sburke Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Perhaps so, but it would have saved them a lot of time and energy if BFC had announced CM Italy in a proper way. But you are probably right. Sorry a bit confused on that one, what would be a "proper way"? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn2002 Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Letting people know it was in the pipeline. Like the Market Garden module and Eastern Front. Now before you tell me it is their right, of course it is. I just don't think it is...proper. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Letting people know it was in the pipeline. Like the Market Garden module and Eastern Front. Now before you tell me it is their right, of course it is. I just don't think it is...proper. LOL no I wasn't gonna say anything about it being their right, just more an issue they may not have an NDA so BFC isn't going to disclose any info. Couple things - from the sound of it this was kind of a sudden decision. Even the beta testers were surprised. WHEN they were surprised I have no idea, but it sounds like BFC has gotten the pipeline flow going pretty good so that the lead time from idea to release is well pretty amazingly short now. Second item is we now have two polar opposites being floated about the "right" way for BFC to announce. Another thread expounded about how BFC finally got it right announceing the game and taking pre orders right then. However here I take it (feel free to correct me as I may very well have gotten it wrong) you would suggest BFC warn any modder against working on something they may have in the pipeline or simply making a general announcement far earlier. I don't have an opinion either way, I had no problem with the long lead time to announce. Just interesting to note the disparity of opinion amongst us as to the best way to go about something. We are fickle if nothing else. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn2002 Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 It is not we who are fickle, my friend. I will say no more. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgie Posted June 24, 2012 Author Share Posted June 24, 2012 What is an "image overlay" ? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mord Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 LOL Good...God....man. They are damned in all directions. I am plenty happy with the way they did it. I was frustrated while I waited but I was rewarded beyond any thing I ever could expect...it way makes up for three months of silence. Surprises ROCK! My guess is SDP, where ever he might be, is peeing as we speak or will produce pee when he sees the announcement. MJ put a good amount of work in with the Italy mod unis, and he's damned happy! I bet he even peed a bit...maybe more, depending on his liquid intake. I'll tell you, some of you guys could win a 100 million dollars and then complain because your wallet isn't big enough to hold the money. The glass is beyond half full, guys...it's over flowing...you just gotta train your brains to see it that way...Life is about finding the positives where ever they may be...but damn, in this case they are screaming at you! Mord. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broadsword56 Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 What is an "image overlay" ? BFC can give the official/technical explanation, but I think most of us understand it to mean: The ability to import a source image (a bmp file, which could be your aerial photo, historical map, Google Earth screenshot, or whatever you like) and "overlay" it onto the map editor so you all you have to do is just trace your map. Result: A new game map made in a fraction of the time, perfectly scaled and accurate. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 About map overlay. I remember when BFC first announced the new feature to the beta team they had all sorts of technical questions . Then, when we finally got our hands on it, it was like "Oh, nevermind. its just that easy!" Simply put - you find a map, crop the map to the area you want , rename it accordingly & drop it into your mods folder. When you restart the game it'll be the background image for the map editor. The image will expand and contract along with the change in editor map area so you need to adjust your game map proportion until the background image is to the best scale and proportion. Then you paint your roads and elevation points using the background image as a helpful guide. At the very least, getting minor stuff like the distances between houses and the true sizes of crop field correct makes a HUGE gameplay difference. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Childress Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 At the very least, getting minor stuff like the distances between houses and the true sizes of crop field correct makes a HUGE gameplay difference. Almost ideal, but too bad it doesn't help with elevation. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgie Posted June 24, 2012 Author Share Posted June 24, 2012 Thanks for the answers, it sounds like a great tool, I look forward to using it. I have avoided historical maps in favor of fictional ones and this will temp me into making some historical ones. Gotta find some good ones. Plenty of rough terrain and historical. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akd Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Almost ideal, but too bad it doesn't help with elevation. If you have or make a contour map it does. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broadsword56 Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 And elevation was never the laborious part of CMBN mapping anyway, if you just "dot" your contour lines and use a reasonable contour interval (I use 5m but YMMV). Even a very large map can go pretty quickly this way. Once we're in Holland, of course, it will be even less of an issue -- except for locking in the tiles you need to get raised roads, drainage ditches, etc., looking right. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjkerner Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 MJ put a good amount of work in with the Italy mod unis, and he's damned happy! I bet he even peed a bit...maybe more, depending on his liquid intake. LOL, I sure am, an I sure did! I wonder how SDP feels, myself, but I think a lot of what he did would still be workable in CMFI. Well, if they haven't changed the building and terrain tile bmp/mapping. And, if the new importing maps function will allow you to take a screen shot of either a map in the editor or an in-game one, then converting SDP's very excellent maps should be relatively easy. Did I mention his maps are excellent? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjkerner Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 About map overlay. I remember when BFC first announced the new feature to the beta team they had all sorts of technical questions . Then, when we finally got our hands on it, it was like "Oh, nevermind. its just that easy!" Simply put - you find a map, crop the map to the area you want , rename it accordingly & drop it into your mods folder. When you restart the game it'll be the background image for the map editor. The image will expand and contract along with the change in editor map area so you need to adjust your game map proportion until the background image is to the best scale and proportion. Then you paint your roads and elevation points using the background image as a helpful guide. Holy sh*t, that is easy! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoneAge Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 These changes will be great 1 image from google for the ground detail Draw in ground detail 1 image from google for the elevations (put EV layers into google) Draw in Elevations Campaign wise I will have to see how large an image we can put into the background 4x4km may be a little large. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoneAge Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 HTMLMappingTool and CM Nothing really changes for the tool it can still be used with CMBN without changes. For new CM titles it would need a updated version that has all the new types added to it. As some ground types would be added (ie Grapevines may now replace bocage) but until I see it I cant really comment more. Just my two cents worth The better option at this time would be for Battlefront to add an export as XML button this way mappers can build fully detailed 1x1km maps in the editor and then export them to an external DB. Then an external person can build an xml parzer that can stitch togeather multiple maps to build larger areas or to remove the terrain types/buildings/flavour objects so the map can then be imported from CMBN to CM?? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Can mods be swapped between CMBN and CMFI? Sharing textures between different titles would require great care. Buildings, weapons and vehicles now come with normal maps for surface details. There's also the problem of compatibility. Ground cover is entirely different. Dropping CMBN green gridded terrain grass into CMFI would frankly ruin the game. A modder working on these title together would have to be either very brave or very clever. I frankly wouldn't mind seeing a brave clever modder show up. A kick-arse high-detail 3rd party normal map pack for vehicles would be something to see! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Sharing textures between different titles would require great care. Buildings, weapons and vehicles now come with normal maps for surface details. There's also the problem of compatibility. Ground cover is entirely different. Dropping CMBN green gridded terrain grass into CMFI would frankly ruin the game. A modder working on these title together would have to be either very brave or very clever. I frankly wouldn't mind seeing a brave clever modder show up. A kick-arse high-detail 3rd party normal map pack for vehicles would be something to see! * Note to self MOVE Z FOLDER OUT OF CMBN FOLDER BEFORE MG/CMBN ver 2 upgrade 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Hmm... Given how much time it takes to put together a really good modded CM2 game it's a bit of a reality check to think one may have to redo/recheck everything for every game family or update etc. I already think I spend too much/more time getting the mod combos just the way I like em in my Z folder than actually playing. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Yes, people can go a little bit overboard with their mods. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mord Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Hmm... Given how much time it takes to put together a really good modded CM2 game it's a bit of a reality check to think one may have to redo/recheck everything for every game family or update etc. I already think I spend too much/more time getting the mod combos just the way I like em in my Z folder than actually playing. That's one of the games within the game...you should've seen me with CMBO...Man, I was like a crack addict. But, hell, I'd gladly remake every mod I've ever done if it means my titles will always be fresh and up to date with the newest features and code. It's a price well worth paying. Mods are just mods. Bright side is, it sounds like the modding may be even more flexible and allow guys to do even better work. Mord. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bille.dk Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Will maps be printable so that you can make a tactical drawing for your plan and note intel? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 FRAPS screen capture is required for that for the PC side. I believe the mac screen capture commands work in the CM editor... I think. Actually my old PC running the older windows could still use the screen capture keyboard command, now that I think of it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steiner14 Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Doesn't "print screen" work on the PC? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Canadian Cat Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Doesn't "print screen" work on the PC? Not with every setup. On my machine when not docked (has only one monitor) print screen does not work - I have to use FRAPS. When docked and using dual monitors print screen does work (but it takes a snap of both monitors worth of pixels). Quirky. :confused: 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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