MapUtility Information Thread

[Jamie550]

What is MapUtility?
MapUtility is a set of tools that allows you to edit the maps of HoI, Victoria, and CK.

MapUtility consists of four parts.
MapViewer allows viewing of the map.
MapExtractors allows for extraction of the map into image files, to allow user editing.
MapMaker takes the edited extracted images and puts them back into the map files.
ObjectEditor makes moving objects (army sprites, ports, etc.) around easier.


IMPORTANT
This thread will be used to provide information about MapUtility.

It is preferred that you don't post here, but in one of the main threads here or here

Have problems? Read this first

By having a thread dedicated to information access, it will be easier to point to specific posts, each with their own information.

[Jamie550]

Download the latest MapUtility files here.

Have problems? Read this first

Downloads
Latest beta version (1.2.5): Here
Latest release version (1.2.1): Here

[Jamie550]

Discussion Threads
HoI2
Victoria
CK

Other threads
RSS Feed
MapUtility Information Thread
Download Center
Links
Instructions for use

[Jamie550]

Very helpful tutorial by Hannibal Barca2 (Made for HoI, but applicable for other games as well


Installation

Each program can be in its own folder, or they can all be together in the same folder.
Benefits of sharing a folder include sharing files.

File Locations
-MapExtractor, MapViewer, MapMaker, and ObjectEditor are all located in the root folder
-CoreLib.dll and (optional) ids.csv is located in the root folder
-settings.txt, objects.txt, and (optionally) adj-mod.txt are located in the CK, Victoria, or HoI folders; choose the appropriate folder for the game that you are editing.

File Requirements
The listed files for each program must be in the same folder as that program.

MapExtractor
settings.txt
CoreLib.dll

MapViewer
settings.txt
CoreLib.dll

MapMaker
settings.txt
CoreLib.dll
adj-mod.txt (Needed for HoI, rest optional)
images.txt (Must be created by hand or by MapViewer/MapExtractor)
ids.csv (Optional, but highly recommended)

ObjectEditor
settings.txt
CoreLib.dll
objects.txt

Setup
Set the GamePath in settings.txt to something appropriate

MapViewer
Purpose
To view the game maps. Can also extract images, but using MapExtractor is easier.

Usage
Simply open the program.

Options
Zoom: Specifies the lightmap to view. The option on the left has the least detail.
Use Colorscales: If checked, will look like the map in game, except with different colors. If not checked, will be the base province id map.
Show Tiles: If checked, will show the tile overlay (In HoI, this is rivers; in Victoria and CK, it is the terrain map).
Show Grid: If checked, will show a grid over the map.
Colorscales: If using colorscales, this will select the colorscales to display.
Go: This must be pressed for most changes in the options to occur.

MapExtractor

Purpose
The purpose of MapExtractor is to extract the map files into editable images. This used to be done by MapViewer (and still can be), but is simpler as it requires no commandline or anything complex.

Usage
Simply open the program. It will do its job and then close. Optionally, you can customize map extraction. For details, invoke MapExtractor with the argument -help

The extracted maps and images.txt will be in the folder exported maps.

MapMaker

Purpose
To create the map files, given images describing the map

Pre-usage preparation
See the MapMaker specs, in the same folder as this file

Usage
Simply do steps 1 - 6, in that order.
Then copy the contents of the map folder to the game folder.

ObjectEditor

For help, see Downloaded folder\Information\ObjectEditor.rtf.

Troubleshooting

[Jamie550]

Basic
Do you have .NET Framework 3.5?
Do you have CoreLib.dll in the same folder as MapViewer and MapMaker?
If you have Vista, do you have the game folder not in Program Files?
Do you have a recent version (i.e. one still up for downloading)?


How to report errors
Report
A) If you have .NET Framework 3.5?
B) If you put CoreLib.dll in the same folder as the applications
C) Your OS
D) Any error message that comes up
E) The contents of log.txt
F) A detailed description of what you were doing
G) What version you have
H) The contents of settings.txt
I) What game's map you are changing

NOTE: If asked to upload files, please use a reliable file upload site like Mediafire, not slow servers like Rapidshare's with unreadable captchas

[Jamie550]

Map Design
Q: What font does HoI/Victoria/CK use?
A: Victoria uses a font called Lafayette. Here is an example.
HoI uses Trixie Plain, available here
CK font is still unknown. For now it is possible to copy letters from other places on the map.

Q: Can I add new provinces?
A: There is a MAX_PROVINCE limit. But if there are currently extra unused provinces, then yes. You could also move provinces around, merge provinces, and remove other provinces to free up province ids.

Q: Can I fix all the wrong names on the map?
A: Yes. Since the names are just a grayscale image, it is editable.

[Jamie550]

New adjacent.tbl files often causes a milestone error in HoI.

The current prevailing theory is that HoI requires that there be exactly 14860 connections. Any more or less will cause the error.

The number of connections can be controlled by changing adj-mod.txt as needed.

If you have any information, please report it in the HoI thread.