Topic: Improved Relief Map

[Leartin]

Just now I'm toying around with NASA height maps to make them fit for simutrans. It got me thinking - with the next version of simutrans, we get height-independent climates as well as lakes above sea level. Will there be a way to incorporate them in a relief map? Maybe as a second optional climate map (including water), to finetune these maps (rivers would be nice, too, but not that important)

[An_dz]

I was thinking of it recently. But it's not an easy task. There are 25 levels (50 with double height?) and 6 climates + water.
How would be possible to define in colors all this? If I can propose anything it would be to use the following colors as the top most color (height 25/50):
#FF0000 - Mediterranean
#00FF00 - Temperate
#0000FF - Water
#00FFFF - Tropical
#FFFF00 - Desert
#FF00FF - Tundra
#FFFFFF - Alpine

And for every lower level reduce one in all colors, so the next level would be:
#FE0000 - Mediterranean
#00FE00 - Temperate
#0000FE - Water
#00FEFE - Tropical
#FEFE00 - Desert
#FE00FE - Tundra
#FEFEFE - Alpine

And the first color (level 0) would be:
#CD0000 - Mediterranean
#00CD00 - Temperate
#0000CD - Water
#00CDCD - Tropical
#CDCD00 - Desert
#CD00CD - Tundra
#CDCDCD - Alpine

Rivers could use the 50 colors before the water ones. From #0000CC to #00009A.

[Sarlock]

It may be easier to store climate information in a second image... that way old relief maps work like usual, new ones without climate data work as they did before and only on loading a climate map will it add that information.  It would also be a lot easier to edit a second climate map than try and edit heights and climates combined together.  When editing the map in a paint program you can layer the two together so that you can see one in the background while editing the other.

[An_dz]

Great idea Sarlock, provide a bmp with same sizes and name but simply using colors would be easier.

[Fabio]

but it would be somewhat harder to distribute.
maybe a zipped container with both images and the city placement text file?

[Combuijs]

All maps on Simutrans Maps are zipped. Lots of them contain a readme.txt file with instructions for the water height. So, no problem there.

[Fabio]

great to know, I still remembered the ppm files being distributed

[Bear789]

While we are at it, is it possible to add river maps?