White Background for Traveller subsector maps
Is there a template for making the subsector maps which is a white background instead of the standard black? Does anyone have a line on this?
Thanks
Thanks
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Sorry for doing a bit of grave digging but is there an equivalent for CC3+ ?
I cant seem to find one.
The file Ralf referred to above is still located in the same location for CC3+, just look in the CC3+ data directory and follow the path. This is a Cosmographer supplied filed though, so you need to have Cos3 installed, there isn't one available for "plain" CC3+.
Odd - ive followed the path and i cant find it there. I do have all the expansions and the annuals.
ok scratch that. Ive come out of CC3+ completely and just gone in via Expolore and its there. Problem solved :-)
It is a template file, so it won't show in the CC3+ open dialog unless you change the file type filter to show templates instead of maps. You would normally using the new map wizard (choose a pre-defined template) to create a map from it though, not opening it directly
I was able to find the specified file, and I can produce a sector map easily, the problem is that it's a black background with white text (the standard). What's the problem? I want to be able to make printouts, but with a black backgound, this eats up ink like mad (and increasing the jamming problems on my printer). All I want to do is to be able to change the background color to "white" and change the text (and the line colors) to black. I've tried everthing I could think of, to no avail. Help?
If you also posted on the fb page, I gave a quick way to do it.
I'll post it here.
Freeze all layers except background. Change the color to color 15.
Go back to the layer dialog, Freeze all except the grid layer. Change the color of thd grid.
If the background doesn't change, you will also need to changefs to solid.
The only problem is that the specified approach doesn't work. I'm using CC 3 and Cosmographer 3 (not 3+), and I've just spent the last 2 hours trying and getting nowhere. There must be a difference between your version and mine.
It works for cc3 or cc3+.
I don't know how else to explain it.
I'm a bit confused here, Niall. On FB you mentioned that you had managed to change the background white (presumably with Jim's help), but still couldn't do the grid. Is that correct?
I walked through it step by step, and posted what I did. But it is possible I left out a step or two.
Here is what I posted to fb, where are my mistakes ? Thanks.
Here is my method. I say that as CC3+ has several methods for most things.
Look at the top of the software for an area that has L: and a name. That is the layer dialog Click on that. Scroll up in the dialog until you see Background. Click the left most column, that makes it active.
Click Freeze All. Click Hide All. then Okay.
Now you should see just the background. Type changec then enter key. Select the background. Right click and select Do It from the menu. Go up to the color dialog and pick the color white, or just type 15 and enter.
Didn't change it on mine, so the background is a bitmap fill, not a solid color.
I then type changefs and click on the background, right click Do It from the menu. Then okay.
It should then change to white, which in this software is color 15.
Now for the grid.
Freeze all but the hex/square grid. Type changec then holding down the left mouse button, make a square and if you hit the grid, it turns a light purple/cyan. Let go the mouse button. You should have over 2,500 entities. Just keep doing that, I'm not used to this so it took me a few tries, once all of the grid is selected, right click and Do it from the menu.
I used color 0, zero, black. enter key.
Now you can show all, and save your map to check everything is showing properly, and then print.
I hope that helps.
edit: Niall says cannot select. I just followed up with this.
If you cannot select something, it is on a frozen layer.
Niall says the layers weren't frozen.
I think we need the fcw.
I suggested Niall post the fcw over here. Got the background changed, but not the grid.
Ok, here's the FCW I was working on. The lines between stars are "Alderson drive tramlines" (my house rules: Mongoose TRAV jump engines use normal fuel quantities for non-tramline jumps (and function just as "the rules" say). Along the tramlines? All that's needed is JUMP-1 drive, and the fuel cost is 5% of what a Jump-1 would cost. Having a Jump-2 or higher jump drive doesn't get you there faster -- Alderson jumps take zero time, and 5% fuel cost. This allows "interpenetrating" empires...due to the Alderson point-to-point tramline restrictions, but does not COMPLETELY cut off cross-tramline travel.
For me the changes would be simple and take only a few minutes, but where I am using CC3+ and don't have CC3 I can't assume that helping you that way would create a map that you could still open in the much older software. I changed the colour of the grid in the second screen shot.
It's just a whimsical thought rather than any kind of a 'must do', but if CC3 is so much different and less useful than CC3+ have you considered upgrading? The cost should be available on your account page when you log in - on the "Offers" tab.
I never said that it wasn't possible -- only that the procedure outlined didn't work for me. And I noticed that the hex numbering disappeared in the screen shot that you took after the color change.
While the package is good for some things, I find that it is a little bit too much of a CAD package, requiring too steep a learning curve for me to get it to do what I want. For the TRAV stuff, I've actually found some better freeware as it happens. "Just upgrade" is not a good approach for me.
The amount of grief that I've gone through trying to do something that SHOULD be simple and straightforward leaves a definitely negative emotional response to using CC3 for anything except what it appears to be good at -- overland maps.
The hex numbering is on a different sheet to the grid (it's on TEXT) so remains white when the grid is converted, and I didn't bother to do any more than find out if the grid could be changed - because that was your question... as I understood it anyway.
Yes, it was originally built around a FastCAD heart.
It's quite tricky trying to assist in the use of an outdated and no longer published app like CC3. It actually predates my time with Profantasy and I've been here about 7 years now. As far as I can tell the help that Jim gave you was all correct and should have worked for you, but maybe there are differences between the old version and the current version that I (for one) don't know about.
To the best of my knowledge, the help I posted should work with any version that has both sheets and layers.
Edit. I've made thousands of maps over the years with this software.
Edit. Fixed a typo.
Hi Niall! Sorry for the late reply, I was away for the week. The template I referenced at the start of this thread should have just white background, no need to make any changes. I've attached it here, so you can check it directly.
But judging from the sample map you provided, it looks like you were looking for the sector version? The B&W version is also in the "Starmaps" subfolder of the Cosmographer templates. I've also attached that.