[Idea] OpenRA MapCreator
Posted: Thu May 31, 2018 11:52 am
The idea
In the objective of facilitating the process of mapmaking, I've came across the idea of a tool that could generate a map from a bitmap image.
The idea was inspired from this 2014 work from "umairazfar" : viewtopic.php?f=83&t=16890
He developed a tool that generates some assets from ASCII code. Unfortunately the Dropbox links to the software are dead. I have no idea how his code works or would work.
But still, let's take this idea further : instead of writing ASCII code, we could use drawing applications (Photoshop, Illustrator, and equivalents), to create small bitmap maps, where each pixel matches a cell in the map.
Of course, the generated map would be coarse and very basic, and manual work is needed from the mapmaker. Nevertheless, the basic structure of the map would be ready, and the needed work would be only polishing and decorating.
Usefulness
The real advantage of such a process is to be able to use all the tools of modern drawing software, without needing to implement them into the map editor. It would include :
- Drawing tools : Brushes (draw surfaces) / Fill / ...
- Measurement tools : Grid / Guides / Measure / ...
- Structural tools : Symmetry / Copy / Rotation / Scale / ...
The latter would be some the most useful functions, as mapmakers often come across the issue of needed symmetry, re-scaling the map, ...
Prototype
Using any software of his choice, the mapmaker creates a bitmap image, of the size of the desired map.
Predefined colors (*need to define a palette, for various software) would match different assets of the map editor, such as :
Resources and mines / Water / River / Cliffs / Roads / Trees / Player spawns / Capturable / ... (non exhaustive list)
For each category, the importer will use the most simple sprite available (cf roads, river, ...). Then, the mapmaker will have to polish it all, and choose the sprites he desires.
BMP image :
Scaled for understanding :
Theoritical result :
(disregard the different capturables : it should be the same asset (Oil Derrick for instance) )
In the objective of facilitating the process of mapmaking, I've came across the idea of a tool that could generate a map from a bitmap image.
The idea was inspired from this 2014 work from "umairazfar" : viewtopic.php?f=83&t=16890
He developed a tool that generates some assets from ASCII code. Unfortunately the Dropbox links to the software are dead. I have no idea how his code works or would work.
But still, let's take this idea further : instead of writing ASCII code, we could use drawing applications (Photoshop, Illustrator, and equivalents), to create small bitmap maps, where each pixel matches a cell in the map.
Of course, the generated map would be coarse and very basic, and manual work is needed from the mapmaker. Nevertheless, the basic structure of the map would be ready, and the needed work would be only polishing and decorating.
Usefulness
The real advantage of such a process is to be able to use all the tools of modern drawing software, without needing to implement them into the map editor. It would include :
- Drawing tools : Brushes (draw surfaces) / Fill / ...
- Measurement tools : Grid / Guides / Measure / ...
- Structural tools : Symmetry / Copy / Rotation / Scale / ...
The latter would be some the most useful functions, as mapmakers often come across the issue of needed symmetry, re-scaling the map, ...
Prototype
Using any software of his choice, the mapmaker creates a bitmap image, of the size of the desired map.
Predefined colors (*need to define a palette, for various software) would match different assets of the map editor, such as :
Resources and mines / Water / River / Cliffs / Roads / Trees / Player spawns / Capturable / ... (non exhaustive list)
For each category, the importer will use the most simple sprite available (cf roads, river, ...). Then, the mapmaker will have to polish it all, and choose the sprites he desires.
BMP image :
Scaled for understanding :
Theoritical result :
(disregard the different capturables : it should be the same asset (Oil Derrick for instance) )