Basic Map Making Tutorial for SimPlot

[kmart494]

The following are procedures you can use to make background maps for Harpoon/Simplot scenarios.

Presently, there are no "official standards" for SimPlot maps. I am still experimenting with various color combinations to make the gaming experience better.

If a scenario does not require the presence of land features or specific starting points, ending points, or objectives, then a background map is not necessary.

Procedures for using Internet maps:

1) Using your favorite Internet mapping website, select an area of interest for your scenario. If the area is not very large, then you may be able to get the entire area within the screen.

2) Using your favorite graphics/imaging program (such as GIMP, Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, etc.), import the map via screen capture. Be sure to get the entire screen especially the map scale bar.

3) Get the map scale in terms of pixels per nautical mile by measuring the scale bar pixels and dividing by the miles on the scale. This value is extremely important for SimPlot. When creating a new scenario with a map, users are prompted for the map scale. Without the scale, the map will not be displayed correctly (or at all).

4) This step is optional and time consuming. Using layers in your image editor, you can paint over the land and water areas. Also, you can add city names (I also use a small plus sign "+" to mark the location) and country names. National borders can also be added (these may be important for moving air units). I am currently using dark green for land areas, black for water, and grey for borders and place names. So far, these colors allow for good unit visibility. Feel free to experiment with your own color combinations. A word of caution--using a transparent sea area caused my Paint Shop Pro editor to create crappy looking text for the place names. That is why I am using black now.

5) Create a scenario folder under the SimPlot folder. Save the image as a PNG file to the folder. Please retain an original copy of your work (with layers). You may need to change something later.

6) Run SimPlot and create a new scenario. Select the folder and map you just made, and type in the scale. Save the scenario file in the same folder as the map (the scale will be saved with the scenario file). You are now ready to play SimPlot with your cool background map.

Procedures for using published maps:

1) and 2) If the map is a part of a PDF document, you can either extract the image to your editor or import a screen capture. For maps that are in printed form, you will have to scan them into your editor.

3) through 6) The procedures are the same as above.

NOTE: If you want to create a larger map but desire a smaller scale for the increased detail, you can "stitch" multiple screen captures together to form one large map. Perform screen captures of the desired area by moving the on-screen map around without changing the scale. Using layers, you can overlap the images until they match. You may need to create a large blank image first--one that is large enough to encompass the entire area. You can crop it when you get the layers matched up.

[kmart494]

A word of caution regarding the map scale--I just discovered that some of my existing map scales may not have been converted from Statute Miles to Nautical Miles before making the scale calculation. Since SimPlot works in Nautical Miles, please be sure to make the conversion as I believe most (if not all) Internet mapping sources use Statute Miles.

[dcarlucci@carlucciarms.com]

Hi,

Is there a new way to put a map in in SIMPLOT 2?  This procedure doesn't seem to work.  Thanks.

[KellyC]