Spring - User contributions [en]

Base building tips

2005-11-24T08:21:55Z

Rjn945: Implemented different styles, worked in suggestions, deleted nonsensical section

''tips by GenBlood (with suggestions from Min3mat)''

I'm no expert on this. I'm just posting tips that might help you build your base better. All tips are based on resources starting at 1000 metal and 1000 energy.

# Build a level 1 Kbot Lab, level 1 Vehicle Plant or a level 1 Aircraft Plant first. Only one at the start of the game, depending on game resources.
# On the energy end, build Wind Generators first because they use less metal than solar. Build at least 3 or 4 after building a level 1 plant.
# Now depending on the map, you need metal to build more advanced stuff. Try to build at least 4 or 5 Metal Extractors.
# Now its time to build some units. You should build at least two level 1 construction units to help out your commander. Muliple construction units can help build strutures and units faster but remember, by doing this, resources will be drained faster.
# Now you should build a radar tower not far from your main base. You don't want the enemy to surprise you.
# Add a few missile towers around your base to protect metal extractors, wind generators and other structures. Don't go hog wild on this at the beginning. That is a waste of resources.
# Build some units to repel enemy units. I would say around 10 or 15 units to start with. At this point, managing your resources is very important. Energy is important, so build a energy storage unit. You may also want to build metal storage.
# Now its time to build level 2 factories. From this, build two advanced construction units. Have your advanced construction units build at least 2 Moho Metal Extactors quickly.
# After you got that done, you'll want to build a Cloaked Fusion Reactor for power. (However you should consider building one [if not 3 or 4] Light Fusion/ Mobile Fusions first.) Use at least three construction units to build the first Fusion Reactor. Keep an eye on your resources. If you energy drops to zero, you cannot mine metal. This will ''greatly'' slow construction.
# After you got the first Reactor done. Build a second one and two Metal Makers with Advanced Construction units.
# Now it's time to build level 2 units to attack enemy bases. While you are building your units, reinforce your base defenses.

While building your base, keep in mind some buildings go boom in a big way when they die. No buildings should really be clustered together (especially energy producers) but the following need special consideration: Fusion Plants, Annihilator/Doomsday Machine, energy storage, Geothermal, Big Bertha/Intimidator, Targetting Facility.

Back to [[Strategy_and_Tactics]]

Map Reviews

2005-11-24T08:00:30Z

Rjn945: Fixed typos, improved look

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Anybody please feel free to add reviews to this section, or add to existing ones - latest reviews first.

If you don't understand how to edit this PM aGorm!

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== Bionica v3.1 (FINAL) ==

Reviewed by aGorm

===Looks===
[[Image:Map-bionica-minimap.png|right]]
That map looks (don't be fooled by the minimap!) really good. The central island is especially nice; the texture used is perfect. It is slightly stylized (like TA maps) not a real world... The metal around the edge actually looks pretty damn good too, as you don't notice the sea join at all. It gives it the feel of being on an island, without being on one. Other maps that come to the edge look bad because it seems abrupt. This avoids that problem because it's meant to be.
One gripe that stops this from getting 9/10: there are ramps, and they are necessary, but they spoil the look. However it's still is very good.

8/10

===Playability===
The start positions are wrong. This is annoying. Also everyone will need to make them the same to play.
However it clearly has lots of potential for a good game once started. All the players would have to fight around and destroy there neighbours on land, and use air and sea to get the others, which could lead to all sorts of cool suprise attacks and so forth. The island in the middle, containing extra metal and great radar coverage, is a good place to get.
Only one real problem: there is not much room for a base around the outside. If you started there, you'd be at a disadvantage.

7/10

You can get the map [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=showitem&ID=1032 here].

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== Lava Highground 2 - v1.0 ==

Reviewed by aGorm

=== Looks ===
The map looks, at first sight, pretty good. The texture is maybe a little repetitive, but it's different. The ambiance is good (i.e. sky effects and lighting). In "normal mode" it all looks fine! Just nothing special...

However... The metal map is like somthing out of a funky light show. It's just green dots on the ground! They obviously meant to represent metal patches, but the time was not taken to add then onto the surface map. If they would have, I would forgive them but as they are--well they do look a bit off.

8.5/10

=== Playability ===
Here it scores above average... It's a simple concept, everything works well (as you'd hope in a second version...) No problems, except how easy it is to defend... Should 2 popup turrets and 4 imolators really be able to take down 100 mavericks? Not really... However the terrain does give that sort of great advantage to the defender; but a good attacker will be able to work around this!

Its biggest problem here is just size... It's tiny really. Had it been a little bigger I'd have said 8/10, but it has dropped to 6/10.

You can get the map [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=showitem&ID=1011 here].

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== Destination: Mars ==

Map made by Buggi

Reviewed by GenBlood

=== Looks ===

The map is of Mars the forth planet from the sun in the solar system. The
planet has large deposits of metal all over the map. The over all look of
the map is good and well layed out. The map size is 40x30 and was designed
for 8 players. This isn't meant for a 1 vs 1 game, unless you have a few
hours to kill. The overall look and feel is good and a must have in your
maps folder.

8/10

=== Playability ===

This map has a lot of metal, so harvesting resources shouldn't be a big problem.
When choosing between solar or wind generators, you should select the wind
generators. They use less metal and build faster then solar at the start of the game. You should build metal storage units and energy storage units early in the game. It's better to have extra resources, in case you solar or wind generators get damaged during the game. The map is big but the resources are there. A good player can build alot of planes and ground units. You will need to build good round and air defenses early in the game, or the game will be over really quick. Also, having good team members on your side is a plus. They can help you build your base, gather resources and send ally messages to help you out during the game. IMHO this is a good 4 or 6 player map. I haven't tried 8 players over the internet. Most likely you will have to be on a LAN to get 8 players on this map without any lag. Completely strange placement of metal <,<

6/10

You can get the map [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=showitem&ID=998 here].

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== Volcano Island ==

Map made by aGorm

Reviewed by GenBlood

=== Looks ===

The overall textures and placement of the trees are good. There isn't too many trees per island. The metal resources and geo vents per island our very good and well layed-out. This is a good 2 player map or a 2 vs. 2 map. There is four islands and lots of water. In the middle on the map there is a lot of metal. The first person or team that can control it will be hard to beat. The bottom line is the overall look and feel is good.

7/10

=== Playability ===

When starting you have all the resources you'll need at your fingers tips. You can build on land and in the water. To get the most out of this map you will need to build on the land and in the water. This map will force people to build ships, in my opinion. If you are a good player you can win without building ships, but you will get more out of this map if you do both. The map can be played over and over. The key to winning is getting control of the center of the map to get the metal. Once you control the center, its a good chance you will win the game :) Playability of this map is good. It's a must have for your maps folder.

7.5/10

You can get the map [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=showitem&ID=793 here].

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== Core Prime Industrial Area ==

Map made by zwzsg

Reviewed by GenBlood

=== Looks ===

A classic Core Contingency metal map converted for TASpring. It can play 6 players with room to spare. The textures and overall look reminds me of TA in the old days. The resources like metal and energy are well balanced. Converting maps isn't easy. It takes time to compile them and make sure they have the same feel as it orginal CC map. zwzsg, you did a great job on converting this map and I look forward to future maps from you.

8/10

=== Playability ===

Metal maps are different from other TASpring maps, like others you have the gather metal at certain locations. Most of the map can produce metal in some amount. Resource management on building ground units, planes and structures is important during the beginning of the game. Make sure you have lots of energy in the beginning. If you build too much at the start and don't manage your energy properly. You base building will slow down ''really fast''. I've made some bad choices on this map and got crushed really fast. I've learned from my mistakes and have improved my overall game play. Overall this is a kick ass map and it's a must have in your maps folder.

But the middle! <,< Awful for gameplay. If that was improved it would be worthy of 8-9 out of 10. For now...

2.5/10

You can get the map [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=showitem&ID=720 here].

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== Azure Rampart ==

Map made by zwzsg

Map reviewed by GenBlood

=== Looks ===

This is a 5 player map has a very good design. The overall design is different then most TASpring maps. The metal and geo resources are available to the players. The geos more to the middle of the map. So, you will need to go and find them. Also, all the main starting postions of the commanders are marked. You might say, the locations are marked with letters A, B, C, D and stuff like that. I would say this is a very good looking maps.

7.5/10

=== Playability ===

On this you really need to plan on what you are going to do. The metal resources could have been better, but you can make metal if needed. You will need to decide if its a ground or air battle. In the beginning resources will be tight. Most likely a air battle or the use of planes will be a big part in winning on this map. Nukes can be used, but they require '''a lot''' of resources to build them.

I just finished a game with MOnG and 3 others and I used planes and nukes. Bottom line, I messed up :( I nuked a few of the players. I wasn't watching when I was typing and messed up. I nuked my based when I set a rally point. It was funny. Back to the review ...

I would say it's an "OK" map, but new players might not like the small area to build on. You have to have a good base layout. You must design your base to defend against a lot of planes. Managing your resources is a must on this map. If you build too fast you will run out of metal or energy and basically you will get crushed by a good player. In my opinion this map is a must have, but I don't see too many playing with it.

6.5/10

You can get the map [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=showitem&ID=756 here].

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== Mirage ==

Map made by Neuralize

Reviewed by GenBlood

=== Looks ===

This is a very good looking map. The metal is visual when looking over the terrain. The geos are placed in good locations all over the map. The mountain terrain textures look very good and they stand out. This is a very well layed out map for 4 players for a free for all (FFA) or teams. You should have no problem playing a 2 vs 2 or even a 3 vs 3 game. In my opinion this is a very
good looking map and a good design.

7.5/10

=== Playability ===

When you start on this map you have metal resources and geos at your finger tips. If you layout your base properly, you should be able to rush the enemy base before they get their defenses built. I forsee a lot of playability in this map. You can have a good 3 vs 3 on this map. The one hosting the game can have players postions be selected in the game. This will add another level of game
play to this map. You can have a 3 vs 3 game picking locations in the game, say team 1 on the top of the map and team 2 on the bottom of the map. Good team mates on a map like this can help build almost all types of structures on a map like this. I like nukes, anti-missile silos and Kroggie factories. Also, nukes can be used to stop large numbers rushing you. Like a offensive weapons against a rush attack. I would stay this is a must have for you maps folder. It's about 18 MB but it's worth the download time.

8.5/10

You can get the map [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=showitem&ID=811 here].

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== XantheTerra ==

Map made by Shintahr

Reviewed by Zoombie

=== Looks ===
This map is gorgeous. The vistas and terrain are epic in scope and filled with grandeur, bringing mars to life. Only problem is that this grandeur is ripped to shreds when you build the first unit/building. Suddenly you realize that the epic canyons and tall mountains are actually very small, and then the map suddenly gets less cool. This is quickly remedied by either, A) getting [[MiniSpring]] or B) blowing some stuff up. The height map is well done, the terrain deformability works great, and the unit move speeds actually impacted game play!

7.5/10

=== Playability ===

This mapÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s visuals are surpassed by its game play. The canyon that runs down the middle makes for a great tank protection. The metal placement is good and allows for your base to have some form of structure. Even though this map is vertically-challenged, it is at least '''big'''. Really big! So massive armies and huge bases are the name of the game here, and the ensuing firefights deserve some really cool music to go along with it. There is no sea to speak of, so your energies are best devoted to K-bots. The wide plains are good for tanks, but unfortunately they have trouble navigating the narrow, bumpy canyons that cut the map in half. The K-bot also gets a large move bonus in the canyons; which is great for a speedy attack. LRPCs reign supreme here, with every base being easy to reach and unprotected by cover. So destroy the enemyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s first or bring out the radar jammers! The last note I'd like to make is the fourth starting position is perfect for turtlers. A small island surrounded by canyons with enough room to pack in a bunch of guns. You still need to send some con units to the lower parts of the canyons for metal, but you are relatively safe from Goliaths and other large tanks. Be sure to have lots of air defense for those pesky brawlers, as small, tightly packed bases are perfect targets for these. It's about 6 MB and it's worth the time to download.

9/10

You can get the map [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=1271h here]

[[Category:Maps]]

MiniSpring

2005-11-24T07:01:22Z

Rjn945: Fixed typos

'''MiniSpring''' is a special release of the Spring engine by Buggi. It halves the size of all units in the game, making maps look and feel twice as big as they really are. A new version has been released, and is currently compatible with Spring version .65b2. Unfortunately, because this mod uses a hacked executalbe, it is not properly compatible with the TASClient. It would be quite hard to actually set up and play a multiplayer game with it because of this. But that does not stop you from trying it out!

=== Links ===
* [http://taspring.clan-sy.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2703 Forum Link]
* [http://www.epicedit.com/MiniSpring_065b2_0.zip Download link]

[[Category:Mods]]
{{Category:Mods}}

Tutorial:CreateMaps(Fnordia et al)

2005-07-19T08:17:14Z

Rjn945: A little more cleanup. It's looking good.

'''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.)

I'm going to suggest (nay, insist!) you use the [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=showitem&ID=861 Buggi SHARP MAP] program, because it does everything the command-line version does and more. And it's easy for people to understand.
Please note that you must put SHARP MAP in a folder with no spaces. This means you could not put it in "C:/Program Files/mapcon", as it won't work.

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 for generating terrain is the freeware tool [http://www.delphigl.de/projects/terrtexgen/eng_index.html TerrTexGen]. "It generates a terraintexture on the base of a grayscale heightmap und uses five surfacetextures that are distributed over the heightmap."

==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.

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.

===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!

==Sharp Map==
Here's a easy run down of what to do:

First (you guessed it), open Sharp Map.
This brings you a window with several fields that need filling, a few option boxes and two sliders. Fill in the top fields as required. (Click browse, locate the texture map, and click OK. Repeat for the height map and metal map.)

Type in a figure for MAX HEIGHT and MIN HEIGHT. The MAX HEIGHT should not exceed 500. Higher numbers can cause errors. If your minimum height is a negative number then you will have water on your map. Sea level is, naturally enough, at 0. To the right of these boxes is a grey level calculator. This will tell you aproximatly the level of grey on your height map that is under water and above water. The grey is described by it's RGB values.

Then adjust the tree and grass sliders. If you have a green map then I suggest you lower the tree slider, otherwise the map will be covered!

(Edit:) '''Example Usage:'''

The starting locations of the sliders are approximetly 75% trees and 80% grass. On a green portion of any map with any hue (>200 green <75 red <75 blue) it will end up completely ''full'' of trees on the default settings, reducing the sliders to around 20% (which is still kind of dense) or less will make the green areas ''much'' more playable, and still have a good quantity of trees in the deep green parts. However, you will lose almost all your trees in brown/green areas and areas without any green. It would seem the most suitable, for a green map, to be green everywhere, except for cliffsides, rocky patches, water, sand, and mud, if you want the trees to look pretty. Another idea would be to have the dirt brown, and have very thick green splotches of grass (30x30 pixels) where you want a few trees to be. (Edit by: LathanStanley)

Finally, you need to decide if you need to tick the inverse height map box or not. If you drew the height map by hand so that if you overlayed your height map over the texture the hills would line up with the hills, etc. then you will need to tick the box.
This is because the image is read ''backwards'', so its expecting the image to be upside-down. Ticking the check box makes it flip the image the way it wants it before conversion.
If you exported your texture and height maps from Terragen, then you do not need to tick this box, as Terragen exports it upside-down already.
If you were crazy and drew it upside-down, then you don't need to tick it either.

When you have completed all this click Create Map!
This can take some time for a larger map, so start off with a small one.

An Error message similar to this one:

"System.IO.FileNotFoundException: Could not find file "C:\Program Files\TASpring\convert\strips\mini.dds".

This means that there is a space character (as in "C:\Program Files\") in the path to the files used by Sharpmap. Put all the files in a path that doesn't contain a space character like "C:\map1set3\". If that doesn't work, contact Buggi or post it in the forum: somebody will always help.

==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.

===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 .smd file there is a line:

"SunDir=-1 1 -.5; //direction of sun" (The part of 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.

N
----------------------------------------------
| ( 1 .5 -1) | ( 0 .5 -1) | (-1 .5 -1) |
----------------------------------------------
W | ( 1 .5 0) | ( 0 1 0) | (-1 .5 0) | E
----------------------------------------------
| ( 1 .5 1) | ( 0 .5 1) | (-1 .5 1) |
----------------------------------------------
S

'''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.

Map reviews

2005-06-22T22:56:11Z

Rjn945: Removed second title

Anybody please feel free to add reviews to this section, or add to existing ones - latest reviews first.

If you don't understand how to edit this PM aGorm!

----

== Bionica v3.1 (FINAL) ==

by aGorm

===Looks===
That map looks (don't be fooled by the minimap!) really good. The central island is especialy nice; the texture used is perfect. It is slightly stylized (like TA maps) not a real world... The metal round the edge actully looks pretty damn good too, as you don't notice the sea join at all. It gives it the feel of being on an island, without being on one. Other maps that come to the edge look bad because it seems abrupt. This avoids that problem because it's meant to be.
One gripe that stops this from getting 9/10. There are ramps, and they are necessary, but they spoil the look. However it's still is very good.

8/10

===Playability===
The start positions are wrong. This is annoying. Also everyone will need to make them the same to play.
However it clearly has lots of potential for a good game once started. All the players would have to fight around and destroy there neighbours on land, and use air and sea to get the others, which could lead to all sorts of cool suprise attacks and so forth. And the island in the middle is a good place to get, with extra metal and the fact ud get great radar coverage.
Only one real problem: there is not much room for a base around the outside. If you started there, you'd be at a dissadvantage.

7/10

Want the map?? Get It here: http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=showitem&ID=1032

----

== Lava Highground 2 - v1.0 ==

by aGorm

=== Looks ===
The map looks at first sight... pretty good. The texture is maybe a little repetitive, but it's different. The ambiance is good (i.e. sky effects and lighting). In Normal mode it all looks fine! Just nothing special...

However... The metal map is like somthing out of a funky light show. It's just green dots on the ground! They obviously meant to represent metal patches... but the time was not taken to add then onto the surface map... If they would have, I would forgive them but as they are... well they do look a bit off.

7/10

=== Playability ===
Here it scores above average... Its a simple concept, everything works well (as you'd hope in a version 2...) No problems... except how easy it is to defend... Should 2 popup turrets and 4 imolators realy be able to take down 100 mavericks?? Not really... however the terrain does give that sort of gr8 advantage to the defender... but a good attacker will be able to work around this!

It's biggest problem here is just size... It's tiny really. Had it been a little bigger I'd have said 8/10, but it's dropped to 6/10.

Want the map?? Get It here:
http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=showitem&ID=1011

----

Map Reviews

2005-06-22T22:55:22Z

Rjn945: Created redirect to "Map reviews"

#REDIRECT [[Map reviews]]

Maps Reviews

2005-06-22T22:54:22Z

Rjn945: Maps Reviews moved to Map Reviews

#REDIRECT [[Map Reviews]]

Maps reviews

2005-06-22T22:54:00Z

Rjn945: Maps reviews moved to Maps Reviews

#REDIRECT [[Maps Reviews]]

Tutorial:CreateMaps(Fnordia et al)

2005-06-22T22:48:39Z

Rjn945: Removed "Part #" from section headers because TOC does it anyway

'''Original by aGorm'''



== 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.)

I'm going to suggest (nay, insist!) you use the [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=showitem&ID=861 Buggi SHARP MAP] program, because it does everything the command-line version does and more. And it's easy for people to understand.

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 rendering terrain. But as you have to pay to render anything of a good size, I won't mention it other than here.

Another tool for rendering terrain is the freeware tool [http://www.delphigl.de/projects/terrtexgen/eng_index.html TerrTexGen]. "It generates a terraintexture on the base of a grayscale heightmap und uses five surfacetextures that are distributed over the heightmap."

== Prepering 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!

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.

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 deside 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.

Next is the height map. This must be exactly a quarter 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 4 and add one to the result of each. The result for this example would be "1025 by 2049". The height map is a black and white BMP. Only use black and white, no colour!

White ares 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!

Finally, you need a metal map. This is the same size as the height map, a quarter 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!

== Sharp Map ==

Here's a easy run down of what to do.
First, (you guessed it) open Sharp Map.
This brings you a window with several fields that need filling, a few option boxes and two sliders. Fill in the top fields as required. (Click browse, locate the texture map, and click OK. Repeat for the height map and metal map.)

Type in a figure for MAX HEIGHT and MIN HEIGHT. The MAX HEIGHT should not exceed 500. Higher numbers can cause errors. If your minimum height is a negative number then you will have water on your map. Sea level is, naturally enough, at 0. To the right of these boxes is a grey level calculator. This will tell you aproximatly the level of grey on your height map that is under water and above water. The grey is described by it's RGB values.

Then adjust the tree and grass sliders. If you have a green map then I suggest you lower the tree slider, otherwise the map will be covered!

Finally, you need to decide if you need to tick the inverse height map box or not. If you drew the height map by hand so that if you overlayed your height map over the texture the hills would line up with the hills, etc. then you will need to tick the box.
This is because the image is read ''backwards'', so its expecting the image to be upside-down. Ticking the check box makes it flip the image the way it wants it before conversion.
If you exported your texture and height maps from Terragen, then you do not need to tick this box, as Terragen exports it upside-down already.
If you were crazy and drew it upside-down, then you don't need to tick it either.

When you have completed all this click Create Map!
This can take some time for a larger map, so start off with a small one.

== 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. 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!

I can only hope this is helpful!

Yours... '''aGorm'''

Tutorial:CreateMaps(Fnordia et al)

2005-06-22T22:45:39Z

Rjn945: Edited comment URL

'''Original by aGorm'''



== Part 1: 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.

== Part 2: 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.)

I'm going to suggest (nay, insist!) you use the [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=showitem&ID=861 Buggi SHARP MAP] program, because it does everything the command-line version does and more. And it's easy for people to understand.

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 rendering terrain. But as you have to pay to render anything of a good size, I won't mention it other than here.

Another tool for rendering terrain is the freeware tool [http://www.delphigl.de/projects/terrtexgen/eng_index.html TerrTexGen]. "It generates a terraintexture on the base of a grayscale heightmap und uses five surfacetextures that are distributed over the heightmap."

== Part 3: Prepering 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!

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.

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 deside 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.

Next is the height map. This must be exactly a quarter 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 4 and add one to the result of each. The result for this example would be "1025 by 2049". The height map is a black and white BMP. Only use black and white, no colour!

White ares 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!

Finally, you need a metal map. This is the same size as the height map, a quarter 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!

== Part 4: Sharp Map ==

Here's a easy run down of what to do.
First, (you guessed it) open Sharp Map.
This brings you a window with several fields that need filling, a few option boxes and two sliders. Fill in the top fields as required. (Click browse, locate the texture map, and click OK. Repeat for the height map and metal map.)

Type in a figure for MAX HEIGHT and MIN HEIGHT. The MAX HEIGHT should not exceed 500. Higher numbers can cause errors. If your minimum height is a negative number then you will have water on your map. Sea level is, naturally enough, at 0. To the right of these boxes is a grey level calculator. This will tell you aproximatly the level of grey on your height map that is under water and above water. The grey is described by it's RGB values.

Then adjust the tree and grass sliders. If you have a green map then I suggest you lower the tree slider, otherwise the map will be covered!

Finally, you need to decide if you need to tick the inverse height map box or not. If you drew the height map by hand so that if you overlayed your height map over the texture the hills would line up with the hills, etc. then you will need to tick the box.
This is because the image is read ''backwards'', so its expecting the image to be upside-down. Ticking the check box makes it flip the image the way it wants it before conversion.
If you exported your texture and height maps from Terragen, then you do not need to tick this box, as Terragen exports it upside-down already.
If you were crazy and drew it upside-down, then you don't need to tick it either.

When you have completed all this click Create Map!
This can take some time for a larger map, so start off with a small one.

== Part 5: 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. 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!

I can only hope this is helpful!

Yours... '''aGorm'''

Main Page

2005-06-22T22:43:54Z

Rjn945: Capitalized and used wiki markup

Starting Points:
*[[AI]]
*[[Units]]
*[[Maps]]
*[[FAQ]]
*[[Linux]]
*See also, "Browse" links below.

For tips on editing wiki pages, usage and configuration help, see [[Help:Editing]]

Also of use: [http://meta.wikipedia.org/wiki/MediaWiki_i18n documentation on customizing the interface]

Main Page

2005-06-22T22:43:54Z

Rjn945: Capitalized and used wiki markup

Map reviews

2005-06-22T22:03:28Z

Rjn945: Fixed typos on Bionica Review

'''''MAP REVIEWS'''''

Anybody please feel free to add reviews to this section, or add to existing ones - latest reviews first.

If you don't understand how to edit this PM aGorm!

----

== Bionica v3.1 (FINAL) ==

by aGorm

===Looks===
That map looks (don't be fooled by the minimap!) really good. The central island is especialy nice; the texture used is perfect. It is slightly stylized (like TA maps) not a real world... The metal round the edge actully looks pretty damn good too, as you don't notice the sea join at all. It gives it the feel of being on an island, without being on one. Other maps that come to the edge look bad because it seems abrupt. This avoids that problem because it's meant to be.
One gripe that stops this from getting 9/10. There are ramps, and they are necessary, but they spoil the look. However it's still is very good.

8/10

===Playability===
The start positions are wrong. This is annoying. Also everyone will need to make them the same to play.
However it clearly has lots of potential for a good game once started. All the players would have to fight around and destroy there neighbours on land, and use air and sea to get the others, which could lead to all sorts of cool suprise attacks and so forth. And the island in the middle is a good place to get, with extra metal and the fact ud get great radar coverage.
Only one real problem: there is not much room for a base around the outside. If you started there, you'd be at a dissadvantage.

7/10

Want the map?? Get It here: http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=showitem&ID=1032

----

== Lava Highground 2 - v1.0 ==

by aGorm

=== Looks ===
The map looks at first sight... pretty good. The texture is maybe a little repetitive, but it's different. The ambiance is good (i.e. sky effects and lighting). In Normal mode it all looks fine! Just nothing special...

However... The metal map is like somthing out of a funky light show. It's just green dots on the ground! They obviously meant to represent metal patches... but the time was not taken to add then onto the surface map... If they would have, I would forgive them but as they are... well they do look a bit off.

7/10

=== Playability ===
Here it scores above average... Its a simple concept, everything works well (as you'd hope in a version 2...) No problems... except how easy it is to defend... Should 2 popup turrets and 4 imolators realy be able to take down 100 mavericks?? Not really... however the terrain does give that sort of gr8 advantage to the defender... but a good attacker will be able to work around this!

It's biggest problem here is just size... It's tiny really. Had it been a little bigger I'd have said 8/10, but it's dropped to 6/10.

Want the map?? Get It here:
http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=showitem&ID=1011

----

Tutorial:CreateMaps(Fnordia et al)

2005-06-22T21:47:32Z

Rjn945: Cleaned: Typos, formatting, mark up

'''Original by aGorm'''



== Part 1: 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.

== Part 2: 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.)

I'm going to suggest (nay, insist!) you use the [http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=showitem&ID=861 Buggi SHARP MAP] program, because it does everything the command-line version does and more. And it's easy for people to understand.

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 rendering terrain. But as you have to pay to render anything of a good size, I won't mention it other than here.

Another tool for rendering terrain is the freeware tool [http://www.delphigl.de/projects/terrtexgen/eng_index.html TerrTexGen]. "It generates a terraintexture on the base of a grayscale heightmap und uses five surfacetextures that are distributed over the heightmap."

== Part 3: Prepering 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!

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.

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 deside 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.

Next is the height map. This must be exactly a quarter 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 4 and add one to the result of each. The result for this example would be "1025 by 2049". The height map is a black and white BMP. Only use black and white, no colour!

White ares 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!

Finally, you need a metal map. This is the same size as the height map, a quarter 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!

== Part 4: Sharp Map ==

Here's a easy run down of what to do.
First, (you guessed it) open Sharp Map.
This brings you a window with several fields that need filling, a few option boxes and two sliders. Fill in the top fields as required. (Click browse, locate the texture map, and click OK. Repeat for the height map and metal map.)

Type in a figure for MAX HEIGHT and MIN HEIGHT. The MAX HEIGHT should not exceed 500. Higher numbers can cause errors. If your minimum height is a negative number then you will have water on your map. Sea level is, naturally enough, at 0. To the right of these boxes is a grey level calculator. This will tell you aproximatly the level of grey on your height map that is under water and above water. The grey is described by it's RGB values.

Then adjust the tree and grass sliders. If you have a green map then I suggest you lower the tree slider, otherwise the map will be covered!

Finally, you need to decide if you need to tick the inverse height map box or not. If you drew the height map by hand so that if you overlayed your height map over the texture the hills would line up with the hills, etc. then you will need to tick the box.
This is because the image is read ''backwards'', so its expecting the image to be upside-down. Ticking the check box makes it flip the image the way it wants it before conversion.
If you exported your texture and height maps from Terragen, then you do not need to tick this box, as Terragen exports it upside-down already.
If you were crazy and drew it upside-down, then you don't need to tick it either.

When you have completed all this click Create Map!
This can take some time for a larger map, so start off with a small one.

== Part 5: 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. 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!

I can only hope this is helpful!

Yours... '''aGorm'''

Map reviews

2005-06-22T20:17:45Z

Rjn945: And a few more typos

'''''MAP REVIEWS'''''

Anybody please feel free to add reviews to this section, or add to existing ones - latest reviews first.

If you don't understand how to edit this PM aGorm!

----

== Lava Highground 2 - v1.0 ==

by aGorm

=== Looks ===
The map looks at first sight... pretty good. The texture is maybe a little repetitive, but it's different. The ambiance is good (i.e. sky effects and lighting). In Normal mode it all looks fine! Just nothing special...

However... The metal map is like somthing out of a funky light show. It's just green dots on the ground! They obviously meant to represent metal patches... but the time was not taken to add then onto the surface map... If they would have, I would forgive them but as they are... well they do look a bit off.

7/10

=== Playability ===
Here it scores above average... Its a simple concept, everything works well (as you'd hope in a version 2...) No problems... except how easy it is to defend... Should 2 popup turrets and 4 imolators realy be able to take down 100 mavericks?? Not really... however the terrain does give that sort of gr8 advantage to the defender... but a good attacker will be able to work around this!

It's biggest problem here is just size... It's tiny really. Had it been a little bigger I'd have said 8/10, but it's dropped to 6/10.

Want the map?? Get It here:
http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=showitem&ID=1011

----

Map reviews

2005-06-22T19:57:17Z

Rjn945: Fixed typos

'''''MAP REVIEWS'''''

Anybody please feel free to add reviews to this section, or add to existing ones - latest reviews first.

If you don't understand how to edit this PM aGorm!

----

== Lava Highground 2 - v1.0 ==

by aGorm

=== Looks ===
The map looks at first sight... pretty good. The texture is maybe a little repetitive, but it's different. The ambiance is good (i.e. sky effects and lighting). In Normal mode it all looks fine! Just nothing special...

However... The metal map is like somthing out of a funky light show. It's just green dots on the ground! They obviosly ment to represent metal patches... but the time was not taken to add then onto the surface map... If they would have I would forgive them, but as they are... well they do look a bit off.

7/10

=== Playability ===
Here it scores above average... Its a simple concept, everything works well (as you'd hope in a version 2...) No problems... except how easy it is to defend... Should 2 popup turrets and 4 imolators realy be able to take down 100 mavericks?? Not really... however the terrain does give that sort of gr8 advantage to the defender... but a good attacker will be able to work around this!

It's bigest problem here is just size... It's tiny realy. Had it been a little bigger I'd have said 8/10, but it's dropped to 6/10.

Want the map?? Get It here:
http://www.fileuniverse.com/?page=showitem&ID=1011

----