CC3Plus Export to PNG Problem

AWizardInDallas · July 2018

I have a rather large complex map that I've worked on over the last few years. I'm having trouble getting it to export properly showing ALL sheet effects. It's exporting with most of the sheet effects enabled, but not the ones involving terrain (swamp, scrub, desert, etc.). All relevant layers are unfrozen and I've even tried creating a new map file in the same style and copying from the previous map. The export takes hours (91 passes) and produces an error at the end of the export process:

Error generating final image; keeping temporary bitmap fileC:\Users...[file location]

I've performed this export multiple times and an starting to lose my patience. Please help.

Thanks,

Loopysue · July 2018

91 passes is a heck of a lot.

How big are you exporting the map in pixel dimensions, what kind of export are you using (rectangular section jpg, hopefully), and how much antialiasing are you using?

Check the settings by clicking the options box in the save as dialog.

If the antialiasing is set at the default value of 66% you can get away with taking that right down to about 20%

If that isn't the problem, try typing the command EXPORTSETMPPP and pressing Enter. You should see a prompt in the command line then which tells you a number. If that number is 4,000,000 or less, type 40,000,000 (without the commas - they are just to make it easier for you to count the zeros in this comment), and hit enter. This increases the size of each pass and dramatically reduces the number of passes required to export the image.

Then try exporting the map again.

In combination, the reduction of the antialiasing percentage, and the increased size of each pass should at least improve the situation quite significantly.

PeteF · July 2018

Long shot but if you haven't got 64 bit ImageMagick installed you could give that a try. I'm basing this idea on the fact that you get to the end of the rendering and maybe this is happening when being passed to ImageMagick for conversion to the final format. Either way it really speeds up the last part of the process.

Otherwise I have found that providing the map to Ralf with an explanation results in excellent customer service.

JimP · July 2018

Do you have the latest update ? Its mentioned at the top of the forum. CC3+ version 3.84

Monsen · July 2018

This does seems like a case where the image is to detailed so ImageMagick fails the final conversion process. As PeteF mentions above, it might be worth trying the 64-bit version instead (instructions here)

Do also note that it does say that it keeps the temporary bitmap and gives you the path. You should be able to just open this temporary bitmap in an image editor and convert it to png yourself, as well as resize it to the final format (if you exported with antialiasing, this bitmap will be larger then the specified export resolution )

AWizardInDallas · July 2018

Thanks all for your responses. Please see my notes below.

@Loopysue: The export size is 21000 x 14400 (70" x 48" at 300 dpi). I'm attempting to produce a full-size print. Anti-aliasing is set to the default of zero and unchecked. I'm exporting for print so I'm not sure anti-aliasing applies and the resulting saved bitmap looks phenomenal. My print provider printed a sample and it looks excellent on paper, 55# bond, crisp and beautiful. My print provider is able to print at this size at the cost of about $75 US. The problem with the terrain effects is the last piece of the puzzle.

@PeteF: Added ImageMagick... agreed on customer service. I've sent in maps before.

@JimP: I wasn't but am now which changed the settings available in the Bitmap Options dialog. The dialog confirms my export size of 70" x 48" at 300 dpi.

@Monsen: Yeah, I'm able to open the BMP, but the image is ignoring edge fade sheet effects on my terrain layers, otherwise I'd just use the BMP.

Unfortunately, now CC3 won't allow me to export at all and produces an entirely black 1 KB BMP. This is after updating to 3.84 and installing/configuring ImageMagick 64. CC3 reports: "You don't have enough memory to export at this resolution. Please set a lower resolution and try again." My machine is an Intel i&-8700 CPU @ 3.20 GHz with 32 GB RAM (maxed). Video card is brand new NVIDIA GeForce BTX 1060 6 GB.

JimP · July 2018

This software is 32-bit, so it doesn't use all of that ram, and doesn't use the video card.

My biggest map is 1200 x 1200. I'm unfamiliar with larger sizes.

Monsen · July 2018

If the temporary bmp is flawed, the final result won't be any better, as that is the basis for the final conversion, if antialisaing was off, those two would be 100% identical in any case. It might be running into some memory issues that causes the effects to fail, especially for large renderings. There are some fixes for this in the latest update, but those fixes might also be the reason you struggle with exporting to the same resolution after updating.

If I were you, I would try exporting the map in smaller parts, and then assemble the images in an image editor afterwards. Use generous overlap so you can avoid the problems with effects at the edge. And follow Sue's advice about changing the max pixels per pass, this reduces the numbers of passes, and result in a much faster export.

taustinoc · July 2018

If I were you, I would try exporting the map in smaller parts, and then assemble the images in an image editor afterwards.

Wasn't there an update to automate that? Or was that part of an annual?

Monsen · July 2018

Last year's annual, Issue 129.

AWizardInDallas · July 2018

There needs to be a better solution that doesn't move me backwards. At this point, I'm tempted to roll back the CC3Plus update because at least I get a temp BMP file. I don't want to spend time knitting together seperate files. I could have printed to PDF and done that and tried that already. It's messy and inaccurate.

Lorelei · July 2018

Wizard,

I, too, began to have that same problem with the latest update - an issue I NEVER had before. Not sure why suddenly I would experience the trouble, but I did exactly that, was rollback to before the update. So far, I have begun to experience the problems the latest update was set to fix (of which again, I NEVER experienced until the update), and as annoying and seizure inducing it is with trails following all my symbols I move about on the screen, at least my save doesn't get hung up. I am hoping that the next update will fix this issue, as I have refrained from making changes to my computer and downloading programs I have no idea what they are for and about.

AWizardInDallas · July 2018

@Lorelei: Well met. I'm perpetually behind 1-2 upgrades on everything simply because I don't like to be used as a test zombie or have my work interrupted. I've been using the software a very long time (there was a DOS version if that's any indication) and it's always been a little odd, but the output is usually worth the effort.

I'm trying smaller exports now to see where the limits are. I've been able to export a quarter so far and am hoping to stitch them together.

Lorelei · July 2018

i'm a bit of a computer dope, frankly. the fact that i can product decent maps constantly baffles me considering how inept i am

Like i said, i've been working around the update issue for now in hopes the next update will help the issue. If you contact Tech support directly they may be able to help. Ralf and the guys are really fast at responding to these issues.

taustinoc · July 2018

Last year's annual includes a set of macro scripts to automate exporting in multiple tiles, then stitching them all together into a single png. It's slow, as one might expect, but it works quite well. I'm currently trying a 5 x 5 tile export at 5000 x 5000 pixels per tile (or 25,000 x 25,000 total), and the individual tiles are coming up just fine. I don't expect the final step, where it stitches them together, will be a problem (since it's handled by an external program, not by CC3+ itself).

With the kind if image size you're talking about, that's really the way to go. Even if you have scads of RAM and 64 bit ImageMagick, CC3+ itself is still 32 bit software, and is stuck with the memory limit of all 32 bit software. This makes really big exports (in a single operation) problematic, at best.

Note that the Annual isn't doing anything you can't do manually. Set a reasonable snap to grid, and export the tiles one by one carefully, then use whatever graphic program you want to stitch them together, and you get the same thing. But the macro scripts really make it much easier.

AWizardInDallas · July 2018

@taustinoc: I'm not an active annual subscriber because it's too expensive. Occasionally, I'll go back and pickup annuals when I can afford it.

I've arrived at a solution that's not ideal, but gets the results I want. I've trimmed the final size of the map to 66" x 48" (19800 x 14400 @ 300 dpi). I've felt out the edges of what the export will do and determined that I can export the map in two halves (33" x 48"). No overlap required (I did a splice test and the export edges are clean). I trimmed off about 4" of ocean because the limit on canvas size is 20000 (my prior width was 21000 which is over this limit). So, I'll have two halves I can splice together and present to my printing person. She just happens to be a gamer and loves the map. She even called me and asked when I was bringing it so she could see the results too.

Just for the curious, I have a wood shop and plan to mount and frame my map. It will be a work of art in my dinning room, where we play Pathfinder every Saturday night.

I'll just have to hope that future versions of CC3 will have the power to export to a larger size. CC3Plus is great and I've enjoyed using it for a very long time, so I'm by no means and irate or displeased customer. There always seems to be a satisfactory work around. Thanks all for your suggestions.

taustinoc · July 2018

Posted By: AWizardInDallas@taustinoc: I'm not an active annual subscriber because it's too expensive. Occasionally, I'll go back and pickup annuals when I can afford it.

It sounds like you're doing basically the same thing manually. All the annual does is automate it with a macro. (Doing it manually, you want to use as large of tiles as you can, obviously, to minimize the fussing. It's probably quicker that way, too.) You could write your own macro to automate it yourself, if you wanted to. (ImageMagick is free, and has a command line interface, so it's an obvious choice for use in a macro, but there's many other graphics programs that will do the same thing.)

I'll just have to hope that future versions of CC3 will have the power to export to a larger size.

I suspect the only way to achieve that to any real degree is to make it 64 bit, since the real limitations are inherent to all 32 bit software. And I'm not holding my breath on that, given what a massive undertaking it would be.

There always seems to be a satisfactory work around. Thanks all for your suggestions.

There are some very clever people here.

Wyvern · July 2018

AWizardInDallas notedI'm not an active annual subscriber because it's too expensive. Occasionally, I'll go back and pickup annuals when I can afford it.

Where cost is an issue - and you're certainly not alone in this! - it's worth remembering that if you've subscribed to the current year's Annual, you'll get a discount off next year's re-subscription, towards the end of the calendar year. Also, ProFantasy often run short-term discount offers during the year on specific products, which may include Annual subscriptions. The easiest way to find/remember these is to take out a subscription to the free e-mail Newsletters, if you haven't already. Plus in recent years ProFantasy have also run a Black Friday discount promotion across the product range in late November (that's how I was able to afford all the Annual back-issues I didn't have a couple of years ago).

ProFantasy Community Forum

CC3Plus Export to PNG Problem

Comments