Waterdeep screenshot feedback request

Wynna · Post by **Wynna** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 7:39 pm

Thanks for the permissions. I've had a look at the draft and can follow it, but I'll wait to hear from darrenhfx in this thread on how he goes with an actual run-through before attempting any fiddling for publication. Meantime, could you write something on that introduction page summarizing the need for this procedure and why this procedure rocks/saves time and effort?

Thanks Indio, this is good for ALFA on multiple levels.

danielmn · Post by **danielmn** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 10:13 pm

Indio FTEW!

darrenhfx · Post by **darrenhfx** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 10:15 pm

May be best not to wait for me. I'm still working this through at the photoshop level. If you want this method to be available at a beginner level I would suggest mentioning size, scale and format of the original maps that are imported into YATT. Try to dumb it down for the uninitiated. If you want this to be for people who have experience using these tools I'd say that it's fine.

indio · Post by **indio** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 12:28 am

Thanks Darren.

Here's a new version with more detail, new layout and better internal logic...with any luck.

http://www.thesilvermarches.net/ALFA/al ... index.html

darrenhfx · Post by **darrenhfx** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 10:37 pm

Report from the n00b's eye view:

I'm getting closer to figuring this all out. The two things that are slowing me down at present are getting the dimensions of the various maps set up properly and becoming more adept at defining the gradations for the texture maps.

When I get anything near decent created, I'll post it.

indio · Post by **indio** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 10:46 pm

Try a single map first for heighmap and texturemap sizes...the tables are on the 3rd or 4th page.

darrenhfx · Post by **darrenhfx** » Fri Dec 14, 2007 2:24 am

Welcome to Shadowdale. heh
The scaling is off but I was pleased to be able to see anything at this point. What you're looking at is Central Shadowdale, placeables added to give an idea of scale. Judging by the width of the road if I was to get it about 75% wider it would be pretty close to being proper scale. More tinkering to come.

*edit*
Steps to get to this point:

- scanned a coloured map in .png format
- converted the coloured map to black and white
- imported the map as a single area
- set heightmap max and min values to zero
- defined 2 textures to be applied to the map; one black, one white

indio · Post by **indio** » Fri Dec 14, 2007 2:44 am

What you're doing is actually very important darren, and I congratulate your success. It's exactly the right signal we need to be sending, and you're clearly doing a great job of it.

dunniteowl · Post by **dunniteowl** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 3:11 pm

Firstly, I just would like to say, WOW!

Unfortunately many of the attached screenies don't show up anymore. Have they been pulled? It would be really nice to have a place to show all these off as examples of the work that can be done.

I have taken the liberty of snipping relevant portions of this thread into a wordpad document. If it's alright with you, I'd like to present that information (including your link to the guide) with all appropriate Kudos and mention of names over to the Citadel.

I feel quite certain that this thing you have figured out is going to quite literally explode the abilities and progress of module creation overall, whether it be for MP/PW, MP/DM or SP types. This, to me, is possibly one of the single most important time saving advances to area building that I have YATT seen. (pun intended.)

I would like this information to get sanity checked a bit more by folks at the Citadel. Also, as something of an objective third party (yeah, right) I would like to look over the guide and suggest changes that might make things more readable to the masses at large. Would that be okay?

Once again, I just have to say, WOW! Indio, you rock, man. Just solid as can be.

Let me know here or at the Citadel or you can PM/email me, even on the NWN2 Forums over at the Large Watering Hole known as Bio-Sidian by many.

I would really like to have other folks be able to use these tools and the instructions throughout the Community. As far as Area building goes, I think this will go a long way to making more modules faster, improving the look and number of viable PWs and increase overall participation in the Community. That's where I come from and I hope you all can see that this would not only be good for the Community, it would also be a brightly colored feather in ALFA's cap.

Thanks and let me know your point of view on these questions/comments.

My best regards (and tipped cap too,)
dunniteowl
Admin/Moderator, NeverWinter Citadel Project
http://nwcitadel.forgottenrealmsweave.org/index.php
NWN2 Forums Moderator and Community Representative
AME Voting member (Academy for Modding Excellence)

Wynna · Post by **Wynna** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 3:32 pm

Posting over at the Citadel would be great, dunniteowl. Thanks! Any wider distribution, is, of course, welcome. Keep in mind that I already posted it to the Vault, to all the members of the Admin Roundtable and on the Obsidian NWN Builders Forum and there was a wide acceptance of it, but otherwise...go for your life.

indio · Post by **indio** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:18 pm

http://www.alandfaraway.org/phpbbforum/ ... hp?t=37604

Try that thread for screens dunniteowl.

You can change, add, modify whatever you like, but credit the work to the ALFA builders if it's all the same. And thanks for your kind appraisal. Hope it's useful to you.

peterdin · Post by **peterdin** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:45 pm

Looks great and a lot of good work has been done here.
One remark though, it would be good to look into the possibility of use the scaling in YATT. The conversion of pixels to tiles and heigthtmaps is errorprone.

Here's some screenshots of a something I have been at the end of last year.
Its a screenshot of googleearth of an old city in holland (if your curious, fly to ""heusden, the netherlands" in google earth), I just was curious if it could be translated to a NWN2 area.
I have used the heightmap for the city walls.
Textureing is done using texture maps of yatt and layes in photoshop
All this is done on 1k2 image (both heightmap and texture maps) and scaled to a 32*32 map when importing with YATT

The input

the output

indio · Post by **indio** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 10:16 pm

Nice.

Scaling was introduced into the latest version of YATT I think, just released after Waterdeep was finished, but I haven't looked in to what its primary application is. Does it allow you to enter any input and rescale it to fit and desired area size?

What would be great is if someone with your engineering skills and understanding peterdin were to take up YATT and learn its inner secrets for future conversion projects.

Teric neDhalir · Post by **Teric neDhalir** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 10:44 pm

Nice image PeeDee.

dunniteowl · Post by **dunniteowl** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 2:18 am

Oh thanks for the information about the distribution. Sigh, I seem to alway show up just after fashionably late. In any case, I will still post to the Citadel and open those gates as well, with all appropriate mentions of Indio's and others' works (*I note he credits Tazpn, Sidefx and Adinos for some of their tools, if memory serves...) In any case, I will be sure to research all appropriate authors and credit their efforts. It's kinda hard to be a Community Rep and not do that.

I will also post where the other places and the Vault location for this. It seems that the folks over at the Citadel weren't aware of this. Of course, during the time things were hot and hectic, our site decided to 'break' for missing persons.

Looking forward to seeing all the coolness that this setup will provide to the Community.

best regards,
dunniteowl

A Land Far Away

Waterdeep screenshot feedback request

Long Time Away from A Land Far Away... Citadel's here...

Always Late to the Party...