[HUD] Topographical minimaps

[KingKong.CCCP]

now you got me thinking...

Like the idea of a topo map... but for Capslock map...
One more thing - I would add more custom names, like "Death Hill" (I like that), if its a custom map... and some red and blue lines, with darts... like "most probable" enemy/friendly movement... hm... I'll make something in 24 hours... got no time right now...

[Raniak]

Should we see the runway in the airport ?

[Clypp]

See what I mean? place names etc with cluttering the map, if symbols are copied from genuine maps then you'll find they just blend into the map.

All symbols used in the map (Radio tower, oil tower, oil pump, bridges, etc are copied from real maps. I fail to see what doesn't blend.

Contours are useful to track around hills but a map isnt any good if you cant say that your "50m east of the well at a hieght of 75m" or that "theres a large gathering of insurgents in the Al-Zubair District" things like that. otherwise the map is pretty much the same as it is, everything just becomes "errrrm Im next to the yellow squiddly bit opposite the oblong black thing..."

Great! I was looking for someo to tediously go through the map and add height markings everywhere. I won't spend the time for extremely negligible returns.

School buildings, Hotels, Bus stops, Phone Boxes, post offices, rivers, fjords, streams, springs, reeds, bogs, marshs, wells, statues, monuments, factories...

If you look closely there are 2 buildings with school flags, one building with the non-Christian religious site flag. Al Basrah is free of streams, reeds, bogs, marshes and statues so to add any markings would be quite artificial. Post boxes, bus stops, phone boxes and wells are not marked on generic topographical maps.

Do I need to go on?

No. You are trying your best to find problems that you are creating ones that don't exist.

ALL of the above can be found symbolized on real maps, we know they probably didnt model an exact school building in basrah, Have a look around and choose one

Way ahead of you.

things like the several construction sites wouldnt be mapped yet

In order to keep this map useful they are mapped. You could say the current war has stalled their progress and the cartographers are busy keeping all maps in combat areas up to date.

Edit: just looked and seen there are district names maybe a lil bigger with double spacings between the letters?

They are quite visible in the game because that map is higher resolution.

I know I'm nitpicking but I can't use the tools myself Have been trying for ages

Do some basic photoshop tuts to learn how layers work. It really is not too hard, basically tracing roads and buildings. For Basrah I did have to create a map with the BF2editor to remove the shadows though.

[Sadist_Cain]

I'm not trying to find problems. I just look and use a lot of maps and I'm trying to mention the things that I see in them that dont appear in yours as you're the one with far better computer skills than I. Cant see any school flags cos of the res no matter how hard I look (I've seen them marked with Sch everywhere but that maybe just be 25 000 scales) there's the water tower that's NE of the bridge north of VCP, things like this and like the Factorys big silos would be marked.
When I say the spacings in the letters its done with the main area (e.g. basrah, baghdad, etc.) so instead of Basrah written above the place like a title you always see
B A S R A H written across the area, with regards to what Rhino said about the flags on ghost train + places names giving confusion; I think theres a big psychological effect if (of course not in OGT now, but newer maps...) instead of always having a spot to fight in "mine, trenches, temple, west tower, east tower etc.) having a District name (spaced out) should give a feeling of fighting over more of an area.
Instead of enemies being just at trenches or whereever, they would be in the quinyong province, maybe in the trenchs, perhaps by the stream... What I'm getting at is its easier navigating that way.

Sometimes you see daft things marked like derelict farm building etc. just lil things like that.

I know you think I'm nitpicking and trying to finds faults but I'm not I'm just telling you the sorts of things that real maps do have. If real maps were just a tracing of the roacs and buildings and such then there would be no point to them. Using a 1,50000 map is far more detailed on a quick glimpse than a satillite picture because of these lil details.
Buying some real maps isnt too hard to see these differences, you can get some from petrol stations and ones from lotsa different countries, looking online is never good because maps have strict copyright laws stopping them from being seen properly


(don't forget look at it full size)

[Clypp]

Cain, that map you posted is very different from the ones I was using as reference. Interesting, now I know why you are insisting on feature not normally found on maps. Where did you find this map, is that a NATO standard style?

[Sadist_Cain]

Indeed it is a 1:50 000 standard scale map used by soldiers (British NATO) on training exercises across salisbury plains now you see my point. That's fresh from the QMs office of Amzimghur Barracks if I'm right, if not then it might be somewhere in salisbury.

I have about 10 other maps of this exact standard if youre interested clypp. All of them have different land features, cityscapes, hilly things, mountainy things, unfortunately I'm lacking in deserty things but I do my best

Sorry If i've been a dog with a bone... now you see my bone (that sounds bad)

EDIT: Here you'll find a typical ordnance survey map legend that's typically used across NATO mapping structures when possible iirc (ordnance survey being the chaps who surveyed the areas for artillery barrages, precise cartographers)

Road Legend...


Land Feature Legend...

[Sadist_Cain]

This Definately needs a bump + I found a poster who gave some VERY good examples of maps.

I thought the first one was hills of hamgyong

https://www.realitymod.com/forum/showpo ... ostcount=8

After playing on al burj, plotting a course on my map and encountering an impossibly steep incline we need this more than ever.
There's no minimap so the map we have NEEDS to give us more information on the terrain. Contours would have saved my squad 5 minutes of travel time, building names would have helped pin many a sniper in 0.7.

I'm trying but god I suck *** at photoshop... they look like childs crayon drawings

• Countours
• Land Features (Cliffs, Holes , marshland etc etc.)
• Distance Scale
• Place names
• Landmarks (schools temples etc.)

That's some information these real maps clypp's working on (hopefully still...) that can be/is already included that WILL make navigation and squad coordination far easier.

I've already mentioned I'm an avid hiker. so I know abou navigation and once you know the features, a real map is a very powerful tool.

[Clypp]

Yeah Cain, I hope to start working on this project again. The devs have not yet come back to me on whether they officially support such a change, though they say they will consider it once pressing matters from 0.7 die down, and until they do so there is little point to continue.

If you could Cain, make a point by point list of changes to the two maps I have done. If they are simple enough to do I will give it a shot, however adding height markers is a massive undertaking and I am not sure how I would even go about it. I'm thinking more of color changes, adding a true grid and some other detail a map may have.

[AfterDune]

Wow, great job you're doing there, Clypp. Looking really good so far .
I wonder what people will think of this when they pop up the map .

Yes, I think you need some sort of "official" YES or NO, otherwise all your hard work would be for nothing .

[Sadist_Cain]

If you have some high res versions I might be able to play with them.

What I could try doing is going "hiking" around the maps and feeling the sorta thing's that I expect to see on a map when I'm navigating irl.

[Clypp]

Good idea. Make every player print out the maps and put them on their desk and remove maps entirely from the game, lol.

There are high res maps in the attachment in png format along with the files needed to put them in game.

[Clypp]

I'm looking to recruit some more people to make topographic maps of some other PR maps. It is not really hard at all, basic photoshop skills, but it is time consuming.

The devs have given good feedback, but until there is a more complete set I don't think they will act.

Poll added.

[Jagular]

Hmm we have one member
who interested in this
lets discuss what we need

[Clypp]

Hmm we have one member
who interested in this
lets discuss what we need

lol wut?

[Desertfox]

He has a guy who is interested in making them, he wants to discuss what he needs.

[Jantje|NL^]

I like this style.. isn't it used in another mod yet?

Something with WWII in it.. dunno the name.. anyway... it's a lot better than the old minimaps.

[Jagular]

woops sorry for my worse English
but yes we interested in making topo-maps

(also I`m in xfire PR Community modders group)

[BloodBane611]

I'll help out.

[Clypp]

Awesome.

Jugular and Bloodbane, you are my new best fake friends.

See the second post in the topic on instructions, it is all spelled out there. Once you get setup the contours only take about 10 minutes and then you can start adding colors/symbols.

Make sure you have the DDS plugin. (Google DDS nvidia) for photoshop, or if you use another program such as GIMP you need to find the DDS plugin. The map files are all in Client.zip in your PR folder. Download my files that I posted in the first page for examples and to get colors from (high res .pngs are included).

Email me if you have any questions. I am availible pretty much all the time at this address: stretch.armstrong <at symbol> gmail dot com.

[BloodBane611]

Alright, I've started working on Assault on Mestia.

Lets just make sure we're not doubling up on maps, it's enough work as is.