How to Share Hand-Terraformed Maps on STEX

[habibi_Joe 5]

First and foremost I want to clear the air here by stating that my intention in posting this thread is not to belittle the moderators. In no way am I claiming to be smarter than anyone here. I merely wanted to share some knowledge which I have come to believe is not common amongst the members here at Simtropolis. I am a new member here, so please forgive me if what I have to say is, in fact, very publicly known. In my private discussion with a moderator at the STEX I came to suspect that I alone have discovered a way in which to convert hand-terraformed maps created with SC4's editor into the grayscale format necessary to share with others here. What follows is my reasoning, and methodology.

Reasoning

I believe this to be unique and unknown knowledge because a moderator at STEX indicated that such a feat would be impossible, and because after using my method to create an uploadable version of my map for STEX several people downloaded it and two rated it very highly. I would have received a low rating if the region had in fact failed to convert properly; at least that is my assumption.

Methodology

You will need the program "Landscape Designer 0.97.3 Beta." A link to this program may be found many places on these forums.

1) Open "Landscape Designer" after you have finished teraforming your region in SC4. A basic seven-button interface will load. Select "Options-Set Region Path" from the menu. When the toolbox comes up "Browse" to the location of the region you want to make a grayscale map for and then click continue.

2) Click "Terrain Generator" from interface window. The Terrain Editor will load in a separate window. Now select "File-Load, Resize, and Convert Terrain" from the menu. A window now appears and your "config" file should be the only option available to select. Please do so. Another window appears called "Load Region Terrain." Click the "Nearest Dimensions" button at the bottom and then the "OK" button.

3) In a matter of seconds an earthtones picture should appear in the "Terrain Generator" window. To convert into grayscale simply select the "File-Save Terrain" option from the menu. Give the file a name and the program automatically appends the ".jpg" extension. Voila! You've done it!

At this point you may also edit your region however you see fit using the "Terrain Generator." I hope this tutorial was not confusing, or a waste of space. Please use this thread to alert me to any details I left out, or to any technical concerns not aforementioned. Thank you for your time and kind attention.

HJ

[habibi_Joe 5]

UPDATE

So apparently all my tutorial walks you through on is how to create a grayscale image of the config file (surprise). I suppose, then, that it is impossible right now to properly export a hand-terraformed region to STEX. Any thoughts here? *Puts on his dunce cap*

[wouanagaine 86]

It is possible, yet not named a greyscale image. and STEX is not yet ready for it.

Check my sig, you'll find a tool that can export prorietary file format of the full elevation of any region. Once this tool will be finish, STEX may be changed to permit the upload of thoses files.

[greyveil 37]

habibi_Joe, Welcome to Simtropolis, and yea some long time members of this community have longed for a way to get hand teraformed maps in the STEX and it can be done through a long and tedious process and afterwards the sc4 rendering engine tends to kill these type of maps, the tool wouanagaine is working on should come close if not solve the problem all together, it will be a great addition to the game!

EDIT::: I have also locked the file on the Stex until a proper map file is produced and ready for upload.