Europe base map

[Grandma Ruth]

Here is a new base map for Europe: I have only put in seas and rivers so if anyone wants to use it for their own map, please feel free! One of these days it will emerge as a proper scenario but when that will be I have no way of knowing. I started the scenario in 2007, lost the map, started again, realised how much things had change since then, and started again. So hopefully I might get it done before any more major changes hit us!
Meanwhile, enjoy using the base for your own maps.

[Grandma Ruth]

Didn't like that one so I've had to redo it and hopefully for the last time! Apologies to anyone who's already downloaded the previous.

[Gumboots]

Might be an idea to rename it before zipping it. The string of hash marks before the name makes the map invisible to the game, so anyone who tries to load it will have to rename it first anyway.

The other thing is that special characters in a map name will destroy any terrain painting, leaving you with the default olive green everywhere (including oceans). You can use underscores without problems, even in front of a map name, but any other special characters tend to be bad news in RT3.

[Grandma Ruth]

Wow, thanks! I had no idea the special characters could have such an effect. Maybe explains a lot of the difficulties I've had. In any case I've started once more - for the umpteenth time - to get a base map that's both realistic and playable.

[Gumboots]

I found out about the special characters when making custom cargo cars. They can have some very weird effects on those too. But you can test the map one yourself easily enough. Just pick any map that has terrain painting, and save it with a new name that has special characters. It's quite repeatable.

I should probably make a list of which characters the game will accept, because it's fine with underscores so it may accept a few others without glitches. Hash marks are a no-no though.

[Grandma Ruth]

The only reason I was using them was to force the map to the top of the list. Someone - it might have been you - said he did it by numbers. Starting at 300 and working backwards. I'd never thought of that! Simple when you think about it.

[RulerofRails]

Just a note to say that if you still have a backup version with good paint, you can restore the "corrupted" map. viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3778 Basically to copy the paint section of the backup and replace the bad info on the current file.

The recommended method is with a hex editor but bmp2gmp/gmp2bmp tool could also work. In any case it's an easy thing. I could do that for you if needed. All that's needed is a backup with good paint.

PS. I use the numbers method. You can start at 999 even. If you need more than a thousand versions, that would be insane.

[Grandma Ruth]