By
the time your done this section, you will then be completely
able to make your own fully functional Close Combat map. Using
3C, we will make the last 5 files needed.
NOTE
That the default setting for 3C when you unzip it, is for a
CC3 map. In this guide we are MAKING a CC3 map. If you want
to know how you can change this to another version of CC, please
look in 'FOLLOW UP' section.
IMPORTANT
If
you cant get 3C to open, it may be because you don't have
Java Virtual Machine installed. If you don't or don't think
you do, please download it from the same page you downloaded
all the other files for this guide BY CLICKING
HERE.
Go
into the 3C file you unzipped 3C into. Click on the '3C.exe'
file to start it. (4th one down on the graphic below)
When
you start 3C it should look like this: (Shot is scaled down)
Now
click file / open image
We
need to path to open the 'out.tga', which we placed in the 'Groof2'
folder. Once you find it & click it after a few seconds
you will see this: (Scaled down again)
Lets
focus on the two pallets you see on the left of the image itself.
These
are the two palettes that drive 3C. Ill break these down.
VIEWING
TOOLS
NOTE
Each of these buttons in Viewing tools, has 2 choices.
When you see a button says something, example - Grid off,
that means by choosing that button you change your setting
TO Grid Off. Whatever that button says, that means you
are currently set on the 'other' choice for that particular
button, in our example it says 'Grid Off' you are on 'Grid
On'.
Grid
off - Toggle this to view the overlay grids. I
prefer not to use them except when coding a precise are
such as multiple buildings. Its really a preference.
ABOVE
IS GRID ON
ABOVE
IS GRID OFF
Hollow
- this toggles between solid & hollow. When you code
elevation or element, the area in that grid you have coded
shows a colour, solid or hollow. Again a matter of preference.
I prefer solid. When this bar says 'solid' you are on 'hollow',
when it says 'hollow' you are set to 'solid'.
ABOVE
IS SOLID CODING
ABOVE
IS HOLLOW CODING
Show
Image - You toggle this to hide or show your image.
I personally don't know why you'd want to not see your image,
but hey, I'm sure somebody out there does.
Elevation
- This toggles between elevation & element
coding. YOU MUST CODE EVERY GRID ON YOUR MAP WITH EACH 1
ELEMENT & 1 ELEVATION CODE. When this bar says 'elevation'
you are on 'element', when it says 'element' you are set
to 'elevation'.
Gradient
- This changes the allocated coded areas from colour's to
gradient. I really have no idea why anyone would use anything
BUT colour. DONT code with gradient, especially for newbie's.
PIANT
TOOLS
NOTE
Unlike viewing tools, the buttons in paint tools don't
have alternate choices. With these buttons you choose
what settings you want & they highlight a darker colour
to show what its currently set at..
Paint
- This setting means you paint anywhere on the map &
will even paint over whatever what painted on previously.
Its a dangerous setting!
Paint
Behind - This allows you to paint only over grids
that haven't already been allocated. Most mappers use this
so you don't mistakenly paint over something you have already
coded & didn't want to paint over!
Erase
- When you are set to this, your brush erases instead of
paints.
Fill
- This saves alot of time when you have a large
area to fill in the same single element. You will be shown
how to use this in the 'FOLLOW UP' section.
Line
- This allows you to make a straight line of coding which
as you code, shows you how far a distance you are going.
I have NEVER used this in over 150 maps I have made.
Ruler
- This will let you measure the distance on your map. Don't
confuse it with the 'line' setting, the line setting codes
at the same time, ruler doesn't.
Small
Brush - This setting mean you paint the grids one
by one.
Big
Brush - This setting allows you to code 5 girds
at a time, in the pattern shown below
.
IMPORTANT!
You
can drag these pallets anywhere on your screen so they aren't
in your way of a particular area your working in! Left click
& hold the area where it says 'Paint Tools' or 'Viewing
Tools' & let go the left click once you have dragged it
to where you want!
As
mentioned earlier on this page, you have to code every grid
on this map twice. One for elevation, one for the element itself.
Don't kid yourself, each of these is equally important. Sloppy
coding or weak coding means an inferior map, or at least a map
not as good as it could be.
NOTE:
Because
this is a beginners guide, The elevation coding will be simple,
I don't want map making to be intimidating. But that maps
normally have more complex elevation coding.
Now
lets make some map files!
You
have opened the 'out.tga'. Now lets make 3 of the 5 files we
need.
On
the top tool bar select Import/Export / export
This
is where we export 4 of the 5 files 3C makes. At this point,
as I mentioned, we can make three.
Choose
BGM on this drop down.
Save
it as 'MyMap' pathed to the 'MyMap' folder where you already
have put your roof file.
NOTE
Unlike
the roof file, you don't have to manually type the extension
'bgm' as you had to 'rfm', 3C does this for you!
When
done then repeat the process but on drop down choose ovm, then
mmm. Each time saving the files in the same 'MyMap' folder,
with the EXACT same name. (Make sure the name matches EXACT.
Case & all!)
You'll
then have this in your map file when done these 3:
Now
we only have 2 more files to make. Mind you these are the time
consuming ones! But don't worry, its more tedious than difficult.
The more maps you make, the quicker you will get at this as
well!
Were
going to code 'elevation' first.
By
default, 3C starts the coding on the element table, so in Viewing
Tools click the fourth button down which says 'elevation'. (As
shown below)
When
you click it, you will see this:
That
button now says 'elements', that means what you currently are
going to code is 'elevation'.
Now
on our simple little map, we only have three hills & the
rest is flat. Although in the real world, an outdoor area as
this is not really truly flat. Because this is an exercise in
how to make a map & its tools, this area WILL be flat.
Now
look at this area which is in the top left hand corner of your
3C program:
The
area on the left where the '0' is shows that the current elevation
level is set at. So what you paint will be set at whatever number
is here. In this case '0'. Every number up represents .5 meters.
So if you set this number to 4, it means whatever you code with
that will represent 2 meters of elevation height.
To
the right is a snapshot of the grid your mouse is over, in this
case it tells us that the element has not been assigned. Underneath
that it shows '#', which had the element been allocated shows
what number on the element chart that element corresponds to.
The 'Height' area shows what elevation that grid is set to.
Here's
a golden rule in coding elevation & elements. There usually
is one dominating element & elevation height on a map.
On our map that will be the element 'field' & elevation
'0'. THESE ARE CODED LAST! Once all the other different elements
& elevation heights are coded in, theses a cool feature
that will add these last 2 'abundant' things. So when you
begin a map, not the domination element & height &
DONT code them. Code everything else first!
Different
maps require different ways to code elevation. Sometimes you
may code the lowest level to highest, some times vice versa.
I tend to code from highest to lowest. To code from lowest to
highest is usually better when you have a REALLY big array of
different heights to make.
Lets
look at our map again. There are three hills as mentioned before.
Lets
first decide how big the biggest hill or hills are on this map.
Its
all up to you, in this case I have decided that hills 1 &
2 will both be 6 meters high, hill 3 a bit smaller at 4.5. That
means the highest point of 1 & 2 will be set at coding number
'12' while hill 3 set at '9'. The flat area of the map will
truly be flat set at '0'
Lets
elevation code hill 2.
First
lets look at the paint tools.
Set
your bush at 'small brush' & 'paint behind'. simply click
on those two & they should highlight to a darker colour.
Should look like this:
Although
I mentioned I like to code with the grid off, for newbies Id
suggest grid on. By default, 3C has the grid on. If for some
reason you have it off, in the view pallet toggle it on. (First
button)
Now
focus in on hill 2.
The
entire hill doesn't fit on my screen, so well pan down when
coding.
First
well set our elevation at '12'. You od this by using the 'nudge
up' & nudge down' buttons to the left of the window that
shows you elevation, or you can type it directly in that window,
either way change it to '12':
Now
the very top of the hill, 'the spine' as it were needs to be
coded with '12'. We have already selected small bush, if you
really want this top area wide, you might use the big brush,
but we wont! The spine needs to be where the light side &
the dark side of the hill meet.
Now
on your discretion code '12' on the spine of the hill. Remember
it doesn't start right where the hill starts on top. The hill
rises up & only peaks at 12! Sop use your judgment on where
to start this.
I
get this: (From now on the examples wont have the grid on, I
think you'll see the picture better!)
Now
working from the middle, we make the elevation lover & make
another ring around this top one. Its up to you since its your
map on how 'quickly the elevation gets to the base. (That will
be level ground or '0') you can make rings of '10' to '8' to
'6' to '4' to '2', or thinner rings descending at one number
at a time. UP TO YOU. Try do do it logically.
IMPORTANT
While
you can change your brush setting to 'big brush' to finish
the hill, DONT CHANGE THE PAINT BEHIND SETTING!
Here's
my progression:
I
jumped by increments of one & even two. Its all up to you.
Now do the other 2 hills. REMEMBER HILL 3 ONLY IS SET TO 9 AS
MAX HEIGHT!
Once
your done the hills we can then code the 'core' level of this
map.
Se
your elevation height to paint at '0'
Select
edit /; fill unassigned w/ selected, (As you see below)
You'll
go from this:
To
this:
Again,
in real life, the ground wouldn't be 100% flat. But were just
giving you a basic lesson here. Although Ill say there are HUNDREDS
of CC maps that code flat elevation like this. Its up to you.
Now
lets save this before we code the elements.
Select
file / save txt,
Save
this file in the 'My Map' folder, save it as 'MyMap.txt', the
extension is added in automatically.
NOW
SAVE A DUPLICATE COPY CALLED 'MYMAP1.TXT'
Why
save this duplicate copy? 3C can crash. Alot of time can go
into coding so to lose the txt file where all the coding is
kept, is a crappy thing to happen. BACK IT UP!! Trust me!
Now
in the 'Viewing tools' menu select 'elements'. Your screen will
now be clear of any assigned blocks.
If
you hover over the map, you'll notice the 'Height' area on the
top left bar shows you what elevation level you have coded at.
IMPORTANT
When
coding elements the top left hand area of 3C has the following
which you need:
The
top drop down is category header. By default is is set at
all. Such categories as 'terrain', 'foliage' & various
others exist.
The
bottom drop down is more specific item in a category. 'Terrain'
will have things such as, 'courtyard', 'field', 'dirt', ect
ect.
I
suggest you go through these lists, best to use 'All' &
see them all in one, so you can know what your coding options
are. Note which ones you will need for your map, its up to
you.
We
will start at coding the buildings.
Focus
on either tower.
In
top window of the element drop downs, select 'wood structure'
In
the lower select 'Wood door L3'
'L3'
Stand for level 3. 'L2' stands for level 2, otherwise its ground
level. Because there are towers, these ARE elevated. I decided
to make them L3 instead of L2, its up to you.
Now
we still have our brush set as 'paint behind' & more importantly
'small brush'.
Now
on your tower, paint in where you want your 'L3 door'. Because
this is a small building, Ill allocate one single block to it.
Now
using that lower drop down lets finish the building. Note that
the walls, windows & floor all have to be noted as 'L3'.
I'm
actually making no walls & all windows all around it. This
is a lookout tower afterall! What you do on your tower is up
to you!
It
looks like this when I'm done:
IMPORTANT!
Sometimes
an element grid is not the same size as what you have painted.
In the picture above, you see the top of the tower, the railing,
still shows. If I allocate that area as part of the tower,
it then overlaps part of the ground as well. This is something
we cant work around. Its up to your & your judgment how
you want your map to function with this. You can see in the
above example I have decided NOT to code this thin area.
Now
lets focus work on the angled buildings, there's a slight difference.
Because
were on an angle, its not as easy as the tower.
You
are still in 'Wood Structure' in lower window select 'wood door'.
I
will make sure I have the grid on to paint these elements, you'll
see why in a second.
I
paint in where I want my door.
IMPORTANT:
Because
we don't have highly detailed interiors, we can code on the
roof in this case. If you have detailed interiors with door
opening s & window sills, save your TXT file, & open
the 'in.tga' to see the interiors better so you can code more
accurately. DONT FORGET TO SAVE YOUR TXT FIEL FIRST THOGUH!
Again,
Ill paint in where I want my door.
Now,
as mentioned in the coding of the tower. Element grids don't
always line up to whats painted underneath. Those decisions
of what to code one particular grid are up to you.
Look
at the two elements I have coded as 'wood door'. They may seem
fine to you. But because they are on an angle we have a problem,
the LOS as it works, is capable of shooting through the door
as if it wasn't there on a particular angle. See below:
It
has to be solid.
THIS
IS SOLID:
The
exterior walls are a solid unbroken line all around. On the
angled building, the door has a gap as the door elements don't
meet horizontally or vertically.
You
would have to code the exterior elements of the building like
this.
You
can see that an 'LOS arrow' cant find a way through these exterior
doors, walls & window elements.
So
understanding that, finish coding the building.
COOL!
Now finish the other 3 buildings & the other tower.
Time
to code the trees. These are the tree sprites which will appear
to correspond with the shadows you painted on. These are found
ONLY in the 'Tree' category, there are no sprites in the 'foliage'
category.
IMPORTANT
TREES!
Now
remember that there are different tree shadows of various
sizes you painted with the tube tool. That means you use different
sized trees & tree types. 3C is equipped with many trees,
the following are good for our map. Big Carnivorous Tree (5
types) Small Carnivorous tree (2 types) Carnivorous tree (3
types) Big Tree (5 types) small tree (2 types) & finally
tree (3 types) Mix these up as you see fit & try to match
them as you can with the shadows. Don't be worried if the
element doesn't line up right at the tip of the shadow where
the truck ends, it wont show!
KEY
KEY KEY KEY POINT!!
Tree
elements CANT touch each other directly on horizontal or vertical
level, see below:
|
|
In this area I have three tree shadows.
However tow tree elements are touching. The map will crash. |
Same map, but none of the tree elements
are touching directly on a horizontal or vertical direction,
this map is coded properly! |
Now
paint those trees in, take your time, mix it up & it will
look better than just throwing them on.
Essentially
the other elements are straight forward. You find what you need
in the right category & paint it in place. That means for
this map you have 'dirt road' (for the path) bushes & brush,
for the hills you can use 'steep slope', explore what you want
& have fun.
REMEMBER
THAT THE MAIN ELEMENT IS FIELD. FILL IT IN LAST THE SAME WAY
YOU FILLED THE '0' ELEMENT!
Now,
you have coded the element file, save the txt file, DONT FORGET
BACK UP COPY.
Now
the last step using 3C.
Select
Import/Export / Export / LOS-file
Save
it as 'mymap.los', you don't need to add extension & add
it to 'MyMap' folder with all the other files you made.
Now,
your computer is crunching the LOS. This may take a while. Sometimes
a few minutes, sometimes literal hours. Depends on your system
&/or map size. I wouldn't recommend doing anything else
on your computer when this is in process, make it take longer
to make the file.
You
will see this along the top bar is it crunches.
Now
eventually it finishes, you will see something like this!
YOUR
LOS FILE IS DONE! YOUR MAP IS DONE!
(It
wont always be as quick as 43 seconds to make an LOS file by
the way! ;) )
You
can now test your map!
I
now strongly recommend you read 'Follow Up' to learn a few more
things!
NOW
YOU KNOW HOW!
