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.