Map Tool

[Garnier]

Download MapTool

After downloading, extract the MapTool folder, and then run MapTool.exe to update it.

This tool has all of my mapmaking utilities, with options for running them from a batch file.

It includes my random map generator, minimap generator, and as of today a tool for checking terrain bmp files for road errors.

The batch files are in the Work folder.

I have two example uses included:


Road Check Example

Run road_check_example.bat. This will run MapTool.exe from the command line and check the antietam bmp found in the road_check_example folder, and print out the locations where road errors were found. For me it finds errors in these places:

1772, 1768
3490, 2767
2236, 1175
2197, 807
2338, 1618
2529, 1730
2258, 1466

If you use it on another map that has a different csv file, you might need to update the roads.txt file which specifies what grayscale values are used for the centers of roads, since these are what the tool looks at to find errors.

Hopefully this will help mapmakers catch road errors in the future, and maybe to fix antietam.



Random Map Example

Run randommap_example.bat. This will generate a random map terrain bmp and minimap in the randommap_example folder.

There are a lot of random map settings that can be tweaked in the randommap_example.ini file.

[Martin James]

Your random maps are excellent.

Thanks very much for this tool Garnier. And for all your other efforts to support the game.

Martin

[Crikey]

Thanks Garnier.

An innovative & quality product.

Hope to use these soon.

[rudy]

How does it work?

I've clicked on the map tool icon, it updates and then I can choose to click on two buttons; create random map and create minimap. But neither button is clickable.

It doesn't seem to be usable by an idiot.

[Garnier]

It doesn't seem to be usable by an idiot.

It's not, you need to know something about how the maps work, and I gave instructions in the original post.

[Hancock the Superb]

Nice job Garnier! It is good to see a few more maps released to the community.

[Garnier]

Have added a little GUI for the road checker. Run MapTool.exe, click Check Roads for map, and you'll see this.

Enter the road grayscale values from the csv file, and then drag the map bmp into the gray box. It will show you where the roads and road disconnects are, like so:





Then you can go into the bmp file and fix the road errors.

[Marching Thru Georgia]

The road checking tool is very nice. It found a spot I had missed by searching for the errors manually. This new gui interface makes it even better. Great job, Garnier!

[Saddletank]

Fantastic stuff!

Thank you very much.

[Garnier]

@MTG

If you've fixed the antietam bmps, could you post them?

If not I'll eventually do them myself, but I also have to figure out what colors the roads use since the csv files aren't available, and they don't appear to be consistent.