Thanks, Sue. The inner and outer zones of cities are Pinkish/Red and they tend to get lost. I'm thinking of either outlining them, or filling them with Brush Patterns. Large Targets for the City Center, and Boxes for the outer regions. Industrial areas are gray, but they obscure the roads sometimes and can look like terrain. Perhaps I will cross hatch them.
Edit: I continually evaluate the road and stream networks with a view to simplifying them and/or removing ones that don't have an effect. Looking at the big picture view the top photo gives me, I have added simplifying the forests. I probably don't need all the tiny little forests in the hexes. So now I have something else to think about.
I'm not working so much on the map right now as I am on rating the combat power of units. Having said that, I read all this stuff here on the forum about simplify, Explode/Defractilize(?), Remove Nodes, and number nodes, so I tried simplify on my roads and was horrified to watch them change shape and even shorten their length and disconnect from their other connections on the road network. I had gone beyond the undo limit, so I just reopened the original file.
Then I checked the number of nodes in one of my contours line. It was the last one at the 300 meter level and crawls over most of the map and it has 4984 nodes. While I never checked this before this map, I'm sure I have other maps with contour levels with the same or more nodes in it. The second biggest has 2494, and the third 2377, and 2255 and they are much smaller than the big one. After those four, they tend to get smaller; there's one with 1511 and one with 1212.
I am little worried about applying those commands to these things since I fear it will really change the look of the terrain.
I suppose this could cause the occasional crash when I am drawing contours or sending the map to CutePDF to print. I usually don't have a lot of effects turned on except for transparency.
I still have two big tasks remaining. Labeling various features and doing my mobility sheet which gives the player a visual cue to the trafficability of a hex.
So, for the experts, should I or shouldn't I give those simplifying features a whirl?
When using simplify, make sure to use an appropriate simplification distance. All nodes that are closer than the specified distance will be removed, so if you set it to 10 in an imperial overland map where a map units equal one mile, you'll basically remove all nodes closer to each other than 10 miles. A smaller simplification distance removes fewer nodes, but also preserves the shapes to a higher degree. Obviously, it is impossible to remove nodes without distorting the shapes, the main idea is to remove nodes that provides an unnecessary high level of detail, or you just have too many close nodes you don't need.
I probably wouldn't have bother with it unless the drawing is slow and/or troublesome to work with. 5000 nodes isn't really that troublesome unless you plan on joining the path with another path or do node editing on it.
The contour lines are all polygons. I haven't checked roads or streams. So its an overland map in 1 km, so if were to do it, something like 0.2 might be more appropriate than 1? I know I get into the weeds when I follow these things, so I probably click more than required, but then, I really like the way the contours look. So there I am...
Now another question. My rivers are 0.3 width and dark blue. There is a light blue line running down them. I have turned this off before, but I am apparently not using the right term to search for the way to do so. Help me, please.
I am looking for where this symbols comes from. I have found the maps I used that use it, but I cannot find where it comes from. Searching for Bridge does not turn it up.
Also note that if you just want to use a symbol you have in one map in another map, you can actually use the map as a symbol catalog. Simply hit the Open Symbol Catalog button, then in the File name field, type in *.fcw and hit enter. The dialog stays open, and when you navigate around, it will show map files instead of symbol catalog files. Now just pick a map, and see the symbols from it pop up in the symbol catalog window. Or if you don't like doing it that way, you can also rename your map file from map.fcw to map.fsc and then browse for it using the open symbol catalog button.
I have added the text labels for the cities, major roads and waterways, and the mobility ratings for each hex. The two triangles at right center indicate the positions of OP Alpha, where the 1/11 ACR operated its observation post where platoons would go up for 3 weeks at a time to provide surveillance and rapid reaction force, one of the opposing East German border observation towers, and in between them is a memorial to a father/son pair who attempted to escape to the West.
The father got over fence, but the son set off one of the mines and fell back onto the East side. The father went back over to help his son. Meanwhile, bullets were hitting the OP and ammunition was being issued. The Border Guards grabbed the father and drug him off into the woods to the north a little bit (where there was also a dog run and a machine gun bunker), beating him as they went. They left the son behind. Deer and the wind would set the mines off. They also had mines in some of the border stones, and were supposed to have removed all of them from our side of the fence, but their side of the border.
At this point, the map is mostly finished. I will continue to refine the road and stream network, and also double check my mobility assignments. I have not applied any of the glow effect to the roads yet. That sort of thing will be done before I send it off to the printer.
I also want to convert the green forest to the more textured forest from CA 85, WWII mappings, if I can figure out how to bring it over. It does not seem to have the same effect when I just open the CA85 symbols in the symbol catalog.
Might be a bit of a tight fit. I think you could make it work. Sometimes I think about getting a storage shed to play in so I don't have to worry about my wife's cats getting up on the board and wrecking havoc. The one I would buy looks like a barn and you can make them two stories. I'd get that and then build an observation deck/lounge on the upper story, with more storage in the roof. Then I sit quietly till the urge passes.
Here is a screenshot of my squadrons battle area at 1km resolution from a site called maps.army. A nice rendering, more like my first version because it does not show contours, but does have good detail.
In case anyone is interested, and even if you are not, here are some shots of the US unit counters, their combat power values, and one of the status sheets player will use to keep track of their units. Note no values are on the counters to increase the fog of war, and you won't be able to tell how far gone the unit is from the counters during play.
Much is still in flux and development so there is not a 1:1 match between the three sheets. Units and values may vary.
Still working on it. For roads I turn off everything except roads and town. Increase the magnification so each hex is 6-10 cm, and go through the whole map from side to side a few rows at a time, looking for issues and unneeded rows. Finish that way then starting at bottom right, go up to the top, fixing issues as I go. Then go to top right and go right to left, etc. It's amazing what one find when limiting focus and changing direction.
Sometimes I have to zoom out and turn on the BMP to make corrections which restarts the whole process.
Repeat for rivers/streams, and the mobility ratings.
I probably will continue this till August or so when I start to hopefully send stuff out for production.
When I do so i successfully import the WWII Map files using FIND Button and specifying the WWII Map.
Do you mean the find button in the fill style dialog? You can't specify maps here, you need to point to the actual image files for the fill.
If you want to import fill styles that exists in another map, the easiest way to do that is to use Draw --> Insert file and just browse to the file there. Once you have selected the file and clicked open, and you have the map at your cursor, you can just simply hit Esc immediately to stop placing it, since you don't actually want a copy in the map. The fill styles from that map will then have been imported.
What I want to do, and what I am sure I have done before, is insert the bitmap files (which I guess all really end in *.PNG as an insertable file), and bring them into my covering force map. Then using either Edit Properties and/or Change Properties, to click on a forest patch and change the solid green fill to say Forest Deciduous Transparent_CA85.
I opened my covering force map, selected the land sheet (cause there is nothing on it) hid everything else. Then used Insert File, then navigated to C:\ProgramData\Profantasy\CC3Plus\Bitmaps\Tiles\Modern\CA85 WW2Maps and selected open, then pushed escape, and check the import by using the drop down for the Fill Style. It is all pixelated. If I draw a smooth polygon, covering up most of the map, I get a blob with big squares.
If I do it again and instead of hitting escape, I draw the square (the only thing I can) I get the third picture.
Clearly there is something simple I am not doing.
Is there a way to delete the CA_85 tiles,files, symbols, whatever they are and start over?
I've attached the FCW.
RTFM does not help me either. I keep just making the same mistake.
The insert file route is if you already have a map with the fill styles defined in it. (And as long as you want the fill styles from an existing map style, it is easy enough to start out by just making a blank map in that style first). It is not for picking individual texture files.
If you want to import the fills one by one, you can use the fill style dialog, but you wrote that you picked a map, and you can't do that in the fill style dialog, that can only be used to pick the individual .png files for the fill.
You can also insert a whole folder of fills by going to tools -> Import bitmap fill styles and pick any folder with .png fills in it. As long as you pick an existing folder with fills that came with CC3+, just specify the folder and click ok, don't check any additional options.
Well, I tried the "You can also insert a whole folder of fills by going to tools -> Import bitmap fill styles and pick any folder with .png fills in it. As long as you pick an existing folder with fills that came with CC3+, just specify the folder and click ok, don't check any additional options." option, navigated to the path C:\ProgramData\Profantasy\CC3Plus\Bitmaps\Tiles\Modern\CA85 WW2Maps, then clicked OK.
It said I had added 12 items. I selected smooth polygon, selected Forest Pine transparent_HI.PNG as the fill. And it worked. Then, after finally noticing the Delete button, i removed the pixilated versions of the file.
Those fills just don't seem to work as I thought they would, even when made transparent, because they overpower the contours, but there are others.
I guess I don't communicate as well as I think I do. Thanks for your patience.
With Monsen's help and repeated strikes to the frontal armor of the brain case with ego-piercing discarding sabot, I selected a forest bitmap file that pleased me and also gives something of the same look and feel of the Google Earth view of the battle area. Of course with the transparent effect, the forest looks more brown than green which could be remadied by changing them to green, which would lead to other issues.
On the other hand, in the game, the battle occurs in August, so maybe brown is okay.
I have not highlighted the contour lines with an edge color yet. That will probably be the last thing I do.
I am still simplifying the road and water nets and I amy thin out the small copses some and I need to continue to refine the mobility index dots in the hex centers.
So looking at the nice effect the Forest Fill gave me, I started wondering about a "field fill" to fill in the "blank spaces" between towns and such. as you can see from the comparisons above.
I searched for "field" in the symbols and all I got was a black and white rendering and a generic empty field.
How hard is this to do? Obviously, it would have to be done in a manner such that it was geomorphic so would have to be tiled. I know I'd have to do it in some drawing program (of which I know nothing). As a layer, it would probably be at the lowest land level and other things such as forests, towns, roads, streams, railroad, various industrial and perhaps wilderness areas, other than forests would have to be modeled as well.
Not looking for photo-realism, just for a way to make the thing more interesting.
I looked at American farm fields, which in general appear to be too large to use in a European setting. Germany is pretty built up. For lack of anywhere else to go I went near Nottingham, England and found larger expanses of ground to use as an example with less 'obstacles' in them. Normandy, France is of course famous for its bocage country and not suited to use in a German setting.
Queton did a most excellent job on one of his maps, but he put each one in by hand! I can be patient, but not so patient as to do it all over this map.
Another approach? I'm not likely to do it on this project. I've been working on it since 2014 and I want to finish by the end of the year. And there is lot to do other than mapping.
I think fields would make it look too messy, but that is only my personal preference when there are so many other details that need to remain more visible than they will be if they are surrounded by detailed field systems.
Maybe ask the people who are going to end up using the map?
Comments
The brown in CC3 seems to come out really red on the print out, which is no bad thing. I prefer it that colour.
Edit: I continually evaluate the road and stream networks with a view to simplifying them and/or removing ones that don't have an effect. Looking at the big picture view the top photo gives me, I have added simplifying the forests. I probably don't need all the tiny little forests in the hexes. So now I have something else to think about.
Then I checked the number of nodes in one of my contours line. It was the last one at the 300 meter level and crawls over most of the map and it has 4984 nodes. While I never checked this before this map, I'm sure I have other maps with contour levels with the same or more nodes in it. The second biggest has 2494, and the third 2377, and 2255 and they are much smaller than the big one. After those four, they tend to get smaller; there's one with 1511 and one with 1212.
I am little worried about applying those commands to these things since I fear it will really change the look of the terrain.
I suppose this could cause the occasional crash when I am drawing contours or sending the map to CutePDF to print. I usually don't have a lot of effects turned on except for transparency.
I still have two big tasks remaining. Labeling various features and doing my mobility sheet which gives the player a visual cue to the trafficability of a hex.
So, for the experts, should I or shouldn't I give those simplifying features a whirl?
Thanks!
I probably wouldn't have bother with it unless the drawing is slow and/or troublesome to work with. 5000 nodes isn't really that troublesome unless you plan on joining the path with another path or do node editing on it.
Thanks.
Can someone give me a hint?
Thanks.
Also note that if you just want to use a symbol you have in one map in another map, you can actually use the map as a symbol catalog. Simply hit the Open Symbol Catalog
Or if you don't like doing it that way, you can also rename your map file from map.fcw to map.fsc and then browse for it using the open symbol catalog button.
The father got over fence, but the son set off one of the mines and fell back onto the East side. The father went back over to help his son. Meanwhile, bullets were hitting the OP and ammunition was being issued. The Border Guards grabbed the father and drug him off into the woods to the north a little bit (where there was also a dog run and a machine gun bunker), beating him as they went. They left the son behind. Deer and the wind would set the mines off. They also had mines in some of the border stones, and were supposed to have removed all of them from our side of the fence, but their side of the border.
At this point, the map is mostly finished. I will continue to refine the road and stream network, and also double check my mobility assignments. I have not applied any of the glow effect to the roads yet. That sort of thing will be done before I send it off to the printer.
I also want to convert the green forest to the more textured forest from CA 85, WWII mappings, if I can figure out how to bring it over. It does not seem to have the same effect when I just open the CA85 symbols in the symbol catalog.
I'm still having trouble with that dark is high thing, but I guess I'll just have to live with it
Unfortunately, I also have no garden either, so a shed wouldn't really fit the bill for me.
Much is still in flux and development so there is not a 1:1 match between the three sheets. Units and values may vary.
How did the simplification go? Or did you decide it was a bad idea?
Sometimes I have to zoom out and turn on the BMP to make corrections which restarts the whole process.
Repeat for rivers/streams, and the mobility ratings.
I probably will continue this till August or so when I start to hopefully send stuff out for production.
I would like to import the Bitmap fills from either CA85 WWII Map or the CC3 Pro Overland maps.
From CC3 Pro Overland the Land Dark and Light Green.
From the CA85 WW II Map:
Forest Deciduous Transparent CA85
Forest Deciduous Transparent
Forest Pine Transparent CA85
Forest Pine
When I do so i successfully import the WWII Map files using FIND Button and specifying the WWII Map.
Unfortunately When I draw it, it looks like the first picture below and of course I want it to look like the 2nd picture below.
I seem to be unable to import the CC3 Pro Overland settings into my map.
And then, I cannot figure out how to get rid of the BITMAP files I no longer want.
I'm not set on these, if someone thinks there is a better method to give the dang forests some texture.
Any help is appreciated.
If you want to import fill styles that exists in another map, the easiest way to do that is to use Draw --> Insert file and just browse to the file there. Once you have selected the file and clicked open, and you have the map at your cursor, you can just simply hit Esc immediately to stop placing it, since you don't actually want a copy in the map. The fill styles from that map will then have been imported.
I guess I am just not getting this.
What I want to do, and what I am sure I have done before, is insert the bitmap files (which I guess all really end in *.PNG as an insertable file), and bring them into my covering force map. Then using either Edit Properties and/or Change Properties, to click on a forest patch and change the solid green fill to say Forest Deciduous Transparent_CA85.
I opened my covering force map, selected the land sheet (cause there is nothing on it) hid everything else. Then used Insert File, then navigated to C:\ProgramData\Profantasy\CC3Plus\Bitmaps\Tiles\Modern\CA85 WW2Maps and selected open, then pushed escape, and check the import by using the drop down for the Fill Style. It is all pixelated. If I draw a smooth polygon, covering up most of the map, I get a blob with big squares.
If I do it again and instead of hitting escape, I draw the square (the only thing I can) I get the third picture.
Clearly there is something simple I am not doing.
Is there a way to delete the CA_85 tiles,files, symbols, whatever they are and start over?
I've attached the FCW.
RTFM does not help me either. I keep just making the same mistake.
If you want to import the fills one by one, you can use the fill style dialog, but you wrote that you picked a map, and you can't do that in the fill style dialog, that can only be used to pick the individual .png files for the fill.
You can also insert a whole folder of fills by going to tools -> Import bitmap fill styles and pick any folder with .png fills in it. As long as you pick an existing folder with fills that came with CC3+, just specify the folder and click ok, don't check any additional options.
It said I had added 12 items. I selected smooth polygon, selected Forest Pine transparent_HI.PNG as the fill. And it worked. Then, after finally noticing the Delete button, i removed the pixilated versions of the file.
Those fills just don't seem to work as I thought they would, even when made transparent, because they overpower the contours, but there are others.
I guess I don't communicate as well as I think I do. Thanks for your patience.
On the other hand, in the game, the battle occurs in August, so maybe brown is okay.
I have not highlighted the contour lines with an edge color yet. That will probably be the last thing I do.
I am still simplifying the road and water nets and I amy thin out the small copses some and I need to continue to refine the mobility index dots in the hex centers.
Still, I'm pleased.
I searched for "field" in the symbols and all I got was a black and white rendering and a generic empty field.
How hard is this to do? Obviously, it would have to be done in a manner such that it was geomorphic so would have to be tiled. I know I'd have to do it in some drawing program (of which I know nothing). As a layer, it would probably be at the lowest land level and other things such as forests, towns, roads, streams, railroad, various industrial and perhaps wilderness areas, other than forests would have to be modeled as well.
Not looking for photo-realism, just for a way to make the thing more interesting.
I looked at American farm fields, which in general appear to be too large to use in a European setting. Germany is pretty built up. For lack of anywhere else to go I went near Nottingham, England and found larger expanses of ground to use as an example with less 'obstacles' in them. Normandy, France is of course famous for its bocage country and not suited to use in a German setting.
Queton did a most excellent job on one of his maps, but he put each one in by hand! I can be patient, but not so patient as to do it all over this map.
Another approach? I'm not likely to do it on this project. I've been working on it since 2014 and I want to finish by the end of the year. And there is lot to do other than mapping.
Thoughts?
Maybe ask the people who are going to end up using the map?
I also share your passion of Wargaming, beautiful maps!