Mapmaking help

[macsen rufus]

Campaign maps: lo-res is 2048x1536, hi res is twice this 4096x3072. Despite appearances the Viking map IS the same size - it just has a lot of extra wood background painted on the MapTex and corresponding dead area on the LukUp (yes, I have considered the implications for extending this map eastwards.... it's very tempting ).

Lukup maps are the same size, also in hi and lo res versions (the MapName2 being the larger version in each case). I recommend doing your actual LukUp map work on the SMALL copy then change size to 200% to make the large copy - this is to avoid losing single-pixel areas which can happen if you do it the opposite way round. As the MapTex is purely cosmetic it might be best to get the hi-res looking right, then halve its size.

It might well be possible to use different map sizes, but I tend to veer towards the "if it ain't broke, don't break it" approach You have more than enough variables that can kill a campaign map without adding new ones. It's a heck of a lot of work to do to find out your starting premise may be wrong.

I've used LMM2 for the completely new maps I've made, but small edits are easier by hand (eg moving borders).

Although LMM instructions suggest using a copy of MapTex as a base then adding in the features using the colours it wants - namely borders, origins, ports and castles, I find I get excellent results by making it as a 3/4 colour BMP, using a solid black background, with the borders in pink and the dots for the other features in their respective colours. These dots get converted into coordinates in LMMs script output, or as you've found you can calculate them yourself as 8x Lukup2 pixels (from top left) or 16x Lukup pixels.

I found LMM2s "water on land" feature doesn't work well, and it hiccups over large swathes of pink. I edit these features manually later. LMM has a "same province" feature so you can tell it when two separated areas are actually the same province (essential for inset maps )

Q3 - correct - minilukup being the colour overlay, the minimap is the background - LMM can generate these
Q4 - correct - wood.tga are the tiles for the "tabletop" background/border to the map, easiest to leave alone but you could probably do something fun if you fancy it
Q5 - 108/40
Q6 - not quite - palette numbers are allocated in the order the provinces are declared, and LMM might be a bit unpredictable as to which province it gives which name. I much prefer using the Viking notation (ID_LANDREG_## rather than ID_PROVINCE_NAME) and you'll realise why when you come to cutting and pasting parts of your startpos into a spreadsheet for those final bits of editting
Q7 - as per vanilla, the province names are part of the MapTex, not the Lukup (but when you get Punic Wars running take a look at that and see if you can work out what I did )

Personal preference for graphics work is Photoshop - I'm used to it, I know what it can do, and it's already on my PC. Plus it allows you to save and edit colourtables, switch between colour modes, handles almost every format you could imagine (except BIF and LBM, alas!) However I hear GIMP is also very good (and free).

For LBM work I use MithelImageConvertor to convert to something Photoshop can handle, then make a properly indexed BMP and Mithel it back to LBM. I have UP, but all I've done with it is basically view files and swear at the screen a lot everytime I use it to edit. Personally I reckon it a waste of disc space.

Oh and as for LMM being heavy on CPUs - remember this came from when LMM was new and CPUs about 5 years less advanced than they are now. Mine is nothing special but it spits out a full LMM run in enough time for me to stop, have a coffee and "comfort break" and work out what I did wrong with some coffee in my hand

Good luck!