Map editor: making an historical map?

[nix]

I want to make a game map of an historical battle and have scanned the geographical terrain from a map. I now have an image of an area 10 x 7.5 Km around the battle area. I thought that this scan could be imported into the map editor to act as a template for the '10Km' map construction to yield a 10 x 7.5 Km game map, but I read in the manual that the facility for importing maps ('User Maps p68 V2') requires a square image: Does this mean I should transform the rectangular image by a scale transform applied only to the horizontal axis before importing? (i.e. by resampling the image to 1024 x1024 pixels without constraining the original 10 x 7.5 proportions)

-Why a square import for a rectangular game map? Have I missed something?

[JMM]

Just because some graphical board only work with square picture (and power of 2)
For the user, there isn't any trouble.

JMM

[HarryInk]

Instead of scale (if I understand you right), why not extend the 'canvas' in photoshop to a square shape as long as the longest side?

[Montecuccoli]

I tried with a google map selected as Map+Elevations (so without satellite) and it helps a lot, i wonder what should be with historical map ox XIX century, give a try to those map uploaded in historical discussion (french zone i believe) attached to historical battle.

Like this

http://www.histwar.org/forum/index.php/topic,2423.0.html

[nix]

I have been successful! what I did was make a scan of a google terrain map of the region of interest . This was cropped to an image that represented a selected 10 x 7.3 Km area of interest around the battlefield. The image was then resized, without constraining the image proportions, to 512 x 512 pixels ( so the map now looks distorted as it is compressed in the horizontal direction). This is saved as as a bit map with the name carte.bmp (I choose 16bit  from 16,24,32 options) . This is copied and pasted into the 'Graphics'  folder as the manual instructs (p68 V2). When it is displayed in the map editor in 2d mode (F2 then F9) the map is again displayed at 10 x 7.3 Km without distortion.

I have made a blank grid (1Km squares) for the 10Km map which can be downloaded from:

http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/view.php?id=1735477&da=y

and used as a guide in the construction of your maps. It is ready to be copied and pasted into the Graphics folder...

[nix]

I have now made the map (Battle of Wertingen 1805) in the map editor and saved it. When it saves it generates a 2d map for use as the rollover preview map in the LGn maproom where you choose the map you will play on. However when I choose the newly made map in the maproom, the preview displayed (and the F3 mini map and the F2 map in the game) was the user map I had scanned in and pasted into the 'Graphics' folder with the name carte.bmp. To get the usual mini map and F2 map associated with the terrain I deleted the carte.bmp map and opened the map editor and saved my map again. This time LGn mini map and F2 map was the one expected, generated from the 3d terrain...

(I noticed in passing while making the 3d map that there seemed to be much more texture in the terrain in the map editor than finally appeared in the game map, has anyone else seen this?).

The final folder associated with the new map has four files in it and is about 3Mb. I presume if I wanted to share my map I would just have to post the whole folder on line? and how do we share customised OoBs?

[Hook]

when I choose the newly made map in the maproom, the preview displayed (and the F3 mini map and the F2 map in the game) was the user map I had scanned in and pasted into the 'Graphics' folder with the name carte.bmp.

Oh cool!!!  That can be a great feature for those who prefer to play on a period map rather than the one generated by the game.

Thanks, nix.

Hook

[nix]

Yup and it is easier than i thought above:

If you save while the F2+F9 view is on so you see the usermap in the map editor, then the game mini map  & 2d map is the user one; while if you toggle off F9 the 2d view in the editor and game is then the conventional one generated by the 3d terrain you have made.

( In fact the usermap version has the terrain map superimposed on the user map but that is not particularly noticeable, so it is a way of having a battle on a true napoleonic map!)

[Ras]

(I noticed in passing while making the 3d map that there seemed to be much more texture in the terrain in the map editor than finally appeared in the game map, has anyone else seen this?).

Yes. I've reported this as a bug.

The final folder associated with the new map has four files in it and is about 3Mb. I presume if I wanted to share my map I would just have to post the whole folder on line? and how do we share customised OoBs?

Why not make a whole scenario of it and share that?

[Ras]

How to make a scenario:

I'll take nix' example of Wertingen 1805.
The following files are needed:

HistWar\Army\Wertingen_A.oob
HistWar\Army\Wertingen_B.oob
(These files are created when you make the Order of Battle for both sides)

HistWar\Map\Wertingen 1805\BaseV4.dat
HistWar\Map\Wertingen 1805\GroundV4.txt
HistWar\Map\Wertingen 1805\HighV4.hgh
HistWar\Map\Wertingen 1805\NameV4.hgh
HistWar\Map\Wertingen 1805\ObjetV4.dat
(These files are created when you make the map)

HistWar\Scenari\Wertingen.txt
(You need to make this file yourself)

Content of Wertingen.txt (my comments in italics, leave those out):

//Summer Autumn Winter Spring - Snow Foggy Rain Hot comment line explaining the order
Summer (change season here)
Hot (change weather here)
//Map OoBa OoBb  comment line explaining the order
Wertingen 1805
Wertingen
Wertingen
//Scenario A[Insert the scenario SideA]
[le texte1] (insert mission text for scenario side A)
//Scenario B[Insert the scenario SideB]
[le texte2 et
sa suite] (insert mission text for scenario side B)

You may want to avoid a space in the "Wertingen 1805" and change it to "Wertingen_1805".

To share this scenario it would be best to make a zip-archive and include the files as listed above.
You should also include the respective folders.
In your zip archive should be three folders: Army, Map /this one storing another folder with the map name) and Scenari. With the corresponding files in those folders.
When extracting that archive into the main folder of Histwar (the user may need to allow the program to use folder names) the files will be automatically put into the correct folders of the game, if the folder-names are exactly equal (case-sensitive).

[nix]

Excellent! Thanks for this info. I have made the OoBs, but in the hoistorical scenario the french corps arrive at different times and i am having some problems with getting them to work (see reinforcements thread) .

http://www.histwar.org/forum/index.php/topic,3960.0.html

In the mean time I have OoBs where all forces are present at the start so I might do something with those....

[Vistula_Legionnaire]

While I generally like the map editor....  One thing that I don't like is the inability to precisely define elevations.  While a map looks good from the top down 2d view, it may be wrong from the elevation point of view.  The Austerlitz map for example, looks good from the top down view, but is far too flat.  The real place has gentle slopes, but the elevation differences are more dramatic. 

But how to fix the map?  Taking the real elevations from an actual terrain map doesn't help because you can't plug them into the editor.  The elevation tool is a too fuzzy for that...

It would be great if the tool could define a certain elevation, then let you "paint" it. 

[nix]

As the reinforcements in OoB do not yet work properly:

http://www.histwar.org/forum/index.php/topic,3960.0.html

the only way to have delayed arrival of troops for a historical scenario is to use delayed orders and the 'control both sides' mode of play.

I planned a shareable scenario in which the player controls a small Austrian force against French units which appear at a series of times along different lines. The French force is issued initial deployment and delayed orders by me in the set up phase (so some of the units, stationed 'on the back line'   come in at the right times and places), I then change the side  to set up the Austrian initial deployment and save the game just as it starts. This sav file then can act as a scenario to share where the player will play Austria against the computer s French.( so long as the player doesnt cheat and look at the french plan by switching sides in the game this can produce the closest we can get to refighting an historical action with the game, with FOW only the French units observed by the austrians appear)...

However, as soon as i save the setup in this way the delayed orders do something odd. They remain visible in the F8 view when the game is resumed (if the French side is choosen to see what they are doing when they dont turn up!) but not in the F7 orderbook. The delayed orders are not executed. This being the case there is no way to set up a historically acurate scenario yet which can be shared...boo hoo!

[zu Pferd]

How to make a scenario:

Thanks Ras for this line by line explanation I did exactly as you posted however

I'm encountering some problems with creating a scenario from scratch I have :

1 6 km map
2 OOB files  each 50 ceh

when i choose to exit OOB Program  the program asks me to 'Save file' I  press 'Save'
I go back to look inside folders  OOB  and Map  and Scenario, all have files in them but files in Scenario folder.
I open Null file and write one in  (I use any other file there as example) I save the file with the Scenario name: same name for
Map and OOB name. I open the main game program and choose all : my scenario name

I get ERROR message   can't continue...    I'm checking the spelling  ok  so what can it be ?
 

[Ras]

I'm encountering some problems with creating a scenario from scratch I have :

1 6 km map
2 OOB files  each 50 ceh

I'm sorry, zu Pferd, but 6km maps don't work at the moment. they'll be fixed in the upcoming patch.