3D Map Editor

[Taran]

We all need 3D Map Editor?

[jbr]

The map editor is alright, the only problem I have with it is that when you make the terrain so low it appears black, you can't see the surface color on to of it.

the displacement map style view works for me as far as editing goes, but I might still like a 3d previewer.

[ZaggyDad]

One problem with the normal one is that you can't easily tell where the water is, and you can't tell what it'll look like in game.

[jbr]

true, water is a big one. Another thing is that if you have terrain lowered all way, it turns black, and you can't see what's on top.

[deathguppie]

a 3d map editor ?  I would rather just do away with maps all together and just create world levels in a modeler.  Having a hight limit of 20 is rediculous.

[AF]

erm, 20?!!?!?!?!? Total Annihilation has one of 256 and TA was released in 1997! For all intensive purposes a depth of 20 is a flat map.

[Baida]

a 3d map editor ?  I would rather just do away with maps all together and just create world levels in a modeler.  Having a hight limit of 20 is rediculous.

That would be simply AWESOME !

[ZaggyDad]

But that would mean there'd have to be even more export/import scripts for Blender... and they're too hard to get working anyway.

[deathguppie]

You don't need a new exporter to create levels with blender.  What needs to happen is a lot of work on the rendering end of things in the glest source.  

Right now the grid system that the maps (and the characters, and objects) use is also how the world is defined.  Each square represents one world unit. This makes it easy to create a map for.  It also makes it easy for units to do path finding, and for placement, and targeting.

Because of the simplistic nature of this system, you cannot create heights much more than is allowed currently without stretching the textures out to the point they look bad.  As well there is currently no way to deal with cliffs or surfaces that are not walkable, so it is probably just as well.

The other issue is that this grid system makes it very difficult to create units of soldiers that can walk, turn and fight as a single group with the current setup.   The problem here is that if you can imagine a grid, where each soldier is placed across the grid in line next to each other, that's fine.  OK, now it is easy to see how those soldiers could be placed 90 degrees to their original location, or even 45 degrees given that their spacing would increase.  Now try to figure out how to place units in line at anything less 45 degrees but more than 0... still can't see it?

try drawing it on a piece of paper, you'll see what I mean.

One more problem is something that you can see in the game currently.  Like how sometimes the characters can walk through the edge of a rock, or how they stand sometimes partly buried in a steep hill.  It is because the bases of the characters are mapped 90 degrees from the grid.  NOT FROM THE MESH THAT YOU SEE.   I know that this is something that almost all games deal with to a certain extent but not nearly as bad as Glest.  you can literally lose some of your characters inside objects that should be impenetrable!

I am trying to currently figure out enough C++ to fix some simple things in the game, but the opengl stuff is way, beyond me.  I only know how the game currently uses it, not how to fix it.

[hailstone]

I have enrolled to uni in a game development course so I hope to make lots of improvements over the next 3 years.  

[erandur]

I'd love to see bigger differences in heightfields, that's for sure... people can just walk from +10 to -10. Making it impossible for me to create my idea of narrow passages, they can just walk through them... Or i'd have to plant an army of stones/trees.
I'd love a L3DT-like system, or even better, a Terragen 2-like system. No more tilesets, only pure meshes.

[erandur]

What about height maps? I've been using them for a year now, on my MMORPG project.

[erandur]

I'd love to see bigger differences in heightfields, that's for sure... people can just walk from +10 to -10. Making it impossible for me to create my idea of narrow passages, they can just walk through them... Or i'd have to plant an army of stones/trees.
I'd love a L3DT-like system, or even better, a Terragen 2-like system. No more tilesets, only pure meshes.

TG2? A 6 day render?! Do like it tho, especially that globe technology, games need that too! And I share that idea of narrow passages...

[ArKabZol]

I think the way the maps are made is fine. Although, the editor could be more GUI friendly. Having a preview that you can choose tileset and maybe undo and redo.

[Idanwin]

The map editor is not that bad it's a bit simple maybe but effective.
The water is a problem though.
It doesn't have to be a 3D map editor.