I am having difficulty with my DOCKS Drawing tool. Mainly with the polygon version. I want there to be posts along the docks, but also want the fill (which is planks) to be aligned using Shaded polygons.
All works well with the macro turned off. BUT ... when the macro goes on again, the posts disappear (sort of) and in the list command, instead of appearing on the DOCKS POSTS Sheet, they are now on the DOCKS Sheet along with the docks themselves. Obviously the docks macro needs revision, so it applies only to what is on the DOCKS Sheet, not the DOCKS POSTS Sheet.
Your macro looks a bit off. You have a select by prior instruction in there, but then your first argument to SHADEPOLY is what looks like a layer name. Did you intend to select by layer? (In which case, your docks and the posts are both on the same layer.)
Also note that select by prior can select more than one entity. It either selects the same entities (all of them) that was int he last selection, or if you have drawn anything in the meantime, the last thing you drew, which in the case of a drawing tool with an outline will be BOTH entities that tool drew.
@Monsen So what do I put in to make it select by sheet? I am hopeless at macros - can you help out here and write a correct one for me? I gather I need to delete select by prior, but what do I put to select by sheets?
And is there anyway to align fills when they are used as lines of a non-zero width? especially useful in cobbled roads etc
Here is a revised version of the Drawtools. so far, they all work with the Change Like Draw Tool command, including the towers and fields, which was not the case in the original watabou annual.
A bit more work needed on the effects to get it all to my satisfaction, but I think the drawing tools are now ready to go.
I guess the next step is to do an example map.
I need to work out how to revise the scaling of the Hatch files, and how to make sure they are imported into the style, so people can access them if they need to alter the dimensions etc
The example map I will be using for the upcoming revision annual for this style will be based on this city, which I have been asked to do.
I will aim to use all the drawing tools.
I will also go step by step through the process, so you can all comment (and correct) as I go.
And for fun, here is a picture from the JSON export, to show a 3D version. Who knows, perhaps one day, we can work out a method to export the 3D versions to CC3+!!!
The first most important thing is to just export as a SVG the actual elements you want and cut out all the pretty stuff. It is, after all, the street and building layout that we really want.
So ... in the generator, first check colour - make this either B&W, or Ink in the Presets.
Next, click on Style in the generator, and make sure you check or uncheck the following. Whatever I don't mention, you can choose as you wish.
GRAPHICS: Check thin lines, leave the rest unchecked.
ELEMENTS: Districts Hidden. Check scalebar only (if you want it, leave the rest unchecked
BUILDINGS: Roofs plain, leave Raised unchecked. Otherwise, choose what you want.
OUTLINE: Check buildings, and UNCHECK water and roads. They will seem to disappear, but will be present in the SVG and thus DXF
MISC: Check Solids; Uncheck Show alleys and Show trees.
FARMS: Choose plain. Though you can exclude farms if you like and use drawing tools provided to put them where you want. However, the drawing tools will work on the farms if exported as Plain.
For those interested, you can get the number of buildings and suggested population if you click on SETTLEMENTS. However, I think the population does not take into account density of population, nor multistorey buildings, so the population levels for larger cities can easily be double the suggested number in the generator.
As you can see from the example map, I have done all that.
Unfortunately, there isn't a selector for select by sheet, but you can select by layer by using SELBYL.
Unfortunately, that option is not straight forward when used in drawing tools, because when you select by layer, you select everything on that layer, including previously drawn entities.
I guess the best option to handle that is to have the drawing tools set up to draw on a temporary layer that is kept empty, and then you can select the entities just placed on it, do the required manipulation, and then finish off with a Change layer (CHANGEL) command to move everything to the real layer.
And is there anyway to align fills when they are used as lines of a non-zero width? especially useful in cobbled roads etc
Unfortunately, no. You'll have to use polys for everything you need aligned fills with.
Open a map in the Style Cities >Annual Watabou City Revised. (When it comes out). For cities, I estimate the size using the scale that comes with the generated map as a guide. The scale in the generator is in Metres, so multiply by 3 to get feet (a rough estimate is all that is needed).
The example map is about 1000 m wide, or about 3000 feet. Against my long held principles, I will do the example in Imperial measurements, to cater for all you imperialist lackeys!! 🤣 So the map will be 3000 wide x 4000 tall.
Make sure the Layer is set to 0, and the Sheet to IMPORT.
Use Draw Menu, Insert File, to insert the DXF at origin 0,0 (the default).
Right-click the scale button and choose Non-visual Scale. Right-click on the map to open the selection menu and choose Prior. The just previously placed import is now selected. Right-click again, select Do It and enter a scale factor of 5-10, or whatever seems appropriate to fill the map with the city. The previous annual showed the DXF as a small Dot, and required a scale factor of 400, but the revised version shows the DXF much larger, and requires a bit of juggling to get it just right. Make sure you scale origin is still 0,0 though. The map should now appear, roughly matching your drawing area, with some of the entities extending beyond the map border.
Here is the map of Lowrock with the dxf imported onto the IMPORT Sheet, 0 Layer.
And here it is, rescaled non-visually by a factor of 10, and then moved, non-visually, up a bit on the map to centre the city better.
Now you must convert EVERYTHING (except background, Map border and screen, of course) from Line to Path (right click the Explode button on the left hand side of the screen).
Now for converting this mess into proper objects on the correct sheets and layers using the Change Like Draw Tool command (right click Change Properties button on the left-hand side of the screen).
However, for each entity that we will change using the Drawtools, we MUST first set the correct Sheet and Layer. This is very important.
Here I have converted all the water - the River, the sea/lake and the bit that connects the river to the sea (estuary). First, I changed the Sheet to Water/Rivers; and the layer to Water/Rivers. I don't need to change anything else.
Second, I clicked on Change Like Draw Tool, and left-clicked to bring up the Draw Tool I want to select. I chose the Water Tool - straight, and then clicked on the entities to be changed - in this case the sea and the estuary.
I repeated the process, only this time chose the River 50 and selected the river.
Hey Presto - water finished.
Next I did the Roads - here there is only 1. So, first, change Sheet to Roads Paved, and Layer to Roads. (If you don't want paved roads with cobbles and no Edge Fade, then just set the Sheet to Roads). Then use Change Like Draw Tool command, pick the appropriate Drawing Tool (here I picked Road, Paved 10), then select the entity - the line representing the road.
Finally, at this time, I put in the Scale - for this map, I selected the Imperial Scale (<shudder goes through me> - LOL), with the size as 6. When I place the symbol, it asks for a number, and I type in 600. As you can see, it is nearly the same as the scale imported from the DXF, which is 200 metres. Not totally accurate, but good enough for me, and it measures 600 when checking with the Distance Tool.
I have now converted all the IMPORT into the appropriate sheets using the Change Like Draw Tool Command only.
Remember to set the correct Sheet and Layer for each Change like Draw Tool command.
eg Rivers and Seas (Lakes): Sheet WATER/RIVERS, Layer Water/Rivers
Roads and Squares: Sheet ROADS or ROADS PAVED, Layer Roads. Note that Square Paved cannot be used in Change Like Draw Tools since it has a macro attached. I may change this later if I can find a paving that doesn't need alignment.
Parks: Sheet PARKS, Layer Vegetation.
Docks: Sheet DOCKS, Layer Docks
Walls: Sheet WALLS, Layer Walls (Note: I have done away with the City Wall Layer). I am still not happy with the crens for the walls - now they hardly show. I will fix that.
Towers: Sheet TOWERS, Layer Walls. No longer need to draw these without the Change Like Draw Tools command. And it means no guessing as to the size required.
Bridges: Sheet BRIDGES, Layer Bridges
Fields: Sheet FIELDS, Layer Vegetation. The furrows align to how the generator drew the fields. So often, not a very intuitive direction. However, if you want to use the tool directly to draw fields, the tool does align the furrows (which are Hatch symbols) correctly. In the picture below, I have done this with the bottom right hand field.
Buildings: Sheet SYMBOLS BUILDINGS, Layer Buildings, or any of the Building layers you wish to use, eg Bldng (House 1)
I generally advise doing the Buildings last, as you can then Hide all sheets except Import and Symbols Buildings (with the latter being the selected one). This will then show only the buildings you need to convert.
I have also added buildings on top of the Palace, and smaller towers on the towers around the Palace.
The final step is adding all the extra bits and pieces - forests and trees, wetlands, roads and squares and city backgrounds, hills and contours, maybe extra buildings, buildings and towers on top of one another, even a gatehouse to replace the open walls in some places. And text and scale and compass, of course.
Comments
Some more drawtools. All work with the change drawtools command as well, on appropriate lines or polygons.
Not sure why the fence didn't show so well on the jpg, when it did on the fcw. It may need work
I am having difficulty with my DOCKS Drawing tool. Mainly with the polygon version. I want there to be posts along the docks, but also want the fill (which is planks) to be aligned using Shaded polygons.
All works well with the macro turned off. BUT ... when the macro goes on again, the posts disappear (sort of) and in the list command, instead of appearing on the DOCKS POSTS Sheet, they are now on the DOCKS Sheet along with the docks themselves. Obviously the docks macro needs revision, so it applies only to what is on the DOCKS Sheet, not the DOCKS POSTS Sheet.
HELP!!!!
Your macro looks a bit off. You have a select by prior instruction in there, but then your first argument to SHADEPOLY is what looks like a layer name. Did you intend to select by layer? (In which case, your docks and the posts are both on the same layer.)
Also note that select by prior can select more than one entity. It either selects the same entities (all of them) that was int he last selection, or if you have drawn anything in the meantime, the last thing you drew, which in the case of a drawing tool with an outline will be BOTH entities that tool drew.
@Monsen So what do I put in to make it select by sheet? I am hopeless at macros - can you help out here and write a correct one for me? I gather I need to delete select by prior, but what do I put to select by sheets?
And is there anyway to align fills when they are used as lines of a non-zero width? especially useful in cobbled roads etc
Here is a revised version of the Drawtools. so far, they all work with the Change Like Draw Tool command, including the towers and fields, which was not the case in the original watabou annual.
A bit more work needed on the effects to get it all to my satisfaction, but I think the drawing tools are now ready to go.
I guess the next step is to do an example map.
I need to work out how to revise the scaling of the Hatch files, and how to make sure they are imported into the style, so people can access them if they need to alter the dimensions etc
The example map I will be using for the upcoming revision annual for this style will be based on this city, which I have been asked to do.
I will aim to use all the drawing tools.
I will also go step by step through the process, so you can all comment (and correct) as I go.
And for fun, here is a picture from the JSON export, to show a 3D version. Who knows, perhaps one day, we can work out a method to export the 3D versions to CC3+!!!
The first most important thing is to just export as a SVG the actual elements you want and cut out all the pretty stuff. It is, after all, the street and building layout that we really want.
So ... in the generator, first check colour - make this either B&W, or Ink in the Presets.
Next, click on Style in the generator, and make sure you check or uncheck the following. Whatever I don't mention, you can choose as you wish.
As you can see from the example map, I have done all that.
Now export as SVG (and Png if you want).
So what do I put in to make it select by sheet?
Unfortunately, there isn't a selector for select by sheet, but you can select by layer by using SELBYL.
Unfortunately, that option is not straight forward when used in drawing tools, because when you select by layer, you select everything on that layer, including previously drawn entities.
I guess the best option to handle that is to have the drawing tools set up to draw on a temporary layer that is kept empty, and then you can select the entities just placed on it, do the required manipulation, and then finish off with a Change layer (CHANGEL) command to move everything to the real layer.
And is there anyway to align fills when they are used as lines of a non-zero width? especially useful in cobbled roads etc
Unfortunately, no. You'll have to use polys for everything you need aligned fills with.
The next step is to convert the SVG into a DXF. I use the tool mentioned in Annual 157:
Cloud Convert: SVG to DXF | CloudConvert
Open a map in the Style Cities >Annual Watabou City Revised. (When it comes out). For cities, I estimate the size using the scale that comes with the generated map as a guide. The scale in the generator is in Metres, so multiply by 3 to get feet (a rough estimate is all that is needed).
The example map is about 1000 m wide, or about 3000 feet. Against my long held principles, I will do the example in Imperial measurements, to cater for all you imperialist lackeys!! 🤣 So the map will be 3000 wide x 4000 tall.
Make sure the Layer is set to 0, and the Sheet to IMPORT.
Use Draw Menu, Insert File, to insert the DXF at origin 0,0 (the default).
Right-click the scale button and choose Non-visual Scale. Right-click on the map to open the selection menu and choose Prior. The just previously placed import is now selected. Right-click again, select Do It and enter a scale factor of 5-10, or whatever seems appropriate to fill the map with the city. The previous annual showed the DXF as a small Dot, and required a scale factor of 400, but the revised version shows the DXF much larger, and requires a bit of juggling to get it just right. Make sure you scale origin is still 0,0 though. The map should now appear, roughly matching your drawing area, with some of the entities extending beyond the map border.
Here is the map of Lowrock with the dxf imported onto the IMPORT Sheet, 0 Layer.
And here it is, rescaled non-visually by a factor of 10, and then moved, non-visually, up a bit on the map to centre the city better.
Now you must convert EVERYTHING (except background, Map border and screen, of course) from Line to Path (right click the Explode button on the left hand side of the screen).
You will get something that looks like this!!
Ugh!
Now for converting this mess into proper objects on the correct sheets and layers using the Change Like Draw Tool command (right click Change Properties button on the left-hand side of the screen).
However, for each entity that we will change using the Drawtools, we MUST first set the correct Sheet and Layer. This is very important.
Here I have converted all the water - the River, the sea/lake and the bit that connects the river to the sea (estuary). First, I changed the Sheet to Water/Rivers; and the layer to Water/Rivers. I don't need to change anything else.
Second, I clicked on Change Like Draw Tool, and left-clicked to bring up the Draw Tool I want to select. I chose the Water Tool - straight, and then clicked on the entities to be changed - in this case the sea and the estuary.
I repeated the process, only this time chose the River 50 and selected the river.
Hey Presto - water finished.
Next I did the Roads - here there is only 1. So, first, change Sheet to Roads Paved, and Layer to Roads. (If you don't want paved roads with cobbles and no Edge Fade, then just set the Sheet to Roads). Then use Change Like Draw Tool command, pick the appropriate Drawing Tool (here I picked Road, Paved 10), then select the entity - the line representing the road.
Finally, at this time, I put in the Scale - for this map, I selected the Imperial Scale (<shudder goes through me> - LOL), with the size as 6. When I place the symbol, it asks for a number, and I type in 600. As you can see, it is nearly the same as the scale imported from the DXF, which is 200 metres. Not totally accurate, but good enough for me, and it measures 600 when checking with the Distance Tool.
Here is the map so far:
To be continued!
I have now converted all the IMPORT into the appropriate sheets using the Change Like Draw Tool Command only.
Remember to set the correct Sheet and Layer for each Change like Draw Tool command.
eg Rivers and Seas (Lakes): Sheet WATER/RIVERS, Layer Water/Rivers
Roads and Squares: Sheet ROADS or ROADS PAVED, Layer Roads. Note that Square Paved cannot be used in Change Like Draw Tools since it has a macro attached. I may change this later if I can find a paving that doesn't need alignment.
Parks: Sheet PARKS, Layer Vegetation.
Docks: Sheet DOCKS, Layer Docks
Walls: Sheet WALLS, Layer Walls (Note: I have done away with the City Wall Layer). I am still not happy with the crens for the walls - now they hardly show. I will fix that.
Towers: Sheet TOWERS, Layer Walls. No longer need to draw these without the Change Like Draw Tools command. And it means no guessing as to the size required.
Bridges: Sheet BRIDGES, Layer Bridges
Fields: Sheet FIELDS, Layer Vegetation. The furrows align to how the generator drew the fields. So often, not a very intuitive direction. However, if you want to use the tool directly to draw fields, the tool does align the furrows (which are Hatch symbols) correctly. In the picture below, I have done this with the bottom right hand field.
Buildings: Sheet SYMBOLS BUILDINGS, Layer Buildings, or any of the Building layers you wish to use, eg Bldng (House 1)
I generally advise doing the Buildings last, as you can then Hide all sheets except Import and Symbols Buildings (with the latter being the selected one). This will then show only the buildings you need to convert.
I have also added buildings on top of the Palace, and smaller towers on the towers around the Palace.
Comments and suggestions really welcome.
The final step is adding all the extra bits and pieces - forests and trees, wetlands, roads and squares and city backgrounds, hills and contours, maybe extra buildings, buildings and towers on top of one another, even a gatehouse to replace the open walls in some places. And text and scale and compass, of course.
Here it is, partly completed.