Making CBM

[ebfd11]

Ok I went to Midis tutorial and tried making a CBM for easier access around my terrain .. following the steps I keep getting ... this



as you can see I am getting a black cbm ... what did I do wrong..

I saved as 256 bmp ...

[bustr]

Copy the map.bmp file to the texsrc folder. Re-name it to: (the name of your terrain).bmp

My oceania terrain CBM is named oceania.bmp.

As you are working and changing your terrain, keep making new ones to see your updated work. When I need to cut out a large portion or add a long mountain range, I open the CBM in an art program and draw that onto the CBM. Then when I open the terrain editor I have a cutting guide or a guide to paint down stone 3-60 miles wide that I will pull the mountain range or rock feature up through. And it will already be rock painted.

When cutting land into water, you can set a negative value for elevation like -1000.

[ebfd11]

Thank you Bustr that worked... just rename Map to the name of the terrain and move to texrc folder...


BTW what program do you use for making your terrains..

LawnDart

[bustr]

I create a multi-layer art file on a 4096x4096 work area. Then if I'm creating a 2048x2048 terrain I map that square in the center and draw my terrain. This will be my foundation layer that I will add subsequent layers to map bases, base numbers and spawns. I will take the base layer, copy only land and paste it onto a black 2048x2048 PNG file. Then I have two other programs where I first convert that to a 16bit grayscale file. Green converted to grayscale is usually the color of gray that corresponds to about 500ft elevation. Black is ocean sea level. Once the conversion is finished, I export as a raw file that I open in another art program that I can "save as" a RAW format the terrain editor will import and make my basic land masses and water.

You can also download for free the 2048x2048 limited version of L3DT and create your land, mountains and ocean then export as a RAW file which will import with all of your 3D built up features. Then you touch it up and paint it, add bases and you have a terrain. I've gotten fast at creating land features, cutting them for water and everything else by using only the terrain editor and a grayscale png file to import the basic land masses. Why I've gotten fast is because I layout the whole terrain in a 1:1 multilayer blueprint file that has everything mapped out that I will put into the terrain before I use the terrain editor. Because 1mile=8pixels on a 4096x4096, I can map base locations and spawns to the mile before I open the terrain editor.

All of the white dots on this CBM are my mapped base locations transferred from the blueprint file as place holders so I can build and paint the terrain appropriately. Saves me time later on touch ups. From time to time I will drop in a town to get the spawn radius area painted to serve GV's better than dumping them into masses of trees. I also lay down each port and sculpt the area around it so I can do the finish painting of the area. Then I delete and leave a white place holder of snow to mark that location on the terrain. The center island has one small AF and the TT object to determine GV spawns and I'm waiting to see if Hitech changes a few things with the terrain in the next patch. Other wise I have a plan C I have to default to with the terrain on that island for GV combat.


 

[8thJinx]

You can also download for free the 2048x2048 limited version of L3DT and create your land, mountains and ocean then export as a RAW file which will import with all of your 3D built up features. 
 
(Image removed from quote.)

This doesn't work anymore with L3DT.

[bustr]

I noticed just after that post they never sent me a temp license to try it. They want their $36 or so for the full monty.....

[8thJinx]

The best way that I seem to make L3DT work is to follow Waffle's suggestion.  Here's the method, in my words (and this works):

Open a new file in TE.
Set it up for 256 miles (this is a 10 x 10 sector map)
Make a rough rendering of your land masses, at 10 foot elevation.
Select Export to create a height.raw file, which you will find in your project folder.

Open L3DT Pro.
Before doing a single thing, select File - Import - Heightfield
Find and select the file you created above in your folder
Click Next in the Heightfield Import Options (1/2) pop up
In the Heightfield Import Options (2/2) pop up,
  - click on the Options button next to the file format, which should be "raw binary data file"
        - Double click on the Mode line and select "16 bit signed (manual scale), and click OK
        - Make sure InvertY is "true"
        - change Horizontal scale to 660
        - Click OK
  - In the Raw import options pop up, enter 4096 in the Width and Height fields, and make sure Invert Y axis is checked. Click OK.

Your terrain should now show up in the Heightfield tab of L3DT Pro.

Massage the terrain as much as you want.

Select File - Export from active map layer.
  - Select "Raw" as your File format and select the directory where you want to export it.
  - Click the option button and set mode to "16-bit Signed (manual scale)" and "Invert Y" to "true"
  - Export the Raw file and name it "newheight.raw" (or whatever) and place in your working terrain folder.   

Open the AH TE editor and Click on  "File > import signed height map"  to import this new height map

Work on your terrain some more inside TE.

Follow and repeat these steps as necessary.

[bustr]

I'll stick with my 1:1 blueprint, creating elevation layers for it to cover the primary elevation blocks. Then making a 16bit grayscale heightmap from that. In the end once you have it in the TE, you will still do more sculpting because the product from inside of the TE is what you will play on in the MA. I just don't have problems mapping out the topography on a CBM, transferring, then sculpting. It's like doing relief carving in wood or stone. I've already set a very high bar with this new terrain and an active drainage system to set bridges over for tank combat. That means I have to sculpt the elevations above that within the limits of the polymesh to reflect the activity of water. Because of the limitations it becomes some amount of creating an illusion. Until you start laying in feilds and GV spawns you won't run into the trade offs that the polymesh forces on you and the terrain tiles to create an illusion of the real world. The community really won't say they notice it, and much of the game is not geared towards noticing it. But, the more generic and not real world, later they remember things as a kind of a so, so, experience. Right now you are going through the motions of learning your tools. In a few months of banging away at this thing more of this will come out. Or you can speed it up dramatically and do a generic terrain painting job. I think Waffle built buzzsaw in 4 weeks.