Macro Tutorial - NEW! PART 4 ready

Hi,

I've written down some things about macros.
Please tell me if it's usefull or if something like that already exists and I'm loosing my time (and yours).

I hope it's not a toooo bad English...
(tried to use the Annual paging...)

JdR

Edit : Pages number now 13
Edit : Pages number now 19

Comments

  • MonsenMonsen Administrator 🖼️ 81 images Cartographer
    A very nice macro tutorial. I like that you explain everything thoroughly, making it easy for a macro novice to understand what is going on.

    More tutorials are always welcome, and especially macro tutorials since there are not many of them around.
  • edited April 2009
    Thanks for your feedback Monsen.

    The file has been replaced by the latest version, corrected some mispellings and added text.
    The .mac file containing all the macros written has been made available above. Since it seems impossible to post .mac files it is a .txt file you need to rename and place in the CC3 folder (the same where FCW32.mac is. Could be somewhere else but it's easier that way).

    I will update thoses files as I work. Look at the page number listed on first post.

    JdR
  • Simon RogersSimon Rogers Administrator, ProFantasy Traveler
    Again, very helpful.
    Simon
  • RalfRalf Administrator, ProFantasy 🖼️ 18 images Mapmaker
    Wow, very good stuff.

    Joachim, if you think it's ready to be generally available, let me know, and I'll post it to the user tutorials section of the website.
  • Thanks Ralf !

    In fact I hope the community will help me find out errors, mispellings, lack of precision, etc.

    What I've written so far could be a part 1 and I'm already working on part 2. I know I should print part 1 and check myself but it's sooo more interesting to write further.

    I will keep you informed of the progress.

    JdR
  • BidmaronBidmaron Traveler
    Thanks for doing this. The approach to macros is so hard it intimidates most people from trying.
  • edited April 2009
    Posted By: BidmaronThe approach to macros is so hard it intimidates most people from trying.
    You can say. Started two years ago and only begin to understand... Thanks for feedback.

    PART 2 is ready for (proof?)reading. Help yourselves.

    JdR
  • Posted By: RalfJoachim, if you think it's ready to be generally available, let me know, and I'll post it to the user tutorials section of the website.
    Ralf, I took the time to proofread Parts 1 and 2. If you deem them ok I'd be honoured to see them there. Attached is a zip file with revelant files.

    Part 3 is under way.

    Thank you all for comments and help.

    JdR
  • RalfRalf Administrator, ProFantasy 🖼️ 18 images Mapmaker
    Joachim, many thanks! I've put the tutorials up on the user tutorial page.
  • Part 3 is available.
    Included macros for star, spiral and rotated box drawing along with design explanations.

    JdR
  • MonsenMonsen Administrator 🖼️ 81 images Cartographer
    Very nice. Nice to see that not everyone forgets geometry after they finish school.
  • Posted By: MonsenNice to see that not everyone forgets geometry after they finish school.
    Well, err... you see, I teach math in the real life... Please don't hit me...

    JdR
  • MonsenMonsen Administrator 🖼️ 81 images Cartographer
    Posted By: Joachim de RavenbelWell, err... you see, I teach math in the real life... Please don't hit me...
    Well, that explains all the nice formulas and geometric figures. I don't teach math myself, but I am surrounded by people who do (The Department of Computer Engineering at Bergen University College, where I work, is also responsible for the math and physics courses for the entire school).

    This is also one of the parts of CC3 I love. You are able to use stuff you learned in school that you though you would never need. And it is really helpful to understand it :) Who would have thought drawing fantasy maps involved math, eh?
  • edited April 2009
    Well, geometric figures are nice because they were drawn with CC3 !

    You know, most time of the year I use CC3 more to prepare my lessons than to draw maps. Sometimes I even combine both (give a map, say the treasure is as near to the tower than to the temple then to the big tree -> find the center of the circle going through all those points).

    What one wouldn't do to make one's students suffer...

    JdR
  • 8 months later
  • edited December 2009
    Hi folks,

    Part 4 deals with a macro drawing rivers with line width and color gradients through the use of the APND command.

    Even if you're not interested in macro writing, I hope you'll find the attached macro RIV useful.

    Sample test map below.

    JdR
  • MonsenMonsen Administrator 🖼️ 81 images Cartographer
    Thanks for another nice tutorial.
    Nice macro too, but it is fond of making CC3 crash completely depending on my fractalization settings.
  • Posted By: Monsenbut it is fond of making CC3 crash completely
    Really? What settings are you using? I've just made an extensive use of the macro without any crash (knock on wood) with a strengh of 20%, a depth of 5 and smoothing.
  • MonsenMonsen Administrator 🖼️ 81 images Cartographer
    CC3 defaults actually.
    But it seem to be dependent on other factors too. It worked much better on my clean test-install computer with a clean CC3 install and no addons than it does on my production laptop, which contains the full range of CC3 stuff.
  • Well, I use it on my laptop with CD3,DD3,FT,PerPro,SMC,SS1,Annuals1-3 with no trouble but I reckon the laptop is new and runs with WinXPPro.
    It only crashed on jpg export 3200x2400 :(
  • 7 years later
  • UKgnomeUKgnome Newcomer
    Does this MACRO run on CC3+ as I have tried it a couple of times and I just seem to get a random array of overlapping polygons, so I guess I don't understand it at all.
  • MonsenMonsen Administrator 🖼️ 81 images Cartographer
    Any macro in particular you are referring to here? There are quite a lot of them through this topic.

    In general, things are pretty much the same macro wise, so almost every CC3 macro should run fine in CC3+ as well. The river macro from part 4 runs perfectly.
  • UKgnomeUKgnome Newcomer
    It is the river macro that I am playing with but get nothing resembling a river, so somewhere I am going wrong.

    I presume point one is the source and the end point is the sea/lake.

    I also think my values must be wrong for river width, so an afternoon playing seems to be on the cards.
  • MonsenMonsen Administrator 🖼️ 81 images Cartographer
    For the river macro, it is kind of backwards. The first point is the widest, so it should be placed where the river runs out in the sea/lake, then you place points following the path of the river backwards (and finish with a right click)

    For the river width, remember that the values you supply is in map units. The default width 2, means that the river is 2 map units wide at the mouth, which translates to 2 miles on an overland map, so if you are uing it on a small scale map, you'll probably want to use a much smaller value.
  • UKgnomeUKgnome Newcomer
    Thank you, now I need to work out why it all seems greyish instead of blue
  • 2 years later
  • Posted By: Joachim de RavenbelI've written down some things about macros.
    First of all: Thank you for this. I was looking for a comprehensive guide into the world of CC3 macro programming, and it looks like this is the go-to place.

    But I cannot get around the fact that I'm a programmer. Which means: I will find bugs.

    In the first tutorial, on page 2, you explain line 4 as "4. TEXTM varPname;varPname" - which is wrong, as in the original source, there is "TEXTM varSname;varPname" in line 4. Nothing bad, but something that could be fixed.

    I hope that you are still with us here in the forum, as I've seen that your post is now ten years old...
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