User:VickiTori/Highway Shields

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Upon going on to the server, Vickiposa was disappointed at the regular highway shields used in the New World Highway System. So, she decided to make an alternate shield that was more visually appealing and distinguished A- and B-roads. Some routes, such as the B88 between Carnoustie and Kaloro City, primarily identify with this set of shields, but others, such as B846, use both the official shield and this redesigned shield.

NOTE: These are currently not officially endorsed by the MRT server government in any way. There is no serious movement by Vickiposa to redo all default shields due to the amount of effort it would take.

Features

  • Unique and visually attractive design.
  • Strong colors for visual distinction.
  • Better font.
  • Color distinction between different road classes.
  • Square shape to be easily ported onto a Mapsign.
  • Movement of the class letter (A/B) to the side due to the redundancy introduced by the colors.

Comparison

B-Class Version

The B-Class shield uses black designs on a white background, reminiscent with most low-level highways (e.g US state highways). These colors are also useful to be distinguished at night without as much aid.

A-Class Version

The A-Class shield uses white designs on a blue background, in order to mimic Interstate Highways and many other high-level highways around the world.

Naming Convention

If you wish to upload one of these shields to the wiki: use the following naming convention:

<File:Highway_xxxx_V.png>

where 'xxxx' is the road name (e.g. A8, B412, B999)

Making Your Own

In order to make your own version of one of these, please take the following steps (proven on Windows Only, don't know for Mac/Linux):

  • First, install Inkscape (free) or Illustrator (less free) onto your system. I believe Photoshop also works, not entirely sure.
  • If you don't have them already, install the Highway Gothic Font Family (particularly Condensed and Expanded) onto your system.
  • Download the template for B Class and/or A Class by right-clicking the link and selecting Save Link As...
  • Open it into your desired program. (If you get the prompt for which program to open it in, select one of the programs suggested on Step 1)
  • Edit the number however you wish (works with that size/font with all numbers up to 3 digits long, for most 4-digit numbers I would recommend decreasing font size)
  • Go to File -> Export PNG Image (or similar title)
  • Name it however you want (though if you're uploading it here keep this in mind).
  • And done, now you have an image that can be viewed, uploaded to the wiki, or converted into a mapsign!