1st Cave Map + Bug Report

This is my first cave map and my second map overall.

Scale: 1 square is 1m2.

Size: 100 x 100 squares.

Symbols: CC3/DD3, Dundjinni forums, rendered models, 1 adapted symbol from the Gamemaster Syndicate Ruins Pack for CC3.

Textures: David Gurrea's textures, CC3/DD3, SS2.

Postwork: none.

Other things to know: I used the new light entities and sheet effects delivered with the July issue of the Cartographer's Annual 2008. My objective was not to hide anything in the map but to create a special atmosphere. I used two lights: one in the center of the map (colour 78, density 200, radius ca. 250, width 360 degrees) and one in the center of the winding stairs (colour 29, density 200, radius ca. 30, width 360 degrees).

Problem: When exporting the map the maximal size one can achieve is 2500 x 2500 pixels. Large exports are possible (i.e. my system doesn't crash) but only the center is rendered (the rest is just plain black). When rendering the other areas of the map, CC3/DD3 seems to "forget" the center lights.

Request: Please, please solve this issue. The new light effects are an excellent addition and can add so much flavour to the map without having to resort to postwork in third-party programmes...

image

Here's the same map with simple wall shadows and no special light effects. This one was exported as a 5000 x 5000-pixel bitmap and later resized for posting purposes. I'm quite pleased with the result but by far prefer the other version:

image

Thanks,

Mogul76

Comments

  • Mogul76Mogul76 Traveler
    edited September 2008
    By the way, the below image shows the issue I'm having (5000 x 5000-pixel render, resized for posting purposes).

    If there's another solution than adding multiple lights (which would distort the result), I would of course be extremely happy :-)

    image
  • jslaytonjslayton Moderator, ProFantasy Mapmaker
    It looks as though you may be running up against a memory-management issue where the image is being split into bands to allow for very large renders. There doesn't seem to be a limit on the size of the lights (which is why the light works horizontally), but if a light is not on the current image area then that light will not be included in the rendering (which is why it's not rendering vertically). I am unaware of a solution to this particular problem.
  • Mogul76Mogul76 Traveler
    edited September 2008
    ProFantasy, is this something which can be fixed? There are a few good reasons to solve this issue and to include the lighting functionality in the standard versions of DD3 and possibly even CD3:

    (1) Cartographers can create night versions of their maps without having to resort to third-party software for postwork.
    (2) This feature considerably enhances the atmosphere of dungeons, caves, etc.

    The campaign cartographer product line-up is very good as is.
    If this "bug" is fixed and the feature included as a standard, the CC3 software suite will truly stand out from the competition...

    I've started using 3D programmes to render my own symbols. Lighting plays an important role in many graphics programmes nowadays.

    PS jslayton, thanks for answering :-)
  • Simon RogersSimon Rogers Administrator, ProFantasy Traveler
    It can't be fixed very easily at all, I'm afraid. We are aware of this issue and are considering solutions. PNG export resolution and effects boundaries are something we want to look at. Often, we come to boundaries with Windows image memory allocation which means we have to write bespoke code to deal with the issue.

    The multiple light solution, while not perfect might do the trick until then.

    What resolution are you able to export succesfully, by the way? How big an image can you get if you export to PDF?
  • Thanks for answering. I'm happy that you are looking at the problem. I usually can do exports of over 5000 x 5000 pixels. If I turn the lighting effects on, the maximal size is 2500 x 2500 pixels. I can't do a PDF export when these sheet effects are activated. CC3 crashes. I usually don't have these problems (I've successfully created a PDF from the "white" version of the map i.e. the one with the "regular" sheet effects).

    2500 x 2500 pixels are ok. But I sometimes like to export certain parts of the map. That's not possible when using the new light entities and sheet effects.

    If I zoom in, everything becomes black. As described above, CC3 / my system seems to forget that there are light entities in the center of the map which normally should also affect the other areas.
  • 17 days later
  • Hi Mogul,

    How did you get the hard black edges on your cave wall ?

    Regards...
  • That's quite simple and doesn't require a lot of work.

    Just apply the following effects to your FLOOR (not WALL) sheet:

    1) Edge fade, inner: 8 / 100 / 0. Depending on the size of your map and the depth you're trying to achieve, you may want to play around with the width (the first of the 3 values).

    2) Glow: inside / RGB 0, 0, 0 / 0 / 5. I forgot to mention the glow in the thread where we initially started our discussion. Sorry about that.

    Other questions and, of course, comments as well as advice are more than welcome ;-)
  • Mogul76Mogul76 Traveler
    edited September 2008
    PS Looking at my map again, I noticed that I also added the following effect to the WALL sheet:

    Blur: 0.5

    I'm not sure whether this is really important, though.
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