Sillysoft Forums

[SunTzu]

I've been asked a few times on how I make detailed polygons for maps, so here is a quick overview:

• Start with a reference image
  
• Create a new layer in Photoshop (Paint Shop Pro, Gimp, etc. will work as well)
  
• Outline the polygons using 1-pixel dots
  
• In ImageReady (or any image mapping tool) use the polygon image map tool and create the polygons by connecting the dots
  
• Preview the image when complete, and copy the polygon coordinates to your .luxb file.

[paranoiarodeo]

Or ... you can use Adobe Illustrator to draw polygons over an image ... and carefully strip the coordinate data from the resulting PDFs ... lock to a single pixel grid ... or not ... if you don't mind running your numbers through Excel and ( TRUNCATING / ROUNDING ) decimals along the way ...

I streamlined the process through a weekend of trial and error ... kludgy little spreadsheet even concatenates each country's coordinates into an XML ready string ...

∞ paranoiarodeo pats himself on the back ∞

Three or four of my beta maps are lounging oceanside with Bar's ... sipping cold beers and peeking under the grass skirts of exotic drink girls ... they occasionally send postcards, rarely call and never visit ... I'm thinking of abandoning the RAW rat race and joining them in paradise ... ah ... wouldn't that be swell ... !

[SunTzu]

I looked into that method a few months ago, Para, but was never able to make it efficient.

I actually stumbled across a perl script written by cyanshade that will convert the html output of ImageReady to a lux map. (See http://sillysoft.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=822 for more details.)

Boy did THAT ever make my life easier!

[Ricklionhart]

I use Adobe Indesign for all my precise linework, and then export it to Photoshop as a PDF bitmap. This also allows me to change line weights easily, and it has far better control of text-on-a-path than Photoshop.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for advice. I will try.

[djdee]

[Cuarto]

you can also find a picture of what you want on the internet, place it behind where you want the country to go and alternate between the map editor and the internet browser following the border of the internet picture with your mouse, changing to the editor, then clicking. this has worked really nicely in my making of the Oklahoma, Delaware, and Vermont maps (not yet published)

[enjoymoreradio]

Isn't that the whole purpose of the Load Background Image (Cmd-L)? I mean, you don't need to switch between browser and editor if you just make the image the background for the editor.

[Cuarto]

damn. if only i had known... lol

[navyboysaipan]

[SunTzu]

[Weed Acct 33]

Sup,

Cyan's site is gone. Can anyone else upload the html2lux file?

[Enokrad]

download and extract the file from the rar archive

http://www.hotlinkfiles.com/files/1665909_8eote/html2lux.rar

thanks to SunTzu for giving me the file a few months back.

[Weed Acct 33]

gracias señor!

and I know what to do with a rar file -.-

[Weed Acct 33]

More questions!

I'm winging this whole thing, since I have no prior experience with Photoshop or ImageReady.

Do I even need Photoshop, or can the whole thing be done in ImageReady?

When I am in Photoshop, you say to create a new layer. I opened the picture, went to the Layer menu, everything is grayed, and it won't let me make said layer. Why?

How do I run the cyanshade's perl script?

Also, will ImageReady CS2 work with Photoshop CS3 (because that's the one I have, and I have yet to get ImageReady at all).

Thanks in advance!

[Enokrad]

Create your file in photoshop (CS2 or CS3) and save it in png format.
make sure only the overground layer is visible.

After that open in imageready and use the magic wand to select all the areas that are going to be your countries. In the Magic wand properties choose "add to selection" button so in the end all the countries are selected simultaneously. At that point you just have to save the shapes and then export them to html format.

Then you use the perl file and after it creates a lux xml map
you just have to open the reg Lux editor and create new continents.

As to how to use the perl file, basic instructions can be found at this post by cyanshade

[Weed Acct 33]

I can't find anything I can use to convert it to .png (its .gif right now), and it won't let me make a new layer (which I assume is the overground you're talking about).

Do you have any suggestions?

[Enokrad]

Overground is the image that will be placed over the countries.
in the end you will have

background.jpeg
foreground.png (if you want to have one)
overground.png

What program are you using for the layers?

Use Photoshop to create the pictures (overground) and layers and save as..... png

In theory you don't even need to create layers at all.
just make sure your overground is transparent and saved as png.

a really nice guide to learn how to use photoshop is Pixel Perfect It has very informative video clips

Has all kinds of cool stuff you can make. I would start with lesson one and go one a few episodes. eventually when you learn to make some of the stuff you can skip to the things you are mostly interested in.

[Weed Acct 33]

But I have no idea how to make a layer! I have my image but it won't let me choose anything from the layer menu. I also don't know where to go to convert the file, any chance you could just point me there, so to speak..?

[Enokrad]

ok i see why that happens

layers are locked when a file is open in gif format

usually it's fine if you open a jpeg bmp png or whatever else.

just do this

open the gif

select on the right the one layer that does exist (default or index layer)

press : ctrl + A

then : ctrl + N

click ok
you should see a new clear window open up (white background most likely)

press : ctrl + V

and the image that was on the gif should appear.

if you look at the right where layers should be,
you have a white background layer (that is shown locked)
and over it the new layer you just added which is a copy of the pic in your original gif image.

after that you can go and right click the white layer and delete it.

you should be left with the gif layer unlocked that you can edit and add new layers over it.

[Weed Acct 33]

Haha you totally could have just told me to copy/paste it in a new file. Sorry about that, not trying to be difficult but I'm trying to do this with no experience whatsoever. It'll make it that much more significant. Thanks a bunch for the help.

[Enokrad]

EDIT: The method used in this comment does not work - deleted