new map with swampyness

[jK]

Have anyone ever used this blueprint before anyway? I mean does it work properly?

I tried using the blueprint, but I agree with sir that don't do that for now, just stick to the old smf methods. The blueprint just adds extra complexity.

The idea is nice that you standardise the map and automate some settings, but it doesn't add any new functionality really, and putting the settings in several files in new locations makes it hard to manually edit those.

No one force you to use the mapoptions ...
You guys make things more complicated than they are!
The forum threads says:

• place your SMF&SMT into ./maps/
• edit mapconfig.lua (give your map a new name & change lighting etc.)
• edit mapoptions.lua in the case you want to disable a few mapoptions (invert, night, snow, ...)
• finished

NO REASON TO EDIT ANYTHING ELSE! YOU DON'T NEED TO TOUCH THE FOLDERS AT ALL!!!

[zwzsg]

Have anyone ever used this blueprint before anyway? I mean does it work properly?

Yes, I used it. There was one error, but then it got corrected (I didn't test everything though).

The idea with this blueprint is so your map setting are made from a source clean and up to date, instead of relying on an old smd passed on from generation to generation and where many tags don't work or are missing.

[smoth]

I use it but no maps released with it yet

[zoggop]

Wait a minute, the heightmap has been inverted in your screenshots, dansan. That explains the color of the water, in part: The terrain under those ponds (which should be hills) is green. I am so confused.

[Beherith]

Zoggop, is the grass still buggy for you?

[dansan]

Wait a minute, the heightmap has been inverted in your screenshots, dansan. That explains the color of the water, in part: The terrain under those ponds (which should be hills) is green. I am so confused.

LOL - that's interesting :D Please tell me if I can do anything to help/debug.

[Beherith]

Dansan: You can set the following params in smd file (on the same level as maxmetal):

Code: Select all

[SMF]{
minheight=100;
maxheight=-100;
}

[dansan]

Dansan: You can set the following params in smd file (on the same level as maxmetal):

Code: Select all

[SMF]{
minheight=100;
maxheight=-100;
}

hmm... I tried to do that, but it seems the file-layout is different to what you expect.

In maps/vernal-3way-0.5.smd there is no [SMF] or maxmetal. I tried to just add it on the same level as [MAP] (outside its scope) and also inside [MAP] on the same level as [TEAM0], but that didn't change anything.

Then I searched around and found maxmetal in mapinfo.lua and there was also a section

Code: Select all

smf = {
    minheight = -22,
    maxheight = 63,
}

, that I modified to minheight=100 and maxheight=-100 (which seems inverted (?)). That did indeed change the map. It has now very high hills and deep lakes. But it's still green.

I noticed a mapconfig/mapinfo/70_invert_heightmap.lua but that seems to be disabled in mapoptions.lua... if I understand it correctly... without understanding how maps work :P

I noticed two other things... it's prob. to early to go into this? The mapinfo as shown by sl is all empty and it doesn't have spawn-points.

Map preview in sl is also green.

The attached pix vernal_* encode in the filename vernal_<minheight>_<maxheight>.jpg.

I don't know how maps (and their format) work, so don't forget instructions. Is their a wiki page I should read... like "you have to turn off solid in 7zip"?

[dansan]

only 3 attachment allowed

[zoggop]

Interesting. I also get this problem when I start from springlobby (testing directly in spring works fine). If I remove the minheight and maxheight lines from mapinfo.lua though, the heightmap goes back to normal (but it's too tall because I didn't set the minheight and maxheight correctly when I was compiling the map). The solution, I think, is to just compile the map correctly and remove all references to height in the mapinfo.lua and the smd. As for the start positions... I thought that was only a problem when the map is not archived into a .sd7, and springlobby wouldn't parse the map.sdd/maps/map.smd for some reason. I'll see if I can debug it soon (I have to go to, you know, work). Thanks for all the info.

[Jools]

NO REASON TO EDIT ANYTHING ELSE! YOU DON'T NEED TO TOUCH THE FOLDERS AT ALL!!!

Yeah, that's what windows tells me too when I want to browse the program files folder. Still, there is need to touch them, I might not agree for example that little metal setting = -15 % of metal, or whatever it was.

[Jools]

Then I searched around and found maxmetal in mapinfo.lua and there was also a section

Code: Select all

smf = {
    minheight = -22,
    maxheight = 63,
}

, that I modified to minheight=100 and maxheight=-100 (which seems inverted (?)). That did indeed change the map. It has now very high hills and deep lakes. But it's still green.

I noticed a mapconfig/mapinfo/70_invert_heightmap.lua but that seems to be disabled in mapoptions.lua... if I understand it correctly... without understanding how maps work

This was the point I was making: there are multiple ways to set thr invert heightmap:

• 1. In the mapconverter, there's a flag that toggles invert heightmap seting.
  2. In the smd file
  3. In the 70_invert_heightmap.lua file, if you use the container mode

Also, when you compile your map with mapconverter you can set height parameters. It's best to set those to min = 0 and max = 255, and then set the appropriate parameters in the smd file. Water is at 0.

But even if it's a land map you should not set the minimum level to 0, because then a small crater will reveal water, so set something like min = 50 and max = 300, or just experiment with the ratios to get a good water level and height of mountains. I think centre command has max = 500 or something, but normally maps use about 200-300.

[smoth]

NO REASON TO EDIT ANYTHING ELSE! YOU DON'T NEED TO TOUCH THE FOLDERS AT ALL!!!

Yeah, that's what windows tells me too when I want to browse the program files folder. Still, there is need to touch them, I might not agree for example that little metal setting = -15 % of metal, or whatever it was.

? what ?

[Beherith]

Interesting. I also get this problem when I start from springlobby (testing directly in spring works fine).

Oh right, now I realized why I disliked mapoptions.lua - its difficult to test through spring.exe. Default enabled are different when launched from lobby compared to spring.exe. Test from lobby, as that is what the players will see.

[Jools]

There's a setting in \mapconfig\mapinfo that sets 3 default presets for mapoptions: low, normal and high metal. There the low metal e.g. is defined as 0,7 * metal. So I may want to edit that.

But I think the idea is nice, to provide some standard default mapoptions, it would just be easier if all the settings were in 1 file and not in ~17.

[Jools]

Maybe I just dislike the approach because it's the same as in Grub2, which is the most stupid piece of software ever written. It's the one reason that I stopped using linux.

[smoth]

Interesting. I also get this problem when I start from springlobby (testing directly in spring works fine).

Oh right, now I realized why I disliked mapoptions.lua - its difficult to test through spring.exe. Default enabled are different when launched from lobby compared to spring.exe. Test from lobby, as that is what the players will see.

or set your stuff properly. Not telling what code version that guy was using. I had a few flawed/odd assumptions in my old map options implimentations that I later fixed but obviously those changes didn't get prolifferated. However, NEVER did I have the invert option or other odd heightfeild stuff beyond flawed wet/dry logic(visible in rivervalley)..so I don't think it is fair to blame map options.. I blame the person abusing lua.

[smoth]

There's a setting in \mapconfig\mapinfo that sets 3 default presets for mapoptions: low, normal and high metal. There the low metal e.g. is defined as 0,7 * metal. So I may want to edit that.

But I think the idea is nice, to provide some standard default mapoptions, it would just be easier if all the settings were in 1 file and not in ~17.

that isn't a big deal really, yep you may have to edit some lua for game specific stuff like metal/tidal.

if the settings were in one file.. LOL THEY CAN BE. you don't have to use the configs at all. They are for map options stuff.

[smoth]

Maybe I just dislike the approach because it's the same as in Grub2, which is the most stupid piece of software ever written. It's the one reason that I stopped using linux.

it is just cascading configs. I don't really care for it either but it isn't that big an imposition for something you do once.. if they tried to force us to use this on UNITS and features I would RAGE.

[Jools]

I didn't like the approach where you scan a whole folder and generate the input based on the order of files: I like to make backups of such files and rename them .bak or something, but grub scanned that file anyway.

Well, this is off-topic really. So here's something relevant. Here's my mapconv expression for john's pond:

Code: Select all

mapconv.exe -c 0 -i -x 255 -n 25 -t _texmap_6144.bmp -a _heightmap_769.raw -m _metalmap_384.bmp -f _featuremap_768.bmp -o "John's-pond_rc.smf"

I think the -i flag is the one that means invert.