Updating TripleA maps

Yesterday I finally learnt how to work with the Map Creator tool provided with the TripleA software.

I managed to fix a seazone error that was reported in the Sourceforge bug tracker.

This is what I did (with the help of the map_and_map_skin_making_overview.html to be found in the docs-directory of the TripleA-installation) :

• update the basetiles map to be found in the map’s directory
• recreate the relief map from the relief tiles
• update the relief map to match the (updated) bastiles map
• create the (new) base tiles
• create the (new) relief tiles
• modify the polygons.txt
• modify the centers.txt
• modify the name_place.txt
• modify the place.txt

and of course modify the game.xml to be found in the games-directory of the map-folder. Here I changed the map version information and the territory connections of the involved seazones.

I’m listing this to encourage other TripleA users to give it a try. It is easier than I thought before trying it out.

So the map update is ready and done (unless I miss something).

It works flawlessly in my local TripleA-installation.

What I do not know is what has to be done to make it available for others for example via the TripleA-map-download feature.

@Veqryn:

…
if you are updating an old map, please just zip the files that changed and upload it directly to the triplea dev forum
(do not include in the zip the files/folders that did not change please)

What about the base tiles/relief tiles? Complete folders or only the ones that were affected by the fix - but how to figure them out?

@Veqryn:

folder for those is enough.

how did you modify the relief tiles?  you had no access to the original art….

With the Tile Image Reconstructor  :-)

In fact it was only one border line to change.
First I changed it in the bastile map, adding a new line some pixels to the right of the old line in pure black and then erazing the old line.
Then I reconstructed the relief-art. In paint.net I added a new layer to the base map pasting the relief art to it. Then I copy-pasted the new border line to the relief art. From the relief art I removed the old border line using the clone-stamp.

Then I ran through the Map Builder tools such as polygon grabber etc. to implement the changes to the relevant txt-files.

Just take a look at the files to see the results.