FT1.23 in FT3

kristof65 · November 2011

Simply put, I need a way to either open or convert an FT1.23 world into FT3.

Terraformer_Author · November 2011

kristof65, I would not know how to move exactly the same world that you created in 1.23 into FT3, as I've never owned the first few versions of Fractal Terrains - I have only owned FT2 and FT3 - but I DO have a suggestion - an idea:

try writing down all of the original "Synthetic World" settings - including the "WORLD SEED" number - of your original FT 1.23 world after opening it up in the older version of FT Pro.

Then - after you do that - start a new Synthetic World in FT3, and input the EXACT SAME SETTINGS verbatum.

You may be able to replicate your original world in FT3 (the "World Seed" number "SHOULD" be the key, but duplicate ALL of the settings info exactly!). I'm not promising anything - but it's worth a shot. I would assume that It would depend upon whether or not the right pieces of jslayton's original architecture carried over into FT3 ok. Let me know how it goes.

kristof65 · November 2011

Thanks for the thoughts, but I can tell you it won't do it. I was an early adopter of FT, finding the near perfect world, and editing it pretty heavily in a couple of areas to make it perfect. I had major problems when that bug was discovered, and Joe had to put in the 1.23 compatibility switch.

I can understand why he took it out, but I need something to update the file to the current standard without losing my edits.

Terraformer_Author · November 2011

Well - Joe wrote wrote the code, so if anybody oughta know - he would. I'de be very interesting in hearing his input on that myself because I have both FT2 and FT3 loaded up right now - and I'de like to be able to have them interchangeable to a certain degree. The main reason I brought it up is that I DID successfully open a world that I created in FT2 up in FT3. It DID work for me, but I didn't have to do the setting re-input like I suggested - I just opened the world up in FT3 when I reset Windows to open the file in FT3, even though it was an FT2 outputted world.

(Right clicked on world file > selected "OPEN WITH in the tree menu > then went to the "BROWSE button to find and pick FT3 in my programs directory).

Old Guy · November 2011

I am just learning FT and even less familiar with Wilbur but it seems to me (from the little I know) that you might be able to use Wilbur to convert the data for you. Load FT1.23, export a wilbur-readable file, load that into Wilbur, export a FT-readable file, and load that into FT3.

Terraformer_Author · November 2011

Old Guy has a terrific point. Try outputting the world in a Wilbur .MDR file, a Special .MDR file, a .raw binary file, and / or a regular .ftw - and try to open those up in Wilbur! you may be able to export it / save it in a file format that will allow you to carry it over to FT3. I think that it might actually work.

kristof65 · November 2011

I've had no problem opening my FT2 created world in FT3, so no worries there. It's this one world, which is my oldest campaign, that I have to have.

Old Guy - I'll see if that works.

Terraformer_Author · November 2011

Old Guy - the one person on this panel that knows the absolute most about Fractal Terrains is Joe Slayton. If I ever have a question that's giving me nosebleeds - he'll have the answer for sure.
I'de say that he's gonna chime in on this thread eventually - so it's a good idea for everybody to stay tuned on this one. If he doesn't (which is unlikely, but possible), then leaving a note over at technical support would most certainly get back to him.

kristof65 · November 2011

So I downloaded Wilbur, and tried a few various exports and imports. None of them look anything like my original file.

Terraformer_Author · November 2011

Try saving it as a black and white hieght field image, if 1.23 can do that. Shade it as a BUMP MAP and save it then import the BUMP MAP into Wilbur - then export it to a format for FT3.

kristof65 · November 2011

FT2 can't save as a greyscale, but I did try a color export/import. That works, but gives me the same issue as trying to use burn into surface. That is the resolution. The resolution is way too coarse to be useful.

Terraformer_Author · November 2011

No - FT2 can shade an image as a BUMP MAP (Map > Show Other Shader > Show Bump Map), then you would save it as an image file - preferably a .bmp or .png image - but you may not need that - check out this thread about .mdr files and Wilbur - you might be able to do it THAT way after all, (well...MAYBE).

http://forum.profantasy.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=2554

kristof65 · November 2011

Ok, that helps, but the output file I generate won't open in Wilbur. Any other image method I use I can open in Wilbur, but the resolution is too blocky.

I do appreciate the help and suggestions you're giving, but I'm getting more frustrated here.

Terraformer_Author · November 2011

Ok kristof65, I guess that Joe is the one to lean on for this one then - because I'm tapped on ideas right now, lol. It's 3:12AM here - and I'm old, lol

.
Gotta take my Geritol and go to beddy bye, lol. Anyway DO NOT GIVE UP JUST YET - because Joe might have an answer - or Ralf may have some insight as well. Monsen is also a brain, so Remy might also chime in on this thread also - chances are he will. Sooner or later you WILL get a definitive answer on this my friend - hang in there.

jslayton · November 2011

The Special MDR type should be your best bet at getting data from a 1.23 world into FT3. It saves the world in the basic equirectangular projection and can go up to 100000 samples wide. later versions of FT2 have this feature, if I recall (It's under File>>Save As and Special MDR type).

Output the data at 20000 resolution and then import it into FT3 (this process will eat about 800MB of disk space). This resolution is pretty close to the maximum file size that FT can handle and should give you around 2 miles per sample for an Earth-sized world. If you really need more resolution, you should be able to get about up to about 30000 resolution with the 16-bit integer value checked on the MDR export, but your altitudes will be a heavily quantized and possibly clipped.

Once you have the data saved to disk with the earlier version of FT, start FT3 and use File>>New with Binary File as the type. Choose the MDR file you saved previously. Make sure that top is 90 and bottom is -90 (you may have to edit the fields in the dialog) and click OK. Click on through the wizard and you should have the version 1.23 data visible in FT3.

Don't lose that MDR file! It's merely linked to from the FT file and the data isn't stored in the .ftw file.

wade · December 2011

i am having a similar issue with a 1.22 world... just bought ft3 and it wont import. i tried the above steps, and i got a very small, upside down version of my world, that is very blocky at high zoom levels... when i tried to change the sample sizes, the program crashed, either immediately, or upon trying to write the mdr file. I have spent many hours on this world, and it would break my heart to have to redo it from scratch, but if i cant get the original looking world, with the detail, i suppose i must.

kristof65 · February 2012

Just a quick note - I have not had a chance to try the possible MDR file solution. I got so frustrated, I set it aside. At some point, I'll get back to it.

thrylax · February 2013

I can confirm that this method posted by jslayton does indeed work. I exported a MDR file generated from a map I made in FTPro with a resolution of 30000 (at a cost of about 1.7 GB of HDD space) and was able to import it into FT3 without a problem. Worked perfectly. The only issue I have is the size of the MDR file which I'll need to keep from now on. I'd lower the resolution, but I'm afraid of loosing fine details.

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FT1.23 in FT3

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