Tracing issues

LadieStorm · September 2016

I'm working on Wormhole, my commission map, and I am having one somewhat major issue. The bottom almost third of this map is supposed to be desert, including part, but NOT all of the two peninsulas at the southeastern part of.the map. Which means I need to trace about 95% of the bottom portion of the map.

The issue? Once again, I can't control the tracing tool. It wants to trace to the. North, when I need to trace the south. Granted, I made this map rather large (4000 width) because id rather the client need to size down, than size up, and possibly end up with a pixelated map.

So, any ideas on how to control the tracing tool?

Shessar · September 2016

The initial point you use to select the entity to trace is very important, because the trace will go through this point, so it must be somewhere on the section of the entity that is part of the trace.
Hope that makes sense.

Loopysue · September 2016

Well... Please don't laugh, because this actually seems to work for me 9 times out of 10

I'm sure this is anything BUT the official method, but what I do is click the point from where I want to start the tracing, then deliberately head off in the WRONG direction along the coast. This has the tendency to make the trace go off in the opposite direction (as I'm sure you will already have experienced), which if you have deliberately gone in the wrong direction to start with just happens to be the right direction.

Then just back up and carry on as if you haven't just had to trick it into going in the right direction

Dogtag · September 2016

Shessar's spot on. Honestly, check out the help topic, the User Manual, or the Tome. All of them use the same (or similar) screen shot, complete with numbered points, indicating where to click, start, and end a trace.

LadieStorm · September 2016

Uhm...Dogtag, I already consulted all of those, and I am still having issues with it going in the wrong direction when I trace. I'll figure something out.

Dogtag · September 2016

That's weird, sorry. Maybe someone from PF can help you out, then.

JimP · September 2016

Make sure its not starting in the wrong location. I've had that happen a few times. Escaping out and trying again usually fixes it.

Monsen · September 2016

I'd recommend just doing the trace tutorial a few times, and create a simpler map to just experiment on. The trace tool can be a bit tricky because it is one of the few tools where the point on the entity matters when selecting it, it isn't just about selecting the entity. And then the start point for the trace is also very important. To make it easier on myself, I usually select the entity quite a way away from the start point, just to make sure I get it right.
For example, if you wish to fill the bottom half of your landmass with desert, and you intend to start out near the middle on the west coast of the island, when starting the trace and asked for the entity to trace, select the island by clicking on the coastline near the very south end of the island, then go back to where you currently are, and place the start of the trace near where you started drawing the desert (at the west coast), then move your mouse cursor over to the east coast, and place the ending there. The trace will start at the start point, go through the point you used to select the entity, and end at the end point.

I had some trouble in the beginning myself, but once I understood the tool and started using it correctly, it has never traced the wrong way for me.

Lorelei · September 2016

I agree with Remy. I too, had trouble with the trace, and on occasion, still do. It's a tricky sucker. It took me quite a few attempts before i got it. A coastline that isn't fractilized might be easier to experiment on. Good luck!

LadieStorm · September 2016

I'm wondering if the problem might be my shaky hands, and if that's the case, the trace tool may be something I'm never really able to use. After 7 different times trying and failing to get it to work for me, I decided to 'cheat' and hand trace the INSIDE of the landmass, instead of the coastline. I will try the trace again, but for now, if the client is happy with what I have, then I am too

.

Dogtag · September 2016

What seems to be the issue with your shaky hands? Are you having trouble picking the entity to trace (at a point the trace will move through)? The Start point? The End point? Would a video help?

Loopysue · September 2016

The weird thing is that I was going to ask if anyone had a video yesterday, but didn't in the end because I couldn't imagine that such a thing existed.

Dogtag · September 2016

Hang on, I'll make one. I might need to grab some lunch first tho, sorry.

LadieStorm · September 2016

I would be ever so grateful!!! As for my hands... well, I don't know how to explain about that.. but it's an issue I've always had. I have decent fine motor skills, I mean I can write legibly, and use scissors and everything that most people can, and I do a lot of crafting where I use my hands, but precision work, I have always struggled with... which is one reason why I can't draw worth a flip.

I also have carpel tunnel syndrome in both wrists, which makes fine tune precision work even more difficult. It's not that big of a deal

, most of the time I don't notice... but sometimes it trips me up, like trying to use the trace option, because I can't hold the mouse completely still and steady for very long.

Dogtag · September 2016

If you can click the coastline, you can trace! I made the recording but my stomach rebelled. I'm at the Arby's drive thru right now, but after lunch I'll make some tweaks (it's a quick and dirty vid) and post the link.

Cheers,
~Dogtag

LadieStorm · September 2016

that's fine

I do have one question. Does the tracetool bog down anyone else's system? That might be part of my problem, it bogs my system down so much, I have a hard time telling where the trace is going!

Loopysue · September 2016

When I do one (and remember my maps are generally world sized) the entire display disappears and I'm left with just a flashing line of ants outlining where the trace is. It takes forever to work out where to stop the thing because I can't see anything but a white space, and the line of the trace. LOL!

Hey - maybe the reason this just isn't working for you and me the way its supposed to, Storm, is because our maps are just simply HUGE, and the landmasses have some incredible number of nodes around the coast that make the tool behave a bit unexpectedly?

Dogtag · September 2016

Sorry for the delay. I forgot that Bargo (my yellow Lab) had a vet appointment today! But, better late than never, I hope. What's five hours here or there (except maybe the entire time difference between here and England)?

In any event, I posted a video tutorial for the Trace command. It a little over 4 &half; min.

I hope it helps.

Cheers,
~Dogtag

EDIT: I moved the actual tutorial video, from here into its own topic, to help people if they search the forum.

LadieStorm · September 2016

That's a theory I've thought of myself.

Dogtag · September 2016

Looks like I was posting the video when LS was making her latest post. I figured I might have to post something else (like, say, this) to bump the topic.

Lorelei · September 2016

Now...i know how the trace works and most often have no problem with it. But i watched the video. Why? I just HAD to hear Dogtag's voice

You guys know how it is....you chat with peeps on the net and unless they've got a picture of themselves on their profile, then you just end up imagining what you think they look and/or sound like. Guess what? You sound exactly like i thought you would! tee hee

Dogtag · September 2016

LOL! I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but I'm glad to know I have a consistent "voice."

When I was making the video, I realized I still owe you one, on shaded polygons. I'll try to do that one this weekend. I have a game tomorrow, though, and I have almost zero prep. Yay.

Cheers,
~Dogtag

Loopysue · September 2016

THANKS DOGTAG

We need this on the tutorials page.

I'm also going to make a note to self that I must never do a video tutorial - you would all fall about laughing at my 'very proper' English accent. Bertie Wooster eat your heart out! LOL

Monsen · September 2016

Great tutorial there Dogtag, I've linked it from the sticky linking topic

One comment, I noticed you mentioned following along the coastline with your cursor when tracing. Note that this is not required, you can simply jump directly to the end point from the start point, which makes it a bit easier to trace large, complex entities, but if you do, you may need to just leave your cursor at complete rest for a short time while CC3 catches up if the entity is particularly large/complex.
I also observed something in your video which I didn't really think about when giving my explanations, and may be the cause of people claiming that the trace goes the wrong way. Because the fact that the trace always go through the selection point, it will actually appear to go the wrong way UNTIL you have moved your cursor past that point. Once you position your cursor near your desired endpoint, the trace will go the correct way however, even if it didn't look like that immediately.

LadieStorm · September 2016

Dogtag, I just watched your tutorial, and NOW the Tome makes sense!!! I'm sorry, Remy, your tome is fabulous, but sometimes I need a more visual reference. I see, now, what I was doing wrong. Thanks was clicking g at a point ABOVE my Starting point, so when I clicked my starting point, of course it went the wrong way, because I clicked the entity to trace at the wrong place.

I don't know why I didn't catch that before, everyone said that, but it just didn't click until I SAW it. Then again, when it comes to all things technical, I've always been a visual learner.

Loopysue · September 2016

Same here - tutorial vids seem to get the bits of my brain that nothing else can reach! LOL.

Monsen · September 2016

Posted By: LadieStormI'm sorry, Remy, your tome is fabulous, but sometimes I need a more visual reference.

Unfortunately, I can't include videos in the Tome, they just don't come out properly on print

That said, I am writing a new tracing tutorial for the Tome right now, where I include more images and more examples of what can happen, hopefully this will help people understand the command better.

Loopysue · September 2016

Posted By: MonsenUnfortunately, I can't include videos in the Tome, they just don't come out properly on print

LOL - Just a bit blurry :P

Maybe if the ants were fatter and bright red it would be easier to learn?

Dogtag · September 2016

LadieStorm wrote:Dogtag, I just watched your tutorial, and NOW the Tome makes sense!!!

Excellent, I'm glad I was able to help.

And earlier, Monsen wrote:Great tutorial there Dogtag, I've linked it from the sticky linking topic

Thanks, for the kind words and for adding my link to the sticky!

And he went on to comment:I noticed you mentioned following along the coastline with your cursor when tracing. Note that this is not required, you can simply jump directly to the end point from the start point, which makes it a bit easier to trace large, complex entities, but if you do, you may need to just leave your cursor at complete rest for a short time while CC3 catches up if the entity is particularly large/complex.
I also observed something in your video which I didn't really think about when giving my explanations, and may be the cause of people claiming that the trace goes the wrong way. Because the fact that the trace always go through the selection point, it will actually appear to go the wrong way UNTIL you have moved your cursor past that point. Once you position your cursor near your desired endpoint, the trace will go the correct way however, even if it didn't look like that immediately.

Yeah, I put the tutorial together in a hurry, without a script or even much of a rehearsal. My focus was just on making it as easy as possible for folks to learn how to use the command, in as straightforward a way as possible. I didn't want to make things too confusing (maybe in a later "tips" video, ha ha). It's really little more than a video demonstration of the steps provided in the documentation. I've since edited the tutorial to clarify that you don't need to select a point that is literally halfway between start and finish so much as select a point that is very definitely somewhere between start and finish. I haven't uploaded the edited version yet but I'll try to get it posted sometime tomorrow. It'll just replace the existing version so the link will be unaffected.

Cheers,
~Dogtag

EDIT: Revised version is now posted. Just some small tweaks and I added the clarification I mentioned above. If you already watched the video, you may have to clear your browser cache before it'll play the newer version.

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Tracing issues

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