Surface Editing Manual

[jollyjack]

Now we might need some sort of Haluter's to collect all the improvements so far in to a working download system ...

[Jaegermeister]

1 hour ago, jollyjack said:

Now we might need some sort of Haluter's to collect all the improvements so far in to a working download system ...

 

I'm not sure how progress is going on the combined texture file, but it seems to me the answer is to have finished modified texture files that can be downloaded and installed through JSGME or similar and replace the default ground texture files. Then the missions can point to the default texture directory and already have the objects(blocks) placed in the missions in the correct places. The ground texture files could then be uninstalled and revert to default files when you are done with the mission or campaign.

 

If you played the missions without installing the optional modified texture files, they would still work without any graphical errors, they just wouldn't look quite as good.

[AEthelraedUnraed]

1 minute ago, Jaegermeister said:

I'm not sure how progress is going on the combined texture file, but it seems to me the answer is to have finished modified texture files that can be downloaded and installed through JSGME or similar and replace the default ground texture files.

The problem is combining the textures of several surface files. There's really no simple JSGME-like way to do it; you need to binary edit the surface files for that. I'm working on a program to automate the process (and perhaps a few other nice tricks) but I've got exam weeks incoming...  A couple of weeks more patience please

[Jaegermeister]

13 hours ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

The problem is combining the textures of several surface files.

Yes, I understand. I'm in no hurries

[Deacon352nd]

Is there any way to add rivers to a map?  I know how to add roadways but how about a river?

[AEthelraedUnraed]

1 hour ago, Deacon352nd said:

Is there any way to add rivers to a map?  I know how to add roadways but how about a river?

Well, yes, but it involves a lot of *very* heavy image editing (don't even try if you've got less than 16GB RAM, and even that is a bit too little) and requires some obscure, undocumented and buggy tools only available somewhere on the Russian forum. Edit: I forgot to add that you'll need an older version of the Mission Editor as well (before they removed the Maps tool) in order to export the water map.

 

Adding small streams is quite possible though, and can give convincing results with proper use of the specular channel. Check out the landscape of my Hürtgenwald scripted campaign for an example (the Roer river just west of Nideggen, and the Wehebach through Schevenhütte).

Edited September 6, 2022 by AEthelraedUnraed

[Deacon352nd]

Thanks.  I've added a roadway and it has the number "0" for its Tape id.   I see how you did the stream, but how do I change the number of the Tape for the stream so that when I set the properties it will have number "1" and not defer to "0"?  I see that your have numbers from "0", forward and the stream is "3"

[AEthelraedUnraed]

16 minutes ago, Deacon352nd said:

Thanks.  I've added a roadway and it has the number "0" for its Tape id.   I see how you did the stream, but how do I change the number of the Tape for the stream so that when I set the properties it will have number "1" and not defer to "0"?  I see that your have numbers from "0", forward and the stream is "3"

What number do you mean, exactly? Its actual ID is set programmatically and is not supposed to be changed (nor would it have any effect).

 

If you want to assign it a certain name, you can do so in the properties (32 characters max), but this is just as an aid to yourself and won't have any effect in-game.

 

Or do you mean the layer number, which determines the order in which decals are drawn? Just assign it in the properties window

Edited September 6, 2022 by AEthelraedUnraed

[Deacon352nd]

Thanks for the help. Everything worked out fine. I was able to reverse engineer your campaign to figure it all out. Thanks again, your efforts in surface editing are very much appreciated. 

[Jeroen83]

This is all very interesting. I would love to contribute to making the Rheinland map better but don’t have much time. 

Just an idea:

How many of you would support a community effort of improving the Rheinland map by adding more villages/ towns and solitary buildings like farms? Also the beaches can be made much more lifelike. I’m thinking of making a list of what needs to be done and dividing the work between us. To make the introduction into surface editing a little bit easier: is there anyone with experience in this that has the time to make a tutorial video on creating a small village?

 

 

[JGr2/J34b_Matthias]

Just wanted to share that I have confirmed that the surface editing can be done and shared for multiplayer without predeploying files to users.

 

This requires two things:

1.  The surface and texture files must be saved in the dogfight folder on the server and must point to each other in these places - and of course the .mission and .msbin must then point to the .tini in the same folder as the surface and texture file.

2.  All three file points are added into the .list file as the very last step after the mission is saved and all else is done so that users will download all the required files.  Multiplayer/Dogfight base folder is recommended to ensure the fiile transfer works and centralize custom textures - data/graphics/* isn't authorized for player downloads.

 

The test group for this was two people where the files were preloaded to the server and both went in and successfully downloaded and utilized all required files - Mission, surface, and textures from scratch - and then successfully flew to, landed, and took off from a custom textured and surfaced airfield.

 

Note:  If the mission is changed or resaved the .list file must be manually updated again to contain the surface/texture/tini points before use.  This mistake scrubbed a planned much larger scale demo of the capability.  I'll be retrying again with a larger group just to reconfirm but don't anticipate any issues - what worked for 2 should work for more.

 

Note2:  One thing we will have to watch when doing this in the multiplayer environment will be the impact if surface data is changed on the backend.  When these updates need to be propagated out to new users transfer errors may become a problem.  Possible mitigation strategies:  Designers rename textures when they release a new version or users purge old textures just like they have had to purge old versions of missions out of their dogfight folders.

Edited September 26, 2022 by J5_Matthias-Sch27b

[Jeroen83]

Anybody else notice that it is possible to add surface shapes to the water of all the maps, EXCEPT the Rheinland map? In the sense that the shape disappears when looked at from beyond a certain distance. The Normandy maps and the Kuban maps don’t have this.

It’s a shame because I want to add sandbanks and more detail to the northsea and beaches…

[Mistralfred901]

Hi,

Can we remove the trees on the map? Or add more?

Edited November 17, 2022 by Mistralfred901

[Mistralfred901]

Hi,

I can't find the "textures .tini" file.
Where is the "map" folder?

In the pdf you write:

4. Likewise for textures. tini (you'll find this file in the unpacked map
directory). Rename it into e.g. textures_hurtgen . Tiny.

Can you help me please ?

[Mistralfred901]

I would like to specify that I am looking for the "Textures.tini" file for the Normandy map. Apparently it is not there, as well as in other maps.
Can we get it or the devs blocked it on purpose?

[Hamaha15]

Hello Mistralfred,

 

the Normandy maps (su and su_early) are buried in the Maps8.GTP file. You need an Un-GTP tool to get access to them. It must be around somewhere in the forum.

 

[Mistralfred901]

Hi,

 

I encounter a problem when I edit a taxiway for example, I end up with all the textures of aerodromes white and very clear. I can't find where is the problem?

 

 

 

[Hamaha15]

Did you copy the airfield textures from one map into another?

 

White blanks typically appear if the surfacetex files of two different map types don't match.

[Mistralfred901]

Not at all, I just took the surfacetext files from the "graphics\LANDSCAPE_Normandy_su_early" folder and then I placed it in my mission folder.

 

Maybe the textures for the taxiway that I used don't work on the normandy map?

Edited November 25, 2022 by Mistralfred901

[Jeroen83]

Hey guys, I’m having trouble getting my surface modifications showing up in the game. They show each time I load the mission editor after I saved, but not in the game itself. What am I doing wrong?

[Hamaha15]

8 hours ago, Jeroen83 said:

Hey guys, I’m having trouble getting my surface modifications showing up in the game. They show each time I load the mission editor after I saved, but not in the game itself. What am I doing wrong?

 

You have to switch the Mod option on in the game settings and restart.

Edited November 26, 2022 by Hamaha15

[Jeroen83]

Ah… thanks.

[Mistralfred901]

Going back to my problem with white surfaces, I created a new mission on the Normandy map and only put one plane on it.  

Then I just activated the surface editor and made "safe files" (without modifying anything).  

Then I moved the "Surfaces.dat" and "SurfaceTex.dat" files as well as "Textures.tini" into my mission folder.  

I edited "Textures.tini" and my mission file as instructed in the manual, but I have the same problem!  

I noticed that when I didn't have the "Textures.tini" file I did see surfaces correctly in the mission editor, but of course no surfaces created in game.

 

There must be a few things I'm doing  not well in the files!?

[AEthelraedUnraed]

On 11/26/2022 at 4:24 PM, Mistralfred901 said:

Going back to my problem with white surfaces, I created a new mission on the Normandy map and only put one plane on it.  

Then I just activated the surface editor and made "safe files" (without modifying anything).  

Then I moved the "Surfaces.dat" and "SurfaceTex.dat" files as well as "Textures.tini" into my mission folder.  

I edited "Textures.tini" and my mission file as instructed in the manual, but I have the same problem!  

I noticed that when I didn't have the "Textures.tini" file I did see surfaces correctly in the mission editor, but of course no surfaces created in game.

 

There must be a few things I'm doing  not well in the files!?

Do the surfaces show up where they're supposed to, only with completely white textures? If so, there's something wrong with the texture linking.

 

You're talking about a "SurfaceTex.dat" file. This should be "SurfaceTex.txt". Did you make a mistake in writing it down here, or is there really a "SurfaceTex.dat" file?

 

Internally, the surface file format uses a byte (a number from 0 to 255) to store which texture should be applied to a surface. The contents of "SurfaceTex.txt" determine which texture value should link to which texture file, i.e.:

Quote

tex=0,"graphics\LANDSCAPE_Normandy_su\surfacetex\town_forest.dds",0
tex=1,"graphics\LANDSCAPE_Normandy_su\surfacetex\town_forest_nm.dds",0
tex=2,"graphics\LANDSCAPE_Normandy_su\surfacetex\town_forest_aux.dds",0
tex=3,"graphics\LANDSCAPE_Normandy_su\surfacetex\town_sand.dds",0

...means that a byte with value 0 links to graphics\LANDSCAPE_Normandy_su\surfacetex\town_forest.dds, a value 1 links to graphics\LANDSCAPE_Normandy_su\surfacetex\town_forest_nm.dds, et cetera. If the game cannot find a specified texture filename for a certain value, it gives the surface a white texture. Possible causes for this are:

1. Wrong filename (or missing file). The filename of "SurfaceTex.txt" should be equal to the name of the surface.dat file minus ".dat", with "Tex.txt" appended. For instance, if your surface file is called "Test1234.dat", the textures file should be called "Test1234Tex.txt".  It should furthermore be placed in the same path as the .dat file.
2. Missing texture value. For instance, the above example only specifies values 0 to 3. If the .dat file uses a value 4 somewhere, it cannot find that value. Surfaces using those particular values are white, but surfaces it can find the value of show up normal.
3. Corrupted textures file. In (very) rare cases, the textures file can become corrupted. I had this just the other day; when I was saving a surface file, the editor crashed. The textures file ended up containing only "null" characters.

The solutions are, in order:

1. Rename the textures file to the proper filename, or copy it from the unpacked directory if necessary.
2. Make sure you're using the right version of the textures file. If that's the case, either manually add the missing entries to the textures file, if you know what you're doing, or manually (re)set the textures for all white surfaces.
3. If you made a backup, restore it. Otherwise, copy the original textures file from the unpacked directory, and do as in 2. for all remaining white textures.

[dbuile]

On 11/25/2022 at 5:44 PM, Hamaha15 said:

You have to switch the Mod option on in the game settings and restart.

I hope that's what I was doing wrong a few months ago...  I really wanted to put some life around Koeln-Butzweilerhof, but I couldn't figure it out   After struggling for many 10s of hours with learning the Mission Editor just trying to make civilian traffic appear, and then struggles with surface editing, it was a little too much for me!  

 

Interesting site, one of the tabs somewhere has a period map showing area infrastructure:  http://www.koelner-luftfahrt.de/Butzweilerhof_1936_Einleitung.htm

[Mistralfred901]

23 hours ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

Do the surfaces show up where they're supposed to, only with completely white textures? If so, there's something wrong with the texture linking.

 

You're talking about a "SurfaceTex.dat" file. This should be "SurfaceTex.txt". Did you make a mistake in writing it down here, or is there really a "SurfaceTex.dat" file?

 

Internally, the surface file format uses a byte (a number from 0 to 255) to store which texture should be applied to a surface. The contents of "SurfaceTex.txt" determine which texture value should link to which texture file, i.e.:

...means that a byte with value 0 links to graphics\LANDSCAPE_Normandy_su\surfacetex\town_forest.dds, a value 1 links to graphics\LANDSCAPE_Normandy_su\surfacetex\town_forest_nm.dds, et cetera. If the game cannot find a specified texture filename for a certain value, it gives the surface a white texture. Possible causes for this are:

1. Wrong filename (or missing file). The filename of "SurfaceTex.txt" should be equal to the name of the surface.dat file minus ".dat", with "Tex.txt" appended. For instance, if your surface file is called "Test1234.dat", the textures file should be called "Test1234Tex.txt".  It should furthermore be placed in the same path as the .dat file.
2. Missing texture value. For instance, the above example only specifies values 0 to 3. If the .dat file uses a value 4 somewhere, it cannot find that value. Surfaces using those particular values are white, but surfaces it can find the value of show up normal.
3. Corrupted textures file. In (very) rare cases, the textures file can become corrupted. I had this just the other day; when I was saving a surface file, the editor crashed. The textures file ended up containing only "null" characters.

The solutions are, in order:

1. Rename the textures file to the proper filename, or copy it from the unpacked directory if necessary.
2. Make sure you're using the right version of the textures file. If that's the case, either manually add the missing entries to the textures file, if you know what you're doing, or manually (re)set the textures for all white surfaces.
3. If you made a backup, restore it. Otherwise, copy the original textures file from the unpacked directory, and do as in 2. for all remaining white textures.

Hi,

 

It's good, Hamaha helped me. In fact, my mission is called "MyMission". I had named the file: "SurfaceTex_MyMission.txt" instead of "Surface_MyMissionTex.txt". Now it works! Thanks for your help !

[super-truite]

I just discovered this nice tutorial, thanks for all the hard work.
I have an issue with multiplayer, I added just a simple road in a dogfight mission and added the texture files to the .list like suggested in 

but only the host see the textures and everything is black for others.
Here are the mission files: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KqmBnkdGioySI5qHswSK50MCpyiljYiO/view?usp=share_link

folder:

content of list file:

Also, so far I did not encounter all the in game textures like the paved roads we see in Normandy cities for instance, but maybe it is just a tiling issue because some textures do not show up properly, I must have chosen the wrong parameters for the UV.

[super-truite]

Maybe it has to do with the format of the .list ? What I do not like is that for localization files, there is a hash computed by the mission editor after the name of the file, but not for the texture files (because I had them manually and I do not know how to compute the hash). Is it supposed to work without this hash ?

[J99_Sizzlorr]

1 hour ago, super-truite said:

Maybe it has to do with the format of the .list ? What I do not like is that for localization files, there is a hash computed by the mission editor after the name of the file, but not for the texture files (because I had them manually and I do not know how to compute the hash). Is it supposed to work without this hash ?

Just hash them manualy...

[AEthelraedUnraed]

3 hours ago, super-truite said:

Maybe it has to do with the format of the .list ? What I do not like is that for localization files, there is a hash computed by the mission editor after the name of the file, but not for the texture files (because I had them manually and I do not know how to compute the hash). Is it supposed to work without this hash ?

I don't have any experience with hosting multiplayer missions or its requirements, but it seems likely to me that the hash is required (to make sure there were no errors during transmission, and make sure each player uses the same files). It's a 128-bit value and I don't think it's meant to encrypt anything, so it might be an md5 hash. Try to compute the md5 hash of one of the other files, and see if it's the same value. If so, just add it to the list file.

 

On 12/30/2022 at 1:50 AM, super-truite said:

Also, so far I did not encounter all the in game textures like the paved roads we see in Normandy cities for instance, but maybe it is just a tiling issue because some textures do not show up properly, I must have chosen the wrong parameters for the UV.

Each map has its own texture set, so if you cannot find a certain texture in the surfacetex folder of one specific map, look in the others. There's also a few other places where textures are stored, for instance roads and railways are inside the ROADS\textures folder of all the maps.

 

EDIT: Sorry, somehow I lost my counting skills. The hash is 32 bits, not 128, so definitely *not* md5. I'll go back to primary school now and practise my tables. 1x1 = 1. 1x2=2. 1x3=3 ... 1x8=8. 2x8=16. 3x8=24. 4x8=32...

Edited December 31, 2022 by AEthelraedUnraed

[SYN_Vander]

1 hour ago, J99_Sizzlorr said:

Just hash them manualy...

 

Which algorithm? I tried a number of them, but none produce 7 characters, nor is it the first 7 characters....

[super-truite]

2 hours ago, SYN_Vander said:

 

Which algorithm? I tried a number of them, but none produce 7 characters, nor is it the first 7 characters....

That's my point I do not know the algorithm used

[J99_Sizzlorr]

Any number should do that is not already used in the same list file, no algorithm needed IIRC...it doesn't have to be 7 characters, try two digit numbers

Edited December 31, 2022 by J99_Sizzlorr

[AEthelraedUnraed]

18 hours ago, J99_Sizzlorr said:

Any number should do that is not already used in the same list file, no algorithm needed IIRC...it doesn't have to be 7 characters, try two digit numbers

But what is the purpose of a hash value if it isn't used?

[super-truite]

yes it is weird, but it works, I just tested!
My new .list looks like this :
 

filename="multiplayer/dogfight/surfaceedit3.chs","3906b272"
filename="multiplayer/dogfight/surfaceedit3.eng","f7f16e3a"
filename="multiplayer/dogfight/surfaceedit3.fra","00230ee3"
filename="multiplayer/dogfight/surfaceedit3.ger","05b1d0ab"
filename="multiplayer/dogfight/surfaceedit3.pol","da7e70e4"
filename="multiplayer/dogfight/surfaceedit3.rus","d54c7823"
filename="multiplayer/dogfight/surfaceedit3.spa","3fdc41fc"
filename="multiplayer/dogfight/textures_SurfaceEdit3.tini", "51"
filename="multiplayer/dogfight/Surface_SurfaceEdit3Tex.txt", "52"
filename="multiplayer/dogfight/Surface_SurfaceEdit3.dat", "53"

 

[super-truite]

I am trying to find a way to make the AI vehicles to  use newly generated roads. It seems that the texture is not sufficient and that something else is needed.
Any ideas ?
 

[Hamaha15]

You have to set waypoints along the fake road. Each bend requires a waypoint and the formation command must be set to Off-Road.

Sharp bends may require a reduction of speed.

 

Try one of the sample tank missions from this link:

 

https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/14803-the-groups-sharing-corner/page/13/#comment-1194240

 

[super-truite]

It is what I do currently, but I was expecting to be able to generate some sort of backed waypoints so that the formation command : on road column would work.
My use case is that I am making roads on complex cities like Köln and it gets really tedious to test all the waypoints if I use Off-road formations.
I would like to be able to use newly created roads, like the ones from the vanilla map, but I am not sure it is possible to generate new AI paths.

[AEthelraedUnraed]

13 hours ago, super-truite said:

It is what I do currently, but I was expecting to be able to generate some sort of backed waypoints so that the formation command : on road column would work.
My use case is that I am making roads on complex cities like Köln and it gets really tedious to test all the waypoints if I use Off-road formations.
I would like to be able to use newly created roads, like the ones from the vanilla map, but I am not sure it is possible to generate new AI paths.

Well, there is a way, but it really depends on your use case. For most cases, I'd recommend to do as Hamaha15 says.

 

If it's for private use only and you're prepared to spend 15 minutes or so after every edit waiting for all the roads to compile, then yes, you can edit the "real" roads. If you want to share your content with others, I usually wouldn't bother; it's 150MB or so for just the compiled roads and they aren't linked inside the mission file so you have to share them as a mod. If you're interested however, I can give you a quick rundown on how to do it.

[super-truite]

too bad, yeah it is what I suspected, did not see any files related to this in the texture.tini or the .Mission ...
Back to placing hundreds of waypoints then