(If this is TLDR for anybody, I think the crux of my question is: what is the purpose of each of the colormap_*.dds files in map/terrain, and how do I edit them to fit with the other map files considering they're lower resolution, and what are the right ways to save them? were they initially generated by methods only paradox has access to?)
I want to drastically change the map. Specifically have the world at a different water level. To test the limits of what could be done with map modding, I moved madagascar from the coast of southeast africa to just off brazil. Here is the initial result: https://u.nya.is/tfuqvy.jpg.
There are three relevant files in the map/ directory. provinces.bmp, rivers.bmp, and terrain.bmp. I edited them with gimp and found on these forums that they needed to be saved as 24 bit and that "save color space information" should not be checkmarked. FIrst I edited provinces.bmp, I moved madagascar and filled in the remaining blank space by completing the boxes of the surrounding sea provinces with the right colors. SInce rivers.bmp and terrain.bmp are the same resolution, I looked at the coordinates of the bottom pixel of madagascar in edited provinces.bmp, and moved madagascar to that same spot in rivers.bmp and terrain.bmp.
Unfortunately, as you can see, it's a bit discolored. That isn't what madagascar looks like regularly. Additionally, there's s alight blue madagascar shaped silhouette in the water by africa where it used to be. So I looked around and found more map related files in map/terrain. These are quite touchy as some won't open in gimp, some will. I have to open some with paint.net. The four relevant files (from what I can tell so far) in here are colormap.dds, colormap_no_shadow.dds (only paint.net), colormap_political.dds, colormap_water.dds (only paint.net). These are all a lower resolution than the three map files in the map directory. colormap.dds is especially strange since it seems to be just somebody with a drawing tablet making it up. To test something, I color picked the yellow of the sahara and made a munch of broad brush strokes randomly around the map, and fired up the game. The result isn't really worth a screenshot since it's hard to see anyway, but it is still noticeable. The bits I colored yellow appeared sort of more "desert-y" in the terrain map mode, more yellow looking patches, though it didn't have an effect on water. So it's a cosmetic file I could work with pretty easily later. colormap_no_shadow though is very interesting since it looks like it had to have been generated off of terrain.bmp in the map directory. Terrain.bmp has different colors for different types of terrain in game on the map, and they all look the same texture-wise in game as colormap_no_shadow.dds, except a slightly different color. Madagascar had all of its textures properly however, so I thought this file might be inconsequential. Deleting it though caused a crash. I think I might be able to leave it there and not worry about it. colormap_political.dds has only a few colors. Actually it looks as though it's only bicolor, but that's wrong because there's some antialiasing around the edges of the continents. This would not be the case, I suspect, if the resolution were the same as the other map files in the map directory. I don't know why all these in map/terrain are sized down. This was one that opened in gimp, and I moved madagascar in it to roughly the same spot as it was in the other files, and this was the new result in game: https://u.nya.is/bclyfc.jpg. As you can see, that looks much better. But the water silhouette still remained in africa, and it really bothers me not having it be pixel perfect placement. Anyway, the water issue would have to be something with colormap_water.dds. So in paint.net I moved madagascar over to brazil there, but unfortunately, I don't know how to save it. Here are the options I am confronted with: https://u.nya.is/exadby.jpg. Using those defaults gives a crash. I was able to edit colormap_political.dds and colormap.dds because they opened in gimp, and I could select overwrite, which I suppose saves the same settings. I can't find an overwrite in paint.net, so I don't know if my water sillhouette issue would be fixed.
For convenience, here's a screenshot of all the files in map/terrain open in gimp or paint.net:
colormap.dds: https://u.nya.is/afiirg.jpg
colormap_no_shadow.dds: https://u.nya.is/iqqpxm.jpg
colormap_political.dds: https://u.nya.is/fyxlrt.jpg
colormap_water: https://u.nya.is/ggxcfn.jpg
Anyway, these 4 files are just kind of strange and bother me in that it seems they came into existence by very specific circumstances that I can't replicate, like only paradox knows how they made them. I don't know how I can edit them properly seeing as they're lower res, and also some other strange things like the water in colormap_water not all being one color, I don't know why that is, etc.
I did some other map changing tests, I made a land bridge from australia to new guinea, which functionally worked. It didn't look good because I only modified the three bmp files in map/, but as far as gameplay I could move troops across it.
If you're wondering, events dealing with provinces won't be an issue because this is ideally a total overhaul.
I want to drastically change the map. Specifically have the world at a different water level. To test the limits of what could be done with map modding, I moved madagascar from the coast of southeast africa to just off brazil. Here is the initial result: https://u.nya.is/tfuqvy.jpg.
There are three relevant files in the map/ directory. provinces.bmp, rivers.bmp, and terrain.bmp. I edited them with gimp and found on these forums that they needed to be saved as 24 bit and that "save color space information" should not be checkmarked. FIrst I edited provinces.bmp, I moved madagascar and filled in the remaining blank space by completing the boxes of the surrounding sea provinces with the right colors. SInce rivers.bmp and terrain.bmp are the same resolution, I looked at the coordinates of the bottom pixel of madagascar in edited provinces.bmp, and moved madagascar to that same spot in rivers.bmp and terrain.bmp.
Unfortunately, as you can see, it's a bit discolored. That isn't what madagascar looks like regularly. Additionally, there's s alight blue madagascar shaped silhouette in the water by africa where it used to be. So I looked around and found more map related files in map/terrain. These are quite touchy as some won't open in gimp, some will. I have to open some with paint.net. The four relevant files (from what I can tell so far) in here are colormap.dds, colormap_no_shadow.dds (only paint.net), colormap_political.dds, colormap_water.dds (only paint.net). These are all a lower resolution than the three map files in the map directory. colormap.dds is especially strange since it seems to be just somebody with a drawing tablet making it up. To test something, I color picked the yellow of the sahara and made a munch of broad brush strokes randomly around the map, and fired up the game. The result isn't really worth a screenshot since it's hard to see anyway, but it is still noticeable. The bits I colored yellow appeared sort of more "desert-y" in the terrain map mode, more yellow looking patches, though it didn't have an effect on water. So it's a cosmetic file I could work with pretty easily later. colormap_no_shadow though is very interesting since it looks like it had to have been generated off of terrain.bmp in the map directory. Terrain.bmp has different colors for different types of terrain in game on the map, and they all look the same texture-wise in game as colormap_no_shadow.dds, except a slightly different color. Madagascar had all of its textures properly however, so I thought this file might be inconsequential. Deleting it though caused a crash. I think I might be able to leave it there and not worry about it. colormap_political.dds has only a few colors. Actually it looks as though it's only bicolor, but that's wrong because there's some antialiasing around the edges of the continents. This would not be the case, I suspect, if the resolution were the same as the other map files in the map directory. I don't know why all these in map/terrain are sized down. This was one that opened in gimp, and I moved madagascar in it to roughly the same spot as it was in the other files, and this was the new result in game: https://u.nya.is/bclyfc.jpg. As you can see, that looks much better. But the water silhouette still remained in africa, and it really bothers me not having it be pixel perfect placement. Anyway, the water issue would have to be something with colormap_water.dds. So in paint.net I moved madagascar over to brazil there, but unfortunately, I don't know how to save it. Here are the options I am confronted with: https://u.nya.is/exadby.jpg. Using those defaults gives a crash. I was able to edit colormap_political.dds and colormap.dds because they opened in gimp, and I could select overwrite, which I suppose saves the same settings. I can't find an overwrite in paint.net, so I don't know if my water sillhouette issue would be fixed.
For convenience, here's a screenshot of all the files in map/terrain open in gimp or paint.net:
colormap.dds: https://u.nya.is/afiirg.jpg
colormap_no_shadow.dds: https://u.nya.is/iqqpxm.jpg
colormap_political.dds: https://u.nya.is/fyxlrt.jpg
colormap_water: https://u.nya.is/ggxcfn.jpg
Anyway, these 4 files are just kind of strange and bother me in that it seems they came into existence by very specific circumstances that I can't replicate, like only paradox knows how they made them. I don't know how I can edit them properly seeing as they're lower res, and also some other strange things like the water in colormap_water not all being one color, I don't know why that is, etc.
I did some other map changing tests, I made a land bridge from australia to new guinea, which functionally worked. It didn't look good because I only modified the three bmp files in map/, but as far as gameplay I could move troops across it.
If you're wondering, events dealing with provinces won't be an issue because this is ideally a total overhaul.
- 1
