Topo Maps to SPMBT Maps

[Double_Deuce]

Ok, now that I have everyone's attention.

This is primarily for the CAMO guys BUT anyone with some creative skills they are hiding can answer;

What is the easiest way of taking a real topo map section 8x6km in coverage area and reproducing it in a 160x120 hex WinSPMBT? If you tell me to draw hexes on the topo and build it hex by hex in SPMBT I'm gonna cry. Surely there has to be an easier way, method something....

In case you are wondering, I need at least 20 8x6km interlocking topo maps reproduced in WinSPMBT! Volunteers anybody? I would only ask that you make 1 and not obligate yourself to more.

I am working on a NATO vs Warsaw Pact Meta Campaign. I can do the maps myself, hex by hex but the campaign might not be able to start for a year or two.

[DRG]

You'd better get a box of tissues....you're gonna need every one of them.

If Helge reads this he can tell you how long it took him to recreate the Ochsendorf and Schandelah maps ( the first two maps in the custom map screen ) but I think you already know. Both of those were build in the "hex by hex" method and show the many, MANY hours he put into them. If you want to create maps as close to real as possible the only way is to do it one hex at a time

OR...........

if you can accept "close" as a standard then practice with the Map Generator to build the basic terrain you are looking for then add the roads and town by hand. Once you have done this for awhile the new cut and paste map editor will come in handy when you decide town "A" on map "BB" would make a fine starting point for town "D" on map "EE" and you cut and paste them in and save yourself an hour or twos work

A good , general, basic terrain *can* be recreated with the map generator and you can remove all roads and towns by setting the "urbanization" to zero. once you generate a few maps and get the basics down then towns and roads ( and forests etc ) can all be put in later using the actual topo maps as a guide and I can PROMISE you that the ONLY people who *MIGHT* complain a hill is out of place are the ones who would never attempt a project like that in the first place so their "opinions" can be easily ignored

The alternative is to build it hex by hex

Don

[Double_Deuce]

Thanks Don. I pretty much knew the answer but you confirmed to me that using the Map Generator to create a "Base" map, then fleshing it out hex by hex is the way to go. just wanted to make sure there was no shortcut in there not fully explained in the manual.

[DRG]

I think you will find that over time as you gain more experience using the Map Generator you will be able to produce maps that come close to what you are generally looking for quite quickly but it takes practice and it will work hand in hand with the new map editor as the MG is included in the new cut and paste Map Editor on the CD

I had thought when we were building these things that what may happen is people save generated maps that have features they like to be used later with the cut-and-paste map editor and what I hoped might happen is guys who like to build maps may end up specializing and design, for example, a series of towns built on a plain ( flat ) map that others could use the cut-and-paste editor on or even just hard core map makers or sceanrio designers who now , if they are A] in the Mood and B] Have 30 minutes to kill ,can now build a town, for example on any sized map for use later because now they can cut-and-paste it from the scratch map to the working map in seconds. Designers no longer have to plan out exactly where they want things to go because now you can move them around with ease. The same applies to the working map. If you end up with the town 10 hexes too far one way or the other you can simply move it whereas in the past you either started again or erased one side and built up the other

Both the map generator and the new map editor were designed to take the time consuming tedium out of map design. The faster a good map can be built the faster a good sceanrio can be built.

Don

[Double_Deuce]

One thing I do need to thank you guys for is the higher resolution coupled with the Map Generator and Map Editor. Since I try to focus on Combat Campaigns (Meta Campaigns) having access to these tools is very welcome. For these I will probably be creating a high # of large maps 160x120 and will subsequently have them available for download in the SZO/WFHQ Download Section.

[DRG]

Double_Deuce said:
One thing I do need to thank you guys for is the higher resolution coupled with the Map Generator and Map Editor. Since I try to focus on Combat Campaigns (Meta Campaigns) having access to these tools is very welcome. For these I will probably be creating a high # of large maps 160x120 and will subsequently have them available for download in the SZO/WFHQ Download Section.

Improving the tools used to build maps, both for the scenario desgner and for the AI's autogenerated maps has always been one of my top priorities. Map design was one of the first things I started experimenting with when SP1 appeared.

Just curious, what mode ( windowed or full screen ) and what resolution are you using for most of your work? I run windowed at 1152x864 most of the time. I run a smaller window when I'm doing more than one thing at a time so I can see the other windows. I rarely run full screen but I know a lot of people prefer that

Don

[Artur]

DRG said:
The faster a good map can be built the faster a good sceanrio can be built.

Don

I could not agree more.

Artur. (Creator of some BIG scenarios in SPWaW)