Download Map Maker 0.9x

[rickier65]

I re-imported the original map from google maps. It didn't have your road on it, but I got 30, 0000 trees.

See below.

Rick

[benpark]

I dunno what happened. I'm starting it again from scratch.

I have a bunch of new textures to send for the next build, Stridor.

[rickier65]

Ben,

You can probably use the road masks and use your pain tprogram to turn them into a layer. and save a lot of re-drawing.

Also, for your main road, you show two paved roads divided by a dirt road, you might use a thrid color, texture it the same as dirt road color, but map it to paved road along with the other two lane, that way you have one paved road.

Not sure how AI will handle 3 roads (not sure what final width they end up with).

Rick

[Mraah]

ORIGINAL: benpark

I don't see how that's possible. I selected the "8 color" selection on import to the MM, and have added no more than 3 additional. I've gone through in PSD to check with the eyedropper for variations, and don't see anything subtle that I may have missed.

See the attached:

Ben,

When you editted the image (terrainmap) it may have saved the file using 1 million colors ... or whatever. Below is screenshot of paintshop pro showing that I did a color count check ... you got 305 colors.

Can you save your editted image to a 16 color image? or something less ?

EDIT NOTE .... Check the disk file size .... it's 2.9 Megs [X(] .... My 8 color maps are 488 kb.
EDIT NOTE #2 ... If you can't save to a lower color then let me know ... I can decrease the color depth for you.

[Mraah]

Ben,

Ok ... Here's my opinion as to why you're having so much trouble ...

First of all, your original (unedditted) map is 8 colors ...
Next, you edit the map and draw in a better road.
Then, saving it causes it to change the color depth (unbenouced to you) to a 1 million or bazillion colors.

So, before you save the map you need to change the color depth to 16 colors.

Basically, starting with an 8 color map you can "add" 8 more colors ... = 16 . I don't know the name of the other color depths (ie 24 bit, blah blah) and how many colors equal that depth type.

Hope that explains it,

BTW, thank you for taking your time out to test everything for STridor ... I haven't been able to devote 100% of my time lately like I was months ago ...

Also, Rick? Thank you as well.

Rob

[rickier65]

Rob,

Im glad I can help, I'm totally clueless when it comes to model building, so i contribute where I can.

Rick

[benpark]

I know what it was- I used the "lasso" tool to allow me to cover a large area. I think it interpolates at the edges, thus delivering me a boatload of color I don't want.

Be careful with anything but the "pencil" tool!

Good tip about limiting the colors as well, I had forgotten.

[benpark]

Anyone else seeing corrupted textures? I tried a bunch of different orientations and densities, but keep getting the same thing. This happens with other textures as well. It seems to be this one terrain map selection.

[Mraah]

ORIGINAL: benpark

Anyone else seeing corrupted textures? I tried a bunch of different orientations and densities, but keep getting the same thing. This happens with other textures as well. It seems to be this one terrain map selection.

I haven't seen this.

Are you replacing the default "terrain" texture or are you adding this in as new stuff?

This looks similar to when we UV map a model in MS3D ... where it stretches out the texture ... are the textures you using square?

[benpark]

Yep, stock textures. I may have tried a different texture on the terrain base. Maybe that's it. What are the stock texture and settings for the underlying terrain texture?

[benpark]

One more set of models coming, as well. I'll do one more that will be a group of smaller ones that would be good for autogen:

[Mraah]

ORIGINAL: benpark

Yep, stock textures. I may have tried a different texture on the terrain base. Maybe that's it. What are the stock texture and settings for the underlying terrain texture?

Well, stock changes a bit from map to map ... but, below is the setting and DDS for the Kharkov_L1B map ... You'll have to peruse the XML's of the stock maps to find something you may like.

BTW, I like the rocks ... good idea.

[rickier65]

OK-I kow I'm doing something really dumb, but can't seem to tell what it is.

I'm tryingto build a plain map, really plain, to line up some model forces

I create a 1000x1000 obnoixous green bmp

I load default height map
I load the obnoxious bmp using the browse terrain map button

I add a grass texture, assign it to the obnoxious green (the whole map).

I choose skybox 1

I name it plainmap and build

After a while, when it starts drawing maps phase, I get the error message below.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Rick
EDIT: I also notice that my Mapping dropdown (For mapping tmap color to AI Map) doesnt list any colors. I can pick the green color and assign it to clear. But not sure that it's taking.

[Stridor]

Congratulations Rick you have found a bona fide bug! I never thought to test with just *one* terrain color. I will fix for RC3, but for now a work around is to use at least 2 colors (even if the second color is just a single dot!) - that fixes the problem.

Regards

S.

[rickier65]

Thanks - I was sure I was simply overlooking something obvious.

Thanks
Rick

[Mraah]

Stridor,

I have a final request (yeah, right) [;)] ... but I think it's do-able.

Ok ... bare with me, I can be longwinded and babble but you're used to that ...

Now, let's look at the WATER TABLE .

Right now, the water table encompasses the entire map ... but should it? ... IMO, no.

So, why not have a second height map adjustment for the water table ...

1) This can be shown in the window via a button next to the water table value where it displays the water table as a seperate hieghtmap (ie, you toggle the heightmap and water table map via this button).
2) then, the user can LOCK the area (or pixels) that he wants to represent the river and then lower (adjust) the pixels outside of the river.
3) this will then be the new "water" .x file.

As an example, see my screenshot below . The dotted lines in MM represent the area I want to lock (I did this with the "lasso" feature in paint shop, for demonstration purposes only) and then I would adjust the outside of the river using the heightmap tools.

Anyway ... It's no big deal if you can't add this in. I can adjust the water .x mesh in MS3D but ... since MM can make mesh then why not make an adjustable water mesh.

I would find this "feature" helpful because rivers can flow above the surrounding terrain (look at New Orleans!) ... of course, during the flood season it will surely cause problems [;)].

Thanks for considering it (in advance),

Rob

[benpark]

Rob, have you experimented with using the "lock" tool? You can select the water area pretty precisely and keep the surrounding terrain where you want it.

Rick has a very good description of doing this in his manual, which should be coming down the pike really soon.

[Mraah]

ORIGINAL: benpark

Rob, have you experimented with using the "lock" tool? You can select the water area pretty precisely and keep the surrounding terrain where you want it.

Rick has a very good description of doing this in his manual, which should be coming down the pike really soon.

Yes ... a very good description ... however, he's locking the river so he can raise the surrounding terrain ... The height tools currently affect the heightmap which is the terrain.x mesh, which is seperate from the water.x mesh .... there is nothing to change the water.x mesh, except going into MS3D and making your own changes.

In my screenshot from the earlier post ... If I set the water table to flood the river I also flood the entire landscape ... It would be nice to lower the water table on the parts of the outlying terrain that sit below the river.

[:(]

EDIT NOTE : The only way I think Stridor could do it is to have another heightmap ... for the water table.
EDIT NOTE # 2 ... It's no biggie if he's unable ... it's a gee-wiz kinda request ... most of my requests are like that [:)]


Rob

[benpark]

Good ideas come from thinking big!

If it's too much of a change for Stridor to make- what about a flat, rectangular model textured as water that we sink below the map to where the river would be? It could be just a bit wider than our average river, and maybe 1/4 the length of a map. These could be used repeatedly to form a complete river, lake etc. for when a problem like the one you have now arise. The main issue with this is that there might be seams where models meet.

[rickier65]

ORIGINAL: benpark

Good ideas come from thinking big!

If it's too much of a change for Stridor to make- what about a flat, rectangular model textured as water that we sink below the map to where the river would be? It could be just a bit wider than our average river, and maybe 1/4 the length of a map. These could be used repeatedly to form a complete river, lake etc. for when a problem like the one you have now arise. The main issue with this is that there might be seams where models meet.

If I recall this is actually the way Stridor had his very first map making tutorial (before MapMaker). ie a rectangular water plain that was wide enough to span the river. I can still recall how much time it took me to get even part way through. indidividaully editing mesh pts on the wall terrain - getting totally lost, and always having one of thw walls go invisible!

And to just pile on, I was wondering myself if there was anyway to model a dam, with high lake level behind the dam, and the river below. It isn't very likely at the 1 km scale, but might be as map scale increases.

Though for me, automating even if only partially, the force template creation would be higher on my list of wants. I have an idea that very few folks are going to go that extra step and create force templates for their new maps.

Rick