Real World Maps?
Hi guys,
New to mapmaking and very excited. I'm trying to create world maps of World War 2 and Modern era. I'm using CC3+ and I also picked up WW2 Interactive Atlas. I am trying not to have to reinvent the wheel, so I'm looking for a single world map with land and political boundaries already drawn in but nothing else. One for 1939 and another for 1989. I've only found European continent or specific battle maps but prefer using a single world file that can scroll down for the detail. Can anyone point me to where I can search for such a file?
Much thanks
New to mapmaking and very excited. I'm trying to create world maps of World War 2 and Modern era. I'm using CC3+ and I also picked up WW2 Interactive Atlas. I am trying not to have to reinvent the wheel, so I'm looking for a single world map with land and political boundaries already drawn in but nothing else. One for 1939 and another for 1989. I've only found European continent or specific battle maps but prefer using a single world file that can scroll down for the detail. Can anyone point me to where I can search for such a file?
Much thanks
Comments
There are plenty of maps around of real world outlines, and I suspect that before long you will have lots of suggestions here on ones you can use.
However, a problem arises when you want one map of the entire world that you can zoom in on (presumably to infinite levels of detail). Not even Google Earth can do that. Instead it relies on switching rapidly between many layers of images taken at different resolutions - in other words using many thousands of maps in one viewer. As you zoom in, so you get presented with the large scale images, and as you zoom out you get presented with the small scale images. It is only a matter of speed that means you don't notice the swapping.
There really is no comparable solution to the many-map scenario, for though theoretically there is no zoom limit to a vector map because it is not constrained by the usual pixilation issues you get with a bitmap, there is a limit on the number of nodes you can have in one CC3 map. This means you can either use your 20,000 nodes (approximate value - I've used more myself) to make a decent world map, or the same number of nodes to map a small village somewhere in the mountains at a much larger scale in glorious and fantastic detail.
Probably the best solution in CC3 is to have a world map showing the main continents, hyperlinked directly to a series of continental maps. Then from hyperlinks in each of the continental maps to country maps, and from each of the country maps to regional maps, and from the regional maps down to town and village maps - several levels.
This has been done quite successfully in the Community Atlas here, to give you some idea of what I mean. The individual map styles are all very different since these are maps created and donated by many different contributors, but I am sure you can imagine how your world maps might look done all in the style(s) you prefer.
Hey. Let me use this for a related question. Where can I find archives of real Earth to use in FT3?
@Mateus090985 - This old Forum topic has some notes that may be useful. The links there DO all work currently, incidentally, including that to the Map Library. The other link is to the 2012 May Cartographer's Annual issue, which has the FT3 real-Earth maps and details on how to make your own.
Thank you!