Forum:Territory application/AR120-42 - Des Plaines

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	Territory ID and proposed name
	The Territory ID (from OpenGeofiction:Territories, e.g. AR123a) and proposed name of the country

AR120-42 - Des Plaines

Sketch

	Physical geography
	An overview of climate, topography and landscape of the country. It is advised to also create a sketch, you can add a link to this (hosted on imgur or similar)

The state will be based off the Great Plains states, mainly Nebraska, with flat prairies for miles in the western half, getting hilly when going east. River Bluffs will appear across the state, mainly by the major rivers.

The biggest river in the state will be the Kinnowa River, running from the western end of the state to the Mennowa border, where it becomes the boundary until it meets the Alormen, other important rivers will be the Division River and Imperial River.

The climate will be like Nebraska's, with cold winters and warm summers, and Tornadoes will be prevalent throughout the Central and Eastern portions of the state.

	Human geography
	A brief description of the territory demographics, economic development, land occupation, infrastructure and mapping style

The capital of Des Plaines will be Steeletown (replacing St. Joseph), which will also be the capital, it will be based off Omaha and have 1.5x the city population, and the metro will have around 1.25x the Omaha, other major towns will be Thinis, Askuparus, Imperial Bluffs, Fillmore, Wheatville, Skiree City, and Riviereburg.

The state will had 4 motorways traverseing through it, FS-50, FS-61, FS-65, and FS-71, with other roads going throughout the state.

Rail Transportation in the state will include 1 long-distance FedStar route, which has a stop in Steeletown, and there will be minor FedStar routes from Steeletown and Thinis to Minneuka.

The 4 biggest airports in the states will be Des Plaines Continental Airport in Steeletown, Steeletown Municipal Airport, Thinis Regional Airport, and Askuparus Municipal Airport.

	History & culture
	A brief description of the intended culture and language

Before colonization, Native Archantans inhabited the state, the largest being the Skiree Tribe, based off the Pawnee, with the first explorers being from Valonne, which gave the state its name, with a fort being set up in the northeast part of the state. The Valonnens will stay for a few years before abandoning the fort, soon, the Ingerish will arrive, but won't focus on making settlements. It wasn't until the Federal States and Des Plaines Territory was established that settlements will spring up, with Des Plaines gaining statehood in the mid-19th century. Des Plaines will not have anything really eventful, but in recent years, the state has tried to diversify it's economy from agriculture.

	Past mapping
	To support your request provide links to areas of OGF mapping which showcase your mapping skill. Mapping relevant to the requested theme & geography is especially useful
	The {{coord}} template can optionally be used to link to the OGF map - it results in a nice formatted link. Or you can paste in a URL.

Carbon County: https://opengeofiction.net/#map=11/15.0340/-107.6791&layers=5

Patterson Village: https://opengeofiction.net/#map=16/-35.6027/156.9774&layers=5

	Username & date
	Sign and date the application by typing four tildes like this: ~~~~

RhodeIslandWV (talk) 22:20, 4 February 2025 (UTC)

	Discussion
	Discussion for clarification & decision

Note: If I do get the territory, I'll like everything wiped except for the water bodies (Rivers, Lakes, ect.) RhodeIslandWV (talk) 22:20, 4 February 2025 (UTC)

There is a lot to like here, but as your prospective neighbor I have a few points of feedback and one of concern.

Just as a note, the climate would probably be a touch warmer and slightly drier than Nebraska. Think southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma. It's not a major change, but just pointing that out.
Can you provide some clarity on state population as a whole, and how much of that is in each metro as opposed to just the capital?
Something that is unclear is what would happen to the existing mapping in Thinis? You list the city as staying there, but you suggest it be wiped. Are you wanting to put a decent-sized city there? Would you prefer Thinis be flipped across the river to West Massodeya, and allow you to just work afresh on a secondary city in that medium-sized metro?
Also, if you are going to wipe the capital, I will ensure that it is repurposed. There is enough good mapping there, and it can fit in West Massodeya with the motorways partially stripped out.
A couple of infrastructure notes: the rail lines should not be wiped. These are part of larger national efforts that took a lot of time with the previous owners. They can be tweaked by all means to fit into your vision, but the core connections need to remain. Similarly, I would strongly advise that the motorway going southeast of the capital aim toward Grassfield, Mennowa. I'm willing to make a connection west-northwest of that city (possibly not crossing the Kinnowa at all, but we can discuss that in detail). There won't be a motorway connection in my state as far west as indicated right now.
In the grand scheme of things, all these are pretty minor. My biggest concern is the way you are doing the PLSS-like land survey and land usage. What interval are you using for the land survey? In some places it looks like one kilometer, and in others it's indeterminable. I strongly advise sticking to one-mile intervals, as those would have been the common standard at the time the state was platted out and settled. Neighboring states (RS, TE, ME, and even large parts of WM) all use the one-mile convention. Upon last check, some township lines and range lines still exist on the map in that state (tagged as survey lines). Those might be of use to you.

Best of luck to you. Let me know if you have any questions. — Alessa _(talk) 01:33, 6 February 2025 (UTC)

Hey! I saw your recommendations and I'll reply to each one:

I really don't mind modifying the climate for the territory, just need it to be Plains-based.
The state as a whole will have around 1.35x the population of Nebraska, so around 2,607,104, as for other cities, Thinis will have a population between Lincoln and Grand Island, whereas the other major cities will have between 20K and 50K in terms of population.
The reason I want Thinis wiped is so I can rework it as a whole, I have made my own plan for the city that will require it be fully replaced, sounds a bit confusing but that's the reason why.
I don't mind if St. Joseph is repurposed, in fact if you want you can move the city somewhere in West Massodeya, maybe you can use the layout for a city or just relocate the city somewhere, up to you.
I can keep the rail infrastructure, seeing how important it is and how most of it are for the major Class I equivalents, regarding the motorways, I can change the network to fit your needs.
Yes, grids, mainly the big ones, are a bit of an issue when using iD, but I have seen myself get better, with the Woodmen example being the better part of the grid, and I always try my best to have the lines be straight when needed. As for the intervals, I used 1 KM based off the distance from Courthouse Highway and Great Eastern Highway, but going off GEH was a bit hard because you can't really rotate in OSM software at all, plus talking about straightening, that's what I did mainly for extending roads, and it seems to have worked into making an almost straight or perfectly straight road, when I get this territory, if I do, I plan on going off my successful grid work and get something close to the lines of a mile.

I really do appreciate the feedback, and had taken them into consideration, if you will like to discuss it more, there is always Discord. - RhodeIslandWV (talk) 01:54, 6 February 2025 (UTC)

Given how consistent the surrounding states are with the 1mi x 1mi survey grid, I would strongly recommend doing something similar in this state. I’m sure you could find a volunteer or two to assist if you need it. -TheMayor (talk) 02:51, 6 February 2025 (UTC)

I've seen, I agree that I should do it, plus if I do need a volunteer to help, I know some that I can ask, thanks for the recommendation TheMayor! - RhodeIslandWV (talk) 03:05, 6 February 2025 (UTC)

	Territory application approved
	Approved. -TheMayor (talk) 21:05, 6 February 2025 (UTC)
	Keep in mind that the FSA is a large collaborative project; frequent activity, coordination, and cooperation are important parts of the project's success.