elevation with bluffs, gulches and ravines

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Helmet
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elevation with bluffs, gulches and ravines

Post by Helmet »

Hi. I downloaded the 1.17 update and saw in the map editor a new category of tile called "elevation." In that category are bluffs, gulches and ravines.

Wow.

I'm in the planning stage of creating a new campaign for the add-on server, and I want to do something cool with those new tiles. I know I'll be using the "unwalkable ravine" a lot, in places where I probably would've used "impassable mountains."

It's great to have more options.

Please give me some clever ideas about fun ways to use elevation in scenarios. :D
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Helmet
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Re: elevation with bluffs, gulches and ravines

Post by Helmet »

I've been trying to create a map using the elevation tiles. Is this feature not functional yet? If so, I don't know what to do. The map gets hazy-looking, and I don't see how to return it to normal. Are you supposed to put arrows on every hex? I searched for a tutorial, but didn't find one.

Thanks.
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doofus-01
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Re: elevation with bluffs, gulches and ravines

Post by doofus-01 »

It needs to be documented. That's not done yet because I'm not sure if it's in final form, but it's probably close now. It's a little harder to use than other terrain features.

Basically, the elevations (arrows) are flood-fill/bucket-fill, bounded by the gulch/ravine/bluff hexes. There are some more rules for how to get forests or wood/stone borders that probably need more explanation. There is a demo MP map, data/multiplayer/maps/3p_Elevation_Example.map in the editor, or "Wesnoth Test - Elevated Terrain Example Scenario" in the MP Create Game dialogue. The haziness is in the editor only, to help see where the flood-fill is going.
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Helmet
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Re: elevation with bluffs, gulches and ravines

Post by Helmet »

Thank you, that was a huge help. I can make a simple map now with elevations.
doofus-01 wrote: November 27th, 2022, 6:49 am There are some more rules for how to get forests or wood/stone borders that probably need more explanation.
I would appreciate a little more explanation. I haven't been able to guess how to change a section of the bluff to carved stone, like in the example map.

Would you also explain how to put different types of forests on a bluff? Whenever I try, the forest makes a "hole" in the bluff and the forest appears at the lower elevation.

This feature is awesome. :)

Are changes in elevation purely decorative? Are any new rules going to be added to slow down the movement of units across elevations?

Thanks.
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doofus-01
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Re: elevation with bluffs, gulches and ravines

Post by doofus-01 »

I'm trying to write a Help topic for this in #7193
Helmet wrote: November 27th, 2022, 11:39 am Are changes in elevation purely decorative? Are any new rules going to be added to slow down the movement of units across elevations?
They are just decorative, unfortunately. Maybe this can be changed with a significant engine overhaul, but that's beyond what I can do. Once "elevation" is a real terrain flag/key/whatever, more options will be opened up, including larger cliffs and movement boosts/penalties.

For a specific scenario, you can use the *^Qhu*/*^Qhh* terrain code as a filter for the most likely border and then figure out what directions (n,ne,se,s,sw,nw) make sense for a given coordinate. It's not very convenient, but it should work.
BfW 1.12 supported, but active development only for BfW 1.13/1.14: Bad Moon Rising | Trinity | Archaic Era |
| Abandoned: Tales of the Setting Sun
GitHub link for these projects
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Helmet
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Re: elevation with bluffs, gulches and ravines

Post by Helmet »

doofus-01 wrote: December 11th, 2022, 4:37 amThey are just decorative, unfortunately. Maybe this can be changed with a significant engine overhaul, but that's beyond what I can do. Once "elevation" is a real terrain flag/key/whatever, more options will be opened up, including larger cliffs and movement boosts/penalties.

For a specific scenario, you can use the *^Qhu*/*^Qhh* terrain code as a filter for the most likely border and then figure out what directions (n,ne,se,s,sw,nw) make sense for a given coordinate. It's not very convenient, but it should work.
Ah! Thanks.
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