World Background Maps

[3rik]

Just for the record! Max says this at the finish of his post.

so aside of local tweaks the projection of both games is (and most probably will be) lambert conical, which is overall best (preserving distances,
areas and shapes to good degree). its exact parameters are in environmental data (climate.sii)

In BOTH ETS2 and ATS I use Lambert Conical map projection with the parameters taken from climate.sii definition file. Go figure!

EDIT: It's even documented WAY BACK in this topic for those who can read!

well then why dosent it match up with the scs background?
it mostly matches in europe but he said that they warped europe when they changed the background, so central europe is technically still the old projection.
i dont want to point fingers here but someone, either you or scs, has made a mistake somewhere
edit: i remembered that you said that once, which is why i asked again. there are 120 pages here, i dont have the time to read through them all xD

[BenganJ]

Can someone please render a background image using the parameters from the climate.sii file,
making it at least as big as it covers the most used maps today, i.e. RusMap, SRMap, Project
Turkey, TGS and Road to Aral?

[3rik]

Can someone please render a background image using the parameters from the climate.sii file,
making it at least as big as it covers the most used maps today, i.e. RusMap, SRMap, Project
Turkey, TGS and Road to Aral?

ill do it if you tell me what program i should use
(also, i have the base game unpacked but i cant find the climate.sii file, can you tell me where that is too?)

[BenganJ]

At the Nov 15th 2017 we got the following answer to a question from Max at SCS.

Gazer75 wrote: ?15 Nov 2017 16:11
I believe SCS changed the projection for the in game map a while back.

indeed.
rescale was opportunity to fix more things. before we had USA map in
mercator projection (north border was line) and washington state has
similar size as texas. now we have lambert conical projection (most
used projection in north american atlases) - it preserves distances,
areas, good enough shapes and locally angles. the only thing is that
east-west direction is curved, but you cannot see it in game, and on
map you may expect it as USA are depicted like this commonly.

disadvantage is that map is heavily distorted in bigger distances
from USA.

btw, ets2 map is also conical projection just with different params.

There we get the confirmation that both ATS and ETS2 have changed from the old Mercator
to the new Lambert Conic map projection.

Now, thanks to The Clumsy Geek, who posted simple and well formulated questions
aimed at SCS about this sublect, we got the following answer from Max at June 4th 2020.

old projection and its usage was incorrect.
game used mercator for computations. ETS background was taken random map and later just glued with other random maps (with UK hack). ATS map background was at least correct mercator - which lead to its own issues.

ATS rescale was answer to more such issues. map was generated by correct projection used in most US map views and overall best for our application (lambert conical). pieces of modelled map was placed and rotated correctly and missing roads filled.
ETS was revised at that time and we realized that original background is relatively close to correct lambert (used in most map of europe). so we generated proper large scale map, and warped original backrgound to fit proper projection, that fixed all future dlcs and some existing. we then just tweaked center of map and UK especially to fit already modelled part of maps (at those are tough to change, but theoretically may be subject to some re-skin activities eventually). but all outlying map parts are based on correct projection.

so aside of local tweaks the projection of both games is (and most probably will be) lambert conical, which is overall best (preserving distances, areas and shapes to good degree). its exact parameters are in environmental data (climate.sii)

Once again we got the confirmation that both games use the Lambert Conic map projection
with parameters defined in the respective game's climate.sii file.

Clumsy also got another answer from Max due to a follow-up question.

yes basically. although we are working on different copy currently (with added new dlc roads), the "material/editor/europe_bgn.dds" is in exactly the same projection as our current working background map.

the projection is very good for europe (only around 1% of distortion on edges), but i do not know if or how well it is usable further in russia. so no idea what should be used for russian east cost at all.
if really need such map, just generate euroasia in the very same projection and then try to match our already existing europe.
Nobody can tell you anything about it. Those who know about it aren't allowed to talk. And those who talk know nothing.

There I think we get the answer that the current Map Editor background image is in the Lambert Conic map
projection too.

Now my statements:

• What's important is that the Map Editor (ME) BGs are created in the new Lambert projection so they will generate properly located map data.
• ALL my Map Editor BGs, that I have supported various mapping teams with, ARE created in that projection.
• For the users of the games I have also created game UI BGs in that projection.
• NOTE, map projections are all about mathematics and I have used the SCS defined and specified parameters in resp. climate.sii file.
• If you want to check the correctness of my map creations, in ATS, activate latest C2C and Canadream together with SCS own map data, with my
  Universal BG map for ATS, NOT dOOmERdaZE's one, at the very top of the Mod Manager. Then check the fitness of the BG to the map data. That BG
  is larger than the area SCS has created in ETS2, so any mistake from me would show SERIOUS deviations.

The things that will happen now is, that I will correct the latest released versions of the ETS2 BGs, as I managed to shift UK to the left, and that
was definitely NOT the goal. So, when the 1.4 version of these are released, pretty soon I hope, there will not be ANY more work necessary on
them, as they have the correct projection and covers any new map releases for a long time, I think. Signing off now! I have a lot of other things
to work with, so BFN!

[Uffetjur]

Looking forward to your updated work Bengan and i really hope with that everyone will be satisfied with the result
Just thinking, will that 1% of distortion that MAx is talking about create the error in misplacement for ME addon?

"yes basically. although we are working on different copy currently (with added new dlc roads), the "material/editor/europe_bgn.dds" is in exactly the same projection as our current working background map.

the projection is very good for europe (only around 1% of distortion on edges)"

[BenganJ]

@Uffetjur

Max is talking about the area between 37th and 65th latitude, which also are parameters
to define the Lambert Conical map projection. Above and below those latitudes the
distortion will be progressively greater the further away you get! So far, ALL SCS map data
is between those latitudes, Promods is not!

EDIT: Note, that area between the latitudes encompass the whole globe around. Most of
Russia and China e.g. are located between those latitudes.

[3rik]

What will your corrections in the next update change?

[BenganJ]

====== Folks! All three ETS2 Universal BGs has been updated to version 1.4. ======
===== UK restored to it's proper place again. Thanks CAPLV for pointing it out! ====

[3rik]

on the latest update scs corsica, sicily and sardinia are all slightly misaligned.
i dont remember this being there before?

[CAPLV]

@BenganJ Thumbs up!!