My map editor for TripleA

Cernel

@xxXEddieXxx said:

@Cernel
its not about limiting the size of the map, there is an undo button that keeps the map in cache.
So everytime you change something there is half a gig placed in there so we are having a technical limitation in terms of the implementation of this undo functionality. if we disable the undo on big maps they can get as big as they want.

Cool. Yes, please make optional to have the undo. Thanks.

Or maybe having 4 options? Undo cache, undo RAM, undo hard drive and no undo? No idea if feasible.

xxXEddieXxx

@Cernel
i'd rather change the whole way the current undo works.
User should never bother with these decisions. Maybe on large maps a file gets saved instead of it getting cached in ram. But this is low prio in my eyes right now.

Cernel

@xxXEddieXxx Ok then just a setting for having/not having the undo feature (default having). I think it's quite important not forcing a maximum limit.

xxXEddieXxx

new update:

A lot has changed since the first test version. Most of it comes straight from your feedback, so thank you for that.

Territories and the map

Places menu: show capitals, centers, convoys, names, PUs and the other markers on the map, several at once, drag them and save.
Unit places: lay them out automatically (Squeeze as a spiral, or Grid), create the missing ones, or reload them from the files.
Too many territories? Merge one into another, or remove many at once, smallest first.
Split with a line and an Eraser for borders; a click erases a whole border between two territories.
Islands can be clicked; before, the click chose the sea zone around them.
Capital brush: a click moves a nation's capital.
Units at the start: each row has a ×, and Remove all clears a territory.
Resize map: make the whole map bigger or smaller, with everything on it.
Export territory pictures: a PNG per territory, to draw over.
Very large maps (eg 1941 GCD): borders can be drawn into them now. There is no undo for these lines, and the editor says so first.

How the map looks

Canals are clearly marked in their tool.
Textures for the relief: premade ones, your own pictures, and Find textures in the map. Thht symbols now.
Political view: land in its alliance's colour.
Connections across the map's edge show as dashed lines.
The Neighbours view no longer starts with a territory chosen.
Place numbers hide when zoomed out.

Nations, units and rules

Rename a nation; its flags and unit pictures move with the next save.
Has no capital for nations that are meant to have none.
Flags from one picture, in all the sizes the game needs.
Compare nations: territories, income, units and TUV side by side.
New nations can buy the same as an existing one.
Objectives: a tool of its own for national objectives.
A nation's placing and moving rules in plain words.
Stacking limits for unit types and for nations.
Units panel rearranged; support to allies shows green, to enemies red.
Terrain effects: values written with a count are read correctly now.
Technology effects, buy window tabs and a Publish tool with a checklist.

Easier to use

Show all options in the File menu, for those who want everything open.
Fine as it is: mark a problem or note that is meant so, and it is no longer counted.
Check's tick stays after a save.
The editor's version shows in the File menu and on the start page.
A TripleA that is too old for the editor is told at the start, and the editor looks right under imbus.

Maps that start in TripleA

Every land territory gets its territory attachment, so a new map starts.
Check and Play now start the game in memory and play its first round. Play opens TripleA only when that works, and says why when it does not.
Nations without a capital no longer stop the game.
Several edits that could break a game are fixed: splitting a territory, renaming one that a variable list names, adding an Activate Technology step.
New problems are shown before you play, eg land units left in a sea zone.
The "gamePlayer is null" crash came from TripleA loading two games at once; the editor now avoids that when it starts TripleA.

Colours

Nations, land without an owner and impassable land show in the colours TripleA uses.

Other

A Mac download

https://github.com/xXEddieXxx/eddies-map-editor

Cernel

@xxXEddieXxx said:

@Vendetta it will disable itself automatically with a message to the user(you are on a big map there is no undo bla bla)

Ah allright. I missed this post. I see there is not actually a limit: just the undo gets automatically disabled. That is good.

TheDog

@xxxeddiexxx

Lay out unit places
Could do with showing the px size of the unit & its zoom size from the map.properties file, before placment

Need to show the direction of unit overflow of the last unit in a TT/SZ. The default is to the Right, but depending on where the last unit appears in the TT/SZ the mapmaker might want to the left.
Using a toggle say ctrl+O to switch between Right and Left overflow.
On screen an arrow should indicate the current overflow direction.
In place.txt overflow is seen as
| overflowToLeft=true (overflows to the left)
| overflowToLeft=false (default, no need to show as overflows to the right)

The ability to add one more placment in the selected TT/SZ
The ability to remove, highlighted placment.

Current mapmakers are used to these, but maybe a right click menu is the way to go? (even for the toggle)

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Wish list questions
As the placement is based off center location it would be great if the app suggested moving the center coordinates to fit in more placments?
What value upto would work, 27px as this is half the maximum height of the unit?
Would the reiterations take to long? If so reduce the maximum pixels to move.
If it made a suggestion then an option to do it. (right click menu option do it)

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Save
Before each save in Expert mode, a mapmaker needs to know what is going to be saved.
This is critical if you accidentally change something unintended or forget you have changed something.
A section that you can tick as read only/Dont save for each of the files to be saved.
Especially the. xml as it messes with the order and formatting.
The app should remember these setting from last save

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Places (should be sorted & grouped, here is a suggested order)

Units
---
Capitals – I prefer a yellow star, not C
Centers
Comments
Decorations
Names
PUs – should show the PU value as well as P, eg 6P
Terrain Effects
Victory Cities/Centers
---
Blockade
Convoy
Kamikazi

Places Options
Right Click on TT/SZ for a menu to add/remove the items shown
Left drag to move the selected item

When there is no file or nothing to display, against the selection it should say None)

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Earthquake
The map gets shoved down and I lose my train of thought.
There is a space reserved for shoving the map down to display things, like

Can this space be reserved by moving up/compressing the ‘white’ space above the map, so the map does not move, please, pretty please.
Yes this space will be ‘white’ space, but its better than moving the map.

RogerCooper

@xxXEddieXxx Nice work. The first useful TripleA-related project I have seen using AI. How long did it take you to do this?

xxXEddieXxx

@RogerCooper
About a week but it is not finished.
I thought a more collaborative work would be better here so if you have suggestions I try to implement them.

xxXEddieXxx

Update

Draw borders hides the relief while you draw, so you see exactly what you are editing.
No more shadows: after Make territories, the relief is rebuilt where you drew. One Undo takes back both. On older maps, run Create relief… once first.
Other reliefs stay untouched; a message offers Create relief… instead.
Unit places: the unit size shows before you lay them out, and centers can move up to 27 px to fit more places.
Overflow arrow on the last unit place; switch the side in the right-click menu.
Right-click menu to add or remove unit places and to put markers where you click.
Save lists the files it will write and keeps the XML's order and formatting.
Places menu sorted and grouped, with "(none)" for empty kinds; capitals are a yellow star, PUs show "6P".
The map no longer jumps when a banner or goal appears.

RogerCooper

@xxXEddieXxx I would find useful it you could automate drawing a grid pattern over a relief map without existing territories. You would need the following options

Square grid without diagonal connections
Square grid with diagonal connections
Hex grid with straight rows
Hex grid with straight columns
Offset squares with straight rows
Offset squares with straight columns

You could set the width of the territories or alternatively set the number of rows and columns.

TheDog

@xxXEddieXxx
I have not ran the latest version, so bear that in mind .

Publish
Does not scale to the width of my screen 1920x1080

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Version
There is a version in the xml, <info name="1941 Global Command Decision" version="1.285"/>

TripleA does not read the version but the app can.
TripleA does read the minimum versison and enforces it with a stop loading and usually offers an upgrade <triplea minimumVersion="2.7.14848"/>

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Help

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All help buttons should say on the top line what the file being read/written is.

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Repository
Most(51%+ probably much higher) maps repository name is the same as the xml name, The A&A style usually don’t.
If GitHub repository=xml name could say Published

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GitHub Desktop vs Git-Scm

For us mere mortals GitHub Desktop is a better graphicial frontend to Git, yes? It is easier to use than Git-Scm (mainly command line)
Only downer is GitHub Desktop has no official Linux support.

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FIles
Great addition, but;
I would increase font size and reduce the ‘white’ space between each line
Bolder green ticks, Orange o, Red already red !
This would make it more readable to my tired old eyes.

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Attachments
Make a column called Type, to list all the Attachment types
Remove the options word and put the numbers in Column headed Options
Two lines can be reduced to one saves boring scrolling, a lot.

‘White’ space
With heading like that you know what coming.
Each of the pairs eg Name & relationshipTypeAttachment field can be on one line, saving hortizontal white space, so less scrolling, yay.

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Map
Remove and add to the Map left hand pane all the View menus.
Note Connections & Neighbors are the same, so one can go anyway.

Assuming View into Map column above, then the Place contents can be on permanent display, probably over two lines, when the correct Map option (left hand pane is selected) less mouse work, or maybe for Expert mode?

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Territories
The right hand should be a table, less scrolling, I know you can search, but with 800 TT/SZ its still a lot
Columns of TT/SZ name, Faction Owner, and PUs
Then you can sort by these columns as well as search.