TileEdit: first beta release is here

[Harlan]

As I said to Martin in an email, I tried using this program in an email, but I still don't get how it works. My goal is to create a new terrain type, Forest Hill, but adding Forest graphics to Hills (while keeping a regular Hill). I can do the graphic part in Photoshop, but could someone then help me do the conversion part to make it actually work in CTP?

[Martin the Dane]

that will teach me to post news about your files....

I'm sorry Mark but I do post updates whenever I find something in my programs that needs fixing as opposed to certain commercial software producers.
But seriously it's good to know that someone appreciates my work. Just don't link to the patch in the future, they will probably be seriously outdated before anyone takes notice and downloads them. The program on the other hand is zipped without any version id, so those links will always be current. The version and compilation date is displayed on my CivCTP page.

I'm not aware of any bugs in the current version (so please post them), but I'm working on a little more functionality, and a lot of help file.

As usual you can download the newest version of TileEdit and the latest patch from my CTP-page

Martin the Dane

[Martin the Dane]

Hi just a minor update. I have added a an extra option to border import, so borders can now be loaded in two ways:
1. all four from TGA
2. one of the four from TGA, which is then copied to the other three.

In the script file this is done my adding a number from 0 to 4
If 0 or omitted all four borders are imported from the TGA else only one is imported while the other three are copied from that one.
The numbers are:
1 - only SW border imported from the TGA
2 - only NW border imported from the TGA
3 - only NE border imported from the TGA
4 - only SE border imported from the TGA

I didn't get around to the help file tonight.

As usual you can download the newest version of TileEdit and the patch from my CTP-page
Note that the patch only works for build 19!

Martin the Dane

[Immortal Wombat]

Originally posted by Harlan
As I said to Martin in an email, I tried using this program in an email, but I still don't get how it works. My goal is to create a new terrain type, Forest Hill, but adding Forest graphics to Hills (while keeping a regular Hill). I can do the graphic part in Photoshop, but could someone then help me do the conversion part to make it actually work in CTP?

Hmm, seems no-one wants to answer you

Unless you want to replace tile graphics (ie your scenario doesn't use polar hills or something) then you have to export the whole lot as a script file and targa images. You will get something like a file called test.scr and a directory called test with all the tile, border, river and tileimp images in it.
Then you dump your images into the directory as well, and edit the script file to make TileEdit recognise them when you import the script.

I don't know exactly what you need to edit in the script file, but it shouldn't be too hard to figure out using the script-file-format file included.
Each land terrain you add needs 15 tiles (you can copy-and-paste the tile rules from some other terrain) and then it needs 15 borders. (1 for each other terrain type and one for beach) then you need to add a border to every other terrain type for where they meet the new terrain.

To make the new terrain in a scenario, just use the cheat menu, to add it on. To make it appear in a random map, I don't know how you can, sorry.

Hope this helps.

Ben

[Martin Gühmann]

OK Harlan here is my second trial to explain how I added purple hills:

I will start with the exporting of tile graphics:

At first we go to all hill graphics. The first one of green hill has the Tile Number 8, Tile Index 9, TilesetIndex 9 and four cut out borders you see the 15 in the Show Tiles box.

Now we want to save this graphic to an image that can be modified in an external paint program. Therefore we go on File -> Save... -> Tile... and save the image. We repeat the same thing with the other images of green hills.

Here is the list of Tile Number, Index, TilesetIndex and Border numbers:

Number-----Index-------TilesetIndex------Borders

8-------------9-------------9-------------------15
83-----------901----------9-------------------15
84-----------902----------9-------------------15
85-----------903----------9-------------------11
86-----------904----------9-------------------12
87-----------905----------9-------------------3
88-----------906----------9-------------------14
89-----------951----------9-------------------14
90-----------952----------9-------------------6
91-----------953----------9-------------------7
92-----------999----------9-------------------0

In Paint Shop Pro I collorized them. And then I imported them into my gtset565.til file.

At first I went to the position where I want to add the Tile graphics. As I wanted to add a new terrain type and I wanted to add it according to the allready existing onces that can be found in the CTP2 *.til files therefore I went to the position (TileNumber) 26. That's the position after the first special2 terrain tile the dessert pics and the position, before the rest of all plains tiles.

Now if your at these position go on Edit -> Add -> Tile...

And now your are in the add a tile box. In the upper left corner you see the Position box. It shows the current tile position. Of course you can change this position it should be now position 26 if your modifying the original version of the gtset565.til file. If you are modifying my gtset565.til file than it is position 27.

In the upper right corner you see a cross of red, green, blue, pink and black sqaures.

To load a graphic into Tile Edit go on load.

Now search for your modified tile images and load the first one. If you didn't changed the name for the image than it's called Tile0900.tga. Select this graphic if you didn't modified the brackgound color than it is silver select silver for transparent color or click on the background with a left click and CTRL. Now press OK and if you selected the tranparenty color correctly you see instead of the black square your modified graphics.

You can see that it has four cutout borders. Therefore the red, green, blue and pink squares contains checkboxes. Click on that checkbox and it gets a X. That must be done for every cut out border.

Now on the left side in this box there are two other little boxes one for Tile ID and one for Tile Index.

For Purple Hills I selected 27 for Tile ID and for Tile Index also 27. Tile Index is the TilesetIndex used inthe CTP2 terrain.txt. And Tile Index is the internal number for that graphics.

Afterwards I added the rest of my new graphics at the end of the tiles. Here is the list for my modified Tile images I didn't changed the names.

Number-----Index-------TilesetIndex------Borders

26-------------27-------------27-------------------15
311-----------2701----------27-------------------15
312-----------2702----------27-------------------15
313-----------2703----------27-------------------11
314-----------2704----------27-------------------12
315-----------2705----------27-------------------3
316-----------2706----------27-------------------14
317-----------2751----------27-------------------14
318-----------2752----------27-------------------6
319-----------2753----------27-------------------7
320-----------2799----------27-------------------0

You noticed that the last Indices in both lists ends on **99. In CTP2 that is the image that covers the cutout borders if there are no according cutout borders.

Now you have the tiles and now you need border tiles to make a the transition between different terrain types smooth. Therefore activate Show Tile Borders. The Border ID shows you two numbers. The first number is the number for the TilesetIndex of the tile inside and the second number is for the tile outside.

For Purple Hills I had to make new border graphics but maybe it is not neccessary for your purpurse to draw new border tiles but you need some therefore you should save these border. Now all Borders conected to the Hill terrain are interesting. Therefore we save every border tile that has in its border ID the TilesetIndex for Hills that is 9. We save both kinds of borders for hills, inside and outside as well.

To do that go on File -> Save... -> Borders... and save the borders.

Now the border tiles can be modified in a paint program. For now I hope you don't need to modify them for your purpose.

If you need to modify the borders now you only modify one site and can them mirror the missing ones.

To load borders go on Edit -> Add... -> Borders... For the position I added my Borders inside Purple Hills after the last border in the *.til file. I added the outside borders to the according borders group.

Now you have to load in a border tile of coarse you have to know which terrain is inside and which is outside in TilesetIndices. Afterwards you described the inner and outer TilesetIndices you can load the border in.

After the borders are done you have to add new Tile Rhules. Otherwise you will see only two tile graphics for your new terrain.

Here is the pattern of such a 3x3 matrix:

NW N NE
W C E
SW S SE

Here are the tile rhules that I found for Green Hills:

Position: 32

-1 -1 -1
-1 9 -1
13 -1 13

Graph: 952 Alt1: -1 Alt2: -1 Alt3: -1 Alt4: -1 Alt5: -1

Now in this example the graphic 951 is used if we have in the center a Green Hill tile and in the SouthWest and SouthEast a Beach Tile. The Beach terrain has in CTP1 the TilesetIndex 13. And the first list contains a graphic called 951 at position 89.

Now the other rhules:

Position: 33

-1 -1 -1
-1 9 -1
13 -1 -1

Graph: 951 Alt1: -1 Alt2: -1 Alt3: -1 Alt4: -1 Alt5: -1

Position: 34

-1 -1 -1
-1 9 -1
-1 -1 13

Graph: 953 Alt1: -1 Alt2: -1 Alt3: -1 Alt4: -1 Alt5: -1

Position: 35

-1 -1 -1
-1 9 -1
19 -1 19

Graph: 952 Alt1: -1 Alt2: -1 Alt3: -1 Alt4: -1 Alt5: -1

Position: 36

-1 -1 -1
-1 9 -1
19 -1 -1

Graph: 951 Alt1: -1 Alt2: -1 Alt3: -1 Alt4: -1 Alt5: -1

Position: 37

-1 -1 -1
-1 9 -1
-1 -1 19

Graph: 953 Alt1: -1 Alt2: -1 Alt3: -1 Alt4: -1 Alt5: -1


Position: 38

9 -1 9
-1 9 -1
9 -1 9

Graph: -1 Alt1: 9 Alt2: 901 Alt3: 9 Alt4: 902 Alt5: 9

That is the last tile rhule for Green Hills. It is different to the first ones. Now it uses alternative graphics that means different graphics can be used for the center location if the rhule fits. If you put a valid graphics to the Graph position (a valid number from the internal Tile Indices) Than the Alt graphics are ignored, therefore a -1.

For my Purple Hill terrain I coppied these rhules and replaced the nines in them by 27. I added my new rhules after the last rhule in the *.til file, of course it is possible to add the rhules somewhere in the rhules block. But for me the file should look as Activision made it.

To add tile rhules go on Edit -> Add... -> Tile Rhule.

Now you are in the add a border box on left side you can make the tile rhules and on the right side you can select the center graphic for your tile.

The rhombus of boxes discribes the 3x3 matrix above:

N
NW NE
W C E
SW SE
S

There you can put the neighbour TilesetIndices in.

Here is the first new rhule for my Purple Hill terrain:

Position: 32

-1 -1 -1
-1 27 -1
13 -1 13

Graph: 952 Alt1: -1 Alt2: -1 Alt3: -1 Alt4: -1 Alt5: -1

Now the are some images that are not covered by the Tile Rhules so far as I now they are connected with the internal terrain type found in the terrain.txt and the last block.

-Martin

PS: The attachment contains this post.

[The Big Mc]

Just started with my first tile lava field its for the base of a volcano I am making. tile edit works good with this part. but when I came to try to find the border for the dead tile which I was going to cheat and put around I couldn't find it would it be possible in a later version of tile edit if the names of the borders files could come up as well as the numbers.

[Immortal Wombat]

Originally posted by The Big Mc
would it be possible in a later version of tile edit if the names of the borders files could come up as well as the numbers.

I suggested this at the beginning, but if you change the tiles that are assigned to that number or add more then the program will find it hard to update anything. I think its better as it is, though it does take sme hunting to get the correct borders...

Dead tiles are better than most though, just scan through until you get any black, and replace it.

[The Big Mc]

I got it working in a limited seance no borders just the tile thanks for the help.

also I have the same problem as harlan

[The Big Mc]

hello again I am just trying to get it so that the player can have battles on the tile all I get is a blank screen can you help

[Martin Gühmann]

This has to do with the battleview.ldl in your ..\ctp_data\english\layout\uidata\layouts folder. You should open it and look for some strings concerning terrains and replicate and modify them.

-Martin

[Immortal Wombat]

...and if you really want the new terrains to appear different from the normal ones, then you will need to make your own files for them. BlueO did some for his city expansion mod. Take a screenshot of a battle on dead tiles (lava yeah?) and then edit it how you want, and save it.

[The Big Mc]

I tried that earlier I just got no were. I was wondering if any body could help me find the real thing the battle view does not have much to do with it it seams.

[Martin Gühmann]

The borders that is the most difficuilt part, concerning to make them but also to explain them, needed one week to make them in comparision to the tiles. I needed for the tile border one week and for the tiles one or two days. OK that was easy as I just had to use the colorrise tool in order to make them purple.

At first what is a border tile: Take look on the picture that I attached. You can see a lot of stripes in red, green, blue and pink. That are borders of the tiles. To be more exact you saw these colored borders in CTP1 if you didn't placed a terrain tile via the cheat editor good enough. Oh and when you tried to used the CTP1 *.til file in CTP2 witout editing the terrain.txt. Normally these tripes will be filled by the tile borders. Every tile has four border therefore you have to make one border stripe and mirror it to the other border stripes, so that it fit on the colorful borer square. Of course that is a work that needs a lot of time therefore I asked Martin to modify Tileedit so that you only need to load in one of the four stripes and that this stripe will mirrored automaticly.If you go into the border add menue you will find this red, green, blue, pink and in the middle empty square.
And know you can see on the picture below that every border has to sides the short inside border and the long outside border. Therefore you have to assign two terrain types that belongs to that border one terrain for the inside border and one for the outside border. Each terrain has in that *.til file a number therefore you have to use this numbers for terrains that can be displayed as hex and decimal numbers.

I think the borders must fit the borders pattern that can you see on my attachment. As it has a lot of standalone pixels you need a lot of time to cut it out in this way that you have this pattern. Maybe I should ask Martin if it is possible that he can modify Tieleedit so that it skips the not necessary pixels automaticly.

-Martin

[Pedrunn]

I'm trying to fix a big annoyance of the BlueO's city expansion. Trading of cities. Since its feature is due to goods (in form of cities)spread. To fix it i am planning to direct change the terrain with the city-shaped good to terrain with the the draw of a city. Possible now due to the Tiledit. For the early ages i will use tile 305. but a do need terrains for the modern and future (Diamond) age. Isnt much to do. As far as i understood the tiledit all i am asking is a Grassland with the a TGA of a city on it.

Can someone help me out here

[The Big Mc]

thancks martin that's helpfull on the borders.

i had a problem latly with inporting some undersea montins a made in paint shop when i play them in ctp it crashes whats up with it.