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Add the option of when when you are resizing the map to just add regualr terrain and to give you a preview of what it will look like. Also add the normal sizes near the diologe box.

Yeah, finally I remember this AND can post it. Not much use remembering it when I have no access to the internet or whatever

Is it possible to display height levels similar to how you display unbuildable/unwalkable microtiles? I don't know much about those MPQs that hold the tileset information yet, but I suppose that this information is included as well.

Reason: Blends of Jungle/High Jungle and the kind of. Especially in melee maps you would like to make sure everything is fine when you do tileset ramps, and it's kinda hard to distinguish Jungle from High Jungle
I also would like to know the exact high-low-transition of ramp-doodads, since I try to design inverteds that have exactly the same gameplay-properties as normal ramps. I already got the walkability/buildability done pretty well, but the high-low-transition is nothing more than an estimation, testing is pretty annoying for this.

If you can do it, you might even add a menu where you can display all those overlays (walkability, buildability, height level) without having to select a unit/building. Would be nice.

My suggestion how to display it: 3 different colors, one for each level. Might be hard finding colors that work well on every tileset, user-selectable would be nice as well, but more work for you

Does starcraft read the tile height in 32x32 blocks or 8x8 blocks? afaik I have access to both... would have to see tho. Maybe I can add it to debug menu.
As for displaying it on every tileset, I just abuse the fog of war tables for that
but you would need more than 3 colors... for example high temple

I dunno if it is tile or microtile. One more problem I have with getting out the correct transition from high to low

Nope, 3 colors must be fine. Otherwise SC's prgrammers would have a severe problem:
Locations can have 3 types of elevation, times 2 because of the air/ground thing. So there should be no more than 3 different height levels overall.

Example: Jungle

Low: Water, Dirt, Mud, Jungle, Rocky Ground, Ruins, Raised Jungle
Medium: High Dirt, High Jungle, High Ruins, Temple, High Raised Jungle
High: High Temple

I got those from the way SC lets you look up cliffs ingame. I did more precise tests with triggers/locations on Ice tileset once (if you implement this, place a ramp to high outpost and laugh ), so I guess I am right on these height levels.

Some more stuff that I didn't test, just guess (pretty sure, though):
- Badlands should only have 2 height levels, Ashworld as well
- Low platform is low, Platform is medium, High Platform is high. Works best here, on most other tilesets "High whatever" is usually medium.
- Sandy sunken pit and sunken ground are both on the same level as the surrounding terrain, just like raised jungle.

I think it has more levels internally tho, for fog of war, I dont remember tho. I'll have to look at my code sometime.

well, guess you could test on what tile size SC does it with triggers that affect locations that are only at certain levels

Uh... yeah, that's an option... Would be pretty tiny locations, though And doing that for every single tile (extended terrain (ab)uses even the weirdest tiles, you know) would be ... horror?

umm, you misunderstood.
I meant to figure out if it does it on a 32x32 (tile) basis or a 8x8 (minitile) basis test it with triggers, then I can add whichever one it is as a debug option.

Hmm, I actually can't make sure if it really is 8x8 or 32x32, unless I find a specific tile that has at least 2 different height levels -> 8x8. There is no way to prove that it is 32x32 other than testing all the tiles on all the tilesets...


Edit: Ok, this map shows it. It should be 8x8. If you want to test yourself, move one of your units over the 5x5 block of ramp tiles that I made a green border around.
The bottom part of that tile is low, the top part high.

see, its easily possible to test

Just because I got lucky. If those tiles I selected hadn't given me any information, I would still not have been able to claim 32x32 to be correct

well you would logically test the various ramp tiles

Obviously

Well, again, once you are done with this, place the ramp to high outpost on ice tileset. The NE one. That one should reward you for your efforts

Add color coded comments.

i sooooo second that...

SI, I just tried out the SCMDraft's "Save Image" feature and it created the image in bitmap format (a crappy format in my opinion) which came out to a whopping 16 MB. Maybe have SCMDraft save the image as JPEG or PNG or something?

If its not possible, then OK just wanted to suggest something and follow the crowd. Also, if this was suggested earlier, I am sorry.

For all of you who are going to tell me to download a map image generator, I already use TechnoDuck's map image generator, so I'm saving you the trouble of typing.

SCMD2s image creation feature has the advantage that it shows everything on the map with every detail there is. Use some tool to change into jpeg; irfanview, or whatever. I use the Gimp, for example.
Of course an additional option to save the image with a certain resolution, filetype and quality wouldn't be a bad thing.

Open up the image with paint brush, and change it yourself! thats all you have to do.

I know that already, I use Adobe Photoshop to convert it. But not a lot of people know how to convert images or don't want any other program installed on their computer. (Oh ! Are you talking about MS Paint? Because that creates a rather crappy JPEG as well.)

It would just be a neat and space-saving feature.

Honestly i like it being a bmp, i prefer to start with the best quality then take it to the level you want it at. No restrictions.

Well I have thought of something that i am not sure if it is possible but am hoping.Well my idea is have a thing where you can test your triggers in scm draft kinda like a mini starcarft map.Lets say you are making a bound and you want to see if your time is right but you are banned from b.net you can still test Well thats my idea please if this is somhow anyway possible make it.

that would be cool. but to do that man would be hard. I wonder what SI will have to say?

well, jpeg and png need GDI+ which limits scmdraft to XP or newer without extra downloads :/
You can just use paint to convert, bmp is lossless unlike jpg

ADDITION:

Not possible, in order to work the pathing, iscript, triggers, etc would all have to be cloned 100% exact

Well that was just a thought thanks for telling me though.

i think i recommended this before, but since i don't remember getting a reply i'll say it again.

do you think you could have an in-editor DC tracker? what it would do is give you the value of all the DCs used in the triggers. The players would provide the 'physical' conditions using text commands. Actions that don't have an effect on conditions wouldn't 'fire.' Such as setting invincibility, while disabling it ingame might cause a unit to die, it would have no effect in the plugin and for a unit to be 'killed' the user would have to do it manually using the text commands.

the only real purpose would be for virtual systems. Such an addition would HUGELY benefit any map maker deciding to use virtual systems, because as it stands, it is quite difficult to get the value of any deathcounter ingame.

Maybe an auto copy thing, where you select what you want to be changed per copy and how.

Much like Microsoft Excel where if you have one value and continue it down 10 rows, they will all fill up with the same value. If you continue it with two values it will guess the pattern and continue it down wards.

I.E.

If selected these two triggers:

Trigger

Description:

Trigger 1

Players:

¤ Player 1

Conditions:

¤ Player 1 brings exactly '1' [men] to 'Location 1'

Actions:

¤ Set hit points for all [any units] at 'Anywhere' to 1%

Trigger

Description:

Trigger 2

Players:

¤ Player 2

Conditions:

¤ Player 2 brings exactly '2' [men] to 'Location 2'

Actions:

¤ Set hit points for all [any units] at 'Anywhere' to 2%

And you told trigger editor to continue pattern down 10 times, it would assume your pattern and automatically create the next 10.

For example the next automatically generated trigger would be:

Trigger

Description:

Trigger 3

Players:

¤ Player 3

Conditions:

¤ Player 3 brings exactly '3' [men] to 'Location '3'

Actions:

¤ Set hit points for all [any units] at 'Anywhere' to 3%

Etc.

I don't know if this is possible or if I'm making sense, but this would make mapping infinitely easier and faster. There is nothing worse about mapping than the repetitive trigger copying that takes hours.

This feature would be godly and should be the next thing to implicate if possible. It's the top on my list of the best things you could do and would make mappers grateful everywhere.