New York to Chicago

[Jancsika]

EDIT: A bit confused. Exactly where do I save this .tga folder to? The tutorial said to the usermaps folder in my documents but I just want to be sure.

I am trying to tell you to read the mapmaking tutorial.

Lets start from the beginning:
First you have to make a blank map with the terrain editor.
1. Delete the C:\Users\User\Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Railroads! folder (save the “Settings.ini” file
2. Start a new game, that will create a new C:\Users\User\Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Railroads! folder. Copy the saved “Settings.ini” back.
3. Open a new game and with the Terrain Editor create a new map of “225 sq units” that will give you a 15 x 15 map. (15 X 15 = 225)
4. Name this map NYC_Chicago ( exactly, because I’ll will be making the same map here).All the different files automatically will have the same name.
5. Save the map and get out from the program.
6. With a Paint program (Paint, PaintShop Pro, Photoshop, Gimp. I suggest Gimp if you don’t have. It’s free) open the file “map_NYC_Chicago.tga” It’s 901 x 7208 pixel size file made out of eight 901 x 901 different color pictures.
7. The top picture is the “Hight Map”. It’s a gray scale map where the lighter colors represent higher elevation and the black between 0 and 49 represent water. The TGA file that I posted is this file. Therefore you have to copy this Hight_Map_901.tga file into the very top of this stack of squares. Save it and get out of the paint program.
8. Start the terrain editor and load a “Saved Map” NYC_Chicago.SMR_Scenario . If you did everything right you should have the map loaded.
9. Now you can place cities, industries different terrain types with the editor. Be sure that you save both the cities and the terrain (two different place) before you quit.

[historyman101]

EDIT: A bit confused. Exactly where do I save this .tga folder to? The tutorial said to the usermaps folder in my documents but I just want to be sure.

I am trying to tell you to read the mapmaking tutorial.

Lets start from the beginning:
First you have to make a blank map with the terrain editor.
1. Delete the C:\Users\User\Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Railroads! folder (save the “Settings.ini” file
2. Start a new game, that will create a new C:\Users\User\Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Railroads! folder. Copy the saved “Settings.ini” back.
3. Open a new game and with the Terrain Editor create a new map of “225 sq units” that will give you a 15 x 15 map. (15 X 15 = 225)
4. Name this map NYC_Chicago ( exactly, because I’ll will be making the same map here).All the different files automatically will have the same name.
5. Save the map and get out from the program.
6. With a Paint program (Paint, PaintShop Pro, Photoshop, Gimp. I suggest Gimp if you don’t have. It’s free) open the file “map_NYC_Chicago.tga” It’s 901 x 7208 pixel size file made out of eight 901 x 901 different color pictures.
7. The top picture is the “Hight Map”. It’s a gray scale map where the lighter colors represent higher elevation and the black between 0 and 49 represent water. The TGA file that I posted is this file. Therefore you have to copy this Hight_Map_901.tga file into the very top of this stack of squares. Save it and get out of the paint program.
8. Start the terrain editor and load a “Saved Map” NYC_Chicago.SMR_Scenario . If you did everything right you should have the map loaded.
9. Now you can place cities, industries different terrain types with the editor. Be sure that you save both the cities and the terrain (two different place) before you quit.

Thanks. I did read the map editor but it was a little difficult to understand. Sorry for being my noob self!

Getting to work on the Cities right now.

EDIT: I got into the map and it's all water. Before opening I got a message saying invalid map size and it gave me the same number of square units as the map size has always been. WTF?

[Jancsika]

EDIT: I got into the map and it's all water. Before opening I got a message saying invalid map size and it gave me the same number of square units as the map size has always been. WTF?

Because you are not following instructions.


1. Delete the C:\Users\User\Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Railroads! folder (save the “Settings.ini” file
Delete the whole folder and start from scratch.

And be sure that the "Shader quality" in your graphic setup set to medium.
Jancsika
PS And tell me if you have a paint editor, or an XML editor, and what? If i don't know what you have it is difficult for me to guess what you are doing.

[historyman101]

Oh I'm sorry I missed that part.

I redid it and now I'm looking for a suitable program for opening the .tga file. Sadly the only paint program I have is ordinary Microsoft Paint, so I need to find something for free download online.

EDIT: DLing GIMP now.

I'm starting to wonder if maybe 225 square units is too large? I'm trying to focus on railroading in the Northeast and Midwest, not the south. Think maybe a smaller map is necessary?

EDIT: I've read the mapmaking tutorial and I'm currently trying to get the height map into the gray box. However whenever I paste it always goes into the middle box. I need to find a way to drag it up to the gray.

EDIT: NVM, found a way. Getting right back into the game.

[Jancsika]

EDIT: DLing GIMP now.

Great. Be sure to download the DDS plug-in. You might need it later.
While you are at it download, Notepad++ it is a at the same source, free. Get the XML plugin also. We will need it later.
Meanwhile you can get acquainted with it.

As for the map size, it will not make any difference, since the maps are all square, they will cover the same real estate, only in smaller scale.
You don't have to place all the towns that there are.
Actually the fewer the better. It will give some distance between the cities to lay proper tracks.

[historyman101]

EDIT: DLing GIMP now.

Great. Be sure to download the DDS plug-in. You might need it later.
While you are at it download, Notepad++ it is a at the same source, free. Get the XML plugin also. We will need it later.
Meanwhile you can get acquainted with it.

As for the map size, it will not make any difference, since the maps are all square, they will cover the same real estate, only in smaller scale.
You don't have to place all the towns that there are.
Actually the fewer the better. It will give some distance between the cities to lay proper tracks.

I didn't think of that, thanks.

Now I got a new problem. I edited the tga file but when I went back into the editor it all looked weird. I got trees everywhere with what look like bricks to be underwater.

This is getting more complicated every minute...

[Jancsika]

The top 901 X 901 square is the height-map.
You must have accidentally pasted some stuff in the other squares and that will show up.
The second square is what I call “terrain”. Right now it is (or should be) all green.
To be exact the blend should be: Red=0, Green=204, Blue=0. We will use the terrain editor to paint, sand, rocks, mountains, etc.

First we will try to correct it with the editor:
Open the map in the Terrain Editor and try to paint over the offending features with whatever you like.
Here is how:

The terrain editor comes unfinished with ZERO instructions from Firaxis, so we are on our own. Some of the buttons have no function at all. Generally the left mouse button adds things, the right mouse button removes them.
You can raise or lower the terrain.You can add trees, rocks, bushes etc. But be sure that you always save your work.
Try to correct it this way. It is tedious and time consuming. If I run into trouble, I just delete the whole thing and start from scratch.
One more thing. Don’t start to place industries yet. You can place 4-5 cities, but I would like to see the map before going to the next step

[historyman101]

I keep deleting the map and starting from scratch and readjusting the height map to fit the gray square but it keeps giving me the same result. I really don't want to spend hours redoing the entire map if this is what's going to happen.

Is there anyone who can take the height map and make a blank map? You can attach it and I'll download it and take the rest from there. This is just getting more and more frustrating.

[Jancsika]

I thought you never ask.
Here is the TGA and the DDS map. Replace your old ones.
Be sure that they have exactly the same name.

NYC_Chicago.7z

(394.12 KiB) Downloaded 454 times

Let me know.
Jancsika
PS. Before you do this, can you post the old maps.I'd like to see them, to figure what vent wrong.

[historyman101]

I thought you never ask.
Here is the TGA and the DDS map. Replace your old ones.
Be sure that they have exactly the same name.

The attachment NYC_Chicago.7z is no longer available

Let me know.
Jancsika
PS. Before you do this, can you post the old maps.I'd like to see them, to figure what vent wrong.

here it is. Have fun. And many thanks; it was getting irritating constantly starting up and shutting down the game to fix that.

[Jancsika]

I think I know what happened. If you look at the 901 x 901 TGA map I’ve sent, there is a small yellow corner at the upper left and the lower right. If you look at the map you sent those corners are white. It means that it was converted from a 24 bit color to a Grayscale map.
The map dimensions are the same but the correct map is 19,027 bit, but yours became 2418 bit and the program could not read it.

I was really puzzled; luckily I had those little yellow spots left there.
Now we can go to the next step.

[BandOFan]

I am just going to add a word of encouragement.
I would really like to see this completed map.

BTW, the XML editor I've used at work for years is 'vi'.

[Warll]

emacs is better.

[historyman101]

Update. I've added in as many cities I could think of that would be important, but I'd like someone to check to make sure they're all correct.

I've enclosed the folder of what I have so far.

Get back to me with some notes/changes?

Many thanks.

[Jancsika]

Update. I've added in as many cities I could think of that would be important, but I'd like someone to check to make sure they're all correct.

You have 41 cities. That is about twice as much as a map of this size can handle comfortably.
Here you have to make a mental decision, what your scenario goals are and limit the number of cities to that goal.
The scale of the game is such, (like table-top model) that a city will need room to build stations and you will need room to place mines, farms etc. And they will have stations too. You need room to operate an 8 car train+locomotive, without blocking the traffic of the next station.
1. When you are placing a new city, make it a starting location (place a checkmark in the “Start location” square) It will show up in the Minimap as a blue dot. Later you can go back and un-check them.
2. I have the JPG picture of the Minimap attached here, showing the location of the cities you have.

There is an un-usable area of about 135 pixels around the perimeter of the map. You can place cities there but the farther they are from the green edge, the more difficult it will be to reach them.
===========================================================
About the structure of the map:
If you will stick strictly with stock Firaxis industries and goods, the map will do fine as is. But if you are planning to use non-stock features, the setup of the XML file have to be changed to a SAM map.
Let me know and we can get into it next.
=======================================================
Right now you are producing Food, Manufactured Goods and Automobiles. But they have nowhere to go. Normally the cities should receive them, but you have to edit the RRT_Cities_NYC_Chicago.xml file
You better use an XML editor. (Notepad++ will do fine. I am using it, therefore it will be easier to explain what to do)
Here is an example (Shown in red). This is for the Metropolis. You can do the same for the City and town.

<CityType>
<szName>Metropolis</szName>
<Size>3</Size>
<NumLargeBuildings>10</NumLargeBuildings>
<NumMediumBuildings>40</NumMediumBuildings>
<NumSmallBuildings>70</NumSmallBuildings>
<ProductionModifiers>
<Resource>
<Input>Passengers</Input>
<Output>None</Output>
<InputOutputRatio>0.000000</InputOutputRatio>
<MaxStorage>0.000000</MaxStorage>
</Resource>
<Resource>
<Input>Mail</Input>
<Output>None</Output>
<InputOutputRatio>0.000000</InputOutputRatio>
<MaxStorage>0.000000</MaxStorage>
</Resource>
<Resource>
<Input>None</Input>
<Output>Passengers</Output>
<InputOutputRatio>0.500000</InputOutputRatio>
<MaxStorage>6.000000</MaxStorage>
</Resource>
<Resource>
<Input>None</Input>
<Output>Mail</Output>
<InputOutputRatio>0.330000</InputOutputRatio>
<MaxStorage>4.000000</MaxStorage>
</Resource>
<Resource>
<Input>Foodl</Input>
<Output>None</Output>
<InputOutputRatio>0.000000</InputOutputRatio>
<MaxStorage>0.000000</MaxStorage>
</Resource>
<Resource>
<Input>Manufactured Goods</Input>
<Output>None</Output>
<InputOutputRatio>0.000000</InputOutputRatio>
<MaxStorage>0.000000</MaxStorage>
</Resource>
<Resource>
<Input>Automobiles</Input>
<Output>None</Output>
<InputOutputRatio>0.000000</InputOutputRatio>
<MaxStorage>0.000000</MaxStorage>
</Resource>
</ProductionModifiers>
</CityType>

This will keep you busy for a while. If there is something, that you are stuck with, just let me know.
Jancsika