Guide to Total Conversion Map Modding / Clans of Ireland

[jursamaj]

I've been following along so far, but at this stage I'm stuck. The map files are not cooperative; trying to place images into them doesn't work (option is greyed). The only alternative I could devise is to convert my map files color mode into "indexed", save and load the correct color tables into the new ones. My primary question is if this is good enough, or I should stick strictly to the guide?

Many image editing programs have an option to coerce an image into a given color table. That will work just as well as starting from a vanilla file. The exact method would depend on what image editor you're using. The problem is that if you save the color table out of a vanilla file and load it into your image, it will probably change the colors of what you've drawn rather than rearrange your image to match the color table.

I can think of 2 ways to do it with the Gimp editor:
• 1 Copy the vanila file palette into Gimp. Open your image in Gimp. Convert it to RGB (menu: Image>Mode>RGB). Convert it back to indexed Convert it to RGB (menu: Image>Mode>Indexed…). That will open a dialogue: chose "Use custom palette" and select the palette you imported earlier; untick "removed unused…". Hit "Convert", and your file should now have the proper color table.
• 2 Open your image in Gimp. Select menu Colors>Map>Rearrange Colomap…. This will open a dialogue with all the colors in the palette. Here, you can drag-and-drop the colors into the order of the vanilla file's palette. After it matches, hit "OK" and you file will be adjusted to the proper color table.

As I said, other editors have other commands.

Technically, even the specific colors in the color table don't matter. Color 0 in the terrain.bmp image you quoted is dark green, but you could make it fuschia if you want. But whatever color you made it, that color would represent whatever that green means in the vanilla file. All the game engine cares is that it is color 0. That said, it's probably best to retain the vanilla colors just for clarity.

 

[2nd Mushroom]

Hello all!

I am attempting to make a custom map myself, although I am not following this exact tutorial.
I am experiencing real difficulties with it.

On loading up the game, I get a CTD at "Loading Graphics", just when the bar reaches completion (and normally the game would load up the lobby)

Checking through graphics.log, it is full of messages along the lines of "too small river at 2048,2048
too small river at 2047,2048
too small river at 2046,2048"
etc.
I believe that this causes some sort of overflow leading to the CTDs (although I do not know). I am think that the crash might have something to do with my rivers.bmp file.

When I replace my custom rivers.bmp file with the vanilla one, I get a CTD at the same point, however the message in graphics.log is instead that "mapobject_1 has failed to load"

I have put my rivers.bmp file into a seperate mod with all other normal files as a test. This did not produce the "mapobject_1 has failed to load" issue and loaded up normally (albeit with no rivers on the map.) I am pretty much stumped

I am using GIMP to edit my maps if that is helpful

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[jursamaj]

Hello all!

I am attempting to make a custom map myself, although I am not following this exact tutorial.
I am experiencing real difficulties with it.

On loading up the game, I get a CTD at "Loading Graphics", just when the bar reaches completion (and normally the game would load up the lobby)

Checking through graphics.log, it is full of messages along the lines of "too small river at 2048,2048
too small river at 2047,2048
too small river at 2046,2048"
etc.
I believe that this causes some sort of overflow leading to the CTDs (although I do not know). I am think that the crash might have something to do with my rivers.bmp file.

When I replace my custom rivers.bmp file with the vanilla one, I get a CTD at the same point, however the message in graphics.log is instead that "mapobject_1 has failed to load"

I have put my rivers.bmp file into a seperate mod with all other normal files as a test. This did not produce the "mapobject_1 has failed to load" issue and loaded up normally (albeit with no rivers on the map.) I am pretty much stumped

I am using GIMP to edit my maps if that is helpful

Thanks in advance for any advice!

We'd probably need a copy of your rivers.bmp to be able to help…

 

[2nd Mushroom]

Alright.

I have attached my entire mod folder (although please note that my mod remains incomplete, and i do not have any localisation etc. set up yet.)

I am kind of wondering if it might instead be to do with positions.txt (due to the mapobject errors)

EDIT: I have started again, and has successfully got rid of the mapobject error (for now it seems), but my game still crashes at the same point.




EDIT: I HAVE SOLVED THE PROBLEM. For whatever reason, the CTD was caused by having the "maxprovinces = ..." in default.map being less than 60 (I only have 15 provinces in my map just now). By leaving the maxprovinces = 60, I was able to get the game to load up.

 

[TheWhiteWolfTwitch]

Hello, Im not sure this is the right thread, but it seems to be one of the most active threads for map modding at the moment. So ive only just started mucking around with modding and such and was wondering if anyone could help me out with whats causing this issue with the map?? Im trying to edit The Seven Kingdom mod for my own use and ive hit a very early road block. Ive also included the .mod file also my mod layout is -
replace_path = "history/provinces"
replace_path = "history/titles"
replace_path = "history/wars"
replace_path = "history/characters"
replace_path = "common/landed_titles"
replace_path = "common/cultures"
replace_path = "events"
replace_path = "decisions"

If anyone could help it would be most appreciated. Thankyou.

 

[deadtaker9001]

After fixing a few issues I was able to finally load the map to my project mod, however two things happen. My map is like a ghost sitting on top of Europe, as in my map looks opaque with Europe hiding behind it. And two, when I click to start loading a vanilla scenario (since that's what it gives me) the game ctd's. I don't have photoshop anymore, instead I've been using paint.net for my map creating. Any help would be appreciated, just let me know what else I'd need to provide!

 

[X_Eaglefrost_X]

After fixing a few issues I was able to finally load the map to my project mod, however two things happen. My map is like a ghost sitting on top of Europe, as in my map looks opaque with Europe hiding behind it. And two, when I click to start loading a vanilla scenario (since that's what it gives me) the game ctd's. I don't have photoshop anymore, instead I've been using paint.net for my map creating. Any help would be appreciated, just let me know what else I'd need to provide!

From my experiences, your problem is probably in either the colormap, water colormap, or normal heightmap. The colormaps are probably my bet.

 

[deadtaker9001]

From my experiences, your problem is probably in either the colormap, water colormap, or normal heightmap. The colormaps are probably my bet.

I just changed the normal heightmap to be green. I never made seperate files for colormap/water colormap. Now that it's been a while I don't quite remember. I now have a ghost image of my new map sitting on top of europe, and the scenerio selection screen comes up when I pick a new game. My map is also a little bit bigger than the vanilla map, so the only province I've colored in isn't on the screen at first. Should I make both of the missing maps?
https://imgur.com/Wqwt6Py what it looks like
https://imgur.com/YTR4Kes what I kinda want it to look like

 

[X_Eaglefrost_X]

I just changed the normal heightmap to be green. I never made seperate files for colormap/water colormap. Now that it's been a while I don't quite remember. I now have a ghost image of my new map sitting on top of europe, and the scenerio selection screen comes up when I pick a new game. My map is also a little bit bigger than the vanilla map, so the only province I've colored in isn't on the screen at first. Should I make both of the missing maps?
https://imgur.com/Wqwt6Py what it looks like
https://imgur.com/YTR4Kes what I kinda want it to look like

Have you modified your terrain and topography maps?

 

[deadtaker9001]

I've followed the tutorial for them, create them using the first map style for this tutorial and make a basic one color type for the land and one for water, I havent messed with making mountains, hills, deeper water spots etc. Didnt want to go too far into it to find out it wont work because x thing I did right at the start caused a snowball of problems also why I only have three provinces really, two sea provinces and one land

 

[X_Eaglefrost_X]

Have you made sure all the files you've modified are in the right format (indexes and stuff)?

 

[deadtaker9001]

Have you made sure all the files you've modified are in the right format (indexes and stuff)?

As far as all the map files are concerned, I am 99% sure they are all the right format. After changing the colormap, height map and colormap water files to just being all black I now get all my land being black, my ocean shows like the European colormap water underneath what waters I have. Also near the rivers I get to see foresty terrain, while the rivers float over them. The cool thing is I had to update my terrain file because all of the color rgb's were not right according to the .txt file and turned everything into coastal desert. So now my terrain is all black, but it shows me the different terrain types I colored... I'm getting somewhere! I can select my character, but for some reason my test character is not landed to the test province...

 

[X_Eaglefrost_X]

As far as all the map files are concerned, I am 99% sure they are all the right format. After changing the colormap, height map and colormap water files to just being all black I now get all my land being black, my ocean shows like the European colormap water underneath what waters I have. Also near the rivers I get to see foresty terrain, while the rivers float over them. The cool thing is I had to update my terrain file because all of the color rgb's were not right according to the .txt file and turned everything into coastal desert. So now my terrain is all black, but it shows me the different terrain types I colored... I'm getting somewhere! I can select my character, but for some reason my test character is not landed to the test province...

Does it look something like this?

 

[deadtaker9001]

Does it look something like this?

It do be like that, except now that I fixed some .txt files my character is landed to the test province, but the game still CTD's a minute on that screen.

I'm also trying to do all this on Paint.net because cheap reasons..but discovered I can save color palettes so theres a win

 

[X_Eaglefrost_X]

It do be like that, except now that I fixed some .txt files my character is landed to the test province, but the game still CTD's a minute on that screen.

I'm also trying to do all this on Paint.net because cheap reasons..but discovered I can save color palettes so theres a win

Is that as much as you can see? I think I might know what's going on, if you zoom out a bit.

 

[deadtaker9001]

I was trying to zoom in to show the floating water. I have rivers that aren't showing up on this either

 

[X_Eaglefrost_X]

I was trying to zoom in to show the floating water. I have rivers that aren't showing up on this either

Okay, so looking at that, it definitely looks like an issue with the topography file. Make sure it's in the current format and in grayscale.
The vanilla map in the water definitely looks like it's from you not changing the water colormap.

If I were you, I'd get GIMP (2) to modify indexes, grayscale, etc. It's also free and it means you can actually mod the game without these issues.

 

[Soven]

How does one create a decent looking topology? I've created 3 or 4 maps now using this amazing guide but I always give up when it comes time to add actual mountains, canyons, etc. I dont understand how to do it without manipulating elevation pixel by pixel which would take 15 years. Several of the overhaul mods like GoA, GoT, ME, etc have perfectly accurate topology's and surely they dont all employ professional artists right? Is there some kind of photoshop trick to it?

 

[yenot]

How does one create a decent looking topology? I've created 3 or 4 maps now using this amazing guide but I always give up when it comes time to add actual mountains, canyons, etc. I dont understand how to do it without manipulating elevation pixel by pixel which would take 15 years. Several of the overhaul mods like GoA, GoT, ME, etc have perfectly accurate topology's and surely they dont all employ professional artists right? Is there some kind of photoshop trick to it?

I used Fractal Terrain for the general outline and then Wilbur for finer detales and effects such as erosion. Both are available online from what I remember. Sadly, cannot give more details since it has been some time ago.

EDIT: I did have some general outline before uploading that to Fractal Terrain but that one was very high level.

 

[Soven]

I used Fractal Terrain for the general outline and then Wilbur for finer detales and effects such as erosion. Both are available online from what I remember. Sadly, cannot give more details since it has been some time ago.

EDIT: I did have some general outline before uploading that to Fractal Terrain but that one was very high level.

Thanks for the help. Tried the programs you suggested but they're a little advanced for me. Ill just hold off on the advanced topology for now.​