Terrain Creation: - Helpful File

[Bane Star]

If anyone decides to make thier own terrains, This Tool that I made up, is quite helpful. Since the terrain files xdgc, xdgp, xdpc, xggc, xpgc, xtgc, xdgp and the Water Times wCSO, wSSS and wOOO. follow the same pattern, but are hard to determine if you look at them one at a time...

Note: xdgc is what I used: desert, grassland, coast to make the file.
Heres a pic of what the 'terrain' file looks like, and then I'll post the file afterwards
EDIT: See new post

[Bane Star]

and for anyone who wants it... the file

[Yoda Power]

nice, thanks

[Bane Star]

Edited: Ok, what happened (in case you can be bothered to be interested..) I made up the original with about 20 or so colours, so it looked ok, but when I went to use it It sucks trying to 'edit off the other colours, So the new version has only 5 colours. Sorry to the 3 people who down-loaded the old version.

[Gramphos]

Now, in what file category does this fit?

[Bane Star]

Hehehe, I was wondering if you would deem this a movable thread, but since its a file designed for creators, and isn't usable in actual play, then maybe it stays here?? thanks man,.,.

[BlueWlvrn]

Now, do you have the image number that goes with each in the BIC/X file?

With that, and this very easy to read graphic, I'll be a lot further along with my map test.

Thanks
BlueWlvrn

[Gramphos]

Originally posted by Bane Star
Hehehe, I was wondering if you would deem this a movable thread, but since its a file designed for creators, and isn't usable in actual play, then maybe it stays here?? thanks man,.,.

So are files in the category MODIFICATION. But I don't thing your graphics fit there. I guess it will have to stay here... At least for now.

[Bane Star]

Originally posted by BlueWlvrn
Now, do you have the image number that goes with each in the BIC/X file?

Wow, I dont know what that even is... but I'm curious.. please explain and maybe I'll know what your talking about,,.

[BlueWlvrn]

Actually I figured it out.

In the bic/bix file, each tile of the map is defined. That definition contains the basic tile data as well as what graphic to use.

It turns out, the graphics grid, and the map grid, are offset.

 /\
/  \
\/\/
/\/\
\  /
 \/

The diamonds represent the grid squares. But the graphics grid, is offset by half to the north.
So if the bottom diamond is the normal game grid, the top diamond is the actuall graphics grid (those tiles in the pcx file). You can see that actually only the bottom corner of the pcx image needs to match the current tile being defined in the bic. The other three corners must conform to its 3 northerly neighbors.

So, using the following formula, you can get the image number that a tile in the bic file refers to.

Assuming the first terrain type is enumarated as 0, then 1 and 2.

B = terrain type on bottom of graphic, current tile in bic
L = terrain type on left, up one row to the left in bic
R = terrain type on right, up one row to the right in bic
T = terrain type on top, straight up two rows in bic

Row = 3*B+R
Col = 3*L+T

row and column are the row and column in the pcx file.

ImageNumber = Row*9+Col

Image number is the byte value used in the TILE section of the bic/bix file.

Well now that should make it clear as mud.

[Yoda Power]

here is the old file

(dont download it as it is obselute)

[WarpStorm]

BlueWlvrn, that is true, but you can edit your map in the editor and see it change in 'real time'. Can you tell me why you would do it that way? (I used the editor to make my custom maps -- and PhotoShop to make my graphics).

[BlueWlvrn]

Warp:

I'm creating a new random map engine with a couple ideas I've been tossing about.

And as a side effect, I hope to be able to mirror it in a way to make "equal" start location maps for multiplayer.

But for the most part, I'm just tinkering.

[WarpStorm]

That sounds cool. One that you could specifiy more settings would be awesome.

[Bane Star]

Ok an explanation

When you look at the graphics in the graphics pcx file, its somewhat hard to determine, This makes it hard to see which terrain is which when editing, but I forgot to explain how they work,

Good idea blue wyrm, a picture is worth a thousand words so Heres one of my old screen shots from when I was mid-map-editing.

In the centre is 4 Plains, The left Image shows the map grid and my colourd grid to show where the terrain images sit, then on the right is the terrain images via the file I've added above. At the time of this screen shot I had only edited Grasslands, repersented by the green number 2, The forest is no.3 and the plains no.1 ... hopefully you can see how the graphics are split up and why I needed to make the terrain file above to determine which terrain is which.

When you start looking at the coastal tiles they are pretty hard to see which are which since there is no uniformity, and many of them go inland too much (seen those forests off mid ocean or troops standing one foot on land and one in the water..)

Hope this helps