Interesting notes from "Deep Strike, Mapping the Old World":
Warhammer+ recently released an episode of Deep Strike, in which they interview members of staff/ writers/ designers on certain subjects. This episode was all about the Old World map that the design team (including Holly Goodwin) has made for the game.
Some interesting pointers:
They keep referring (both in the episode and in articles) to this map as a living document. This is an ongoing project that will continue to change throughout the lifespan of the game. Currently; the map is set in the year 2776 and beyond.
They want it to be used by fans as the groundwork for their own projects. It is meant to inspire players to come up with interesting scenarios and possible headcanoning.
They intentionally put in easter eggs and old references wherever they could. Karitamen's Tomb and Tor Anrok are examples of these that I have found, but they mentioned the Mirror Moors as another.
The events that they currently focus on are the Errantry Crusades of Louen Orc Slayer in Bretonnia, the Anarchy in the Empire, the Invasion of the Border Princes by Settra, and the resurgence of Chaos all the way up North. They are actively establishing the setting to eventually lead up into the Great War Against Chaos.
The actual "development map" is divided into about 4-5 big map pieces that they connect into one big whole.
We currently know 3 of these maps. The First one consists of most of the Old World and the Darklands. The Second one includes Nehekhara and the Northern Southlands. The Third one consists of everything in the North; The Chaos Wastes.
What intrigues me is not what we have, but what we don't have yet. I'm guessing the 4th map will showcase most, if not all, of Cathay. We already have seen snippets of it so that would be my guess.
The mention of a 5th map was kind of unclear. We definitely know about 4 maps in total. If a 5th map is being worked on, it could be about anything. My most likely guess would be a map spanning West into Ulthuan. Another guess could be The Mountains of Mourn (if this isn't part of the Cathay map) or it could go into the Lands of Ind and Khuresh.
They try to interpret and use as many sources as possible to create the map itself, and they make attempts to consolidate inconsistencies between sources. Things seem to sometimes slip through the cracks (the Barren Hills should probably be called the Green Hills in the current time).
The projection of the map is similar to a real life Mercator Projection with a twist. Chaos messes withe reality, and that includes the size and shape of the polar regions. They consider the Chaos Wastes unmappable, with rivers turning to chasms and locations not necessarily making sense.
The Cathayan Ship visible in the Sea of Claws is indeed how the Cathayans will become a presence in the Old World. Miao Ying leads an expedition to aid in the coming war against Chaos. They note that they indeed travelled by boat, meaning that they either had to sail all the way to the Southlands, or that they went around the New World to get to the Empire.
Ind, Araby, and Albion are given a mention.
They wanted to emphasize that the inclusion of something on the map, doesn't hint at future factions. They wanted to fill in the map as much as possible even though it wouldn't be prevalent to the story. It would've been very unfortunate to have a map of the Old World and leave Estalia empty because it isn't a playable faction (yet ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)).
According to the designers, the most fun part to work on are the icons. Especially going from traditional heraldric signs for the Bretonnians, to the weird monstrous symbols for the Greenskinz.
Each Dwarf Hold has an icon that shows which ancestor god is most prevalent/ important in that hold. For Karak Eight Peaks, it is Valaya.
I'm really glad they did an interview with the designers on this. It shows that this isn't some side project that they will abandon soon. I can't wait to see it expand even further.
