Spring - User contributions [en]

Tutorial:CreateMaps(Fnordia et al)

2006-12-12T00:45:01Z

Forboding Angel: /* Preparing your map */

'''Original by aGorm, with help from LathanStanley''' 

==The Idea==
First of all you need an idea. There is no point (OK, there is some point for test purposes) in making a map just like another one that already exists. You need to think of certain things before you make your map.
# Is this map idea different, not just a copy of someone else's?
# Does my map idea give each player a fair share of the cover and high ground?
# Is my map idea possible to make?
# Is it possible with the amount of time I'm willing to spend?

If you answered yes to the above, then you are 25% of the way towards making your map!

You should probably doodle it on a piece of paper to act as a guide later.

==The Tools==
With your idea hopefully sketched out, it's time to get the tools to make the map! (You can skip this if you already have them.)

For all your map compiling needs you should first download the [http://fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=1234 newest MapConv program].

You will also need some image editing software. Favorites are Photoshop, the [http://www.gimp.org/ GIMP], And Paintshop Pro.
The GIMP, however, is the only one that's free!
(I'm going to have to assume you know how to use the program you choose. If you can't there are loads of tutorials on the net.)

You may also want to check out [http://www.planetside.co.uk/terragen/ Terragen] for generating terrain. But as you have to pay to render anything of a good size, I won't mention it other than here.

Another tool you might find useful is the freeware tool [http://www.delphigl.de/projects/terrtexgen/eng_index.html TerrTexGen]. It's useful for previewing your heightmap before compiling, but unless your texturemap is 4096 on both sides, you might find that the texturemaps that it creates are too small.

Finally, there is tool called [http://www.bundysoft.com/L3DT/ L3DT] which you might also find useful. It seems to be a program that is specificly designed for creating large height/texture maps. The free version is capable of rendering a heightmap as big as 4096x4096, and can generate a texturemap that is proportional to the heightmap. Of the mentioned packages, this seems the most useful and complete.

==Preparing your map==
This is the fun part! And also, often, the longest part.

For a map you will need several different things:
# a texture map
# a height map
# a metal map

They all have certain needs! Read this bit carfully!

===Texture Map===
All maps are based on a texture image. This image's width and height must be an exact multiple of 1024 pixels. So, for instance, you can have a "4096 by 8192" image, but not a "4096 by 4608" image, as 4608 does not divide by 1024. It, like all three maps, must be saved as a 24 bit BMP. A 1024x1024 Texture will produce a map shown as '2x2' in the launcher.

It may look like whatever you want! Find a texture (preferably, one that you can tile seamlessly) and fill your texture map with it. You could, for instance, fill the whole image with a sand texture. This would make your whole world look like sand. You could then decide to add a few patches of grass to it by finding a suitable grass texture and adding it on in patches. So you'd have a map that was mostly sand with a few patches of green.

Because of the way the map compiler work, it will '''greatly''' reduce your map filesize if you use 32x32 tiles on your texture map. So, whenever you have to fill a large area with a repeating pattern, make sure the small square you're repeating is 32x32 (or a multiple of it).

===Height Map===
Next is the height map. This must be exactly one eighth (1/8) of the size of the texture map '''+ 1 pixel!''' For instance, if the dimensions of your texture map are "4096 by 8192", divide 4096 and 8192 each by 8 and add one to the result of each. The result for this example would be "513 by 1025". The height map is a black and white BMP. Only use black and white, no colour! (well its better to work it as a greyscale image, and when saving to process, convert to rgb and save as bmp, that way you get a 24 bit bmp)

White areas are the tops of mountains; black areas are the sea floor or the bottom of valleys. The shades of grey between are the different heights between! When you draw your heightmap, make sure the white blends into the black with greys. I suggest you use the blur tool. If you have a white splodge in a patch of black you will have a very tall pillar that won't look natural at all!

===Metal Map===
Finally, you need a metal map. This is the same size as the height map, one eighth (1/8) of the size of the texture map '''+ 1 pixel.''' On this one you paint down red (in verying degrees) to represent metal. So a red spot that is RGB(50,0,0) will provide about a 5th of the metal patch of red RGB(255,0,0) will give.

On this map you can also place green pixels. Each green pixel will create 1 geothermal vent. If you put down a green splodge you will get a cluster of geo vents! Only place 1 pixel.

Ensure you have all three saved as 24 bit BMPs and you're ready to convert it all to a map!

== MapConv.exe ==

Instructions pulled from [http://fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=1234 the newest MapConv program]. If all goes well, the <code>MapConv.exe</code> should create four new files: <code>mini.bmp</code>, <code>mini.dds</code>, <code>yourmapname.smf</code>, and <code>yourmapname.smt</code>

USAGE:

mapconv [-l] [-i] [-c <compression>] -x <max height> -n <min height> [-o
<Output file>] [-e <tile file>] [-y <Typemap file>] -m <Metalmap file> -a
<Heightmap file> -t <Texture file> [--] [-v] [-h]

Where:

-l, --lowpass
Lowpass filters the heightmap

-i, --invert
Inverts the height map vertically (not the height values but the height map
(uhm someone rewrite this))

-c <compression>, --compress <compression>
(value required) How much we should try to compress the texture file.
Default value 0.8 . (lower=higher quality, larger file)

-x <max height>, --maxheight <max height>
(required) (value required) What altitude in spring the max(0xffff) level
of the height map should represent

-n <min height>, --minheight <min height>
(required) (value required) What altitude in spring the min(0) level of
the height map should represent

-o <Output file>, --outfile <Output file>
(value required) The name of the created map

-e <tile file>, --externaltilefile <tile file>
(value required) External tile file that will be used for finding tiles,
tiles not found in this will be added in a new tile file

-y <Typemap file>, --typemap <Typemap file>
(value required) Type map to use, uses the red channel to decide type,
types are defined in the .smd, if this argument is skipped the map will be
all type 0

-m <Metalmap file>, --metalmap <Metalmap file>
(required) (value required) Metal map to use, red channel is amount of
metal, green=255 is where to place geos (one pixel=one geo). Is resized to
fit the mapsize

-a <Heightmap file>, --heightmap <Heightmap file>
(required) (value required) Input heightmap to use for the map, this
should be in 16 bit raw format (.raw extension) or an image file. Must be
xsize*128+1 x ysize*128+1 in size.

-t <Texture file>, --intex <Texture file>
(required) (value required) Input bitmap to use for the map. Must be
xsize*1024 x ysize*1024 in size. (xsize,ysize integers determined from this
file)

--, --ignore_rest
Ignores the rest of the labeled arguments following this flag.

-v, --version
Displays version information and exits.

-h, --help
Displays usage information and exits.

Converts a series of .bmp/.raw files to a Spring map. This just creates the .smf file, you will also have to create a .smd file using a text editor or Maelstrom's SMD creator.

==Mothers MapConv==
The usage is the same as above, with the following exceptions:
All features (including GeoVent/Tree/Grass) are now on their own FeatureMap. This is a 24bit bmp specified with the -f <featuremapname.bmp> flag.
''It should be 1/8th the resolution of your map.'' (i.e. 1 pixel smaller in each direction then your heightmap)

Tree's and GeoVents are placed on the green layer.
*255 Places a GeoVent
*200-215 Places tree types 1-16

MapConv will try to place these features in the exact spot you place them, it will then go into crackhead mode if it cannot.

Grass is the blue layer. The blue value maps to a 'pseudo-density' of the grass. The 'grass' map in the engine is very very low resolution, so be aware that you will not get nice linear results. 255=full grass, 0=no grass.

The red layer places 'Arbitrary Features,' aka wreckages. One pixel of red equals one feature. Red '255' gives you a feature of the first arbitrary type, 254 the second, 253 the third, and so on.

===But what are these 'Arbitrary Features,' Im so confused!===
They are 'features' found in the /features/All Worlds or /features/corpses filesystems. Which feature is 'type 1' is defined on a map-by-map basis via a new file called 'fs.txt'. This file should contain <cr> delimited feature names. The first line is the feature placed when a red=255 dot is found, etc.

=== Ok, Now what do I do? ===
If you are using any custom features, and/or you want to mod-proof your map, you should include them in the sd7 that you package the map in. The tree structure should look something like:

<mapname.sd7>
-maps/
-mapname.smf
-mapname.smt
-mapname.smd
-Objects3d/
-<featurename[s]>.3do(specified in the tdf)
-features/
-All Worlds/
(and/or)
-Corpses/
-<featurename[s]>.tdf
-textures/
-tatex/
-<texname[s]>00.bmp or .tga

Without getting into modding/unit making I will say that the <code>.tdf</code> tells you the name of the <code>.3do</code> ("<code>Object=</code>"), and the name of the 'feature' is in the top brackets. The <code>.3do</code> specifies the texture names. The engine looks for those texture names + 00 in either bmp or tga format in tatex.

Examples of a built-in XTA wreckage name would be <code>armckfus_dead</code> which would be looking for a tdf (likely <code>armckfus_dead.tdf</code>) that has a <code>[armckfus_dead]</code> section which then specified something like:
<code>Object=armckfus_dead</code>
<code>armckfus_dead.3do</code> would then specify some texture like <code>wreck01b</code> which would go looking for either a <code>wreck01b00.bmp</code> or <code>wreck01b00.tga</code> file.

[http://fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=1421 Start with this version of MapConv]
or
[http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=1507 This one]
[I will clean this up and add more later --Mother]

==Making your map work==
This is the final push. Once Sharp map has finshed it will spit out a .sm2 file. This needs to be copyed to the MAPS folder in Spring. But you still need one more thing: an .smd file. Basically, this file tells the game things like the maximum metal, the light colours, the clouds, etc. (All the bits you were thinking that you hadn't done yet!)

I would suggest you copy the .smd of another map and fiddle with the settings until you get what you want. smd's can be opened in notepade or similar. Look at all the .smd's so you can get a jist of what each option does. Make sure both the .sm2 and .smd have the same file name then start up Spring (not the client!) in [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/FAQ#People_talk_about_.27Single_Player.27._How_do_I_start_a_single_player_game.3F single-player mode] and run the commanders script. Choose your map and away you go!

==SMD Rundown==
What follows is all that we (aGorm and LathanStanley) have figured out in the SMD's. Its by no means the be all and end all, but it's the next best thing.

* Goto [[Maps:SMD]] for a more detailed listing

===General Map Information===
* Description is just a short description of your map. Keep it simple.
* TidalStrength determines how much energy tidal generators will produce. A normal figure is around 20.
* Gravity, as you would expect, affects ballisitcs and how far units fly after an explosion.
* MaxMetal is the maximum amount of metal you will gain from one game square in 1 second from an area of metal that had a red value of 255 in your metal map. If making an old style metal deposit map, then this will be quite high: maybe 2 or 3. If you are making a new style metal-all-over-the-place-map, then it will be low: perhaps 0.2. Also for old style maps, you'll have to fiddle with the...
* ExtractorRadius, which is the area that is harvested by 1 metal extractor. For old style maps make this very small, so as they only take from one deposit.

=== Atmosphere, Water Colours ===
Each value (it would appear this bit is by no means gospel) is a representation of the [[RGB]] values for that parameter. It would appear to be relative, i.e. you can put in what ever numbers you like and the game will work out what you want.

The best way to go about it is to look at it as percentages.
The numbers 1, 0.5, 0.2 refer to 100% red, 50% green and 20% blue. But 2, 1, 0.4, will get the same result. Using numbers below one for all the numbers will result in the colour being less bright.

This is all a bit confusing so an example will be given:

SkyColor=0.2 0.1 0.5;

In this example the sky is coloured with 20% red, 10% green, and 50% blue, approximatly RGB(51,25,127), resulting in a very deep night-time blue. Other colours are added to the initial sky colour. If you set your sun as being a pale yellow and it came out rather green, this is why.

One helpful tip is ''negative'' colour. That's right: you can type in a negative number for a colour and it will remove it from the base sky colour. Just be careful not to go below the original values or you may get a surprise.

===The Sun System/Shadow System===
The Sun System/Shadow System is quite a useful tool as well in making your maps look ''well done''.
Within the <code>.smd</code> file there is a line:

: <code>SunDir=-1 1 -.5; //direction of sun</code> (The part after the "//" is a comment)

The numbers "-1", "1", ".5" determine the angle and elevation of the sunlight system.

The first number is the X angle (East/West) (from -1 to 1) where any negative number means the sun is on the West (and therefore shadows will be cast east), and any positive number means the sun is on the East (and therefore shadows will be cast west), and if the number is 0 there are no east or west shadows, the sun is directly above you.

The second is its elevation, (0 to 1), this number is how far from the horizion the sun is, ignoring it's angle. Thus, 1 puts the sun directly overhead (while still casting angular shadows) and 0 putting it directly on the horizion.

The final number is the Z angle (North/South). (I know, I know, they wrote the engine with Y as elevation and Z as vertical. Don't blame me.) It is just like the East West positioning, where negative numbers put them on the North, and positive numbers put them on the South.

'''Example Usage:''' If you want the shadows ''in'' one of the boxes (your shadow casting surface is in the middle), use the numbers provided, or start from them and tweak the angle and sun height as seen fit.

[[Image:ShadowDirection.gif]]

'''Note:''' on the current build, it ''will'' cast the shadows in the proper direction, etc. Negative direction numbers tend to make some maps unstable and cause crashes. The best solution would be to rotate or flip your map to where the shadows point up or right (North or West). I do believe these bugs are being worked on and will be fixed soon.

We can only hope this has been helpful! Any questions, or things you think we have missed, please ask us in the maps section.

[[Category:Map making]]

Tutorial:CreateMaps(Fnordia et al)

2006-12-12T00:44:29Z

Forboding Angel:

'''Original by aGorm, with help from LathanStanley''' 

==The Idea==
First of all you need an idea. There is no point (OK, there is some point for test purposes) in making a map just like another one that already exists. You need to think of certain things before you make your map.
# Is this map idea different, not just a copy of someone else's?
# Does my map idea give each player a fair share of the cover and high ground?
# Is my map idea possible to make?
# Is it possible with the amount of time I'm willing to spend?

If you answered yes to the above, then you are 25% of the way towards making your map!

You should probably doodle it on a piece of paper to act as a guide later.

==The Tools==
With your idea hopefully sketched out, it's time to get the tools to make the map! (You can skip this if you already have them.)

For all your map compiling needs you should first download the [http://fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=1234 newest MapConv program].

You will also need some image editing software. Favorites are Photoshop, the [http://www.gimp.org/ GIMP], And Paintshop Pro.
The GIMP, however, is the only one that's free!
(I'm going to have to assume you know how to use the program you choose. If you can't there are loads of tutorials on the net.)

You may also want to check out [http://www.planetside.co.uk/terragen/ Terragen] for generating terrain. But as you have to pay to render anything of a good size, I won't mention it other than here.

Another tool you might find useful is the freeware tool [http://www.delphigl.de/projects/terrtexgen/eng_index.html TerrTexGen]. It's useful for previewing your heightmap before compiling, but unless your texturemap is 4096 on both sides, you might find that the texturemaps that it creates are too small.

Finally, there is tool called [http://www.bundysoft.com/L3DT/ L3DT] which you might also find useful. It seems to be a program that is specificly designed for creating large height/texture maps. The free version is capable of rendering a heightmap as big as 4096x4096, and can generate a texturemap that is proportional to the heightmap. Of the mentioned packages, this seems the most useful and complete.

==Preparing your map==
This is the fun part! And also, often, the longest part.

For a map you will need several different things:
# a texture map
# a height map
# a metal map

And several optional things for added functionality:
# a tile map

They all have certain needs! Read this bit carfully!

===Texture Map===
All maps are based on a texture image. This image's width and height must be an exact multiple of 1024 pixels. So, for instance, you can have a "4096 by 8192" image, but not a "4096 by 4608" image, as 4608 does not divide by 1024. It, like all three maps, must be saved as a 24 bit BMP. A 1024x1024 Texture will produce a map shown as '2x2' in the launcher.

It may look like whatever you want! Find a texture (preferably, one that you can tile seamlessly) and fill your texture map with it. You could, for instance, fill the whole image with a sand texture. This would make your whole world look like sand. You could then decide to add a few patches of grass to it by finding a suitable grass texture and adding it on in patches. So you'd have a map that was mostly sand with a few patches of green.

Because of the way the map compiler work, it will '''greatly''' reduce your map filesize if you use 32x32 tiles on your texture map. So, whenever you have to fill a large area with a repeating pattern, make sure the small square you're repeating is 32x32 (or a multiple of it).

===Height Map===
Next is the height map. This must be exactly one eighth (1/8) of the size of the texture map '''+ 1 pixel!''' For instance, if the dimensions of your texture map are "4096 by 8192", divide 4096 and 8192 each by 8 and add one to the result of each. The result for this example would be "513 by 1025". The height map is a black and white BMP. Only use black and white, no colour! (well its better to work it as a greyscale image, and when saving to process, convert to rgb and save as bmp, that way you get a 24 bit bmp)

White areas are the tops of mountains; black areas are the sea floor or the bottom of valleys. The shades of grey between are the different heights between! When you draw your heightmap, make sure the white blends into the black with greys. I suggest you use the blur tool. If you have a white splodge in a patch of black you will have a very tall pillar that won't look natural at all!

===Metal Map===
Finally, you need a metal map. This is the same size as the height map, one eighth (1/8) of the size of the texture map '''+ 1 pixel.''' On this one you paint down red (in verying degrees) to represent metal. So a red spot that is RGB(50,0,0) will provide about a 5th of the metal patch of red RGB(255,0,0) will give.

On this map you can also place green pixels. Each green pixel will create 1 geothermal vent. If you put down a green splodge you will get a cluster of geo vents! Only place 1 pixel.

Ensure you have all three saved as 24 bit BMPs and you're ready to convert it all to a map!

== MapConv.exe ==

Instructions pulled from [http://fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=1234 the newest MapConv program]. If all goes well, the <code>MapConv.exe</code> should create four new files: <code>mini.bmp</code>, <code>mini.dds</code>, <code>yourmapname.smf</code>, and <code>yourmapname.smt</code>

USAGE:

mapconv [-l] [-i] [-c <compression>] -x <max height> -n <min height> [-o
<Output file>] [-e <tile file>] [-y <Typemap file>] -m <Metalmap file> -a
<Heightmap file> -t <Texture file> [--] [-v] [-h]

Where:

-l, --lowpass
Lowpass filters the heightmap

-i, --invert
Inverts the height map vertically (not the height values but the height map
(uhm someone rewrite this))

-c <compression>, --compress <compression>
(value required) How much we should try to compress the texture file.
Default value 0.8 . (lower=higher quality, larger file)

-x <max height>, --maxheight <max height>
(required) (value required) What altitude in spring the max(0xffff) level
of the height map should represent

-n <min height>, --minheight <min height>
(required) (value required) What altitude in spring the min(0) level of
the height map should represent

-o <Output file>, --outfile <Output file>
(value required) The name of the created map

-e <tile file>, --externaltilefile <tile file>
(value required) External tile file that will be used for finding tiles,
tiles not found in this will be added in a new tile file

-y <Typemap file>, --typemap <Typemap file>
(value required) Type map to use, uses the red channel to decide type,
types are defined in the .smd, if this argument is skipped the map will be
all type 0

-m <Metalmap file>, --metalmap <Metalmap file>
(required) (value required) Metal map to use, red channel is amount of
metal, green=255 is where to place geos (one pixel=one geo). Is resized to
fit the mapsize

-a <Heightmap file>, --heightmap <Heightmap file>
(required) (value required) Input heightmap to use for the map, this
should be in 16 bit raw format (.raw extension) or an image file. Must be
xsize*128+1 x ysize*128+1 in size.

-t <Texture file>, --intex <Texture file>
(required) (value required) Input bitmap to use for the map. Must be
xsize*1024 x ysize*1024 in size. (xsize,ysize integers determined from this
file)

--, --ignore_rest
Ignores the rest of the labeled arguments following this flag.

-v, --version
Displays version information and exits.

-h, --help
Displays usage information and exits.

Converts a series of .bmp/.raw files to a Spring map. This just creates the .smf file, you will also have to create a .smd file using a text editor or Maelstrom's SMD creator.

==Mothers MapConv==
The usage is the same as above, with the following exceptions:
All features (including GeoVent/Tree/Grass) are now on their own FeatureMap. This is a 24bit bmp specified with the -f <featuremapname.bmp> flag.
''It should be 1/8th the resolution of your map.'' (i.e. 1 pixel smaller in each direction then your heightmap)

Tree's and GeoVents are placed on the green layer.
*255 Places a GeoVent
*200-215 Places tree types 1-16

MapConv will try to place these features in the exact spot you place them, it will then go into crackhead mode if it cannot.

Grass is the blue layer. The blue value maps to a 'pseudo-density' of the grass. The 'grass' map in the engine is very very low resolution, so be aware that you will not get nice linear results. 255=full grass, 0=no grass.

The red layer places 'Arbitrary Features,' aka wreckages. One pixel of red equals one feature. Red '255' gives you a feature of the first arbitrary type, 254 the second, 253 the third, and so on.

===But what are these 'Arbitrary Features,' Im so confused!===
They are 'features' found in the /features/All Worlds or /features/corpses filesystems. Which feature is 'type 1' is defined on a map-by-map basis via a new file called 'fs.txt'. This file should contain <cr> delimited feature names. The first line is the feature placed when a red=255 dot is found, etc.

=== Ok, Now what do I do? ===
If you are using any custom features, and/or you want to mod-proof your map, you should include them in the sd7 that you package the map in. The tree structure should look something like:

<mapname.sd7>
-maps/
-mapname.smf
-mapname.smt
-mapname.smd
-Objects3d/
-<featurename[s]>.3do(specified in the tdf)
-features/
-All Worlds/
(and/or)
-Corpses/
-<featurename[s]>.tdf
-textures/
-tatex/
-<texname[s]>00.bmp or .tga

Without getting into modding/unit making I will say that the <code>.tdf</code> tells you the name of the <code>.3do</code> ("<code>Object=</code>"), and the name of the 'feature' is in the top brackets. The <code>.3do</code> specifies the texture names. The engine looks for those texture names + 00 in either bmp or tga format in tatex.

Examples of a built-in XTA wreckage name would be <code>armckfus_dead</code> which would be looking for a tdf (likely <code>armckfus_dead.tdf</code>) that has a <code>[armckfus_dead]</code> section which then specified something like:
<code>Object=armckfus_dead</code>
<code>armckfus_dead.3do</code> would then specify some texture like <code>wreck01b</code> which would go looking for either a <code>wreck01b00.bmp</code> or <code>wreck01b00.tga</code> file.

[http://fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=1421 Start with this version of MapConv]
or
[http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=1507 This one]
[I will clean this up and add more later --Mother]

==Making your map work==
This is the final push. Once Sharp map has finshed it will spit out a .sm2 file. This needs to be copyed to the MAPS folder in Spring. But you still need one more thing: an .smd file. Basically, this file tells the game things like the maximum metal, the light colours, the clouds, etc. (All the bits you were thinking that you hadn't done yet!)

I would suggest you copy the .smd of another map and fiddle with the settings until you get what you want. smd's can be opened in notepade or similar. Look at all the .smd's so you can get a jist of what each option does. Make sure both the .sm2 and .smd have the same file name then start up Spring (not the client!) in [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/wiki/FAQ#People_talk_about_.27Single_Player.27._How_do_I_start_a_single_player_game.3F single-player mode] and run the commanders script. Choose your map and away you go!

==SMD Rundown==
What follows is all that we (aGorm and LathanStanley) have figured out in the SMD's. Its by no means the be all and end all, but it's the next best thing.

* Goto [[Maps:SMD]] for a more detailed listing

===General Map Information===
* Description is just a short description of your map. Keep it simple.
* TidalStrength determines how much energy tidal generators will produce. A normal figure is around 20.
* Gravity, as you would expect, affects ballisitcs and how far units fly after an explosion.
* MaxMetal is the maximum amount of metal you will gain from one game square in 1 second from an area of metal that had a red value of 255 in your metal map. If making an old style metal deposit map, then this will be quite high: maybe 2 or 3. If you are making a new style metal-all-over-the-place-map, then it will be low: perhaps 0.2. Also for old style maps, you'll have to fiddle with the...
* ExtractorRadius, which is the area that is harvested by 1 metal extractor. For old style maps make this very small, so as they only take from one deposit.

=== Atmosphere, Water Colours ===
Each value (it would appear this bit is by no means gospel) is a representation of the [[RGB]] values for that parameter. It would appear to be relative, i.e. you can put in what ever numbers you like and the game will work out what you want.

The best way to go about it is to look at it as percentages.
The numbers 1, 0.5, 0.2 refer to 100% red, 50% green and 20% blue. But 2, 1, 0.4, will get the same result. Using numbers below one for all the numbers will result in the colour being less bright.

This is all a bit confusing so an example will be given:

SkyColor=0.2 0.1 0.5;

In this example the sky is coloured with 20% red, 10% green, and 50% blue, approximatly RGB(51,25,127), resulting in a very deep night-time blue. Other colours are added to the initial sky colour. If you set your sun as being a pale yellow and it came out rather green, this is why.

One helpful tip is ''negative'' colour. That's right: you can type in a negative number for a colour and it will remove it from the base sky colour. Just be careful not to go below the original values or you may get a surprise.

===The Sun System/Shadow System===
The Sun System/Shadow System is quite a useful tool as well in making your maps look ''well done''.
Within the <code>.smd</code> file there is a line:

: <code>SunDir=-1 1 -.5; //direction of sun</code> (The part after the "//" is a comment)

The numbers "-1", "1", ".5" determine the angle and elevation of the sunlight system.

The first number is the X angle (East/West) (from -1 to 1) where any negative number means the sun is on the West (and therefore shadows will be cast east), and any positive number means the sun is on the East (and therefore shadows will be cast west), and if the number is 0 there are no east or west shadows, the sun is directly above you.

The second is its elevation, (0 to 1), this number is how far from the horizion the sun is, ignoring it's angle. Thus, 1 puts the sun directly overhead (while still casting angular shadows) and 0 putting it directly on the horizion.

The final number is the Z angle (North/South). (I know, I know, they wrote the engine with Y as elevation and Z as vertical. Don't blame me.) It is just like the East West positioning, where negative numbers put them on the North, and positive numbers put them on the South.

'''Example Usage:''' If you want the shadows ''in'' one of the boxes (your shadow casting surface is in the middle), use the numbers provided, or start from them and tweak the angle and sun height as seen fit.

[[Image:ShadowDirection.gif]]

'''Note:''' on the current build, it ''will'' cast the shadows in the proper direction, etc. Negative direction numbers tend to make some maps unstable and cause crashes. The best solution would be to rotate or flip your map to where the shadows point up or right (North or West). I do believe these bugs are being worked on and will be fixed soon.

We can only hope this has been helpful! Any questions, or things you think we have missed, please ask us in the maps section.

[[Category:Map making]]

Map Reviews

2006-01-07T10:30:16Z

Forboding Angel:

'''2 Valleys:'''
Deci- Mostly an air map, as not even kbots can climb the plateus, mex radius is also too small for the metal layout.

'''4B Facility:'''

'''4 skulls:'''
Deci- Simply too much metal, otherwise a solid map. Try lowering the metal income on the hills to around 1.5 or lower.

-FizWizz Interesting map, funny metal but fun to play. However, the metalmap is really bright.

'''Alaska:'''
AF- Needs stuff on the corner bits, preferrably custom snowy tree like features and other assortments, and a small open space, otherwise looks nice but a bit plain.

'''Ancient Arena:'''
Deci- I have heard that this is an excellent FFA map, though I myself do not normally play FFA

'''Anglo-Saxon Starfish:'''
Deci- Too much metal, otherwise a good combo of land and sea.

'''Appleville Two:'''

'''Ashap Plateau:'''

'''Ashpen:'''
Gnome- Good, not too big and not too much metal. Wouldn't mind a slightly larger one with more topography, but it's still good.

'''Asteroid-Dilo:'''

'''Atlantic:'''
Deci- A strange map, as amphibious units are near useless due to mountainous shorelines and air and naval power rule the day. This is another map that would benefit from a larger mex radius.

'''Azure Rampart:'''
Deci- Probably the most played FFA map, not much to say about this one.

'''BallerBurg:'''

'''Battle Lines:'''

'''Blue Planet:'''

'''Brazilian Battlefield:'''
AF- Too many trees in one corner makes AI testing on this map unfair. Make a bigger version though, it's somewhat smaller than I would have liked.

'''Clear a Ditch:'''

'''Caldera:'''
Deci- Basically a larger version on Ashpen

'''Castles:'''
Deci- the ultimate seige map, I don't play this one much anymore, but it is still fun sometimes when the game doesn't slow down.

'''Caustic Realm:'''

'''Cliff Run:'''
Deci- too small to really play on.

Gnome- I disagree. It's good for a quick game, the action is quick and it really keeps you on your toes. The hills really add to the map. The trees are somewhat annoying, but area reclaim works.

'''CometCatcher:'''
Deci- one of the much-loved maps, it isn't my personal favorite, but it's a solid map.

Min3mat:- Godlike! accept no substitutues!

Forboding Angel: Too damn flat. Heightmap needs to be redone badly.

'''Core Prime Industrial Area:'''
-FizWizz The metal concentration on the North/South Pyramids is ridiculous. Being both a metal map and a classic OTA map, it ought to have even metal distribution throughout, but as it is now, the strategic importance of the four walled forts is greatly diminished.

Min3mat:-Awful metal map which would be better with even displacement of metal

'''CorrosivePits:'''
Deci- apparently there is a version 4 out for this map that I haven't played yet.

'''County Crossing:'''

'''Crust:'''

'''Crystal-Harbor:'''

'''Crystal-World:'''
Deci- Mex radius is far too small, it should be doubled or tripled at least.

'''Death Valley:'''

'''Dueling Bases:'''

'''Dueling Forts:'''

'''Duggans Metal Map:'''

'''Duggans Metal Map Two:'''

'''Egypt:'''

'''EuroGreen:'''
Forboding Angel: Honestly, it's ugly and a comm swapfest imo. Small maps are good if the are done correcty. Unfortunately this map does not have enough real chokepoints to be viable.

'''EvergreenHaven:'''

'''Fizzy Lakes:'''

'''Foothill Basin:'''

'''Foothills:'''

'''Gods of War two remake:'''

'''Grassy Paradox:'''

'''Greenhaven:'''
Deci- one of the popular maps of spring, somewhat rough terrain, while still allowing vehicles.

'''Greenriver:'''
Min3mat:- awesome. IMO the best water map out there

'''Hamburger Hill:'''
Deci- Open-area tank warfare, barely deserves to be called a hill

'''Hell's Pass:'''

'''Hill Haven:'''
-FizWizz My favorite map of the River Dale set. It looks absolutely beautiful, it is simple, but it is not a plain map. It is balanced too, which is a little bit harder to say about the other maps in this series.

'''Hills and Valleys:'''
Deci- a good vehicle and kbot map, I really don't know why this one isn't played more.

'''IceArena:'''

'''Icebergs:'''

'''Island in the Sun:'''
-FizWizz A good naval map, the only island-hopper besides Gods of War II remake, I wish I could see more maps like this on FU.

'''Island Alpha:'''
Deci- decent 1v1 map

'''Island Hopping:'''

'''King of the Castle:'''

'''Lava Highground:'''
Deci- extremely focused on the center, not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing for this map

'''Lava Rivers:'''
Deci- Only one land route is generally bad for gameplay

'''Marshlands:'''

'''Martian Desert:'''
Gnome- Decent for 1v1, probably a little too much metal for that a lot of the time though. Probably very good for 2v2. Not too big either.

'''Metal Isles:'''
FizWizz Being both a metal map and a classic OTA map, it ought to have even metal distribution, but there is zero metal in the water. Not a crimp on gameplay, but something which should have been remedied.

'''MetalHeck:'''

'''MicroMetalAlpha:'''

'''Monolith NaAr:'''

'''Mountain Seige:'''
Deci- a good kbot map, probably the one that would benefit most from lvl2 kbots having good anti-air.

-FizWizz I love this map, it is beautiful and it plays well too, but it really needs to have a couple of the pathways broadened and leveled some so that they can actually accept traffic.

'''Mountain Range:'''

'''Nightscape:'''
Deci- a personal favorite of mine, this map manages to feel huge even though it isn't.

'''Oki River:'''
Deci- this map has only one real problem, there is too much metal in the water, on this map, the water would probably still be valuable even if there were no metal in it.

'''PCB:'''

'''Painted Desert Remake:'''
Deci- no qualms with this one, solid map

Min3mat:-Probably the prettiest map out there with good gameplay. Faithful port by NoiZe ^-^

'''Pathways:'''
Deci- now weighs in at only 15 meg!

'''Pax Prime:'''
Deci- an interesting map simply because of it's color

'''Plains and Passes:'''
Deci- this map could use a metal reduction, there are so many metal patches that the maxmetal should probably be lowered by a third or so. Also, mex radius is so small that it doesn't even cover the entire metal patch.

Forboding Angel: Nice map, too much metal imo. If I don't have over 300 metal income by the end of the game on this map I've done something wrong.

'''Proving Grounds:'''

'''Rainbow Land:'''
Deci- as far as I can tell, this is a joke map

'''Redhaven:'''
Deci- rarely played because Greenhaven is easier on the eyes.

'''River Dale:'''
Deci- excellent 3v3 map, though the host needs to be careful where the start boxes are to keep it fair.

'''Road to War:'''
Deci- my map, so I don't think I can comment

'''Rockies:'''

'''Rolling Hills:'''

'''Rush Hour:'''

'''Rusted Divide:'''

'''Scrap Metal:'''

'''Shore to Shore:'''
-FizWizz I have never played an enjoyable game on this map, it just does not conduce itself to anything other than porcing, aircraft spamming, or massing battleships, that I have seen.

'''Snowscape:'''

'''Sparewood:'''
Gnome- Excellent for 3FFAs, small and in your face like sherwood, only minus the severely annoying trees at the start points. Not bad for 1v1 either. Perhaps a little too much metal, but it plays very fairly and well.

'''Speedymetal2:'''

'''Splintered 4x4:'''
Deci- Absolute annihilation units cannot cross the fords, and therefore it doesn't get played by a very large chunk of spring's players. The speed boost on the ford is also a bit rediculous.

'''Spring-Islands:'''

'''Stone Bridges:'''

'''Sunken Outpost:'''
Deci- an often-played ffa or team map, would be a bit linear if it weren't for the water

'''Swamp Island:'''
Deci- mohos cannot easily be placed on the metal, making this map a bit of a pain to play

'''The Highlands:'''

'''The Hunters:'''
Forboding Angel: All in all it's a solid map. A little low on metal for my tastes but still quite solid. It has large lake type bodies of water running through it. Lakes are large enough to put ships in if you so desire :D

I havn't played this map myself. Only spectated, but I like the layout quite a bit and the atmospheric colors are beautiful. It is rather flat which IMO kinda sucks but regardless it's a rather fun map.

'''The Pass:'''

'''The Abyss:'''
Deci- Giant filesize makes this one a pain to download

-FizWizz Absolutely destitute of metal, until you reach the crater in the middle. However, I had one of my most fun games of Spring in memory on this map.

'''The Cold Place:'''
Deci- works for teams or FFA

Gnome- Good, faithful port of the original.

'''Tidal War:'''

'''Tri-Vega:'''

'''Valles Marineris:'''

'''Valley of Death:'''

'''WideOpenCombat:'''

'''Windswept Desert:'''

'''XantheTerra:'''

'''Acid Bridge:'''

'''AcidQuadratic:'''

'''Cliff Down:'''
Deci- a good FFA map if the players start at the entrances to the canyon, the starts should probably be changed to reflect this

Gnome- Good metal layout, but it's so big that there's too much available. Also very easy to porc out on (secure your two chokepoints, dot the rest of your base with AA). The game I played on this one became a drawn out stalemate that lasted over three hours because it's simply too damn big.

'''Core Pyramid:'''
Deci- a map with actual low metal, these are rare goodies

'''Desert Dunes:'''
Deci- too much metal, otherwise good

-FizWizz This map is Ace. The metal is much higher than a typical map, but I still wuvs it =)

'''Grad:'''

'''Green River:'''

'''Omega:'''

'''Tendril Mountain:'''
Deci- another of my maps, it has way too much metal and I plan on fixing it eventually

'''Volcano Island:'''
Deci- subs have some difficulty getting though certain areas, should be changed

Map Reviews

2006-01-07T10:29:31Z

Forboding Angel:

'''2 Valleys:'''
Deci- Mostly an air map, as not even kbots can climb the plateus, mex radius is also too small for the metal layout.

'''4B Facility:'''

'''4 skulls:'''
Deci- Simply too much metal, otherwise a solid map. Try lowering the metal income on the hills to around 1.5 or lower.

-FizWizz Interesting map, funny metal but fun to play. However, the metalmap is really bright.

'''Alaska:'''
AF- Needs stuff on the corner bits, preferrably custom snowy tree like features and other assortments, and a small open space, otherwise looks nice but a bit plain.

'''Ancient Arena:'''
Deci- I have heard that this is an excellent FFA map, though I myself do not normally play FFA

'''Anglo-Saxon Starfish:'''
Deci- Too much metal, otherwise a good combo of land and sea.

'''Appleville Two:'''

'''Ashap Plateau:'''

'''Ashpen:'''
Gnome- Good, not too big and not too much metal. Wouldn't mind a slightly larger one with more topography, but it's still good.

'''Asteroid-Dilo:'''

'''Atlantic:'''
Deci- A strange map, as amphibious units are near useless due to mountainous shorelines and air and naval power rule the day. This is another map that would benefit from a larger mex radius.

'''Azure Rampart:'''
Deci- Probably the most played FFA map, not much to say about this one.

'''BallerBurg:'''

'''Battle Lines:'''

'''Blue Planet:'''

'''Brazilian Battlefield:'''
AF- Too many trees in one corner makes AI testing on this map unfair. Make a bigger version though, it's somewhat smaller than I would have liked.

'''Clear a Ditch:'''

'''Caldera:'''
Deci- Basically a larger version on Ashpen

'''Castles:'''
Deci- the ultimate seige map, I don't play this one much anymore, but it is still fun sometimes when the game doesn't slow down.

'''Caustic Realm:'''

'''Cliff Run:'''
Deci- too small to really play on.

Gnome- I disagree. It's good for a quick game, the action is quick and it really keeps you on your toes. The hills really add to the map. The trees are somewhat annoying, but area reclaim works.

'''CometCatcher:'''
Deci- one of the much-loved maps, it isn't my personal favorite, but it's a solid map.

Min3mat:- Godlike! accept no substitutues!

Forboding Angel: Too damn flat. Heightmap needs to be redone badly.

'''Core Prime Industrial Area:'''
-FizWizz The metal concentration on the North/South Pyramids is ridiculous. Being both a metal map and a classic OTA map, it ought to have even metal distribution throughout, but as it is now, the strategic importance of the four walled forts is greatly diminished.

Min3mat:-Awful metal map which would be better with even displacement of metal

'''CorrosivePits:'''
Deci- apparently there is a version 4 out for this map that I haven't played yet.

'''County Crossing:'''

'''Crust:'''

'''Crystal-Harbor:'''

'''Crystal-World:'''
Deci- Mex radius is far too small, it should be doubled or tripled at least.

'''Death Valley:'''

'''Dueling Bases:'''

'''Dueling Forts:'''

'''Duggans Metal Map:'''

'''Duggans Metal Map Two:'''

'''Egypt:'''

'''EuroGreen:'''
Forboding Angel: Honestly, it's ugly and a comm swapfest imo. Small maps are good if the are done correcty. Unfortunately this map does not have enough real chokepoints to be viable.

'''EvergreenHaven:'''

'''Fizzy Lakes:'''

'''Foothill Basin:'''

'''Foothills:'''

'''Gods of War two remake:'''

'''Grassy Paradox:'''

'''Greenhaven:'''
Deci- one of the popular maps of spring, somewhat rough terrain, while still allowing vehicles.

'''Greenriver:'''
Min3mat:- awesome. IMO the best water map out there

'''Hamburger Hill:'''
Deci- Open-area tank warfare, barely deserves to be called a hill

'''Hell's Pass:'''

'''Hill Haven:'''
-FizWizz My favorite map of the River Dale set. It looks absolutely beautiful, it is simple, but it is not a plain map. It is balanced too, which is a little bit harder to say about the other maps in this series.

'''Hills and Valleys:'''
Deci- a good vehicle and kbot map, I really don't know why this one isn't played more.

'''IceArena:'''

'''Icebergs:'''

'''Island in the Sun:'''
-FizWizz A good naval map, the only island-hopper besides Gods of War II remake, I wish I could see more maps like this on FU.

'''Island Alpha:'''
Deci- decent 1v1 map

'''Island Hopping:'''

'''King of the Castle:'''

'''Lava Highground:'''
Deci- extremely focused on the center, not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing for this map

'''Lava Rivers:'''
Deci- Only one land route is generally bad for gameplay

'''Marshlands:'''

'''Martian Desert:'''
Gnome- Decent for 1v1, probably a little too much metal for that a lot of the time though. Probably very good for 2v2. Not too big either.

'''Metal Isles:'''
FizWizz Being both a metal map and a classic OTA map, it ought to have even metal distribution, but there is zero metal in the water. Not a crimp on gameplay, but something which should have been remedied.

'''MetalHeck:'''

'''MicroMetalAlpha:'''

'''Monolith NaAr:'''

'''Mountain Seige:'''
Deci- a good kbot map, probably the one that would benefit most from lvl2 kbots having good anti-air.

-FizWizz I love this map, it is beautiful and it plays well too, but it really needs to have a couple of the pathways broadened and leveled some so that they can actually accept traffic.

'''Mountain Range:'''

'''Nightscape:'''
Deci- a personal favorite of mine, this map manages to feel huge even though it isn't.

'''Oki River:'''
Deci- this map has only one real problem, there is too much metal in the water, on this map, the water would probably still be valuable even if there were no metal in it.

'''PCB:'''

'''Painted Desert Remake:'''
Deci- no qualms with this one, solid map

Min3mat:-Probably the prettiest map out there with good gameplay. Faithful port by NoiZe ^-^

'''Pathways of Destruction:'''
Deci- now weighs in at only 15 meg!

'''Pax Prime:'''
Deci- an interesting map simply because of it's color

'''Plains and Passes:'''
Deci- this map could use a metal reduction, there are so many metal patches that the maxmetal should probably be lowered by a third or so. Also, mex radius is so small that it doesn't even cover the entire metal patch.

Forboding Angel: Nice map, too much metal imo. If I don't have over 300 metal income by the end of the game on this map I've done something wrong.

'''Proving Grounds:'''

'''Rainbow Land:'''
Deci- as far as I can tell, this is a joke map

'''Redhaven:'''
Deci- rarely played because Greenhaven is easier on the eyes.

'''River Dale:'''
Deci- excellent 3v3 map, though the host needs to be careful where the start boxes are to keep it fair.

'''Road to War:'''
Deci- my map, so I don't think I can comment

'''Rockies:'''

'''Rolling Hills:'''

'''Rush Hour:'''

'''Rusted Divide:'''

'''Scrap Metal:'''

'''Shore to Shore:'''
-FizWizz I have never played an enjoyable game on this map, it just does not conduce itself to anything other than porcing, aircraft spamming, or massing battleships, that I have seen.

'''Snowscape:'''

'''Sparewood:'''
Gnome- Excellent for 3FFAs, small and in your face like sherwood, only minus the severely annoying trees at the start points. Not bad for 1v1 either. Perhaps a little too much metal, but it plays very fairly and well.

'''Speedymetal2:'''

'''Splintered 4x4:'''
Deci- Absolute annihilation units cannot cross the fords, and therefore it doesn't get played by a very large chunk of spring's players. The speed boost on the ford is also a bit rediculous.

'''Spring-Islands:'''

'''Stone Bridges:'''

'''Sunken Outpost:'''
Deci- an often-played ffa or team map, would be a bit linear if it weren't for the water

'''Swamp Island:'''
Deci- mohos cannot easily be placed on the metal, making this map a bit of a pain to play

'''The Highlands:'''

'''The Hunters:'''
Forboding Angel: All in all it's a solid map. A little low on metal for my tastes but still quite solid. It has large lake type bodies of water running through it. Lakes are large enough to put ships in if you so desire :D

I havn't played this map myself. Only spectated, but I like the layout quite a bit and the atmospheric colors are beautiful. It is rather flat which IMO kinda sucks but regardless it's a rather fun map.

'''The Pass:'''

'''The Abyss:'''
Deci- Giant filesize makes this one a pain to download

-FizWizz Absolutely destitute of metal, until you reach the crater in the middle. However, I had one of my most fun games of Spring in memory on this map.

'''The Cold Place:'''
Deci- works for teams or FFA

Gnome- Good, faithful port of the original.

'''Tidal War:'''

'''Tri-Vega:'''

'''Valles Marineris:'''

'''Valley of Death:'''

'''WideOpenCombat:'''

'''Windswept Desert:'''

'''XantheTerra:'''

'''Acid Bridge:'''

'''AcidQuadratic:'''

'''Cliff Down:'''
Deci- a good FFA map if the players start at the entrances to the canyon, the starts should probably be changed to reflect this

Gnome- Good metal layout, but it's so big that there's too much available. Also very easy to porc out on (secure your two chokepoints, dot the rest of your base with AA). The game I played on this one became a drawn out stalemate that lasted over three hours because it's simply too damn big.

'''Core Pyramid:'''
Deci- a map with actual low metal, these are rare goodies

'''Desert Dunes:'''
Deci- too much metal, otherwise good

-FizWizz This map is Ace. The metal is much higher than a typical map, but I still wuvs it =)

'''Grad:'''

'''Green River:'''

'''Omega:'''

'''Tendril Mountain:'''
Deci- another of my maps, it has way too much metal and I plan on fixing it eventually

'''Volcano Island:'''
Deci- subs have some difficulty getting though certain areas, should be changed