Map: Height Maps

[IronDuke99]

How does one "choose clear keeping the current contours"?

[dmnt]

Originally Posted by IronDuke99

How does one "choose clear keeping the current contours"?

That's just my memory trying to think what that tooltip said.

Choose the "Add clear terrain to hex following the contours of the existing map [C]". So when you first fire up the map editor, you can press N, C, 6, type 255 (and press Enter) and finally press L

OR

Click the blue triangle, green square on top left, "fill range" button above the blue triangle, type 255 and press enter, click "fill" button next to the "fill range" button.

This should give you the nice hills and slopes of the terrain.

[Grant1pa]

I have a question and I appologize if this has been asked prior.

I've been using the maptool in this thread (http://www.venhola.com/maps/)
and have been very impressed with the ease of obtaining realistic map heights for real world locations.

However, it's driving me crazy trying to emplace streams and lakes which occur on heights above "0" elevation. Which I know is obvious to members of the forum, you can place streams on "10" elevations but they move to "0". In game design, this may not be an issue unless you try to put streams or lakes on higher than "10" levels. The drop is simply to drastic and you have to greatly modify the map heights generated by the tool.

My computer programing days have long past and I surely don't have the expertise to critique or advise on the problem. Is there anyway to allow streams or lakes in higher elevations. Streams progress downstream as well as lakes can be on any elevation. It would be great to be able to emplace these terrain features onto the elevations produced through the map tool.

In a wish list of improvements to the game mechanics, this would have to be my highest wish.

Anyone have any answers?

Tom Garlock

[dmnt]

Originally Posted by Grant1pa

However, it's driving me crazy trying to emplace streams and lakes which occur on heights above "0" elevation. Which I know is obvious to members of the forum, you can place streams on "10" elevations but they move to "0". In game design, this may not be an issue unless you try to put streams or lakes on higher than "10" levels. The drop is simply to drastic and you have to greatly modify the map heights generated by the tool.

My computer programing days have long past and I surely don't have the expertise to critique or advise on the problem. Is there anyway to allow streams or lakes in higher elevations. Streams progress downstream as well as lakes can be on any elevation. It would be great to be able to emplace these terrain features onto the elevations produced through the map tool.

I personally have just placed the lakes where they happen to be. In some cases, it's in higher terrain and the shores become steep, but I just took it as a limitation of the game engine. Thinking over this last weekend I have couple of proposed solutions for the changes I could make for the map producing code. I'd appreciate any input from the end users:

1. Forcing the zero level: In the map tool there would be an option list for the download map section where you could arbitrarily set the ground level 0 to any metric height you wish. That means, if you have a lake that's 12 meters above sea level you could force "12 meters" to be the zero ground level and anything below that would be zero. Pros: You get your lakes to proper height. Cons: you lose terrain information below that level. Not good for mountains.
2. Adding an option to tilt the terrain: You could set the ground tilt so that the lake (or rivers) would be near correct by setting three points on the map to be on certain height level. That would create a slanted height map so that most of the lake or river is on correct terrain height. Pros: You get most of your lakes to correct height. Cons: the terrain height is sloped and not absolute but rather relative to nearby environment and slopes appear where they would not. Tedious to implement.

The backend code already has the ground level setting code (which was the source of the bug mentioned in this thread earlier) but the frontend currently has not means to set it or to signal it to the backend.

Also, if anyone wants to participate in coding this web app you're welcome.

[RecruitMonty]

I don't think you need to bother. If that is the way the game engine likes it then we just have to live with it. Otherwise it defeats the object of developing a tool to render height properly.

I do think something should be done about pavements etc though. I never understood why that was the case and I always found it rather arbitrary.

[Tomas]

I'm bit stuck with my map. I've used the tool and have a perfect heighmap. But whenever I try to place certain terrain to a hex the height of the hex will change as follows:

- if placing clear terrain and height was 0 it will be 5
- if placing trees and height was 0 it will be 0
- if placing pavement and height was 0 it will be 5
- if placing paved road and height was 0 it will be 0

- if placing clear terrain and height was 10 it will be 11
- if placing trees and height was 10 it will be 10
- if placing pavement and height was 10 it will be 5
- if placing paved road and height was 10 will be 10

In conclusion - placing almost anything besides trees or road ruins the height.

I've attached the heightmap so you can see yourself.

What can be done about that ?

[dmnt]

Originally Posted by Tomas

I'm bit stuck with my map. I've used the tool and have a perfect heighmap. But whenever I try to place certain terrain to a hex the height of the hex will change as follows:

- if placing clear terrain and height was 0 it will be 5
- if placing trees and height was 0 it will be 0
- if placing pavement and height was 0 it will be 5
- if placing paved road and height was 0 it will be 0

- if placing clear terrain and height was 10 it will be 11
- if placing trees and height was 10 it will be 10
- if placing pavement and height was 10 it will be 5
- if placing paved road and height was 10 will be 10

In conclusion - placing almost anything besides trees or road ruins the height.

I've attached the heightmap so you can see yourself.

What can be done about that ?

First things first: whenever you have downloaded a map, open it up in map editor, click fill range, write 255, choose "clear map following the contour" (the other clear terrain - you need to click blue triangle once - in same screen as railways etc.) and then click "fill."

That way you have the hills and slopes properly. The map and game engine don't follow the precise heights that much so it's only close to the actual height. And natural formations don't make that hex grid, either.