Exterior Level Manual - Revision history

Mikemike37: /* Export Area */ - where to change the yellow and red area regions.

2010-12-20T22:59:09Z

‎Export Area: - where to change the yellow and red area regions.

Proleric1: /* Ambient Lighting */

2010-06-01T14:05:34Z

‎Ambient Lighting

Languard: /* Smooth Tool */ fixed a minor formating problem

2010-04-25T18:32:34Z

‎Smooth Tool: fixed a minor formating problem

Languard: /* Smooth Tool */ Done

2010-04-25T12:57:20Z

‎Smooth Tool: Done

Languard: /* Plateau Tool */ Finished Plateau brush

2010-04-25T12:49:38Z

‎Plateau Tool: Finished Plateau brush

Languard: /* Assumptions */ Fixed the link to the install instructions

2010-04-25T12:14:07Z

‎Assumptions: Fixed the link to the install instructions

Disgrace: /* Creating a Level */

2009-12-04T01:22:31Z

‎Creating a Level

Disgrace: /* Assumptions */

2009-12-04T01:19:08Z

‎Assumptions

MrGMan: /* Water */

2009-11-28T03:57:20Z

‎Water

MrGMan: /* Water */

2009-11-28T03:56:37Z

‎Water

@@ Line 70: / Line 70: @@
 [[File:defineArea.png|250px]]
-The checkerboard pattern is there because I turned on the display of chunk boundaries [[File:chunkBoundaries.png]]  This matters because you can only define the playable area along the chunk boundaries.  Use the left mouse button to click and drag the green box around the area you want the play to be able to walk in.  The yellow area will be at full detail but unplayable, and the red area is in low detail and considered the vista area.
+The checkerboard pattern is there because I turned on the display of chunk boundaries [[File:chunkBoundaries.png]]  This matters because you can only define the playable area along the chunk boundaries.  Use the left mouse button to click and drag the green box around the area you want the play to be able to walk in.  The yellow area (border cells) will be at full detail but unplayable. This is set with Border Cell Width near the bottom of the Area Properties window (scroll down). The red area (Vista cells) is in low detail and considered the vista area. This is set with Vista Cell Width at the very bottom of the window.
 The one thing you should do is change the Name property.  Please do not get the Name and Layout Name properties confused.  Layout Name controls what is seen in the Area Layout list, the Name property is just what to call this Export Area in the [[Level editor|level editor]].  You don't have to change it, but I make it a habit to change it to Main.

@@ Line 82: / Line 82: @@
 === Ambient Lighting ===
-As of build 1.0.982.0, sunlight is broken.  That or we are completely misunderstanding what sunlight means in the editor.  So for now you must add an ambient baked light.  The [[Lighting]] page gives a detailed description of the various kinds of light.  To briefly summarize, a baked light only lights the terrain, a static light is expensive and lights both the player and terrain, and I believe animated lights are terrain only, but have animated shadows that get baked into the lightmap.  An ambient light is basically a light value that is applied everywhere, and is normally used to ensure shadows aren't pitch black.
+Sunlight provides basic lighting for an exterior level. You need to add an ambient baked light to get shadows. Unlike an interior level, you don't necessarily need separate character lights. The [[Lighting]] page gives a detailed description of the various kinds of light.  To briefly summarize, a baked light only lights the terrain, a static light is expensive and can light either the player or the terrain, and I believe animated lights are terrain only, but have animated shadows that get baked into the lightmap.  An ambient light is basically a light value that is applied everywhere, and is normally used to ensure shadows aren't pitch black.
 There are two ways to add in lights: One is to right-click on the terrain, and the other is to right-click on the Terrain World menu.  Select Insert->New Light, and a Point:Baked light will be added in.  Leave all the options alone for this light with the exception of Name.  I recommend changing the name to ambient so you can find it easily.

@@ Line 165: / Line 165: @@
 {{inspector row|Outer Radius|How large in meters is the brush}}
 {{inspector section|Smooth Tool}}
-{{inspector row|Weight|0 to 100, default of 100.  Seems to modify the strength of the smoothing.  Languard's guess is that this controls how much the center vertex is affected by the other vertexes.  A weight of zero produces no changes, and a very small value like five seems to produce less drastic smoothing than 100.
+{{inspector row|Weight|0 to 100, default of 100.  Seems to modify the strength of the smoothing.  Languard's guess is that this controls how much the center vertex is affected by the other vertexes.  A weight of zero produces no changes, and a very small value like five seems to produce less drastic smoothing than 100.}}
 {{inspector end}}

@@ Line 152: / Line 152: @@
 === Smooth Tool ===
-What it does and how options affect it
+This brush smooths out the terrain, making transitions in height less sharp
 === Tessellate Tool ===

@@ Line 137: / Line 137: @@
 === Plateau Tool ===
-What it does and how options affect it
+Takes the height of the center vertex and flattens all vertexes within the brush radius to that height.
 === Smooth Tool ===

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 * You know how to [[Creating_a_module|Create a Module]]
 * You can set the active Module
-* You have the correct python version (which is 2.5.4) and have the correct win32 extensions installed.  Installation instructions can be found [[http://social.bioware.com/wiki/datoolset/index.php/Installing_the_toolset#Lightmapper|here]]
+* You have the correct python version (which is 2.5.4) and have the correct win32 extensions installed.  Installation instructions can be found [[Installing_the_toolset#Lightmapper|here]]
 * You understand the difference between [[User:Languard#Dragon Age Modding Terms|Level, Area, and Map]]

@@ Line 22: / Line 22: @@
 | [[File:newLevelAdvance.png]]
 |}
-The main difference between the two, other than more options, is that changing a field in the Basic version won't affect the numbers in the other fields.  In the Advance version, this can happen depending on what you changed.  To change back and forth between the two, click on the Basic/Advanced button.  BUG: You must click on the Basic button twice to go back into basic mode.
+The main difference between the two, other than more options, is that changing a field in the Basic version won't affect the numbers in the other fields.  In the Advance version, this can happen depending on what you changed.  To change back and forth between the two, click on the Basic/Advanced button.  [[BUG]]: You must click on the Basic button twice to go back into basic mode.
 === What do the Basic options mean ===

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 == Assumptions ==
-Some basic assumptions of priot knowledge are held. They are:
+Some basic assumptions of prior knowledge are held. They are:
 * You know how to [[Creating_a_module|Create a Module]]
@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 * You have the correct python version (which is 2.5.4) and have the correct win32 extensions installed.  Installation instructions can be found [[http://social.bioware.com/wiki/datoolset/index.php/Installing_the_toolset#Lightmapper|here]]
 * You understand the difference between [[User:Languard#Dragon Age Modding Terms|Level, Area, and Map]]
 == Creating a Level ==

@@ Line 163: / Line 163: @@
 == Water ==
 Skip for now
 == Model and Vegetation Movement Tools ==