World.dat by Bladum

[Falko]

how to edit TEXTURE.DAT ? i tried to use gif

  - type: TEXTURE.DAT
    subX: 32
    subY: 32
    width: 428
    height: 98
    files:
      0: Resources/terrain.png

but all i got is mess on geoscape.

428/13=32,92
13*32=416
98/3=32,66
13*3=92
your width height number are wrong
+ texture.dat changes only work on nightly not 1.0
i assume pckview export with "lines" between sprites?
i suggest this https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php?topic=3159.msg36200#msg36200

[bladum]

Thanks for tips but i follow steps and this is what i get

using latest night build

[Falko]

and if you upload your Resources/terrain.png file one can test it
otherwise its just guesswork

[bladum]

i think this is common problem with palettes

Standard ufo geoscape palette vs  palette i see in GIMP after file is generated by your site

Difference is obvious, first index is empty and all others are shifted.

[Falko]

there is an easy solution for gimps pallete screwups
upload the file here https://falkooxc2.pythonanywhere.com/spritepalette
select "fix-palette (ufo-geo)" and convert (as long as the colors within the palette are unchanged this "fix" reorders the colors how it should be (and even converts RGB images (without any palette) into the correct format .. as long as the color values fit)

[bladum]

thanks for help, this is next update. I plan to make next updates.

Anyone already upgrade standard TEXTURE.DAT file ? i just used single color image.

Tom

[Falko]

i played around with the texture.dat https://falkooxc2.pythonanywhere.com/spritepalette
to recolor the existing stuff
here the 4 images i created within 5 minutes

[volutar]

Volutar, can you post a pic? I've downloaded your version but I can't figure out how to visualize it.

Before and after.
900 polies
Shading palette is altered alittle too. I like that bluish and dark nights more

[Hobbes]

Before and after.
900 polies
Shading palette is altered alittle too. I like that bluish and dark nights more

Interesting. Thanks.

There are a few areas that I'd do differently. Iceland should be like the original, I've been there and you don't see a speck of green or tree anywhere in the countryside, it really looks as if you are in a different planet. Or probably there should be a new terrain/texture more like tundra.

'm doing a little brainstorming based on everything. Assuming it is possible to use additional textures (on the nightly), it would be interesting to rethink the entire terrain structure and redrew the Geoscape to reflect more the natural biomes, since there are a few missing:
* Desert
* Polar
* Jungle
* Forest
* Savannah/Steppe (new)
* Tundra/Taiga (new)

Each texture would also have 1 version with mountains, to be used on the Geoscape for the corresponding areas, for a total of 12 biome terrains.  And a few of those textures would include a farm version, and the engine would choose randomly between using the version with farms or not when generating the battlescape. Finally, the urbanized areas (around the current cities) would look the same as the corresponding texture in the Geoscape, but the battlescape would be generated from urban like terrains.

[bladum]

What about this ? This requires minimum additional work as all graphics already exist, just redesign sets a bit:

* Desert (flat and mountains)
* Polar (flat and mountains)
* Jungle (flat and mountains)
* Forest (flat and mountains)
* Barren mountains (classic mountains)
* Savannah/Steppe/Plains (classic cultivate, more natural blocks)
* Grassland/Farm (classic cultivate, more human made blocks)
* Tundra/Taiga (polar ground + trees from forest)
* Urban (same as terror but with ufo inside it)

[Hobbes]

What about this ? This requires minimum additional work as all graphics already exist, just redesign sets a bit:

* Desert (flat and mountains)
* Jungle (flat and mountains)
* Forest (flat and mountains)

With the exception of Jungle Mountain, all the other terrains are already done. There's already enough graphics for Jungle Mountain, so it's only a matter of designing the maps.

* Barren mountains (classic mountains)

The question is, how to use it and the other mountain versions on the Geoscape?

One option is to redesign the Geoscape to have textures for both mountain and non-mountain areas of the Desert/etc. biomes, which makes it more realistic. This option requires more work on the polygons and possibly adding additional textures, while making it clearer for the player which terrain will be encountered.
Another option is to have a single texture for each biome, and then randomize the terrain you actually get (basic, mountain version or Farm version, if available). This option would be less work on Geoscape redesign but would make the terrains more unpredictable.

Finally, it would also possible to create a Barren version of Mountain (without any elevations).

* Urban (same as terror but with ufo inside it)

In addition to Urban, there are several other terrains that can be used, like Industrial.

* Savannah/Steppe/Plains (classic cultivate, more natural blocks)

This one needs new graphics, and probably give it a more brownish tone rather than green.

* Grassland/Farm (classic cultivate, more human made blocks)

There's already an expansion to the original Farm terrain. One way I'd see it would be to have 3 Biomes with Farm versions: Forest, Savannah and Jungle. The original Farm could be the Savannah version, Native (included in the Terrain Pack) the Jungle one, and a new one based on Forest (using existing graphics).

* Tundra/Taiga (polar ground + trees from forest)

I was thinking of using something based on the Mountain ground, but it would need more color/vegetation. Tundra and Taiga are actually quite distinct since Tundra almost has no trees, but for the sake of simplification both could be used.

* Polar (flat and mountains)

Finally, Polar would really be limited to the poles, and Polar Mountain would only appear on the Antarctic. It would be very nice if the terrains could have versions according to the weather, but it is irrealistic to expect that this ever will be implemented.

[bladum]

All is nice and clear. I will try to update map based on your terrains and latest google data. There will be about 15 or 16 terrain then.

Do we have textures that match all the terrains you have mentioned ? that already are tested and looking good... then i it will be just matching world map with textures and viola 

i mean its easy to make them using recolor tools but i was thinking about already optimized ones

[Hobbes]

All is nice and clear. I will try to update map based on your terrains and latest google data. There will be about 15 or 16 terrain then.

It will only be required to design 3 or 4 new ones, so that isn't an issue. What's going to take me longer is that I'll need to update the Terrain Pack to be compatible and make full use of the new features in the nightly since until now I had made a deliberate decision to stick to version 1.0.

Do we have textures that match all the terrains you have mentioned ? that already are tested and looking good... then i it will be just matching world map with textures and viola 

i mean its easy to make them using recolor tools but i was thinking about already optimized ones

I'm not aware of others than the ones posted above. One thing is that you'll need 3 versions of each texture for the different zoom levels (check the pic I posted) - with texture 0, for instance, the game uses textures 13 and 26 instead when you zoom in.

--- posts merge ---

One question: how do I open/create a WORLD.DAT file? I've been trying to do it with Falko's online editor with no success.

[volutar]

Hobbes, try this.

[bladum]

@volutar

Could you add changing terrain for specific polygon via keybord ? It is very time consuming to move mouse up and down to select polygon then move it to change terrain. This is very time consuming.

Any plans to add more stuff to editor like cities / regions / countries as Falko editor ? In this case you would edit not world.dat but other files instead.