Matrix Games Forums

ORIGINAL: Stimpak

Airport!

And the border too, really nice.

I think about the icon of the сhurch (I have a map with info of the availability of сhurches in villages)
But then... why?
This might be useful for WWII scenarios (when you can place snipers on that hex for example)
But we have 80s

I myself have been curious about urban hexes causing elevation modifications. I suppose the solution is tucked away somewhere in 2.1, because you can't just give an urban hex extra elevation. Infantry can climb stairs, but tanks cannot [:D]

Being in an urban hex as infantry does provide a bonus in fighting AFVs in the game currently.

ORIGINAL: tebeinteresno

ORIGINAL: Mad Russian

The issue with topo maps is a lot of people can't read them.

Good Hunting.

MR

Thank you for your opinion.

The presence of a topographic map shows that the original map can be styled in different ways.
Just wanted to stylize it like Soviet military topographic map.
There is still a lot of things need to be fix, improve and add.
Only after I will achieve an acceptable result and processing of materials for fill map, I will move on to the next area in the northwest

In any case, the work in progress!

Not trying to be negative. From my experience, most people, including those in the military, can't read a topo map. So, if they are having to figure out elevations from those I would expect them to be at a loss most of the time.

They look great!! I like them and can read a topo map. So, I'm good.

Good Hunting.

MR

More details



Full map here: https://yadi.sk/i/GwseYapZjZdZK

Very well done.

Do you plan on remaking all of the maps in this style?

ORIGINAL: Stimpak

Very well done.

Do you plan on remaking all of the maps in this style?

Yes, I do.

At the moment I bring the current map to a reference of what will continue to be guided.
Later I want to relook the heights on this map by adding more elevation levels with iteration heights of 50 meters (in this version the difference between the elevation levels of 100 meters)

Parallel to this, I do height map to the rest of maps, and then I will draw them step by step.

Ah. Can't wait to see them all.

Elevations are giving me a bit of trouble on my own map-making expeditions... I can't tell whether these green rolls are forests, or hills.

If you need online "Google-like" map with elevation, that I recomend to you something like this
http://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewe ... 8c27ccc007
I use this map to verify elevations and draw road net.
And to draw elevation levels, I use QGIS with heights database (as William advised; it turns out quite really accurately)

Much thanks, that'll help a bit. The ruler is also very useful.

I assume I should be looking for the circles that say "100m"?

I do a little trick
I zoom the map to size when on the scale bar will appear 600 meters
On this scale lines between hundreds of meters clearly visible.
Then I make a screenshot of this area and transfer it in Photoshop.

Since the entire map is drawn in Photoshop, further manipulation of the screenshot will be used in the full draw.

If recount size when 64 pixels would be equal to 500 meters, the screenshot should be reduced in proportion to 77,2%
In this case, if you put hexgrid on screenshot, all will be equal to exactly the distance that should be.

MR, hi,

Yup… that was interesting to know, that gamers sometimes cannot read topo maps.

I always wondered why they were not used more for operational games. But as I have never designed a game for publication had not hit that problem.

All the best,
Kip.

That topographic map you linked me is turning out to be very helpful [:)]



Alas, I am no artist...

I am wondering... how one would go about coming up with a graphic for forests and towns.

Finally the big next step!
With the help of SRTM and QGIS I painted reliefs of all 12 regions, covering all 27 maps of the Red Storm.
Also, with the help of Google maps I drew the rivers.
But there is still lots of works to do.

A few comments at this stage:
— Do not be afraid about the maps is a different color from each other. I'm still thinking about the color gradation of heights. In the currently, I used grading based on height (50 meters - one color, 450 meters - another color), but I think about to use the standards based on the elevation level in the current map (elevation level 1 or elevation level 5 the same on all map), in this case, all maps will look identical.
— I began to use the steps between elevation levels of 50 meters, but some regions (over Bremen for example) have a very small height difference, in that, in these maps, the spacing between the heights is equal of 25 meters. This is for a variety of terrain.
— Also, the location of hexes and maps are standardized. For reference I took the map near Fulda, than, followed by a hexagonal grid overlay, I moved into the area I needed to keep the proportions of the grid and if suddenly be able to draw a map between that two regions, the hexagonal grid will be standardized. So on all maps hexagonal grid is superimposed just as if it was a Google map with hexes.

Region over Hamburg. Covers maps CA1, CA2, CA3
https://yadi.sk/i/7GKQoDzujyVPc

Region over Bremen. Covers maps CA4, CA5
https://yadi.sk/i/vURIHV1pjyVRa

Region over Kassel. Cover map CS1
https://yadi.sk/i/EgPNMGTCjyVSR

Region over Marburg. Cover map CS2
https://yadi.sk/i/tdKp7ufbjyVTE

Region over Dillenburg. Cover map CS3
https://yadi.sk/i/YdP8GWtcjyVUR

Region over Neuwied. Covers maps CS4, CS5
https://yadi.sk/i/Ir6x5neFjyVVA

Region over Bad Neustadt. Covers maps RS1 RS2 RS3
https://yadi.sk/i/OC3ZCqdkjyVWV

Region over Fulda. Covers maps RS4, Fulda Gap (not all rivers are finished)
https://yadi.sk/i/eZyljvEojyVWu

Region over Frankfurt. Covers RS5 RS6 RS7
https://yadi.sk/i/SK5e96t2jyVYR

Region southern Frankfurt. Covers RS8
https://yadi.sk/i/-28g29hVjyVaX

Region over Rinteln Covers RS9 RS10 RS11
https://yadi.sk/i/bn4XWw7rjyVbE

Region over Melle. Covers RS12
https://yadi.sk/i/mG3oyT3djyVch

Region over Rheine. Covers RS13 RS14 RS15
https://yadi.sk/i/y5RGle3bjyVef

Looking great tebe.

Do you use some sort of function or routine to do the hex version of the map, or is it all done manually?

I'd love to be able to define a hexgrid and get the GIS to fill the hex colours in.

Beautiful work as usual, Tebe.

ORIGINAL: battlerbritain

Looking great tebe.

Do you use some sort of function or routine to do the hex version of the map, or is it all done manually?

I'd love to be able to define a hexgrid and get the GIS to fill the hex colours in.

Thanks!

Of course I have a few automatic methods that accelerate the work, but they are more for graphic visualization (drop shadows, alignment, line terrain, line styles and so on)

Unfortunately automation to create an actual hexagonal map is very difficult. Quite often difficult to correctly interpret the terrain. For example, if we consider that each step between the elevation levels of 50 meters, you can be faced with such a situation, that the elevation of the plateau will be at a height of 34 meters. In this case, the map will affect only 0 meters and 50 meters, and the drawing of the border plateau at 34 meters will be lost due to automation.
Not every hill is 50 meters high. some are 42 meters or 65. How to deal with them in this case?

I am using the following scheme:
With geodata I create a multi-colored terrain, where each 50 meters in height it is absolutely a different color. In such a case it is much easier to separate one layer from another. In parallel, I superimposed on the image contour lines in increments of 50 meters, so I find it easier to navigate between the 300 meters, 350 meters and 400 meters, for example.
Next. layer by layer I clear each height from the lowest level to the highest.
So after this I get a layer cake of relief.

It works well on the reliefs, where large differences in elevation and upland plains, but very uncomfortable working on flat terrain. In this, I have to tinker with the revisions of the relief on the territory between Hamburg and Bremen, for example. But at the same time checking the work done on flat terrain,
Further, when you draw the rivers, they also need to be customized for a hexagonal grid. In this map of acquiring a certain arbitrariness in realism.
And then you begin to customize the roads to the hexagonal grid, and then you notice that some hills are too close, and some need to move to the road, so every time you need to check with the real relief (I've been using Google Earth to check that: in some places it is necessary to fix the roads, and where necessary to correct the hill which closes the viewing angle).

In the next iteration you can see how the terrain changed near Hamburg after edits.

Interestin thing:

Do you remember the scenario Hells Crossroads?
There was a battle in the region near the Rhine, which crossroad of highways A30 and A31 at the center of the map.
So..
I've checked and as on maps of Autobahns 1990 and 80s military map, in 1989 there wasnt part of A31 highway yet.





Yes, I think now the word "crossroads" carries a slightly different meaning, but the region is still very interesting and exciting.

Cheers tebe for an explanation of how you do things.

That's sort of how I've ended up attempting to make my maps as well.