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Master Map?


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25 minutes ago, weapon2010 said:

thats a massive task?someone should start an ancillary map making business , 10$ per master map, id pay

Have you tried mapmaking in the editor? If not, it is a lot of fun. Seeing an area coming to life in 3d is quite a trip. Like virtual model making.

Using a map overlay it doesn't have to take too long and if there is an area you know you want maybe it is worth the time and effort. 

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There’s a master map of nearly the entire XIX Corps area for the June 1944 push to Saint-Lo that I made years ago. It’s still widely available on the download site that replaced the BFC Repository. It’s fully accurate from satellite terrain and period photos. But it’s not detailed with objects, trees and vegetation or buildings. The idea is that you first cut out the area you want to use, then detail just the actual area of your battle. Still way faster than a map from scratch.

 

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1 hour ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

Maybe you could grab a chunk and fill it in, just like @Broadsword56 intended?  ;)

heh heh yeah as in - "But it’s not detailed with objects, trees and vegetation or buildings. The idea is that you first cut out the area you want to use, then detail just the actual area of your battle. Still way faster than a map from scratch. "  I do have a version I am working on filling it in, but it is something I only peck at once in a while.

Keep in mind Broadsword was working on that map back before we had overlays etc.  It takes a while for that map to load and detailing it bit by bit is a really long endeavor.  I am in the same place with Sadr City.  No way am I going to detail it with flavor items.  I'll be amazed if I can get it to load just being prepopulated with buildings.

Edited by sburke
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I've never done so much ditch-locking as I have on Bishr.....Between adding the water (& consequently rebuilding all the elevations) and my pathological attitude to building interiors it's taking me an absolute age to do, but it's really quite satisfying once I get each section done. 

I've been prevaricating quite a bit TBH, which is silly really because my little Mosul mini-maps probably had almost as many complex structures to sort out between them.

PS - Streams can be a godsend when updating CM:SF maps with just a little bit of fake water to convert, but placing them is a real art in itself.

Edited by Sgt.Squarehead
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I have spent more time making maps than actually playing. However, most of my output is unusable, call it a learning curve. I have made some nice maps lately, while waiting for the patch. I am bogged down in building scenarios on them.

Map making can be a lot of fun, but I find that only applies to building fictional maps. Trying to replicate real life environments comes up against so many conundrums. I have produced maps from Google maps, but I am not sure my work is fit to be published, too many compromises had to be made. They work for me. When I produce a fictional map, I try to keep it plausible by looking at photos of the general area it is supposed to represent.

I have never got the knack of using overlays. I use compasses on printouts for roads and contours, fill in contours between the 20 meter intervals  myself, struggle with roads that are not at 90 degrees or 45 degrees angles to the borders (the vast majority), positioning buildings, figuring out what the place looked like back in '43 or '44 etc. For CMBN maps, frequently Google maps are useless because many hedges were bulldozed after the war to make bigger fields. I find that I have to invent a lot and somehow can't be sure what I am producing is authentic enough. When it is, I sometimes feel that it is unplayable.

 

Sicilian and mainland Italian hill or mountain villages are also a big challenge. I have been working on a map of Leonforte but have abandoned it as I am really not happy with the look.

People closer to the game and more experienced have produced some excellent maps. 

 

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@usgubgubYou clearly like making maps so keep at it and you will improve. I find using overlays an increadible help. First, because it is a real map it will produce something that looks real. I find it hard to just make something up that looks authentic. Second, it speeds things up a lot. Even the pros rotate the overlay before making a map so roads line up as good as possible, but every map of a real location will include approximations and compromises. There are a lot of period topographic maps out there, for example I could find one on Leonforte that you tried your hand at. If you need help with Photoshop to create an overlay to work with I'm sure someone will come along and help. I could if you ask nicely 😃

Leonforte map: http://digitalarchive.mcmaster.ca/islandora/object/macrepo%3A84267

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14 hours ago, usgubgub said:

Trying to replicate real life environments comes up against so many conundrums. I have produced maps from Google maps, but I am not sure my work is fit to be published, too many compromises had to be made.

It doesn't need to be perfect, it just needs to be playable.....A compromise on the side of playabilty over accuracy is always best IMHO.  ;)

I'll join the others.....Publish and let the naysayers be damned!  :D

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