Creating a custom map

[unmerged(97891)]

Hi,

I saw someone did a custom map (presumably for a mod) for Game of Thrones, creating Westeros.

I would like to create my own custom map (not a true mod, just creating a map for a RP game). Can anyone show me where there are instructions, or what programs I use, or where I can find this program?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time.

 

[Derrick Moore]

you will need photoshop 7 and the nvidia legacy plugins.

http://developer.nvidia.com/legacy-texture-tools

 

[unmerged(97891)]

I have Adobe CS 5. I think that's the most recent version.

Thank you for your help. After I have installed all of that, what do I do?

 

[Cheexsta]

I haven't made any maps for CK2 yet, but I'm in the process of making a new map from scratch for EU:Rome, and after a brief look the map files seem very similar.

Programs and tools I use:

• Image editing: GIMP and more recently Paint.net. Both are free programs with similar functionality to Photoshop. Make sure that when you save a .bmp map file that it has the exact same "bits per pixel" count (usually 24bits or 8bit indexed) as the vanilla file. Not doing so will make the game crash at startup.
• Text editing: EditPad Lite (it has a very good Regular Expressions search engine). Notepad will work in a pinch, though.
• CSV file editing: OpenOffice.org Calc (MS Excel presumably works just as well), though you have to be careful with how the program reads/writes .csv files. You can also use a text editor for this, but I find a speadsheet is easier to edit for mass modding.
• Map Checking Tool for EU3. It's quite old and won't work "as-is" for later games like CK2, but I found for Rome that simply blanking out your positions.txt file (temporarily, of course!) and adding Terra Incognita with the appropriate RGB value to definitions.csv (shouldn't cause any problems if you leave it there) at least shows you when you've got undefined provinces in provinces.bmp and wrong RGB values in definitions.csv.

As for the actual method, you can look up guides for modding EU3 maps for a general idea of how to do it, but CK2 maps will have some differences. Your best bet would be to play around with an existing map and get the hang of it before making your own from scratch.

 

[The_Blind_One]

Well I can make minor adjustments and add things to the vanilla or the maps made by other people without any problems.

but my own map for some odd reason won't show up.

I only see a vast ocean with the blueprint of an original europe still on the sea floor.

I've made a topology map, province map, rivers map, world map height, terrain map...but still my map doesnt show up and all I see is a big blueprint of europe :/

maybe someone with more experience can tell me whats going on...

also can I make a map that doesnt include topology and heights?

 

[Baneslave]

The_Blind_One: You have to modify colormap_dds and colormap_water.dds in the map / terrain folder to get rid of blueprint of Europe.

You most likely saved one of files in wrong bit size and caused some corruption. It is also possible that your topology values are too low, making everything underwater.

And yes, you can make map without topology. (Well, I would suggest having two heights at least, for and and sea.)

 

[The_Blind_One]

aye thanks, I didn't know about the colormap thing until yesterday, it was really frustrating the hell out of me that I couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. I'll give it another try this weekend and see if I can make something nice

 

[The_Blind_One]

Okay I got my map up and running, I got everything to work properly except for my heightmaps which are a bit screwed...I mean my farmlands look like spikey hills haha...but everything's there and it didn't crash on me.

Now I created a couple of provinces just to test the map out.

The problem is...I can't select any of my provinces when I try to start the game...does it have to do with my heightmaps?

it will shows perfectly well the kingdoms and independant realms I set up with colors and names and what not...although there is just 1 king/ruler for testing purposes at the moment. Could that be the reason why I cant start the game?

urg its bugging me so bad, this is my second weekend working on it.

I am so close to getting a working map but this last thing is really bugging me >.<

EDIT:

After some more testing I am fairly certain it has nothing to do with the heightmap or the amount of characters in the game :/

Can someone plz help me?

 

[Baneslave]

Did you modify those title's history to give them a owner?

 

[The_Blind_One]

Did you modify those title's history to give them a owner?

Ofcourse,

I only have 2 character at the moment tho and no pope or anything like that, but I don't think that would matter either.

(I only have titles for 5 counties, 1 duchy and 1 kingdom implemented and split between 2 characters of different dynasty, and left the rebels and pirates alone but present in the landed_titles.txt)

I loaded up the map with the original data for provinces from vanille ck2 and it works fine. I can even select provinces that are in the water lol

But when I use my own province data, the map loads but I can't select a ruler or start the game...

odd...

EDIT:

I discovered what was wrong after a moment of insight, I didn't assign the proper baronnies in the province file compared to the landed titles...guess my guys weren't lords of any capital or barony and thus weren't selectable.

So now I can select and press play!

...

and then it crashes again

urg...more work :<

EDIT2:

Huzzah! I have done it!


It is alive!

Alive!

It crashed because of game still loading the history file of the orignal ck2 on start and that caused problems apperantly.

Replacing the history file entirely solved the issue by replacing the path in my mod directory to say replace_path: "history/etc".

Everything is fully operational

Modding will continue!

 

[Robert Wyatt]

The_Blind_One: You have to modify colormap_dds and colormap_water.dds in the map / terrain folder to get rid of blueprint of Europe.

You most likely saved one of files in wrong bit size and caused some corruption. It is also possible that your topology values are too low, making everything underwater.

And yes, you can make map without topology. (Well, I would suggest having two heights at least, for and and sea.)

Depends if he wants to use the in game textures, I've created a map and made it in the style of a "old textured" map as opposed to live action after difficulty getting terrain etc working.

 

[The_Blind_One]

Depends if he wants to use the in game textures, I've created a map and made it in the style of a "old textured" map as opposed to live action after difficulty getting terrain etc working.

Aye indeed, I too have gone the same way

I opted for a more classical paperstyle worldmap, I think it will fit better with my more fantasy setting like world map.

On another note, can the map size be different than 2048x2048?

As it looks now, some kingdoms are gonne have some pretty small provinces to fit it all in

(too bad we can't play republics tho, I had some great ideas for republics on my map, maybe I'll mod that in another way )

 

[Grell74]

Depends if he wants to use the in game textures, I've created a map and made it in the style of a "old textured" map as opposed to live action after difficulty getting terrain etc working.

I found that it looked better for me too, so I let the textures of a handdrawn map in the colormap.dds show through and blanked out the atlas0.dds terrain files. Its looking damn pretty

 

[Baneslave]

Can you post a picture?

 

[Grell74]

Here are some. I have not altered the provinces.bmp yet and havent done the trees.bmp or rivers either. Its mostly the background colormap.dds coming thorugh as the terrain.bmp file is only ocean and grassland (with the normalmap.dds file cleared). The coast and topology needs to be refined but I am happy with how its coming along.

Oh and thanks to whoever posted their mod Divinemod, as you can see I am using it as a template for my own mod... I actually thought it was you Bane, but their file was simply called "Mod.zip" and I cant locate it in the forum search to give due ackowledgement. Their provinces numbered colors was very useful. I added more numbered province colors over 300 which might be useful to someone else... its 12 meg but I can upload it if anyone wants it.

 

[Arko]

looks great. used a cartographer ?

 

[Baneslave]

Grell74: Yeah, divine mod is my mod. Nice to hear that it was of some use to you.

 

[The_Blind_One]

Here are some. I have not altered the provinces.bmp yet and havent done the trees.bmp or rivers either. Its mostly the background colormap.dds coming thorugh as the terrain.bmp file is only ocean and grassland (with the normalmap.dds file cleared). The coast and topology needs to be refined but I am happy with how its coming along.

Oh and thanks to whoever posted their mod Divinemod, as you can see I am using it as a template for my own mod... I actually thought it was you Bane, but their file was simply called "Mod.zip" and I cant locate it in the forum search to give due ackowledgement. Their provinces numbered colors was very useful. I added more numbered province colors over 300 which might be useful to someone else... its 12 meg but I can upload it if anyone wants it.

Oh nice, do I take it those awesome terrains u got there are the result of a modified atlas0.dds from baneslave's mod.zip? Or is there some other way I can get cool map textures like that

If so, I would humbly ask permission from baneslav for those files and ofcourse due credit is where it ought be when I finish my project (if ever lol)

EDIT:

what exactly does atlas0.dds do?

 

[Baneslave]

Nope, it isn't my atlas0.dds. He (she?) is just using my province file.

 

[The_Blind_One]

Nope, it isn't my atlas0.dds. He (she?) is just using my province file.

Ah thanks

Grell, how did u get such nice terrain textures? did you paint the map manually (with a program?) and then saved it as the colormap.dds as a base leaving the atlas0.dds empty so it wouldn't show terrain textures but rather ur colormap instead?

and...ur mountains, I don't suppose those are actually real with heightmaps, are they painted on the map?