View Full Version : unique LM grassland gfx


againsttheflow
Nov 19, 2008, 01:17 AM
Unlike other LM terrains I didn't spot a file for LM grassland in either the original files or the first terrain pack I found lying around. I'm stumped on how to make a unique LM grassland, it can be done..can't it?

Pounder
Nov 19, 2008, 06:30 AM
There are 5 different files that make up the landmark grassland they are all transitional files: lxtgc, lxpgc, lxggc, lxdgp and lxdgc.

If you want to make sure the LM comes up every time, you will have might have to make changes to all 5 files as somes tiles are duplicated between the 5 files, otherwise you risk having the mod showing up randomly.

I have made mods for LMgrass before and another concern is that the palettes are different for each of the 5 files. If you are making additions like structures, and you want them on all 5 files, the structures will show up different colours, not terribly different if they are spread out, but when they show up beside each other it is very noticable.

Wotan49
Nov 19, 2008, 11:24 AM
Here something else to the LM terrain :lol:


http://www.civforum.de/showthread.php?t=54624

Original by Yang Liu New Terrain style :D

http://forums.civfanatics.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=193667&d=1226097724

againsttheflow
Nov 19, 2008, 01:16 PM
There are 5 different files that make up the landmark grassland they are all transitional files: lxtgc, lxpgc, lxggc, lxdgp and lxdgc.
Ok, I knew it had to be something like that. Thanks. :)

I have made mods for LMgrass before and another concern is that the palettes are different for each of the 5 files. If you are making additions like structures, and you want them on all 5 files, the structures will show up different colours, not terribly different if they are spread out, but when they show up beside each other it is very noticable.

Are you saying that this is still a problem after increasing colors, putting on the structures and then reindexing? or that that's what needs to be done?

Here something else to the LM terrain :lol:


http://www.civforum.de/showthread.php?t=54624

Original by Yang Liu New Terrain style :D

http://forums.civfanatics.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=193667&d=1226097724

Looks interesting! Unfortunately due to my limited language skills I'm a little in the dark as to what exactly you're trying to tell me. :(

Pounder
Nov 19, 2008, 01:29 PM
Ok, I knew it had to be something like that. Thanks. :)



Are you saying that this is still a problem after increasing colors, putting on the structures and then reindexing? or that that's what needs to be done?



Looks interesting! Unfortunately due to my limited language skills I'm a little in the dark as to what exactly you're trying to tell me. :(

I'm saying you can't change the palettes or re-index because then the 5 files will no longer match with the colour of: the grass-to-grass, the desert-desert, the plains-plains, the coast-coast.

You will have to live with the fact that the structures be slightly different colour between the files.

Depending on what you are planning, this may or may not be an issue.

If you are putting an apartment building in as a mod, the buildings may be a different shade between two of the files, this may be ok as it would be ok to have buildings that are different colour. But if you are making a structure (buildings, trees, roads, etc...) that takes up more than one tile, the colours may not match and you will see the end of one tile and the beginning of another.

againsttheflow
Nov 19, 2008, 01:42 PM
Ok. Its not really a problem in my case but it makes one wonder how you could get around it, even just for two of the files.... :hmm:

Pounder
Nov 19, 2008, 01:54 PM
Ok. Its not really a problem in my case but it makes one wonder how you could get around it, even just for two of the files.... :hmm:

If you choose tiles that are unique to the lx--- file you wouldn't have to worry about making changes to multiple files.

If you change the palettes on these files, you also risk mispatched colours with all the other non-grassland lx--- files.

If you really want to be ambitious, you could make new common palettes for all the terrain files, maybe have the first to rows of colours for landmarks, the next two rows of colours for grass, the next two for plains, next two for coast, etc...., It would probably not be as colourful, it would probably look like a 16 colour palette rather than a 256 colour palette.

againsttheflow
Nov 19, 2008, 02:13 PM
Yeah, I'm reading you. It just occurred to me that all this would be easier on the Fireaxis winter terrain. Just thinking out loud...

Another thing I'm trying to do that's directly related to this is change the jungle terrain to dessert. If I were to change all the jungle tiles to dessert after increasing colors and then were to reindex am I asking for trouble with the forest terrain?

[edit] I'm supposing the main thing would just be if the forests share a lot of green with the jungle, I was guessing (?) that there would be room for both the dessert and the forest on the same palette given the various terrains on all of the x--- and lx--- files.

Pounder
Nov 19, 2008, 02:24 PM
Yeah, I'm reading you. It just occurred to me that all this would be easier on the Fireaxis winter terrain. Just thinking out loud...

Another thing I'm trying to do that's directly related to this is change the jungle terrain to dessert. If I were to change all the jungle tiles to dessert after increasing colors and then were to reindex am I asking for trouble with the forest terrain?

Jungle's base terrain is grassland, basically jungle and marsh are just overlays over grassland, you will see the grassland around the desert, the deserts could not be more than one tile and the would have to be made to match the surrounding grassland. They would be mini deserts and would look more like sand boxes.:)

againsttheflow
Nov 19, 2008, 02:29 PM
Which is why I wanted to mod the LM grassland. :) But wait! Can you have LM terrain underneath jungle/marsh? My memory is telling me otherwise... :shifty:

Pounder
Nov 19, 2008, 02:41 PM
Which is why I wanted to mod the LM grassland. :) But wait! Can you have LM terrain underneath jungle/marsh? My memory is telling me otherwise... :shifty:

Even if you could, it wouldn't be any different.

Maybe tell us what you want to do, and made we can come up with some ideas.

againsttheflow
Nov 19, 2008, 02:47 PM
I still think it would work given what I want to do. I'll try to do a full write-up of what exactly this is but first I'd like to know whether the above is possible. I think I have time to go test it quick right now.

againsttheflow
Nov 19, 2008, 05:02 PM
Ok, tests came back negative. I've since come up with a workable (at present!) alternative. I'll need to test it but I wanted to clear up Pounder, that the reason the "sand boxes" aren't a problem at present is that I wanted to mod both jungle and the base terrain to look like desert. I'm going to try modding regular grassland to look like/be desert and tundra to look like/be grassland. As this is a custom map that doesn't use tundra that won't be a problem (and even if I were, I could assign LM tundra to be "normal" tundra) and if I still wanted 'bonus' grassland it could easily be accomplished via a resource. Neither will bonus desert be a problem as the graphic can be made transparent and the effect again, can be removed via resources. But then, I said I was going to test this first...

Wotan49
Nov 20, 2008, 03:05 AM
Hello againsttheflow

To bind of me only a small attempt some improved LM graphics because of a Mikrozone ;)
(Street-free terrains) :D

MfG Wotan
with friendly greeting (mit freundlichem Gruß) :lol:

Blue Monkey
Nov 20, 2008, 10:55 PM
Which is why I wanted to mod the LM grassland. :) But wait! Can you have LM terrain underneath jungle/marsh? My memory is telling me otherwise... :shifty:You didn't say directly if you've already figured this out, but in another thread I was told no.

againsttheflow
Nov 21, 2008, 03:11 PM
Ok, tests came back negative.

..was meant to meant to be no. :)

edit, One thing I really wish we had around here is a list of hardcoded elements in the terrain. ie

-Grassland will always be the base terrain of marsh, jungle, mtns, and hills and is one of the three terrains that can support forests

-Only terrains with a grassland base can touch tundra

things like that. I haven't missed one by any chance?

Virote_Considon
Nov 22, 2008, 05:51 AM
There are some strange rules also when using Desert terrain, whereby it won't allow certain tiles around desert tiles to be certain terrain types, etc., but I don't know enough about it to say any more than this :(

Sandris
Nov 22, 2008, 06:21 AM
Original by Yang Liu New Terrain style :D

http://forums.civfanatics.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=193667&d=1226097724

Where could I get those territory borders ? :)

Wotan49
Nov 22, 2008, 08:57 AM
Hello Sandris

Upload;) http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?p=7474609#post7474609

Hope that it pleases :lol:

:old:
MfG Wotan49

Blue Monkey
Nov 26, 2008, 10:37 AM
There are some strange rules also when using Desert terrain, whereby it won't allow certain tiles around desert tiles to be certain terrain types, etc., but I don't know enough about it to say any more than this :(Desert & Grassland don't like each other. Perhaps LM Hills graphics could be changed to Karst or Badlands to avoid needing Plains between the various "Deserts".

againsttheflow
Nov 27, 2008, 02:31 PM
Hmm, that doesn't sound good. Anything more specific?

Blue Monkey
Nov 28, 2008, 01:18 AM
Desert & Grassland don't like each other. Perhaps LM Hills graphics could be changed to Karst or Badlands to avoid needing Plains between the various "Deserts".

Hmm, that doesn't sound good. Anything more specific?The game won't allow Grassland & Desert to touch. & no matter what graphics we create or what we change the name to, for the game engine it's still Grass & Desert. So, for example, it won't work to use LM Grassland as a special kind of Desert. The game will want some intervening terrain - Plains, Hills, Mts., etc. It will work to make LM Plains a third kind of desert, since the game still interprets it as Plains, & it can touch both Grass & Desert.

Virote_Considon
Nov 28, 2008, 05:36 AM
I think I've been able to get grassland touching desert before...

I know there are also some issues with regards to deserts and coasts...

Pounder
Nov 28, 2008, 09:17 AM
Anything but tundra can touch desert.

Grass transitions into desert. Look at the pcx's or generate any random map.

againsttheflow
Nov 28, 2008, 01:43 PM
I think I've been able to get grassland touching desert before...

I know I have as this was part of the project. I'm in a different state right now so I'll have to recheck things when I get home but other than the possibility of some graphical glitches the grassland was transitioning into desert.


I know there are also some issues with regards to deserts and coasts...

Now you mention it, I do remember some graphical glitches with the coast touching the desert not transitioning well with the rest of the water.

The game won't allow Grassland & Desert to touch. & no matter what graphics we create or what we change the name to, for the game engine it's still Grass & Desert. So, for example, it won't work to use LM Grassland as a special kind of Desert. The game will want some intervening terrain - Plains, Hills, Mts., etc. It will work to make LM Plains a third kind of desert, since the game still interprets it as Plains, & it can touch both Grass & Desert.

As Pounder was mentioning, one of the terrain files is xdgc.pcx and the editor does read this file when desert and grassland are touching. I'll have to check if the graphical glitches could possibly be remedied by using a different terrain set. Plains won't work in this case because as I mentioned several posts up, tundra is also a 'special desert' and I needed the LM grassland to transition these into the 'real desert'.

Goldfool
Nov 28, 2008, 01:50 PM
Now you mention it, I do remember some graphical glitches with the coast touching the desert not transitioning well with the rest of the water.

You guys must have some screwed up terrain sets.

There are no problems with grassland touching desert and there are no problems with desert touching coast.

againsttheflow
Nov 28, 2008, 02:05 PM
I don't recall any glitches with grassland transitioning into desert I simply said I'd check for them as several people have mentioned it. I never said there were glitches with desert transitioning into coast but with that coast, in turn, not transitioning well into the surrounding water. Again though, I mean to check it as this was after I had edited a thing or two even though I hadn't touched that aspect.

Blue Monkey
Nov 28, 2008, 08:57 PM
I was wrong, I guess.

I was misremembering the tundra/desert problem - the editor inserts grass as an intermediary.

Virote_Considon
Nov 29, 2008, 06:46 AM
You guys must have some screwed up terrain sets.

There are no problems with grassland touching desert and there are no problems with desert touching coast.

Look what happens when I place a Mountain tile here, then. Just a mountain tile, no other changes:
Before:
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t206/viroteconsidon/Deserts1.png
After:
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t206/viroteconsidon/Deserts2.png

I'm pretty sure this is to do with the surrounding desert tiles.

Goldfool
Nov 29, 2008, 07:47 AM
Look what happens when I place a Mountain tile here, then. Just a mountain tile, no other changes:

I'm pretty sure this is to do with the surrounding desert tiles.

I tried to duplicate what is happening to you and it doesn't happen to me.

I will definitely keep an eye out for this in the future.

Maybe it it is to do with the fact that some of these transitions take place on more than one pcx file and as Pounder said, it is random in which file is selected for the transition.

Edit: I would be curious to see how your biq works with my terrain set, if you are able to post your biq, I could post how it looks and maybe we could get a clue on whether it is a map generation glitch or a pcx file that wasn't made properly or something else.

Virote_Considon
Nov 29, 2008, 08:19 AM
http://www.divshare.com/download/5959691-bf3

Just look for Gur'Yev above the Caspian Sea...

Goldfool
Nov 29, 2008, 08:32 AM
So it does it with this terrain set too, my apologies, your terrain set is fine.

You are converting desert to grassland when you place the mountain there and the transitions all changed.

http://forums.civfanatics.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=195751&d=1227968965

Blue Monkey
Nov 29, 2008, 09:07 AM
"It's an Art, not a Science"

Balthasar
Nov 30, 2008, 03:15 AM
Hey Virote - what terrain set is that in post 29?

Quinzy
Nov 30, 2008, 08:27 AM
Ares' terrain 2 :)

Balthasar
Nov 30, 2008, 05:18 PM
Ares' terrain 2 :)

Thanks Quinzy, I should have recognized that right off the bat, but somehow I missed seeing that great desert terrain the first time I looked at it (I just have to remember to put the eye patch on the BAD eye)......