Im a bit confused here...

Im a bit confused here...

Discuss maps & map creation - from concept to execution to the ever elusive release.

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elim
Posts: 8
Joined: 23 Jun 2005, 21:18

Im a bit confused here...

Post by elim »

I am i bit confused about how i am supposed to create a map for this game by just using a set of textures. My main problem is with creating vertical/near vertical faces, i have no idea how i am going to do this as in the textures they would just be a line and in the heightmap they would be a sharp fall. How would it work?

I want to create a core prime industrial area style map with some sort of barron wasteland surrounding the 'bases'. How could i achieve this with just a texture?

In the past i have used mainly half life editors, although i have used the original TA editor to make a few maps.
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aGorm
Posts: 2928
Joined: 12 Jan 2005, 10:25

Post by aGorm »

Its a differnt concept... basicly when you make a height map your drawing teh top down view of the map.

A White Pixle would be the highest point and a Black pixle would be the lowest point.

So say you drew littraly a white square in the middle of a patch of black. With a solid transitio from black to white. This would give you a near vertical square hill in the middle of a flat peice of terain.

If however you ran a blur tool over it so that there were shades of grey merging the two together, you would get a smoth square hill, with sloped sides.

Does that make more sence now?? Dont think of fps style map editing. Its totaly different.

aGorm
Metaltrash
Posts: 35
Joined: 25 May 2005, 20:04

Post by Metaltrash »

To add to aGorm's

Till now vertikel is imposible and near vertikel ends in the pixels of the "landmap" being stretched up the hill.
There is some map with real step slopes.

There is the posibility of making Objekts and puting them there (struktiors looking like cliffs, but nobody tried that till now.

Halflife maps are totaly different, but if you ever plaed with the mapeditor of UT2003, it comes out like the landscapes there.
elim
Posts: 8
Joined: 23 Jun 2005, 21:18

ok

Post by elim »

ok that makes slightly more sence, so how do you go about creating realistic tarrain? The greyscale height map is used and all that white is the highest back the lowest etc, but what is the easiest way of creating that? What programs do you use and what techniques?
Kixxe
Posts: 1547
Joined: 14 May 2005, 10:02

Post by Kixxe »

Terragen is usefull and makes cool terrain... I think theres a map tutorail to it, but it's for the ''real'' ota...

http://www.planetside.co.uk/terragen/

and heres a tutorial: http://fast.filespace.org/Kixxe/Tutorial.zip

(you better enjoy it, i had to upload it myself:/)

its old, for the OTA, but you will learn to use terragen. Just skip the annilator part in the end.

if you dont get terragen, i suggest just using something whit a brush or something, or just paint the map and blur it.
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aGorm
Posts: 2928
Joined: 12 Jan 2005, 10:25

Post by aGorm »

I'll post a detailed way of making the textures tonight or tommorow... So that there will be no problems! but not right now as im working...

aGorm
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LathanStanley
Posts: 1429
Joined: 20 Jun 2005, 05:16

Post by LathanStanley »

aGorm wrote:I'll post a detailed way of making the textures tonight or tommorow... So that there will be no problems! but not right now as im working...

aGorm
/me is waiting impatiently :P

my map is pretty much on hold until I learn this terragen thingie... :( its too big of file otherwise... and has issues on lower end machines
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aGorm
Posts: 2928
Joined: 12 Jan 2005, 10:25

Post by aGorm »

arrgggg... soz i been out geting pissed and cinema and concerts... you know how it is... (or maybe you dont...)

What did I put myself down to do? A Teregen tutorial?? I'll post one by the end of the weekend thats all I can promise.

aGorm
Gnomre
Imperial Winter Developer
Posts: 1754
Joined: 06 Feb 2005, 13:42

Post by Gnomre »

The one at http://www.planetta.com/terragen/ pretty much covers it. Just don't render in water at all for spring maps (don't do it his way, and don't let terragen render it normally, just let Spring handle water) and set the camera to be 90 degrees rather than the ~70 (TA's view angle) it comes out to, and also set the sun to 90 degrees so there are no shadows.

[edit] That is to say, don't let terragen render the shadows, let spring. Your sun angle can be whatever you want in the .smd.
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[K.B.] Napalm Cobra
Posts: 1222
Joined: 16 Aug 2004, 06:15

Post by [K.B.] Napalm Cobra »

And turn off all atmospheric effects.
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zwzsg
Kernel Panic Co-Developer
Posts: 7052
Joined: 16 Nov 2004, 13:08

Post by zwzsg »

Many people have graphic cards that don't handle ground shading in Spring, so having pre-shaded maps maybe isn't such a bad idea.
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[K.B.] Napalm Cobra
Posts: 1222
Joined: 16 Aug 2004, 06:15

Post by [K.B.] Napalm Cobra »

Ya it is, cause most people would and it'll make it look crappy for them.
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