The Impossible-Creatures Mission Editor AddOn

Bild

Beschreibung
The Sigma Mission Editor is a tool delivered with the Game "Impossible Creatures".

Technically the AddOn is a separate program which acts like a "virtual user". Therefore it enhances the original Mission Editor without changing its code. The additional features are partly useful as well as experimental.

The Mission Editor itself  is a 3D-World Editor Program, using a DirectX-Engine and a standard GUI. Therefore all enhancements are done via the GUI, using WinRobots-Messaging-Technology.

WinRobots-technically the Mission Editor has a a Standard-Menu, a Toolbar, some Comboboxes, Treeviews and a renderwindow which are controlled by the WinRobotsAddOn without any changes in the original Mission Editor and even without any access to the Source code.

 

History:

Once I did some  experiments with the Mission Editor, finding myself doing a lot of things that could be done automatically. So I started with a small WinRobots-Script "MapHelper" which was quite Ok for me for the first maps. It did not do much other things then distributing coal that time.

Later I got more and more ideas what I could make automatically in the map creation process, and though the WinRobots-System makes it really easy to do such things I did that. It seems a lot more difficult to me to explain these features now to the public, and therefore to make this WEB-Site is more difficult work then the AddOn was.

After quite some time now, I thought of releasing a version to the public, without any warranty on whatever, as its another example how WinRobots can be used to make AddOns for other priograms.. So I removed some buttons with experimetal features and released this Version which will work even with a 1024x768 screen resolution. Finally I did some testing with Chachi we made few changes.

So lets take a look at the features of this small AddOn below:

(Last Update: 31.12.03 - Version 2.00)
 
  AMAZON.DE (deutschsprachig)

AMAZON.COM (worldwide)
 
The three Position-Buttons

With these three buttons the place and the intensity of operation is defined.

Set S/E means: "Set StartPoint / Set EndPoint". Important for the Line-, Quad, Circle-,Fill-Operations.

PixFact: means Pixelfactor. Imagine this like a net that is been put over  "what you see". In each part of the net one operation is been done. The smaller the pixe-factor, the more operations are done.at the same place. The Pixel-Factor can be changed by n X and an Y value which is in "Screen-Pixel units".

CirSP/EP means: Circle StartPoint EndPoint.
Using this Button you can draw parts of a circle. The whole circle has 360 degrees. Think of a clock like this:

                     180

           270      *         90

                    360/0

So if you specify 90,270 you get a lower half-circle. If you specify 270,360 you get a quarter of a circle.

 
 
The "simple Buttons" part I

This buttons simplify changing to coal or electricity distribution.

One click and you can set Bases, Coal or Land-Electricity.

The ownership settings are corrected for "world" (coal & electricity) and for "player 1" when switching to Bases.
   
The "simple Buttons" part II

The first button is the NEW!-Button.  You want to start a new map, everything you did till now should be deleted? Just click on NEW!. This is the ultimate button if you press it by mistake.

The second button "NA+SA"  simplifies the "Naming and Saving" Process.As you may know the Original name of the map is not given while saving, but with "Scenario\Scenario Properties". Both steps and an additional update of the Land-Impass Map is done automatically here. Also you do not need to worry where to save, the MP-Folder is automatically choosen.
 
The "Drawing Buttons"

Originally the Mission Editor has a "Line-Drawing" feature, for everything that is on the "LMB" (LeftMouseButton). The Line and the Quad Button  use these features. So they will only work with everything that uses the LMB.

The Buttons do nothing special, they draw a quadratic box or a line with the currently selected method. In the picture on the left side, the inside Quadrat was drawn using Quad. The Line Button makes a straight line between the Startpoint and the Endpoint (Button 1).

The Fill-Block and the Circle-Button are more advanced and they need more knowledge to use them properly.Both cooperate with the two "Graphic-Filters" which are implemented in Buttons 20-24. Both use the Left or the Right Mousebutton, depending on the setting of Button 15 (LMB/RMB). Both need long time to process.

The Circle Button uses the Coordinates for the Start/Endpoint (set with Button 1) and the CircSP/EP (Button 3) see there for Explanation. In case you do not use "Graphics-Filters" you can put another window over the SME-Editor and do some other work while the AddOn communicates with the Mission Editor.

Generally the AddOn is a "virtual user". Therefore if using the "Graphics-Filters" the Mission Editor-Window should stay on-top and must have the focus, otherwise the results will be unpredictable.

The "Fill-Block" Button is the most usefull and advanced button.. Think of an intelligent assistent who can do a lot of things automatically, things you may never have dreamed from it could be done other then in handwork. Look the picture left. The Fill-Block Button was used to set the decals automatically. Doesn't yet look very natural, but a small rest of handwork will always be there. Please note that these process works on a complicated "Pixel-by-Pixel" Logic. While using normal colour-filters its between 1-4 Seconds on a 1600x1200 Screen, with using the Colour-Collections, it may be a bit slower but should not exceed 1 minute.

 
Pixmap-Buttons

The buttons "Read BM" and Write BM" are experimental and can be used to get external b/w graphic-elements into the map. These elements are read "pixel-by-pixel" and transfered into the Mission Editor. This process is fully automatic, but very timeconsuming. Under several circumstances it can take 3 or 4 hours. While reading the Pixmap, the Window needs to be on top. While writing the bitmap, the System will automatically open a browserwindow and bring it infront of the editor. Don't move the mouse into the mission editor while LIN-Mode is running. The Mission Editor will miss interpret your mousevoe immediately and you get wrong Lines into the result.Best is, you stay in the browser or you do some other work, till the "Write Pixmap" Operation is over. However this button is experimental, better use Ed HM0.

There are three buttons having influence on this process: LMB/RMB, the LIN-button, the MIV (Pixmap-Invert)-button, and you can Load and Save these Pixel-Elements in a custom Fileformat or Load them back into the AddOn. Important to know is, that the "Pixelfactor" (Button 2) is also important for the size of the result in the final map.

The LMB/RMB Button is important for most operations. You can decide wheter you want to use the Left-/ or the right Mousebutton for the operations from the "virtual AddOn-User".

The LIN-Button switches off and on an internal Line-Drawing algorhytm which is currently only used for Read BM/write BM. As these buttons are very slow in operation and experimental, you may not use them often. Most of the Minotaurus maps have been done using these experimental features.

 
Filter-Buttons

The Filter is the most advanced feature of the AddOn.

Basically it simulates a "virtual user" reading theOutput of the renderwindow, then deciding if it should do something at this place - or not. Currently that is exactly what happens.

1. The WinRobots read the pixel-colour below the current pixel.
2. They sent the RGB-Values into a 2-pass Filter.
3. Only if the pixel-colour meets both Filterconditons, then the current place gets a Mouseclick.

The Filter button is mostly used together with the "Fill-Block"-Button, however it can make nice things with the Circle-Button, too.

The Filter-Options can be used for automatic Painting and decalling of the maps, as seen on the left side. Use the Overlays and the following Settings for example (on Savanna): R, G-Grn and CF: 0,60.

Use the heightmap-false colours to decall all points of a specified height-range.

Explanation:

Filter 1 checks the RG and B values of the current Pixel to see which is the highest. If "R" is selected, only Pixels where the "Red value" is higher then the Green and the blue value will pass this Filter.

Filter 2 takes the Colour that was selected with Button 23 (CF: Red for Example) and takes the Range from Button 25 (167,255 for Example) and checks if this  colour value is inside this Range. Only in this case the pixel will pass the second filter.

A pixel to be set must pass both filters.If you are not shure about this stuff, switch both filters off (looks like in the picture left).

When using the GetCol A / B you define a rectangle, the colours within this rectangle were put in the collection and later taken as filter.

 
 
The "Edit-Picture Buttons"

These buttons save work. Mostly you may want to edit the final ".TGA"-File or the exported heightfield into your favourit picture-editor. So thats just one click away now.

Click "Edit HM0" will:
1.  automatically export the heightmap to your desktop as HM0.TGA
2.  automatically "doubleclick" this file then it should enter your favorite picture-editor
3. the Robots will wait till you close the editor program and then
4. automatically import the heightmap into the actual map.

Edit TGA will do nearly the same. With few exception.

It will save your map first into your MP-Folder.
If necessary you may get asked for the map name first.

These buttons are useful for professional map-makers, just try them.

The End Button finally closes the AddOn leaving the Mission Editor open. The AddOn can be placed permanently anywhere on your desktop, therefore its enough you just minimze the Mission Editor once, after that the AddOn switches to "independent mode" therefore it will not stick at the left side of the Mission Editor.
 
This is an example for Auto-Painting/Auto-Decalling

As you can see on the left side, the colour-filters are set to red, so only the parts that are red (Impass-map) get painted using the "Fill-Block" Button.

Though not beeing a very fast operation, you save a lot of handwork.
 
This is the result

Its just an example, done with the 0.85b filters. The actual version is even better. However, you can see at these two pictures how it works.

 
Here is the same map in the overview. The "Auto-Decall Feature" was used.

Also the Landscape was designed with the SME-AddOn.
 
This is the map "Theater I"

Watch the grass floor. It was coloured using the heightfield and the "Block-Fill" Button with a higher number. As a result you see those distributed green paintings on the grass.
 
This is another thing you can do using the SME-AddOn

Using the "Fill-Block" together with the "3D-Painting/Additive"-Setting you can do such effects easily. And Automatically decall them later with a buttonclick.
 
Here the same seen as Overview.

At the right side you see the settings that need to be set together with the proper values in the AddOn to make effects similar to this.
 
You can do quite funny things like on the picture left.
 
This is the Impass-Map of the "Theater I"

This map was fully coloured, designed  (and lots more) using the new AddOn.

 
  AMAZON.DE (deutschsprachig)

AMAZON.COM (worldwide)

Try some of the maps that have been created using this AddOn

Download SME-AddOn (actual version see readme.txt).

Find more maps and things around the game here.