Re: Xconq Maps from GIS Data

[mskala@ansuz.sooke.bc.ca]

On Fri, 17 Sep 2004, D. Cooper Stevenson wrote:
> I am working to build an aggressive new image set for XCONQ. I'll just
> come right out and say it: I want to build a map made from actual
> Geographical Information System Images.

I've been working on making such a map for Antarctica.  Haven't touched it
in a little while because I became busy with some other things, but a
preliminary version is at http://ansuz.sooke.bc.ca/temporary/map.g.  I
have a more recent version based on better data, for which I've also made
a simple game module translating the terrain types such that you can play
the default game on it.  I have in mind to create a more elaborate
specifically-Antarctic game involving the idea from Lovecraft's fiction
that Antarctica is full of the ruins of pre-human civilization, but I set
that aside for a while because I was heavily using the background economy
features, and those seemed to be changing too rapidly.  Anyway, if people
would like to see what I've got so far I'll slap some documentation on it
and post it somewhere.

My current version (not the one currently posted) mostly draws from the
RAMP DEM, which is a digital elevation model pieced together for use in
correcting RADARSAT data.  I got it via
http://nsidc.org/data/nsidc-0082.htm - if I remember correctly one has to
fill out a form to get access, and the mini-essay I wrote explaining how
this was an educational project was no doubt entertaining reading for
whoever approves such things, but they did approve it, so fine.  I also
got some surface classification information from another US Government
source that I don't remember off the top of my head (I have it written
down somewhere or other).  The special challenge for Antarctica was coming
up with meaningful terrain types, since the continent is basically just a
sheet of ice.

Most of the data I got came as ASCII lists of points with decimal lat/long
coordinates.  I wrote some Perl scripts to translate the ASCII lat/lon
coordinates into hex-grid coordinates, take a vote of surface types within
each hex grid, and then assign the cell the majority terrain type of
points within the cell.  There were a few other subtleties which, again, I
don't remember off the top of my head but have written down to go into the
document that will eventually accompany the game module.

From a game perspective, I think one thing you'll have to face is that
there won't be a universal automated way of doing this - you will have to
customize your GIS/Xconq translation to the individual map you're
doing.  My Antactic map is probably the extreme in that line, but
the same will be true of any map.  You'll also want to fuse multiple data
sources if you want to get a really good map.

I have some background in this stuff because I worked for just over a year
total, in a couple of co-op and contract terms for a Canadian government
remote sensing lab.  If you or others want to talk about making Xconq maps
from GIS data in a serious way, I'd be interested in participating.  It's
also possible that we might even put together a paper about it that we
could publish at a conference or something, since doing it right will
actually involve doing some new research on GIS that the GIS research
community would probably find interesting.
-- 
Matthew Skala
mskala@ansuz.sooke.bc.ca                    Embrace and defend.
http://ansuz.sooke.bc.ca/