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Baltika

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Everything posted by Baltika

  1. Hmm, not sure what's going on here. I tried to convert this to create a new terrain, but it won't load into TE for me. This heightmap is 1000x1000 pixels, so it should be a simple case of creating a new terrain TE, size 500km x 500km, then selecting the import heightmap from bitmap option. But the imported heightmap is just showing up blank. TE is picky about format, so I have converted to .bmp, indexed colors, 8-bit depth, but still no go. Maybe something is being lost in the conversion process to jpg and back? Or, can you create a new terrain folder with the old hfd and tfd files, but using the SEA textureset and texturelist, and see if autotexture will work?
  2. Here's a current link to DEM data:- http://www.webgis.com/terr_world.html Thanks to ignacioc91 for finding this
  3. Also, remember to set these values correctly in TerrainEditor.ini for your chosen terrain:- [bitmapExport] HeightScale=10 [bitmapImport] HeightScale=10 TE can only handle 256 different height "steps" So, you have to set the Heightscale= value to an integer which is worked out by dividing the max height peak of your chosen terrain (measured in metres) by 256, then round up to nearest whole number. So, say your chosen map has a Max height peak of 3675 metres:- 3675/256=14.355 Set BitMap Import/Export HeightScale to 15, or else you will get chopped off mountain peaks when importing/exporting.
  4. Yes, have done it on more than one terrain to create "Full-scale" terrain, e.g. Iceland02. You create terrain using DEM data, export the HFD as bitmap, mess around with the bitmap to whatever you want (including resizing), then import bitmap as HFD. If you already have an existing HFD, you can skip the DEM part and just mess with the height field bitmap. I also use GIMP to convert the TE exported height field bitmap to a topographic palette, to make it easier to edit the heightfield in GIMP, thusly for WIP Balkans terrain:- (NB posted as a jpeg to save space in the upload - convert to .bmp to use in TE) Using that palette in GIMP, I do most of my airfield flattening by hand, as the TE airfield flattening tool is usually a very blunt instrument, especially in mountainous terrain. When re-sizing terrain, you can expand the exported heightfield .bmp then re-import it to a new terrain with bigger borders. Just remember, 2 pixels in heightmap equals 1km in TE, so you have to create a new terrain to fit the size of your .bmp, or the import won't work. For example, the posted wip Balkans heightmap is 3000x3000 pixels. You create a new terrain in TE which is 1500x1500km, then import the Balkans Heightmap bmp to use as heightfield rather than import DEM data. Or, you can cut a chunk out of the posted Balkans heightfield.bmp which is, say, 1000x1000 pixels. Save that chunk as a new .bmp. Using TE, create a new terrain which is 500km x 500km. Import the new.bmp to TE, et voila, new terrain created, using just the chunk you cut out of the old Balkans Heightfield as your heightmap. Just out of interest, what terrain are you looking at? I have stack of DEM files saved in my TE folder, if you really want to start over.
  5. OK, when I use "export tilemap" in TE, is it really supposed to look like this:- I think I understand what Stary was talking about a few posts above, to copy and paste different sections of the tile map to get different tiling on distinct regions on the same terrain. And, as I have now imported 3 different tile sets into TE, I think I see how that could work. But that tilemap.bmp just looks like a mess to me. Any suggestions?
  6. Oh yes, absolutely - I will add it in for the next update Um, yeah, it sure is. . . And Bavaria, and Crete, Albania, Montenegro, Southern Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Macedonia, Serbia, south-western Ukraine, the western coast of Turkey (will just fit an airbase or two there) and nearly all of Romania (especially the Transylvanian Alps - oh yeah, I'm really looking forward to Transylvania ) No worries - it's all on the list Keep those suggestions coming, I'll work it all in there. For now, I want to fire up a flyable alpha, so that Brain32 can take a look and see how his region-specific tiles will fit into the mix. For that purpose, I reckon I'll go with what I've done already and a capital city and airbase for each of the countries I haven't got to yet. That way, we can hopefully finalise a final tile set, for however many regions. Then I can crack on with populating each country properly with major cities and airbases, and take it from there. As usual, I got carried away with the feature-creep. I really should have done a Risk-style map with one airbase and city for each country and left it at that. But hey, it won't go to waste.
  7. OK, just a quick update:- I have imported Stary's Anatolia v1 tileset into TE, so now there are three distinct tilesets available for autotile. The Southern Med nations have been retiled using the Anatolia set, and it does look more suitable. I have made some early experiments with exporting the tilemap, but am not having much success so far in TE or in gerwin's editor. I have also placed several more airbases:- Not much point in doing a lot of hand-tiling, flattening or targeting work until the tile set is fixed, so I will place a few strategic airbases in the unpopulated areas, then the alpha can go up to the modder's repository.
  8. Excellent!
  9. Good suggestion, will check it out. Nothing is finalised, this is a very early wip still, and of course I need to pack this all up for Brain32 to look at - he has made some region-specific tiles which will probably be much more appropriate for the region anyways. I am just trying to work out how to do it. Very interesting suggestion - I have never done hand-editing of the tilemap.bmp, always relying on TE and making lots of extra transition tiles to do the grunt work. But for a map like this, the technique you describe would be perfect. I had to pick a line (just north of Corsica) for the change between one tileset and the other, and I can see there are regions where the IME tiles don't really fit at all - looking to Bulgaria and Southern Romania especially. OK, I will have to do some experimentating. Thanks for the suggestion, cheers
  10. OK, Proof of Concept for multiple tile sets on the same terrain - it does work I have imported Stary's excellent IME repaint tiles into TE to use for the southern nations. Then, a bit of tweaking of the autotexture settings and exclusions zones, and this is how it comes out:- Now we have Malta in much more appropriate tones:- And here are some shots flying around Rome, then into the mountains east of the city:- Like you say, Wrench, there is a fair bit of work to be done on transitions from one tile set to the next, but nothing impossible. More than two tile sets might be an issue for TE - everything is set up now to autotexture properly in TE, but the exclusion zone settings are quite rigid and may prove difficulty to apply where there are tile sets for each nation, or to try to apply more than two tile sets. I am trying to avoid hand tiling if at all possible, at least to get the basic TFD fixed, as the map is so huge hand-tiling everywhere would take forever. But I am sure that can be worked out, once I get this over to Brain32. OK, I will tidy up the tile sets (missing alpha channels etc) and get back to plotting cities. Then at least we will have a proper flyable beta for Brain to take a look at to add in more tile sets if that is feasible. Slainthe! Baltika
  11. Gorgeous
  12. usafphantom2, you still around, dude? I will take you up on this offer if you are still interested. For campaign building, what I try to do is work up full OOBs for all air and ground units, covering unit strength, equipment, bases, engagements and significant personnel - commanders for ground units and aces/named pilots for air units. The campaign engine can handle name, rank, confirmed kills, number of missions flown and assign a specific aircraft to an ace pilot, and then track them through the dynamic campaign, so all of that can go into the mix. With a bit of tweaking of supply levels etc. it is possible to get campaigns to run a historical course, regardless of player success/failure (see my WW2 Burma "Longest Retreat" campaign, or Fall of the Philippines campaign for examples of this) so that's why I like a general overview of engagements and the historical course of the campaign. But, like a say, a good baseline is to establish which units were involved, what they flew/drove, how many machines they had, and where they were stationed (at least at the start). I am a huge fan of the SFP1/WoX/SF2 campaign engine, and when everyone batters on about the lack of a truly dynamic campaign in current sims, I always think SF2 gets short-changed and overlooked for what it does. Air units, strengths and ace pilots are tracked, shoot parked planes on the runway and the resident unit is weakened in later missions, the ground war plays out in a fluid, changing, dare I say dynamic manner (unless the campaign builder deliberately puts his hand on one side of the scales), the player's squadron pilots are tracked - I mean, what's not to like here? Anyhoo, if you are up for it, have a crack at looking into the Balkan conflict and fire up an Air OOB and ground OOB, for each nation involved, and then we'll start campaign building No worries, Kevin, all easily doable. Geneva in the west marks about the realistic limit to the edge of the map, being about 40k from "the wall." All the stuff you mentioned will fit no bother. I hadn't thought of it, but since you ask, Malta is now flyable:- Which is fine and dandy, but it just looks weird with Brain32's Germany tiles. And it gets stranger - this is Naples:- Italy is having a gloriously fertile season, and record levels of precipitation, obviously! Also, it's obvious that I am using a mix of tilesets, my fully-transitioned set was based on Deuces' old, old, Woe repaint, and the stock GCE set, or Brain32's repaint, don't have all the transitions required. So, I think this is where I fire this darn Frankenstein's monster of a terrain up for Brain32 to take a gander. Brain, let me know what you think. I have been having some success with autotile and exclusion zones in TE to get different tilesets for different regions on the same map - my old, old, wip Kuril Islands terrain now has a wip custom tileset to cover Hokkaido and a different wip tileset for Kamchatka and Sakhalsinsk - no pictures yet as I haven't done the transition tiles, but watch this space ;-) So, multi-region tiling can be done. Wrench suggested IME tiles for North Africa and Greece, etc, but I don't want to get too far into tiling until Brain has had a look over it. Brain, you know what tiles you have, and how they might fit. So I will keep on plotting cities and bases, but won't do too much more tiling until we can get a consensus on where we are going to take this. Slainthe! Baltika. P.S. Gratuitous beauty shot, I am most chuffed with my rocky mountain transitions
  13. Thanks Kevin, all references gratefully accepted. Have planted a stack of bases in Northern Italy:- Plus, got the bug to do some tiling so added some rocks to Brain32's WoE repaint tiles, and then work stopped while I goofed around in the Alps:- Have also been trying out gerwin's TFD tool properly for the first time - gerwin, great work, man, let me add my voice to the chorus of thankyous for your great bit of kit So, I think I will work through the rest of the airbases and flatten them out with TFD (so much easier than TE). Then at least this can go up as a flyable beta rather than an alpha development project. Happy holidays everyone
  14. There is this little NZ terrain which is due a refit - I have been quietly messing with some wip hi-res tiles, and I never got round to finishing off targetisation:- http://combatace.com/files/file/11904-baltikas-full-scale-new-zealand-terrain-for-sf2/ Wrench has also sent me some custom tiles, ports and things which I will (probably) eventually get round to incorporating. I had in mind more of a Mordor-backed North Island vs Fellowship-backed South Island sort of thing for the campaign, but that's still just a gleam in my eye ;-) No point duplicating effort on the terrain front, it's just too much work to create something from scratch.
  15. Hmm. . . good point, Snailman. I have based the terrain frontline on a cold war setting, as that works best with the stock Thirdwire planeset. Of course, the frontline can be varied from the campaign.ini for a particular scenario, but it's not so easy to change placement or naming of airfields. I will just fire up what I have got, and then it can be tweaked with input from those who have a particular interest like yourself.
  16. Consider it done - will hand-tile and paint the heightmap if necessary All such suggestions and assistance gratefully accepted - as you will see, Hungary is yet to be done, but it's on the list. I am using google earth and wiki as my main research tool , so if there is stuff you want on there, let me know Thanks Stary, good to hear from you man.
  17. OK, having had a look at my old wip terrain I got the bug to update it. Making good progress:- As promised, once I get the rest of the towns and airfields plotted I will upload this to the Modder's Repository to see what can be done with it re tiles and targets. Is there a way to get gerwin's TFD tool to make planning maps with the names of cities, not just airfields? I have been fiddling with the TFD.ini file but no joy so far. Slainthe! Baltika.
  18. Sure thing Brain, Give me a few days to knock it into shape and I'll upload it to the Modder's Repository, then you and Wrench can take a look if you like. Cheers, Baltika.
  19. Nice one, thanks @Wrench, Cast my eye over my old build, it's a bit rough around the edges, but I can knock it into some kind of shape and zip it up for you. No rush as I see you are busy, may take some time, but let me sort it out.
  20. There's this old wip, which Wrench mentioned, but it's not too much further along:- http://combatace.com/topic/74862-has-anyone-done-a-balkans-campaignnato/?p=595118 Although, Brain, I would really like a look at your tiles, incomplete although the set may be. First thing I usually do with any given tileset is whip up a few additional transition tiles from the core set, makes autotexture in TE a whole lot easier

  21. Anyone Else Furloughed Today?

    Baltika replied to Dave's topic in The Pub

    Sorry to hear about your troubles, but GoG is offering free games for all those furloughed as a result:- http://www.gog.com/news/special_promo_shutdown_promo I just hope it's all sorted out soon.

  22. Problem?

    Baltika replied to 76.IAP-Blackbird's topic in Thirdwire: Strike Fighters 2 Series - General Discussion

    This tweak should set you up:- http://combatace.com/topic/73755-terrain-tweak/ Slainthe!

  23. Kamchatka Peninsula v 1.0

    Baltika posted a file in Terrains

    Version

    1,635 downloads

    Kamchatka Peninsula Summer Terrain v1.0 by Baltika For Wings Over Europe October 2008 Patch This is my first full-fledged terrain mod. It includes a base tileset by Deuces, together with Stary's forests and farms mod adapted for use on this terrain. I have also created a large number of additional transition tiles based on Deuce's tiles, which may be of interest to terrain builders. The tile naming format is compatible with the stock GermanyCE tileset for ease of expansion, but be aware that the excellent hi-res and seasoned tilesets by Brain32 and Stary in particular will not have all the necessary transition tiles, so use them with caution. Should you wish to use the included transitioned tileset for your own terrain mods, copy all the terrain .bmp files and .tga files into the "Tileset" folder and convert the .tga tiles to .bmp format. See Gepard's excellent terrain tutorials in the KB at CA for more info. All mission types are activated, for both red and blue side flyable. The Americans have their existing bases on the Aleutian Islands. I have handed the northern Kuril Islands to the Japanese for the sake of this scenario. Take it as read that the Soviets were sufficiently distracted by the ground war in central Europe that they lost their hold on the Kurils to Japan. Now, the Soviets are engaged in a fierce battle for control of the strategically important Kamchatka Peninsula. This is a target-rich, fictionalised version of the Russian Far East. There are many installations and industrial zones in the Kamchatka Krai that you will not find in real life. Equally, as much real-life stuff as I could discover went into the mix. Also, this is intended as a showcase of a fully-transitioned tileset, so there is much more agriculture than you would get at these latitudes. Just kick back and enjoy the scenery. Finally, there is a monstrous presence lurking at the heart of the Peninsula who has risen from aeons of deathless sleep to trouble the affairs of men once more. Bragging rights to the first person to take a recon photo of this horror and make it back to base alive, and with their sanity intact ;-) INSTALLATION:- Simply unzip and drop the "KAMCHATKA" folder into your Wings over Europe/Terrain folder. It is highly recommended that you install the files listed below or you will not get the full intended Kamchatka Krai experience. REQUIRED FILES:- Groundobjects:- CVN-75 by Digital Overload http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?app=downloads&showfile=9684 TAKR Orjol by Gepard http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?app=downloads&showfile=5497 TAKR Admiral Gorshkov by X-RAY http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?app=downloads&showfile=5830 UdaloyI by China Insky Team http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?app=downloads&showfile=10336 UdaloyII by China Insky Team http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?app=downloads&showfile=10330 BRDM_SA-9 by rebelryder http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?app=downloads&showfile=7740 SA-11 & SA-17 by 101tfs http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?app=downloads&showfile=7627 ScudLauncher & Missile by bigal1 http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?app=downloads&showfile=6435 Soviet SAMs by gabilon http://forum.combatace.com/index.php?app=downloads&showfile=3057 INCLUDED FILES:- Core tileset by Deuces. Additional transition tiles by Baltika. Forests and Farms mod by Stary, extended to cover additional tiles. Doppler Radar Dome by grumpapotamus I have modded this as a terrain object rather than a separate ground object. The original readme file is included. Thanks grumpapotamus ;-) WW2 Subpens from WW2 Europe Terrain by Edward et al, modded for Soviet use. Thanks to the original creator. Special thanks to Gepard for his TE tutorials, without which this mod would not exist. Thanks also to The Wrench for leading the way in terrain target placement - the hard way! As ever, feedback, comments, bug-reports and general griping are most welcome. Tally-Ho! Baltika February 2010
  24. Thanks Mig, will check it out! Slainthe!
  25. Hi there, Just working through my old stuff to add in the screenshots. A quick question:- When adding in a number of screenshots is there any way to set which one is used as the "title screen" or does the software just pick one at random - as seems to be the case? Cheers, Baltika
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