Ok, thanks for your input bearclaw and Monsen. I will take the time needed to add the options. I agree this is the best choice, but wanted to make sure that I wasn't the only one.
Thanks for all your hard work. I have created a spreadsheet that generates the text for the menu files (.mnu) for all the current symbol sets you have uploaded. I have also created a few icons for buttons. If you want me to I can attach the spreadsheet or event the raw fiels. This is your baby so let me know if this would be of help.
I've also been tinkering with making new icons and menu files, in between making the city symbols CD3 compatible, but my time has been in short supply lately. It sounds like you've beat me to it...which is a wonderful thing.
If you could upload what you have here, with simple instructions on how to make it work, I'm sure everyone would appreciate it. Also, with your permission, I will host it on the SMAC site as well (giving you credit of course). This will give new users two places to get it from, and it won't get lost in this thread.
I have no problem with you hosting the files on your site. As I said before - this your baby and fully credit goes to you for all your hard work. My stuff is pretty simple. I have finished the icons and have tested the results of the spreadsheet. I will write up instructions and upload hopefully tomorrow.
RAR File contents: - Icon directory containing my poor attempts at art - menu directory containing the mnc files that are based off the symbols break downs on Sheesar's website - An extract of my dungeon.mnu that contains the context menu that points to the menus in the menu directory - An excel spreadsheet that allows the generation of the contents of the mnc and context menu lines
Here are the instructions for use
Method 1 - "As Is" This method does not require the spreadsheet, but assumes several things. It assumes you have extracted all the SMAC symbols to the symbols\SMAC directory, you are happy with my icons and you are hppy with the break down of symbols from Shessar's website. I have also reused 3 icons from the DD3 install, which may cause a problem if you don't have DD3.
1. Extract the Icons and Menu folders to your CC3 directory 2. Decide where you are going to display your context menu. I added them to my dungeon.mnu after all the other symbol context menu items. Assuming your setup is the same you can simply open your dungeon.mnu file and copy and paste the contents of the "extract from dungeon.mnu" file between
#614,DD2SKIRMISH:[Skirmish Symbols]|SYMICONM;Skirmish*; and &File:
just make sure that #614 is the last line in the 600 series of items.
That should be it. When you open CC3 you should see a line of new icons in your DD3 context menu bar.
Method 2 "Customisation" - takes a bit of work and cutting and pasting but is pretty easy. Hey I figured it out. If you open the excel spreadsheet - you will see 3 tabs; constants, symbol sets and Cmenu Entries -Constants has information about where your symbol catalogs live (.FSC), your menus (.mnc) are going to live and where your icons are going to live (16x16 bmps). -Symbol Sets Sets contains the names of all your catalogs, how you are going to group them together, the display name you are going to use (what pops up in the menus) and the commands to add to each of the mnu files -Cmenu Entries contains an entry for each of your groupings from the Symbol Set sheet, the name of the icon you want to use for the context menu button, the number sequence you are going to continue in your mnu file (for example in my dungeon menu #614,DD2SKIRMISH:[Skirmish Symbols]|SYMICONM;Skirmish*; is the last item in the series I wanted to add my buttons to, so I started my sequence at 615), the name of the menu file it will call (.mnc) and finally the command to add to the .mnu file
Constants Sheet 1.Change the constants to suit your needs Symbol Sets Sheet 1. Add all the names of all the .FSC catalogs you wish to include in your menus to the "Catalog Name" column 2. Select a grouping for all your catalogs (this isn't directly used in the spreadsheet, but it does allow you to sort on something) 3. Currently the "Set Display Name" is sourced from the "Catalog Name" field by just trimming the .FSC off the end 4. The "Individual Menu Entries" column should now be generated with all the info it requires. 5. Create a text file for each "Grouping" giving it a .mnc extention 6. Put the following at the top of the file (e.g. for an accessories grouping) It is simply a text item that will appear at the top of the context menu when you press the button: Accessories: ----------: 7. Copy and paste all the lines relating to this grouping and then save the file to the location specified in the "Constants" sheet 8. Rinse and Repeat CMENU Entries Sheet 1. In the "Group" field enter all the grouping you used on the "Symbol Sets" Sheet 2. In the "Icon" field enter the name of the bmp file or built in icon you want to use for this button 3. In the "Custom Icon" field enter Yes if you are using your own bmp or No if you are using a built in icon. This will ensure that the location for custom icons (set on the "Constants" sheet) is appended to the front of the custom icon's name in the context menu command 4. In the "Contect Menu Number" field enter the sequence number you want your context menu to occupy. This will need to be determined by looking at the .mnu file you will be adding these entries to 5. In the "Name of Menu for Symbol Set" field enter the name of the menu file it will actually displaying 6. The "Item to add to menu file" should now be generated with the correct information ready to cut and paste 7. Open the desired .mnu file and paste it at the correct location
When you open CC3 and activate the relavant menu (eg. clicking on the DD3 button) you should see your buttons, displaying your icons and when pressed pop open a menu allowing you change active symbol sets.
I am back from vacation and behind my computer screen again.
Today I have added two new Interior Fill Styles: Metal and Orange.
I've added a new page for the Menus created by deltaserpentis.
I have also started uploading the City Symbols. Please note that these symbols will be going into a new folder. Instructions are on the main SMAC Symbols page. The creation of the City symbols is proving to be a slow, tedious process, so your patience is appreciated. I have 28 folders of symbols that require editing for City Designer compatibility. This is going to take a while.*Grins* I am not going to add the shading map .pngs, but the other City Designer 3 features should work.
Today's City uploads are: City Features - Bridges Buildings - Barns and Square Buildings
Considering Shessars considerable collection, and frequent updates, manually creating menu files is a hassle,and well, I am lazy So, I wrote a little script to create these files for me.
The result is that there is now a daily updated set of menu files available at http://home.broadpark.no/~cc3/smac_menu.zip. This set is auto-generated from the content at the SMAC site, ensuring that it is always up to date. The menu files are updated daily, so expect up to 24 hours delay after Shessar posts new artwork before the files are up to date.
The zip file found at the url above contains two types of files:
.mnc files - These should be put into a subdirectory called "menu" inside your main CC3 directory. Just create this directory if it doesn't exists
.mnu file - The content of these files should be put into the corresponding menu (.mnu) files in the main CC3 directory. The file names of these are created automatically using the category names on the site, so they will NOT have the same name as the right CC3 menu file. It should be easy enough to figure out which file they go into though (master_City Symbols.mnu should be added to city.mnu, master_Dungeon Symbols.mnu to dungeon.mnu and so on)
Note that I have elected to only use CC3 built-in icons for this versions. I primarily do this because it means less files to distribute and put in the correct folder, but also because it is difficult creating or finding images (with an appropriate license) to be used. Obviously, I need to select the icons manually, so if Shessar creates a new category on the site, it will use a generic icon until I manually assign it one. This only affects the icon however, the menu for the new category will be available immediately without the need for any intervention by me.
So all that's needed is to unzip this menu to the new folder in our CC3 installation each time there is an update (within 24 hours) and our menus are automatically updated????
Posted By: bearclawSo all that's needed is to unzip this menu to the new folder in our CC3 installation each time there is an update (within 24 hours) and our menus are automatically updated????
Amazing!!
if thats true i think i may just gibber in a happy way
ok i went to open the files, created the menu folder etc...but noticed that the numbers on the categorie list(.mnu files) overlaps with some of the ones allready in there.
(i used the other system to create the menu icons and caterorys that was listed in another thread)
if i paste the one in this new system over what already there will it cause problems
example the dungeon .mnu file has 620 to 644
where as the on i already have goes to 639
another example is that the old #620 is [Containers] where as the new one is [Accessories]
No, it is not quite that simple, unfortunately, because you will need to edit your main cc3 menu files to include the buttons to load these submenus.
In the zip file, there are several .mnu file. The content of these must be inserted into the appropriate CC3 menu file manually (replacing previous edits if you have downloaded this before). This is quite simple process, and very quick to do once you have done it once however. It is also only necessary when Shessar adds a new category (as this needs a new button in the main CC3/DD3/CD3/... menu. If she has only added a new symbol set to an existing category, then you can only unzip this zip into the menu folder, and you are ready to go.
ok so do i need to delete every refernce line from 615 -> last number or from 620 (as that where the new system starts, where the old i *think* started at 615)
@Mobius If you previously used the menus created by Deltaserpentis, you should either just stick to them, or remove them and insert mine. The reason being that his menus and mine both links to the same symbol catalog files, so if you use both, you will end up with a double set of buttons.
I chose my numbers starting from 620 because that allows space for a few custom buttons people might have (like me). I believe he started at 615. If you wish to use my menus, delete everything from 615 to 639 inclusive, and replace by mine. Note that AFAIK his dungeon menus covers the complete set of dungeon symbols already, so there is no particular gain in switching to mine (Unless Shessar adds more dungeon symbols, in which case my menu files would be updated on the server automatically). For city symbols, you can still use my menus, even if you use his dungeon menus.
ok that makes a lot of sense, just seing the diffrent numbers confused me a bit :-)
edit : yup that worked fine cant see the city ones/icons but not a big deal as can manually load those (still keep them in the SMAC Cities folder yes?)
Posted By: Mobiusok that makes a lot of sense, just seing the diffrent numbers confused me a bit :-)
edit : yup that worked fine cant see the city ones/icons but not a big deal as can manually load those (still keep them in the SMAC Cities folder yes?)
You will need to click the CD3 button or start a new city map to see them.
hmm tried both of those..still cant see the buttons..think i may have the files in the wrong folder (i've loaded the cities sysmbols into the SMAC Cities folder), but like i said not a big issue for me at the moment
@Monsen - just seen that with you starting yours at 620 gives a nice gap between the "standard" ones on the ones from SMAC on the toolbar , which is very handy
The SMAC files doesn't affect the menu display at all (It will affect if the menus are able to load the catalogs when selected, but you don't even need to have the SMAC files installed for the menus themselves to show up)
I assume you did remember to add the two lines from the "master_City Symbols.mnu" files to your "city.mnu" file, right?
Posted By: MonsenThe SMAC files doesn't affect the menu display at all (It will affect if the menus are able to load the catalogs when selected, but you don't even need to have the SMAC files installed for the menus themselves to show up)
I assume you did remember to add the two lines from the "master_City Symbols.mnu" files to your "city.mnu" file, right?
i did yes at the end of the list..at least i think i did..will go and check to be sure edit : Yup i did they are #620 and #621
Great update as allways Shessar :-) I think i figured out why i could not et the city icons/menu working looking over the file i see that in the city mnu file there is:(i put the ** myself to hilight)
No. both "CATICON1" and "DD2ELEMENTAL" are valid built-in icon names from CC3, so it is supposed to look like that.
If you send me your complete city.mnu file (after you modified it), i can have a look at it, and see that everything is indeed ok in your file. (Just zip it up, and add it as an attachment to a whisper to me in the forum, or send it by email)
I've uploaded the last of the city symbols. This is a new category, Building Frills: Chimneys, Decks, Dormers, Steps and Miscellaneous.
For those wondering about an overland set - I will do one, though there isn't much available at CC3's overland scale. But, before I start on that, I want to complete the Fill styles.
To all who offered thanks, you are quite welcome. Honestly though, the real thanks and praise goes to all of the artists who created the PNGs and offered them to everyone free of charge. Major Kudos to them!
Comments
Thanks for all your hard work. I have created a spreadsheet that generates the text for the menu files (.mnu) for all the current symbol sets you have uploaded. I have also created a few icons for buttons. If you want me to I can attach the spreadsheet or event the raw fiels. This is your baby so let me know if this would be of help.
I've also been tinkering with making new icons and menu files, in between making the city symbols CD3 compatible, but my time has been in short supply lately. It sounds like you've beat me to it...which is a wonderful thing.
If you could upload what you have here, with simple instructions on how to make it work, I'm sure everyone would appreciate it. Also, with your permission, I will host it on the SMAC site as well (giving you credit of course). This will give new users two places to get it from, and it won't get lost in this thread.
This is awesome! Thank you!
I have no problem with you hosting the files on your site. As I said before - this your baby and fully credit goes to you for all your hard work. My stuff is pretty simple. I have finished the icons and have tested the results of the spreadsheet. I will write up instructions and upload hopefully tomorrow.
RAR File contents:
- Icon directory containing my poor attempts at art
- menu directory containing the mnc files that are based off the symbols break downs on Sheesar's website
- An extract of my dungeon.mnu that contains the context menu that points to the menus in the menu directory
- An excel spreadsheet that allows the generation of the contents of the mnc and context menu lines
Here are the instructions for use
Method 1 - "As Is"
This method does not require the spreadsheet, but assumes several things. It assumes you have extracted all the SMAC symbols to the symbols\SMAC directory, you are happy with my icons and you are hppy with the break down of symbols from Shessar's website. I have also reused 3 icons from the DD3 install, which may cause a problem if you don't have DD3.
1. Extract the Icons and Menu folders to your CC3 directory
2. Decide where you are going to display your context menu. I added them to my dungeon.mnu after all the other symbol context menu items. Assuming your setup is the same you can simply open your dungeon.mnu file and copy and paste the contents of the "extract from dungeon.mnu" file between
#614,DD2SKIRMISH:[Skirmish Symbols]|SYMICONM;Skirmish*;
and
&File:
just make sure that #614 is the last line in the 600 series of items.
That should be it. When you open CC3 you should see a line of new icons in your DD3 context menu bar.
Method 2 "Customisation"
- takes a bit of work and cutting and pasting but is pretty easy. Hey I figured it out.
If you open the excel spreadsheet - you will see 3 tabs; constants, symbol sets and Cmenu Entries
-Constants has information about where your symbol catalogs live (.FSC), your menus (.mnc) are going to live and where your icons are going to live (16x16 bmps).
-Symbol Sets Sets contains the names of all your catalogs, how you are going to group them together, the display name you are going to use (what pops up in the menus) and the commands to add to each of the mnu files
-Cmenu Entries contains an entry for each of your groupings from the Symbol Set sheet, the name of the icon you want to use for the context menu button, the number sequence you are going to continue in your mnu file (for example in my dungeon menu #614,DD2SKIRMISH:[Skirmish Symbols]|SYMICONM;Skirmish*; is the last item in the series I wanted to add my buttons to, so I started my sequence at 615), the name of the menu file it will call (.mnc) and finally the command to add to the .mnu file
Constants Sheet
1.Change the constants to suit your needs
Symbol Sets Sheet
1. Add all the names of all the .FSC catalogs you wish to include in your menus to the "Catalog Name" column
2. Select a grouping for all your catalogs (this isn't directly used in the spreadsheet, but it does allow you to sort on something)
3. Currently the "Set Display Name" is sourced from the "Catalog Name" field by just trimming the .FSC off the end
4. The "Individual Menu Entries" column should now be generated with all the info it requires.
5. Create a text file for each "Grouping" giving it a .mnc extention
6. Put the following at the top of the file (e.g. for an accessories grouping) It is simply a text item that will appear at the top of the context menu when you press the button:
Accessories:
----------:
7. Copy and paste all the lines relating to this grouping and then save the file to the location specified in the "Constants" sheet
8. Rinse and Repeat
CMENU Entries Sheet
1. In the "Group" field enter all the grouping you used on the "Symbol Sets" Sheet
2. In the "Icon" field enter the name of the bmp file or built in icon you want to use for this button
3. In the "Custom Icon" field enter Yes if you are using your own bmp or No if you are using a built in icon. This will ensure that the location for custom icons (set on the "Constants" sheet) is appended to the front of the custom icon's name in the context menu command
4. In the "Contect Menu Number" field enter the sequence number you want your context menu to occupy. This will need to be determined by looking at the .mnu file you will be adding these entries to
5. In the "Name of Menu for Symbol Set" field enter the name of the menu file it will actually displaying
6. The "Item to add to menu file" should now be generated with the correct information ready to cut and paste
7. Open the desired .mnu file and paste it at the correct location
When you open CC3 and activate the relavant menu (eg. clicking on the DD3 button) you should see your buttons, displaying your icons and when pressed pop open a menu allowing you change active symbol sets.
Most of this info was derived from http://forum.profantasy.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=332 and the help doco.
Questions, problems, comments, art critiques welcome.
Finally a big thanks to Shessar for all his hard work.
Also, I should have several city symbol sets ready by then, so most likely by weeks end.
Today I have added two new Interior Fill Styles: Metal and Orange.
I've added a new page for the Menus created by deltaserpentis.
I have also started uploading the City Symbols. Please note that these symbols will be going into a new folder. Instructions are on the main SMAC Symbols page. The creation of the City symbols is proving to be a slow, tedious process, so your patience is appreciated. I have 28 folders of symbols that require editing for City Designer compatibility. This is going to take a while.*Grins* I am not going to add the shading map .pngs, but the other City Designer 3 features should work.
Today's City uploads are:
City Features - Bridges
Buildings - Barns and Square Buildings
Enjoy!
New City Symbols added
City Features: Tents
Buildings: Huts, L-Shaped Buildings, Rectangular Buildings, Castle Ruins
New Interior Fills: Purple and Bones
SMAC menu files
Considering Shessars considerable collection, and frequent updates, manually creating menu files is a hassle,and well, I am lazySo, I wrote a little script to create these files for me.
The result is that there is now a daily updated set of menu files available at http://home.broadpark.no/~cc3/smac_menu.zip. This set is auto-generated from the content at the SMAC site, ensuring that it is always up to date. The menu files are updated daily, so expect up to 24 hours delay after Shessar posts new artwork before the files are up to date.
The zip file found at the url above contains two types of files:
Note that I have elected to only use CC3 built-in icons for this versions. I primarily do this because it means less files to distribute and put in the correct folder, but also because it is difficult creating or finding images (with an appropriate license) to be used. Obviously, I need to select the icons manually, so if Shessar creates a new category on the site, it will use a generic icon until I manually assign it one. This only affects the icon however, the menu for the new category will be available immediately without the need for any intervention by me.
It is also just in time for the next update.
8 New City Catalogs added:
Buildings: Red Tile, Ruined, Snowy, Stables, Temples, Theaters, Towers, and Varied.
Enjoy!
Amazing!!
(i used the other system to create the menu icons and caterorys that was listed in another thread)
if i paste the one in this new system over what already there will it cause problems
example the dungeon .mnu file has 620 to 644
where as the on i already have goes to 639
another example is that the old #620 is [Containers]
where as the new one is [Accessories]
In the zip file, there are several .mnu file. The content of these must be inserted into the appropriate CC3 menu file manually (replacing previous edits if you have downloaded this before). This is quite simple process, and very quick to do once you have done it once however. It is also only necessary when Shessar adds a new category (as this needs a new button in the main CC3/DD3/CD3/... menu. If she has only added a new symbol set to an existing category, then you can only unzip this zip into the menu folder, and you are ready to go.
If you previously used the menus created by Deltaserpentis, you should either just stick to them, or remove them and insert mine. The reason being that his menus and mine both links to the same symbol catalog files, so if you use both, you will end up with a double set of buttons.
I chose my numbers starting from 620 because that allows space for a few custom buttons people might have (like me). I believe he started at 615. If you wish to use my menus, delete everything from 615 to 639 inclusive, and replace by mine. Note that AFAIK his dungeon menus covers the complete set of dungeon symbols already, so there is no particular gain in switching to mine (Unless Shessar adds more dungeon symbols, in which case my menu files would be updated on the server automatically). For city symbols, you can still use my menus, even if you use his dungeon menus.
edit : yup that worked fine cant see the city ones/icons but not a big deal as can manually load those (still keep them in the SMAC Cities folder yes?)
@Monsen - just seen that with you starting yours at 620 gives a nice gap between the "standard" ones on the ones from SMAC on the toolbar , which is very handy
I assume you did remember to add the two lines from the "master_City Symbols.mnu" files to your "city.mnu" file, right?
edit : Yup i did they are #620 and #621
Buildings: Windmills.
City Features: Castle Parts, City Decor, City Walls, Docks, Market Parts, Markets, and Ships.
I have one more City upload to do, and if all goes as planned, I'll be able to get this done by the end of this week.
Enjoy and Happy Mapping!
I think i figured out why i could not et the city icons/menu working
looking over the file i see that in the city mnu file there is:(i put the ** myself to hilight)
#604,**CATICON1**:[Default/Miscellaneous]{|CMENU SYSTEM\city symbols 1.mnc;}|CATICON1;
where as the dungeon one has
#629,**DD2ELEMENTAL**:[Floor Features]{|CMENU #menu\smac_FloorFeatures.mnc;}|CMENU #menu\smac_FloorFeatures.mnc;
looks like the icon names not been set right in the city menu file ...am i reading this correctly?
If you send me your complete city.mnu file (after you modified it), i can have a look at it, and see that everything is indeed ok in your file. (Just zip it up, and add it as an attachment to a whisper to me in the forum, or send it by email)
This is a new category, Building Frills: Chimneys, Decks, Dormers, Steps and Miscellaneous.
For those wondering about an overland set - I will do one, though there isn't much available at CC3's overland scale. But, before I start on that, I want to complete the Fill styles.
To all who offered thanks, you are quite welcome. Honestly though, the real thanks and praise goes to all of the artists who created the PNGs and offered them to everyone free of charge. Major Kudos to them!