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Extending a Map


MonolithicBacon

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Hey guys!

 

So, the possibility has arisen that I may extend Phoenix by a few cells in height, to add more length to what is designed to be a linear map.

 

However, I am unsure of how I can do this in WorldEd. Is there anything specific I should know before attempting to do this, and is there any way I can increase the size of a canvas without losing progress that I've made already.

 

If I were to be perfectly honest, I would be happy to paint the new cells by hand in WorldEd, rather than using bmp images (this isn't my first mapping rodeo), if that is the only choice.

 

Cheers in advance!

 

And for a taster, this is Phoenix at present, from end to end.

 

14.jpg

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There are a couple of ways of doing this... I'll try to explain the first before going to bed. :P

 

First in worlded go to World -> Resize World... then add in the new wanted area size. eg you had 3x3 and you want 5x3, then just change the width to correspond. Now you have 2x3 empty cells.

 

Next up go to your bmp map and stretch the canvas so that you have a picture of 1500x900 instead of the old 900x900. Now you have an area of 600x900 to fill with new mappy stuff. Then when it's done drag it again to the worlded. (you have to do this to both map.png and map_veg.png) Essentially do everything so far that you've done with any map in worlded.

 

But now, before you do the bmp to tmx, select the 2x3 area that you just added. You can use shift click to individually choose the cells or click and drag the area. The selected cells will light up blue. Now go to file -> BMP to TMX -> Selected cells only. If you've set up everything as you had, press OK.

 

Done and done.

 

The other way involves doing a separate map and offsetting it so that the cells match your previous map. You'll have to make sure that your map boundaries fit eachother in the .pngs. Offsets are explained in Thuztors tutorial.

 

I'd advise against doing everything in tilezed from scratch. You could just paint the leftover area green and then go with tilezed but it's a bit more messy and you have less tools at your disposal.

 

Good night! ^_^

 

EDIT: and great work with the map so far!!

 

EDIT2: the selected cells only option is the only one you should ever use after you've used tilezed in your map, since otherwise you're going to erase everything you've done there on every cell. Choosing the cells allows you to erase or overwrite only selected cells, thus minimizing the damage, or if adding new areas, not erasing anything.

 

EDIT3: BACK UP!!!

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There are a couple of ways of doing this... I'll try to explain the first before going to bed. :P

 

First in worlded go to World -> Resize World... then add in the new wanted area size. eg you had 3x3 and you want 5x3, then just change the width to correspond. Now you have 2x3 empty cells.

 

Next up go to your bmp map and stretch the canvas so that you have a picture of 1500x900 instead of the old 900x900. Now you have an area of 600x900 to fill with new mappy stuff. Then when it's done drag it again to the worlded. (you have to do this to both map.png and map_veg.png) Essentially do everything so far that you've done with any map in worlded.

 

But now, before you do the bmp to tmx, select the 2x3 area that you just added. You can use shift click to individually choose the cells or click and drag the area. The selected cells will light up blue. Now go to file -> BMP to TMX -> Selected cells only. If you've set up everything as you had, press OK.

 

Done and done.

 

The other way involves doing a separate map and offsetting it so that the cells match your previous map. You'll have to make sure that your map boundaries fit eachother in the .pngs. Offsets are explained in Thuztors tutorial.

 

I'd advise against doing everything in tilezed from scratch. You could just paint the leftover area green and then go with tilezed but it's a bit more messy and you have less tools at your disposal.

 

Good night! ^_^

 

EDIT: and great work with the map so far!!

 

EDIT2: the selected cells only option is the only one you should ever use after you've used tilezed in your map, since otherwise you're going to erase everything you've done there on every cell. Choosing the cells allows you to erase or overwrite only selected cells, thus minimizing the damage, or if adding new areas, not erasing anything.

 

EDIT3: BACK UP!!!

 

Damn, Suomiboi, you're a machine! Thanks so much for your input when you should be resting. I really appreciate it!

 

Although this process is still a few days off (I would like to finish the majority of the map first, before I expand), I can see how this plan would work. I can't believe I didn't see it!

 

Thanks a bunch. I'll post back here if I run into trouble.

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There are a couple of ways of doing this... 

 

Bringing this topic back to life for the time being though, you mentioned a while back that you had recently found a way to convert a map back into an image. Is there any way to convert the change I've made on TileZed into a bmp again?

 

It would certainly make planning new areas easier, once I see how it looks as an image.

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It won't convert everything you've done in tilezed. I think it mostly does things you've done with the paint tools in it. Also iirc it does only one bmp image with both vegetation and regular so I'm not entirely sure how it works. Try the tmx to bmp selection below the bmp to tmx and see what happens.

And as always back up before.

Edited typo

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

Well, the time has come for me to extend Phoenix in preparation for the beta release, but I've encountered a problem.

 

So far, I've followed your answer to the letter, but as soon as I select either a single cell or a group of cells and go through the process of converting them from bmp to tmx, I get the following error:

 

fail.jpg

 

I hoped that I would have this mapping lark down by now, but it's still finding new and interesting ways to trip me up!

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I think I have a fix for this. I won't be at my pc until tomorrow evening (going to bed right now), but if no one's come up with an answer by then, I'll try to find the fix! And if I don't remember send me a pm or bump this thread so I'll see it.

If you can't wait, I recall it being something with the rules.txt as the error says. And find the line it points to. Twiddle around and you might find the fix yourself! :)

EDIT: I seem to be always going to bed when I answer this topic. :D

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For future reference (mostly for my own future reference too, seeing as this truly was a pain):

 

Suomiboi's process works a charm, but you will find that some cells are misplaced. In order to allocated cells to the correct locations, they will have to be renamed (for example, what was previously 0,1 will now have to be renamed 1,1) in order to avoid painted cells being overwritten by new blank ones.

 

Once this is complete, you will need to drag the original cells from the menu into their new, correct locations (which should match their new names) in order to line up the tilezed data with your building locations.

 

Nice and easy once you put your mind to it, but getting to that stage was a Greek tragedy.

 

You can thank me later, future me.

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