Questions on the map

[aryaman]

Hi
I would like to address in this thread questions regarding the map for the mod.
First question is one game decision.
There are cities that doesn´t exist at the start of the scenario, for instance Tarraco (modern Tarragona, Spain) was created during the war, there was an Iberian city nearby called Cesse. Should I use the Iberian name or the name of the roman city? If the map is going to be used for other scenarios, it would make sense to have the name Tarraco, as later it was a very important city. anyone?

[runyan99]

Place names don't seem terribly important. Whoever controls the city at the start of the scenario, use their name.

Can't you use different cities/names in different scenarios? I know in AACW, Gettysburg is a town in the Gettysburg scenario, but not in the full campaign.

[aryaman]

Yes, that is a solution for each scenario. I didn´t know about Gettysburg (never played that campaign) but I am not sure it is the same, because Tarraco and Cesse are the same city (structure) with different name, while Gettysburg is the only name of the structure in the region.

[Pocus]

Places (aka structures) can be changed from a scenario to another. This is not done in AACW because there is only 5 years, but in BOA you get that, with settlements differing between the FIW and the IW.

[aryaman]

Places (aka structures) can be changed from a scenario to another. This is not done in AACW because there is only 5 years, but in BOA you get that, with settlements differing between the FIW and the IW.

Perfect! then there is no problem in naming the region after the earlier original population and then changing the name of the city (structure) for different scenarios.

[Gray_Lensman]

Perfect! then there is no problem in naming the region after the earlier original population and then changing the name of the city (structure) for different scenarios.

I take it you know how to do this then, or are you asking how to do this? Reason I ask, is that I just figured out how to change two structure names in North Carolina for the v1.08e update.

[aryaman]

I take it you know how to do this then, or are you asking how to do this? Reason I ask, is that I just figured out how to change two structure names in North Carolina for the v1.08e update.

No, in fact I haven´t tried yet, but I was happy that it was possible, so no difficult decission had to be taken for selecting the names and cities that should go in the map,I am still changing the name of the regions, however I am of course interested in knowing how to change structure names, and create new ones. How did you do it?

[Gray_Lensman]

No, in fact I haven´t tried yet, but I was happy that it was possible, so no difficult decission had to be taken for selecting the names and cities that should go in the map,I am still changing the name of the regions, however I am of course interested in knowing how to change structure names, and create new ones. How did you do it?

I'm using ACW for my answers here, as BOA may or may not have some differences, though I suspect not.

In ACW:

A scenario's preexisting structures are automatically created if the "CityLevel" number is anything other than "0". This column is just to the right of the "CityName" column. If you look at any particular AACW_Setup*.xls" file and bring up the "Cities_Controls" tab, you will see the various City names either in regular print or italicized. (Italicizing was done just for contrast, it doesn't do anything of course to the output files)

If the region's "CityLevel" is greater than "0", then a structure will automatically be created with the cooresponding name from the "CityName" column for that same region and placed on the map at the "Coo0" coordinates referred to above.

The Coo0 coordinates place the initial structure base plate, which you can see once you have ExMap.

The Coo1 coordinates determine the "initial?" placement of the unit(s) when they are put in place on the game map. (I say initial, because if you have more than one, you'll see the addt'l ones at other locations obviously)

The Coo2 coordinates determines the small anchor symbol in ExMap, and probably the small "Harbor/Anchorage" in-game. (I say "Probably", because I have not actually checked this out, being busy with the RR work)

Finally, the Coo3 coordinates determine the placement in-game of the small sprite/icons depicting rail-cuts, frozen rivers, etc.

The reason it is important to use ExMap for "official" work is that it not only generates the coordinates referred to above, it also generates the coordinates to the various border points that determine the exact area of the .bmp files that correspond to that .rgn file. A good example of a mismatch has been posted at this link: http://www.ageod-forum.com/showthread.php?t=7330

In that case, it had a properly edited .rgn file for that region, but the .bmp file used was accidentally from an earlier .rgn definition file resulting in the ugly displacement anomaly.

Eventually, I actually plan to go thru all the ACW regions, one last time in ExMap, to double-check all the default region object placements referred to above, as some of them are placed rather willy-nilly within the various little used regions. Little-used meaning they have no pre-existing structures defined yet. I suspect the Coo0 coordinate in that case would be used for the base location of a newly created depot, etc. though I have not had time to experiment with this yet.

As stated earlier, I haven't figured out how to change those coordinates referred to above within ExMap, itself, though there is probably a way. Instead, going slightly against convention, I have been editing those coordinates using NotePad, then immediately going into ExMap to verify, the change is valid, and regenerating the same output file from ExMap at that point. If one of the developers could point out how to actually change the coordinates of a specific point within ExMap, it would actually be a better way of doing it, and save some back and forth time (entering & exiting the ExMap program and/or actual game, which takes even longer)

BTW, the ExMap program as linked to me, did not have an install program. Instead it is just compressed into a folder named "ExMap". For ACW, I placed this folder within the C:/AGEod's American Civil War/ folder (same level as the "ACW" folder). For BOA or whatever, I would suggest doing the same, just to keep things tidy in case you end up working on more than one game with ExMap and don't want to get confused as to which one is which. Wherever you place it, once placed, you will need to manually go into the main "ExMap" folder file list and edit the "ExMap2.ini" file to tell it where to find it's files. It has it's own ...ACW folder within it, so don't let that confuse you. Generally, it just involves changing the drive letter if necessary and/or the base installation folder name.

Also, before starting, in order to be up to date with the .rgn files, I delete the entire Region folder within ExMap's folder structure, "...ExMap/ACW/GameData/Regions", then copy/paste the cooresponding game ...ACW/GameData/Regions folder back into the ExMap location just deleted. This gives you a base starting point in regard to the latest update information for the game you are working with.

One last item, to generate the output files from ExMap, you use the "Ext. Current Region" button. This generates both the .rgn file and a .bmp of the current selected region using the "Map" you currently have loaded into ExMap. Since the Maps are somewhat dated and may not be up-to-date in some areas. I would suggest you "only" use the "Ext. Current Region"

Both of these files will be placed in the ExMap/ACW/GameData/Regions folder. Yes, this includes the graphic .bmp files just generated. The name will always be the base name, meaning if you have generated a "Winterized" .bmp, you will have to manually rename it to append the "Winter_" to the start of the name. This is rather important to remember because you can't just generate the standard map .bmp file, switch maps and then generate the Winterized .bmp file, as they will overwrite each other.

Hopefully, I have given you enough information to start with. If by chance you discover some short-cuts that save some of the time working with it, I would definitely appreciate the feedback, as it will help speed up my constant and continuing use of it in the RR work.

Regards

Gray_Lensman