Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2020 6:30 pm Post subject: Stratmap tutorial for GtC / PITF stratmap creation
A tutorial for creating a new stratmap for Gateway to Caen and Panthers in the Fog has been missing since they released.
After Dak_Legion asked me to help with making a stratmap for a new Vietnam mod one thing led to another and suddenly I was writing a full tutorial and making Photoshop actions and modifying scripts to help speed up the process.
The result is a comprehensive tutorial, with tools and templates, that should make anyone with the required skills listed in the tutorial, able to create a new strategic map for these games.
I definitely did not see the full scope of writing, illustrating, adapting, making and testing the various
tools, templates and actions contained within this tutorial when I started it.
Some information:
Required tools:
Microsoft Excel or similar spreadsheet program.
Photoshop or Gimp -This tutorial is written with Photoshop in mind.
CCMunger.exe – Matrix developed tool to manipulate graphics archives of PITF/GTC.
Adobe Bridge - or other batch renaming program.
Required skills:
Basic Photoshop skills – You don’t have to be a graphics artist, but you need to be able to run scripts
and actions. Also you need to be able to edit parts of an action to fit your specific needs, based on
number of stratmap areas in your project. This editing is as simple as copying and pasting or deleting
parts of the repeating actions.
Included with the tutorial
PS and Excel templates:
Stratmap.psd
DEBRIEF MAP from stratmap_Template.psd
De-briefmap -batching setup.psd
Arrows_template.psd
Fronline gadgets_template.psd
Gadget template.psd
MDstrategic -Red ring placement template.psd
STRMINIMAP_000-Template
STR_PANEL_TOP_RIGHT_000_Template.psd
STR_PANEL_TOP_RIGHT_001-Template.psd
Stratmap progress.xlsx
Photoshop actions and scripts: *Provided*
1. Save stratareas – action. (This is saving one area.)
2. Stratarea repeating actn. (This one is for repeating the “Save stratareas” base action – copy the
entries in the action panel until it corresponds with the number of your stratareas.)
3. Arrows Base action (This is saving one arrow)
4. Save arrows repeating actn (This one is for repeating the base action)
5. Save de-brief gadg Blueforce-color and markers -action. (This saves one blueforce marked area)
6. Save de-brief Redforce -action. (This saves one redforce marked area)
7. Save de-brief gadg Split-color and markers -action. (This saves one split marked area)
8. Repeating debrief save blueforce –actn (The repeating action repeats the base – copy the
entries in the action panel until it corresponds with the number of your de-brief areas.)
9. Repeating debrief save redforce -actn
10. Repeating debrief save split -actn
11. Export Layer Coordinates – Script – This outputs X/Y coordinates of all layers to a text file.
12. Export Layer coordinates x+y+width+height – Script. -This outputs layer names as well, providing
easy overview of the exported data, but causing the need for cleaning the data in excel before
they can be copied to stratmap.txt.
13. Export Layer coordinates x+y+width+height -no layernames – Script – Same as above but
without outputting layer names. Use this if you know what you are looking at.
Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2020 6:42 am Post subject: Re: Stratmap tutorial for GtC / PITF stratmap creation
Thanks for your tutorial ScnellMeyer.
Nice bit of investigation on the arrow and frontline colors, i believed they where hardcoded somwhere, but turns out are moddable in the stratmap.txt.
Theoretically a stratmap can have 64 maps in PiTF and GTC correct?
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