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TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE

 
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TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:26:49 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline
TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE

By Bob Cross


Assuming one has successfully installed and set up TOAW IV (including choosing a language), this start screen will appear upon running the game:




This article will detail the Editor User Interface of TOAW IV. But I will also try to incorporate a primer on scenario design along with it.

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by Tamas -- 10/17/2018 10:16:59 AM >

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site
Post #: 1
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:28:12 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		So, after clicking on the “SCENARIO EDITOR” button, this screen appears:






Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 2
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:29:03 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		The Editor opens in Map editing mode. There is nothing different about map editing from TOAW III. However, you can now change the map scale:




We’ll stay at 2d Large.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 3
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:30:32 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		But before we draw the map, we must have a source of information. Now, if you are using a board game, you’ll have its map as a source. Then it’s just a case of copying the hexes on the game board to the TOAW map. But, if you’re working from scratch, just eyeballing the information on your source map onto the TOAW map will result in a very unsatisfactory looking mess. That will proclaim your scenario to be less than top rate, regardless of the quality of any other component of the design. You need a more systematic method of transferring the information on your source map to the TOAW map.

While there are several competing methods available, my technique, that I’ve used on all my “from scratch” maps is described in this thread:

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2231136

It identifies the latitude and longitude values for each hex, allowing the use of a digital map source (with a lat/long tool) to locate features on the map. The map projection it creates is Sinusoidal – very good for wargaming.

If projections are unclear to you, I also have another article on map projections here:

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2231107

Once you’ve completed that process, you should know just what tiles go into each hex. Now it should just be an issue of knowing how to use the map editor.

Step one: You should now know the width and height of the planned map. You need to set that using the “Set Map Boundaries” dialog. Access it via the Edit Pull-Down:





Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 4
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:31:30 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		The Set Map Boundaries dialog is invoked:




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 5
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:32:12 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		Note that the new map limits are 700 x 700. This is over five times the map area available to TOAW III designers. Other map features’ limits have been increased accordingly.

Set the boundaries as shown, then hit “Done”:





The map should now be 41 hexes wide and 34 hexes tall.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 6
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:33:18 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		Now to start placing tiles. To do that, you must first select the tile from the Tile Palette on the right. It shows half the tiles available. To access the second half, right-click on the down button:




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 7
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:34:08 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		But let’s start with the deep water tile. The best first step is usually to map out the coastline. This scenario doesn’t have a coastline, but it does have a river that will be built of deep water hexes.

The Draw Mode starts out in “Point”, and that is what most drawing will be done with. Leave it there. I’ve drawn the Tennessee River using deep water tiles here:





I’ve also placed some anchorage hexes, as well.

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 8
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:35:52 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		Next, change the tile to “Shallow Water”. This is used here for some side creeks:




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 9
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:36:33 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		Change to “Major River”. This is used for creeks here:




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 10
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:37:47 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		It’s time to look at “Auto-Contouring”. It’s been on so far. It automatically makes the connections between similar tiles – as seen above with the creek being linked together from hex to hex. However, when those similar tiles start to get too concentrated, the auto method makes every connection possible. That can be more than desired, requiring lots of erasures. At that point, it becomes best to turn auto-contouring off:




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 11
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:38:18 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		With it off, you have to make the connections yourself – but that can still be less work than erasing all the bogus connections that the auto-contour feature makes. It’s a judgment call as to which is better sometimes, but be aware of the on/off option of the feature. Here are some more Major River tiles that were connected by hand instead of automatically:




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 12
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:38:59 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		Now switch to the Minor River tile. Again, auto-contour judgments must be made on the fly:




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 13
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:39:45 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		Now switch to the Improved Road tile. Again, auto-contour judgments must be made on the fly:




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 14
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:40:27 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		Next, switch to the Road tile. Again, auto-contour judgments must be made on the fly (and note that Road will auto-contour with Improved Road, so there will be even more times to turn it off):




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 15
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:41:08 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		Now switch to the Forest tile. Auto-contour should remain on for this tile:




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 16
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:41:58 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		For the Forest tile, there was an area in the top right where the “Fill” Draw Mode could be used:




But, to use it, I first had to enclose the area to be filled with Forest tiles – and the map edges don’t substitute for that. Without that enclosure, the Fill command would have filled the entire map with Forest – and I would have to hit the “Undo” button immediately – or be stuck.

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by Curtis Lemay -- 11/26/2017 6:42:14 PM >

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 17
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:42:47 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		Switch to the Flooded Marsh tile:




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 18
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:43:29 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		Next, switch to the Light Woods tile (the Light Woods models the Peach Orchard):




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 19
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:44:02 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		Next, switch to the Wadi tile (the Wadi models the Sunken Road):




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 20
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:44:40 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		Switch to the Escarpment tile (note that escarpments are hex side tiles – click on the side of the hex you want them to be on):




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 21
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:45:17 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		To place an exclusion zone, right-click in the desired hex:




A menu pops up. Select “Set exclusion zone 1”. (Repeat this to remove the zone). Note that there are a number of other options only available via this popup (Set a distance, Set entrenchment, Destroy/Repair Bridges).

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 22
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:46:22 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		Now switch the Draw Mode to the “A”:




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 23
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:46:55 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		Now we can create the Place Names:




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 24
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:47:42 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		Note that there are several options other than standard place names:

There are three alternate place name fonts, with double font size, blue font color, and half font size. And there are a suite of 10 place name bitmaps available. They are accessed via codes placed in front of the place name text:





The “#” symbol appending the text invokes one of the alternate place name fonts. The 1 specifies that it is the first alternate (larger font size).

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by Curtis Lemay -- 11/26/2017 6:48:12 PM >

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 25
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:48:50 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		The 2 specifies the second alternate (blue font color):




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 26
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:49:26 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		The 3 specifies the third alternate (smaller font size):




Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 27
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:50:18 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		The “<” symbol appending the text invokes one of the Place Name Bitmaps. The 8 is the Red Star. Note that there was no text required. You can also place more than one bitmap per location – just add more codes. They are generally arranged toward the various sides of the hex, to facilitate this:




And the map is finished! (Note that this is my “Shiloh 1862” map).

Attachment (1)

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 28
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:51:37 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		The next step is to create the two forces. But, like the map, you can’t just plunge into creating the forces until you have sources for them. That requires research. For example, the sources for this scenario were:

"The Battle of Shiloh", West End Games, by Richard Berg with Jon Southard, 1984.

"Bloody April", SPI, Richard Berg, Redmond Simonsen, Thomas Walczyk, 1979.

http://custermen.com/DixieBoys/AOMShiloh.htm#FirstCorps
Organization of the Confederate Army of Mississippi

Army of the Tennessee OOB - Battle of Shiloh - Brett Schulte

Army of the Ohio OOB - Battle of Shiloh - brettschulte.net

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Shiloh

Note that two board wargames were referenced, as were four web sites/documents. That’s sort of typical for a small scenario.

Armed with this force information, the forces are created with the Force Editor:





This is the legacy force editor that was included in all previous TOAW versions. (New to TOAW IV is the limit on units per side that has been increased from 2,000 to 10,000 and the limit on formations per side from 400 to 1,000). A new force editor is partially completed, but will need more work before the legacy one can be abandoned. I’ll cover the new stuff later. For now, the force is best generated via the legacy editor. But, first, this scenario needs some custom equipment. That is achieved via the new in-game Equipment Editor. That is accessed only from the “Available Systems” pane of the Force Editor. Note that that is where we are at.

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by Curtis Lemay -- 11/26/2017 6:52:27 PM >

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 29
RE: TOAW IV EDITOR INTERFACE - 11/26/2017 6:53:55 PM   
Curtis Lemay


Posts: 11543
Joined: 9/17/2004
From: Houston, TX
Status: offline 		Right-click on any equipment item in the right-side pane:




The Equipment Dialog is invoked. But note the button on the bottom right: “Edit Equipment”. This button is only present if the dialog is invoked via the “Available Systems” pane of the Force Editor.

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by Curtis Lemay -- 11/26/2017 6:54:30 PM >

_____________________________

My TOAW web site:

Bob Cross's TOAW Site

(in reply to Curtis Lemay)
Post #: 30
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