Mapping Tips

nilsderondeau

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Have had an admittedly cursory look around for tips on making TacOps maps. My current project is coming up with some decent looking maps for the northern sector of the KFOR AO. (I'm still hunting for the appropriate cartography, so don't keep it a secret if you know a good source).

My question is if anyone knows how Fredrik Scheuer made his Fulda map. It looks as if a raster map was draped over a DTED or a DEM.... Any clues much appreciated!

Cheers,
N.
 
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nilsderondeau

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MajorH said:
Have you experimented yet with the TacOps map making utility?
Sir,

Yes, I have. Seems pretty straightforward. I've also read the thread in which you describe how to set down black lines around your roads, using odd colors while working to better manage terrain, etc.

I'm still at the stage where I'm searching for appropriate cartography to manipulate in AI and PS to make a base image. It will all get scrunched down into 256 colors eventually, but the TacOps map isn't the only product I want.

Cheers,
N.
 

nilsderondeau

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So my project is going forward. Found some 1:50k topo sheets for Western Kosovo (the Italian zone) and draped them over NASA SRTM elevation date--not good enough for real terrain analysis but fine for my purposes.

Now this AOI is on the edge of an uplift. I'm making a large map upon which I intend to plan SASO-oriented patrol/border control exercises. Any tips on how to code really tall terrain with only two levels? How does the game compute LOS across high ground?

My thinking is to make the higher level somewhat relative to a 5k viewshed. In other words, I'm pulling it out of my *ss. I have a good mobility overlay for the Go/No-go terrain. Vegetation isn't a problem either. All the time I'm thinking about somthing that would give the good major instant heartburn: namely, how cool it would to play on the actual elevation data.

Cheers,
N.
 

Dr Zaius

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Yeah, Kosovo is one of those areas that will have to be heavily abstracted in order to produce a TacOps map. Much of the terrain in Kosovo is very rugged and will be troublesome to abstract with only two levels.

MajorH mentioned a while back that adding additional elevations is on his to-do list once he returns to TacOps development. I will be looking forward to that! Even if he only adds an additional two levels I believe it will really add to the simulation.
 

nilsderondeau

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Don Maddox said:
Yeah, Kosovo is one of those areas that will have to be heavily abstracted in order to produce a TacOps map. Much of the terrain in Kosovo is very rugged and will be troublesome to abstract with only two levels.

MajorH mentioned a while back that adding additional elevations is on his to-do list once he returns to TacOps development. I will be looking forward to that! Even if he only adds an additional two levels I believe it will really add to the simulation.
Doubtlessly true and I anticipate an addition of new levels as well.

Even so, as I was coding this map, I was thinking that the abstractions weren't so awful. Which reveals one of my (surprising) prejudices as a gamer: I don't care all that much about fine-grained models of intervisibility. I didn't think this about myself before doing this sort of work--as I was making this map from 90m res SRTM data (not very fine-grained when compared with military-grade DEMs) intervisibility relationships between any set of points were available at a mouseclick. Thing is, once you have the information you've got to filter it, which is no easy task.

I'll post this thing once I'm finished with it. It's really big and perhaps unweildly.

Cheers,
N.
 
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dhuffjr

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John,
A thought on the Bagdad map. How are you planning on coding the highway overpasses.

Typically folks have coded these as all clear in the past from what I have noticed.

My thinking is use a rough 1 for underneath and an elevation for the two sides of the overpass "hill". That way you get an los blocker because of the hills and the rough 1 simulates the concrete pillars etc. that folks can hide behind. Maybe even a higher rough rating because I'm thinking that with a road coded there movement would not be hindered as much as you would gain by the "hide" factor of the terrain.

 

John Osborne

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dhuffjr said:
John,
A thought on the Bagdad map. How are you planning on coding the highway overpasses.

Typically folks have coded these as all clear in the past from what I have noticed.

My thinking is use a rough 1 for underneath and an elevation for the two sides of the overpass "hill". That way you get an los blocker because of the hills and the rough 1 simulates the concrete pillars etc. that folks can hide behind. Maybe even a higher rough rating because I'm thinking that with a road coded there movement would not be hindered as much as you would gain by the "hide" factor of the terrain.

Good point about the overpass. Unfortunately, I've put the Baghdad map on hold until I finish this MBX/CPX (Semper Fi). I've started to many projects :cheeky: and I need to finish the Semper Fi before going on to the next project with the Baghdad map. Did I sent to you the Baghdad map? If not would you want to take a look at it.

JohnO
 

dhuffjr

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Okay guys,
I'm working on a Guadalcanal map and have two images that I need to line up. I can't for the life of me figure out how to get the images together. I want to paste the map #2 on map #1 where they line up. Any hints/tips/tricks? In the mean time I'll keep trying.
 

MajorH

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You need to get an art program that allows you to change the size of the canvas on the fly and to work in "layers".

Open the two images. Increase the size of one of the image's (or open a third, empty canvas) canvas to make room for the second image. Copy and paste the second image into the first, but as a "layer". Then drag, rotate, skew, etc, its layer until it lines up with the first image. Then flatten the two images into one - or continue to work in layers.

Adobe "Photoshop Elements" will do it for much less than $100 and has many other useful features that ease the making of art for TacOps maps.
 
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dhuffjr

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Using paint shop pro. I finally figured it out. Any chance of larger map support? :D

I'm currently working on Koli Point to points west of Point Cruz if I can make it fit within 31km.
 

Rattler

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Just FYI: I have made several maps fitting that size, but a generaly comlaint is "I dont like maps where I have to scroll so much..."

I have run this comment over and over in my mind and looked at it from umpire, PM player and net player perspective several times and under light of different situations, and I find that usually for the typical TO scenario scale maps with 21x21 km max aremore than suitable.

Not trying to discourage you fo cause, just my 2c.
 

GCoyote

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That sounds about right.

Rattler said:
Just FYI: I have made several maps fitting that size, but a generaly comlaint is "I dont like maps where I have to scroll so much..."

I have run this comment over and over in my mind and looked at it from umpire, PM player and net player perspective several times and under light of different situations, and I find that usually for the typical TO scenario scale maps with 21x21 km max aremore than suitable.

Not trying to discourage you fo cause, just my 2c.
Real 1:50,000 maps are about 24x24 km IIRC.
 

dhuffjr

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Eventually I want to do the Camp Lejune area. The map I have is ~21x48km. If needed I will split it with overlap. I have a couple of copies so I need to cut one up for scanning. The Guadalcanal map will be big so I can include a lot the the historical fighting areas in one map. For a CPX or PBEM game smaller areas may be used. I'm thinking of fudging the slot and just going 31x31 to include the edge of Florida island and Tugalia and the two other tiny islands that I can't remember their names :). Need to check the scale first.
 

dhuffjr

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Yes, I know.

I want to do from the White Oak River (Swansboro area) west to a point just west of the Sandy Run area (new area taken by government, well new >10<15 years ago). It would include the entire continous USMC base area; Camps Lejune, Johnson, Davis (Sandy Run area, Camp Davis was the army name in the 40s) New River Air Station and Stone Bay.

I'm rapidly approaching the point where I cannot say that I lived there the majority of my life but I'm not there yet. It's one of those projects where if the USMC gets use of it for how they use TacOps, then I say great. If not, then its because I want to do it.

and......its Eastern NC so two elevation levels is more than sufficient:) .
 
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