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How to make a map (updated 17-Mar-2006)

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How to make a map (updated 17-Mar-2006)

Postby lackattack on Sat Mar 04, 2006 7:07 pm

Get your own map published on Conquer Club in 4 easy steps:

1. Design the image
Using your favorite graphics program and a bit of inspiration, design a map. The type of image file must be PNG, GIF or JPEG. You have to design two versions of the map, small (up to 600 px wide) and large (up to 800 px wide). Height is flexible, but I recommend that you do not exceed 350 px on small maps and 600 px on large maps so that users will not need to scroll down to attack. Publish your map online, using Photobucket.com or some other web/image hosting service. Be proud of your work and sign you name in the corner!

2. Get feedback and revise
Start a topic in this forum containing the name of your map in the title. Include links to the large and small versions so that we can check them out. You should receive plenty of feedback from our most excellent Conquer Club community, and with their help you can perfect your map.

3. Create the XML file
Conquer Club uses XML files to define the borders and coordinates of the territories in each map, and you need to write one for your map too. Don't worry you don't need any technical skills for this, just some patience and a text editor like notepad. Save one of our XML files in www.conquerclub.com/maps to your computer and modify it as necessary. It should be fairly obvious what goes where. The only thing I'll point out is that to define one-way borders, like Inner Mongolia -> Mongolia, only list the territory that can be attacked as a border of the territory that cannot be attacked.
Code: Select all
    <country>
        <name>Inner Mongolia</name>
        <borders>
            <border>Mongolia</border>
        </borders>
    </country>


4. Test your XML
Go to www.conquerclub.com/mapmaker and use the forms to fine tune your XML. Make sure that the numbers show up in the right paces, and adjust the x and y coordinates of each territory as necessary. Also check that the armies are easy to see. If the background colour or texture makes the armies difficult to read, consider adding dark circles, plain coloured rectangles, or some other placeholders to your map.

5. Submit for approval
Send me a PM when you think your map is ready for production and email your xml file to info at conquerclub dot com.

The copyright agreement...

The author retains copyright on their work, and gives Conquer Club permission to use the imagery free of charge, as Conquer Club sees fit for as long as Conquer Club sees fit on the Conquer Club website. Conquer Club cannot sell, lease or lend the rights to use the images to anyone else. The author swears that their map is their own work or a legal derivative work and by submitting it, do hereby claim all responsibility for that being true.

The selection process...

There are many quality controls in place at Conquer Club, and we obviously need to ensure a certain level of quality with the maps. Something that looks like it was designed in Microsoft Paint may not make the cut. If you don't have any graphical talent, please don't proceed, because I'd hate to say no after you've invested a lot of time. But to those with some skill, I invite you to try and thank you in advance for contributing your work.
Last edited by lackattack on Thu Apr 20, 2006 4:28 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Postby supermarcol on Sat Mar 04, 2006 8:47 pm

Woot! Thanks a lot lack. Now if I could only find the time to do this...
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Postby Marvaddin on Sun Mar 05, 2006 8:42 am

Do I really need 2 images of different sizes? I am finding some problems in resizing... If two images need, they even need be the same?
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maps...............

Postby YP_Legend on Sun Mar 05, 2006 4:41 pm

Very nice lack, looks real cool. I have almost completed my new website the Map Shack@yp & it is dedicated primarily to the map scripts i make for AoK II TC, & soon CC as well, once i get the hang of it. Your site here just keeps getting better & better. Well Done!

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Postby HighBorn on Sun Mar 05, 2006 4:55 pm

yes lack i have to say uy r a very dedicated person keep up the great work!!
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Postby lackattack on Mon Mar 06, 2006 6:48 am

Marvaddin wrote:Do I really need 2 images of different sizes? I am finding some problems in resizing... If two images need, they even need be the same?
well, it is possible to use the same map for large and small. I have that now with my USA map because the graphic designer is a deadbeat :roll: . But it's better to have 2 sizes because 600 px looks really small on a high resolution display, and 800 px is too big to fit horizntally on a 1024x768 display
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Postby Tr0y on Thu Mar 09, 2006 2:51 pm

I'd recommend doing your maps with a vector drawing program ( Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia Freehand, ect ) so that way they scale.
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Postby oman on Fri Mar 10, 2006 8:53 pm

dude, what do you think I am a ROCKET SCIENTIST? I aint no person that nows that much about computers except tiping, and playing risk on conquerclub. :D
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Postby Marvaddin on Wed Mar 15, 2006 4:22 pm

Some little questions to you, Lack:

- Are there limit of letters in countries / continents names?
- Are there support for signals like "á" and "ã"? (If not, I need edit xml again :wink: )
- How can we send you xml / png files?
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Postby lackattack on Wed Mar 15, 2006 5:07 pm

There is no real character limit to continent/country names. We don't want country names to be too long, because the picklists could grow very wide. But you can have a long name on the map, like "Israel and the Palestinian Territories" but put a shortened name in the XML, like "Israel and PT".

Accented characters are ok.

Send the xml files to info at conquerclub.com. You can just PM me the link to your images when they're ready.
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Postby craig84 on Thu Mar 16, 2006 8:18 pm

is there anyway i can just make a pic of the map and make the borders and all that and then have some1 else use the xml file? i have a mac and i dnt think it will work so if i just make the map as a pic and post it up here can some1 do it 4 me?
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Postby Marvaddin on Thu Mar 16, 2006 9:10 pm

This is easy. Since the image is pretty clear, I can do it to you without problems.
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Postby Nobunaga on Sat Mar 18, 2006 10:05 am

What does this mean, exactly? :

<coordinates>
<smallx>20</smallx>
<smally>65</smally>
<largex>30</largex>
<largey>79</largey>
</coordinates>
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Postby max is gr8 on Sat Mar 18, 2006 11:42 am

Nobunaga wrote:What does this mean, exactly? :

<coordinates>
<smallx>20</smallx>
<smally>65</smally>
<largex>30</largex>
<largey>79</largey>
</coordinates>


It means where the country/continent is on the X axis and the Y axis on the small and large map
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Postby rocksolid on Thu Mar 23, 2006 3:15 pm

max is gr8 wrote:
Nobunaga wrote:What does this mean, exactly? :

<coordinates>
<smallx>20</smallx>
<smally>65</smally>
<largex>30</largex>
<largey>79</largey>
</coordinates>


It means where the country/continent is on the X axis and the Y axis on the small and large map


Is this only significant for the positioning of the numbers indicating how many armies player has in that territory? I guess a related question is whether the borders on the map have any significance other than as an image illustrating the relationships between the number values showing how many armies are at (x,y)?
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Postby Nobunaga on Thu Mar 23, 2006 7:55 pm

... I was under the impression that the dark, semi-transparent circles, the background for army numbers, on the maps, were a single graphic created and placed by with code over a map.

... Is this not the case? Are we to create these backgrounds, one for each territory?

... Just checking. It's not a problem. Please advise.
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Postby Marvaddin on Thu Mar 23, 2006 10:36 pm

Yeah, you need create the numbers little background. They dont exist in Middle East map, you see...

And, about the coordinates, yes, they are only significant for the positioning of the numbers. The map picture itself has no influence in the game, all information about borders and attack routes is in xml file.
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Postby Nobunaga on Thu Mar 23, 2006 11:06 pm

... Gottcha! Thanks!
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Postby lackattack on Thu Mar 23, 2006 11:21 pm

You don't need to make background circles for the armies - in the Middle East map there are none because it is easy to read the numbers.
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Postby Nobunaga on Sun Mar 26, 2006 1:21 am

... XML question here. Lack, any other experienced map-makers, I would appreciate your help.

... For each country in the XML, the x & y coordinates are entered. What location, specifically, are those coordinates marking?

... Is that the x & y of the upper-left corner of the number used to show armies present? Is it the x & y of the center of where that graphic will be drawn?

... Finding the x & y is easy enough with Photoshop, I just need to know what I'm trying to pinpoint exactly.

... Thanks!
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Postby Marvaddin on Sun Mar 26, 2006 1:48 am

Well, the 0,0 point is the upper left corner. But I had problems when I put X and Y coordinates in xml. I tested, and I needed to correct the coordinates. There is a fixed error for X axis, and another error to Y axis. Once you discover it, change all coordinates in xml using that rate. Here is a link to the test page:

http://www.conquerclub.com/mapmaker
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Postby SMITH197 on Sun Apr 09, 2006 9:50 am

ok....I've got myself a nice happy vector drawing program (Macromedia FreeHand MX) and now i want to ask you guys this....Do you just draw a map or do you import a map from various files online and modify? What do you find easier?
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Postby Nobunaga on Mon Apr 10, 2006 9:28 am

.... For "British Isles", I downloaded several maps of Scotland, England, Ireland, etc... and of course the entire UK maps as well. Used them to get the map outline and borders. Then from there it was all "creativity".

... Published maps are often copyrighted, so unusable, but nobody owns the rights to the shape of Ireland, eh? (for example)
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Postby Marvaddin on Mon Apr 10, 2006 10:13 am

I simply couldnt draw a Brazil map. Modifying is much easier. Im surprised by your question, its pretty obvious. :shock: :lol:
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Postby Haydena on Mon Apr 10, 2006 11:42 am

I did the same with my Japan map, took a map of japan from Wikipedia, was already split into 47 sections, merged two of them together, took one out (was way too small) and changed the colour, added text and circles, tarted it up a bit, pretty simple really.
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