NES World/Regional Maps Requests Thread

[Symphony D.]

I only ask because I have some things that are ah, unique, and perhaps worth the effort (eventually).

Note to self: for future reference, current map is 13.0665km/pixel equatorial circumference.

In other news, when will you next have access to that mapping software? I've been regaining sufficient interest to do that GPS city listing, and have more or less gotten halfway through with reshading modern borders. Might get around to doing that somewhat soonish (like over this Thanksgiving Holiday).

 

[Disenfrancised]

I only ask because I have some things that are ah, unique, and perhaps worth the effort (eventually).

Note to self: for future reference, current map is 13.0665km/pixel equatorial circumference.

In other news, when will you next have access to that mapping software? I've been regaining sufficient interest to do that GPS city listing, and have more or less gotten halfway through with reshading modern borders. Might get around to doing that somewhat soonish (like over this Thanksgiving Holiday).

Well I'm no longer working in the lab group which has it (and I don't have the £120 to buy it myself, especially as that's only a year licence), but I'm still popping back there every month or so to help them out on some analysis problems (and to make sure my name gets on the paper ). So whenever the file is ready just send it to me and I'll carry it around till I get access (I've set it all up so that once I get the data making the map will take 10 minutes or so, most of which will be picking colours and the right sizes for the cities .

 

[Symphony D.]

Subcontracting job for anybody that's interested:

I'm working on retooling borders on this map to a new format, seen elsewhere. I'm working my way through Asia, Oceania, and eventually the Middle East, but two people working on opposite ends of the same problem always gets it done faster than just one.

So, if somebody's interested in coloring in Africa, that'd help me out. It's pretty simple: from a white political border, or the coast (or a river, as necessary) draw two pixels horizontal or vertical of color. On the diagonal, at least one is required. Then recolor the border (if it's white) to black; coasts and rivers get left alone. Fairly simple work. Some examples can be seen up in Europe.

If anybody's interested (it's grunt work), drop me a line.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Once that section of the map is completed, how will you add it back to the rest of the map?

My Paint program won't let me combine images.

 

[Disenfrancised]

Once that section of the map is completed, how will you add it back to the rest of the map?

My Paint program won't let me combine images.

muh? Even MSPaint lets you copy paste from one image to another...

 

[Symphony D.]

Yeah. CTRL+A, CTRL+C, CTRL+V, line up the pixels. Not that difficult...

 

[Erik Mesoy]

I would be interested, but I'd rather show you how to do it quickly with the GIMP.

1. Open the image.
2. Create a new, transparent layer to keep the colored borders on.
(Optionally, remove all rivers, or move them to another layer and make them invisible so they don't hinder you. See step 4.)
3. Color each country.

3.0 Make sure you are in the image layer.
3.1 Press Z or choose the "Select contiguous regions" tool, which looks like a magic wand.
3.2 Select a country.
3.3 Right-click your selection, or use the Select menu, and choose Select -> Shrink (1px).
3.4 As before, but choose Select -> Border (1px or 2px, depending on wanted line thickness).
3.5 Press Shift-B or choose the "Fill with color" tool, sometimes called "Flood fill". It looks like a pouring bucket of paint.
3.6 Select the color you like; for example red.
3.7 Make sure you are on the new, transparent layer.
3.8 Left-click your image to fill the selection with color.​

4. Remove all borders at a stroke.

4.1 Press Shift-O or choose the "Select regions by color" tool.
4.2 Click on a border (with pixel precision).
4.3 Press Shift-B or choose the "Fill with color" tool
4.4 Select Black as your color
4.5 Left-click the image to make all borders black.​

A test country takes me about 30 seconds to color by this method.
If a country is fragmented by rivers, holding SHIFT while using the selection tool lets you click across a river to select that part of the country also.

 

[Symphony D.]

To be quite honest GIMP holds no interest for me. I have enough of a time mucking around in Photoshop and other image programs to be be bothered to obtain and learn to utilize yet another one.

Sounds like a more or less similar proceedure there, except you could just floodfill, magic wand the color with a low tolerance, then shrink twice, invert, floodfill black. I have little faith in machine methodolgy however, and there's a certain accomplishment to be said for doing it by hand when it's simple work. But I suppose that would be more efficient overall. I'll look into it on that end.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Downloading the file. I'll upload it back to you in a little while. Or at least part of it.

EDIT: At the time of this edit, I am finished all of the nations on the north coast of Africa and a few others.

 

[Erik Mesoy]

To be quite honest GIMP holds no interest for me. I have enough of a time mucking around in Photoshop <snip> Sounds like a more or less similar proceedure there, except you could just [procedure]

Well, I gave instructions for GIMP because that's what I use, but if the outline holds for Photoshop as well, good for you.

 

[Symphony D.]

Thanks for the idea. If you want to apply directly to the image, without new layers, it's:

Magic Wand (Anti-Alias Off, Tolerance 1)
Floodfill Color (Opacity 100%, Tolerance 1)
Contract (2 Pixels)
Floodfill Black.

It does do two on the diagonal as well though, so for uniformity either all the previous work has to be redone (not hard) or it all has to be done in the current method (not terribly hard either). Might do both and pick whichever looks better at the end.

 

[Erik Mesoy]

Aha... double floodfills instead of specific floodfill. I didn't have much use for the Tolerance option, as the colors (black/blue) are fairly distinct. I was using a layer so that the borders would be graftable separately from the rest of the map.

*goes back to making starmaps and a tech tree*

 

[Symphony D.]

Ordinarily I would agree that that would be quite useful (as when computing wars and such one just has to modify particular layers, then flatten them) but the way this is going to unfold that will all have to be done at the end anyway, so it's no great loss.

A real difficulty will be in coming up with roughly 202 different colors for each nation... (that are visible, and distinguishable). Yet another challenge for later.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Yeah, I'm not sure what colours are already used. But they're easy to change with flood fills.

Finishing up all of the islands around the area now. Sub-Saharan and southern Africa remain.

 

[Symphony D.]

You know, it's funny; I just learned the local university computer labs (some of which you can just wander into) happen to have ArcGIS sitting around on their machines. So theoretically I could run some conversions myself.

Do you happen to know of any tutorials for changing Map Projections on ArcGIS, Dis? Also, converting an image to data would probably be useful. I could probably brush up on it and do some of the things I'm planning on doing if I had an easy reference source (since the time and effort aren't too huge a problem).

Just looking at the default Robinson Map I'm guess that's where the modern one comes from, eh?

 

[Disenfrancised]

Just looking at the default Robinson Map I'm guess that's where the modern one comes from, eh?

What, you'd think I'd actually put some effort into things? puh-lease . I took the basic robinson and spent about half an hour altering it...

Re: Changing map projections, I'll get them to you later (though it'd help if you tell me what source file you want to work from), along with the quick way to add X and Y data to the map (which is what your doing with the cities) if you want. I can go and dig out the old tutorial walkthroughs I was given (though I don't think I have the example files still ). The second google return seems quite good for you to start out on if you want, but it doesn't seem to tell you the other ways to add data (.shp files are all very well, but don't bother with them unless you have to)

What version is on your uni computers?

 

[Symphony D.]

I'd have to go check the version number next time I'm there. Basically I have some image files (.png, .bmp, whatever is necessary really) that I have to clean up (in Miller format). What I need is a way to render those into a data format that ArcGIS can read, and then how to convert its projection to something else (Robinson). If I know the methodology for those two things it should be enough.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

I'm done all of Africa north of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

 

[Dreadnought]

Dude Erik, do they pay you to advertise GIMP here?

 

[Erik Mesoy]

No, it's Free.

And I enjoy the stuff I can make with it.