I have noticed that on maps from the old engine, the lighter the color of the ground the higher the elevation/altitude. But in the map maker it is the opposite. Is that a design choice and in that case why? To me it is more intuitive to have brighter color on higher elevations (gets more light than valleys).
When ground conditions are " snow " or " frozen " then that still applies , other ground conditions reverse this arrangement . I do not know why this is so , maybe someone else can enlighten us .
Sorry I was referring to " in-game " graphics when your question was about map-maker graphics .
Sorry I was referring to " in-game " graphics when your question was about map-maker graphics .
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simovitch
Member
The map should look the same in game as in the editor. What map are you looking at? check the map data in the editor and see what graphic folder the map is reading from (usually its the default graphic folder).
Like Kurt mentioned, the winter graphic patterns get lighter with altitude to give it a snow-peak effect. I did the winter graphics and thought it looked better that way. At the same time I hoped it wouldn't confuse people when the graphics switched after the December 23rd 1944 snowfall. Come to think of it. it might not be bad to do the same for non-winter graphics either but it may be too late to change that without confusing folks more. You can always edit the bitmaps yourself in the graphics/map folders.
Like Kurt mentioned, the winter graphic patterns get lighter with altitude to give it a snow-peak effect. I did the winter graphics and thought it looked better that way. At the same time I hoped it wouldn't confuse people when the graphics switched after the December 23rd 1944 snowfall. Come to think of it. it might not be bad to do the same for non-winter graphics either but it may be too late to change that without confusing folks more. You can always edit the bitmaps yourself in the graphics/map folders.
simovitch
Member
No guide, but you just need a graphics editor like paint or gimp. The folders with the graphic files are found in C:\Program Files (x86)\Panther Games\Command Ops 2\Graphics\Map. The folder called "default" is used for European map graphics. If you have the Greece and Crete modules you will also see a folder called "COTA" (Conquest of the Aegean) used for Mediterranean maps. Note also we use different patterns for different ground conditions.
With a bit of skill you can cut/paste/change color of the different elevation patterns in MapPat.bmp to your liking. In that file the columns differentiate what color is displayed for the different zoom levels. Changing the terrain features like urban and vegetation requires a bit more skill because you have to also edit the corresponding tiles in MapPatA.bmp to get a 3d effect. Experiment to your liking but make sure you back up the originals!
With a bit of skill you can cut/paste/change color of the different elevation patterns in MapPat.bmp to your liking. In that file the columns differentiate what color is displayed for the different zoom levels. Changing the terrain features like urban and vegetation requires a bit more skill because you have to also edit the corresponding tiles in MapPatA.bmp to get a 3d effect. Experiment to your liking but make sure you back up the originals!
I'm going to try some stuff out in Photoshop. Noticed that MapPat has different colors for the same elevation level depending on zoom level. Why is it so? I'm sure there is a good idea behind it. Also, I can't really figure the MapKey out. There are boxes with numbers, what do they indicate? There are black boxes as well. What are they for? Is there a cap for the amount of terrain effects? I know there is for elevation levels.
simovitch
Member
Some of the answers are long since forgotten. Pre-BFTB there were limited elevation levels and numbers were used instead as an identifier for higher elevations..(?). I wouldn't worry too much about mapkey, it's only for the mouseover during the game and for the side panel of the mapmaker I think.
The number of terrain types is limited to what you see in the mapmaker, but you can edit the effects of those of course.
The number of terrain types is limited to what you see in the mapmaker, but you can edit the effects of those of course.
Dave 'Arjuna' O'Connor
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The MapPat.bmp files are laid out in a grid with six columns across that correspond to each of the zoom levels and there are sixteen rows for the elevations. There are a lot of other rows that relate to non-elevation terrain. 
The yellow lines mark the boundaries for the code to navigate to the right grid. In theory you can override these but I would not recommend that. BTW the colour in each grid for the elevations should be solid or homogenous, because it will be used to fill the polygon for the contour layer. If it's not solid or homogenous it will look weird with stripes or variegated effects that you can't necessarily predict.
The yellow lines mark the boundaries for the code to navigate to the right grid. In theory you can override these but I would not recommend that. BTW the colour in each grid for the elevations should be solid or homogenous, because it will be used to fill the polygon for the contour layer. If it's not solid or homogenous it will look weird with stripes or variegated effects that you can't necessarily predict.
