Create my own addresses, roads and ways on a custom world map

Question

I'm currently new using Google Maps API v3 Javascript, and I have some questions.

The project

It's for a specific RPG. This is a game with its own world map, its own cities, frontiers and roads. So a full map, which I can create easily any data to import in any database, xml, json, kml... ANYTHING ! :) So I'd like to use any API to make a map for this game.

What I need

In fact, I'd like to create a whole new map, completely out of our world map. So, I need to import datas about towns, cities, frontiers and roads. Then, I need a system that can calculates the way between 2 cities by searching the available roads between the points. I know it can be hard because it's almost making another full Google Map but for another "world", and I'd really like to make it.

My questions

Is it possible with Google Maps ? Or do I have to look for, like Openstreetmap or another ? Do I have to develop a whole "Geocoder" server ? For sure it's gonna be less weight than Google, because this RPG's world is not bigger than France or England, and it's an RPG so there is not as much details as in our real world, but if it's really needed to make an API, let's do it then ! I put an example of the project on the web but I can't show it in public for security and copyright reasons, so I can send the link to some of you if you really need something more "concrete".

It would be such a real pleasure for you all to help me, or at least to guide me for all the "how-to's", cuz if this project comes to birth, it would be such an amazing unique work in any RPG game !

Answer 1

You might like to take a look at Open Geofiction, which uses OpenStreetMap technology to create an imaginary world. The fact that it's in standard OSM format allows you to use any OpenStreetMap-compatible route calculation system, and in fact any other software that handles the format.

You can sign up and build your own country, and the fact that your country is intended to be no larger than France means that there is plenty of room for your project. You can request your own territory.

Answer 2

Google Maps will give you a "slippy map" framework, plus a lot of stuff specific to Earth: geocoding, places, routing over roads, etc. The stuff specific to Earth is, well, specific to Earth, so not all that useful to you: I think all you could use Google Maps for is the slippy map framework, and given Google's licensing restrictions, you are probably better off using a different one, like Leaflet.

The Open Street Map project has two things: data about the Earth and tools for populating the data set. While the data won't be interesting to you, the tools probably would be, and keeping the data on OSM format would allow you to use OSM routing and search tools.

For geocoding: it's your world, so you can determine what the street addresses look like, which might make it easier to geocode. (One of the things that makes geocoding difficult on Earth is ambiguity: 234-3410 Mt. St. Michel Rd SE, Fooville, WA might be the same as 3410 SE Mount Saint Michel Road #234, Fooville, WA, 98279.)

Answer 3

Using software from the OpenStreetMap ecosystem would work, but only if you are willing to invest considerable effort to set up all of the required software components, databases and so on.

To be clear, you wouldn't upload your personal data to the OpenStreetMap servers, but rather convert it to OpenStreetMap's data format. Depending on the size of the project, whether you want multiple users to be able to edit your database or are fine with a one-way export etc., you might either get away with just saving all data to a .osm XML file, or you would have to set up your own instance of the "Rails Port" (the OpenStreetMap database/API server). Either way, you can use editing tools such as JOSM to view that data, which makes it much easier to e.g. debug your export code.

Once you have successfully exported your data to one of the OpenStreetMap data formats and have verified that it looks ok in an editor, you should be able to feed it to the existing tools for rendering, routing and geocoding that work on OpenStreetMap data. You'd have to plug several programs together, though, because there is no "one-stop-package" for all that functionality. Honestly, I'm not sure whether it's worth the effort, especially if you have no prior OpenStreetMap experience.