www.mastersofthefield.com

SirWilliam · Site Admin Joined: 01 Jan 1970 Posts: 206

A step by step guide to bitmap editing, which was first mastered by [HWK]Ugeo

Step 1

Create a bitmap in the acfb editor using the terrain editor from the toolbox

Step 2

Open your bitmap ( C: Program Files/American Conquest - Fight Back/terrain) in paintbrush or any other preferred image editor. The bitmap will comprise of three black squares, top to bottom. One square is approximatley 255x255 pixels. The top square is for water, and allows only blue and black colour. The middle square is for terrain and allows black, shades of grey and white. Which will represent high points black low points and shades of gray can be used to represent gradients. The more varied shades of gray you use the better the terrain. The bottom square represents trees and only green and black coulour can be used on this square.

Step 3

Find a detailed historical map on the web that you wish to use to represent your historical battle. Look at the link to see a historical map of Gettysburg:

https://www.mastersofthefield.com/maps_to_publish/Gettysburg/gettysburg.jpeg

scale the map to represent your batytlefield and then cut a 255x255 section to place on your bitmap, which you made in step 1.

Look at the link to see a section of Gettysburg:

https://www.mastersofthefield.com/maps_to_publish/Gettysburg/gettysburg2.bmp

Step 4

You can place a copy of this section of historical map in the top square and coulur the rivers with blue and everything else should be black

step 5

Place a section of the map in the middle square of your bitmap and where there is a relief use white and gray to represent hills and mountains.

Look at the link which shows the edited middle square of the Gettysburg bitmap.

https://www.mastersofthefield.com/maps_to_publish/Gettysburg/gettysburg3.bmp

Step 4

I prefer to do trees by hand, but you can also use the lower square to represent trees using a green coulur.

step 5

Load the edited bitmap in the terrain editor, if you see only black then use the edit relief option to unveil your terrain, then generate your m3d file from the bitmap.

Step 6

View your new map in the map editor and edit until your eyes go square and fall out lol.

Other Tips

1. Don't put one variety of tree on the map at once, use the control key to select about 4-6 different types of tree or bush and then place your varied trees on the map at once. You can also do this with coulurs and stones etc

2. Waterfalls and streams can be made using the F5 key and then clicking in the green shade to produce a small square marker which will indicate the direction of the flow. You may then place the flowing action on your map.

3. Sink your roads a little to make them look used and not just flat

4. Use textures for fields, riverbanks and cliffs etc

5. Use the action line to create bridges, walls and redoubts.

6. look at the maps that have already been made i.e. Trenton, Zorndorf, Shilo, Portuguese Harbour, Lodi Bridge, Wagram etc, they all have something good and unique about them, steal all these ideas and use them to become a hawk master map maker, the greatest historical map makers in the world to date

Yours SW
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de Burca · Joined: 01 May 2004 Posts: 61 Location: Austin,Texas

Thanks for the info.

Kosciuszko · Joined: 30 Apr 2004 Posts: 61 Location: Poland

HEY ITS GREAT ARTICLE SW - ITS SHOULD BE PLACED ON OUR WEB !!!!!!!
Trully on Hawks webpage should be some section with articles about editing, strategy, etc..
regards
kosc
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(...)" Thucydides says only that he had seven ships it was winter and he sailed quickly"

[HWK]GiNg3RfiSh · Joined: 20 Apr 2004 Posts: 268 Location: -=[England]=-

yes maybe a website page made sw?see what drake thinks.
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HWKBud · Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2004 9:54 am Post subject:

Tips have been on the site for a while and E mailed out to lots of hawks already, go check out Post AC map editor,
Cheer

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HI Budding map makers, I did a legthy e-mail a while ago with tips on making maps, unfortunately I have lost my saved copy, one of the many hawks I sent it to if they can re circulate it to the Hawks who have posted here it would be great.
Cheers Bud
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Hey fellow map makers...

For any of you that want some tips i found Buds letter which had some tips on map making. HOpe this helps out any of you.

Hi and all fellow map makers, just a few pointers on the level of detail we are trying to strive too and how we can achieve it easier and make map making less of a chore.

1. Use the bitmap tool in the editor to create your hills,valleys rivers etc.To create a bitmap you have to clear the existing one off the bitmap mini screen, select the hills brush and enlarge the brush size and hold the right mouse button down while drawing over the screen, you will then create a blank bitmap for you to draw on.Drawing the map you hold the left mouse button down,you can create hills, rivers and forests quickly this way.Remember to use the smoothing option for areas of your hills you want troops to access. When you are happy with your bitmap click on the temperate zone you want then click generate, you will create a ready made map waiting for the next level of detail.Using Ugeo's photoshop method is a finer tool for creating bitmaps. If anyone wants instructions sent please let me know.

2.My next step is to give the ground texture on my main map choose a texture, ie grass which I use often and go over the whole map texturing with a large brush, dont texture too close to the river banks.

3.Colouring the landscape to avoid a totally green look to the map, in the colour texture box you can select multiple colours by holding the control buton down when you click on the colours you want, you can camouflage the grass really well with this option, this also works when selecting trees, stones etc so you can create rows of random bushes etc with one stroke of the mouse.

4.Rivers should have a flow to them use the set streams tool, big rivers become a pain to do but the finished effect is worth it,also add a the waterfall sound effect to certain parts of the river.To create the whispy stream effect click on F5 you then have varios water effects to select, but you have to select the tiny little green box next to the effect your after,alos holding control down at the same time you can select multiple effects.

5 Roads should be slightly sunken by using the raise lower plain tool, alos texture and coloured well.

6. Towns should be more of the period your trying to create, try not too mix too many different countries into one town,alos remeber the time of year the battle was fought, summer time lots of leafy trees, nice crops in the fields, winter the reverse.

7.Create your own cut and paste fields draw a box around the field you have created or town while holding down control and c, you can save the image to be pasted onto any of your maps, making large wheat field is a good example.

8.Use draw action line tool to create walls, redoubts etc then colour in and texture as appropriate

9 Last of all Troops, try to replicate the uniforms as close as the game will let you,also have a good ratio of troops try not to have a battle that can be over in 15 mins, make large size maps, Guilford has a One for one ratio, but do not fall into my trap of beeing too greedy and have too many troops as it can cause the game too crash.Up to 14000 seems ok, also think of fixed art in certain areas.

Hope this helps. cheers Bud
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[HWK]GeXozoid · Joined: 30 Apr 2004 Posts: 245

Steel something from Wagram

ah well at least you said it has somthing good

...hehe i used the same tehnique, but i didnt know you use it... i just figured it out

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"Never interrupt your enemy when he is makeing a mistake "

Napoleon Bonaparte