Questions about the Map editor

[djw2000]

Have been exploring the possibilities of the editor more than the game for the moment (but will be checking out the cities!). A couple of issues arising from that:
1. Is there a detailed manual anywhere for the editor (and I mean detailed), explaining what everything does, like the "Marker" (the pink pillar)?
2. What is/how does the erosion changer work?
3. Is there any way to change the basic colour of the land from sort of parched brown to lush, verdant grass? Or any colour for that matter? (Am working on a couple of maps, both invented - one set in the far north and one which could be anywhere but should have a lot of marshy ground).
4. Is there any way to import the buildings (the landmarks) from the existing cities? Yes having cities dotted with Brandenburg Gates etc will look a bit daft, but hey, this is only Day 2 of release and we have to start somewhere!
5. Any chance of someone wanting to go out and create placeable motorway interchanges?
Oh, and the XL map size is VAST....(endless possibilites, yay!)

[Marnit]

1. Not that i know and i do not know what the marker does... (but my current guess is that it might have something to do with things like airplaines and trains)
2. The erosion changer can be aplied by putting it over the land and clicking, then moving the mouse up or down
3. The erosion changer can change landscape from barren brown to normal green
4. On selecting the country you change 2 things: the names of the people in your city, and wich landmark you can place (its under landmarks in buildings)
5. Might be usefull, yes...

[djw2000]

Ok thanks for that. Got to try the erosion changer then. Didn't seem to do anything for me, but will look again. But with the landmarks, I meant to have the landmarks from all 4 countries. My current concept (one I drew out on paper a long time ago) is to have two cities facing each other across a large bay with the "old city" part each containing a landmark of some kind. I guess I'm just thinking too far too fast, hehe!

[djw2000]

Nope, the erosion changer doesn't change anything for me. I click, hold down and move the mouse up and down, or try pressing the arrow keys, or PgUp or PgDn...nothing. What am I doing wrong here?

[djw2000]

Help someone?

[Kidon]

I just want to know how to make water areas in the editor, I can't figure it out...

[djw2000]

That I can help you with. Lower an area using the "Up/Down" tool, then select the water tool (under the "Trees" section) and just click in that area. I then simply expand that with the Level Ground tool. A useful height tip by the way is to press "Home", which will show you the contours. Hope that helps...
Now, if only someone could explain how to get green grass rather than parched earth...

[Co_Karoliina]

As for the manual, there isn't a detailed one available, sorry! We were working on the editor until a really late date and by then the manual was already translated and printed. We were aiming to make the basic functions of the editor very intuitive, but it has some tricky parts still.

The erosion tool basically erodes the grass away. It is used by selecting the tool, the size of the area you want affected and then pressing down your left mouse key and moving the mouse away from you. To make the ground less eroded, move the mouse towards you. Currently there are no other ground colors than the green and eroded brown, but the decorations make a huge difference. There's special grass that can be placed with the add or remove trees tool, just select the grass instead of a tree.

At the moment you can only add one landmark to a city, sorry! We have tied the landmarks to the language set that contains the names, so there's no option to add more landmarks. You could maybe use some other distinguishable building to work as the landmark?

As for number five, the motorway interchanges can really be a pain, I myself was really annoyed by them while doing level design. There's really no easy way to do them at the moment, but my tip would be to do them early on so you are sure to have enough space around them. Later on it's trickier since you have to maneuver around other city structures.

Water can be added by first molding a lower area with the terrain tools, then selecting "Toggle water" and clicking on the lower terrain. That should fill your basin with water. Clicking again with the tool removes the water.

[mippzon]

Maybe a wiki page or similar could be used for users/devs to create some kind of manual for CiM level editor?

[djw2000]

Hm, thanks for that (great to see you are getting involved). Still it changes nothing. However, I see that Helsinki has the ground which looks like there has been a bush fire as well, and am starting to wonder if it's possible my graphics drivers, particularly as there is a vicious bug which causes tree textures to expand, filling the screen, as if there is a mass of birds flying across my screen.

[djw2000]

Right, I have redownloaded and reinstalled. Problem solved (regarding scorched earth!). And so now onto the creation of a mega map for people to enjoy...

[co_martsu]

Hm, thanks for that (great to see you are getting involved). Still it changes nothing. However, I see that Helsinki has the ground which looks like there has been a bush fire as well, and am starting to wonder if it's possible my graphics drivers, particularly as there is a vicious bug which causes tree textures to expand, filling the screen, as if there is a mass of birds flying across my screen.

Could you tell which graphic card you have and if you have the latest drivers? Sounds like there's something fishy going on... Also is changing the graphics settings making any difference?

[djw2000]

I have a GeForce 9600 GT and with the latest drivers yes. It's all working beautifully again now. You really have made a thing of wonderment here. Only question remaining for me is: What does the "Mark" (the pink bar) actually DO? Obviously it's important, but how do I use it? Oh yes, and how do I REMOVE any ground textures (like paving) if I decide that I am not happy with it (and I mean after saving, reloading and then changing stuff) - obviously Unod would do this normally, but if I am reloading? The rest is now pretty self-explanatory. I wildly underestimated how big the XL size is - but that's fine, having two reasonably sized towns with bits of ribbon development between them and a few villages could be an interesting challenge (assuming I finish adding all the detail before the end of the year!). I like the Easter Egg of Colossal Airlines too for the hangar . You should be justifiably proud of what you've done here!

[co_martsu]

I have a GeForce 9600 GT and with the latest drivers yes. It's all working beautifully again now. You really have made a thing of wonderment here. Only question remaining for me is: What does the "Mark" (the pink bar) actually DO? Obviously it's important, but how do I use it? Oh yes, and how do I REMOVE any ground textures (like paving) if I decide that I am not happy with it (and I mean after saving, reloading and then changing stuff) - obviously Unod would do this normally, but if I am reloading? The rest is now pretty self-explanatory. I wildly underestimated how big the XL size is - but that's fine, having two reasonably sized towns with bits of ribbon development between them and a few villages could be an interesting challenge (assuming I finish adding all the detail before the end of the year!). I like the Easter Egg of Colossal Airlines too for the hangar . You should be justifiably proud of what you've done here!

You can name places (parts of the city, plazas, parks..) with the marker. Place it where you want and give the area a name (the mark is not visible in the sandbox game mode, just the name is showing). Ground textures can be deleted pressing the right mouse button. I hope this helps.

And thanks for the positive feedback!

[djw2000]

Too right it helps! That is AMAZING! Thanks for making my 2011

[labatt50]

It IS an amazing game! I DLed it from Steam but can't find the game manual. (In fact, Steam DLed CIM in the Civilization 5 folder). Can someone please give me a link to the manual? Thanks.

[djw2000]

It should be in the package you installed.

[djw2000]

I have another question. Is there any way to lengthen road names? I remember some of them in the Open Beta were quite long. However, I can't seem to make mine more than about 15 characters....

[labatt50]

Thanks for getting back to me, djw. The manual DIDN'T download with the package. I even did a full search of my 2 HDs. I also tried the CiF PDF file through Google but all I got was spoof sites. Any other thoughts?

[Kidon]

Thank you to djw2000 and Co_Karoliina for the help with the water. Very obvious, once you think about it.

Maybe in the future CO could consider having an import tool. Railroad Tycoon 2 used to have it, back in the days.
I mean the possibility to import a bitmap with pre-determined colors for water, heights, and possibly even different type roads.

Also useful imho, would be a x-y-position indicator for the cursor, so you'd know where you were, compared to a grid map you've made before.

I really like the game so far, by the way. It's not perfect, but it's loads of fun :-)