beskhu3epnm's Mapping Projects

[beskhu3epnm]

HAR HAR...!!

Maybe I should be praying to you then??

Awesome....

[Shadow Assassin]

Aww, but then Wou'll get jealous, because he's the resident deity.

Anyways, if you can't upload onto the LEX, maybe you'll have to dump it on FileDen or somewhere like that for the time being... 

[beskhu3epnm]

OK,

Advanced Preview of the Columbia River Valley map. Shoot me a DL just for kicks once it gets up on the LEX.

If anyone else is checking this out, drop me a comment once it's up!!

(Link removed... - Go to the LEX you cheapskates!)

[Shadow Assassin]

Awesome.

The download speed on that's horrendous, though... only 20kb/sec compared to my normal 160kb/sec...

It's downloading as I post.

[beskhu3epnm]

yech... well Fileden definitely isn't the LEX. Plus you don't get my upload image:



11MB right on the pin too.... (sigh). I think the elevations are a little more extreme. Invermere Valley checked in at under 10 and is a very similar map...

[Shadow Assassin]

It is a beautiful map, though. The first time I attempted to import it into SC4Mapper, it crashed. But the second time, it worked perfectly.

Meanwhile, I'm gonna try it out.

[beskhu3epnm]

The map is now on the LEX!!

[HabLeUrG]

excellent work 

[Vandy]

Hello, Travis.

yech... well Fileden definitely isn't the LEX. Plus you don't get my upload image:



11MB right on the pin too.... (sigh). I think the elevations are a little more extreme. Invermere Valley checked in at under 10 and is a very similar map...

Well, once again you've proven just how good a map-maker you really are.  Your real world maps are top notch; absolutely first rate.  This is a superb map that should give anyone using it a tremedous amount of variety in what to build and where to build it.

Great work!

Regards,

Gary

[Shadow Assassin]

The maps I've opened up are simply nothing short of spectacular. Kudos to you!

[beskhu3epnm]

Of course!! I would never lie to anyone, this is one of the most ridiculous regions for SC4 in the history of SC4. It will take a skilled eye to spot areas to develop within the narrower valleys.

The hardest part I think is going to be "where do I start?"

I hope you enjoy your time with the map and not give up on it. I'd hate to be the only one running it!

[Shadow Assassin]

I couldn't find one of the plateaus you were talking about, but I did find a relatively flat basin in the mountains which will be ideal for a missile silo or the like.

[beskhu3epnm]

You know something like the Tokyo Tower or a similar radio-type tower would look great in a lot of locations. I'll see if I can get that location for you in an image (and approximate location) ASAP.

Even a small cross on the summit of one of the higher peaks. There are actually 2 plateaus to build on which I spotted.... I gotta dig for an image... I'll go get em.

I can do an information session of some of the more prominent peaks. I have ascended a few in RL and can attest to the accuracy!

[beskhu3epnm]

OK Here goes:

Area of Plateaus

This image shows the approximate are of the plateaus I was talkin about. Plateau 2 looks a bit less likely to happen, I suppose. Well, something could go up there...

Closeup

This image is a closeup of said plateaus (both in same image. Plateau 2 is hardly a plateau, but is somewhat buildable). They are both directly adjacent to the main valley giving a hell of a vista. I was on top of Castle Rock (Plateau 2 - Looks a little like Castle GreySkull), and cars look like little dots, 3 storey buildings like small boxes (like the "online" box of SC4D) and the scenery was fabulous.

Catamount Glacier

NW portion of the map (see RC at the top). High elevation glacier. Don't think you'll be building on these, but....

Eyebrow Peak (3362m) Birthday Peak (3011m) Starbird Glacier

Some very high peaks in the region. Just a note, the map has been lowered 550m from RL elevations to conform with SC4 sea level of 250m.

Jumbo (3437m) Karnak (3411m)

Western portion of the map. Been on the Commander Glacier (adjacent to these twin massifs). Quite a thrill, really. I'm not a real great climber, I like to attend different types of areas, is all. This one is quite steep, the SC4 in gae doesn't do it justice. Try 3D on SC4TF for the real pictures....

Delphine (3406m)

The Delphine Glacier is below the 3406m peak. Seen this one from all angles. GASP! Camped out at the base of the waterfalls on the basin below the glacier.

Nelson (3313m)

This is my first real climb, scheduled for next summer. Should be in for a rough ride, 2000m elevation gain. A real slog. You can see this mountain from the valley over 20km away (in SC4TF as well). A distinctive looking mountain.


Peter (3360m) Farnham (3483m) Hammond (3387m)

The main uplift in the region. Tallest is dead centre, at nearly 3500m. An extremely difficult climb. Tallest peak in the Purcell Range. Also has a strange molar shaped tower on the end of one of it's ridges @3350m or so.

Slade (3252m)

Tiny old Mt.Slade measures in at a mere 3252m (!!!). Can see this one from some perspectives in the valley as well.

Well that's all the showcase for now. If you all haven't downloaded the map yet, you'd better do it now! SA, the plateaus have been highlighted. Hopefully you find a use for this beast...

[Shadow Assassin]

Indeed I will.

Thanks for the info, it should be helpful to not just me, but everybody else as well, too.

[pvarcoe]

Just spent the last two weeks in this valley, and just got home.

Beautiful spot, and I managed to get a fair bit of hiking and geocaching in.

How cool to see this up as an NHP map!

Super job, if only I wasn't tied to another region already 

[beskhu3epnm]

Uncle Phil!

I used to reside here, so I have a vested interest in the area. I have a couple of climbing dates set for some mountains in the previous shots. It is a wonderful valley, the more time you spend there, the more you feel it. Others likely have a location that gives them similar feelings, etc... just I choose to share mine!

Have you checked out Panorama Mountain Village? Or Radium Hot Springs? Where did you stay, etc.? Did you make a hike up Mt. Swansea? See Mt. Nelson? (See above).

Always good to touch base with someone who has been there. Aren't you from Manitoba (if my memory serves me correct)?

Anyways, when you are ready to play the region, drop me a line, bro! Take care!!

Travis

[pvarcoe]

Hey Travis.

Your right about Manitoba.
I did drive partway to Panorama.
We were staying at Akiskinook, a condo complex about 4 miles from Invermere, on the east side of the lake.
Went to Radium, and Fairmont hot springs.
Funny you should mention Mt. Swansea....

I went geocache hunting (like treasure hunting with a GPS device).
It showed a cache up near the top (looked like the top) of Swansea, and said you could drive most of the way there.
We started up this jeep road. I have a 4 wheel drive, so I figured no problem.
It started getting a little hairy about 2/3 of the way up (ok, quite hairy for me).
The trail was deeply rutted and I was straddling the ruts as to not bottom out.

Finally about 1.4 k from the cache, I decided to park and hike the rest of the way.
Still following the jeep trail, we walked about 2k. The GPS still said 1.4k to the cache.
Stupid switchbacks, (or rather stupid me for not reading the distance in terms of "as the crow flies")
Anyway, we bailed about 1k from summit, and retreated, hoping to be better prepared to tackle it another time.

On the way down we cut across some switchbacks by walking some of the biking trails.
Huge drop offs and ramps along these trails.
I pride myself on my mountain biking skills, but these were extreme drop-offs.
No way I'd attempt these. Wild stuff, but very cool.

Sad to say I didn't get back there this year, but I hope to be back in the valley next year...
so you never know.

But all in all, a gorgeous valley, and your map certainly does it justice.

Take care
Phil

[beskhu3epnm]

Neato story Phil!

Mt. Swansea, I pondered driving up with a rental I had (car-based SUV). I checked the route by foot first, and said "no way!" We then hiked up to the lookout by foot. A great view for sure. The switchbacks are a bit tedious as well. On the way down, we started skipping switchbacks. Someone seen us who was on their way up, and proceeded to lecture us about trail erosion, etc. Well, dammit, I'm in a hurry!

The other drivable road out there is The Paradise Mine road. Since you mentioned you only drove partway to Panorama, I believe you may have stopped here for some geocaching. The roadway is at the back of a clearing (old tailings pond) and begins a steep climb to an old mine site. The road continues on, turning into a nerveracking high alpine road, bringing you to about 2400m elevation on top of the ridge. You can then traverse down the other side and travel to Radium Hot Springs. I tell you, I got about halfway up this road past the mine site..... (heart attack). Something about being in a vehicle while being exposed to that much air. The road has also deteriorated some, I suppose. You need 4WD for this one.

There are some good driving roads past Panorama continuing on Toby Creek Rd. You can get to Jumbo Creek FSR, and Delphine Creek FSR. Too bad you couldn't geocache up on Mt. Nelson (hell of a hike - 2000m elevation gain (2km - or 4 CM Towers)).

Anyways, I live in Ontario now, so no more fun

I used to know the owners of Akiskinook quite well....

Anyways, take care Phil,

Travis

[beskhu3epnm]

Time to drop a line on my latest projekts. I've been experimenting with different data sets.

For those that don't know datasets, I'm speaking about Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data. It's the root of all of my RL maps, and the quality of DEM is directly proportional to the quality of map in SC4 (terrain resolution).

Here are some common datasets:
Resolution     USGS tag                   Quality
90mSRTM      3 Arc Second              Horrible
60m             2 Arc Second               OK
30m             NED 1 Arc Second        Good
10m             NED 1/3 Arc Second     Superb
3m              NED 1/9 Arc Second     Unbelievable

Basically, the minimum resolution I like to operate at is 30m. Essentially what that means is that data is taken at 30m interleaves when creating the original data (through satellite radar imagery). Geobase offers 30m data for all of Canada, and INEGI offers 30m data for all of Mexico. In other regions of the world, there is no data it seems that goes beyond 90m. The Columbia River Valley map was made using 30m data.

Pretty much all international data is 90mSRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission). In SC4 speak, the SRTM mission snapped data polls every 90m or 6 SC4 tiles. You can imagine that this is incredibly poor.

On the other end of things, 3m data takes 5 data polls for every tile on SC4. If you think of that, it wouldn't co-relate to SC4 very well, as each tile has three horizontal points of reference (vertices). In my experience, 3m data is only slightly better than 10m data.

USGS (USA) is still the only organization in the world to have 10m datasets of the entire country (except Alaska @ 60m - haha dedgren!!). They also have 3m datasets for certain parts of the country (very limited).

My next two projects are Palm Springs, California in the 10m dataset, and Puget Sound Washington (Seattle) using 3m data.


10x11 large tiles in size, 10m data. Amazing resolution. One of my best yet!!


4x5 large tiles, 3m data - slightly better than 10m in SC4. The file was over 200MB in size when I went to download, compared to 70MB for the 10m version.

Typical city tile (cropped to 800x600 - grid left on for reference).


These will be uploaded to the LEX under a delayed timeframe in order to not flood it with maps. What do you think?