Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Terrain Editor => Topic started by: Vraciu on June 01, 2017, 07:32:49 PM
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What are the rules/requirements for making a map? I see the pinned thread so I presume that's it.
What's the best way to get started? I think I figured out the brush but what resolution am I looking for on the thing? 2048 x 2048?
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That it not be round
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That it not be round
It won't be trust me on that one.
:)
I don't have a handle on the grid system size. Proportional to the game?
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I can't even save my work.
:rofl
And I though learning to skin was tedious. :furious
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Best place to start.....
http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,376440.msg5034382.html#msg5034382
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Thanks man.
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Best place to start.....
http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,376440.msg5034382.html#msg5034382
The latest versions will be here: http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,386033.0.html
I have a new version almost ready, but RL and other projects got in the way.
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Congratulations Vraciu on taking the plunge. There are no wrong terrains for the Melee arena, only more terrains to spice up the HTC offerings list.
Thank you for helping the cause. :salute
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Thanks for the links guys.
Bustr, this could be an epic faceplant, but what the heck?
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You are here asking how to build a terrain for the Melee arena. If you actually grind through the process and don't give up. The game gets another terrain and no style of terrain is a wrong terrain. It's just another opportunity for the community to have fun. And it dose not matter what brought you here including:
That it not be round
It won't be trust me on that one.
You are here is what matters since I have the only round terrain... :O
Welcome to terrain building... :aok
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You are here asking how to build a terrain for the Melee arena. If you actually grind through the process and don't give up. The game gets another terrain and no style of terrain is a wrong terrain. It's just another opportunity for the community to have fun. And it dose not matter what brought you here including:
You are here is what matters since I have the only round terrain... :O
Welcome to terrain building... :aok
What are the rules about CVs? Is there an upper limit? Are we required to have them at all?
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They're not required, officially, as far as I know. Look to your terrain to determine if they fit, but they do provide some of the best fights when people stay out of the CV guns and the land based guys keep their bombers away.
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What are the rules about CVs? Is there an upper limit? Are we required to have them at all?
If your really wish to make a terrain, first simply draw it in Photo Shop, along with field and strat placements.
HiTech
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Vraciu,
I created a 10 layer project file in Paint.Net on a work space 4096x4096 so my land, water and bases were 1:1 to the terrain editor work space. The terrain editor work space is 4096x4096, 8-pixel=1mile. My project file has the land and ocean on one layer then I separated onto individual layers the 1mile or 10pixal diameter dots that equal bases, base numbers\ types and strats, GV spawns and PT spawns.
I was able to use the land\water layer to convert it into a 16 color grayscale file that I then converted into a heightmap file which I imported into the terrain editor and all of the land as 500ft level blanks, the 25,000ft barrer ring mountain range and water gaps was created in about 5 seconds. I converted those brown corners into a gradient so the corners touch the mountains at about 15k and run off to about 100ft in the corners. That mountain ring is how I end up with a hybrid terrain of 14x14 instead of 20x20.
No matter the size of terrain you create, the work space will be 4096x4096 8pixel = 1mile while you use the CBM map size to mask out what you are not using, say if you create a 2048x2048 10x10 sector terrain.
Here is a screen shot of the 4096x4096 base layer, feilds number\type and spawns enabled from the 10 layers I used. With this I was able to map out my base locations to exactly where they will be on my terrain based on the distance requirements for bases on a Melee arena terrain. Also knowing how far from each field my spawns will be, the arrows at the end of each yellow GV spawn line are exactly where they will be when I finally lay down GV spawns to bases. It's all in the pixles on a 4096x4096 work space.
(https://s20.postimg.org/675itz1n1/oceania31.jpg)
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Here is today's work.
Gray areas with a bit of brown down the center are the tops of mountain ranges, some up to 8,000ft. Because I created a 4096x4096 blueprint I was able to perform a 1 for 1 transfer onto a CBM map generated in 4096x4096 so I could identify with those white squares where the strat and two large airfields would need the mountain range modified to receive them. You can see where the two white triangles are in those bays, that is where two ports go. In each case i laid down the base or strat or port object to get the topo features oriented, then deleted the object because I don't need them on the terrain during the land creation and painting stage of this project. I used a snow tile to paint in the squares onto the terrain for reference marks. The rest of the vBases and airfields will get shoe horned in because I allowed for them while building the mountain ranges. It's very simple to adjust a bit of the canyons to receive the vBases once I put in the finished mountain system on the island.
If you look in my posts about something for the Pac terrain set, I've been documenting all of this.
So here is today's work and a clip of the same area from my 4096x4096 blueprint map I created in Paint.Net.
(https://s20.postimg.org/4e9ie7ukt/oceania93.jpg)
(https://s20.postimg.org/rtrfjkebx/oceania94.jpg)
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If your really wish to make a terrain, first simply draw it in Photo Shop, along with field and strat placements.
HiTech
Draw it as a bitmap? I saw you guys talking about importing stuff based on drawings.
I will get on this. I've been drawing it in the editor with mixed success.
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Good stuff Bustr. Thank you.
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What ever multi layer project art program you use for skins, just use it to create your 4096x4096 blueprint file. Do yourself a favor, start your terrain and create a map in 4096x4096 with grid lines, you don't need any land. Open that file, it will be named map.bmp in your art program. You will notice the grid lines are not centered to the dimensions of the file. When you create your blueprint 4096x4096 file, duplicate the 25x25 mile grid layer to the grid orientation in the map.bmp. The top edge and right edge have a half sector row and column.
Then when you start constructing your land masses and layout your bases, you can copy the base locations and paste them directly onto your map.bmp, then use that in the terrrain editor to zoom all the way down to the ground and either put in your bases or, lay down a 1x1 square dot place holder. If you don't use Artik's program to generate a real world location or use L3DT, you can transfer your land masses from your blueprint file into your map.bmp, then zoom down and trace them with the elevation tool. I call it the Michelangelo old school method. I have a plugin for paint.net that creates map grids on one layer and another that creates a ring with rays to help me define the boarders of each country on another layer. I used the last plugin to create reticle rings that are composed of dash line segments. That's how I did some of the Japanese gunsights and the Italian night sight.
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And the point to why I do a blueprint file?
I transferred the the rest of the fields onto that island as white place holder squares from a 4096x4096 map file that I transferred the base locations with a copy and paste from the 4096x4096 blueprint file. For each airfield I mapped out it's town, added shore line to fit the 1x1 base object, and each vBase will require a small amount of elevation adjustment between the runoff canyons and spawn areas so GVers don't get eaten by the terrain or the trees.
Transferring the base location dots to the 4096x4096 map.bmp in paint.net.
(https://s20.postimg.org/9inqz4olp/oceania95.jpg)
The new CBM map after the transfer onto the island itself.
(https://s20.postimg.org/ln7ltuqvh/oceania97.jpg)
The island with place holders waiting for when I begin populating the terrain with objects.
(https://s20.postimg.org/60br2qnpp/oceania96.jpg)
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Vraciu,
Here is one of the reasons for a 1:1 blueprint file, I will be making the changes in green checker board to the terrain.
1. - Removing terrain to facilitate task groups getting at each other quicker.
2. - Duplication of the center island small airfields of NDisles for fighter furballing and tank furballing. The three small airfields on NDisles are set 12 miles from each other in a triangle. I'll raise the new ground as a 500-1000ft volcanic plateau.
(https://s20.postimg.org/ygwxf36h9/oceania98.jpg)
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Good stuff.
I am going to do what Hitech suggested. Just a rough drawing.
I've monkeyed with the editor but have zero concept of what I am doing. The grid lines don't register with me in terms of size.
I have two or three ideas in mind. Maybe a proposal based on a sketch to get feedback is the way to go.
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When doing a non-historical terrain Bustr's way and what HTC suggests is the best way to start. Draw out the map, make sure it is balanced for three countries and such and show it to HTC before you start actually working on elevations and such. It will save you tons of aggravation since it is much easier to show HTC and people first and get input then start on the nitty gritty of making actualy land, elevations, and etc.
That is one of the key differences between Historical terrains and non Historical (when making a terrain for the MA). A non-historical / fantasy terrain mainly has to be done by hand and it is a lot of work doing it that way. Historical terrains are easier since we have Artik's tool but finding an actual geographic area that works for a 3 country balance is difficult since you need to have all three countries balanced, have airfields located within a certain distance of each other, and the other MA requirements.
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Vraciu,
My first terrain BowlMA I free handed with only a rough sketch to guide me. I spent a month wandering blindly around that 4096x4096 work space trying to use only the CBM and the sector grid to guess at where to cut or raise up land from my not to scale sketch. Elevation was a joke against the vast scale of 1mile=8pixels on a 4096x4096 work space. Then I created a 4096x4096 map file and began editing it with guide points along with making a map file up to 10 times a day to look at tiny adjustments. I took one of the map files and turn that into a blueprint file project in paint.net. Things went a lot faster from that point since I was able to map all of the bases and strat objects to exact locations.
With a Melee arena terrain you need your blueprint file in as close to scale one way or another as you can get it. The grid squares in the terrain editor are 1x1 mile squares and that primary grid is 20x20 miles.
You saw on my screen clip from my art program the changes I was making to the terrain. I was able to generate a 4096x4096 map.bmp, then from my 4096x4096 blueprint file copy the changes into the map.bmp file. Then I put that map.bmp file into the texsrc folder and renamed it to oceania.bmp, the next time I opened the terrain editor, it was there to guide my adding the center island and cutting out those channels in the islands. I simply pulled the map to the locations indicated by the hash marks or the outline of the new island. I either made a -200ft 1mile diamter hole or a 500ft 1mile diameter column on the outline of the areas to be cut out or added to the terrain. Then I connected the dots.
That red square on the CBM in the terrain editor, the very center of it is your focus point on the terrain. If you push down onto an area of your terrain, then focus that red box centered on some line you want to follow and cut along or add along, you just punch a negative hole to create water dots or an elevation column, then connect dots along the line you want to cut away or add too. But, you need a blueprint to scale to transfer from or, print out a 4096x4096, edit it in an art program with your cut or add lines. Then use that as the CBM in the terrain editor to guide your work. And make one every time you make changes to see how it's going.
Here is the show stopper that can kink all of your work.
At some point you will have to either snip a copy of your CBM map in the terrain editor to a jpeg or use your blueprint file and post up a copy in here for Hitech to look at. With all the bases, strat and spawns. Like you do with the local zoning board to get the go ahead to build a new home. Even after that, when Hitech lets you FTP to him your project, he may have you change things you did not expect to change. In my case even before I did the FTP, he had me change all of the rock formations on my terrain from green rock to textured white dolomite. You've seen all that white rock on my terrain BowlMA, took me a week to visit and change the whole terrain by hand along with changes the new rock type needed in the terrain for the visual effects.
Before I built BowlMA, I built a gunnery training terrain called gunnery that you can get a copy of in the custom arena tab. By building that small 9x16mile single island terrain, I learned the answers to many of the questions you seem to be stumbling with. And the only changes I had to make was adding two tiny islands to hold the HQ and one base for each of the other two countries to satisfy the requirements to upload the terrain to the HOST after Hitech asked me to distribute that training terrain through the custom terrain HOST.
(https://s20.postimg.org/ygwxf36h9/oceania98.jpg)
(https://s20.postimg.org/a2yn7g9e5/oceania99.jpg)