Help with real world scale accurate maps

[JustinHayward 10]

My latest upload to the STEX was supposed to be a scale accurate map of the Manchester ship canal in UK
For some reason I just could not seem to get the ingame scale correct though !!!
I wonder - could somebody tell me, if I use a satellite image from google earth, what would be the optimum view altitude to get in game scale accuracy ?? - and what would be the relevant size of map as per view altitude ??
I have a strange feeling that the two parameters are inter-dependant

Mallow .............................. HELP !!!!!!!!!

[MallowTheCloud 41]

Heh, I wish I could. I'm at home in Oregon right now without my computer until Monday.

Until then, I can unfortunately be of little help. However, when I get back I'll look this up ASAP.

[JustinHayward 10]

Good man Mallow !!!

I knew I could rely on you buddy - I am certain it will be of interest to other map makers also.
I find google earth to be excellent for making maps of real world locations - but depending upon the size of map required, it takes a lot of experimentation to get the right view altitude in the screen capture, in order to acheive in game scale accuracy - I have achieved it with most of my maps, but I think it was more by luck than judgement !!!

[moganite 4]

i just but in and say that you need to look at the resolution of your satelite image if it is better than 16 m aim for 16 m per pixel you dont need feature information smaller than that other wise go for the closest you can accounting for the region size i would hazard a guess at anywhere between an altitude of 20 and 100 km above sea level should be suficent for most things. a guide i use is the point i start seeing roads and large buildings for really large areas you need more area but it may be possible to composite images from multple sources to get the coastline second point is you can resize the image later to get the scale but unfortunately it does lose some information so get as much as you can justin though i have't downloaded your maps i have seen the renders and the coastlines look excellent the stylised terain is also a good idea esp if you want to give a land a twist bessides geeting the scale right is a skill and you are great at it

[JustinHayward 10]

Hey thanks for that comment Moganite - I know you put a lot of research into your map, and its a good one !!

There has been a lot of debate over how to get accurate terrain features on a map - the darned renderer almost obliterates small details, and that is why I tend to go for a stylised terrain on my maps - or I just leave the land flat so that members can at least TRY to put in accurate features themselves

[moganite 4]

i have worked that out too. Nearly have a fantasy map ready its a simple idea i take a number of images and mash them together it creates a differnt terrain. I try for vertical acuracy but i will get my coast lines better i also have the time to put into my maps. hope the bit about altitude helped. Also learning the art of interpreting sattelite images too.