Lack of detail transferring from FT to CC3+
mcgrewc
Newcomer
I have tried just about every export setting I can find, also exporting entire world or just sections and there is nowhere near the detail in CC3 as I see in FT which will make FT useless to me. I assume this cannot be right and I must just be doing something wrong. I'd really appreciate any and all input on this. Thanks.
Comments
FT shows a different kind of data than CC3 does and the contours output from FT3 are intended to be elaborated upon in CC3 to make a full map. As JimP will tell you, he is fond of outputting images that he inserts into a CC3 drawing and then annotates as he desires (including tracing over the coastlines).
You should not need to retrace anything. I offered a common suggestion made by one of the forum users whenever the subject of FT3 comes up.
Controlling the detail level for a map can be done by editing the export settings and adjusting the slider found on the "Detail Level" page.
If you want to get an FT3 image with CC3 towns, roads and so on added on it, consider exporting an image directly from FT3, starting a new drawing in CC3+, and then inserting that bitmap into the CC3+ file on a background sheet. Then you can draw on the FT3 image using CC3+.
I have made a hemisphere out of a FT3 planet. And other times i have taken an export png of a continent, rescaled it, and made it into an island.
The distances in FT3 wont match distances in CC3/CC3+.
What I do is measure the FT3 map nad insert that png into a CC3+ template of the same size on a bmp layer and bmp sheet. Trace over it and when I am done with the continents, bays, ocean, islands, etc. I hide everything but the bmp layer and bmp sheet and delete it.
Then I add markers for large cities, and put in country borders.
I am not sure why you get the white exports either. I can't reproduce this myself, my exports are as they should be.
Maybe jslayton will chime in with some thoughts, if not, I recommend you put in a support ticket.
Do note that I don't recommend using the multiple maps export, for several reasons. First, all maps are the same size, without regard for natural divisions. I find it much more natural to export a single continent at a time. Secondly, it generates maps of the same detail level for your entire world, forcing you to map every region at the same detail level. This usually just lead to a bunch of unnecessary work. Look at how we are doing things in the Community Atlas for a more flexible approach.
I save my fcw, pngs, etc. to C:\Profantasy\CC3Plus\mymaps\ or if you are using CC3 I save to C:\Profantasy\CC3\mymaps\
That way I don't have to look in ProgramData for them.
Hmmm... FT3 saves those files to a flder under FT3. Did you copy both the fcw and png files to your CC3Plus folders ?
If you want image files, you need to not tell the system "Don't Generate Image Files".
I am not sure why the maps are solid white. What does your map look like onscreen?
Using FT requires a delicate touch to avoid putting in so much data that CC3+ chokes while still getting enough data to be useful. Generating dozens (or hundreds) of arbitrary blocks that need manual editing isn't often a good choice. A better solution is often to find map views that represent what you're looking at (for example, a specific continent in a specific projection) and manage those views using the View Management window (View>>View Window). Then you can export just the views that you want and detail that information in CC3+. The nice thing about FT is that it will keep that information and you can re-export those views whenever you want to.
Generally, I recommend exporting with multipoly off. The only downside to this is that lakes doesn't show up, because FT tries to represent these with holes in the landmass, lettign the see background show trough, but without multipoly on, these ends up being solid polygons the same color as your landmass. Anyhow, using holes in landmasses to represent lakes isn't the way you would usually do it in CC3 anyway, so I prefer just finding these lake polys, change their fill to a sea type, and place them on a lake/river sheet.
The only way to get things to look exactly as they did in FT is to export it as an image, and then insert that into your CC3 map, but obviously, an image is a static thing. While you can draw on top of it, you can't really change it.
Also, note that it isn't the selected area that gets exported, FT3 exports the current view inside the FT3 window, so you may wish to resize the FT3 window to only contain what you wish to export.