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Map_Edit_Doc
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1989-11-06
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BattleFort 3.0
(c) Copyright 1989
by Ralph H. Reed
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Map_Editor Documentation
The Map Editor is very easy to use if you are familiar with a
wordprocessor or drawing program. Everything is menu driven and mouse
controlled. The program will come up with a title bar and an array of 30 x
21 Plain hexes. It will display the current draw mode in the upper right
hand corner, Insert, and the current draw function and hex type in the upper
left corner, Draw (Light Forest). There are three main menus, "Project",
"Function" and "Hexes".
The "Project" menu takes care of all of your file handling. The "Clear"
function will clear the screen. You will be asked if you want to clear to
the current hex type or to Plain hexes. The "Load" option allows you to load
a previous map file and edit it. The "Save option lets you save your current
map to disk for use in the BattleForce game. I'll talk about the
"Parameters" option a little later. The "Delete option lets you
delete map files on your disk. "About" brings up a small window a tells you
about the author, me. "Quit" lets you exit from the Map Editor and back to
WorkBench.
The "Functions" menu is the heart of the program. There are two modes of
drawing hexes, Insert and Overwrite. Insert mode will only draw hexes onto a
Plain Hex. It will not draw over any other type of hex. Overwrite mode does
just as the name implies, it will overwrite, or draw on top of, any hex type.
Using these modes you can draw in your mountains and lakes and the Insert the
forests around them. These modes apply to ALL draw functions, including the
fills. You can toggle between Insert and Overwrite mode with the
"Insert/Overwrite" option. The current mode is listed in the upper right
hand corner of the title bar.
The "Draw" function uses the current hex type and fills in hexes as you
move the mouse across the screen with the left button down. The "Seed Area"
function will draw a random group of the current hex type, starting at the
hex you select by clicking with the left button.
The "Grow Cluster" function is a little difficult to understand. It
takes the current hex and seed a small area starting at the hex you select
with the mouse. Then it check to see if there is a lesser hex of the same
type, Light Forest down from Heavy Forest. If there is, it will surround the
starting seed with that hex and look for the next smaller hex type. The net
affect to to grow mountain ranges, lakes and forests. You need to try it to
really appreciate it. Remember you draw modes.
The "Fill" option has four sub-items, "Area", "Percent", "Gradient-Top
Down" and "Gradient-Bottom Up". The "Area" fill will start at the select hex
and change all connected hexes of the same type to the current hex type.
Remember that you can only change Plain hex types in Insert mode. The
"Percent" fill mode works on the screen as a whole. It will check ALL
remaining Plain hexes and change the specified percentage of them to the
current hex type. "Gradient" mode does the same thing as "Percent" fill, but
not evenly. "Top Down" starts at the top and 100% and works down the screen
until it is 0% about half way down. "Bottom Up" is just the reverse. This
allows you to have Snow fields in the north and Sand deserts in the south.
The UnDo will restore the last draw command you executed. It works on all
draw modes and functions.
The "Parameters" option in the "Project" menu (remember, I told you I'd
talk about it later) allows you to change the way some of the draw functions
work. It will bring up a window with five slider gadgets. The first gadget
allows you to set the maximum size of the "Seed Area" function. The next
gadget allows you to set the maximum size of the first seed in a cluster.
The next gadget sets the percent fill in the "Percent Fill" function. The
last two set how far down or how far up the screen the "Gradient Fill"
function will go.
The last menu is the "Hexes" menu. The five menu items in this menu all
work the same. The bring up a small window under your mouse and display
various types of hexes. To change the current hex type just click on the new
type with the mouse. There is a selection of "Open Hexes", "Woods Hexes",
"Hill Hexes" and "Water Hexes". There is nothing in the "Other Hexes". This
is for future expansion.