Idea for the CMSF Scenario Editor

[Peach Operations]

I've been able to find a number of topographic maps of Syria on the web, and have been using the contour lines on these maps in creating CMSF maps. Currently, drawing a contour line in the editor means clicking on tile after tile along the length of the desired line. You don't have to click every tile, but the spacing between can't be too great, or else you may have unpredictable results (especially if there's a concentration of directly-set elevation tiles nearby). This can be very time-consuming.

It would be very helpful if the editor allowed you to simply draw a contour line by clicking once on each end of the line. You'd hit a button -- say, "Draw contour line" -- then click the two ends of the line, and the editor would set elevation at every tile in between.

Also, while I know the game file formats in general are closed to the public, is it possible that the map/scenario file format could be published? I'd love to be able to make some simple tools for myself to aid in making CMSF maps/scenarios.

[magomar]

Originally posted by shadowgamer:

I've been able to find a number of topographic maps of Syria on the web, and have been using the contour lines on these maps in creating CMSF maps. Currently, drawing a contour line in the editor means clicking on tile after tile along the length of the desired line. You don't have to click every tile, but the spacing between can't be too great, or else you may have unpredictable results (especially if there's a concentration of directly-set elevation tiles nearby). This can be very time-consuming.

It would be very helpful if the editor allowed you to simply draw a contour line by clicking once on each end of the line. You'd hit a button -- say, "Draw contour line" -- then click the two ends of the line, and the editor would set elevation at every tile in between.

Also, while I know the game file formats in general are closed to the public, is it possible that the map/scenario file format could be published? I'd love to be able to make some simple tools for myself to aid in making CMSF maps/scenarios.

I don´t think that would occur. I the CMx1 series there were people developing great tools, like a converter between scenarios and operations, and between different games in the series, as well as a wonderful map editor that allowed you to import bmp files with heights coded in different levels of grey, or the possibility of having an overlay image to help you represent a map based on an ortophotography.... and, in order to communicate with the game, the only option for the programmers was.... to simulate a human user working with the editor by generating keyboard events. That was a great idea, but it had many issues.

Since BFC seems to be against opening stuff, the community has been requesting more features and improvements in the editor, and I even remember some of the programmers of these wonderful tools offered himself to integrate their tool in a future release of the game, but that never happen.

All in all, we should be keep asking BFC to include some nice features in the editor, that would be highly appreciate by scenario creator...

[ February 08, 2008, 03:02 PM: Message edited by: magomar ]

[Hev]

Seeing as we arnt ever going to get a random map generator i think BFC should give us as much assistance as they can in making maps ourselves.

Anything that makes map making easier/faster can only make shock force a better game!

[dischord]

Also, while I know the game file formats in general are closed to the public, is it possible that the map/scenario file format could be published? I'd love to be able to make some simple tools for myself to aid in making CMSF maps/scenarios. [/QB]

I agree with this.

For whatever reason, Battlefront made the decision to go closed format.

Which is too bad. More/better maps would mean a higher replayability factor.