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Re: [Rails-devel] SVG background maps (was: Release strategy - master vs. rails2develop)
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From: Stefan F. <ste...@we...> - 2014-12-09 10:09:35
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Frederick, no I am realistic that a designer of a map cares more about the SVG structure than you already did. I only wondered how far you went, most likely you define the upper limit of carefulness. ;-) My goal is to separate those parts of the background map, which are better generated/manipulated by the code and which by the human designer. My current thoughts are: * A hex grid SVG definition should be generated by a program. There are SVG online generators (e.g. http://axiscity.hexamon.net/users/isomage/misc/svg-hex.cgi), however I assume coding an own one, is not too difficult. This would allow to generate a hexgrid as a SVG based on Rails map definitions. * The hex grid could then be imported by a designer to add the background map. If Inkscape is used it is easy to separate the two parts (grid and map) by layers. * It is possible to add another SVG layer that shows the Rails predefined tiles on the hexgrid. This would make the designing task easier, at it would show, what content is expected in each hex. By using layers, it can be easily separated later on. I still have to think more about tiles. I would like to change tiles that it is possible to change them by code. This would imply that the base structure has to be defined manually to make code manipulation easier. The reason for that would be e.g. to add tokens, add offboard values, city names, all stuff that is already contained in the xml definitions. What do you (and others think) about that? Stefan Frederick Weld <fre...@go...>schrieb: Stefan: Actually, I use Inkscape as a WYSIWYG tool and do not bother about redundancies in the residual svg as long as the file size is less than 100k. I keep the layers and grouping in the pushed svg versions so that anyone could easily alter aspects of the svg. A lot of your questions are pointing into the direction that the designer needs to care more about the svg model. That could come with a lot of advantages but keep in mind that any compulsion to do this could potentially turn away WYSIWYG designers. Here are some answers: - The ids are auto-assigned but could be changed within the tool. - I don't think that Inkscape can be forced to retain the syntax of tiles copied from outside. - I am not aware of any in-tool support for css, but I could imagine that other tools (or even Inkscape with direct svg editing) provide for that. - I use separate hexes instead of a hex grid since I often need the hex definition to add a filling (eg., prelaid tiles at the coast). But I imagine that other designs could differ regarding this aspect. -- Frederick On Mon, Dec 8, 2014 at 6:09 PM, Stefan Frey<ste...@we... <mailto:ste...@we...>> wrote: Frederick: thanks a lot. Your feedback is really helpful. And I appreciate your functional but good-looking design. I am currently looking into how interact with the svg maps from inside the code. Maybe some questions up-front: * How did you (or Inkscape) assing ids to your elements? Is there any system to it, that relates to the actual 18xx definitions? * Is it possible to force Inkscape to use pre-defined styles for attributes (inline or external CSS) to reduce the replication inside the svg? * Inkscape seems to change the syntax of tile definitions at the time copying (e.g. uses relative coordinates instead of absolute coordinates for the path definitions). * It seems that it is possible to save it as plain svg without quality loss (however it prevents Inkscape to identify the layer information). * Do you have a good idea to avoid the duplication of drawing the hex borders? I think it would be a good idea to separate drawing the hex grid from the hex content to avoid that. I do not want to change the map code too much in 2.0, except for replacing batik. However I want to improve that in the next upcoming releases. So I am still very open for ideas. Stefan On 12/05/2014 03:12 PM, Frederick Weld wrote: > Stefan: > The hexes have the same size as the tile svgs. This makes it possible to > just copy required tiles (Altoona...) from the tile svg into the map. > > These tile svgs are the one very important element of reuse. > > I reuse further parts from my former maps - but this is rather pure > design (shape/color patterns for rendering...). > > I do not use any specific coordinate system and, as a result, I have to > calibrate the maps within the game to get the x/y/scale parameters. This > is no drawback though, as I often want to be able to make the decision > how much "padding" the grid needs within my map's layout... > > -- Frederick > > On Fri, Dec 5, 2014 at 2:51 PM, Stefan Frey <ste...@we... <mailto:ste...@we...> > <mailto:ste...@we... <mailto:ste...@we...>>> wrote: > > Frederick: > thanks for your feedback. > I assumed this by the size of the files, however I had no time yet > to look into details. > > One further question: What coordinates did you choose for your maps? > Is it identical across your maps? What is the size of one hexagon in > those coordinates. Have you already started to create single tiles > for reuse? I am keen on replacing the existing tile creation process > by a simpler one. > > Most likely you can guess where I am hinting at, but I will give > more details on Sunday. > > Great work, > Stefan > > > > > > Frederick Weld <fre...@go... <mailto:fre...@go...> > <mailto:fre...@go... <mailto:fre...@go...>>>schrieb: > > Stefan: > I use Inkscape for creating/editing the vector maps. They are > stored in svg format. I couldn't imagine any other combination > which would fit our needs here in a better manner. > > SVG files are verbose but their size gets shrunk by compression > to 10-15% of the original size. My maps are <100k when > compressed. Hence, I do not think this is a real issue. > > However, the situation is different for converted maps (in > rails, e.g, 18EU, 18AL). They include a lot of superfluous paths > (including paths instead of text) and get bloated and slow to > draw as a result. That (and copyright considerations) is why I > always build my maps from the scratch. > > The svg lib could be exchanged, of course. But as a > prerequisite, the new lib should be regression-free with respect > to exiting background maps. > > -- Frederick > > On Thu, Dec 4, 2014 at 12:14 PM, Stefan Frey<ste...@we... <mailto:ste...@we...> > <mailto:ste...@we... <mailto:ste...@we...>>> wrote: > > Frederick: > we could do that later on. Most people now know that > rails_2_develop is > the (default) branch for rails 2. > > My (future) release strategy is based on > > http://nvie.com/posts/a-successful-git-branching-model/ > > However I still consider moving the git repo (only the repo, > not the > other parts) to github, then this will happen with the > official rails > 2.0 release. > > I am looking forward to seeing more maps from you. > > One question: In which format and tools do you create your > maps? > > Most likely you will know that I intend to replace the Batik > lib soon. > However which long-run strategy to choose how display > maps/tiles for Rails. > > In the short-run I will simply replace Batik by a more > light-weight SVG > library, but I am open to recommendations. > > Stefan > > > On 12/04/2014 10:16 AM, Frederick Weld wrote: > > Stefan: > > There is no standard 1830 map yet. I will probably do > that after the > > Coalfield map has been reviewed (bgg) and thoroughly > play-tested. > > > > How about labeling rails_2_develop as master? Then the > meaning would be > > clear: Current state of validated development which is > eligible for the > > next release. > > > > -- Frederick > > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Download BIRT iHub F-Type - The Free Enterprise-Grade > BIRT Server > > from Actuate! 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