Vandy

Hello, Kigaauuimp879. I am not using Windows 7 but I can tell you SC4Terraformer works on MS Windows Vista and MS Windows XP AS LONG AS you have ALL of the required files installed. Be sure you read through the ENTIRE Readme file that comes with the application. It will give you names of all the files you need. The most important is that you have Direct X, version 9.0c installed. It is not native to Windows 7 -- you'll have to download it. Good luck. Regards, Vandy

Hello, TowerDude. To date, the best information I can give people having problems with SC4Terraformer and SC4Mapper running under Microsoft Windows is as follows: 1) MOST IMPORTANT!! Make sure you have read through the entire SC4Terraformer and SC4Mapper ReadMe files. 2) For SC4Terraformer, make sure you have the correct version of DirectX installed. It MUST BE version 9.0c. The entire redistribution packaage can be downloaded from Microsoft.com. The DirectX 9.0c Runtime files can be downloaded from Tracker.5STar-Network.com. You DO NOT NEED DirectX for SC4Mapper. 3) You may also need MSVCP71.DLL for SC4Terraformer. You MUST have it for SC4Mapper. 4) Make sure your Microsoft .NET files are up-to-date. 5) There is the possibility that you may be a "victim" of a unicode coding issue with SC4Terraformer and SC4Mapper working under Microsoft Vista. I don't have details on this issue other than wouanagaine has commented that to fix it will require a rewrite of the SC4Terraformer applications. Please be aware that he no longer has his source files. They were on his laptop that was stolen. 6) You might check the NHP Place forum or the MAPping Tutorials forum [url=https://www.sc4devotion.com]SC4Devotion[/url to see if there is any further information. Beyond the above suggestions, I am at a loss as to what else to have you try. Good luck. Regards, Vandy

Hi, C2s1. I am using Photoshop Elements 7 and Photoshop CS3. You should be able to follow the instructions in my first post and get a bump map from Elements 9. Regards, Vandy

Hello, c2s1. To answer your questions in reverse order, I use to use JASC Paint Shop Pro, v9.1. Every since Corel bought JASC, I've stopped using Paint Shop Pro and now pretty much always use either Photohsop Elements or (much better) Photoshop. As to the layer type, I would believe that a Raster Layer should do it for you. I don't know if Paint Shop Pro has an equivilent to Photoshop's render clouds and cloud differences. Good luck. Regards, Vandy

Hello, All. I'd like to add a quick comment for those that read the rules. As the STEX Map Moderator, I will ensure that all maps are following the rules as to formatting, file types, screenshots, etc. I will especially be enforcing Rule #10 of the Updated STEX Rules which says, in part: "10. All STEX uploads MUST be accompanied by an in-game picture and meaningful description. The in-game picture must be taken from the game." For those mapmakers that are uploading maps created with SC4Terraformer, please be sure that your primary screenshot is an in-game rendered map and not a screenshot from SC4TF. If I do find an upload with a SC4TF screenshot as the primary, I will request the map creator change the primary screenshot to an in-game rendered screenshot. Further, I will give the map creator five days from my post to change the screenshot. If, after that time period, the screenshot has not been changed, I will lock the map until the map creator changes the screenshot. Thanks to all, in advance, for following the STEX Code of Conduct. Regards, Vandy Mapping Community Room Moderator STEX Map Moderator

Hello again, C2s1! I'm sure you know that there are many ways in which you can create a grayscale image (height map, bump map -- use your favorite term) as well as there are many tools you can use to create it - such as SC4Terraformer, any graphics editing application, Landscape Designer, Wilbur, etc. Since your question was concerning Photoshop, let me give you some information. Also, the Creating New Regions in SimCity 4 tutorial hosted on SC4EVER.com contains good information as well. 1) Determine how big you want your region. Config.bmp: How to Make it Yours is a great article for understanding the config.bmp. If you're are a "techie" person or -- alright, I'll admit it -- a geek, you might enjoy reading through Part I: Setting the Strip Map Image File and Confg Bit Map Dimension of the Creating Area Strip Maps and Multiple SC4 Regions tutorial. 2) From Photoshop, create a new file with color mode set to RGB Color and using the grayscale dimensions (not your config.bmp dimensions) you decided upon in Step 1. 3) It is up to you as to whether or not you want to use multiple layers to "keep track" of the various elements of your map such as a water layer to "see" where water would be on the map. On your bump map layer, fill it with white (#FFFFFF). Make sure your background color is black (#000000). 4) One of the best methods you can use to create a bump map is by using the Clouds filter. 5) Click on Filter - Render - Clouds. You'll get a random pattern of whites, grays and blacks. 6) Click on Filter - Render - Difference Clouds. You'll get a different pattern. 7) Repeat Step 6 as many times as desired or until you get a pattern you like. 8 ) Save the bump map as a 16-bit PNG or BMP. 8-bit will work in SC4TF but 16-bit gives much better resolution and quality. 9) If you haven't already done so, create the properly sized config.bmp file. 10) Copy or move the grayscale bump map image and the config.bmp into a temporary folder such as C:\Region. 11) Launch the SC4Terraformer application. 12) Navigate to the folder you created in Step 10 and "open" it. A flat region will be presented using your city tiles in your config.bmp. 13) From the Global Tools, click on import image and navigate to the folder you created in Step 10. 14) Select your grayscale bump map file and click OK (if memory serves). 15) Your bump map is shown as terrain using your cities in your config.bmp. 16) Either continue terraforming or save as a region. I hope this information will be useful to you. Good luck! Regards, Vandy

Hello, C2s1, and welcome to Simtropolis. A number of people have already given you some good answers and I really don't have anything new I can add to the already good information they've given you. The tutorial link that Woopypooky posted is a great place to get ideas and information. Thanks, Wookypooky! I'd also like to offer my thanks to Tungston, RICHBoyZ and His Divine Hand for their helpfulness and information they've posted. In summary, if ALL you really want is a region with a single large city, the easiest way would be to use Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, GIMP, even MS Windows Paint, to create a 4 pixel by 4 pixel blue-filled (Hex 0000FF, RGB 000, 000, 255) file and save it as a .BMP using the name config.bmp. That will give you a single large city tile for your region. Bear in mind, that is going to be a R-E-A-L-L-Y small region. Your second question was how to create a region with some large cities. You would create your config.bmp file the same way just adjust to the size you want. For example: If you want four large cities, your config.bmp file would be 8 pixels by 8 pixels with the same blue-filled value. If you want eight large cities, your config.bmp file would be 16 pixels by 16 pixels with the same blue-filled value. Now, once you've got your config.bmp file created, let's get it into SC4Terraformer in order to start terraforming your new region. 1) Create a folder somewhere on your hard drive -- for example: C:\Region. 2) Copy (or move, your choice) the config.bmp file to the folder you created. 3) Launch the SC4Terraformer application. 4) Navigate to the folder you created in Step 1) and "open" it. 5) A blank, flat region is created using your config.bmp file for the city tils. Now, if you have an 8-bit or 16-bit grayscale file, or an existing .SC4M file (of the appropriate size), you can use SC4TF to import the image and use the already terraformed image with your config.bmp file to either save the region or continue to terraform it. When I state "of the appropriate size", your grayscale image has to match the size of your config.bmp size using the formula: (Config Height * 64) + 1 = Region Height (Config Width * 64) + 1 = Region Width For esample, you would need a 1025 x 1025 pixel grayscale image for a 16 x 16 pixel config.bmp. (16 * 64) + 1 = 1025 (16 * 64) + 1 = 1025 Well! For not having anything else to add, I guess I added some information afterall. < grin > Good luck and let me know if you have any questions. Regards, Vandy

Hello, All. Just a quick note to let you know that Map This! - Cartography Services is getting ready to "crank" back up and start producing more fantasy maps. I am not taking requests at this time as my available time is still limited and wish to devote what I have to creating new maps for you and the STEX. Stay tuned to this thread for more details and for "sneek peeks" at my new maps. Regards, Vandy