Slitherine

quote:

ORIGINAL: SamuraiProgrammer

My wife has encouraged me to frame and hang my set of WiF maps in the game room.  They are beautiful.

However, as much as I would like to do so, I can't see myself devoting 170 sq. ft. of wall space. 

BUT...

What I would like to see is an atlas style booklet with color maps in it.  This could be useful in hotseat games and also for pondering strategies when the computer is otherwise engaged.

Furthermore, while we are dreaming....

There is an inexpensive reporting engine for Delphi that natively produces PDFs. Wouldn't it be great to be able to produce map images at the press of a button so you could email them to yourself for lunch-break at work?

  Steve
     Dean

Not really a serious proposal for this version, but there is always version 2.0

quote:

ORIGINAL: composer99

There is a nice piece of software called SnagIt which I have that I can use for capturing images. Right now I use it on my Cyberboard PBEM module if I want to capture parts of the map for pondering over (or to send to others).

quote:

ORIGINAL: abj9562

quote:

ORIGINAL: Ubercat

quote:

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

quote:

ORIGINAL: Jaguar


Wow, I just had an idea. I could build a metal cylinder, ten feet high with a seventeen foot circumference, mount the map onto it, put it in the middle of my great room and use magnetic counter clips to play. That would certainly give the concept of a global conflict

Of course, my spousal unit is quite likely to take umbrage with this idea; however, I might be able to bribe her with that new Harley she has been asking about for the past few years. A rather expensive enterprize just to play a game, but what the heck is money for if not to entertain.

Not a 17 foot diameter. A 5.4 foot diameter is all you need to achieve a circumference fo 17 feet.

That sounds like an awesome project. You'd have to be VERY precise though. It would suck if you did all the work and it was a couple inches too big or too small.

-Ubercat

Or perhaps make the map out of a heat shrink plastic and mount it on a ball put it on a pole and tilt the axis. A MWiF globe eh!

quote:

ORIGINAL: abj9562

quote:

ORIGINAL: Ubercat

quote:

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

quote:

ORIGINAL: Jaguar


Wow, I just had an idea. I could build a metal cylinder, ten feet high with a seventeen foot circumference, mount the map onto it, put it in the middle of my great room and use magnetic counter clips to play. That would certainly give the concept of a global conflict

Of course, my spousal unit is quite likely to take umbrage with this idea; however, I might be able to bribe her with that new Harley she has been asking about for the past few years. A rather expensive enterprize just to play a game, but what the heck is money for if not to entertain.

Not a 17 foot diameter. A 5.4 foot diameter is all you need to achieve a circumference fo 17 feet.

That sounds like an awesome project. You'd have to be VERY precise though. It would suck if you did all the work and it was a couple inches too big or too small.

-Ubercat

Or perhaps make the map out of a heat shrink plastic and mount it on a ball put it on a pole and tilt the axis. A MWiF globe eh!

quote:

ORIGINAL: Ubercat

quote:

ORIGINAL: abj9562

quote:

ORIGINAL: Ubercat

quote:

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

quote:

ORIGINAL: Jaguar


Wow, I just had an idea. I could build a metal cylinder, ten feet high with a seventeen foot circumference, mount the map onto it, put it in the middle of my great room and use magnetic counter clips to play. That would certainly give the concept of a global conflict

Of course, my spousal unit is quite likely to take umbrage with this idea; however, I might be able to bribe her with that new Harley she has been asking about for the past few years. A rather expensive enterprize just to play a game, but what the heck is money for if not to entertain.

Not a 17 foot diameter. A 5.4 foot diameter is all you need to achieve a circumference fo 17 feet.

That sounds like an awesome project. You'd have to be VERY precise though. It would suck if you did all the work and it was a couple inches too big or too small.

-Ubercat

Or perhaps make the map out of a heat shrink plastic and mount it on a ball put it on a pole and tilt the axis. A MWiF globe eh!

Your post reminds me of a question I've been pondering. Is there ANY size "sphere" which could be made up of hexes and they'd all fit together? I know that a socker ball is covered with hexes and .... five pointed figures, and also happens to match a buckyball carbon molecule. I want to know if it can be done using only hexes if you make it big enough. What a world map you could make!

Obviously I haven't been pondering TOO hard, or I'd have found some geometry forum somewhere and posted the question. So, any science experts who know the answer or an easy way to find it?

-Ubercat

quote:

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets
And that reporting engine is called, ...?

quote:

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

quote:

ORIGINAL: Ubercat

quote:

ORIGINAL: abj9562

quote:

ORIGINAL: Ubercat

quote:

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

quote:

ORIGINAL: Jaguar


Wow, I just had an idea. I could build a metal cylinder, ten feet high with a seventeen foot circumference, mount the map onto it, put it in the middle of my great room and use magnetic counter clips to play. That would certainly give the concept of a global conflict

Of course, my spousal unit is quite likely to take umbrage with this idea; however, I might be able to bribe her with that new Harley she has been asking about for the past few years. A rather expensive enterprize just to play a game, but what the heck is money for if not to entertain.

Not a 17 foot diameter. A 5.4 foot diameter is all you need to achieve a circumference fo 17 feet.

That sounds like an awesome project. You'd have to be VERY precise though. It would suck if you did all the work and it was a couple inches too big or too small.

-Ubercat

Or perhaps make the map out of a heat shrink plastic and mount it on a ball put it on a pole and tilt the axis. A MWiF globe eh!

Your post reminds me of a question I've been pondering. Is there ANY size "sphere" which could be made up of hexes and they'd all fit together? I know that a socker ball is covered with hexes and .... five pointed figures, and also happens to match a buckyball carbon molecule. I want to know if it can be done using only hexes if you make it big enough. What a world map you could make!

Obviously I haven't been pondering TOO hard, or I'd have found some geometry forum somewhere and posted the question. So, any science experts who know the answer or an easy way to find it?

-Ubercat

The word you want is tesselations. I am familiar with the common ones for 2 dimensions but not for 3 dimensions.

quote:



Your post reminds me of a question I've been pondering. Is there ANY size "sphere" which could be made up of hexes and they'd all fit together? I know that a socker ball is covered with hexes and .... five pointed figures, and also happens to match a buckyball carbon molecule. I want to know if it can be done using only hexes if you make it big enough. What a world map you could make!

Obviously I haven't been pondering TOO hard, or I'd have found some geometry forum somewhere and posted the question. So, any science experts who know the answer or an easy way to find it?

-Ubercat

quote:

ORIGINAL: SamuraiProgrammer

As for the Hex Geodesic...I just spent an hour writing a specious 'proof' that it could not be done.

I read it to my wife and she said "couldn't you just.....' 

That prompted me to do some more searching in a different way.

Feast your eyes upon this....

http://www.sou.edu/cs/sahr/dgg/pubs/gdggs03.pdf

Specifically page 13.

Also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geodesic_grid


Perhaps Steve can work this out for Version 3  ????

(Run Duck Cover and HIDE!!!!)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Dean

quote:

ORIGINAL: SamuraiProgrammer

Ubercat,

A good 9-5 job working for business programming in a small independent consulting firm will give you a wonderful education on all aspects of programming except, perhaps, DirectX.  Try to find someone that will mentor you in high level design.  It will make you more valuable (i.e. higher salary) and expose you to the kinds of tasks that are important.  I'm sure Steve would agree that those skills are as important as graphics manipulation skills when it comes to game programming.

I have received an education reading Steve's monthly status reports.  He is, no doubt, the most organized programmer I have ever seen.

Good Luck!  Keep after it!!

Remember, the only difference between dreams and goals is the application of effort.

Dean

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ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

"How do I get out of here? How can I get back in?"

quote:

ORIGINAL: SamuraiProgrammer

quote:

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

"How do I get out of here? How can I get back in?"

OH MY GOD! BRILLIANT

I think you summed up the meaning of life for most of the male population of the world in two questions.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

quote:

ORIGINAL: Jaguar


Wow, I just had an idea. I could build a metal cylinder, ten feet high with a seventeen foot circumference, mount the map onto it, put it in the middle of my great room and use magnetic counter clips to play. That would certainly give the concept of a global conflict

Of course, my spousal unit is quite likely to take umbrage with this idea; however, I might be able to bribe her with that new Harley she has been asking about for the past few years. A rather expensive enterprize just to play a game, but what the heck is money for if not to entertain.

Not a 17 foot diameter. A 5.4 foot diameter is all you need to achieve a circumference fo 17 feet.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

Programming, like many other jobs has specialists and generalists. If you specialize, you can be very valuable ($) as long as the demand exceeds the supply for that specialty.

The highest risk in programming is to specialize is some area that later becomes obsolete. Then no one wants to hire you, much less pay you the salary you were used to when your specialty was all the rage. Specialized skills are also pretty much useless unless you are part of a team, so you better have good interpersonal skills.

Most importantly, the knowledge required in the field of programming grows every year - with detris falling off and forming a wake behind (pun intended). "Adapt or die." Or as Dylan said: "He who is not busy being born, is busy dying." The net is extraordinary growth in the requisite knowledge base if you want to be all things to all people. To do so, you would spend all your time learning and have no time left for doing. Hence, inevitably there are going to be areas where you have to rely on specialists. They can do tasks in their field of specialty at least an order of magnitude faster then generalists. Think in terms of 2 rather boring hours versus 2 weeks of pain and suffering.

I chose to specialize in a few areas, mostly related to mathematical simulation models, artificial intelligence, and graphical user interface. That was feasible in 1980 but the fields have grown so much, I am far from being a specialist in any of them now.

The skill set that serves me best these days are my project management skills (MBA 1976) combined with my predisposition to puzzle solving (from birth apparently - "How do I get out of here? How can I get back in?"). Oh, and writing. Being able to express ideas clearly in the printed word is very valuable almost everywhere. Verbally too, of course. And the ever present need to get along with others.

But I am drifting, time to get back to air mission code.

quote:

ORIGINAL: abj9562

Steve,

Are these maps a reality or not? If they are - I am really interested in obtaining them. I have a suggestion on how to print these.  Perhaps seperate the map into approx six 5'x5.66' sections ( 3 north and 3 south of the equator). This way the maps can be prepared for magnetized wall mounting.

By the way here is the procedure for mounting without needing a sheetmetal worker or carpentry skills.

*Laminate the maps prior ro mounting.
Use adhsive flexible thin steel (RubberSteel TM) sheeting under the maps. This stuff is inceredibly thin.
**Use adhesive magnetic sheets on the wall the same size as the flex steel on the maps reverse side.
Place the maps on the magnetic sheets on the wall.
The maps are now laminated, magnetized, and hung on a wall.
Counters will be printed on 0.12mm inkjet printable magnetic vinyl sheets.
Print seperate front and reverse sides.
Use a notebook with paper printed copies to match front and rear counters when necessary.
*Laminate, cut and trim the counters and you are ready for play.

* Lamination is not necessary but it does keep the counters and maps reusable as it protects from skin oils, dust and debris.
** Larger and smaller areas may be used on the wall as desired. If you magnetize many games you might want to set the magnetic wall size to a larger area or use magnetized paint and you can hang your maps anywhere. If you use magnetized paint check the pull strength of the magnets and the flex steel to ensure they will hold. This type of paint can usually be found in most specialty paint stores. I never checked Home Depot or Lowe's.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Shannon V. OKeets

quote:

ORIGINAL: abj9562

Steve,

Are these maps a reality or not? If they are - I am really interested in obtaining them. I have a suggestion on how to print these.  Perhaps seperate the map into approx six 5'x5.66' sections ( 3 north and 3 south of the equator). This way the maps can be prepared for magnetized wall mounting.

By the way here is the procedure for mounting without needing a sheetmetal worker or carpentry skills.

*Laminate the maps prior ro mounting.
Use adhsive flexible thin steel (RubberSteel TM) sheeting under the maps. This stuff is inceredibly thin.
**Use adhesive magnetic sheets on the wall the same size as the flex steel on the maps reverse side.
Place the maps on the magnetic sheets on the wall.
The maps are now laminated, magnetized, and hung on a wall.
Counters will be printed on 0.12mm inkjet printable magnetic vinyl sheets.
Print seperate front and reverse sides.
Use a notebook with paper printed copies to match front and rear counters when necessary.
*Laminate, cut and trim the counters and you are ready for play.

* Lamination is not necessary but it does keep the counters and maps reusable as it protects from skin oils, dust and debris.
** Larger and smaller areas may be used on the wall as desired. If you magnetize many games you might want to set the magnetic wall size to a larger area or use magnetized paint and you can hang your maps anywhere. If you use magnetized paint check the pull strength of the magnets and the flex steel to ensure they will hold. This type of paint can usually be found in most specialty paint stores. I never checked Home Depot or Lowe's.

Thanks.

I am still pursuing this but it has low priority for me. I am wondering if there is a material/media that might save the lamination step you describe. I always placed maps under glass to protect them from the elements and to keep them flat. But if we could identify a media that eliminated both the lamination and the glass, that would be a big plus I think.

Criteria I have so far for the media are:
1 - lie flat.
2 - be thin enough that magnetic counters can be used.
3 - display colors accurately.
4 - shown each pixel cleanly/clearly.

6 pieces sounds like a good idea, simply for shipping and storage purposes. Though we could go with uninterrupted strips 10 feet high and make them narrower. For your 6 pieces, where would you want the N-S breaks to occur?