Trying to Create Multiple Holes in a Single Sheet.
kronovan
Newcomer
By holes I don't mean uniform circles, but smooth polys at different intervals - similar to holes in a slice of swiss cheese. My goal is to have openings in a 2nd floor sheet with a wood floor fill, such that the ground floor is visible though them. I've tried 2 things:
1) Create a 4 node straight path for my floor. Then a smooth path (spline) for my opening, making sure that I finish it at the beginning via the Endpoint tool. I then convert the spline to a poly via the Line To Path tool. I then combine the 2 together with the Combine Paths tool.
2) Create a 4 node straight path for my floor. Then create a smooth, round poly for the opening via the Smooth Poly tool. I then use the Explode tool on that poly and combine all the new lines back into a poly via the Line To Path tool. I then combine the 2 together with the Combine Paths tool.
The problem is that a narrow gap is always formed from somewhere on the edge of the smooth poly to a corner of the rectangular path. Now that's not a big deal if I only want one opening, because I can easily use the End Point tool on the opening to close up that gap so that it's no long viewable. The problem is when I'm attempting to have more than 1 opening/hole in my floor. When I attempt to combine paths with more than 1 opening, a line is formed from one of the nodes on the 1st poly to a node on the 2nd poly and it's gimped to the point of being noneditable.
The funny thing is, I'm certain I successfully did something like this about a decade ago with my old CC3. I've since purchased CC3+, but can't get it to work. Of course there's always the possibility I'm just remembering the procedure wrong.
Does anyone know of a way to achieve what I'm attempting?
Comments
It is easier to use the Color Key sheet effect.
Fortunately, I happen to be working on something similar, so I can show you some screen shots.
The visible floor here is on the FLOORS marine sheet. There is a Color Key sheet effect on this sheet.
The Color key knockout colour is magenta, so when the Color key is activated the magenta cuts a hole in the floor to reveal the underlying sheet - one called INLAY BRONZE. There's a polygon of a bronze texture on that sheet.
So all you would need to do to adapt this to your own map is to add the Color Key to the sheet where you want to cut the holes and draw the holes as separate shapes in the knockout colour.
The multipoly tool might also work, but it can be more complex to use.
Many thanks for that suggestion and demonstration Loopysue. I wasn't aware of that effect, but I'll try it from now on.
I went ahead with my original approach last night, because after giving my map idea further thought, I realized I could easily split it into 2 floor areas (different 4 node straight path for each). That allowed me to create a single hole with the combine paths procedure for each section. Oddly enough, neither of my 2 hole polys had the gap created when they were combined with the outer straight path - weird because I was getting it earlier when I did the same process in tests on that very same map.
jslayton, many thanks for mentioning that. The multipoly tool might very well have been what I used about a decade ago. I can't even remember where it's located, but I'll try to find it.
[Edit] Ah yes...just checked it out and it was indeed the multipoly tool that I used before and forgotten about - doh! It worked like a charm, so now I have 2 tools in my toolkit to work with. I need to play with the color keying more, but I'm wondering if it will respect all the effects that a vacant place/hole in a poly can employ? Like some of the edging effects, which can be nice when you want to cut out a water feature on a dungeon map such as a small stream or pond. The edging can be nice when you want to pull back a grass bit map tile from the shore edge, or some similar cover tile.
Color Key works fine with the other effects, as long as you take care which order you have your sheet effects. You might have noticed that I had a glow on that sheet below the Color Key. That's the effect that creates the illusion of the dark edge around the bronze showing through the holes cut in the floor.
Interesting effects can be had by placing the Color Key below and Edge Fade Inner and cutting a sharp edged hole in an otherwise edge faded polygon.
The times it doesn't work are if you put the Color Key after a glow set to inner, or a bevel. That affects the magenta and causes some of it to remain after the Color Key has done its work.
OK good to know Loopysue - thanks for that important info. Looks like color key is going to do all that I want.