Land Of Stewart

[Hai-Etlik]

As Hai-Etlik will often point out, a graticule on a map implies some precision, and a crisp set of squares implies a certain couple of projections. If yours are lat/lon-related, you're only going to be plausible if this is a fairly restricted amount of latitude, near the equator. If they're simple locator grids, maybe you could put on alphabetic labels to ensure nobody thinks lat/lon. If it is lat/lon, and this is a wide expanse of latitude or particularly high latitude (maybe over 25 or 30 degrees N or S ?) you may want to try a grid appropriately curved for whatever you want your projection to be. If it's supposed to be a seriously-period piece, consider dumping the graticule altogether and doing rhumb lines or nothing. Search these boards for 'rhumb lines' to figure out their how/why. If this is for a game and you need a grid for play purposes, no problemo - it's a grid pure and simple and it's fine :-).

To be specific, it implies the Tangent Normal Equidistant Cylindrical Projection, (Platee Carre for simplicity) Which produces increasing distortion as you get further from the equator. Other projections will have graticules that get closer and closer to squares as you near the equator as well, if they are centred on or have the equator as a standard parallel.

A compass rose implies that compass bearings are preserved. This either means that the extent is small and the projection is centred on it, or that the Normal Mercator projection is being used (Which distorts scale quite radically to do so).

There's no scale bar which gives you more flexibility. No projection can universally preserve linear scale, so you have to be careful about adding a scale indicator. You can cover a continent with a well chosen projection without too much distortion of linear scale. Conic projections are a good first choice.

In summary, if you want to preserve bearings, call it Normal Mercator, drop the graticule, add rhumb lines or a Mercator graticule, and don't add a scale. If you want to preserve scale, drop the compass and the graticule, put in a graticule for some more appropriate projection (Determining what's appropriate depends on the extent and location), and then add a scale indicator (a scale bar or text scale) As jbgibson said, if the grid is something for say, a game, then this doesn't apply.

[Borthar]

The squares are one day travel. It is for a game. This is a zoomed in piece of the land.

Thanks. I will work on it.