Journeyometer 2: Rivendell is live!

[Glorelendil]

Gah....

So I'm working on adding Eastern Eriador to this web app, and in converting the PDF map to JPG I realized that one of the export parameters is pixel resolution. I'm not sure what I setting I used for Wilderland, but I'm sure that's what causes the problems for people trying to export the map: you have to have the same ppi as I used. I'll figure out what that number was and add it to the instructions. At the moment I'm using 200 ppi for Easter Eriador; that makes the hexes noticeably smaller, and the text larger, than Wilderland but it started to look pixelated if I went larger.

I might just default to some value, but make it user-editable so that you can all tune it to work at whatever scale works best for you.

[Hermes Serpent]

I'm running my aging laptop at 90dpi (11.25inch screen width and 1024x768). So presumably something between 100 and 200 dpi will work best.

[Glorelendil]

I'm aiming for a resolution that looks about like the original PDFs when opened at Actual Size resolution.

I've got it loading both maps now, with the hexes scaling/adjusting appropriately for each map. You toggle between Wilderland and Eriador from the gear tab in the control panel; the same place you load the images. In theory it will be straightforward to add future maps like Western Eriador, Rohan & Gondor, Beleriand, etc.

(Ok, wishful thinking on Beleriand.)

Sorry it won't be seamless between Wilderland and Eriador; you have to choose one or the other.

The next step is tagging all the hexes for the various regions, which is the worst part of the process.

EDIT: Figured I'd update here rather than post anew, and avoid bumping the thread.

Update: I haven't started tagging regions yet. Have been mired in a major refactoring of the code. The good news is that everything is cleaner and zippier and more stable.

[Rue]

Definitely buying you a Bear if we ever meet.

[Glorelendil]

Ok, I need some feedback from those of you using (or planning to use) the Journeyometer:

1) It's been bothering me since the beginning that some hexes seem evenly spit between two (or more) regions; which region they should be depends on the route you're using. Example: if you're traveling up the west side of the Dusky River you're unlikely to cross over to the east side for a single hex, even if that is the straightest route. As it is now each hex only belongs to one region, which means some routes counterintuitively jump back and forth across borders.

The solution I'm contemplating is to mark those hexes in the database as belonging to several regions. When calculating a journey it will consider those hexes as belonging to the same region as the adjacent cells. If the adjacent cells are different it will pick the "safest" region. (E.g. it will assume you're going to travel in Western Eaves instead of Heart of Mirkwood, given the choice.) There might be some edge cases where it has you hopping back and forth across a river.

2) "Good Roads". I'm not sure how to handle the East Road and the Greenway. The most expedient way would be to treat them as their own regions, with the same type ("Wild" "Shadow" etc.) as the regions they traverse, but with "Good Road" terrain. But the software then won't recognize what region you're actually in.

The slower way would be to add code that looks for hexes flagged as Good Road and treat them differently. That's more of a pain, and I worry about introducing new bugs.

The flaw with both approaches is that if you cross the road perpendicularly, it will still treat the whole 20 mile hex as "Good Road". However....if I do make them their own regions and I solve the multi-region hex problem above, with one little logic tweak (prioritize "Good Road" when looking at adjacent cells) it should recognize the difference between traveling along a road and crossing one.

This solution could work for rivers, too, although with some extra work (have to mark direction of flow and provide a checkbox for whether boats are being used.)

Thoughts?

In the meantime, I'm busy tagging regions in Eastern Eriador, then I need to tag locations, and it should be ready for release.

[Glorelendil]

Ok, Version 2: RIvendell is up and running. Same URL. It has a few known bugs, but none that should keep you from using it.

FILE CONVERSION INSTRUCTIONS
Whatever utility you use to convert PDFs to JPG, convert Wilderland at 150 PPI (pixels per inch) and Easter Eriador at 200 PPI. Sorry for this annoying step.

[jamesrbrown]

I am using a MacBook and Preview to convert the Eastern Eriador PDF into a JPEG at 200 ppi and the map isn't lining up; it loads too small. Should I increase the overall size of the map first? If so, what size?

My Loremaster's Map is still working perfectly and all I did was convert it from PDF to JPEG using Preview.

NEVERMIND! I got it to work correctly. For some reason, when I was converting to 200 ppi, Preview wasn't saving the setting. I had to go in and manually save it. I kept loading the map at 150 ppi without realizing it, thinking I had converted it to 200 ppi.

[Glorelendil]

Glad it worked out. Again, sorry for the contortions necessary. If/when C7 puts .jpg version of their maps on the web I'll link to those. (And if that's not a hint, Bilbo isn't a Hobbit.)

Heads up for the future: the recent discussions about artwork has motivated me to add image tagging. Which means you'll be able to click on any cell and see images from around the Internet that LMs could use for that cell and/or region. Players in Mirkwood? Click on a cell in Mirkwood and see some good Mirkwoody images.

How are those images going to get in there? You'll be able to add them (you'll need a password from me, and all images will be tagged by user in case anybody abuses the system.)

To avoid copyright complications I'm only going to use URLs, not actual image uploads, and will always both attribute and link to the source.

[Rich H]

... Where the f*** do you find the time, Elfcrusher?!?!?

[Francesco]

...Elfcrusher,one word: awesome!

Oh, another two: thank you!

Francesco