Am I Going Mad

[stugibsonca]

I am the first to admit that I am not an artist. My cartographic work has been with the bleeding edge of the digital GIS, photogrammetry and production technologies through the 80' and 90's. However, I do know what the ground looks like, and the Liberation 1944 maps bear no resemblance to France (or anyplace else for that matter) at all. Unless of course the topography of Northern France and the colors of the countryside has changed immensely since 1944.

Shrinkage has been an issue in the map printing industry forever and not only for gamers. All media used in professional cartographic circles from glass photographic plates, through the more modern film stock used in aerial photography and photo lithography had the same issues. Great pains had to be taken to ensure that the resulting errors were minimized, often using mechanical means. Since the mid-eighties digital capture, visualization and reproduction have been a boon for cartographers and now geomatics professionals of all kinds. And yes, the transition was a nightmare technically and with the hide bound decision makers who had difficulty seeing the possibilities for the new data technologies. But that is another story...

I hate being critical of their efforts, and I do realize that APL has taken steps to sort out graphics issues of late. I can only hope that the consistency and design control shown with the counter art becomes a key ingredient of the PG maps in future.