Overview Map Creation Automation ?
Larson
Join Date: 2003-02-13 Member: 13522Members
Join Date: 2003-02-13 Member: 13522Members
<div class="IPBDescription">... just requesting some feedback</div> I just wondered if there would be any noteworthy demand for a totally automatic and also substiantially quicker way to create these overview maps,
that as far as I know all you mapper currently make more or less with the server-side sprite creator and some photoshop magic.
that as far as I know all you mapper currently make more or less with the server-side sprite creator and some photoshop magic.
Comments
or ingame start the map, type the following in the console:
dev_overview 1 0
developer 1
bind mouse1 to +attack and mouse2 to +attack2 (with them you can zoom), also use the wasd keys to move to the right position and make a screenshot <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->
now you have a *.bmp file of the overview in your nsp dir
</li><li>type "buildminimap" in the console (I think developermode must be on to) if you're talking about the map ingame...</li></ol>
I just wanted to know if you people do have a real interest in an easier, more automatic and lots faster way to create them, as I thought I could just make
such a tool, if there was just a demand for it.
I think of a little tool that would just make a very consistent basic mini-map
style directly from the bsp on the fly, instead of having them computed
with the original server-based method that takes up quite a while.
and BUILDMINIMAP could not be easier.
Sorry I read it wrong. But as for just typing "buildminimap" in the console to automaticly let NS create your minimap as <b>ShenTraX</b> stated. Not sure how one would go about making this even more easy...
Even while hltv is not used anymore it's still nice for the mapping forums to show the raw progress of the map in nice textured colored ingame layout <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->
I always end up fixing the sprite that <b>buildminimap</b> creates
Could you make a little before/after sample picture to illlustrate what fixes
you usually have to make manually, that might be automated ?
And also when you create pillars and such, it'll draw it as transparent space or in that wall-color. I'd like to see them colored as darker blue or as nothing at all, but that's only matter of taste really. The first one is the real problem <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->
And yeah, I'd like to see diagonal lines AA'd
One can always delete those offending structeres (and water) then recompile under a different name without VIS and RAD. Create a minimap from this one and rename it to your fully compiled minimap name.
This fixes most of the problems of the minimaps visual errors... But I guess a sprite editor is just as easy to use <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
While working on my named minimaps I found several problems and things that could be improved (other then the obvious naming of sectors). Most of them are visible in the (2.0) attachement:<ul><li>Water invisble.</li><li>Sometimes inexplainable holes in minimap. Probably NULL texture.</li><li>Brush artifacts in the bsp showing up in the minimap.</li><li>Unreachable areas treated like normal.</li><li>Vents (ceiling < certain limit for an extended and confined area) not differently shown.</li><li>Vents under levels not shown at all.</li><li>Func_walls or other entities walling off sections (for example siege room near equilibrium hive. In that specific case also overlapping levels.</li></ul>
I'll try puttin something together. If you have more suggestions,
feel free to just add them to this thread.
While working on my named minimaps I found several problems and things that could be improved (other then the obvious naming of sectors). Most of them are visible in the (2.0) attachement:<ul><li>Water invisble.</li><li>Sometimes inexplainable holes in minimap. Probably NULL texture.</li><li>Brush artifacts in the bsp showing up in the minimap.</li><li>Unreachable areas treated like normal.</li><li>Vents (ceiling < certain limit for an extended and confined area) not differently shown.</li><li>Vents under levels not shown at all.</li><li>Func_walls or other entities walling off sections (for example siege room near equilibrium hive. In that specific case also overlapping levels.</li></ul> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
I just have a few comments;
Water being made invisible is modt likely possible and I'd like to see this in.
This would be cool if fixed aswell.
Never seen this, so I can't really comment.
How would it know it was unreachable? It would probably take as long as compiling a small map as making a minimap then, and it would most likely screw up on places and cause more errors.
Somehow I think this'd be impossible to do correctly.
How would they be shown if they're under the level? It is 2d, after all.
No comment here, haven't seen this.
In most circumstances, it would be very difficult for any program to identify what is unreachable and what is not, ie something behind a forcefield, or whatever. But in the case of tanith and that large area being drawn, making the sky texture invisible in the minimap would probably do the job.
Yep -- it uses the same test as commander mode, actually.
I talked with Flay yesterday about setting up automated builds of all the official maps and automatically propogating them to playtest servers, which would require making an out-of-game mapping tool; after my current projects are finished I may take a stab at doing that.