Would a Curved/Globe Map Style be possible?

JulianDracos

Since planets are curved, you cannot have an accurate flat map. Different methods keeps shape, but distort size, or vice versa.

What I was wondering is if it would be possible to simulate the curve of the planet on a map. For example, I have seen weather maps on the news that are globe shaped and the continents seem to look curved. If it looks curved, then it seems to be that you could preserve size, shape, and distance.

So, I was wondering is if this is something that could be made into a map style for CC3 and if such a map style would solve the issues of flat maps?

Monsen

Anything is possible from a drawing perspective, but there are several of CC3+'s tools that don't work correclty

• Measurements, including distances and angles assumes a a flat map. These can't be used to get accurate data on a curve
• Drawing tools that stop at the map border only work with straight orthogonal lines. This feature doesn't work along a circle or angled line
• Images are rectangular, anything not-rectangular will add empty areas on exports.
• The coordinate system assumes a flat surface, coordinates won't be correct for a curved world.
• Effects also assume a flat surface. This is why many effects cannot be used properly in an isometric map. Not quite as big a problem on a curved map, most things will probably still look fine.

But that said, there are already styles for a curved approach, like the Mercator style from the very first annual (later updated in a newer annual).

JulianDracos

Does the mercator from the annual actually create a curved map that does not distort land size/shape? I thought this style is why Greenland looks the size of Africa.

Monsen

There's still some distortion in there, but that view severely reduces it because the poles meet in the point they actually are, instead of long line across the entire maps which they do in equirectangular projections. This is one of the things that causes the Greenland issue.

Does the mercator from the annual actually create a curved map that does not distort land size/shape?

Well, it is kind of wrong to say the style does anything of the sort, the style just gives you a curved hemisphere based template that is good for this sort of thing, but you still need to draw your landmasses yourself so the correctness of the result is up to you, but at least the template gives you a properly curved grid system to use as a guide.

I thought this style is why Greenland looks the size of Africa.

You're thinking of the Mercator projection. This style is just designed to emulate his visual drawing style, not his projection. That split hemisphere map is definitively not in the Mercator projection, which is designed for your regular flat, rectangular map.

Loopysue

@jslayton once gave me a link to a page that described everything you would ever need to know about map projections. I was going to give you that link, but sadly the page seems to have disappeared.

Instead, and as a basic understanding only, there is a Wikipeadia page here that might help you work this out.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection