[Wanted?] Map Colour Mod

[Nisgeis]

EDIT: If anyone is looking at this and wondering where the maps are, it's because this is the WIP thread, there are two release threads:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=141812 for U.S. Subs
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=141977 for U-Boats, but works with U.S. Subs as well.

Orginal message:

Hello fellow subsimmers. I find the pastel shades of the standard map a bit hard to discern the gradients. Also there's no terrain height info with which to navigate by. I think nautical maps are generally only concerned with the depth of the ocean, not the height of the land, but with points of departure being used to plot departutre courses at the start of patrol, they must have used maps of the land that showed elevation as well as the sea depth?

Anyway, is there any interest in a mod that changes the map's default colours? If so, what would you want them changed to?

Here's the standard map:



And here's what a new map could look like, note that height information has been added and the depth information is clearer:



Comments please!

[Egon01]

I like the colors, the normal map is to gloomy for me and for sure I will download it when you finish it Good job.

[ivank]

love it

[cdpca]

That's just great!

[Nisgeis]

Originally Posted by Mikhayl

I like the elevation but the depth colours are too flashy IMO.

Suggest a colour scheme? What would period be? I have a feeling that pastel wasn't it.

[DeepIron]

You might try cutting your blue colors with about 20-30% grey just to tone them down a bit...

Love the idea of changing up the chart coloring. I spend a lot of time in RL working in marine navigation, and if you need any input, I would be glad to help.
An example of "modern" chart coloring is here:

http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/18721.shtml

Most charts stick to the pastel shades because they are still discernable under red or blue lighting, which was commonly used to preserve night vision. Many different shades of blue to signify depth would wash out under blue lighting, which is why deeper water is white on modern charts.

Not sure if anyone is interested or if I'm just babbling. Just in case you wanted to know.

[cgjimeneza]

I hope you also do the Atlatic Ocean for those of use that have two jobs (Nimitz/Doenitz, pls dont see this LOL)

Great Idea!



BTW, expect me to do more posts... Im a torpedo man, not a medic

[Ivan Putski]

I also like the land effects, a real improvement over the stock in game map, hope you work out a solution for the ocean colors. Puts

[Jaeger]

On normal maps you can find positions of lighthouses (perhaps you could combine your new map texture with sergbutos lighthouse mod?) and buoys. with this information it is easier to navigate through shallow water areas near the ports.

[Nisgeis]

Thanks DS and Bosn, I didn't know about the shallower being darker thing, I tried it and it looks pretty good. I've made three sets of colour schemes, one I really hate, but they're not for my use .

Thanks everyone else for the feedback, the first one was a bit bright, but some like it over the toned down version. Anyway, here's the set I have at the moment:

Original Map Scheme with added terrain detail.
For those that don't like any of the following schemes and think original is best:



Map Scheme 1.
High contrast map. Light blue for the shallows, dark blue for the deep.



Map Scheme 2.
High contrast map. Inverse of previous colours. Dark blue for the shallows, light blue for the deep.



Map Scheme 3.
More contrast than stock map. Light blue for shallows, medium blue for deep water.



Map Scheme 4.
More contrast than stock map. Inverse of previous scheme. Dark blue for shallows, light blue for deep water.



Any more suggestions or colour schemes people would like?

[tigone]

Nisgeis wrote:

> but with points of departure being used to plot departutre
> courses at the start of patrol, they must have used maps
> of the land that showed elevation as well as the sea depth?

Nautical charts generally ignore elevations and terrestrial landmarks, except as they would be used in coastwise navigation (i.e., piloting). Both natural (e.g., mountatin peaks) and man-made features (prominent buildings, radio masts) are commonly found on small-scale charts, but anything not clearly visible from a vessel is simply left off. The stock charts are generally correct in that regard. Adding terrain shading is aesthetically pleasing, but not really historical (or currently) correct.

> Anyway, is there any interest in a mod that changes the map's default colours?

Making a little more distinction in the bathymetry colors would be useful, especially for folks with vision limitations or not-so-good monitors. I personally would not fundamentally change the stock colors, but would try to increase the contract between them.

I like Scheme 3 most. Do not invert the colors -- darker should be deeper; that seems really intuitive to me.

[adariusbelly]

Brilliant map! All the other coloured maps appear fuzzy but this one looks just superb..modding is getting more and more intense every month. I wonder what else we can discover..

[Nisgeis]

Originally Posted by adariusbelly

Brilliant map! All the other coloured maps appear fuzzy but this one looks just superb..modding is getting more and more intense every month. I wonder what else we can discover..

Blimey, where did you dig this one up from? This sank about 18 months ago!