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Bitmap Convertor

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Bitmap Convertor

Postby Staf » Mon Apr 09, 2012 5:07 pm

Hi people!
I have been looking for a while for close ranged CTF maps. But didnt found any =(
Now I tried to create one, but when i try to use the bitmap convertor it says:

To use: convert.exe <filename> <height>

So i tried: convert.exe <test> <10>

But when i try to typ something the window closes..
Each time i use a letter/number or what ever it closes.
What am i doing wrong?
I checked a while for an usefull tutorial but never came up something I could use.
Any help please?

Greetings Staf
Staf
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Re: Bitmap Convertor

Postby BuffetOfLies » Mon Apr 09, 2012 9:24 pm

There're actually two programs. One is convert.exe and the other is converth.exe. The former creates a flat map of the depth you specify from the 24-bit bmp you enter as the filename part. The latter uses a second specified 24-bit bmp as a heightmap. Both will create a file called "map.vxl" which you can rename as desired & load as a map into voxed or aos.

You probably haven't fed the program any bitmaps to process. You can run the program from a command line window or you can edit the batch files included with it or create your own. To open a command line window you usually have to click on Start > Accessories > Command Prompt but you can also click on Start and type cmd in the Search Panel and it should open one up. Then you'll need to change directories to wherever you have placed the map converter programs. Like this...
Code: Select all
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6002]
Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation.  All rights reserved.

C:\Users\test>cd C:\Ace of Spades\bin

C:\Ace of Spades\bin>convert
To use: convert.exe <filename> <height>
e.g. convert.exe goat.bmp 15
The file must be a 512x512 .bmp file.
The height must be in the range 0-63.
The output is saved to map.vxl.
Press any key to continue . . .

C:\Ace of Spades\bin>converth
To use: converth.exe <filename> <filename>
e.g. converth.exe goat.bmp spiral.bmp
The files must be a 512x512 .bmp files.
The height for a pixel is the sum of the heightmap's colors divided by 12.
The output is saved to map.vxl.
Press any key to continue . . .

C:\Ace of Spades\bin>


I'm not so sure about tutorials... there's some brief tips here. I usually use photoshop to create my heightmaps. With a touch of gaussian blur on a grayscale map you can make a heightmap out of pretty much any 512x512 pixel photo you throw at it. But it can be a bit tricky sometimes to get very crisp edges on water so I suggest you play around with it until you get the hang of it.
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Re: Bitmap Convertor

Postby Staf » Tue Apr 10, 2012 12:40 pm

Hey!
Thanks for the fast answer =)
I understand now how it works, but when i try to typ the path where i installed the program i get an error:
... is not registered as an intern or extern command, program, batch-file.

Im total new with those commands. Sorry ;p

*EDIT*
I didnt open the convert.exe when i was in the prompt. This problem is solved.
But what is a good program to make .bmp files?
And when i typ convert.exe test 12 the prompt says 12 is an incorrect parameter.
Do i have to insert the .bmp files first?

Greetings Staf
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Re: Bitmap Convertor

Postby BuffetOfLies » Tue Apr 10, 2012 1:18 pm

Batch files (.bat) are simply text files containing the commands you would type in manually.

Try typing convert test.BMP 12 instead. I think you're just missing the .bmp extension. The bmp files should be in the same folder as the converter program.
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Re: Bitmap Convertor

Postby Staf » Tue Apr 10, 2012 1:27 pm

still same error: inufficient parameter - 12
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Re: Bitmap Convertor

Postby BuffetOfLies » Tue Apr 10, 2012 3:18 pm

To be honest, convert.exe crashes on my machine too. No idea why, either. What I would suggest is this. Don't use convert.exe. Use converth.exe instead. You'd use two bmps with the second one being a solid color with black (RGB value 0,0,0) being the water level and white (RGB value 255,255,255) being the highest point on the map (64 blocks).

And you would use the following command converth.exe test.bmp testh.bmp

If you wanted some thing 12 blocks deep then it would be a fairly dark gray. If I recall correctly it's one block level for each 12 levels of brightness. Not the best solution but it's the best I can offer. AFAIK, the original author (bildramer) is long gone.
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Re: Bitmap Convertor

Postby Staf » Tue Apr 10, 2012 3:32 pm

Oke, but i have no idea how to create those bmps. I know HOW. But not with what, paint?
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Re: Bitmap Convertor

Postby BuffetOfLies » Wed Apr 11, 2012 12:37 pm

Photoshop, GIMP, or Paint.net would all work... regular M$ Paint should too but it doesn't have a very good degree of brush control. Anything that can save a 24-bit BMP file.

As a little bonus I am going to give you a Heightmap Editor program that may help you. Download is here. Bear in mind that this creates 8-bit bmps which will need to be converted to 24-bit bmps before you can use them with converth.exe.

You also might want to play around with the pyspades map editor. Not a lot of features but it can be very helpful for a mapper.
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