====== Before we start ====== ===== Software you'll need ===== * [[http://taspring.clan-sy.com/|TA Spring]] * [[http://www.bundysoft.com/L3DT/downloads.php#prover|L3DT Professional]] * [[http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/main.html|Photoshop]] (commercial), [[http://www.gimp.org/|the GIMP]] (free) or [[http://www.eecs.wsu.edu/paint.net/|Paint.NET]] (free) * [[http://www.irfanview.com/|Irfanview]] (optional) * [[http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=1234|Mapconv]] ===== Terminology ===== In Spring parlance, the [[tutorials:TA spring:texture|texture map]] is also referred to as the //terrain map//, whereas in L3DT the term 'terrain' always refers the [[tutorials:TA spring:heightmap|heightmap]] itself. Wherever possible, this tutorial avoid using the term 'terrain', which is ambiguous, and instead use the terms 'heightmap' and 'texture', which are unambiguous. ===== Map size issues ===== The size of a map in Spring represents the texture size, not the heightmap size. A 1x1 Spring map is a 512x512 pixel texture. The heightfield size is given by:

HFsize = 1 + TXsize / 8

Thus, for a 16x16 map in Spring (8192x8192 pixel texture), your heightfield will be 1025x1025 pixels in size. Furthermore: * The metal map is the same dimensions as the heightfield. * The feature map is one eighth the size of the texture map, so for a 8192x8129 texture, the feature map is 1024x1024 pixels in size. **Are there other constraints on sizes?** Absolutely! L3DT generally does not permit odd-numbered heightmap sizes, so you'll have to generate a 1024x1024 map, for example, and then re-size on export. Also, the largest single-file map you can make with L3DT (not using the [[bundydocs>l3dt:algorithms:mosaics|map tiling system]], which Spring doesn't support) is currently 8192x8192 pixels. This limit will be raised in future versions, eventually. Also, Mapconv will generally crash if odd numbered map sizes are used (in Spring units), so it is recommended that you use multiples of 2x2 as your basis. That's equivalent to 1024x1024 texture pixels, or around 128x128 heightfield pixels, or indeed 16x16 of L3DT's [[bundydocs>l3dt:reference:maps:dm|design map]] pixels. ====== Next section ====== >> [[tutorials:TA Spring:heightmap|Making the heightmap]]