Available as an added extra
feature on the CD only
This
new map editing tool allows map editing in ways
only dreamed of in the past!
At
start up you will see....
Two
Nations flag buttons - Selects two opposing
nations . This works with the RND MAP button
and the MAP LOC button. You don't NEED to set
this up when building a map unless you plan
to do some random map generating at some point
Preferences - gives access to the same
game preferences screens we use in the game
and allows you to set the map dimensions
Summer/winter/desert button - same as
the editor in the game now. It allows you to
pre-select the terrain type
Date Dial - Self explanatory. It is needed
to set up some of the fall and spring terrain
so it's always best to set it for the month
you want before starting a map
Load Map button - Allows access to the
custom map files
Edit map button - Gets you into the editor
Exit button - Exits the editor
Select a custom map if you like or just press
Edit Map
You are now in a screen that looks pretty much
what you are used to in the game scenario map
editor.
(
The screen shot below is just a section of the
actual screen)
None
of the actual map editing buttons is different
than in the game.
There
new buttons and what they do is as follows:
Help- Will bring up a new Map editor
help text screen
Snapshot- Shortcut Key ":"
(colon)- Now we get into the new stuff. This
allows you to save an image of the map IN MEMORY
for use later. Further down I'll detail how
that can be used. A snapshot is essentially
a copy of the entire map saved off into your
own private clipboard. Use when loading another
map to grab a part of the new map, take a snapshot,
load the new map and copy a chunk of that, then
hit Restore, you are back at your original map,
with a section of the second map ready to paste
in the normal clipboard.
Restore- This button will only appear
AFTER you take a snap shot. This allows you
to restore your map to the time you took the
Snapshot.
Undo- Shortcut Key "(" (left
round bracket) - There are 12 undos. You no
longer have to rebuild a map section if you
make a mistake. If you place a terrain and then
decide you don't like it..... no problem...press
undo and it goes away. This is not just used
for single terrain . If you place a stream from
one corner of the map to the other corner then
don't like it ..... no problem...press undo
and it will go away. The same applies to Roads
or Railways, hedges or trenches. This is set
up so once you get to 12 terrain placements
the 13th will overwrite the first ( and the
14th will overwrite ..and become--- the second
undo ) so it's a constant loop. It does take
a bit of getting used to but this is mainly
there to give map makers a little wiggle room
to make mistakes and correct them
Redo- Shortcut Key ")" (right
round bracket) - Try placing 6 bits of terrain
on a map then press Undo 6 times and they will
go away. Press REDO 6 times right after that
and they will re-appear. This is a undo for
the undo<g>
Load Map- Shortcut Key "L"
- This allows you to load pre-existing custom
map while editing another map. That is also
explained below
Select- Shortcut Key "Z" -
Now the fun begins. This is the start of the
cut and paste routine. It may be easier at the
start to load one of the maps you are familiar
with and play with that or just build something
quick on a blank map if you like. Once you have
a map with something to cut and paste press
SELECT and a new screen will appear.
(
The screen shot below is just a section of the
actual screen)
Mark-
Shortcut Key "A" - This sets the first
x/y co-ordinate for the cut-and-paste routine.
Go to the map and for this test select a smallish
10x10 hex area. Click the cursor on the map
in the upper left part of the area you want
to cut out then AFTER you have clicked on that
point of the map Press MARK. You will see that
hex go dark. Now pick the LOWER RIGHT point
of the cut out area you want and click on the
map at that point then press...
SET - Shortcut Key "S" - You
will see the entire zone you selected turn dark
as in the example above. Now press......
Copy -Shortcut Key "C" - You
have now copied that section of the map. When
you press copy you will see a message
appear ( depending on how long you have your
message delay set for), then you will be returned
to the main editing page.
That
message tells you if the X or Y co-ordinate
was even or odd. Roads, streams, trenches etc
etc etc. NEED their X and Y co-ordinates to
be the same even/even, odd/even/ even/odd, odd/odd
paste point as their cut point otherwise the
road/trench/stream etc looks like exploded spaghetti.
It is a factor of the hex mapping system used
by maps, especially for vertical roads which
can be offset from the hex the graphic appears
in. There are safeties built in that prevent
you from pasting the copied section in the wrong
place but you need to be aware of the issue.
If you try to paste it into the wrong place
the editor will shift it to the nearest point
that DOES match the paste X/Y even/odd scheme.
You
now have a section copied and you want to paste
it someplace. If you read the message it may
have told you the X co-ordinate was odd and
the Y was even. Again.. this is NOT critical.
The editor will fix it if you do paste it wrong
so for now find another spot you want to paste
this section. Click on the desired target location
with the cursor and the hex will highlight in
red. IF this IS the hex you want to paste to
now press PASTE. A message will appear
on the lower left of the screen. Paste Here?
Y/N. If this is where you want it press Y. IF
the spot you pressed was out of sync with the
X/Y Odd/Even offsets it will tell you which
was out and it will select the next closest
point that DOES match the clipboard section's
X/Y Odd/Even offset. After a few tries, you
will get the hang of how the offsets work, and
where to select the original cut or copied section
from and where it is valid to paste these sections
to.
That completes your cut and paste. If you don't
like where it went....press UNDO and it will
go away. There were other buttons on that Mark
and Set Select screen..
CUT- Shortcut Key "V" - Use
this to REMOVE a section of map to the clipboard
and replace it's selected area with base terrain
STOP-
Shortcut Key "Q" - Stops the process
of cut and paste and takes you back to the
main screen
ZAP- Shortcut Key "Z" - Clears
ALL terrain from the selected section and replaces
it with the base terrain for whatever season
you selected on the first page. It is a CUT
without the copy of the selected terrain to
the clipboard, if say you want to clear a zone,
but not lose what is currently in the clipboard.
-DAMAGE - Shortcut Key "P" - On
this page this button removes all damage from
the selected area (including any stray infantry
fire trenches or vehicle revetments that may
be left over if this was a scenario map)
ALL- lets you select the entire map. This
can be handy when selecting a small map to paste
into a new larger map.
Now
back to the main screen where there are a few
buttons left to explain
(
The screen shot below is just a section of the
actual screen)
PASTE. Shortcut Key "~" (tilde)
- A message will appear on the lower left
of the screen. Paste Here? Y/N. If this is
where you want it press Y. IF the spot you
pressed was out of sync with the X/Y Odd/Even
offsets it will tell you which was out and
it will select the next closest point that
DOES match the cut's X/Y Odd/Even offset.
After a few tries, you will get the hang of
how the offsets work, and where to select
the original cut or copied section from and
where it is valid to paste these sections
to.
Clr
Cursor (Clear Cursor ) Shortcut Key
" " (space bar) - Allows you to
"wash your brush" of whatever terrain you
had been using so you can click on the map
without placing whatever terrain you had
been working with. In other words it returns
your cursor to a selection item and not
a terrain placement tool.
-DAMAGE. Shortcut Key "!"
(exclamation mark) -Removes ALL damage from
everywhere on the map. This can take some
time - there is a progress meter to let
you know the progress.
RND MAP- generates a random map for
the two nations you have selected based
on climate and month
MAP LOC- Allows you to call up a
Battle location OR the Random map generator
QUICKSAVE- Allows you to save your
map quickly in slot 999. If you have been
working with the editor as you read through
this email you will have noticed that the
maps are already being Autosaved in slot
999 every five minutes. This gives you a
quick way to save the map without needing
to go through the full save screen process.
There are ways to use this that may not
be obvious until you play with it a bit.
For example. If you are building a map but
want to use features from three other maps.
NO problem.
1] from your new base map press Load map
2]Copy the section from the new map you
want to paste into the new map
3]Press UNDO three times..this brings you
back to your new base map
4]Pick a point on the base map then press
PASTE and the section of the old map in
now pasted to your base map. If you are
happy with that press SNAPSHOT to save the
new map in memory and press Quicksave to
save it in Slot 999 ( or use the red save
button and save it wherever you like)
This way you can cut and paste from as many
maps as you like
You can also trim maps to fit. Where there
is a big empty area on one side of the map
the "active" area of that map can be cut
out and pasted to an empty map in about
15 seconds. You CAN use the grey border
hexes as Mark and Set points if you like.
Note
on Damage removal. Destroyed bridges will
not be restored, you will have to rebuild
them manually. Buildings can be a problem
as when these are destroyed, the associated
building markers are removed. The repair damage
code looks for particular building icons and
tries to rebuild from that information. It
may well have problems on multiple hex buildings.
You should mouse over your biding after a
damage repair, to ensure that they report
as stone or wooden buildings as expected,
and are not reporting as rough as well. Any
such problem cases would need to be bulldozed
manually and rebuilt.
