Fractal Terrain Export to CC3+ settings

I am working through Sue's great tutorial and have run into a slight problem. She includes a number of export settings in her annual article but I have no clue to get those into fractal terrain 3 so I can export it to cc3plus as shown in the tutorial. Thanks in advance once again.

Rob

Comments

  • LoopysueLoopysue ProFantasy 🖼️ 40 images Cartographer
    edited November 2019
    Hi Rob :)

    The settings are included with the annual in case people who don't have FT3 right now end up getting it long after they installed the annual.

    If you already had FT3 installed when you installed the annual those settings will have been automatically installed and you should see them in the list of options when you export your CC3 file.

    If they aren't there you could try reinstalling the annual (take care to save any personal work you have already done in another folder first)

    If that doesn't work you can copy the settings from the FT3 Export Settings folder and paste them in the Coloring folder here:

    @Program Files (x86)\ProFantasy\FT3\Coloring

    Your system will probably tell you that you need administrator rights, or something along that line (mine does every single time I try to edit a colour scheme in notepad), but just confirm that this is what you want to do and they should paste ok.

    The settings should be available to you once you save, close and reopen FT3.
  • Awesome...thanks Sue. I followed your steps and all is good now!
  • LoopysueLoopysue ProFantasy 🖼️ 40 images Cartographer
    You're welcome :)

    Enjoy your mapping!
  • Hi Sue,
    I went back, uninstalled the annual, then reinstalled it. I had installed FT3 and CCA155 in the wrong order. All the correct settings then appeared, including colours and export settings. I exported, as usual, saving with an .fcw. When I tried to open it in CC3+ I only get a blank map. When I export using one of the resident FT3, contours 1000 or something like that, and then open it in CC3+ it seems to work fine. If you could please help me through this as it is getting quite discouraging. I may end up just going back through the whole tutorial again to see, but if you could think of something quick and easy that would be wonderful. Thanks again, Rob
  • LoopysueLoopysue ProFantasy 🖼️ 40 images Cartographer
    First click the zoom extents button to make sure there really is nothing there. An FT3 export of an entire world is massive - so big that you may be looking at just the corner of white space in the bottom left.

    If you still have nothing there at all the usual cause of a blank CC3 export is a resolution setting that is too high for the detail of the export. FT3 seems to give up if there are too many nodes to sort out, and all you get is white space all over.

    When you save as CC3 file, pick the export setting you want, then instead of clicking Export, click Edit. Ok and Next your way to the third and final editing box, where you will see a slider that controls the resolution of the export. I had to reduce the resolution from maximum down to 768 to try and make sure that nobody got this issue, but it seems I may have been a little optimistic in your case. Move that slider down one notch and try again.

    Let me know if neither of these things work.
  • Hi Sue...I tried both of those solutions and neither worked. I tried the zoom extents and cranked down the detail to 128. It is almost like it isn't recognizing those export settings because when I tried the basic 1000 this is what I get. Also, the file size seems really small at just 1118 kb using the course export setting. I really must be missing something simple. Let me go back through. I will do a world, but only use a small section of it and try and work through the tutorial (the incise erosion takes a little while). I am not giving up and I thank you in advance for being patient as I work through this. I am not perfect and I might have screwed something up with burning the surface or some such step as you describe. Cheers!
  • LoopysueLoopysue ProFantasy 🖼️ 40 images Cartographer
    Well that really is a puzzle! Even if you had forgotten to burn it into the surface I think you should still be able to get a map out of it.

    I wouldn't waste all that time going through the whole process again, Rob, try creating another new file and reimporting the MDR again first. If it works it will save you all that time.
  • LoopysueLoopysue ProFantasy 🖼️ 40 images Cartographer
    Just a thought.

    I meant zoom extents in CC3, not FT3. When you open the export file in CC3, hit the zoom extents in CC3.
  • I have noticed all your exports result in files that are 0 kb. So obviously I have installed those setting incorrectly. I will investigate that route.
  • LoopysueLoopysue ProFantasy 🖼️ 40 images Cartographer
    edited November 2019
    If you think there might be some kind of error in those export settings, you could try manually copying fresh copies across from the FT3 Export Settings folder in the annual to the @Program Files (x86)\ProFantasy\FT3\Coloring folder.

    I am assuming here that since no one else has had a problem with the export settings, the ones in the installed annual folder are all ok before they are ever used.
  • I did zoom extents in cc3. Still working at solutions here. So far, and I am sorry to say, that on my machine, for whatever reason, your export setting in ft3 produce no map in cc3. The ones that come with ft3 do so that must mean they are not functioning correctly as I have installed them. I even tried with your ft3 Cirrus file, and with your export settings I get a blank map in cc3. Curious.
  • So, just checking. You want me to install the export settings to the Coloring folder in FT3? That one and not the export folder?
  • I think I am going to uninstall both applications, files saved elsewhere, reinstall both with ft3 first then ca155 and see where that gets me.
  • LoopysueLoopysue ProFantasy 🖼️ 40 images Cartographer
    That sounds a bit drastic, but it will ensure that you have everything set up correctly.

    This is very unlikely if it managed to install, but there is a tiny chance that the downloaded annual might have some kind of flaw. If you have enough broadband allowance it might be as well to re-download the annual, and to also check that you have the most recent FT3 update.

    If none of this works we might have to work out a way of looking at the FT3 file you made, though this will be slightly tricky since it is probably at least 50MB.
  • Great results Sue! Everything seems to be working fine at this point. I am sharing my world created in ft3 and exported, now successfully, to cc3. Not sure why it works (or didn't before) but success! Now on with the rest of the tutorial. I always say a good refresh works wonders for software!
  • LoopysueLoopysue ProFantasy 🖼️ 40 images Cartographer
    That's brilliant news!

    I had to admit I was getting a bit worried that I might have forgotten to do something, or say something, and that you were just the first to trip over it.
  • LoopysueLoopysue ProFantasy 🖼️ 40 images Cartographer
    When copying the contours across to the template the whole thing will flash and blink many times in the pasting operation and everything will get cripplingly slow. It won't crash, though, unless you try to rush it. Just let it flash and follow the instructions, and accept that there will be a considerable delay between your input and a visible response. It's because there are tens of thousands of nodes in that map.
  • LOL...yup, cripplingly slow. Just came over here while it is doing its thing. Thanks for sticking in there with me. You being a developer, I can't imagine how much you must agonize over, "did I miss something?" Thanks for taking that risk!
    Cheers for now...late here in Eastern Canada and work comes early.
  • LoopysueLoopysue ProFantasy 🖼️ 40 images Cartographer
    edited November 2019
    Oh I just read through this thread over again, and realised I made a really big mistake - one which you questioned but I missed it.

    I said the Coloring folder twice, but it should have been the Export folder! (the same address other than that last folder name)

    I am so sorry, Rob. I made a mistake and then I even copied it and made it twice.

    EDIT: well I appear to be having a few glitches with my broadband, since your comment wasn't visible when I started this one!

    I'm not a developer - only a contributor ;) I assure you none of that would have been possible without Joe Slayton's help and advice.
  • LoopysueLoopysue ProFantasy 🖼️ 40 images Cartographer
    Its even later here in the UK, but that's ok. I sleep in the day when its not so noisy! LOL!

    I hope you manage to get it done without any further issues, but don't hesitate to ask if you get stuck again. I will do my best not to lead you astray a second time around :)
  • No worries! It has all worked out so far and I appreciate you taking the time to help me through my questions. I was not too concerned about the colour folder issue, and as it turned out it worked out fine.
    I have many relatives still in the UK...mostly up in Northumberland. My Granddad was from there and they emigrated to Canada in 1905 or thereabouts. He was a veteran of the first great war and as we are coming up to remembrance day, it is a time I cherish to remember him and the freedom he helped bring. He was wounded but survived, and so part of my world-building will eventually encompass his theatre of battle in France and Belgium with appropriate labels, landmarks, etc.
    Cheers for now and I will keep you posted on my progress.

    Rob
  • LoopysueLoopysue ProFantasy 🖼️ 40 images Cartographer
    That sounds like a fine motive for making a map, and I look forward to seeing the result :)
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