User:Wolfsbane/Sandbox - Revision history

Wolfsbane: Blanked the page

2010-11-30T22:53:46Z

Blanked the page

Wolfsbane: /* Sculpting the Map */

2010-11-30T22:51:00Z

Sculpting the Map

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:51, 30 November 2010
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	=== Sculpting the Map ===		=== Sculpting the Map ===

	The techniques here are the same as for the race track above. Try to look at the ~~track~~ as you would playing it. ~~I consider any~~ easy ~~straight route that loops~~ to ~~be a bit of a flaw~~, ~~unless~~ you ~~intend~~ them to ~~be there~~.		The techniques here are the same as for the race track above. Try to look at the map as you would playing it. Think about points where the player can sit at the top of a cliff or behind a pit and get easy kills, or use areas the AI has trouble navigating in order to escape. Then stop them. Remember, you score points for every player who dies on your map, double points if you can get them to drive into pits.

	It's up to you how much ~~of this~~ you want to do. Some maps are just a few tweaks on top of a generated terrain, whereas some (The Pits is a good example) are largely built by hand.		It's up to you how much hand sculpting you want to do. Some maps are just a few tweaks on top of a generated terrain, whereas some (The Pits is a good example) are largely built by hand. Hand built terrain can look amazing, but it's a lot of work - up to you. I prefer to have the computer do most of the work because I'm a lazy programmer.

	==== Regenerating Textures ====		==== Regenerating Textures ====

Wolfsbane: /* Terrain Generation */

2010-11-30T22:40:22Z

Terrain Generation

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:40, 30 November 2010
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	[[File:MBW_Screen1.jpg]]		[[File:MBW_Screen1.jpg]]

	~~Green outline -~~ terrain ~~repeats~~. ~~Can change size~~ of area.		The green area shows where the terrain will repeat. Darkwind maps loop forever (as you probably noticed), and this line shows the edge of the map section. You can't paint textures outside this area - you need to head over to the other side of the map. It doesn't have any effect in-game though.

	~~Terrain~~ terraform editor mode. ~~Two~~ types of transformation - generators and modifiers. They work in order from top to bottom, and can be layered to produce complex effects.		Making a map starts in terrain terraform editor mode. There are two types of transformation - generators and modifiers. They work in order from top to bottom, and can be layered to produce complex effects.

	==== Generators ====		==== Generators ====

	Generators override the terrain, and wipe out everything above them in the stack. No point using more than one of these. The "New Seed" button gives a different random terrain. The green minimap in the bottom left shows a preview of the terrain that will be generated.		Generators override the terrain, and wipe out everything above them in the stack. There's no point using more than one of these, they just override each other. The "New Seed" button gives a different random terrain. The green minimap in the bottom left shows a preview of the terrain that will be generated.

	*'''fBm Fractal''' - basic hilly terrain. Hill frequency is (more or less) the number of hills in the area. Roughness is the steepness of the hills (I think - it doesn't actually seem to do much). Detail adds smaller hills between the large ones. This is the most useful generator for most areas.		*'''fBm Fractal''' - basic hilly terrain. Hill frequency is (more or less) the number of hills in the area. Roughness is the steepness of the hills (I think - it doesn't actually seem to do much). Detail adds smaller hills between the large ones. This is the most useful generator for most areas.

Wolfsbane: /* Creating a Wilderness Map */

2010-11-30T22:36:26Z

Creating a Wilderness Map

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:36, 30 November 2010
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	== Creating a Wilderness Map ==		== Creating a Wilderness Map ==

			This guide goes over some of the parts of the mission builder that are most relevant to wilderness maps. Honestly there's not that much of a difference between a race track and a wilderness map - it's just more work, as you have to take into account that players can and will drive anywhere on the map. If you feel confident in your ability to make a map, just skip to the end and add the car paths and spawn areas, and you'll be good to go.

	=== Terrain Generation ===		=== Terrain Generation ===

Wolfsbane: /* Spawn Areas */

2010-11-30T22:32:11Z

Spawn Areas

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:32, 30 November 2010
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	[[File:MBW_Screen21.jpg]][[File:MBW_Screen22.jpg]]		[[File:MBW_Screen21.jpg]][[File:MBW_Screen22.jpg]]

	''Traders(left) and Pirates (right)''		''Traders(left) and Pirates (right)''

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	[[File:MBW_Screen23.jpg]]		[[File:MBW_Screen23.jpg]]

	''Ambush points''		''Ambush points''

	You can have as many spawn areas as you like, just keep increasing the number. One nice trick (which I didn't think of when making Oil Slick, unfortunately) is to add spawns at both ends of your path, facing towards the centre. Driving the map in both directions adds a bit of variety, and it means players will be seeing all that nice decration you added from both sides.		You can have as many spawn areas as you like, just keep increasing the number. One nice trick (which I didn't think of when making Oil Slick, unfortunately) is to add spawns at both ends of your path, facing towards the centre. Driving the map in both directions adds a bit of variety, and it means players will be seeing all that nice decration you added from both sides.

Wolfsbane: /* Spawn Areas */

2010-11-30T22:30:57Z

Spawn Areas

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:30, 30 November 2010
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	There are three types of spawn area available. Trader and Pirate spawns are the normal spawn points, and do what you expect them to. Traditionally the pirates spawn 100m - 200m behind the traders, but you could try some more unorthodox things if you want. Bear in mind that a head-on spawn will (I believe) put the players in the pirate spot, with the AIs facing them in the trader spot.		There are three types of spawn area available. Trader and Pirate spawns are the normal spawn points, and do what you expect them to. Traditionally the pirates spawn 100m - 200m behind the traders, but you could try some more unorthodox things if you want. Bear in mind that a head-on spawn will (I believe) put the players in the pirate spot, with the AIs facing them in the trader spot.
	These types of spawn consist of a SimGroup named in the form PlayerDropPoints1Pirate or PlayerDropPoints1Trader, which contains four SpawnSpheres. These mark (in order) the front-left, front-right, rear-left, and rear-right corners of the area.		These types of spawn consist of a SimGroup named in the form PlayerDropPoints1Pirate or PlayerDropPoints1Trader, which contains four SpawnSpheres. These mark (in order) the front-left, front-right, rear-left, and rear-right corners of the area.

			[[File:MBW_Screen21.jpg]][[File:MBW_Screen22.jpg]]
			''Traders(left) and Pirates (right)''

	The third type is the ambush, named in the form AmbushPoints1Pirate. These are optional, but I like to add one to each spawn point, just to stop people getting complacent. These consist of 25 or more SpawnSpheres, which each give the position and facing of a single car.		The third type is the ambush, named in the form AmbushPoints1Pirate. These are optional, but I like to add one to each spawn point, just to stop people getting complacent. These consist of 25 or more SpawnSpheres, which each give the position and facing of a single car.

			[[File:MBW_Screen23.jpg]]
			''Ambush points''

	You can have as many spawn areas as you like, just keep increasing the number. One nice trick (which I didn't think of when making Oil Slick, unfortunately) is to add spawns at both ends of your path, facing towards the centre. Driving the map in both directions adds a bit of variety, and it means players will be seeing all that nice decration you added from both sides.		You can have as many spawn areas as you like, just keep increasing the number. One nice trick (which I didn't think of when making Oil Slick, unfortunately) is to add spawns at both ends of your path, facing towards the centre. Driving the map in both directions adds a bit of variety, and it means players will be seeing all that nice decration you added from both sides.

Wolfsbane: /* Car Paths and Spawn Points */

2010-11-30T22:26:06Z

Car Paths and Spawn Points

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:26, 30 November 2010
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	Note that even though the terrain will loop, the objects won't be recreated. You can put objects outside the mission area though, which is a good idea if you have something like a bridge.		Note that even though the terrain will loop, the objects won't be recreated. You can put objects outside the mission area though, which is a good idea if you have something like a bridge.

	=== Car Paths and Spawn ~~Points~~ ===		=== Car Paths and Spawn Areas ===

			This is the major technical difference between a wilderness map and a race track. Like the track, car paths are needed to direct the AIs along your roads (not that they pay any attention, but you have to make the effort). However the form of the path is different and you may need more than one. You will also need multiple spawn areas, along with ambush points.

			==== Car Paths ====

			The simplest maps (which is most of them) have a single car path that follows a single road across the map. These are by far the easiest to make. Make a path just like you would for the racetrack, but instead of a loop you want a single line from one edge of the mission area to the other. The AI will head the first waypoint on the next repeat of the map when they get to the last waypoint on this repeat, so make sure the two points are close to each other. You also need to make the points big enough that the AIs won't miss them if they're driving slightly off road.

			More complex maps may have multiple car paths that join and split it complex ways, but I can't help you there. Have a look at the gates of SS if you want an idea of how bad it can get. Then just stick to making maps with a single road on.

			==== Spawn Areas ====

			There are three types of spawn area available. Trader and Pirate spawns are the normal spawn points, and do what you expect them to. Traditionally the pirates spawn 100m - 200m behind the traders, but you could try some more unorthodox things if you want. Bear in mind that a head-on spawn will (I believe) put the players in the pirate spot, with the AIs facing them in the trader spot.
			These types of spawn consist of a SimGroup named in the form PlayerDropPoints1Pirate or PlayerDropPoints1Trader, which contains four SpawnSpheres. These mark (in order) the front-left, front-right, rear-left, and rear-right corners of the area.
			The third type is the ambush, named in the form AmbushPoints1Pirate. These are optional, but I like to add one to each spawn point, just to stop people getting complacent. These consist of 25 or more SpawnSpheres, which each give the position and facing of a single car.

			You can have as many spawn areas as you like, just keep increasing the number. One nice trick (which I didn't think of when making Oil Slick, unfortunately) is to add spawns at both ends of your path, facing towards the centre. Driving the map in both directions adds a bit of variety, and it means players will be seeing all that nice decration you added from both sides.

Wolfsbane at 17:22, 22 November 2010

2010-11-22T17:22:20Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:22, 22 November 2010
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	=== Sculpting the Map ===		=== Sculpting the Map ===

			The techniques here are the same as for the race track above. Try to look at the track as you would playing it. I consider any easy straight route that loops to be a bit of a flaw, unless you intend them to be there.

			It's up to you how much of this you want to do. Some maps are just a few tweaks on top of a generated terrain, whereas some (The Pits is a good example) are largely built by hand.

	==== Regenerating Textures ====		==== Regenerating Textures ====

	~~=== Car Paths~~ and ~~Spawn Points ===~~		If you adjust the terrain and want to automatically texture it, you'll need to swap into Terraform Editor mode and back out again before your changes are recognised. There are actually a few situations like this, and swapping between modes or turning fractal distortion off and on again usually fix them. If not, you may need to quit and restart.

	=== Decorations ===		=== Decorations ===

			Again, this is covered in the race track section. Adding just a few trees or shrubs can make a big difference.

			Note that even though the terrain will loop, the objects won't be recreated. You can put objects outside the mission area though, which is a good idea if you have something like a bridge.

			=== Car Paths and Spawn Points ===

Wolfsbane: /* Automatic Texture Generation */

2010-11-22T16:12:29Z

Automatic Texture Generation

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:12, 22 November 2010
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	=== Automatic Texture Generation ===		=== Automatic Texture Generation ===

			Painting the whole map by hand would be slow and impractical, so unless we just want uniform sand we need to automatically paint textures.
			This is more art than science. I've managed to get it to work, more or less, but I'm not sure exactly what the rules are.

			Use the add material button to add textures to your level. They come with a standard fractal distortion, just to add a bit of roughness to the edges and make the whole thing appear a little more natural. There are two additional placement options:

			* '''Place by Height''' - Good for putting rock textures on the tops of hills, or underwater textures at the bottom of pools. Here's a quick example:

			[[File:MBW_Screen19.jpg]]

			You can see that the sand is restricted to the middle layer, with red sand at the bottom of pits and black rock at the top of the hills.

			* '''Place by Slope''' - Best used in combination with place by height. In this example, the black rock has been set to large slopes only, so the plateau on top reverts to the yellow sand.

			[[File:MBW_Screen20.jpg]]

	=== Sculpting the Map ===		=== Sculpting the Map ===

Wolfsbane at 13:00, 22 November 2010

2010-11-22T13:00:51Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:00, 22 November 2010
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	''Heavy Smoothing''		''Heavy Smoothing''

	*'''Filter''' - applies a transform based on the height of the terrain - each input height can be linked to an output.		*'''Filter''' - applies a transform based on the height of the terrain - each input height can be linked to an output. There are all sort of complex effects that can be achieved like this, although I haven't experimented much.

	[[File:MBW_Screen17.jpg]]		[[File:MBW_Screen17.jpg]]
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	''Filtering used to set the terrain to three levels''		''Filtering used to set the terrain to three levels''

	*'''Thermal Erosion/Hydraulic Erosion''' - don't appear to do anything~~, although I'm open to correction on this~~.		*'''Thermal Erosion/Hydraulic Erosion''' - don't appear to do anything. Let me know if you work it out.

	=== Automatic Texture Generation ===		=== Automatic Texture Generation ===