make_world 2021 : Make New Maps

[jlangsdo]

Directions to rebuild the landforms and maps, like in the East Indies Mod.

Install Tools:

Strawberry Perl
GIMP


Set up a Work directory, put these scripts in it (2021 versions):

make_world.pl
smp_fpk_unpack.pl


Unpack Assets:

At the Command Prompt, run smp_fpk_unpack.pl
This will create an Assets_UNPACKED directory with your base files.


Convert loadsavemap.dds to bmp

In GIMP, open "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Sid Meier's Pirates!\Assets_UNPACKED\dds\loadsave.dds"
File->Export As->
Change filename to loadsavemap.bmp
Change directory to bmp instead of dds
Export


Get a topographic map:

https://maps.ngdc.noaa.gov/viewers/grid-extract/index.html
I recommend ETOP01 (ice) for your data.
The rectangular icon beneath the zoom in and out lets you select a rectangle. Press Download Data

Tune, scale, and edit your map:

Open the tif file in GIMP.
Colors=> Brightness Contrast => Increase contrast until you see mountain ranges in white, but without making the whole picture black and white. You want to march up and down the mountains, not have flat land or cliffs. Changing brightness would raise/lower sea levels, but changing contrast alone will not disturb the coastline.
You can draw in water channels in black or landforms in white.
Image -> Scale Image to scale the image to 1640x1040. You may want to unchain width and height to scale them differently.
Export as a bmp in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Sid Meier's Pirates!\Work


Relocate land battles (TBD)

I hope to offer a script for changing the executable to use a different location for land battles automatically. For now, you need to have some land in the location where Hispanola should be, about 1150,540 on your 1640x1040 map, otherwise land battles will crash.


Run make_world.pl

This rebuilds the island files and maps. Most of the time is spent on the last and biggest file, caribbeanmap6.bmp.

Convert new loadsavemap.bmp to dds

In GIMP
Open C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Sid Meier's Pirates!\Assets\make_world\loadsavemap.bmp
Export as loadsavemap.dds in the same directory

Results will be in Assets/make_world, and should be ready to play. I'll work on a tool for cities next.

[themodelcitizen]

Thank you! This looks incredible. I'll play with it tonight.

[themodelcitizen]

[jlangsdo]

Oops. make_world.pl has a required switch, -world <filename>

So save it to any filename and use the switch. Thanks for helping work out the bugs! I put it into /Work/Mediterranean.bmp for my testing.

[themodelcitizen]

[jlangsdo]

If you save your bmp as, for example, Work/mycool.bmp

Then in the command prompt,
Cd to bhah/blah/blah/Work and run:
make_world.pl -world mycool.bmp

I have directed you to put the script and the bmp in the same directory so you don’t have tell the script the path to the bmp.

Maybe what I should have done is required the bmp to have a particular name in Assets, and hardcoded name that into the script. But to execute the script from the command prompt you would still have to figure out how to cd to the dir, I think.

[corsair91]

loadsavemap.dds is located here

\Assets\pak6.FPK\loadsavemap.dds

New link for topographic map
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/maps/grid-extract/

ETOPO_2022 (Ice Surface, 15 arcseconds)


There is a way of making changing command prompt directories slightly easier

Firstly

Right click on Taskbar - Taskbar Settings

Replace command prompt with Windows Powershell in the menu
when I right-click the start button
or Press Windows logo key + X

set to off

i.e. keep using Command prompt
(powershell probably doesn't support all the command line commands)


To change directories

Browse in my computer or Windows file Manager
(windows Logo key + E (ignore the plus +) will open File Manager
aka Windows Explorer)

Browse to the Directory (folder) you want to change to (open)
and click on it once to highlight the name only
(assuming here you have Double click to open a folder Set
in File Manager - View - Options)

Press SHIFT Key + Right Click on Folder Name
(ignore the plus +)

on the right Click extended context List

Select - Open Power shell Window here (actually now a command prompt
if you have done the taskbar settings outlined previously)

Should leave you in a command line at that folder location


CD.. goes up a directory level (CD change directory)
dir displays directory contents


The manual way of doing this is

open a command prompt

Start - Run - Type Cmd


In the command prompt

Type CD\

go back to the root (very top) of the C: drive


CD C:\pathname

for example CD "C:\Sid Meier's Pirates!\assets"

if you have any spaces in the pathname use quotes ""

for example "C:\my folder which has spaces in the pathname"

Command prompt uses the old MSDOS naming format 8.3
8 characters then Dot and 3 char extension

Use quotes for any long filenames (more than 8 Characters)
or long pathnames or for anything with spaces



I typically create a Desktop Shortcut say named Cmd

Target
C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe

Start in
C:\WINDOWS\system32


make things slightly easier to use a command prompt
by just clicking on the shortcut icon


Windows XP used to have a useful Microsoft Powertoy Utility
Open command prompt here which was dropped for Win 7-10

You have to edit the registry to do this now for Win10

https://www.windowscentral.com/add-open-command-window-here-back-context-menu-windows-10

What I outlined previously is apparently the only way to do something similar without editing your registry


Alternate ways of bringing up a command prompt
https://www.howtogeek.com/235101/10-ways-to-open-the-command-prompt-in-windows-10/

[Guest]

Oh brilliant, yes I've got it!

Welcome to the British Isles:



Wow! Wow!

Thank you for making this so accessible. Obviously I've work ahead with cityloc and related files, but the possibilities are endless. I haven't been this excited about a game in a long time!

As I get started, the Mediterranean is enticing, perhaps with Ottomans and Venetians, but the original 4 nations work with the North Sea (perhaps the Treasure Fleet is now the Spanish Armada restocking in the mainland).

In the longer term, I'll create an 11th century viking mod, where you can venture to Greenland, Helluland, Markland, etc. Rejigging the East Indies to have more passable channels/straits is an option too.

You're an absolute legend j!

[corsair91]

Irish placenames Info


Placenames Database of Ireland
https://www.logainm.ie/en/


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


Definitive guide to understanding Irish place names
https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/guide-understanding-irish-place-names


https://osi.ie/blog/irish-place-names/
https://osi.ie/education/third-level-and-academic/history-of-place-names/


https://www.irishpost.com/news/the-funniest-strangest-rudest-irish-placenames-66081


Only the Brits use the term British Isles now,
It has actually been Britain & Ireland for about 100 years now.
or more more correctly the Geographical term - North Atlantic Archipelago

[themodelcitizen]

Have you found a sweet spot with the contrast, or after changing it do you find yourself going in and using the magic wand tool to isolate specific mountainous areas and toning down the contrast there? I can get the land to look good with rolling hills, but then other areas are completely flat or cliffs. I'll keep finetuning it.

[fleetp]

Holy sh*t! You guys are amazing!

[jlangsdo]

Further plans....

For cities, I'm thinking of giving you a spreadsheet to download and edit, then export as a csv, then run a perl script to update all of the files, including changing the executable.

I might make it a Google Sheet, just because they don't ship Windows with Excel any more.

I like the Britain and Ireland... it's a cool idea to have an island rather than a sea, because it doesn't cut off. Only problem is that until the cities are moved, many of your starting locations are illegal.

[themodelcitizen]

The trainer helps with that - with the England/Ireland map I'm playing around with, the Jamaica Channel lines up nicely with the English Channel (an easy fix in text.ini), so I've been teleporting there if the game starts me inland somewhere.

Those script ideas sound great, I was planning on manually moving cities and the treasure fleet by calculating the x and y coordinates like I've done in the past, but that sounds a lot less time-consuming!

And yes, including the mainland is tricky, as much as I'd like to rejig Holland's coastline to 1600 levels (including the Zuiderzee), and that part of the map is fine because of the game's eastern/northern invisible wall, the other side of the map (France or Spain/Portugal) would have a weird cut-off.

[Pirate]

Mars used to have water they say make a map of that and little green men shooting and looting. Cities look like Adobe villages of red clay.

[corsair91]