Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Terrain Editor => Topic started by: BlauK on April 27, 2006, 05:55:26 AM
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Probably not much, but could someone at HTC give yes/no answers to the items listed below?
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1) editing terrain textures
2) rearranging the object layout of the default terrain clutter tiles
3) replacing terrain objects (like trees or forrests) with custom objects on the clutter tiles
4) editing default object textures
5) rearranging the object layout of the bases or strats
6) replacing base or strat objects with custom objects
7) adding new objects (like bridges)
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I assume at least 1) is "yes", maybe 4) also?
But I am really hoping that 2) and 3) would be "yes" as well :)
I can foresee some strong playability reasons for "no" in 5) and 6).
Are there any chances for ANY exceptions for 7) ???.. there have been Squids etc on previous MA maps ;)
Sorry if these have been answered already in some other thread. It is difficult to search with proper wordswhen "MA" and "map" are too short.
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From past experience, I know you can do 1, edit terrain textures, and you cannot do 5, rearrange object layout of bases. This is for MA maps.
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1) editing terrain textures
Yes
2) rearranging the object layout of the default terrain clutter tiles
Yes
3) replacing terrain objects (like trees or forrests) with custom objects on the clutter tiles
No
4) editing default object textures
Depends. One of the goals of a MA terrain is to keep the size reasonably small. Changing a lot of textures have the greatest imapct on terrain file size.
5) rearranging the object layout of the bases or strats
No
6) replacing base or strat objects with custom objects
No
7) adding new objects (like bridges)
No
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Sticky
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Originally posted by Skuzzy
2) rearranging the object layout of the default terrain clutter tiles
Yes
searching the forum on this topic i have no clue what a default terrain clutter tile is.
could someone explain this little guy to me in a non technical language? :huh
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Clutter-trees,barns,hedges...
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Thanks Skuzzy! :aok
Just to make sure... 7) is allowed when it concerns 3), right?
Because in order to replace a clutter object with a custom one, the custom object has to be added.
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Clutter is non-destructible, non-collidable items on the terrain.
The only thing you can add is "clutter".
Custom shapes (*.shp) will not be accepted for an MA terrain, regardless of the type of object.
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Skuzzy, still some confusion....
If I want to add a new kind of hill or bush or tree (clutter), I still have to make a new shp and add it in the terr####.shp in OE.
Both the terr####.shp and the new clutter shp also need to be added to the texsrc folder.
So technically I would be making a new shp which is defined as type "clutter".
But this is allowed, right?
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so basically if i am making a real MA terrain, i don't need to bother with even knowing what the default clutter terrain tile is.
thanks.
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I changed #3 to "No". Problem solved.
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That is not really what I was wishing for... :( but if that is how it must be... so be it.
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OWNED!!
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That's why we have the SEA, BlauK... nya nya all you MA freaks! :p
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Blauk, just to be clear. It was not anything you said, but you brought up a point I did not think about.
The reason the MA terrains must be very conservative goes to size and reliability. We cannot have a terrain causing the server to reboot. And we need the terrain to be small.
The more stuff you put in a terrain, the more potential for problems. We simply cannot afford the MA to be unstable, of even take the chance of it being unstable.
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cc... was just thinking of learnin some of the TE side of terrains by trying to make/plan a MA map... but I simply cannot help thinking of some custom stuff at the same time ;)
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Originally posted by BlauK
cc... was just thinking of learnin some of the TE side of terrains by trying to make/plan a MA map... but I simply cannot help thinking of some custom stuff at the same time ;)
Yup, I know what you mean. The airfields and strat really need an update IHMO. And terrain tiles without trees in the middle of the roads. :)
Edit for spelling
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Originally posted by Dux
That's why we have the SEA, BlauK... nya nya all you MA freaks! :p
He made most of the custom objects in the SEA map Karelia! So, he knows!
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Uh Bogie. Dux is lead Terrain CM. He knows very well what Blauk has contributed to the team. Just FYI.
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Skuzzy... this thread is worth the "Sticky" flag. :)
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Originally posted by Skuzzy
Uh Bogie. Dux is lead Terrain CM. He knows very well what Blauk has contributed to the team. Just FYI.
Aaaah. Didn't know that. Thanks for the heads-up.
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Are you allowed to disable select planes at select bases? I know ME-163 is disabled at all fields but those by the HQ. Can you disable late war planes along the front lines as log as it is fair for all countries?
What is the largest MA map you would allow? I believe standard is 3-400kb, would you allow 1mb? 800kb?
Do you want to keep it realistic? For example no 20k vertical walls, but instead 20k mountains?
Mid air spawns?
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How about adding more biuldings that are already in the object list to the already exsisting Tank town or more barns and hills to the standard farm land?
Or am I stuck with the default amount of things on the tile?
Just asking for the tank town I'm trying to make.
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Hitech Creations already said no custom objects, so kill the idea of custom tiles and objects.
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With the new arena format our maps should not be larger than 256 miles or lower than 128, right?
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256 mile is the smallest an MA terrain can be.
Also now, with the new country capture system, you need to make sure to link 3 fields around the HQ of each country, making them uncapturable.
Use Ctrl+Right Mouse Click, on the map to draw the lines between the three fields.
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do they have to be airfields or can they be vehicle bases too?
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Originally posted by Citabria
do they have to be airfields or can they be vehicle bases too?
Make sure at least one is an airfield, preferably two.
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{Question} With the new arena format our maps should not be larger than 256 miles...?
{Answer} 256 mile is the smallest an MA terrain can be. {emphasis mine}
So I'm not sure I quite understood if the answer answered this - and a search turns up nothing.
If I planned to turn in a map for use in the MA, what is the maximum size I should generally make - or is the answer that it should be no larger than the smallest it can possibly be?
Thanks in a advance.
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never mind - sometime an hour or 3 of study makes everything much more clear... :D
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What are the Object Properties for Tank Town (ttown0) and/or any objects that are not directly associated with any country?
For Task Group map rooms, should the Can Collide checkbox be checked?
Thanks.
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Originally posted by MachNix
What are the Object Properties for Tank Town (ttown0) and/or any objects that are not directly associated with any country?
For Task Group map rooms, should the Can Collide checkbox be checked?
Thanks.
ttown0 - Group Master, Country Owned(doesn't matter which).
The other objects depend on what objects you mean. If it has multiple items that can be destroyed in the object it's a group master. If it's one item like a Shore Battery it's a "gun bat".
Map rooms - No
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Is there a maximum number of CV groups that can be incorporated into an MA terrain? It seems most current terrains have two per side or less, is that HTC's limit for a small MA terrain or is it just a coincidence?
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from whats been said in the past by skuzzy i think the most you can have that will work with every ones computer systems is 3 or 4 aside.
From what i gather it has something to do with the updates of the fleet ect that needs to be sent to everyone.
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Thanks Roger, was hard to find any info on this as the BBS search won't allow "cv" and "fleet" turned up nothing. Three cvs per side is all I require so that's OK.
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Speaking of CVs... try to plan it so that all the field numbers of CVs are below 100. The CMs have found that when you have CV numbers that cross the 100-line (98, 99, 100, 101, etc.) the game has trouble keeping them in order. The list shows them correctly, but internally the game thinks the CVs that start with 1 are lower than the ones that start with 9. This causes problems when trying to select a fleet for control or jumping.
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That's because they're using an alphabetic instead of numeric sort. It should be easy to fix. Unless they don't want to use two sort routines.
Placing the CV numbers in the heap as integers and using sort_heap should work without a problem. But I've been out of programming for a long time and something may have changed. :)
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Is it allowed to place manned ack near to MA towns using the bas0 shape in the TE? If so, are there any guidelines as to how many may be placed there and how close they should be?
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There use to be a problem with the manned ack object not showing up as destroyed when it was used by itself (or was that puffy ack). I'm not sure if this is still true or not.
If you place one on your map, fly offline and destroy it and it shows up destroyed (the textures change) I don't see any reason you couldn't use them by the towns or anywhere else for that matter. Just be sure they show up in the gun postions in the hangar for that field.
This doesn't have much to do with your question but be aware I have crashed the game by placing too many puffy acks in a concentrated area.
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Thanks Nhawk, that bug is still there for 37mm AAs. You get a textbar message saying the soft AA is destroyed and it shows up in red as destroyed in the hangar screen for that field. However although it is actually destroyed and unusable the gun appears undamaged when you actually look at it up close. I guess you could have people wasting ord on already destroyed guns so I'll have to drop this idea.
Are HTC aware of this bug? Was thinking of starting a content editor bugs list in the bugs forum.
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Was thinking of starting a content editor bugs list in the bugs forum.
Excellent idea. Probably the best and fastest way to get things fixed in the TE. Keeps it all together instead of looking through multiple threads for different problems.
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I was curious how the new TE is going to effect MA terrains. Will mapmakers be allowed more freedom for customization, possibly custom objects now as well with the new setup or is it going to be restricted to tiles? Will HTC allow customized textures (say, replacing the textures for concrete runways with PSP or dirt)?
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possibly custom objects now as well with the new setup or is it going to be restricted to tiles? Will HTC allow customized textures (say, replacing the textures for concrete runways with PSP or dirt)?
I believe these were all answered in the first few posts; no custom objects (and thereby textures, I assume) due to the inflation of the map's filesize.
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Check the dates. That was years ago. There have been plenty of updates to the TE since then.
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Just read through the thread. I probably should clean it up, but the overall content is still applicable.
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I'm curious about the bridge objects in the TE. Can we use them in an MA terrain now the rivers have been redone? If we can should they be non-destroyable objects? HT seemed to suggest this should be the case in a thread related to this subject a while ago. I can see the potential for perk farming otherwise.
I'm thinking of putting a spawn point across a river from the field so attacking GVs have to cross a bridge to get to the field. I'd balance it out so each country had the same number of bridge spawns.
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To my knowledge, bridges are still not flushed out.
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1) editing terrain textures
Yes
2) rearranging the object layout of the default terrain clutter tiles
Yes
3) replacing terrain objects (like trees or forrests) with custom objects on the clutter tiles
No
4) editing default object textures
Depends. One of the goals of a MA terrain is to keep the size reasonably small. Changing a lot of textures have the greatest imapct on terrain file size.
5) rearranging the object layout of the bases or strats
No
6) replacing base or strat objects with custom objects
No
7) adding new objects (like bridges)
No
Regarding editing terrain textures - does that still apply and if so, does anyone have edited textures i can use?
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You can still use custom textures. I have hundreds. What are you looking for?
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Hundreds? :O
I am making an MA terrain and would like something that isn't on a current map. Tans, browns and different greens too. Hoping to make it look a bit different from the others.
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are small rivers allowed?
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Yep. We use them all the time. :aok
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only reason I asked is because I can't recall ever seeing one in the current MA rotation :)
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I understand the reluctance to use custom objects in a MA terrain but is there anything stopping a would be map maker from using all of the default tiles.
for example a little desert area here and a bit of snow landscape in a corner somewhere? or does everything have to be green?
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For the terrain I'm working on, I'm using only default textures. But, I'm using a lot of them...farmland, beach, swampland, dirt/rocks for hillsides, snow for high peaks and for coral reefs, etc.
I know the more custom textures you use, the bigger the terrain file - but I'm not sure about that if you're only using the default textures.
You can also select two textures and they will blend into each other, which makes transitions from one area to another look really nice. Sandy grassland, rocky snow, swampy beach, etc.