Map Overlays

[Nick Panzer]

Anybody scanned in a map and created a grid overlay on their PC to plot structures and other topographical info? Any freeware or shareware out there that does that? I couldn't find any. Thanks

[Maximus]

No, but I found a topo map of an area I wanted to make a CM map for, printed it out and drew a square grid over it and proceeded to transfer it over tho the CM Map Editor.

[Pak40]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Nick Panzer:

Anybody scanned in a map and created a grid overlay on their PC to plot structures and other topographical info? Any freeware or shareware out there that does that? I couldn't find any. Thanks<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes, I did this in Adobe Photoshop with one of the topo maps of Omaha Beach. The bar scale was on the map (1"=100 yards). I did a mathematical conversion to make 20 a meter grid on the map. Photoshop has a grid guide feature that's perfect for drawing straight lines at regular intervals.

However, the ideal software to do this in would be a GIS (Geographic Information System) software such as ArcView or MapInfo.

You could also do this in CAD software with Microstation or AutoCadd. The real problem with any of these sources is finding the image or line data at the detail that CM requires.

[Jager]

How about doing a program that does it the other way around? It would be cool to have a topographical map of the combat area. Print it and design your defense and attack plans on those.

Great for the slow games where you can't remember what the hell you were going to do. And it would make AARs much nicer I know I could take a screenshot from level 8 view, but they don't show the height differences well.

[Triumvir]

I'd like to see BTS expose the map format for CM II so that we can do cool stuff like stitching area of operation maps together, or taking a zoomed in view of one particular portion of a map.

This would make meta-campaign programming _much_ easier.

[Clay]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> How about doing a program that does it the other way around? It would be cool to have a topographical map of the combat area. Print it and design your defense and attack plans on those.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Great idea! I wonder how difficult it would be to implement. I know nothing of the data structure in scenarios, but all the info is obviously there.

[McAuliffe]

Not many topographical map based scenarios around unfortunately. They add so much to the immersion of the game. What does it help if you have your OB correct if the terrain doesn't match reality. Terrain is the most important element in determing your strategy. Especially, when you're playing historical confrontations, your mind goes to "how would I have done" given the terrain.

I prepared a couple of transparents with a grid overlay. For topomaps at 1/25.000, I use the grid with 4 mm separation. (4 mm = 100 m) / (1/20.000 : 5 mm = 100 m) I put them on top of the topomaps in order to situate correctly the location of the important landmarks in relation to each other (villages, crossroads, woodpatches rivers etc.)

I first design the road network. The orientation of the roads is quite limited in the editor as you can work only under angles of 45 degrees. So I try to figure out the general orientation of the road per 100 m square in order to avoid zig-zagging roads.

(roads are usually straight where they can)

Then I add rivers and villages. River crossings need some tweaking as you can only

put bridges in North/South or East/West directions. And please get rid of those bumpy water tiles around bridges. Put rivers one or two levels below the surrounding landscape.

Please take into account that most of the blue lines on topomaps just represent a tiny creek or ditch, usually fordable. Use at the most the marsh tiles (if you use Tom's Marsh mod it looks really like a little brook) or just add some brush or scattered trees and a depression to mark these "ditches"

Do not start adding immediately the woods or forests. They will trouble you once you start encoding the height levels. The colours of the height levels just don't spring out against colours of the woodtiles in the editor. You will be confronted with a lot of "forgotten" holes and bumps once you open the preview.

Avoid to jump more then one heightlevel when around roads. Especially at the 5 m interval selection, keep the road for 2 tiles at the same level before you jump to the next heightlevel.

Pay attention to what houses do to the roads on slopes. Put he house at the same level as the road or separate it by one tile from the road.

Make villages less sterile by adding hedges and walls. A square in front of the church, a cimetary wall around the church will add to the looks of a typical village. Mainstreets were usually paved with cobblestones.

The hills generated by the auto generator are just unreal. Think logic : The North Western European landscape consists of big plateaus, through which rivers have carved valleys. You will not find a "Valley of the thousand hills" in Western Europe. So usually a ridge takes the whole length or width of the map, and gradually descends to the middle of the map, where you have a little town and a rivercrossing. The other side of the river shows a gentle (except for the Ardennes) slope towards the other end of the map with farmfields or regular woodpatches. In the valley you will find roads or railroad-connections.

Woodpatches : The auto generated maps with moderate or heavy tree coverage give too much the impression of an African shrubfield. Humans have manipulated the landscape for 100 % in Europe. Even the dense woods of the Eifel, Vosges and the Ardennes are manmade (they used the wood for the mining industry) So, woodpatches have usually nice rectangular forms, align creeks, form patterns around farmfields or are put on top of hills to break windgusts and stop erosion. They are not dotted at random across the map. (except for some scattered trees giving shade to the resting labor in harvest season)

Except for the flat country of Flanders and the Netherlands you will come across landscapes that knows height differences of 50 m or more. Please use the height levels at full extend. I just hate to see a "Bulge" map, where I discover in the editor that height levels only stretch between "5" and "8". But on the other hand, when you build a "high" hill don't jump more then two heightlevels per tile (Except, if you want to simulate a cliff)

If you make a scenario situated in the low-countries, imagine the dykes, add some taluds for railroads. It's just boring to get your troops across hundreds of meter of open and flat country. Let them fight for the gain of the cover of that railroadtrack, highwaytalud or a simple dyke.

Hope I will see some more maps that are more accurate, I refer to the nice efforts of Martin Turewizc (Champs) and the maps you can find on the french site of Appuie Feu

Finally, add some landmarks. I mean, you need to know what you're fighting for, no ? Is that road going of the map in the direction of St. Lo ? What way is Nancy ?

It helps also people who have read about a specific battle to situate the confrontation.

[ 08-24-2001: Message edited by: McAuliffe ]

[Moon]

McAuliffe - oh so true and thanks for the credit

[Pak40]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by McAuliffe:

Hope I will see some more maps that are more accurate, I refer to the nice efforts of Martin Turewizc (Champs) and the maps you can find on the french site of Appuie Feu

[ 08-24-2001: Message edited by: McAuliffe ]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hey McAuliffe, exactly what is the URL of this site?

thanks

[McAuliffe]

I think you find it here :

Appui Feu

re the Champs scenario, you can find it on Keth Admiral's site :

Scenario Depot