Settlement Modding

[Thor the Bassist]

OVERLAYS:
Create textures. Can be made by copying your underlay in max and then applying the required textures to the right parts.

The shades are the shadows/and/or/the dark patches below trees. These are at different levels because the trees in the plan are at different levels :)

Nothing is really required but you can put different floor textures such as dirt, grass, sand, roads etc. If you dont put any textures anywhere then it will just use the default ground texture as defined in the campaign map.

The texture will appear as semi-trasparent so If the texture isn't on the floor it looks a bit dodgy. Although I think you can use this semi-transparentness to create water the effect may need to be tested and improved.

UNDERLAYS:
the topology - yes a simple plane is all that is required for a flat plan.

[Seth Krn3ll]

I've been working a lot on those files, but something is really not working.

Any kind of modification I try to do to overlays just crashes the game.

I am pretty sure its just the overlay .cas file, because game loads with ALL other modifications both on or off.

But if I try to change everything in the overlay cas model of the city, it just crashes or freeze during loading of tactical view.

I made infinite different tries, including:

- brand new and complicated overlay and underlay
- plain underlay and overlay with my custom models inside it renamed with original names of the game overlay
- plain underlay (outline and underlay as simple planar planes, no textures, no modelling at all) and overlay (the identical plane of the outline, no textures)
- original underlay of the game and custom made overlay (just the outline model of the original underlay with no textures)
- original underlay and original overlay of the game, with JUST a change in ONE texture for one of the models in the overlay

..and tons of other tentatives

I even tried to use my plain underlay with the original overlay of the game (even if they are mainly different, they even cover DIFFERENT ground areas ) and that damn game LOADS! Then I found my viewpoint in the clouds, nothing around. But at least no crashes.. so I'm pretty sure the underlay .CAS file its not doing damage.

All the time I try to change ANYTHING to the original overlay model, game crashes while loading tactical city overview.

There must be something I'm missing about the overlay thing... any hint?

[Thor the Bassist]

If its a cas file and you get no error message always try re-importing the model you made into max as it could be an export error. Are you working from an original underlay because i'd recommend it? Also make sure you have no outline geometry in the overlay as the outline will mess up some things.

[Seth Krn3ll]

Ok after about a hundred tries I get over that loading crash. As often happens, I really didn't get what made it, anyway now seems to work.

But something is still wrong: I tried at first were to modify a little the original overlay, and somehow it worked. Now I'm ok in creating my own overlay and underlay .CAS files and they work, tactical view of the city loads, with my walls, buildings, disposition and all... but textures!

Can't understand what I'm doing wrong there: I tried adding textures to the overlay files, and also to the underlay ones, but when it loads I always find the classical green grass all around.

I even tried to texture the original game files, but again, games load and shows green fields all around - no textures.

Its weird, because in building files they show up (even if its a hard job to have good results with custom modified objects).

Is there maybe any special rule to follow to texture the mesh in the overlay - underlay files?

[Thor the Bassist]

Its done the same as buildings and units.

You proberably need to place your textures in the overlays/textures/ folder.

[Seth Krn3ll]

Its done the same as buildings and units.

You proberably need to place your textures in the overlays/textures/ folder.

already done...
no way.

I can't understand whats wrong :(

In 3dmax, I open material panel, pick a material example, clik on map/diffuse, chosse the bitmap. The little image shows the example, i add it to the object, I see the object textured in the preview, i export all and nothing, ingame still green grass :(

Sigh

[Thor the Bassist]

Your ovelay does have the same goemetry as the underlay part of your underlay doesn't it? The overlay will only show if it is as high as the underlay or higher. The overlay effectively is a semi-transparent model that is put into the map. It has no collision, this is the underlay, but creates textures.

The only other thing I can think of is check theres no rogue alpha on your textures.