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We are doing something related, but I am going about it in a different way. I let my Builders create whatever zones they like, because people always produce a better job when working with something they have chosen themselves and really feel for, rather than having been assigned a task.
Then I take it on myself as Head Builder to ensure that the zone fits into our overall world. If it needs a ‘travel zone’, like for instance a forest, a mountain range, or a long road, to fit in, then I build that travel zone myself. Or I provide a large grid, which is like a basic world map, where the new areas can be fitted in the appropriate slots.
It is always a good idea to visualise the world for yourself and your builders by making maps of the world; both global maps and more detailed ones. It makes it easier for the Builders to refer to other zones, if they know the general location of those zones on the map. Also this often makes them more interested in the general layout, and consequently more liable to work those references into their zones. And last but not least, the maps are much appreciated by the players, since it makes it easier for them to find their bearings.
There are of course several ways of producing these maps, personally I use the simplest of all tools, Paint, that comes with the Windows package. It’s easy to use, easy to update the maps as new zones get added, the map files don’t get overwhelmingly large, which makes it possible for instance to share them by mailing them to your builders, if you don’t want to put them on your Website. And the maps look amazingly good for such a crude tool.
There are some examples here if you want to check them out.
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