Elevation on maps

[Hook]

There used to be a free download for Microsoft Visual C++.  I'm looking for it while I upload these files.

Never mind.  I know what I'm looking for and I can't find it.  Good luck finding a compiler.  If I have to, I'll port it to use the free DJGPP compiler.

Hook

[zu Pferd]

Congratulations to both of you for this very impressive work

[Hook]

Can you adjust the scale factor in it?

Yes.  I've got it set up currently so that if you put a scale factor as the first line of the text file, it will use that number instead of an internal default.

I have it set up so that it works with the 6 km maps as well but I need to run some tests.

(It's the height of each contour shown in the map image that is set by the game and can't be selected. I think I wasn't clear when I mentioned that before.)

Hook

[Marbot]

Hello Hook,

I have managed to load your map in the editor, it works very well indeed and fits the map in the background. Thanks for your input.
However, my mistake again I did not notice in your post that for the 6km map the grid changes as the map I gave you has originally a 6km width (the Waterloo battlefield is very small), which explains why the map looks flatter than actually is.
I am dowloading the visual C++  free edition. I hope this will be able to compile your C program.

How do you plan to make these tools available?

[Hook]

Could you please post the 6 km version of the text file?  I want to test my program to see if it handles them properly, and can give you a height map for the 6 km battlefield.  I'll need the scale factor as well.

The dimensions of a 6 km map are 61 by 46.

Send me the link for the page you used to download the free version.  I couldn't find it.  Unless you mean the new 2010 version Release Candidate.  That thing probably has an expiration date on it. 

I can send you a copy of the necessary source code, and can talk you through making a project with it.  I'll also send the executable file for you to play with.  I just need to test it a bit more first.

Hook

[Marbot]

Hello Hook,

Here is where I downloaded C++: http://www.microsoft.com/express/Windows/

Here is attached the file as requested.
 I'll wait for your feed back

Cheers

[Hook]

Converted with elevation factor of 3.5.  Works in the map editor for a 6 km map.

Thanks for the link.

Hook

[Marbot]

Hello Hook,

The map looks really good, thank you.

Cheers

[TC237]

Hook, I'm trying my hand at maps, let me know if I'm on the right track...
As an example we'll use spec10's Gettysburg map...(for some reason, to me, the elevations look too high)

I have a topo map of Gettysburg and established that a good base elevation (zero elevation) for the area is 400ft (Rock Creek just SE of battlefield).
Big Round Top is 785ft...the difference in elevation is 385ft or 117.3 meters from lowest to highest point.

So...a game map of Gettysburg would have Big Round Top at an elevation of 117.3m.

Does that sound right?

[Hook]

So...a game map of Gettysburg would have Big Round Top at an elevation of 117.3m.
Does that sound right?

That sounds right to me.

The elevations are definitely too high in that map.  I converted the Sid Meier's Gettysburg map to run in Steel Beasts once, and while the area is hilly, it's nowhere near as hilly as the LG map for Gettysburg.

If you happen to have the map files for Sid Meier's Gettysburg, I can make a height map from that which we should be able to use in the game.   Zip 'em up and attach them here.

By the way... long time no see!

Hook

[TC237]

SMG? wow that's a blast from the past...luckily I don't throw anything away,  found the CD
Any idea what the file name is?

So the height  file for Histwar is basically a text file (similar to SMG)?
If so then I have to figure out a different method, I've been thinking in terms of DEM files and grayscale gradients (similar to TC2M).

Another question:
The manual suggests a 512x512 or 1024x1024 "User Map".
When I created a new 10km map and loaded a 10km x 10km military topo map with 1km gridsquares (both at 512 & 1024) as a User Map it was "squashed", not square.
Measuring with the distance tool, each 1km gridsquare was correct at 1000m horizontally but they were squashed vertically, about 800m instead of 1000m.

Any hints to loading a "User Map"? Should it be 1024x768 instead?

By the way... long time no see!

[Hook]

SMG? wow that's a blast from the past...luckily I don't throw anything away,  found the CD
Any idea what the file name is?

It's not going to work anyway.  I compared the LG Gettysburg map to the one I was working on for the Gettysburg Annex and some of the terrain features aren't in he same places in both maps.  Thanks anyway.

So the height  file for Histwar is basically a text file (similar to SMG)?
If so then I have to figure out a different method, I've been thinking in terms of DEM files and grayscale gradients (similar to TC2M).

The file is a binary format.  I described the format in my first post in this thread.  I've written a program that converts the text files to the proper binary format.  If you can output a two-byte-per-cell grayscale without a header, you might be able to use that directly.  If not, send me a copy of what you have and I can convert it.  Just keep in mind that all height maps  in the game are 101 by 76 cells (representing the height at the corners of each cell) except for the 6 km maps which are 61 by 46.

The manual suggests a 512x512 or 1024x1024 "User Map".
When I created a new 10km map and loaded a 10km x 10km military topo map with 1km gridsquares (both at 512 & 1024) as a User Map it was "squashed", not square.
Measuring with the distance tool, each 1km gridsquare was correct at 1000m horizontally but they were squashed vertically, about 800m instead of 1000m.

What you need to do is get a map that's 10 km by 7.5 km, then squash it so that it's square in Photoshop or other graphics program.  It will appear at the normal aspect in the map editor.  If you use a different map size, make sure the aspect ration is 4:3 before you squash it into a square.

Hook

[Hook]

And just for fun, here's the Sid Meier's Gettysburg map displayed a slightly different way.

Hook

[TC237]

Thanks,
Got the user map working.
The other stuff is over my head for tonight    ,  I'll try again tomorrow.

[spec10]

Argh, stupid me.  I used detailed maps to create the topography, but I'm a moron ... my zero elevation is totally wrong, that's why everything is too high. Round top for example has the correct height of ~780 ft / ~240 m but of course it doesn't start at zero in real life, so it's much too high in the game...

Well, at least it looks pretty, got some alpine touch, doesn'T it? ...