Australia & New Zealand Map

[christo]

I believe that the Fortescue is the larger although I can't claim any intimate knowledge of the area.

Christo

[christo]

They come form the Kimberly plateau. An absolutely beautiful area at the right time of the year

ORIGINAL: Froonp

What are the mountains names in the north, where the Fitzroy and Ord seem to come from ?

[christo]

ORIGINAL: Froonp

As it seem that you (Cristo) knows some Australian Geography, could you confirm me these :
Am I right to write those things :

- The railway that goes west from Townsville (and ends at the Resource), ends at Mount Isa. That is, the resource is at Mount Isa (a city / Town / Village ?).

- The railway that goes west from Brisbane, ends at Charleville.

- The resource near the west bank of the Murray River, is at Broken Hill.

- The railway that goes north and then east from Perth, ends at Meekatharra, in the Hamersley Range.

Thanks a lot for the Rivers names. I had found some, but you helped filling the blanks.
There are a couple nameless rivers between Townsville & Brisbane.

Hey Patrice (love your work on both your WIF page and here)
[&o]

1) Mount Isa was discovered in 1923 by a guy on a horse. It has significant silver-lead-zinc deposits and the town was built to mine the ore. The population peaked in 1973 at about 33,000 people.

2) I dont have any historical railway info but Charleville is a pretty prominant local centre so that would seem appropriate.

3) Broken Hill is also a silver-lead-zinc deposit that was discovered in 1883. The lead was shipped to Port Pirie (very close to Port Augusta) via a narrow gague railway that was completed in the late 19th century. We have different gague railway lines depending on the regions, a problem analogous to the railway issues in Barbarossa. Due to the percieved Japanese submarine threat in WW2, the railways were significantly upgraded through broken hill. The town is now dying a slow death as the ore supply starts to run out.

4) Meekatharra is indeed the northernmost extent of the railline. It translates into "place of little water" and during WW2 the Americans built a runway there that was over 2100 meters long.

I will look up those river names for you.

Cheers

Christo

[christo]

from the north

-Fitzroy
-Burnett
-Ipswich

Christo

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

ADG, Australian Design Group, is the creator of WIF.

[Froonp]

from the north

-Fitzroy
-Burnett
-Ipswich

I'm a little confused here with your answers.

- It seems from them, that Ipswich is the river flowing around Brisbane. But I can't find this Ipswich river on the maps, nor on the Wikipidia.

- Burnett seems ok, as the river flowing north of the Brisbane - Charleville railway.

- The river who forks in 2 rivers, from Rockhampton (not indicated in this map, but I added the name on the map), seems to have its southern branch called Dawson River, and its northern branch called Mackenzie River. Both seems to join to make the Fitzroy river, so your assumption is right.

[Froonp]

Shouldn't there be some mountain (or desert mountain) hexes, between Adelaide & Port Augusta, from the Desert hex that is 2 hexes North of Adelaide, for 4 hexes to the north (between the railways) ?

[Froonp]

ORIGINAL: christo
They come form the Kimberly plateau. An absolutely beautiful area at the right time of the year

ORIGINAL: Froonp
What are the mountains names in the north, where the Fitzroy and Ord seem to come from ?

I've found maps where they are named "King Leopold Range", I put this name on them, is this right ?

[bredsjomagnus]

It says Lake Eyre (4 hexes north of Port Augusta) on one of the maps but I can´t see any lake?

[Froonp]

ORIGINAL: bredsjomagnus

It says Lake Eyre (4 hexes north of Port Augusta) on one of the maps but I can´t see any lake?

Yes, I put the label, but the lake is mainly dry, so it is just here to know a lake is sometimes there. I included it because it was the largest lake of Australia (when it fill) and that it is the lowest point in Australia, so this is some important physical feature of Australia, and I tried to include important physical features names on the map.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Eyre

However, in the game there is no lake.

[ajds]

The terminus of the railway in the center (red centre) of Australia could be named, as it is Alice Springs. Not that it should factor into any WiF games! And the desert mountains there are the MacDonnell Range.

[Froonp]

ORIGINAL: ajds

The terminus of the railway in the center (red centre) of Australia could be named, as it is Alice Springs. Not that it should factor into any WiF games! And the desert mountains there are the MacDonnell Range.

Like that ?

[wfzimmerman]

ORIGINAL: Froonp

ORIGINAL: ajds

The terminus of the railway in the center (red centre) of Australia could be named, as it is Alice Springs. Not that it should factor into any WiF games! And the desert mountains there are the MacDonnell Range.

Like that ?

Yes indeed! Alice Springs should definitely be a named point on the map.

Nevil Shute's A TOWN LIKE ALICE is one of the best novels about WW2 in the pacific.

[Plainian]

I think the rail line and Alice should stop one hex to the SE of where it does? What is the terrain at Mt Isa? Shouldn't it be the same as the MacDonnell Ranges? Possible the shape of the MacDonnells should be changed as well although I suppose the single mountain hex to the NW of the main body does represent the high point I see on mymap. Not sure about the double mountain hex to north of the MacDonnell range on the WIFFE map?
As always I'm having problems posting a map to this site will do so when I can.
Anyway I suppose this is all trivial but I thought you'd like some feedback.
Keep up the good work.

[marcuswatney]

Where can I find the latest Antipodean maps?  Pre-war, there was a rail-line from Darwin but it went no further than Katherine.  I have a feeling I have seen this in one map posted somewhere else, but now I can't find it.

[marcuswatney]

The New Hebrides was a British-French condominion, but I suppose labelling it CW is reasonable, as a Vichy administration would have been unthinkable.  From Wiki: "In 1906, however, France and the United Kingdom agreed to administer the islands jointly. Called the British-French Condominium, it was a unique form of government, with separate governmental systems that came together only in a joint court. The condominium's authority was extended in the Anglo-French Protocol of 1914, although this was not formally ratified until 1922."
 
There was a rail-line from Darwin south, but it went no further than Katherine.

[Froonp]

ORIGINAL: marcuswatney
There was a rail-line from Darwin south, but it went no further than Katherine.

Here's the area of Darwin.
I had found out that the railway went down to Larrimah. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larrimah says that the railway arrived here during WWII.

[delatbabel]

The Swan River runs south of Perth, not north of it.  As you go upstream from Perth proper, it becomes the Avon River.

3 hexes SE of Mackay on the Queensland map is a hex with a crossing arrow to an island hex to its E.  That hex is where Airlie Beach & Shute Harbour are, and the island hex would contain Cid Harbour.  During WWII these were important marshalling areas and supply ports for the Australian and US Navies and should rate minor port status at least.  The significant town on the rail junction there is Proserpine.  The area is now a major tourist destination.

The coastal hexes north/west of Geraldton in Western Australia and including the ones in Shark Bay (the double inlet in that area), as well as the island hexes 3 and 4 hexes NW of Geraldton should all be desert hexes.  For reference, Denham which is the major town in the Shark Bay area has an annual average rainfall of 7mm.  No doubt the hexes inland of that should be desert hexes as well.  There is really not a whole lot of rainfall in this area.

I concur with Christo's comments about the cliffs along the southern coast of Australia -- desert hexes along the Great Australian Bight.  I have sailed as well as driven this area, there are no landing points, the cliffs are up to 200ft high in some places.

The unlabelled river that runs around the outside of the Sydney hex (yes it really does that) is the Hawkesbury / Nepean.  It was originally thought to be two separate rivers, one to the north and one to the west and south west, until some explorer discovered that they actually join up.

I concur with the comment about Lakes Entrance in Victoria being a swamp hex.  It is quite a hazardous entry even for small boats.

I would discard the Ipswich river south of Brisbane, it is not a significant waterway (it's a small creek, really) which is why you're not finding it on maps.  The Brisbane River runs through the middle of Brisbane from the bay that is shown there (Moreton Bay) and should be placed on the NE hexside of the hex containing Brisbane, and then following the line that you have drawn for the Ipswich river.  It is navigable by shipping along some of its length.

Brisbane is not a significant port.  The approaches to it through Moreton Bay are fairly tricky, and it doesn't have a lot of deep water anchorage or channels.  The largest port in Queensland is Gladstone, which is in the mountain hex 2 hexes SE of Airlie Beach / Proserpine (mentioned above).

The largest port in NSW (and in fact the largest coal port in the world) is Newcastle, which is not marked on the map, but should be in the hex NE of Sydney.  This should contain a resource (coal) or possibly two, it has the world's largest coal deposit.

The largest port in Western Australia is Port Hedland, which is also not marked on the map.  It is approximately 4 or 5 hexes SW along the coast from Broome.  Perth is not a port, the nearby port is called Fremantle and it is not as large a port as Port Hedland because of the railway bridge which blocks access to the river (zoom in on these in google maps if you like).  I believe that the railway bridge at Fremantle predates the war.

[delatbabel]

ORIGINAL: delatbabel

The largest port in NSW (and in fact the largest coal port in the world) is Newcastle, which is not marked on the map, but should be in the hex NE of Sydney. This should contain a resource (coal) or possibly two, it has the world's largest coal deposit.

OK, silly me I didn't spot Newcastle (which is on the east coast map on the previous page).

It is drawn too far north. Where you have put in the dot for Newcastle is a place called Port Stephens. Very pretty but not Newcastle. Newcastle is at the smaller inlet in the same hex, nearer where the "N" on the map is.

Jervis Bay, in the coastal hex E of Canberra should also be a port. The rail line goes there, and today it is Australia's major naval air force base. It is certainly bigger than Port Macquarie, which I'm not sure I'd rate as a mention on this map.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: delatbabel

ORIGINAL: delatbabel

The largest port in NSW (and in fact the largest coal port in the world) is Newcastle, which is not marked on the map, but should be in the hex NE of Sydney. This should contain a resource (coal) or possibly two, it has the world's largest coal deposit.

OK, silly me I didn't spot Newcastle (which is on the east coast map on the previous page).

It is drawn too far north. Where you have put in the dot for Newcastle is a place called Port Stephens. Very pretty but not Newcastle. Newcastle is at the smaller inlet in the same hex, nearer where the "N" on the map is.

Jervis Bay, in the coastal hex E of Canberra should also be a port. The rail line goes there, and today it is Australia's major naval air force base. It is certainly bigger than Port Macquarie, which I'm not sure I'd rate as a mention on this map.

Thank you for your review and comments on Australia.

I know nothing about the region and would only like to make two general comments:

1 - We need the cities, ports, and rail lines to be circa 1937 - 1945. And we struggle with how to handle those that had massive changes during that time period. It would be nice if you can reassure us that the changes you recommend reflect the situation at that time.

2 - Ports have been a problem for us previously. That is because WIF uses ports to simulate two distinct, and important, aspects of the war: (a) anchorages for military use by naval combat ships, and (b) overseas transportation links for resources and military materiel by the merchant marine. We have found that some ports perform only one of these functions. In game terms, making that distinction is not possible. The result is we do not have a firm and fast rule to go by, and decide each case individually - usually based on how it affects game play.

[Froonp]

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets
2 - Ports have been a problem for us previously. That is because WIF uses ports to simulate two distinct, and important, aspects of the war: (a) anchorages for military use by naval combat ships, and (b) overseas transportation links for resources and military materiel by the merchant marine. We have found that some ports perform only one of these functions. In game terms, making that distinction is not possible. The result is we do not have a firm and fast rule to go by, and decide each case individually - usually based on how it affects game play.

Also, as we are dedicaced to reproduce WiF FE to the computer, thus we try to change the game play the less possible, and ports have a large part of the responsability in the game play of WiF, so we have a tendency to add a very few number of them. in places where port(s) already exist, and when adding another don't add much to the capabilities of the country who is susceptible of controlling that area, then we will add it if there are historical reasons.

For example, adding a port in the Palau Islands for Ulithi who was a major US Navy base is not possible because this sea area already has a few number or ports, only 2 of them being major ports (Truk & Rabaul) and adding another would change the enormously the game play in the Bismarck Sea Sea Area.

Adding Pakhoi's Minor Port in southern China, where Japan already have lots of ports they control, add little to nothing to Japan's capabilities, but restored a inland suppy capability that Japan had with the WiF FE map and that they had no more with the change of scale (capability of having inland units in supply near Nanning).

This said, I'm gonna look closely at the suggestions now.