[Release] ArcTools (v.0.0.1)

Download Location: ArcTools (http://www.themofoclan.com/tribes/ArcTools_0-0-1.zip)

Thought I'd release a set of tools I wrote to help me out with any future maps. I'm not sure how helpful they'll be but who knows. They haven't been tested by a QA team of 15 so I'm sure bugs exist. Download at your own risk, etc.

What's in the zip:

makeAlphaMap.exe - I wrote this because my hand painted terrain textures end up looking like crap and I didn't like World Machines' interface. This takes a heightmap and, based off of height ranges you specify, generates an alpha map for use within TVED.

makeAlphaMap Screenshot (I've loaded a heightmap and created an alpha map for the 'lowest' height range):

http://www.themofoclan.com/tribes/makeAlphaMap_pic.png

makeHeightMap.exe - I wrote this just for fun but started using it because I couldn't quite get the quality I wanted from other programs and haven't found any that could automatically balance (in Tribes terms) a heightmap. This randomly creates a heightmap based on settings you specify. It has options to automatically 'balance' (or mirror) a sector of the heightmap.

makeHeightMap Screenshot (I've randomly created a heightmap):

http://www.themofoclan.com/tribes/makeHeightMap_pic1.png

makeHeightMap Screenshot (I've set it to balance the map using the bottom right corner):

http://www.themofoclan.com/tribes/makeHeightMap_pic2.png

Anyway, hope they're useful to someone.

You, sir, effing rock.

Say! makeAlphaMap looks durned handy.
Any chance of adding a soften var? Maybe the ability to inject a little noise based on the selected range?

If you're still in the mood to write tools, a heightmap combiner would be a good thing to have around. Something that would add/subtract/multiply/average 2 maps together would be GREAT for adding details like roads/rivers or for stacking several layers of detail.

All good suggestions. I've also thought about adding a 'Calculate Ranges' button to makeAlphaMap. Essentially it'd calculate the lowest and highest ranges in the heightmap and set the sliders to the appropriate value.

Man... if you can implement those features, I'd be your love slave. I've discovered I HATE manually painting terrains!

These rock. Thanks.

i will name my first child after you for this. THANK YOU.

i will name my first child after you for this. THANK YOU.

Please don't threaten us ;(

WOW! Im really impressed when somone needs somthing, and MAKEs what they need!
Good job....

BUT I will personally stick with Worldmachine. I can get much more detailed Alpha masks with it, than Heightmaps with Reversed differances.

Keep up the good work!

Thanks for the good work! This is an awsome utility for mappers (like myself) to take advantage of.

I know this is going to sound really newbified, but how again do I import a heightmap? I can use the editor well enough to build shazbot, but I can't figure this one out.

Glad to see they're useful to someone other than me.

As for sticking with World Machines, no problem. If you like working with it and it works well for you, then by all means keep using it.

v.0.0.2 is underway at the moment. I needed some additional features and found a couple performance-crippling bugs that need to be fixed. On the slate, among other things, is alpha map combining and a 'calculate extremes' function.

Thanks for the good work! This is an awsome utility for mappers (like myself) to take advantage of.

I know this is going to sound really newbified, but how again do I import a heightmap? I can use the editor well enough to build shazbot, but I can't figure this one out.

Import the heightmap in the texture browser
Select the newly imported texture
Open the terrain tools
Right-click the heightmap and 'Set heightfield from current'



And good job on the tools Arclight

-WB