Cut stairs at a 45% angle?

KLight · December 2019

I'm making a rectangular, stone dais. I need stairs heading up to it on all four sides. My problem is at the corners, where the stairs should be meeting for a 45. Is there any way to trim a symbol the way I'm wanting to? Such as cutting it in half or diagonal? Any help would be appreciated.

Loopysue · December 2019

You can make your own symbols either from scratch or by editing existing ones.

If you are editing existing symbols copy the VH version of the symbol to a directory of your own within the Symbols folder (eg, Symbols/User/Up and down, or some such thing).

Then change the name of the png file you have copied so that it has a different name (eg "Outer corner") making sure you remove the "_VH" from the filename.

Open your new png file in GIMP, or similar bitmap app, and modify it as you see fit, then overwrite the file with your modifications.

Open CC3 and import your new symbol using the Symbol Manager, then save it as a new catalogue of one symbol in the Symbols/User folder, so that you can open the catalogue in any map you like. No point in wasting your effort, after all

Loopysue · December 2019

There is just one thing you need to remember about modifying existing symbols.

This is perfectly fine for your use, but passing the modified symbol on to anyone else is a breach of most EULAs. I believe its also ok for you to sell maps containing your modified symbols. It's just not ok to pass the actual symbols around or sell them on as your own.

KLight · December 2019

So all of that sounds pretty easy except for the very first part about copying the VH version. I'm not sure how to do that? The map and symbol won't be for sale, it's just for my own personal game.

Loopysue · December 2019

Ok

If you look into the folders containing the actual png images the catalogue references, you will notice that each one is available in 4 different sizes. These are the different resolutions of the same image and are VL (very low), LO (low), HI (high) and VH(very high). Each of these images are used by CC3 according to how far in or out of the map you are zoomed. A long way out and most of the symbols will only be visible as the VL version - the smallest file.

When a new symbol is imported there is an option to create other resolutions. The original version is taken as being the VH version. Its no good starting with a lower resolution image and expecting CC3 to generate the higher res versions from it, so when you copy the VH version of the stairs you want to modify you are copying the largest version of the file. It will have "_VH.PNG" at the end of the filename.

The reason you have to remove that suffix is because it is generated by CC3 when the different resolutions are created, and leaving it intact will cause problems.

KLight · December 2019

Thanks. Got it, and got it open in GIMP, which I've never used. Another new program now to try lol

Loopysue · December 2019

You'll be ok.

Just don't save the modified file over the top of the original by mistake at any point.

From GIMP you have to 'export' a png file. Using Save only saves a GIMP file.

jslayton · December 2019

There is another option that works entirely within CC3+, but it relies on doing something a bit peculiar. In this case, I put two staircases touching each other north/south on one sheet and another pair on top of those touching east/west. Then I drew a magenta hourglass (two triangles touching at the points) for the parts of the staircases that I didn't want to see. Adding a color key effect to kill anything magenta and turning on sheet effects removed the parts covered by the hourglass, making the perfect bevel. Unfortunately, there's another thing that you need to do (and this is where the peculiar part comes in): you need to use the command "DELAYDRAWSYM 0" from the command line. For historical performance and compatibility reasons, CC3+ draws symbols twice, one of which is after everything else is drawn (which would cover up the masking part of the symbol). "DELAYDRAWSYM 0" turns off the second draw, which will make your drawing look subtly different from the default version, but will let you mask off parts of symbols directly in CC3. For my convenience, I put this command into the OnOpenMacro note so that it will be executed every time that the drawing loads.
Here's what the process and results would look like:

jslayton · December 2019

Here's the drawing, if you're interested. Remember, it has "DELAYDRAWSYM 0" in the OnOpenMacro note (from the NOTES command) and requires sheet effects to be active to make it work as shown above.

If this was the sort of thing that you were looking for, it's also possible to export the segment of drawing to a PNG and import that item as a new symbol without involving external paint programs.

Monsen · December 2019

For things like stairs, I find it easier to just draw them manually using a few polygons inside CC3+ and use some bevel and shadow effects. This is far easier IMHO than to modify existing symbols. There is an example of this in this example map. (Note that the map is set up with dynamic lighting, you'll want to access the global sun options and turn off the 'activate lighting' option to see the map properly, but don't turn off effects completely, as this will remove the effects that makes the stairs look like stairs.)

Edit: I see joe managed to sneak in a post while I was typing. Also a nice way of doing things.

Loopysue · December 2019

Oh brilliant!

I've never seen the two pros accidentally ninja each other before! :P

(That's where two people make a comment at exactly the same time. Usually its jslayton and Monsen ninjaing me!)

Both are excellent options.

CC3 is one of those apps where there is always more than one solution

JimP · December 2019

I to have been ninjaposted. It was a wee bit startling at first, but I got bgetter... ( shades of Monty Python. )

[Deleted User] · December 2019

I use the Monseneer method for stairs a lot - one example is my Temple of Poseidon in the Community Atlas

KLight · December 2019

Thanks all! Monsen, I ended up going more with your idea. Took a little work, but less than expected, and I can easily do it faster the next time. Any constructive criticism is more than welcome.

[Deleted User] · December 2019

Excellent.

Loopysue · December 2019

That works just fine.

Nice map

Monsen · December 2019

Looks nice. Personally, I would probably have reduced the size of that bevel a bit though.

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Cut stairs at a 45% angle?

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