CS Graphics Under the Hood #3 – Terrain, Vegetation, and Trees

Building further from the previous Biomes and Regions and Open Terrain entries, let us introduce the next set of map graphics, namely Terrain, Vegetation, and Trees files.

Note: Vegetation and Trees, but not Terrain, are affected by Scenario Editor’s Conditions dialog. But let us look at the graphics tiles first.

Terrain

First, let us look at the various terrain types depicted in Terrain files. They are the same for both 2D and 3D:

1. Impassable hex (first cell of first row used only)
2. Colored dirt (for instance the red soil in Vietnam)
3. Beach
4. Soft Sand
5. Rough
6. Hammada
7. Wadi

Here’s the Desert 2D Normal View file, with white background. With 2D, these tiles are always drawn on top of the underlying hex tile. Hence, for instance with Rough, those rocks appear on top of the open terrain present in the hex.

Click to enlargen the imageHere’s the corresponding Desert 3D Normal View file. With 3D, these tiles are drawn as a whole.

Vegetation

Again, rows and cells in Vegetation are similarly positioned both with 2D and 3D:

1. Grain Field (first three cells: Normal, next three cells: Plowed)
2. Produce Field (first three cells: Normal, next three cells: Plowed)
3. Vineyard
4. Scrub
5. Cactus
6. Tall Grass
7. Meadow
8. Marsh
9. Wet Paddy
10. Dry Paddy

Note: Grain and Produce Field apperance (Normal, Plowed, None) are defined with Scenario Editor’s Conditions dialog.

Here’s the 2D Brown (Autumn) Vegetation file. Tiles are drawn on top of the open terrain tile below:

 

Here’s the 3D Green (Summer) Vegetation file.

Trees

Finally, here’s the Trees file sets as how they are defined. It’s quite a big one, with row and cell composition between 2D and 3D is the same:

1. Orchard
2. Sparse Orchard
3. Palm Trees
4. Sparse Palm Trees
5. Thicket (for instance Nipa palms in Vietnam)
6. Sparse Thicket
7. Swamp
8. Sparse Swamp
9. Forest
10. Sparse Forest #1
11. Sparse Forest #2
12. Sparse Forest #3
13. Light Jungle
14. Sparse Light Jungle #1
15. Sparse Light Jungle #2
16. Sparse Light Jungle #3
17. Dense Jungle
18. Sparse Dense Jungle #1
19. Sparse Dense Jungle #2
20. Sparse Dense Jungle #3

Note: “Sparse” variants are used when say a road or railroad goes through the hex.

Here’s 2D Green Trees file with white background:

Here’s 3D Barren Trees file. Note that this is from Middle East, therefore the various Jungle related cells were not yet completed at the time of posting this.

Scenario Editor Conditions

Here’s the Conditions dialog again:

Relevant Conditions for Trees and Vegetation are:

• Trees: Normal, Brown and Barren available with Middle East, with Snow to be available in other Regions and Biomes.
• Fields: All conditions available with Mediterranean biome where both Field types are  present. There is no stopping to add them to Desert maps with Map Editor either, but no stock map has them.

 

That’s it for Terrain, Vegetation and Trees. Any questions, shoot!