Spring RTS Engine

Im attempting to make a SMD Feautre Placer to replace that monstrosity people currently have to use. Its gonna be GUI based similar to the Start Postition editor I made a while back, but of course different as its for features. Im just wondering what stuff you mappers would like to see in there to make your lives easier. Ive got no idea what goes into placing features easily, so if you map makers could throw ideas around for me, Ill see what i can do about making this thing.

Also, how big would you want the box where you place things to be? As big as the map texture, for exact placings, or 1/8th, like feature maps, or a fixed 500x500px like the Start Pos Ed., or what? This is a fairly crucial thing that needs deciding, my whole GUI will be decided by how this works.

(I know, ive got a thread about this in the dev forum as well, but thats about different stuff, for devs not map makers)

Well... assuming that while we can only currently place features on a map of teh same res as the height map, take that. If infact thay could be lplace even more accuratly then make it so! Will you be able to get a 3d preview with what your planning, or will it be purly to place features with, not to view them?

aGorm

I still think an ingame editor would be better, and much less work.

A group AI that looked at all the features available and assigns them command IDs then displays those command IDs as buttons when the AI is selected with their titles being the names of the features, then when that command is issued on a location, the AI draws a feature there, and there'll be an erase command and an export command.

In fact such an AI would require an export framework, and considering I've already written such a framework in Map Exporter AI v4 for the next NTai release amongst other goodies I plan on adding for editing the map.......

I say make the box 1/8th, and can u make it so that the feature placer shows the tag names of each feature placed? Or even posibly show the footprint?

Also, if its not too much, i would like to actually have ur program use the heightmap as an underlay, so i can see exactly where on the map i'm putting my features.

Quanto042 wrote:I say make the box 1/8th, and can u make it so that the feature placer shows the tag names of each feature placed? Or even posibly show the footprint?

Also, if its not too much, i would like to actually have ur program use the heightmap as an underlay, so i can see exactly where on the map i'm putting my features.

I second this

Which would people rather, AFs ingame placer, or this GUI version? If everyones going to use AFs, ill make something else instead, no point making two things when only ones going to get used...

I would make the background be whatever you wanted it to be, like the start pos placer, you would just click a 'Load Background' button and specify what pic you wanted.

Im not sure what resolution the feature map is, cause its not actually a feature map as such. The x/y/z position of the features is defined by a float, so it can be presumably anywhere on the map. So the size of the editor window can be an arbitary size i guess, it doesnt really matter.

translusency layers in photoshop FOR THE WIN!....

I've been doin that for like.. months!

Maelstrom wrote:Which would people rather, AFs ingame placer, or this GUI version? If everyones going to use AFs, ill make something else instead, no point making two things when only ones going to get used...

I would make the background be whatever you wanted it to be, like the start pos placer, you would just click a 'Load Background' button and specify what pic you wanted.

Im not sure what resolution the feature map is, cause its not actually a feature map as such. The x/y/z position of the features is defined by a float, so it can be presumably anywhere on the map. So the size of the editor window can be an arbitary size i guess, it doesnt really matter.

Mael, I'll take anything you come up with over an in-game editor. Ingame editors are too awkward and annoying for me to work with. PLEASE make urs!

Spring doesn't provide methods to retrieve feature definitions via the interface save for features already inplace, so I'm having to go around it via Unit Sync.

Although I could release Map AI v3 in the next 2 days if someone would pool all the features into a feature placer mod as SM2->SM3 feature exporting is coded in it just needs linking to a GUI button..

Be sure to add a lot of features of massed feature placing.

PlaceInArrayFormation(), PlaceViaRandomDistribution(Guassian/Normal), and make something so certain placed features can be "grouped" and treated as one larger feature, and then placed via the same placement functions accordingly.

I'm suggesting this becasue it will help more maps reach the quality of Lathan's in terms of features.