a Building matters. The detailed list belongs in the Location, Site, settlement, or district panel.

Building Record Shape

Building
  id
  name
  category
  hostType
  hostId
  level
  state
  constructionProgress
  workersAssigned
  inputNeeds
  outputEffects
  upkeep
  requirements
  blockers
  mapIcon
  visibleAtZoom

Possible building states:

planned
under construction
active
damaged
disabled
contested
abandoned
upgrading
destroyed

Core Buildings

Core Buildings belong to the main settlement/core anchor.

Possible Core Buildings:

Building	Purpose
Nexus / Wardheart	shield strength, claim range, leyline connection, founding anchor
Central Hall	authority, assignment, administration, settlement identity
Storehouse	food, wood, stone, metal, salvage, special materials
Shelter Seed	first housing, rest safety, exposure protection
Housing Cluster	population capacity and survivor stability
Well / Waterworks	water reliability and disease resistance
Camp Kitchen	food efficiency, morale, rest quality
Workshop	tools, repairs, simple crafting, construction speed
Forge Seed	metal tools, weapons, repairs, advanced production
Infirmary	injury recovery, illness resistance, taint treatment support
Training Yard	militia readiness, drills, party preparation
Watchtower	warning, local visibility, route safety
Palisade / Wall	settlement defense and raid resistance
Gatehouse	controlled entry, defense, trade route control
Ward Stones	taint suppression, demon weakening, shield reinforcement
Ritual Circle	cleansing actions, leyline work, anchor stabilization
Map Table	scouting, route planning, claim planning
Archive / Shrine	knowledge, morale, rituals, lore unlocks
Market Yard	exchange, storage flow, population services
Caravan Yard	logistics, outpost supply, trade, road network
Messenger Post	alerts, communication, command reach

The realm settlement mockup already shows this direction with entries like Granary, Walls, and Messenger. For the larger scale, these should be Building records attached to the settlement core, not separate tiny map tiles.

Site Buildings

Site Buildings are tied to a specific Site inside a Location.

Examples:

Site	Possible Buildings
Mine Outcrop	mine head, supports, ore store, pump, guard post
Quarry Face	quarry yard, stone ramp, crane, tool shed
Lumber Camp	sawpit, log yard, charcoal pit, forester hut
Farmstead	fields, well, barn, granary, fence, watch post
Dock	pier, boat shed, fish store, beacon
Ford	marker posts, patrol hut, later bridge
Bridge	bridge structure, toll post, guard house
Shrine	restored shrine, cleansing altar, pilgrim shelter
Ward Circle	ward stones, ritual focus, shard socket
Watch Post	tower, signal fire, barracks hut, supply cache
Road Station	stable, supply shed, messenger post, rest shelter
Ruin Field	excavation scaffold, secured vault, archive tent

District Improvements

District Improvements are infrastructure spread across a group of claimed Locations or a large part of one Location.

They should not appear as individual house placement.

Examples:

District Type	Improvements
Farming	field clearing, wells, irrigation, fences, granary, patrol post
Forestry	trails, log yard, sawpits, forester huts, firebreaks
Mining	survey shafts, mine support, ore road, pumps, guard post
Residential	shelters, wells, sanitation, paths, market access
Military	watch line, palisade, mustering yard, barracks, beacon
Civic	hall, records, messenger route, storage rules
Trade / Road	roadbed, bridge, waystation, caravan yard, toll marker
Ward / Cleansing	ward stones, patrol circle, cleansing site, beacon

At map level, a district can be shown through:

colored Location fill
connected district border
one district icon
progress ring
warning badge
route/ward line

Settlement Core

The Settlement Core is the main built anchor inside a Location.

In the larger-scale map, a Core Location is a large territory that contains the settlement heart plus its immediate land. The town/city itself does not fill the entire 250-500 km2 Location.

Core settlement structure:

Core Location
  Settlement Core Site
    Nexus / Wardheart if special
    Core Buildings
    population and storage
    settlement identity
    command range

  surrounding Sites
    farmstead
    watch post
    old bridge
    mine outcrop
    ward circle

  neighbouring Locations
    become claimed district land, outposts, roads, farms, forests, mines,
    wards, or defenses

A small settlement can sit inside one Location.

A town can occupy one Core Location plus several claimed neighbouring Locations.

A city can be a multi-Location footprint with specialized districts and outposts.

Founding should remain special:

Discover/identify anchor
  -> clear blockers
  -> stabilize anchor
  -> found Core Base
  -> claim nearby land
  -> designate districts and build outposts

The Dormant Nexus screenshot supports this model well. The Nexus is not shown as a generic founding button everywhere. It is a discovered, investigated, blocked, stabilized map Feature.

Province Shape

A Province should contain around 5-10 large Locations.

That is enough to make a Province feel like a real region without turning it into a dense grid.

Example Province:

Province: Jerva-like Inland March

Locations:
Central Lake Meadows
North Pinewood
Old Ward Hills
Blackfen Marsh
Ashford Road
Iron Vein Uplands
South River Farms
Keep of the Pass

Province-level generated facts:

provinceId
name
areaKm2
locationIds
capitalOrCoreLocationId
dominantTerrain
secondaryTerrain
mainRiverIds
lakeIds
routeIds
settlementIds
resourceSummary
threatSummary
taintSummary
controlSummary
borderProvinceIds
strategicRole

Province roles:

Role	Meaning
Breadbasket	fertile, safer, settlement growth
Frontier March	border pressure, forts, patrols
Highland Resource	mines, stone, passes, hard travel
Deep Forest	timber, hidden Sites, danger
Lake Basin	food, docks, sacred/hidden Sites
Blighted Scar	taint, corrupted Features, cleansing
Old Heartland	ruins, roads, archives, ward relics
Trade Crossroads	roads, bridges, market, conflict

Each Province should have a readable identity, not just a collection of random Locations.

Roads, Routes, Passes, And Crossings

Routes are major map structure.

At this scale, roads should be sparse and important. They should connect:

settlement cores
passes
bridges and fords
mines and resource outposts
docks and trade sites
old ruins or story anchors
province centers

Route data:

Route
  id
  type
  locationPath
  endpointSiteIds
  quality
  safety
  travelTime
  blockedBy
  visibleState

Route types:

old road
new road
trail
pass
river crossing
bridge
causeway
ward line
patrol route
supply route
caravan route

Route map rules:

A road crossing a river should create a ford/bridge Site.
A pass through mountains should create a chokepoint Location or Site.
A road through tainted land should show risk and possible blockers.
A disconnected outpost should require a control route, supply route, patrol route, or ward line.

Rivers And Lakes

Rivers and lakes must be generated for strategic readability, not real-world simulation accuracy.

The generator should create believable water:

mountain/highland sources
  -> valley flow
  -> confluences
  -> lakes/marshes/coast/low basin

Rivers should matter because they:

define province and Location borders
create fertile land
create movement barriers
create bridge/ford Sites
guide settlement placement
feed lakes and marshes
shape trade and defense
affect taint spread or cleansing in special cases

At this scale, do not generate dozens of tiny decorative streams. Generate a small number of readable major rivers and secondary tributaries.

Water map objects:

River
  id
  rank
  centerline
  widthClass
  sourceLocationId
  mouthLocationId
  connectedLakeIds
  crossingSiteIds

Lake
  id
  polygon
  shoreLocationIds
  inletRiverIds
  outletRiverIds
  islandSiteIds
  dockSiteIds

Lake roles:

Lake Role	Map Use
Fishing Lake	food and settlement support
Sacred Lake	shrine, ward, story Site
Marsh Lake	slow movement, herbs, corruption risk
Border Lake	province boundary and defense
Trade Lake	docks, routes, settlement growth

3D Map Style

Target style:

stylized 3D strategic map
large readable territories
clear borders
intentional rivers/lakes
mountain ridges and terrain silhouettes
few strong icons
readable overlays
not a satellite simulation
not a tiny tile grid

The map should feel closer to a tactical/strategic board than a GIS terrain viewer.

3D layers:

base terrain mesh
terrain material/splat layer
mountain/ridge mesh emphasis
river water mesh
lake water mesh
coast/shore mesh if used
road/route ribbons
province border ribbons
Location border ribbons
settlement/site icons
army/party markers
taint/control/claim overlays
labels
hover/selection highlight

Mapv8/mapv9/mapv10 can help with:

mesh rendering
water rendering
border ribbons
picking/hover
validation overlays
exported JSON/data products

They should not define:

Location size
Location count
real-world-ish terrain target
500m map density
visual style
fine hydrology density

Map Zoom Levels

The larger map needs zoom-dependent detail.

Realm Zoom

Show:

Province borders
major rivers and lakes
capital/core settlements
armies/fronts
major taint/control overlays
main roads
major labels

Hide:

most Site icons
minor roads
individual Buildings
small Features

Province Zoom

Show:

Location borders
terrain identities
roads and crossings
settlements and outposts
major Sites
resource icons if known
local armies/parties
taint/control/claim overlays

Hide:

minor Building lists
hidden Features
nonselected Site clutter

Location Zoom / Selected Location

Show:

selected Location outline
known Sites
visible Features
local route/crossing details
local settlement/core icon
selected army/party/camp marker
immediate warnings

The selected Location panel should carry the detailed list. The map should support the panel, not replace it.

Overlays

Core overlays:

Overlay	What It Shows
Terrain	dominant land identity
Province	political/admin boundaries
Location	clickable strategic territories
Control	owner, claimed, contested, wild
Taint	corruption intensity and spread
Shield	protected/warded coverage
Resources	known food/wood/stone/ore/rare resources
Roads	routes, crossings, blockages
Threat	pressure, raids, dangerous Sites
Settlement	core, districts, outposts, development
Military	armies, patrols, fronts
Knowledge	unknown, sighted, scouted, surveyed, secured

Overlay rules:

Overlays should never imply facts the player has not discovered unless that overlay is explicitly an estimate.
Hover can show known and estimated values separately.
Unknown Locations should be visually quieter.
Selected Locations should reveal only known Sites and clues.

Generation Philosophy

The larger map should use a fantasy strategic generator.

Do not start from real-world generation.

Do not start from mapv8/mapv9's fine terrain logic.

Start from big readable world structure:

realm shape
macro elevation
mountain/highland lines
main basins
rivers and lakes
broad terrain regions
provinces
large Locations
roads, passes, bridges, fords
settlement/core candidates
Sites and Features
initial Buildings and improvements
overlays and labels
validation
render data

The goal is authored-feeling coherence from procedural rules.

Generator Pipeline

Recommended pipeline:

StrategicMapConfig
  -> realm frame
  -> macro terrain graph
  -> hydrology graph
  -> province graph
  -> Location graph
  -> route graph
  -> settlement/core graph
  -> Site candidates
  -> Feature candidates
  -> Building seeds
  -> pressure/control/knowledge defaults
  -> render meshes and overlays
  -> validation report

1. Realm Frame

Pick the playable map shape:

island
peninsula
valley basin
frontier march
inland realm
coastal realm
mountain-ringed refuge
lake basin
broken old empire fragment

The frame gives the map a readable silhouette.

2. Macro Terrain

Create big structures first:

mountain chains
highlands
lowland basins
old heartlands
wilderness belts
tainted scars
coastlines if used

This can be done with a low-resolution heightfield plus authored ridge splines. The important part is not geological realism. The important part is readable strategic geography.

3. Hydrology

Generate major water after macro terrain:

pick river sources in highlands
route rivers downhill through lowlands
let rivers join at a few confluences
place lakes in basins
create marshes where water slows
assign crossing opportunities

Hydrology should generate Sites:

ford
bridge candidate
dock candidate
mill ruin
marsh crossing
lake shrine
river meadow

4. Provinces

Place Province seeds around strong identities:

river basin
lake district
mountain pass
forest block
old road crossroads
core settlement area
tainted scar
borderland

Then divide the realm into 8-18 Provinces depending on total map size.

Each Province should have:

one dominant identity
5-10 Locations
at least one route or natural boundary
1-3 major resources or development reasons
at least one problem, threat, or strategic limitation
one likely settlement/core candidate unless the Province is intentionally hostile or empty

5. Locations

Split each Province into large, irregular Locations.

Location generation should account for:

river valleys
ridges
roads
forests
lakeshores
passes
settlement centers
ruins
resource zones
taint boundaries

Locations should not be uniform hexes unless a later art direction demands it. Irregular polygons read better for a fantasy realm map.

Location role examples:

Role	Meaning
Core Candidate	good anchor for settlement/core
Food Land	fertile, water, easy travel
Timber Land	forest, shelter, wood
Mineral Land	ore/stone and rough terrain
Crossing	ford, bridge, road control
Pass	movement chokepoint
Ruin Land	old structures and story clues
Tainted Land	pressure, danger, cleansing
Frontier Land	border control and defense
Wilderness	low control, hidden Sites
Lake Shore	fishing, docks, water route
Sacred/Ancient	shrines, wards, leyline features

6. Routes

Routes should be created after Locations so they connect real strategic points.

Road generation should prefer:

lower slope
river valleys
passes
settlement candidates
resource Sites
bridges/fords
province centers

Roads should avoid:

severe taint unless old road/story reason exists
high mountains except passes
deep marsh unless causeway reason exists
impossible water unless bridge/dock route exists

7. Sites And Features

Sites and Features should be generated with scoring and budgets.

Do not do:

for each Location:
  roll independent chance for every Feature

Do:

for each Province:
  determine Province role and budgets
  score candidate Locations for each Site/Feature family
  place high-value candidates
  enforce spacing and conflicts
  create causal links between Sites, Features, routes, and terrain

Example:

Mountain pass Province
  likely:
    pass road
    keep/fort Site
    watch post
    stone or ore
    old bridge or road trace
    raid/threat pressure

  unlikely:
    huge fertile farm basin
    many docks
    random unrelated shrine spam

8. Building Seeds

Initial Buildings should be seeded only where a settlement, outpost, ruin, or old infrastructure exists.

Examples:

old keep:
  damaged walls
  ruined gatehouse
  empty granary
  watchtower foundation

starting core:
  dormant Nexus
  buried central socket
  broken ward stones
  temporary shelter

resource outpost:
  collapsed mine head
  old ore store
  broken road

road crossing:
  old bridge foundation
  toll ruin
  watch post remains

The player later develops active Buildings from those seeds.