Adding trees to a tile?

[Stratos 3,186]

Can someone tell me how to add bushes and trees to a tile? I will like to add some trees on desert default map.

Thanks

[Wrench 9,732]

TE only

[Stratos 3,186]

TE only

 

Is available for download? Will love to add those trees, and IIRC TE also let you add some SAMS :)

[Wrench 9,732]

Is available for download

 

since 2003 for SF, 2005 for WoE/WoV (2 seperate editors)

and even before you ask, have you looked in the 1stGen downloads, Utilities?

 

IIRC TE also let you add some SAMS :)

 

ah, no ... since they're GroundObjects.

 

The TE is something you REALLLLY don't want to get involved with ...

[+Stary 2,427]

Stratos you really rally really don't want that involvement, look at those miserable sould that did...

[Wrench 9,732]

what every TE user contemplates ---> :suicide2:

[Stratos 3,186]

Is really that hard? I simply want some bushes and trees on the rocky hills of the default desert map. They are currently sterile as the moon. Some bushes here and there, will add a lot in my opinion. But if is really that hard, I better avoid it :(

[+Major Lee 18]

It breaks down like this...

 

 

EASY:

Climb Mt Everest

Build supersonic aircraft from popsicle sticks

Whistle Dixe while eating crackers and covering one eye while hopping on one foot

 

 

HARD:

Time Travel

Predict winning powerball lottery numbers

Learn and Master SF TE...

 

Yeah, it's like that... :suicide2:

[Wrench 9,732]

that's why there's only only like 3-5 actual terrain builders; not counting the superb artistry required to create new tiles (like Stary and Brain and most recently JSF_Aggie)

 

Creating acturate, Real World target areas is another thing altogether. So, basically, far less than 10 people, of all the 10s of thousands of End Users are recreating the World, as best we can, given the massive limitations of the engine

 

and the suicide rate, of course

[+Stary 2,427]

those dealing with "just" tiles, minor retiling and TODs still have seizures everytime they click on Terrain Editor executable, I simply can't imagine what happens to the terrain creation Gurus like Wrench and two, three others

[+Brain32 265]

Yup number one reason I don't do terrains anymore is I just grew fond to my mental health too much, and also when I heard TK is planning new terrain engine I learned I might be able to do terrains AND keep my mental health which should be awsome.

[Centurion-1 1,228]

But I am really with stratos on this one, after flying on maps tiled with Starys very nice tiles with trees-a-plenty, the Desert feels pretty bare. The new hi-res tiles are great, now it just needs some trees imho!

[+Stary 2,427]

have you guys tried adding this mod to it:

 

http://combatace.com/files/file/7743-desert-israel2-ground-environment-update/

 

 

placement WILL be slightly off but...

[Centurion-1 1,228]

DL'd, but it would be nice with some purpose made tree tiles *hint hint*

 

[Wrench 9,732]

guys, it's a frakking desert!!!! It ain't supposed to have trees!!!

 

there's buttloads of custom TODs laying around for the stock Desert tiles -- one just has to LOOK for them, hidden in plane site, in various terrains that use the Desert tile set.

 

Take a moment, and think on that ... the answer(s) should be quite obvious (hint -look for my name)

[+Stary 2,427]

DL'd, but it would be nice with some purpose made tree tiles *hint hint*

 

 

hint hint wouln't help flooded with other projects for about a year of modding time

 

anyway with the releae of North Atlantic I hope current tech will be obsolete

 

 

 

btw check Wrench's Iran Iraq map as it ha some IIRC

[Wrench 9,732]

those are for Polak's tile set

 

i was thinking more of Israel2, SoCal, Libya, some of the WW2 terrains I rebuilt (albeit WoV tiles) -- lots of custom TODs. People actually need to LOOK at things with a clear, descerning eye.

-----------------

I'm really wondering what NA will bring to the table, as several posts at 3W seem to hint at LOD and Shader driven terrains, as opposed to what we have now. And how the older will be effected; with luck, 'legacy' reading will still be availalbe (like DX9 is for non-Win7 users)

 

will there be a new editor released? Unknown.

 

Should I start looking for a new job??

Edited December 6, 2011 by Wrench

[+Stary 2,427]

one can allways borrow TODs from other tilesets, just rename to match the name of given tile, and add the needed bitmaps and references in data ini

[+Baltika 84]

Can someone tell me how to add bushes and trees to a tile? I will like to add some trees on desert default map.

Thanks

 

Good advice from all above, but, to answer the question:-

 

D/L Terrain Editor from here or from Thirdwire site. Older version to work on stock desert terrain, it will come with stock desert texturelist file. Later versions for WoE/WoV/WoI.

 

 

Load up the map you want to work on in TE.

 

Gepard has written excellent tutorials on how to do that:-

 

http://combatace.com/topic/26291-my-way-to-make-terrains/

 

That is the link for number one. Read, understand and follow through all 6 (yes, six) of gepard's turorials.

 

Then, once your map is loaded up, you can add TOD objects (trees and buildings) to individual terrain tiles by using the dropdowns in TE:-

 

Texturelist/Edit Texturemaplist - from that, highlight the terrain tile from the list you wish to work on, and click "edit".

 

A new dialog will pop up with a picture of the terrain tile and all sorts of options.

 

Bottom right of that dialog is a box titled "Terrain Object"

 

Make sure you have selected an option from the dropdowns "Solid Object Map" (for buildings) and "Alpha Object Map" (for trees). There should be only one option for each with stock texturelists - creating customs TOD object lists is beyond the scope of this briefing.

 

Once you have selected your SolidObject Map and AlphaObjectMap, click on the "Place Object" button.

 

This will give you yet another dialog called the "Object Placement Dialog"

 

There is a large picture of your selected terrain tile and a number of options to the right. Click on "New" under "Object List" and this will enable the "Object Type" dropdown on the extreme right. Select the object you want to place from that dropdown.

 

Now, TE gets tricky. Either, click on the picture of the tile where you want the object to appear, then click "New" and the object will appear on the tile at the point you clicked earlier.

 

Or, click the "new" button first and the name of the object you selected should appear in the "Object List"

 

Click on that entry, then click repeatedly on the tile to place multiple objects. Beware, TE will randomly place an object at 0,0 co-ordinates on the tile so you will have to drag that on the tile view or delete it from the object list.

 

Then, keep selecting new objects from the dropdowns and clicking on the tile to place objects. When you are happy with the new layout, or carpal tunnel sets in, push the save button to save your progress. I have not found a way to go back and edit TOD files created this way, so make sure you are happy, or go on holiday for a bit and come back to it later. Just make sure you click save. Close out the Object Placement dialog, Press "OK" to close out the texturemap dialog, Close out the texturemap list dialog, then, from the main TE dialog, click on Texturelist/Save Texturelist, then click on file/save all. Go and fly over your map in-game to see if you like the look of your newly decorated tile, if you can find one to fly over.

 

If you don't like the new tile tree layout, or whatever, go back to step one above and start over, from scratch.

 

Repeat for every tile type you wish to decorate, yes, including all the annoying transition tiles.

 

Save progress often, keep multiple backups, and keep in mind TE will over-write work in progress, so back up away from your working terrain folder.

 

Also, TE has no "Back" button so if you make a mistake and save it, you're screwed. Go to your last working backup.

 

Save often anyway, as, in your early days with TE, it will crash out and wreck your WIP for no apparant reason.

 

On the other hand, don't be afraid to experiment, as that's how we all got started.

 

 

Also, ansons has written some notes on adding TOD objects to terrain tiles:-

 

http://combatace.com/topic/40663-some-hints-to-texture-a-map-add-trees-and-objects/

 

 

Check out the KB, read old threads on terrain building (there are lots here), and join your local self-help group.

 

Slainthe!

 

Baltika

[Bossco82 11]

Basically what Baltika said,

 

The TE for thirdwire games is not as hard as it seems once you get your head around it. Its very tricky and riddled with bugs that you will need to learn about. If you have patience and dont expect to get it right straight away then you can learn how to use it. Approach it with trial and error and after a couple of weeks of practise you should get the hang of it. Just dont expect too much too soon, there is a knack to the TE that you can only learn from using it, take your time and learn from your mistakes.

 

The good news is once you get the knack, then your only limited by your imagination.

[+Brain32 265]

Basically what Baltika said,

 

The TE for thirdwire games is not as hard as it seems once you get your head around it. Its very tricky and riddled with bugs that you will need to learn about. If you have patience and dont expect to get it right straight away then you can learn how to use it. Approach it with trial and error and after a couple of weeks of practise you should get the hang of it. Just dont expect too much too soon, there is a knack to the TE that you can only learn from using it, take your time and learn from your mistakes.

 

The good news is once you get the knack, then your only limited by your imagination.

 

In an essence you are right buddy, it's just that my imagination quicky surpassed the possibilities of the TE and general possibilities of terrain making in SF series.

 

I still have a bunch of hi-res tiles on my HDD that never saw the light of day except in some screenshots, from Korea, Balkans, Afganistan, South America...some finished, some half finished, some I don't even remember.

 

I really hope new terrain making possibilities will make terrain modding a bit easier, I learned(mind you not mastered like our dedicated 3D guys) 3DMAX in the mean time, if you ask me with current terrain making methods I find 3D work easier and more rewarding in the end...

[Icarus999 70]

Good advice from all above, but, to answer the question:-

 

D/L Terrain Editor from here or from Thirdwire site. Older version to work on stock desert terrain, it will come with stock desert texturelist file. Later versions for WoE/WoV/WoI.

 

 

Load up the map you want to work on in TE.

 

Gepard has written excellent tutorials on how to do that:-

 

http://combatace.com...-make-terrains/

 

That is the link for number one. Read, understand and follow through all 6 (yes, six) of gepard's turorials.

 

Then, once your map is loaded up, you can add TOD objects (trees and buildings) to individual terrain tiles by using the dropdowns in TE:-

 

Texturelist/Edit Texturemaplist - from that, highlight the terrain tile from the list you wish to work on, and click "edit".

 

A new dialog will pop up with a picture of the terrain tile and all sorts of options.

 

Bottom right of that dialog is a box titled "Terrain Object"

 

Make sure you have selected an option from the dropdowns "Solid Object Map" (for buildings) and "Alpha Object Map" (for trees). There should be only one option for each with stock texturelists - creating customs TOD object lists is beyond the scope of this briefing.

 

Once you have selected your SolidObject Map and AlphaObjectMap, click on the "Place Object" button.

 

This will give you yet another dialog called the "Object Placement Dialog"

 

There is a large picture of your selected terrain tile and a number of options to the right. Click on "New" under "Object List" and this will enable the "Object Type" dropdown on the extreme right. Select the object you want to place from that dropdown.

 

Now, TE gets tricky. Either, click on the picture of the tile where you want the object to appear, then click "New" and the object will appear on the tile at the point you clicked earlier.

 

Or, click the "new" button first and the name of the object you selected should appear in the "Object List"

 

Click on that entry, then click repeatedly on the tile to place multiple objects. Beware, TE will randomly place an object at 0,0 co-ordinates on the tile so you will have to drag that on the tile view or delete it from the object list.

 

Then, keep selecting new objects from the dropdowns and clicking on the tile to place objects. When you are happy with the new layout, or carpal tunnel sets in, push the save button to save your progress. I have not found a way to go back and edit TOD files created this way, so make sure you are happy, or go on holiday for a bit and come back to it later. Just make sure you click save. Close out the Object Placement dialog, Press "OK" to close out the texturemap dialog, Close out the texturemap list dialog, then, from the main TE dialog, click on Texturelist/Save Texturelist, then click on file/save all. Go and fly over your map in-game to see if you like the look of your newly decorated tile, if you can find one to fly over.

 

If you don't like the new tile tree layout, or whatever, go back to step one above and start over, from scratch.

 

Repeat for every tile type you wish to decorate, yes, including all the annoying transition tiles.

 

Save progress often, keep multiple backups, and keep in mind TE will over-write work in progress, so back up away from your working terrain folder.

 

Also, TE has no "Back" button so if you make a mistake and save it, you're screwed. Go to your last working backup.

 

Save often anyway, as, in your early days with TE, it will crash out and wreck your WIP for no apparant reason.

 

On the other hand, don't be afraid to experiment, as that's how we all got started.

 

 

Also, ansons has written some notes on adding TOD objects to terrain tiles:-

 

http://combatace.com...es-and-objects/

 

 

Check out the KB, read old threads on terrain building (there are lots here), and join your local self-help group.

 

Slainthe!

 

Baltika

 

Is it also possible to remove trees and buildings on individual selected tiles of existing terrains? - like removing trees in the middle of a runway... or other odd places

[Wrench 9,732]

no

as we don't have the inis associated with the stock TODs. The only way to fix that, is create new ones.

 

hence, my insistence on 'clear' airfield-only tiles (and, of course, their triple-damned/cursed transitons)

 

I'll say this one more time, for those not fully paying attention...and trying for whatever reason to re-invent the wheel

 

---Have a look at terrains that are already done using the tilesets in question -like those listed above- there's a 98% chance what you're looking for already exists

 

and, then it's a simple copy/paste of the needed TOD, with perhaps a quick check of the Desert_Data.ini, to make sure said tile has the necessary Solid and Alpha object callouts listed

[Lexx_Luthor 57]

TE = Tooth Extraction

 

[Wrench 9,732]

definatly less painful than the terrain editor (I was just at the dentist today, too!)