Matrix Games Forums

Some old scenarios have multiple maps with 2 orientations:
regular and inverted. Richie61 has kindly provided 44
ASL 'like' maps in a standard orientation.

I'm attaching a zip file with 44 maps in the inverted
orientation for scenario design.

Install these maps just like the maps Richie61 provided.
I've kept the same naming convention. I just tacked on
the letter "i" at the end of each file name prefix.

Peter F., thanks so much for making TOTH. I had to pound
a few square pegs in round holes to do the map inversions.
Sometime in the future, low priority..., perhaps you could
extend the building palette to support inverted images of
the weird shaped buildings. This would give more pleasing
images for inverted maps.

Enjoy!

Inverted Map Notes:
First, TOTH maps are not strictly geomorphic. One can
examine the shape of the 10x33 hex grid and see it is
different under a 180-degree rotation. But, TOTH maps
are close to geomorphic. So, with some very mild
assumptions one can build a tool to re-map a regular map's
contents to an inverted form.

Such a tool can also substitute the road symbols for their
inverted analog. Usually. The current TOTH road palette
does not cover all possible instances of road connectivity.
For example, dirt road 42 does not have an inverted
version. (I substitute with dirt road 52.)

It is very easy to let the single-hex buildings re-map to
their inverted location without doing any graphics
substitution. Two-hex buildings can also be re-mapped
without graphics substitution. Three-hex and larger
buildings can sometimes be re-mapped without substitution
if they have a linear or "regular" shape. In the tougher
cases, one can, sometimes, substitute one building for
another building that have the necessary shape for the
inverted map. However, the TOTH building palette does not
cover all possible building shapes (and some buildings
cover up to 11 hexes).

For these very tough cases I had to "build" a building
from components. I always kept wood buildings as wood
and stone as stone. Also, I really tried to keep the
inverted building as large as the original (since
building size matters in ASL).

If you see some better choices that I missed, feel free
to let me know. Let me know the map #, hex numbers,
and your new, suggested palette entries for each hex.

All the best. (And game on!!)

*** The zip file has been updated to include the correct map # 19i ***

You are the best!! Well done mate.

thx, a great new bunch of maps

Fantastic! [&o]

Well done! Thank you. Now maybe I can get a few scenarios posted. Are you going to do the ASL overlays also?

you are officially a hero

ORIGINAL: okiefire_ssl

Well done! Thank you. Now maybe I can get a few scenarios posted. Are you going to do the ASL overlays also?

I would love maps with the ASL hex number overlays.

Thanks for doing this. Wondering if you could do something that would allow maps and scenario maps to be exported to jpgs.. Assume not as you would need access to teh system itself.

Hey, iPhoneAppz:

I hear you. But, the graphics in a hex are derived from a
master .png. You can mod that .png -- and get goodies like
the VASL terrain. But, if you stick a hex code on a given
terrain feature, the code is attached to *every* instance of
that terrain feature. Not what you want.

That's something that has to be dealt with at the program level.

FWIW, in the upper right hand corner, there is a hex code next
to the terrain feature and text identification, and it varies
as you move your cursor around. Hope this helps.

Gerry,

Wow, I would like to export TOTH map images, too.
Particularly the big 4x3 creations. But I don't see
any editor hooks. And the .map files are simple lists
of palette code numbers.

Yeah, it needs access to the program itself. [:)]

ORIGINAL: okiefire_ssl

Well done! Thank you. Now maybe I can get a few scenarios posted. Are you going to do the ASL overlays also?

Thanks, okiefire_ssl!

No, I wasn't going to do ASL overlays -- mainly because TOTH maps are set
at a fixed 33x10 size. And, there is no overlay function as such in TOTH.
You bring in a .map, and it completely overwrites all 330 hexes of the
sector you designate.

There is an "overlay" function in the Objects Drop Down control panel in the
upper right of the editor. But it seems to be restricted to adding a
specific function to a hex (like a VP value).

Since an ASL overlay is linked to specific scenarios, it seems the easiest
thing to do for one of those scenarios is load the desired map(s), and then
edit the map in the editor to recreate placed overlays. Then, go ahead and
design/convert the rest of the scenario and save the result.

The nice thing about the editor is that the ASL "like" maps can be starting
points for our own creations now. Fun!

Yep, totally get that. I'm implementing all of the tutorial scenarios from JAY RICHARDSON's excellent "An ASLSK Tutorial". It took me a while to do the first one because he shows the maps rotated 60 degrees (flat hex edge up) as opposed to the way TotH displayed the maps (corner up). But, Jay shows the ASL maps with the hex numbers so that helps.

Anyway, great work!

They are awesome thanks very much

NP. Thanks.

Maybe Peter can add a map export feature later.

ORIGINAL: javafiend

Gerry,

Wow, I would like to export TOTH map images, too.
Particularly the big 4x3 creations. But I don't see
any editor hooks. And the .map files are simple lists
of palette code numbers.

Yeah, it needs access to the program itself. [:)]

Fantastic job creating all these maps.

One minor problem however - maps 19 and 19i are the same...

ORIGINAL: dundas61

Fantastic job creating all these maps.

One minor problem however - maps 19 and 19i are the same...

In the immortal words of Homer Simpson, ...: "Doh!!!"

You are right! I know just how this happened, too. I bring in the
base ASL map into sector 1, and the inverted map into sector 2.
I compare them, side by side, and edit the inverted map to make
it just the way I want it. Then I export the map into the final
file name.

Problem was, I exported sector 1 instead of sector 2 on map 19i.

I've fixed the map, and reloaded the zip in this thread and in the
Submitted Maps thread.

Good Catch! And, Thanks! [:)]