Atlas2 Terrain Creation Dialog for TSE

[dennis]

I've been using L3DT for the better part of a year now and quickly tired of typing in all of the commands required to create blender and unique terrains in TSE. To avoid that I've updated an existing resource to create Atlas2 terrains for L3DT terrains. I hope that this is helpful to those of you who use TSE and L3DT. I expect to post an update after the holidays that provides better control over the paths to the various files.

The resource is posted at the GG site: http://www.garagegames.com/index.php?sec=mg&mod=resource&page=view&qid=11826

[DeathTwister]

Hay Dennis, hay all,

I also posted this on GG, but I sometimes get better results here then there for answers /smiles....

OK, I have made my chu/atlas file and my TQT file easy enough for me, but then I got to the blend part and then I found trouble. It seems I am having a bit of a go with the light map. I brought it in as a .jpg from L3DT should be no biggie and then made a TQT file from that, I was suposed to right?
But when I go to blend them all, for some reason and the light map file is in the same place as the texture TQT file, but I cannot see my light map to bring in anywhere and I know where I put it /smiles....... So I have no idea why I have not been able to bring it in yet.
Other then that, the Chu and first texture TQT went in fine. I am not sure what I am doing wrong on the light map one though, is it me? or a bug? Probobly me, that is why I am asking what I am doing wrong /wry grins.......that turns sheepish hahahahahahaha So having trouble with the blend part ATM if I can get some help, I have about 60 Large arse terrains to bring in, Wooo Hooo.

DT

[dennis]

DeathTwister, no need to run the TQT in Atlas2. Convert everything but the heightmap using TxFromTiles pane into atlas format. Then build the final atlas file using the blender or unique pane.

[DeathTwister]

Hay brother Dennis,

OK I will try that and hope it sees my light map. I still would like to know why the light map TQt does not show up in GUI though??????? Thanks for the heads up, I will try it in just a few angd get back to you. That is main project this week, get terrains into TGEA /smiles..........How long does it take to make one? should I expect a long time in making the map? 4-20 hours maybe? it is just a 1025 map with 4096 textures. Maybe need to move this project to a comp that can sit there for days if I need to, just need to get a idea of timelines. Thanks for your help here brother. /smiles Making the TQT and altlas files did not take all that long, less then a minute, but am curious about the final step, derr, kk I just do it and find out /chuckles...

DT

[DeathTwister]

Hay Dennis,

Well I tried what you said and it did make the .atlas files for Texture and light maps. But when I clicked on the process button it did it way to fast I thought, so I am not sure what happened. I am sending the conslelog here and maybe take a look and see if it is me or is something else going wrong. I am not a programmer and my programmer is out of the State at the moment.

Link to Log: http://www.theatomizer.com/Downloads/console.log

Thanks for the help in advance. It seemed to me it should work fine, but not quit, err.

DT

[dennis]

DeathTwister, sorry for taking so long to get back to the forums.

In my experience when you get a bad TOC it's because you used something you shouldn't have (ie: the wrong file format). This error occurred when your opacity was being processed. Did you export the four layer opacity map from L3DT and use this as the import to TSE? You might want to verify that you used the right file(s). Otherwise it could always be an atlas bug. It isn't the most robust thing around yet...

As far as time it can be long. With atlas, and other things, patience is a virtue.

[DeathTwister]

Hay brother Dennis,

KK I will double check the file. I just used the light map from the export file which was a _LM.jpg. but I could bring the alpha maps in to photo shop and put all the layers in and export it out as a .png with it interlaced? (No one said anything about that one) /wry smiles...hahaha. that is not to hard, but I didn't think that was a light map, but the _LM.jpg one. I will mess with it and see, and thanks on the heads up for the long combining time, so I will plan to do it and go to bed, have breakfast, go for a bike ride and if still not done use other comp and or go to town ROTFL..../smiles.
Thanks bro for the info and I figured that TGEA and Atlas 2 was probably still bugy, but it can be hard to tell if it's me or the software sometimes, when your on the bleeding edge.
Oops need to get a new towel to clean the blood off my set and table/keyboards again, The Mouse is so sticky with blood it sticks to the table hahahahahaha. Slippery when wet or bloody hahalol.

DeathTwister

[dennis]

I would guess that you could do the alpha maps manually or modify them as you said. I'm not much when it comes to the artistic touch so I really can't say anything there. I'd definitely be interested to hear how it works out though.

[DeathTwister]

Hay bro,

KK will do, I will try the .png with interlaced alpha mapping as the light map, Sounds a bit strange though, but what the hell /smiles.....

In short I will play with it. Maybe put it on my other comp so as not to hang this one up, TG2 has been doing that well enough hahaha ROTFL lolol. 64 bit with a 1 gig ram, amd athlon 2gig, not much but should be ok for tests /smiles....I hope.

DT

[dennis]

Posted an update to the terrain creation dialog today. The updates fix the annoying problem where the file browse always starts from some far off directory. Now you can specify the directories where you start to browse from - preferably where the file is to begin with. Default paths are preset but you can change and save. Saved changes are used when the dialog is restarted. Defaults can be restored if desired.

The resource is posted at the GG site: http://www.garagegames.com/index.php?se ... &qid=11826

[MDynna]

Good stuff Dennis, that saves on typing.