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But seriously, I wanted to get a flavor of what WW2 Europe looks like in Shadow Empire terms and scale. The hex scale is pretty much spot on (using 200km/hex). I had to make a pile of compromises regarding how to depict just about everything else. (and I forgot rivers - perhaps I'll add them someday to a version 2. )

Even though I knew cerebrally, I'm still VERY surprised at how tiny European nations are compared to Shadow Empire zones when you look at them scaled properly in the following map.

It gives an idea of what we're playing with in the game. When you're designing for that fighter-bomber with a 10-hex range, you're basically asking to be able to bomb the Pripyat Marshes from London!

-Mark R.

how tiny European nations are

Wonders of Mercator. Besides Russia European nations are very small even though our 'hexes' are not 200km wide.

Norway should be 10 hexes from south to north, I only count 9, so I guess the scale is about 10 % off.

DrakeD wrote: Sat Aug 20, 2022 7:39 am Norway should be 10 hexes from south to north, I only count 9, so I guess the scale is about 10 % off.

I'd guess that any scaling error is related to either (a) natural map projection distortions, (b) how I scaled the hex to 200km (that is ambiguous and can be done several ways, see the figure below for how I did it), or (c) both.

I literally overlaid a 200km scaled hex grid on top of a real 1939 map of Europe. Then I filled in the hexes with graphic images from the game. The hex grid was scaled horizontally to the real map's scale from its legend.

At first I was just going to do the coasts and borders to get a visual of the scaling, then my obsessive-compulsive nature took over...


-Mark R.

finrodfelagund wrote: Fri Aug 19, 2022 8:55 pmeven though our 'hexes' are not 200km wide.

? What do you mean?

I double checked the manual to be sure and the scale turns up four times. The second entry is particularly interesting; depending on how the hex is measured vertically vs. horizontally, it suggests the hexes might be distorted in one direction compared to the other.

Section 5.1.9.15: Remember that a Hex is a large place (200km)
Section 5.5.2.2: a single Hex (200x200km!)
Section 5.16.1: One Hex is 200km in size.
Section 5.17: really huge distances (200km/Hex) on the map.

I guess we can say we're very close to correctly scaled

-Mark R.

Good stuff, as always Mark.

Looks really cool! I wonder if someday we will get a map editor...

Niiiice !

(What tools did you use ?)

mroyer wrote: Sat Aug 20, 2022 12:47 pm (a) natural map projection distortions

Just to be sure : Mercator ?

BlueTemplar wrote: Fri Oct 21, 2022 2:26 pmJust to be sure : Mercator ?

Since you asked, to see I found the original map I used. It is an Albers Conical Equal Area Angular Deformation . I use to play a table-top wargame called Europa, back last century, and I recall they also used an Albers projection because it kept distortions fairly constant throughout, when used for a small portion of the globe, like Europe.

BlueTemplar wrote: Fri Oct 21, 2022 2:26 pm(What tools did you use ?)

GIMP (it's a free-ware, photoshop like software).

-Mark R.

Fancy !
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albers_projection

Heh, I guess I might have been underestimating just how *long* the Ourals are ?

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Libre tools, yay !

But I meant : how do you turn the picture into a ShEmp map ?