Changes between Version 1 and Version 2 of XML:_Terrain


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Timestamp:
Jul 10, 2009, 10:27:13 PM (15 years ago)
Author:
Erik Johansson
Comment:

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  • XML:_Terrain

    v1 v2  
    1 XML: Terrain
     1Terrain can be defined as the ground plane. It is the basic tile based foundation that establishes the game world. This document defines those attributes.[[BR]][[BR]]The placement of what texture goes where is defined by random map script or a map editor. They will be able to control troop movement, structure placement, ambush points, strategic harbours, and impassable mountain ranges with these tools.[[BR]][[BR]]There are going to be lots of different terrains, and many of them will share similar attributes. To reduce the hassle of creating XML for each terrain tile, terrain XML should have the following support:
     2 1. Multiple terrain objects can be stored in the same XML file (separated by their <terrain> tags).
     3 1. Multiple terrain XML files can be read from the same folder.
     4 1. Terrains can inherit attributes from other terrains by specifying a "parent" (see the section on inheritance in the '''XML Header Overview''').
    25
    3 Terrain can be defined as the ground plane. It is the basic tile based foundation that establishes the game world. This document defines those attributes.
     6||'''Skin'''||
    47
    5 The placement of what texture goes where is defined by random map script or a map editor. They will be able to control troop movement, structure placement, ambush points, strategic harbours, and impassable mountain ranges with these tools.
     8[[BR]]'''''BRIEF DESCRIPTION ::'''''Specifies the name and path of the terrain's texture. Note that the icon for the terrain is automatically generated as a thumbnail of this image.[[BR]][[BR]]Animated textures can be specified here. This feature could be used for all sorts of effects: waterfalls, water effects, UI effects, fire, conveyor belts, skyboxes.[[BR]][[BR]]'''Dirt'''[[BR]]- dirt1 - bare[[BR]]- dirt2 - cracked[[BR]]- dirt3 – mud[[BR]][[BR]]'''Grass'''[[BR]]- grass1 - plain[[BR]]- grass2 - lush[[BR]]- grass3 - long[[BR]]- grass4 - weeds[[BR]]- grass5 – short/long mix[[BR]]- grass6 – bunched dry[[BR]]- grass7 – yellow[[BR]]- grass8 – dark tufts[[BR]]- grass9 – mixed greens, weeds[[BR]][[BR]]'''Sand'''[[BR]]- sand1 - plain[[BR]]- sand2 - rippled[[BR]]- sand3 – rough, rocky[[BR]][[BR]]'''Forrest'''[[BR]]- forest1 – leafy[[BR]]- forest2 – needles[[BR]]- forest3 – fronds[[BR]]- forest4 – scrub[[BR]]- forest5 – logged[[BR]][[BR]]'''Road'''[[BR]]- road1 – Persian[[BR]]- road2 – Roman[[BR]]- road3 – Hellenic[[BR]]- road4 – Celtic[[BR]]- road5 – Carthaginian[[BR]]- road6 – Iberian[[BR]]- road7 – gravel - gray[[BR]]- road8 – gravel - brown[[BR]][[BR]]'''Water Sub-Terrain '''[[BR]]- coral1 - brown[[BR]]- coral2 - turquoise[[BR]]- coral3 - red[[BR]]- rock1 - light[[BR]]- rock2 - medium[[BR]]- rock3 - dark[[BR]]- pebble1 - small[[BR]]- pebble2 - large[[BR]][[BR]]'''Beach'''[[BR]]- sand1[[BR]]- sand2[[BR]]- sand3[[BR]][[BR]]'''Cliff'''[[BR]]- cliff1 - brown[[BR]]- cliff2 – brown, vegetation[[BR]]- cliff3 – brown, cracks[[BR]]- cliff4 - gray[[BR]]- cliff5 – gray, vegetation[[BR]]- cliff6 – gray, cracks[[BR]][[BR]]'''Special'''[[BR]]- furrows1 – dirt[[BR]]- furrows2 – dirt, small plants[[BR]]- furrows3 – dirt, large plants[[BR]]- black[[BR]]- lava[[BR]]- structure – under structures[[BR]][[BR]]
     9||'''MMap'''||
    610
    7 There are going to be lots of different terrains, and many of them will share similar attributes. To reduce the hassle of creating XML for each terrain tile, terrain XML should have the following support:
    8 Multiple terrain objects can be stored in the same XML file (separated by their <terrain> tags).
    9 Multiple terrain XML files can be read from the same folder.
    10 Terrains can inherit attributes from other terrains by specifying a "parent" (see the section on inheritance in the XML Header Overview).
    11 Skin
     11[[BR]]'''''BRIEF DESCRIPTION ::'''''The RGB colour used to represent this terrain on the Mini Map.[[BR]][[BR]]Note: If no value is specified, then the terrain colour is determined by finding the primary colour used in the skin, as in the current highly cool !ScEd.[[BR]][[BR]]
     12||'''Group'''||
    1213
    13 BRIEF DESCRIPTION ::Specifies the name and path of the terrain's texture. Note that the icon for the terrain is automatically generated as a thumbnail of this image.
     14[[BR]]'''''BRIEF DESCRIPTION ::'''''The types/classes/groups to which this terrain belongs.[[BR]][[BR]]Used when painting by random group, and to specify under what categories it appears in the Editor. For example, if the user is painting group "Arid Grass", it'll randomly pick terrains with this type to paint. Actors like trees should use the same principle (eg an Oak Tree group for all oak trees). [[BR]][[BR]]
     15||Properties''''''||
    1416
    15 Animated textures can be specified here. This feature could be used for all sorts of effects: waterfalls, water effects, UI effects, fire, conveyor belts, skyboxes.
     17[[BR]]'''''BRIEF DESCRIPTION ::'''''List of special properties for the terrain.[[BR]][[BR]]For example, "buildable" means that structures can be built on the terrain, assuming that it is flat enough.[[BR]][[BR]]
     18||Passable''''''||
    1619
    17 Dirt
    18 - dirt1 - bare
    19 - dirt2 - cracked
    20 - dirt3 – mud
     20[[BR]]'''''BRIEF DESCRIPTION ::'''''Defines that a certain type of unit can move over this terrain, and the effects the terrain applies when the unit is moving over it.[[BR]][[BR]]A terrain can have multiple Passable attributes to define different behaviours for different unit types walking over it.[[BR]][[BR]][[BR]][[BR]](Note that special actors that combine multiple terrain objects (such as water and cliffs) simply use the passable attributes for those terrains. For example, the only thing stopping units from walking up the wall of a cliff is that the wall terrain is impassable to units. Equally, the appropriate surface and shore terrains determine what units and ships can walk on the different areas of a water object.)[[BR]][[BR]]A Passable attribute consists of:
     21 * '''Type:''' The category of unit(s) that can pass over this terrain (determined by the entity's '''Id.Type''').
     22 * '''Speed:''' A percentage modifier to the unit's movement rate when moving over this terrain. 100% uses the unit's default movement rate. Higher numbers increase the unit's speed. Lower numbers decrease the unit's speed.
     23 * '''Effect:''': A list of special effects that occur when the unit is walking over this terrain. Effects include:
     24   * '''Dust:''' eg sand, dry dirt. Clouds of dust particles appear around the entity as it moves over the terrain.
     25   * '''Tracks:''' eg mud, wet dirt. Entities leave tracks on the terrain as they move. This is dependent upon the entity type. For example, foot units leave footprints, cavalry leave hoofprints, while wheeled units cut grooves into the ground.
     26   * '''Splash:''' eg shallows, mud.
     27   * '''Wakes:''' eg deep water. Ripples and wave deformations of the water mesh.
    2128
    22 Grass
    23 - grass1 - plain
    24 - grass2 - lush
    25 - grass3 - long
    26 - grass4 - weeds
    27 - grass5 – short/long mix
    28 - grass6 – bunched dry
    29 - grass7 – yellow
    30 - grass8 – dark tufts
    31 - grass9 – mixed greens, weeds
     29QUOTEThese are the general rules for terrain movement:[[BR]]
     30[[BR]][[BR]][[BR]][[BR]] * '''Normal (undefined)'''[[BR]]''Units'' – movement of any entity except ships.[[BR]]''Structures'' – construction of any structure except Docks.[[BR]][[BR]][[BR]][[BR]]
     31 * '''Shallows'''[[BR]]''Units'' – movement of any entity with feet ('''!UnitNonMechanical''').[[BR]]''Structures'' - only the construction of water structures that may be[[BR]]built in the shallows ('''StructWallW, StructTowerW''', '''Dock''').[[BR]][[BR]]A special note about the shallow type.  The first image shows some nuances of the shallow water. See that though the water is visually ‘shallow’ in a certain region of that picture… it isn’t ‘shallow type’ because it doesn’t have the correct shallow texture type (designated by the difference in the skin appearance).  In other words, 2 things must be in order before a[[BR]]terrain is considered shallow. It must not be too deep (elevation difference of the Z axis), and it must be the shallow terrain type.[[BR]][[BR]][[BR]][[BR]]
     32 * '''Water'''[[BR]]''Units'' – movement only by ships ('''!UnitShips''').[[BR]]''Structures'' – no structures may be built.[[BR]][[BR]][[BR]][[BR]]
     33 * '''Forest'''[[BR]]''Units'' – only units with the Boolean attribute of walking in forests may walk in Forest type.[[BR]]''Structures'' – no structures may be built.[[BR]][[BR]]A special note about the forest type.  When a tree is placed on the terrain, the tile that the tree is placed on has the terrain’s secondary texture skin changed to a forest type.  When a cluster of trees are placed in adjacent tiles it changes the terrain enough to make a ‘closed’ forest terrain which means that all eight tiles around it also have a tree on them.  When that is the case, the terrain is now of the forest type and there are special permissions applied to it.[[BR]][[BR]][[BR]][[BR]][[BR]][[BR]]
     34 * '''Cliff'''[[BR]]''Units'' – no unit may traverse.[[BR]]''Structures'' – no structure may be built.[[BR]][[BR]][[BR]]
    3235
    33 Sand
    34 - sand1 - plain
    35 - sand2 - rippled
    36 - sand3 – rough, rocky
     36[[BR]][[BR]]
     37||'''Doodad'''||
    3738
    38 Forrest
    39 - forest1 – leafy
    40 - forest2 – needles
    41 - forest3 – fronds
    42 - forest4 – scrub
    43 - forest5 – logged
     39[[BR]]'''''BRIEF DESCRIPTION ::'''''Doodads/goobers/decals that get randomly sprinkled over this terrain. Similar to props, except they aren't bonded to specific sockets.[[BR]][[BR]]Useful for beautifying terrain and breaking up patterns in the texture (cacti, plants, lilies, reeds).[[BR]][[BR]]Like the Passable attributes, a terrain can have multiple doodads.[[BR]][[BR]]A Doodad attribute consists of:
     40 * '''Name:''' The name of the prop or decal actor that can be placed.
     41 * '''Max:''' Determines the maximum quantity of this doodad that could placed on the terrain (a random number of doodads is chosen when terrain is placed; this is the cap on that number, 0-max). Higher numbers have a higher likelihood of getting more doodads.
    4442
    45 Road
    46 - road1 – Persian
    47 - road2 – Roman
    48 - road3 – Hellenic
    49 - road4 – Celtic
    50 - road5 – Carthaginian
    51 - road6 – Iberian
    52 - road7 – gravel - gray
    53 - road8 – gravel - brown
    54 
    55 Water Sub-Terrain
    56 - coral1 - brown
    57 - coral2 - turquoise
    58 - coral3 - red
    59 - rock1 - light
    60 - rock2 - medium
    61 - rock3 - dark
    62 - pebble1 - small
    63 - pebble2 - large
    64 
    65 Beach
    66 - sand1
    67 - sand2
    68 - sand3
    69 
    70 Cliff
    71 - cliff1 - brown
    72 - cliff2 – brown, vegetation
    73 - cliff3 – brown, cracks
    74 - cliff4 - gray
    75 - cliff5 – gray, vegetation
    76 - cliff6 – gray, cracks
    77 
    78 Special
    79 - furrows1 – dirt
    80 - furrows2 – dirt, small plants
    81 - furrows3 – dirt, large plants
    82 - black
    83 - lava
    84 - structure – under structures
    85 
    86 MMap
    87 
    88 BRIEF DESCRIPTION ::The RGB colour used to represent this terrain on the Mini Map.
    89 
    90 Note: If no value is specified, then the terrain colour is determined by finding the primary colour used in the skin, as in the current highly cool ScEd.
    91 
    92 Group
    93 
    94 BRIEF DESCRIPTION ::The types/classes/groups to which this terrain belongs.
    95 
    96 Used when painting by random group, and to specify under what categories it appears in the Editor. For example, if the user is painting group "Arid Grass", it'll randomly pick terrains with this type to paint. Actors like trees should use the same principle (eg an Oak Tree group for all oak trees).
    97 
    98 Properties
    99 
    100 BRIEF DESCRIPTION ::List of special properties for the terrain.
    101 
    102 For example, "buildable" means that structures can be built on the terrain, assuming that it is flat enough.
    103 
    104 Passable
    105 
    106 BRIEF DESCRIPTION ::Defines that a certain type of unit can move over this terrain, and the effects the terrain applies when the unit is moving over it.
    107 
    108 A terrain can have multiple Passable attributes to define different behaviours for different unit types walking over it.
    109 
    110 
    111 
    112 (Note that special actors that combine multiple terrain objects (such as water and cliffs) simply use the passable attributes for those terrains. For example, the only thing stopping units from walking up the wall of a cliff is that the wall terrain is impassable to units. Equally, the appropriate surface and shore terrains determine what units and ships can walk on the different areas of a water object.)
    113 
    114 A Passable attribute consists of:
    115 Type: The category of unit(s) that can pass over this terrain (determined by the entity's Id.Type).
    116 Speed: A percentage modifier to the unit's movement rate when moving over this terrain. 100% uses the unit's default movement rate. Higher numbers increase the unit's speed. Lower numbers decrease the unit's speed.
    117 Effect:: A list of special effects that occur when the unit is walking over this terrain. Effects include:
    118 Dust: eg sand, dry dirt. Clouds of dust particles appear around the entity as it moves over the terrain.
    119 Tracks: eg mud, wet dirt. Entities leave tracks on the terrain as they move. This is dependent upon the entity type. For example, foot units leave footprints, cavalry leave hoofprints, while wheeled units cut grooves into the ground.
    120 Splash: eg shallows, mud.
    121 Wakes: eg deep water. Ripples and wave deformations of the water mesh.
    122 QUOTE
    123 These are the general rules for terrain movement:
    124 
    125 
    126 
    127 
    128 Normal (undefined)
    129 Units – movement of any entity except ships.
    130 Structures – construction of any structure except Docks.
    131 
    132 
    133 
    134 
    135 Shallows
    136 Units – movement of any entity with feet (UnitNonMechanical).
    137 Structures - only the construction of water structures that may be
    138 built in the shallows (StructWallW, StructTowerW, Dock).
    139 
    140 A special note about the shallow type.  The first image shows some nuances of the shallow water. See that though the water is visually ‘shallow’ in a certain region of that picture… it isn’t ‘shallow type’ because it doesn’t have the correct shallow texture type (designated by the difference in the skin appearance).  In other words, 2 things must be in order before a
    141 terrain is considered shallow. It must not be too deep (elevation difference of the Z axis), and it must be the shallow terrain type.
    142 
    143 
    144 
    145 
    146 Water
    147 Units – movement only by ships (UnitShips).
    148 Structures – no structures may be built.
    149 
    150 
    151 
    152 
    153 Forest
    154 Units – only units with the Boolean attribute of walking in forests may walk in Forest type.
    155 Structures – no structures may be built.
    156 
    157 A special note about the forest type.  When a tree is placed on the terrain, the tile that the tree is placed on has the terrain’s secondary texture skin changed to a forest type.  When a cluster of trees are placed in adjacent tiles it changes the terrain enough to make a ‘closed’ forest terrain which means that all eight tiles around it also have a tree on them.  When that is the case, the terrain is now of the forest type and there are special permissions applied to it.
    158 
    159 
    160 
    161 
    162 
    163 
    164 Cliff
    165 Units – no unit may traverse.
    166 Structures – no structure may be built.
    167 
    168 
    169 
    170 
    171 
    172 
    173 Doodad
    174 
    175 BRIEF DESCRIPTION ::Doodads/goobers/decals that get randomly sprinkled over this terrain. Similar to props, except they aren't bonded to specific sockets.
    176 
    177 Useful for beautifying terrain and breaking up patterns in the texture (cacti, plants, lilies, reeds).
    178 
    179 Like the Passable attributes, a terrain can have multiple doodads.
    180 
    181 A Doodad attribute consists of:
    182 Name: The name of the prop or decal actor that can be placed.
    183 Max: Determines the maximum quantity of this doodad that could placed on the terrain (a random number of doodads is chosen when terrain is placed; this is the cap on that number, 0-max). Higher numbers have a higher likelihood of getting more doodads.
    184 Example:
    185 
    186 CODE
    187 
    188 <terrain tag="GrassRoughB" parent="GrassRoughA"
    189        skin="textures/terrain/water/GrassRoughB.dds"
    190        mmap="100, 200, 250"                         
    191        type="grass, roughgrass"
    192        properties="buildable"
    193        <passable type="siege" speed="80" effect="grooves, dust"/>
    194        <passable type="wheeled" speed="75" effect="grooves, dust"/>
    195        <passable type="mounted" speed="90" effect="tracks, dust"/>
    196        <passable type="foot" speed="102" effect="footprints, dust"/>
    197        <doodad name="Shrub1" max="2">
    198        <doodad name="Stone2" max="3">
    199        <doodad name="Stone3" max="3">
    200        <doodad name="Flower1" max="2">
    201        <event on="WalkOver" ![CDATA[    // When something walks on the terrain,
    202            walker.SetAnimation("onfire",3);
    203            Destroy(walker, "FireDeath");  // Set the unit walking on it on fire, just for the hell of it.
    204        ]]></event>
    205 ></terrain>
     43Example:[[BR]][[BR]]CODE[[BR]]<terrain tag="GrassRoughB" parent="GrassRoughA"[[BR]]       skin="textures/terrain/water/GrassRoughB.dds"[[BR]]       mmap="100, 200, 250"                         [[BR]]       type="grass, roughgrass"[[BR]]       properties="buildable"[[BR]]       <passable type="siege" speed="80" effect="grooves, dust"/>[[BR]]       <passable type="wheeled" speed="75" effect="grooves, dust"/>[[BR]]       <passable type="mounted" speed="90" effect="tracks, dust"/> [[BR]]       <passable type="foot" speed="102" effect="footprints, dust"/> [[BR]]       <doodad name="Shrub1" max="2">[[BR]]       <doodad name="Stone2" max="3">[[BR]]       <doodad name="Stone3" max="3"> [[BR]]       <doodad name="Flower1" max="2"> [[BR]]       <event on="!WalkOver" ![CDATA[    // When something walks on the terrain, [[BR]]           walker.!SetAnimation("onfire",3);[[BR]]           Destroy(walker, "!FireDeath");  // Set the unit walking on it on fire, just for the hell of it. [[BR]]       ]]></event> [[BR]]></terrain>