grimjaw
General
Posts: 506
Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2011 5:38 am
Location: Arkansas

ExMap questions

Mon Oct 19, 2015 1:19 am

I am trying to get started with ExMap to edit the or a CW2 map (I have version 2.41 from Phillipe), but I can't even get started. I'm getting some kind of errors, but the response buttons aren't displaying anything (screenshots below). I can use the [x] button at the top right to get past of few of those screens, but it still dies with an exception error. I'm afraid English is my only language, and I can't make heads or tails of the exception error. I'm sure it's something I'm doing wrong or in the way I have the program configured. I have not downloaded a new unedited base map yet (nor do I know where to find one). I'll also post the contents of my exmap.ini file.

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[ATTACH]34912[/ATTACH]
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exmap.ini contents

Code: Select all

MaxTexSize       = 1024
GridSize         = 4
CurrentModPath   = c:\CW2\cw2
IsVGN            = 0

OffsetX          = -8425
OffsetY          = -3376
Transparency     = 0
Blinking         = 0
PointColor       = 16777215
SnapSize         = 8
MouseLineColor   = 16711680
MouseLineSize    = 4
CurrRgnColor     = 8388863
CurrRgnSize      = 4
RgnBorderColor   = 4081485
RgnBorderSize    = 2
BorderFontName   = MS Sans Serif
BorderFontColor  = 255
BorderFontSize   = 8
BorderFontCharSet  = 1
ObjectFontName   = MS Sans Serif
ObjectFontColor  = 16711680
ObjectFontSize   = 8
ObjectFontCharSet  = 1
RgnNameFontName  = MS Sans Serif
RgnNameFontColor  = 0
RgnNameFontSize  = 8
RgnNameFontCharSet  = 1
RgnNameColor     = 16777215
MinimapColor     = 16711680
ExpBorderWidth   = 1
PanelTraCol      = 1
PanelWeaCol      = 1
PanelCivCol      = 1
PanelRegCol      = 0
PanelSprCol      = 1
PanelJmpCol      = 0
PanelDooCol      = 1
PanelROwCol      = 1
PanelCOwCol      = 1
ExpRgnName       = 0
ZoomFactor       = 100
ObjectPointsNb   = 4
ImgSpriteNb      = 8
fnImgSprite0     = Cityscape.bmp
fnImgSprite1     = Countryscape.bmp
fnImgSprite2     = Harbor.bmp
fnImgSprite3     = Pillage.bmp
fnImgSprite4     = Resources.bmp
fnImgSprite5     = Miniflag.bmp
fnImgSprite6     = Siege.bmp
fnImgSprite7     = Rail-Colo.bmp
fnImgSprite8     = Blockade.bmp
fnImgSprite9     = Sans titre48.bmp

MultRgnColor     = 32768
MultRgnSize      = 1
ExportScale      = 30

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JacquesDeLalaing
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Posts: 344
Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2010 11:05 pm
Location: Vienna (Austria)

Wed Nov 18, 2015 9:57 am

I managed to open the program (with only one harmless error-message) by entering the correct filepath in exmap2.ini. So, for example, something like D:\EXMAP\Exmap2\FOO. In the corresponding filepath, you need to have the proper folder-structure. In this case, the folders "GameData" and "New Sprites" plus some bmp-files and the regions.csv go into the folder "FOO".

!Profiler0.txt seems to tell you if something is wrong. It's an error-log.
[CENTER][color="#A52A2A"] S I L E S I A I N R U P T A[/color]
- a work-in-progress mod for Rise of Prussia - [/CENTER]

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JacquesDeLalaing
Colonel
Posts: 344
Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2010 11:05 pm
Location: Vienna (Austria)

Tue Dec 29, 2015 6:18 pm

Some lessons I've been learning:

1. When you extract regions (defs and bmps), exmap sometimes (!) does not extract the bmp of the very last region. You need to extract this region individually. Select it and click on "extract current region".
2. Be carefull when creating new regions. You can't get rid of regions once they're there. Just deleting all the border-points of a region does not mean the region is gone (see nb of defined regions). It's still there in the (invisible) region-index. The obvious thing, which is selecting the region and clicking on "delete reg", will horribly crash my exmap. Don't do it. There is no way to get rid of regions.
3. However, any region that is present in the index needs to be defined (have its borders, etc.). If you leave regions undefined, then you'll get an error message if you try to export your region-borders (export/frontiers), saying something about "indice hors de limite (0)"/index out of bounds. I have not tried if this also produces this error in the game, but I don't want to test it. Every region that is there needs at least one "index" (=point; in this case, the first point is always "0", thus the error message) to count as "defined". When I just define one border-point for the region (not two, no adjacencies to other regions), the error message disappears.
4. If the region-bmps that exmap cuts out are striped in black and white instead of their original colours, then the bmp-type of your map.bmp is wrong. With 32-bit-bmps, I got stripes, with 24-bit-bmps, everything was fine!
5. Not directly related to exmap but with modding maps and terrain: In RoP, don't use/overwrite terrain indices 19 and 20. When I changed the terrain associated with these two terrain-indices, exmap (all terrains were set to type 0, no jumplinks) gives an error message. The terrain-defines I used were fine and worked as soon as I placed them on other terrain-index-numbers. Weird!
6. Note to self: scenario-specific data doesn't seem to be saved by exmap. You can set up everything (road networks, cities, MC, etc.) and export the scenario-file, but if you close and re-open exmap, these informations are all gone, since exmap only reads and remembers map- specific data (region-defs, interlinked with terrain-defs). I might be wrong, but that's my safety rule.
[CENTER][color="#A52A2A"] S I L E S I A I N R U P T A[/color]

- a work-in-progress mod for Rise of Prussia - [/CENTER]

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PhilThib
Posts: 13705
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2005 5:21 pm
Location: Meylan (France)

Mon Jan 04, 2016 8:57 am

Right, Exmap is really a rough "home" tool for which no documentation was ever made, as it was only made for internal usage, not for public... ;)

1. Indeed, happens to me too
2. One way to do is to suppress the files manually in the folder
3. Yup, regions need usually 3-points adjacencies
4. Exmap works only with 24-bit (old tech)
5. The terrain indices are set inside the engine, so you can't use those for custommade terrains...at best you can replace the terrain name by something else at your own risk. #19 and #20 are specials (Beach and Fort) as they are used in combat only, not on map, so they can't be altered.
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