Map Elevation Lines

[Thomas_Kenobi]

Hello all, I'm new to these forums and the game and I must it is one of the most interesting games I've played in a while. It covers a niche in the market, that interested me for some time.

To my question now:

The only thing that bugged me so far, is the way the map displays differing elevation. I've installed a map mod, that increases the visibility of the elevation contours, but still it's hard to get an accurate idea about the shape of battlefield with any expediency.

This is caused, imho, by two things mainly:
First, most of the time, the elevation contours are too far apart to get an accurate idea of the surroundings. 20-25 meters would have been, I believe, more appropriate.

Second, and this the more important issue and my question with it, are there any maps for the game that feature elevation lines, instead of just using various colours to display elevation contours? Or, if there aren't any ready maps, then perhaps there is a way to add elevation lines to existing maps? Perhaps an external program, that can read the elevation data from the COTA maps and add the lines to them.

I think they would stand to improve the game considerably and I would recommend the devs consider them as an option for the next game in the AA series.

[Arjuna]

Adding contour lines is on the wish list. You could try one of the various map patterns mods which offer higher contrast. http://cota.matrixgames.com/downloads/

[Thomas_Kenobi]

Shortly after posting this, I noticed the equivalent thread in the BFTB forum. For now I'm trying the "Back to Coloured Paper 4" mod, which seems to do a pretty good job.

tm.asp?m=2024611&mpage=1&key=

[sross]

How do you install the map mods? If I understand the manual, you have to do each map individually. Is there a way to do them all in one shot?

[Prince of Eckmühl]

Wow, a new recruit! [8D]

Welcome! [&o]

On the maps, I believe that you do it like this...

Backup this folder C:\Matrix Games\Conquest Of The Aegean\Graphics\Map\Default, name it Default.bak, or something.

Then create a new folder labeled default, and download the map graphics mod to there.

PoE (aka ivanmoe)

[sross]

Thanks, but when I do that the game crashes on startup of a scenario. I could be doing it wrong, I'm not a computer guru, but I followed the instructions as best I could. Thanks again.

[Arjuna]

Ensure that the mod has three bmp files: MapPat, MapPatA and MapKey. Some mods do not provide the MapKey file. Please check and if this is the case just grab the original one from your backup and copy it back in.

[sross]

I was trying to use the Capt mod and it came with only one file. I created a new folder, copied the other two map files and the capt file and it crashed. So I used the original folder, replaced the MapPat file with the Capt file and it still wouldn't go. Any other suggestions? 

[Arjuna]

What error message do you get?

[sross]

It was the "performed an illegal operation and must shut down" one. I figured it out though. The file had a MapPat_Cota_ file that I was substituting for the MapPat. Once I deleted the _Cota_ from the file name, it worked fine. Sorry for the mess, sometimes I'm a little slow.

[Arjuna]

No worries. I'm glad it's all worked out.