[rel] Minimaps With Location Names

K9_Cop · March 2005

<div class="IPBDescription">for NS v3.0 final (plus agora/mineshaft)</div> EDIT: The correct version was uploaded at 11am EST, March 8, 2005.
EDIT: A correct but better version with bigger fonts was uploaded at 9:50pm EST, March 8, 2005.

These are custom minimaps for NS v3.0 final.

The minimaps are identical to the originals except I've added nearly all the location names.

Included in this release are the minimaps for ns_agora and ns_mineshaft from NS v3.0 beta 5.

The original minimaps are included in case you need them.

Download from <a href='http://tc.paing.com/ourfiles/minimaps.zip' target='_blank'>http://tc.paing.com/ourfiles/minimaps.zip</a> and extract to your half-life/ns directory. Overwrite if asked.

If you want transparent minimaps, check out this link, someone else has made them: <a href='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=90087' target='_blank'>http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index....showtopic=90087</a>.

If you are interested in using this in any distribution please read the readme.txt file included with the download.

Have fun!

DragonMech · March 2005

Thank you! <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' />

theclam · March 2005

Thank you!

Is there any hope of getting transparent maps anytime soon? Also, eon would be nice.

2_of_Eight · March 2005

Very good job, I've been waiting for this for days now! <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /> hehe.
Thank you.

SnappyCrunch · March 2005

Good job, K9.

I don't really care for the font you used, it makes a "v" look too much like a "u" for my tastes, but hey, the names are there, and that's what counts.

sprouts · March 2005

Fantastic, this is just what I came to get. I replaced all the new maps with the b5 named maps without thinking about what I was doing!

Cheers.

Xtof · March 2005

Hi,

I downloaded your minimaps and tried them out, but unfortunatly I can barely read the names on the minimap (and I don't need a new pair of glasses^^), the letters are to small. Perhaps it's my computer that is outdated and doesn't show it the way it is supposed to. Can someone post an in-game screen please so I can see whether it is me?

I also noticed that the coloured vents weren't in your version and when I replace yours to the original minimaps, odly enough the vents <u>weren't coloured either</u>.
<span style='color:red'><u><b>EDIT</b></u></span>
You said:
</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>These are custom minimaps for <u><b>NS v3.0 final</b></u>. </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>
But in the text file within the zip-file I read:
</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>Natural-Selection Custom Minimaps
Editing by: Christopher Cooke (aka <tC>K9-Cop)
Version: Complete for <u><b>NS v3.0 beta 5</b></u></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>
That would explain <b>A LOT</b>, because <u>in the beta 5 minimaps there were NO coloured vents as opposed to the final version of NS 3.0</u> .
<span style='color:red'><u><b>END EDIT</b></u></span>

One more thing I noticed is that when you are in commander mode the names don't show up on the minimaps, is there a way around it? I think minimaps with location names used to work in commander mode.

Tx for the help.

Greetz,
XtOf

LockNLoaded · March 2005

Yes, i just noticed what Xtof has just mentioned above.

Can the creator of this pack verify these?

Xtof · March 2005

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (LockNLoaded @ Mar 8 2005, 03:28 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>Yes, i just noticed what Xtof has just mentioned above.
Can the creator of this pack verify these?</td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>
Thanks for confirming this, I thought I needed a checkup of my eyes, now I can move on again with my life ^^ <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/nerd-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='nerd-fix.gif' /> .
I will PM the creator.

Greetz,
XtOf

K9_Cop · March 2005

Sigh... This happens every time to me. Something is always wrong on the first release. My internet wasn't working well last night and apparently the upload didn't go through, hence you were downloading my old version for beta 5. I reuploaded this morning and tested it and found, again, beta 5. I tried a third time and now I am downloading the correct version. Sorry I didn't verify the download.

The NEW version for NS FINAL is now uploaded. The font size is the same though. There are two other people that I know of that make minimaps though, and both use larger font sizes as far as I can tell. One makes transparent minimaps, but doesn't show all the location names. The other shows all the location names but I don't know how he fits them in! lol

As far as the commander minimap, I presume you mean the minimap in the lower left part of the commander console? It is possible to add names their but I found that console to be so small that to put names in it, even for only the important sites (such as hive locations and marine spawn) would leave the text taking up most of that console. To give you an idea of the sizing, one fourth of your in-game minimap takes up 256x256 pixels so the entire map is 512x512. The commander console shows the entire map in the space of 256x256, and on top of that, it obviously shows up in a much smaller area of the screen.

Xtof · March 2005

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (K9 Cop @ Mar 8 2005, 04:58 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>As far as the commander minimap, I presume you mean the minimap in the lower left part of the commander console?</td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>
Hi k9 Cop,

No that is not what I meant. When as marine or alien the minimap with location names (mmwln) shows up as it should.

But when I go commander the mmwln (<b>not</b> in the lower left part) shows up <u>without </u> location names (try it out for yourself with sv_cheats 1). I wonder if there is a way to make it work?

Greetz,
XtOf

LockNLoaded · March 2005

Read me still says the same...

Beta 5?

You sure this is the correct version?

Xtof · March 2005

Hi LocknLoaded,

I'm positive about the fact that I downloaded - more then half an hour ago - the final version of the minimaps with location names for NS 3.0. I'm 100 % sure as ns_eon is included in it now and it wasn't before and also the .txt file mentions the version.
So all I can say is that I managed to download the file. Perhaps you should try it again and if it doesn't work then well erm .... that will be weird.

Good luck,
XtOf

K9_Cop · March 2005

Yah, I only uploaded the corrected version at like 11am EST on March 8th, 2005.

Fyi, at the request of Xtof, I am going to go back through all of these minimaps and make the font size bigger.

Please tell me what you think!

EDIT: finished, so just download the whole thing.

Xtof · March 2005

Hi,

Don't say I forced you <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /> . I just wanted to see ns_altair but the link is dead mate.
Perhaps it would be great to include a screenshot next time <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/marine.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='marine.gif' /> , and perhaps wait for some feedback?

Greetz,
XtOf

Slayer · March 2005

thanks for improving my gaming experience <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' />

Xtof · March 2005

Hi again,

I have just watched the renewed minimap of ns_altair, and I have to say that there is a vast improvement in readablity of the locations. I don't need to squeeze my eyes to be able to read a location ^^.

Also it is good that the hive locations are mentioned in an even bigger font.

Keep up the good work!

Got to sleep now, nn
XtOf

K9_Cop · March 2005

Thanks, I think part of the problem was I forgot a bit about resolution too. I play in 800x600 but since a lot of people probably play considerably higher, I imagine that would make the fonts appear vastly smaller, hehe. So what was barely readable for me was probably impossible to read for someone else.

K9_Cop · March 2005

Ok, finished making the fonts bigger. There really shouldn't be any problems this time, but if there are, pm me and I'll get on it right away.

Here's a screenshot (I'm not good at these so bear with me, heh):

<img src='http://tc.paing.com/ourfiles/minimaps.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

douchebagatron · March 2005

what ungodly tiny resolution do you play at? is that 640x480?

Black_Viper · March 2005

What script do you use to make the sprite transparent?

Aka in ur paint program(plus the program), i know u dont just go pixel by pixel...

And what do u use to compile the sprite?
Aka Alphatest, Additive, ect.

K9_Cop · March 2005

I play at 800x600, lol. I know, relatively small.

As for how I make them, the process is fairly simple and as follows:

Use SpriteViewer to save the original minimaps as 256 bmp files. There are five of them. The first four make up the in-game minimap while the fifth is a smaller version of the minimap used in the commanders console.

Make any changes you want, so long as you keep it as 256 color. I just used MSPaint to add some basic text.

Use SpriteWizard to compile the sprite. You tell SpriteWizard to use the five bmp's above, select Alphatest (that sets it so that 255 colors are visible while the last is transparent), hit Finish, and bingo, you have a working minimap sprite. The transparency is generated simply by selecting Alphatest.

I'm sure you can do a lot of other fancy things with this but since I'm no artist, I decided to keep it simple.

cortex · March 2005

ill probably polish up an edited translucent version of your minimaps,
sometime in the near future... if have time <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' />

ImAWuss · March 2005

K9, thanks for the contribution. Makes following orders from the comm alot easier, and reponding to issues easier.

l0tus · March 2005

its an alpha test sprite; 255 colors with the 256th being the transparency. assuming your using PS to make the map "transparent," you need to select the portion of the map that is going to be transparent (the blue), and do a standard fill with your transparency color. then, go to edit>fade fill, change the type to dissolve, and put it at 50%. this is a lazy man's way to do every·other·pixel transparency. i can't remeber if there's another option you check to make it uniform, but you'll figure it out. you save them as indexed .bmps when you're finished.

Black_Viper · March 2005

Hmm thnx l0tus, but can u do it in Paintshop Pro 9? Its been close to a year since ive played with Sprites, so im a little rusty...

PS hows the Sprites coming K9 Cop?

cortex · March 2005

PS meaning PhotoShop i think <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' />

K9_Cop · March 2005

EDIT: Finally the original maker of the transparent minimaps has got his done, so rather than linking you to my crappy ones, I'll link you to his page:

<a href='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=90087' target='_blank'>http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index....showtopic=90087</a>

Black_Viper · March 2005

Can you remove the stuff around the text as you use the new script to make them more transparent...

Oh ya, and if you can make the vents red like in the new default versions...

Great, im using these new ones till you release more...

Mattzoball · March 2005

the more transparent the better <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' />

Black_Viper · March 2005

Well just as long as there understandable...

[rel] Minimaps With Location Names

Comments