Author Topic: NB / Citibria (Read 1003 times)

JB73 · « **on:** October 08, 2004, 12:16:41 PM »

or any other map maker... can you email me the elevation file you used so i can get an idea what it needs to look like?

ty in advance <>

send to daveymat @ gmail.com

Easyscor · « **Reply #1 on:** October 08, 2004, 10:31:00 PM »

It sounds like you are trying to use File/Import within the Terrain Editor. That doesn't work.

You need akbmp2map from the AH-Terrains site. A sample grayscale bitmap is included.

JB73 · « **Reply #2 on:** October 08, 2004, 11:21:32 PM »

ok got that, it makes a terrain sort of...

is that gray square in the center all i can "elevate"?? becaus ethats what it sounds like reading the "readme" of the AK thingy.

anyway, that "sort of" works.

i still can't find the edge of my map or the center, and when i raise the view the whole map disappears into a circle.

Easyscor · « **Reply #3 on:** October 09, 2004, 10:15:58 AM »

Look in the rest of the folders. AKwabbit(?) included an Island map, “my_image” that will help a lot. The rest is learning the TE. Print the Help files from both if you have to. There is no way to tell you everything you need to know and some of it is only found in previous posts in this forum. Do a search when you get stumped.

Someone needs to do an indexed pdf file and post in to ah-terrains. Then we could talk about map design instead of the TE (hint hint.)

Hints: I know you’re going to ask. The new terrain editor won’t create a clipboard map. The way to get one is to copy and put the output from Wabbits utility into both editors’ terrains folders. In the old TE, locate you fields and make those tile snow. It will show up as white in the Editor window and more importantly, also in the clipboard map it creates. This has nothing to do with the grayscale map you use for AKWabbits’ utility.

Take the output from the old TE, it’s file name “map.bmp” and change the color depth to 8 bit / 256 color. Make a folder inside your terrain folder and name it “tersrc”. Rename the 8 bit “map” file to match your terrain name i.e. “my_map” or “test” or whatever.

I prefer the newer editor but like having my airfields show up as white on the clipboard while I’m working on it. After you’ve made your terrain and want to update the clipboard map, copy the “.elv” and “.typ” files back into a your original AH 1 Editor terrain so you can make another clipboard map. Wash and rinse as needed.

Easyscor · « **Reply #4 on:** October 09, 2004, 10:22:48 AM »

btw, if you use AH2Editor, enlarge the window before you open the terrain file and you won't have the black window problem.

Also, learn how to use the joystick to navigate.

Cheers.

JB73 · « **Reply #5 on:** October 10, 2004, 06:55:43 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Easyscor
Take the output from the old TE, it’s file name “map.bmp” and change the color depth to 8 bit / 256 color. Make a folder inside your terrain folder and name it “tersrc”. Rename the 8 bit “map” file to match your terrain name i.e. “my_map” or “test” or whatever.

umm i can not get this to work...

have the "map.bmp".

changed it to 8bit

named it test01 (same as terrain im making in AHII editor)

made the folder "tersrc"

put the test01.bmp into it, still no map shows in AHII editor when i open my terrain.

Easyscor · « **Reply #6 on:** October 10, 2004, 08:31:23 PM »

Doh!

I misspelled it. It's "texsrc" for texture source, not terrain source.

zmeg · « **Reply #7 on:** October 11, 2004, 08:42:12 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Easyscor
btw, if you use AH2Editor, enlarge the window before you open the terrain file and you won't have the black window problem.

Copy youe cache folder from AH2 and past it in the editor folder then you can resize the editor all you want without it going black.

Easyscor · « **Reply #8 on:** October 12, 2004, 02:51:38 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by zmeg
Copy youe cache folder from AH2 and past it in the editor folder then you can resize the editor all you want without it going black.

I'll take your word for it and do it.

hehe, first, why on earth would that work and how the frel did you come up with it?

Dux · « **Reply #9 on:** October 12, 2004, 09:43:45 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by Easyscor
It sounds like you are trying to use File/Import within the Terrain Editor. That doesn't work.

Really, Easyscor? Importing works fine for me.

Easyscor · « **Reply #10 on:** October 12, 2004, 09:57:03 AM »

Hi Dux

I could never make it work and guessed it wasn't implemented. I thought it should work if you used the right size bit map but I gave up after trying everthing I could think of.

What did we miss?

JB73 · « **Reply #11 on:** October 12, 2004, 11:17:07 AM »

heya Dux could you send me one or a few of your grayscale elev bmps?

i want to get a feel for what others are doing to give me ideas on how detailed / generic i need to make it.

if you are willing to email is daveymat @ gmail.com

thanks

btw this is what i got so far on the grayscale thing (LONG way from being done... maybe another 2-3 weeks)

Dux · « **Reply #12 on:** October 12, 2004, 11:26:43 AM »

Sure JB73, I'd be happy to. One thing , though... you are trying to "create" a terrain with custom features; I work with actual real-world elevation files because I build historical terrains. So the concept of importing is the same, but I never have to bother with "painting" the features onto a terrain.

Best advice I can give you is to not make too many sharp-contrast areas... these will make really severe changes in elevation; large flat areas edged with very sheer cliffs. Feather, blur, smudge... do whatever you can to get the terrain to flow together naturally.

JB73 · « **Reply #13 on:** October 12, 2004, 11:38:58 AM »

yeah thats why this is so slow LOL... i have never used this before (paint shop pro) or any other quality graphics software...

set a brush, try it, undo, change a setting LOL

if you see this link:

http://www.ah-terrains.com/index.php?option=com_forum&Itemid=25&page=viewtopic&t=67 you'll get an idea what i am going for.

i am having a heluva time making the mountians. once i get that part done, the rest will be easy, just rolling hills.

i have some gray sattlite pics i have DL'd of real earth terrain, but it doesn't look right. one side of the mountians is black showing the shadow or something.

any good links to the kind of pics i need to DL? i gave up googeling images after about an hour of only finding pay sites and not being able to preview what i'd be getting LOL

Dux · « **Reply #14 on:** October 12, 2004, 12:17:09 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by JB73
i have some gray sattlite pics i have DL'd of real earth terrain, but it doesn't look right. one side of the mountians is black showing the shadow or something.

Which brings up a really good point... one needs to be very careful when using supplied greyscale data. Compare these two images of the same terrain...

The image on the right "looks" more 3-D, doesn't it. It has been given artificial shading to make it look more understandable to the human eye. but it is incorrect for the purposes of importing. Any file you want to import into the TE should look like the left image.

It may be hard to find "photos" of greyscale terrains on the Web... what I use are actually USGS DTED files that are available from various places. I open them in a DTED-viewer app, stitch a bunch of them together, and export the result in TIF format, then convert it to BMP.

I e-mailed you a file for you to play with.