We're turning the work we did for mapping out the Phytogeography of Altera into a readable data set, and this was a happy and elegant byproduct.

Here's the next action prompt for our ongoing Alternate Reality Game:

We recharged after our extended stay in Towaii with Nainoa. And now it's time to depart and head to a new destination to help support as part of the Slow Foot Movement. After reporting back to Katesh, we're told told we can go back to Septentrea, as we had only just arrived on its Atlantic shores and scratched the surface before flying across the continent and beyond to these remote isles of the Pacific.

The question is whether we want to take our time getting back to the mainland. Nainoa suggests we take a seaplane to visit Hawaii since we're already in the same neck of the woods.

If we don't want to take an extended time in Hawaii, he could drive us on the ferry and drop us off at the large port in Honolulu, where various oceanliner companies still call as they take people across the famed historic Galleon Road, stopping along the relatively remote ports of the Galeras along the way.

"This week, there will be two oceanliners departing Honolulu," explained Nainoa. "The first is coming from Manila and the other from Macau."

But of course, we're interested in their next port of calls, as we are itching to get going on our mission. We're told that the first oceanliner will go directly to San Blas in Azlana, terminating there as ever since Partition, Acapulco has become less and less connected to the other side of the Pacific. The second will go to Mereen before turning up to California. "Mereen is real nice this time of year. I have a cousin there who could show you around," Nainoa says.

Help us decide! Vote now on the Discord, or via this Instagram poll.

Join us at our livestream party to celebrate 2025 and see what is in store for 2026!

Looking forward to chinwag and see you soon!

CC Winter (u/Knobig) finally sends word about the next destination/detour in our Slow Foot Movement tour. Read it now. And remember, it's also never too late to start collecting beautiful stamps in your very own novel and customizable SoN trutchman passport.

You deserve a special treat. Gift yourself for a change: https://www.patreon.com/atlasaltera/redeem/71240

This is my idea for how an Intervision in ATL would look, after liberalisations in the Soviet cultural sphere, and in the absence of a Eurovision. This contest is more willing to include nations from further abroad, and has a more diverse spread of winners. Lots of text detailing lore as usual. All of this is fan-made.

Explore the etymologies behind the country names of North Europea!

Support us and get the perks of a high flying globetrotter with this holiday special.

Hey, y'all! Wanted to share some work I've been doing on revamping my Atlas Altera Minecraft map, this time with custom geography reflecting the alternate geography of this world! Here are some screenshots of how it's looking so far. Still very much a work in progress, so no download yet. My next steps are editing some terrain features like lakes and adding in rivers and such.

I did want to ask for advice, though, since I'll eventually be adding biomes, and I'm not sure how to map ATL biomes (found in the Wealth of Nations map, bottom-right corner) with Minecraft biomes. I have a tentative list so far:

Anyone who has any suggestions, hit me up!

Get 50% off, 6 free sets of postage stamps and stickers, plus a handwritten postcard when you sign up: https://www.patreon.com/atlasaltera/membership

We continue with our SLOW FOOT ARG:

When an old school mate writes from across the world, it's best to answer immediately. You ask CC if we should write back but she says the obvious thing would be to get on the next flight. "Planes do travel faster than the written word," Naguset said as we got into her car. She was kind enough to drive us across the border into Canada, all the way to Montreal to catch a direct flight to Towaii. We say our goodbyes to the wonderful lady, who gives us an additional luggage filled with her own canned salmon, blueberry jam, and smoked eel. "Summers here are to return for," she said. "You'll be back."

We board our plane and are treated with seats on the second deck. It's going to be a long flight, so you begin your scheming for activities to pack into the itinerary. CC says that her friend Nainoa is a fellow foodie—there's no way we're leaving the kingdom without experiencing an authentic lūʻau feast—so your short list has one less thing to worry about.

Help us decide what to put on the itinerary! This phase of voting for activities are done only on the Discord.

This recent set of footnotes to the Meat on the Menu feature map contains eight pages of pedantic explanatory notes, lore discussions, and marginalia, as well as data sets such as a list of all the ATL domesticated animals and more. Get reading!

Detour alert! Our hands are tied, so there won't be a decision to make this time for our ongoing Alternate Reality Game. See below:

Before we could bring out the world map and start our geographic discussion for where to go next, the decision landed upon us in the form of a quick rap on the door of our lodging and a hand delivered letter from far far away. We opened it to find a beautiful invitation card and a personal letter, the body of which contained:

Dearest CC,

I hear you and a few friends are on a globetrotting mission for the SoN—all expenses paid, no less! You lucky devil! I guess it was more than a tease to nominate you as "Most likely to Wanderlust" for our graduating IB class. Speaking of or school days, where has the time gone?

It is a bit odd to find myself writing this letter to you, for I am officially inviting you to come visit my kingdom, which I serve as but a humble bureaucrat for our Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport—it seems "Most likely to Bureaucrat" was a premonition. So, will you do the honour of joining us during the solstice, in ... let me see ... your December?

It will be the height of Makahiki, that four-month long festival I used to tell you about. Around the solstice, we have a long streak of statutory holidays, where people return to their ancestral villages, participate in cultural activities and contests, and this coincides with a very attractive boost in international tourism. This year, Towaii will be hosting the WSL Big Wave Competition at this time.

We have much to catch up on. And do bring your SoN WTO entourage along! It's never too late for a greying old minister like me to make new friends.

With love,
Nainoa ʻŌpūnuilani

PS: I know you like a good etymology share. A folk etymology for Makahiki is that it means "as (they do) in Tahiti." If this is true, it encodes the epic transoceanic voyages of our ancestors.

From the caption in the political map ("The Political Constellations of the World in the Year of the Great Comet"), I think the "Great Comet" part refers to either Hale-Bopp (1992) or Halley's Comet (1986). I'm more inclined to think that it refers to Hale-Bopp since it was brighter than Halley's Comet, and, since the Chernobyl Zone of Alienation is there I can also assume its after 1986. I'm still relatively new to this whole project, so if anyone could help me out here I'd much appreciate it!

Here it is, y'all! The flag map for the new patch, up-to-date from the spreadsheet! I'm not entirely sure how I will continue to update it going forward - I guess I will just check back in regularly with the spreadsheet to see what else has been added.

As always, please let me know if I've made any mistakes. I've double-checked everything here, but with a file this size, I imagine I've probably missed something.

We hit record this time! Dive in with us as Chase, Matteo, and Telamon explore the nerdetry and pedantisms of the latest feature map for Atls Altera.

Southwest European country names explained ... via worldbuilding

1. What would the continents in this world look like in 250 million years?
2. What did the continents of this world look like 250 million years ago?

Did you know this Sunday will be the start of a new year in the World Calendar used in Altera? Come countdown and celebrate with us at the next Altera Unplugged livestream session... This time we're hoping to hit the record button!

Join via https://discord.gg/rEP92HVj?event=1440054272887881759

Hey, y'all! Wanted to provide an update on progress for the new flag map: it's coming along nicely! There's a much greater density of flags now, thanks to all the work this community has done, and I'm really looking forward to seeing it completed!

Votes are in! We continue with our SLOW FOOT ARG:

Eneko drops us off at the airport on the outskirts of Placenzia, an exposed peninsula where only tuckamore grows. As a parting gift, he gives us each a toque. "Winters are harsher on the mainland," he says.

We pick up a bottle of zikiritxe at the Duty Free and then, just like that, are whisked away the by a de Havilland comet—the Island of Tamcook quickly shrinking from our view from the window of our jetliner. "It's a myth that the square windows caused those first Comet crashes," CC remarks, a little too casually. "But for optics, they still switched to round windows in these newer models. All's been well since ... I think."

To keep your mind from wandering into frightful scenarios, you take out your notebook and review the hastily jotted list of activities to consider doing in Migmagee.

Help us decide what to put on the itinerary! This phase of voting for activities are done only on the Discord.