Previous drawn areas disappearing
clancypc
Newcomer
Hi,
I have drawn the main part of a cave complex, but when I go to add an offshoot to it pressing E selecting a point on the existing line, then drawing the new section finishing with right button and then selecting another point on the original line everything I previously drew disappears. Does anyone know what is going on?
Thanks
Peter
Comments
Can you share the FCW file with us so we can have a look at it and see if we can make it do that too?
And a bit of description on exactly where you tried to add things would be nice too, to help trying to replicate it.
I am trying to replicate the cavern joined map in cc. I have added the map as a separate layer so it can be deleted later. You may need to add it again because of paths(?). I have completed the main part of the cavern and am working on the side caverns. So for example 10, 11, 12 and 13. Zoom in on that area. Using DD3, right click caves and select Cave, Dirt Grey 3. Press e to select a point on the existing cave floor near the start of 10, then trace around 10, 11, 12 & 13 back to 10 and when near the end right click to end the action and select a point on the opposite side of the entrance where you started. Everything disappears on me, all the cave layout I have completed vanishes.
Thanks
Peter
Looks like the entity is simply too complicated here because of too much fractalization of the walls. The existing entity has 32632 nodes. That's bordeline what the tools can handle.
I recommend you reduce the node count of your entity somewhat. Try using the SIMPLIFY command on it (I suggest trying with a simplification distance of 0.1), this should reduce the node count significantly.
For your particular map there, you'll also need to consider how to handle "holes", (i.e. solid walls in the middle of the map). A standard CC3+ polygon cannot have holes in it, which you seemed to have noticed by the area up near that entrance to 10 not being closed properly. This is something you probably should consider right now before doing any more work.
There are three ways to handle holes. The one is through the use of a multipoly, where you draw the base floor only following the outer outline, and then you draw the inner walls as their own polygons and merge everything together using a multipoly. This works, but the multipoly cannot be edited by the drawing tool edit command once joined (without splitting it up again, then editing, and then joining it back together), so this approach works best if you plan for this and do the actual outline first.
The second way is basically draw the inner walls as their own polygons on top of the floor, usin an appropriate filling for the walls, and just accepting that the floor doesn't have holes where these walls are, but instead a wall covering that part of the floor.
The third way is through the use of the color key sheet effect. As with the other options, the main floor needs to follow the outer outline of the floor, and then all the inner walls are drawn in a distinct solid color on the same sheet as the floor, and the effect is used to "knock out" those parts, creating the visual appearance of holes.
Once you have tried SIMPLIFY as recommended by Remy above, and once you have successfully added the missing parts, you have already drawn quite a few of the islands as solid magenta polygons, so all I had to do was add the Color Key sheet effect to the FLOORS sheet (move it above all other effects on that sheet) to cut them out of the floor.
As you continue to work on the map after the floor shape is complete, you might find it helpful to put all those magenta polygons on their own layer (layer, not sheet) - a new one called something like "PROTECTED" and freeze that new layer so that you don't keep picking them up when you are adding details.