Is there/will there be a map editor? Or a way to edit .grid files?

[EvilDrGanymede]

Is there a map editor in Surviving Mars, or are there any plans to add one? There's only 30 or so different map files in the Maps folder in the Surviving Mars directory structure, which implies there are only 30 or so actual varieties of tile that you can find over the whole planet.

What I have found so far is that the map files are in compressed HPK format similar to that used in Tropico 5 (and can be opened or created using the HPK archiver designed for that, just do a google search for it), and the HPK files contain height.grid, passable.grid, impassable.grid, and type.grid files that are presumably images or arrays or some kind and a couple of lua files, but I can't figure out a way to view, edit or create the grid files.

So does anyone know if there is a way to edit or create those .grid files?

 

[EvilDrGanymede]

The reason I'm asking is because I'd really like to include some actual terrain of Mars rather than the generic tiles that come with the game.

Lots of examples can be found at teh HIRISE site at https://www.uahirise.org/hiwish/maps/dtms.jsp . Every pin on this map is a HIRISE Digital Terrain Model from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. They're on the same kind of scale as the Sectors in the game and show what Mars is really like at those resolutions (each pin has its own image page, if you click on the image on that page you'll see the full picture with a scale bar, usually 100m - 500m long. Or click the images on the links I've picked out below):

this one is near the NW side of Olympus Mons (23.27°N, 223.7°E): https://www.uahirise.org/dtm/dtm.php?ID=PSP_003542_2035

some volcanic cones in Tartarus Montes (25.81°N, 170.5°E): https://www.uahirise.org/dtm/dtm.php?ID=PSP_009675_2060

banded terrain in Hellas Basin: (38.9°S, 54.92°E) https://www.uahirise.org/dtm/dtm.php?ID=PSP_007491_1405

Coprates Chasma (Vallis Marineris floor): (11.5°S, 291.5°E) https://www.uahirise.org/dtm/dtm.php?ID=ESP_030426_1685

Elorza crater central peak (8.75°S, 304.7°E) https://www.uahirise.org/dtm/dtm.php?ID=ESP_021551_1710

So my hope is that if anyone can figure out how to edit the terrain maps in the game then I'd like to try making a tile/sector map from one of these DTMs at some point.