IWTE - World editing - (General Discussion)

[leo.civil.uefs]

Just finished some changes in one of my settlements.

While editing pathfinding, I've used previous version of IWTE to create a worldbject TGA and a terrain base tga, merged them both in photoshop with reduced opacity for one of them and then got the pathfinding above it, easy way to edit vast areas of pathfinding based on terrain+budings, I really like beeing able to do this. Just read back the pathfinding into IWTE.



But this is not even the most impportant thing about creating the pathfinding tga. As you seem to already realize using the pathfinding to compare with things outisde IWTE is extremly impportant. For example, using the pathfinding tga as a background image in ms3d while you place buildings over your 3d terrain so you know where to put them (blue areas), this is specially impportant when you want to use a vanilla pathfinding layout and just replace the buildings, like I did with the elven settlements, and like what is described in my tutorial about creating generic settlements.

[wilddog]

@Leo - they may get added back at a later stage but mostly you are asking about things specific to how you use the tool v some changes in functionality which I'd prefer.

Its likely a button would be added to convert any of the painter data to a TGA which would support the second thing you requested. I didn't understand why but Mak explained as you seem to be using that as a basis of the plan rather than as the result of your plan. Up to now I had always used a separate plan as the basis of the background image in milkshape.

The first point would all be handled internally in IWTE so I don't really see any point priority in adding it back in. If you are happy to stay on an older IWTE version then you will be OK anyway.

[leo.civil.uefs]

Regarding to changes on descr_geography_new.db via IWTE.

[makanyane]

Interesting I thought the reflection in water was from the fog colour in the lighting file... maybe it's a bit of both?

anyway no I don't know anyway of changing what gets reflected properly - (and I think units don't get reflected at all which is annoying) - cfg / preference settings are perhaps more likely, but will let you know if we spot anything else.

[wilddog]

Regarding to changes on descr_geography_new.db via IWTE.

Via IWTE isn't really the issue. you can't set the colors via the text file. How the reflections work is not something tied to IWTE.

[wilddog]

Where is it?

I don't know. I could do some searches to find it but ......

[makanyane]

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...1#post12313146
(search in TWC is seriously broken... google works occasionally if you can guess the right keywords)

[leo.civil.uefs]

hey... look at this picture:






You can see the terrain rock cliff behind the units, it seems that it was someway how edited like the vertexes of it were moved horizontaly, I did not know it was possible, in IWTE/milkshape we can only move it vertically. Or is it a issue/bug?

[xHolyCrusader]

^ already seen this happening in many other maps.

[leo.civil.uefs]

Or is it a issue/bug?

BUG refeers to the terrain on the image, not IWTE. I though the the image shows a ingame bug.
I knew terrains could only be edited vertically since I've read KK's tutorial in 2010.

[makanyane]

I didn't think you could do that ..... the battle editor (M2tws) only lets you move things up and down too.

Whats the picture from? HC where have you seen it?


EDIT nevermind... it doesn't look like it can be done deliberately via .worldterrain I changed two vertex points by hex editing (the lump in the foreground) to be slightly off the 8m x 8m grid (but not actually overlapping the next points) and got seriously unhappy battle-map;



WD reckons the pic is probably a 'normal' battlemap with something in the geography.db (SGT_to_G-Hardness) settings giving rounded effects to the cliff sides

[xHolyCrusader]

WD reckons the pic is probably a 'normal' battlemap with something in the geography.db (SGT_to_G-Hardness) settings giving rounded effects to the cliff sides

that's most likely it, seen it in random battle maps (of vanilla / mods)

[wilddog]

that's most likely it, seen it in random battle maps (of vanilla / mods)

Looked pretty normal to me but always have to ask Mak to translate... wish people would stop saying things they don't know are IWTE bugs

Had that before with the 3ds max tool. Every time it didn't work via that tool first and then back in IWTE it was apparently an IWTE bug ... but we know better now.

[wilddog]

BUG refeers to the terrain on the image, not IWTE.

OK, so nothing to do with IWTE. Just something you consider a bug in the game. I don't mind it. To me its more a feature. I msu play around more with the geography.db stuff at some time.

[alreadyded]

Just got done doing a bunch of strat map models and texture changes, everything worked perfectly with the latest version. IWTE's script was the only one that did work for .cas, none of the scripts made by others would even convert the files let alone let me change the texture paths... Thanks again for this well made tool.

[wilddog]

@alreadyded - Thanks for the comments. Good to know its appreciated.

I'm trying to work on some improvements to world terrain editing which I will likely also add into some routines for strat map making. I just need to figure out a speed process for displaying (ie as text) the height change values quickly (changing a 2d image/TGA value and a 3d model work pretty quick but its displaying the specific values of each vertex which is slowing the routine down. Unfortunately for the world terrain you really need to see the values occasionally to tie things up correctly to the .world objects.

[wilddog]

sorted out the speed issue showing the height values. Just working out with Mak how we both want to use it.

I'm planning on keeping it fairly generic as I want this to use in some .hgt files rather than the TGA's for strat map making. Its likely I'll do away with the battlemap grey scale TGA as it was confusing too many people as it was variable depending on the scale you decided to use for editing specifc parts (which was the part of the confusion others didn't understand) and so no 'direct' grey scale converted everything accurately (as you could set the scale dependent on what you wanted to change at that time). Instead heights are likely to be shown in IWTE via a new scale process. Anyway plan is to allow updates via the 2d Window, display in the 3d window and allow you to see a limited set of specific heights for specific adjustments to align the .worldobjects.

This will likely make some old tutorials redundant but as they say in England "C'est la vie'"

[leo.civil.uefs]

What is this BGT Conversion in editing climates on descr_geography_new?
I see boxes to set something like quality, is that about quality of ground textures?

[makanyane]

What is this BGT Conversion in editing climates on descr_geography_new?
I see boxes to set something like quality, is that about quality of ground textures?

I don't think that bit actually does anything - or at least I couldn't spot any difference when I changed it... we left it in in-case anyone cleverer found a use for it!

the names QUAL_ etc are copied off the geography text file, but they seem to be more related to heights/slopes/ground-types than actual "quality" if you look at the G-Hardness to BGT section you'll see that the QUAL_NONE stuff is generally the rock/mud end of things and the QUAL_VERY_HIGH uses forest types

short answer - we don't know but the values are available for you to fiddle with if you wish

[wilddog]

What is this BGT Conversion in editing climates on descr_geography_new?
I see boxes to set something like quality, is that about quality of ground textures?

Further to Mak's answer it would also make sense for you to look at the tab SGT to G-Hardness as that's the main one that's used (rather than the BGT Conversion which we think isn't used at least in connection with campaign games). Its the SGT to G-Hardness which gives you the linkage from strategy map to battle map. You can more clearly see how ground quality is applied there.

I must admit though I was amused thinking about how a concept of 'quality of of textures' would be meaningfully applied.

Edit : Forgot these used DDS files rather than TGA files