Error: New Environment Issues

[tone]

Post any issues with the new environment here

Here's the first.
DVK, I started a campaign for a couple of rounds as Parthia last night and noticed that the blue of the lakes in that desert environment is too bright and saturated.

OK, here's the link to the new environment files. You need to follow DVK's instructions exactly to the letter. Note that not all the new trees are in place yet. There's still probably some tweaks that need to be made to some textures too. Your feedback and any problems encountered would be helpful.

Here is the new environment for RS. I am uploading this to my account, but it is a password protected zip file. I'll included the password when it's uploaded.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=P4JBGIQ3

OR

http://files.filefront.com/environme.../fileinfo.html

The password is: M@r1mb@

PLEASE READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY.

To install this, do NOT extract into your existing RS2 directory...instead, extract it into it's own folder 'Environment'.
The reason for this is there is a change to the map file 'map_climates.tga', and if you put it in your RS1.5 directory, it will wreck any existing campaign you have going.
If you don't care, you can copy all the files in the 'data' folder into your RS2 'data' folder (but you may want to backup the affected files and directories first).
If you have a campaign going you want to save, copy all the files in the Pack EXCEPT the directory called 'world'.

Also....back up 'custom_battles.txt' in the data folder, and after installing it, replace the file with the backup. The 'custom_battles.txt' in the environment pack is the wrong one.

This stuff is totally classified, so absolutely no posting of this link to others outside the beta team or posting screenshots on any forums anywhere.



Edit: DVK

There are three files you need to backup before installing this.

custom_locations.txt in the 'data' folder

mod_0.pak in the data\packs folder

map_climates.tga in the 'data\world\maps\base' folder.


Put these files in a separate folder, then install the environment into the RTW directory..not the data folder.

After installing, put the three files you backed up BACK where they were. I will fix this, I just haven't had time yet.

[algorath]

Nice, gonna try that out asap^^
Is there any chance that instead of "custom_battles.txt" you mean "custom_locations.txt"? There´s neither a file called "custom_battles.txt" in rs2.0 nor in the new environment data folder

[tone]

That's probably what DVK meant.

[dvk901]

Sorry....'custom_locations.txt'. Doh.

[Calvin]

During a battle in northern italy, I came across a couple of errors.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The crops on the farm seem to have floating leaves that do spoil it when zoomed in.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The farm was on top of a hill, and when zoomed in while my troops were fighting on the side of the hill, these lines appeared in the sky. (They were much more noticeable ingame. They're a little above the men fighting in the middle)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Fought in a custom battle on a river crossing with the Scythians vs Macedon. Whenever an arrow hit the water (and there were plenty of arrows! ) these strange little blue and white balls would jump up and then splash down creating ripples. The ripples were great, but the balls look kinda weird.

Even with these, I am just blown away completely! The new environment is just fantastic beyond words. You guys have done such an awesome job.

[tone]

It was all me of course




In fact DVK and Gotthard did it all

And it promises to be even better once the new trees are in place.

[dvk901]

The arrows hitting the water was an animation\graphic I struggled quite a bit with. It's 'supposed' to be a 'splash', and then the ripples. It's about as good as it gets in RTW, which doesn't handle it as well as MTW2 does.

But, I'll have a look at the graphic for the 'splash' and see if there's anything I can do.

The 'floating leaves' could just be a 'dirty' alpha channel.....or, due to the fact it's on a hill. One of the compromises we'll have to live with is that RTW doesn't handle 'hills' as well as MTW2 either. Every once in a while, depending on camera angle, things 'lift' off the ground oddly. This is because RTW was designed with very 'flat' terrain originally, and all of the files that lay out graphics ON the terrain expect 'flat' surfaces. Most of the time, it's OK...but there are the rare exceptions. But I'll check eventually when I revisit the environment.

[algorath]

I don´t seem to have any desert environments, campain map is entirely "green"
Same when playing some desert custom battle...
I did follow the instructions

E: oh and its quite hilly

E: oh, and i dont like the high tree-density on virtually every battlefield. Sure, europe was practically one huge forest back then but its just annoying to do battle where there are trees

[tone]

Same here after loading that new map_climates or whatever the file was.

[dvk901]

The 'new' environment was entirely designed using the old RS1.5 map. I spent months working on it, but the fact is, I have never been able to address it since then. I really have only a 'bare minimum' idea what it looks like on the RS2 map myself, because I have no time to play battles or campaigns.

So, it is going to have to be 'redesigned' for the RS2 map. I'll be working on it soon.

[tone]

I think one thing we need to do is slightly reduce the hilliness....but only a small amount

[dvk901]

Funny, LT said the same thing......and that's the hardest part of it all!!

[tone]

Is that a question of chaning the database values or the campaign map heights? Or both?

[dvk901]

It is a process of changing values that relate to settings like this:

sandy_desert modifies default
{
season summer
{
texture rock terrain/battlefield/sandy_desert/summer/rock.tga
texture gravel none
texture sand_caked terrain/battlefield/sandy_desert/summer/caked_sand.tga
texture sand terrain/battlefield/sandy_desert/summer/sand.tga
texture sand_blown terrain/battlefield/sandy_desert/summer/sand_blown.tga
texture dirt none
texture mud none
texture swamp none
texture grass_dry none
texture grass_short none
texture grass_long none
texture shrub_sparse none
texture shrub_dense none
texture forest_sparse none
texture forest_dense none
texture env_map battlefield/envmaps/desert.dds
}

season winter
{
texture rock terrain/battlefield/sandy_desert/winter/rock.tga
texture gravel none
texture sand_caked terrain/battlefield/sandy_desert/winter/caked_sand.tga
texture sand terrain/battlefield/sandy_desert/winter/sand.tga
texture sand_blown terrain/battlefield/sandy_desert/winter/sand_blown.tga
texture dirt none
texture mud none
texture swamp none
texture grass_dry none
texture grass_short none
texture grass_long none
texture shrub_sparse none
texture shrub_dense none
texture forest_sparse none
texture forest_dense none
texture env_map battlefield/envmaps/desert.dds
}

table
{ ; QUAL_NONE QUAL_VERY_LOW QUAL_LOW QUAL_NORMAL QUAL_HIGH QUAL_VERY_HIGH
; --------- ------------- -------- ----------- --------- --------------

SWAMP sand_caked sand_caked sand_caked sand sand sand ; . . . . . .
SAND sand_caked sand_caked sand sand sand sand ; . . . o x .
SOIL sand_caked sand sand sand sand_caked sand_caked ; . . . . . .
CLAY rock sand_blown sand_blown sand sand sand_caked ; . . . . . x
SHALE rock sand_blown sand_blown sand_blown sand sand ; . . x . . .
ROCK rock sand_blown sand_blown sand_blown sand_blown sand ; x . . . . .
}

conversion
{
rock ROCK NONE
gravel SHALE VERY_LOW
sand_caked CLAY VERY_HIGH
sand SAND NORMAL
sand_blown SHALE LOW
dirt CLAY NONE
mud SWAMP VERY_LOW
swamp SWAMP NORMAL
grass_dry CLAY VERY_LOW
grass_short CLAY LOW
grass_long CLAY NORMAL
shrub_sparse CLAY HIGH
shrub_dense SOIL NORMAL
forest_sparse CLAY VERY_HIGH
forest_dense SOIL VERY_HIGH
}

generation
{ ; +--Ground--+ +------H Spectrum------+ +---H Noise---+ +------G Spectrum------+ +---G Noise---+
; SGT Hard Qual fade-in median fade-out bias std dev fade-in median fade-out bias std dev
; --- ---- ---- ------- ------ -------- ---- ------- ------- ------ -------- ---- -------

FERTILE_LOW SAND VERY_LOW -0.5 8 -0.5 0.0 25.0 0.0 7 -0.15 0.0 0.5
FERTILE_MEDIUM SAND HIGH -0.5 8 -0.5 0.0 20.0 0.0 7 -0.15 0.0 0.5
FERTILE_HIGH SOIL HIGH -0.5 8 -0.5 0.0 10.0 0.0 7 -0.15 0.0 0.5
WILDERNESS SAND HIGH -0.5 8 -0.5 0.0 30.0 0.0 7 -0.15 0.0 0.5
MOUNTAINS_HIGH ROCK NONE -0.1 8 -0.1 200.0 250.0 0.0 7 -0.15 0.0 0.5
MOUNTAINS_LOW SOIL NONE -0.2 8 -0.2 15.0 60.0 0.0 7 -0.15 0.0 0.5
HILLS SOIL HIGH -0.5 8 -0.5 0.0 40.0 0.0 7 -0.15 0.0 0.5
FOREST_DENSE SOIL HIGH -0.5 8 -0.5 0.0 30.0 0.0 7 -0.15 0.0 0.5
FOREST_SPARSE SOIL HIGH -0.5 8 -0.5 0.0 8.0 0.0 7 -0.15 0.0 0.5
SWAMP SWAMP NORMAL 0.0 5 0.0 0.0 2.0 0.0 7 -0.15 0.0 0.5
OCEAN SAND NORMAL 0.0 5 0.0 -6.0 2.0 0.0 7 -0.15 0.0 0.5
SEA_DEEP SAND NORMAL 0.0 5 0.0 -4.0 2.0 0.0 7 -0.15 0.0 0.5
SEA_SHALLOW SAND NORMAL 0.0 5 0.0 0.0 2.0 0.0 7 -0.15 0.0 0.5
BEACH SAND LOW 0.0 5 0.0 0.0 2.0 0.0 7 -0.15 0.0 0.5
}
}

It is not very 'user friendly', and difficult to keep track of what changes what.....because this is done with a program that reads a 'hex code' database....interprets it into something that makes sense (more or less )....and then puts the changes you make back in the database.....and hopefully that made sense.

What I will probably have to do is start from 'Vanilla' settings again....because of the new map, and gradually change the settings like I did on the other map.
The BAD thing is that the look and settings of the 'strat map'...which Cherry is supposed to be working on...have a big effect on what the battlemap looks like. The two are 'inter-connected'. So I can change the look all over the place of the Battlemap, and then what Cherry does can change it all again.

Also, several people mentioned there is no desert......well, you may note that almost all of the 'desert' is Terra Incognita on our map. So it isn't likely you'll fight in a pure desert environment much, unless I make it creep closer to the coasts and in towards the Nile.

[Mediteran]

ok this is what i did. i first did a backup of

custom_locations.txt
mod_0.pak
map_climates.tga

as it said in the instructions, then i installed the new enviroments, and put those files back. was i supposed to do anything else?

i first did a custom battle on italian lowlands map (carthage vs ptolemaics) and it worked fine, however when i tried a custom battle on sahara desert map (carthage vs parthia)
Screenshot of the error:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...haradesert.jpg



EDIT: when i tried again, it worked fine. im going to try testing some more to find what exactly could have caused it

[dvk901]

I forgot to mention you have to delete 'map.rwm' in the 'world\maps\base' folder. Too much on my mind.

[tone]

Hmmmm....maybe I opened a can of worms here by releasing the new environment too early. The problem is that it was optimised for the older map and hasn't been adapted to the new one.

[Mediteran]

ah ok, so should i reinstall again without the environments then?

[tone]

Try what DVK suggests - he knows way more than me on this.

[Mediteran]

ok, deleted