ATF Power Toolkit.pdf

8/13/2019 ATF Power Toolkit.pdf

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ATF Power Toolkit

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ATF Power Toolkit

The ATF Power Toolkit was created to help power users get the most out of the Armored Task Force gameengine. It allows you to create new maps and change or create new databases for the ATF Scenario Builderto use in creating scenarios. The Toolkit did not ship with the original version of Armored Task Force but isinstalled automatically with all upgrades to ATF , version 1.02 or later. To get the latest upgrade, go towww.prosimco.com .

Contents

Page

1. ow to open a database. !

1"1. #elect the database. !

2. ow to create a new piece. $

2"1. Create the graphics. $

2"2. %dd the piece to the database. &

!. ow to add a vehicle to the database. '

!"1. Create a vehicle. '

$. ow to save a database. 1(

$"1. #ave a database. 1(

(. ow to create a new map. 1&

("1. Create an elevation map 1&

("2. Convert graphic maps to )* format maps. 21

("!. +dit the %rmored Tas -orce ame map. 2(

&. ow to add terrain to a map. 2&

&"1. /oad terrain types. 2&

&"2. %dd terrain ob ects to the map. 2'

'. ow to create advanced map effects. 2

'"1. Change terrain types for color replacements. 2

'"2. 3uild an e4port map image. !0

'"!. +dit the e4port map image. !1

'"$. Import the e4port map bac into the game map. !&

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'"(. 5a e terrain ob ects invisible. !

'"&. 5a ing terrain permanent on the Contour map. $0

'"'. 5a e terrain ob ects invisible, Part II. $!

. ow to add %I terrain to a map. $$

"1. 5a e %I terrain visible. $(

"2. Create and #ave an %I help map. $&

"!. %uto" enerate %I terrain ob ects. $'

"$. %dd routes to the %I help map. $

1. How to Open a Database

% scenario database holds all of the reference information on which the scenario is built. It contains all of theinformation about the vehicles, ammunition, and weapons in the scenario. It also contains all of the sounds andgraphics for all of the units and hierarchies in a scenario.

Creating a new database from scratch is a huge underta ing and, really, beyond the scope of this tutorial. Inthis tutorial, we will ma e changes to the e4isting Armored Task Force database. This is usually the best wayto attac ust about any mod you want to ma e to the game.

1-1. Select the database

%ll changes to an Armored Task Force database are made using the ATF Power Toolkit . To continue withthe topics in this tutorial, you must open this application. The ATF Power Toolkit did not ship with the originalversion of Armored Task Force , but is included with all of the free upgrades, beginning with the version 1.02upgrade. 6ou can get the latest upgrade free at www.shrapnelgames.com .

1. #elect the 78pen...7 function from the 7)atabase7 menu in the ATF PowerToolkit .

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2. #elect the database youwish to ma e changes to.7database1.dbs7 is thedefault database for

Armored Task Forceand is a protected filename. %fter you ma e

changes to this database,you will have to save itwith a new name. -ormore information, see7#ave a database7.

!. How to "reate a #ew Piece

% piece is a multi"framed image that depicts multiple aspects of a single ob ect. It is used to display a graphicrepresentation of a vehicle on the game map.

This topic demonstrates how to create a piece and add it to a database. To actually ma e a piece correspond toa vehicle, you must edit the vehicle. -or more information on this, see 7Create a new vehicle7.

!-1. "reate the $raphics

The first step is to create the image that will be displayed on the screen.

1. using your favorite drawing application, create asingle image of the graphic. If the vehicle has aturret or a propeller 9as is the case with our piece:,you must put the a4is of rotation of the graphic atthe center of the image. The bac ground for theimage must be 7magenta7 9red ; 2((, blue ; 2((,green ; 0: in order for it not to appear as part of the image when drawn on the screen.

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2. ual angle. 3ut the more frames you use, smoother rotation of the image will be.


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!-!. Add the piece to the database

?ow that we have built the image, we need to add it to the database.


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!. Input the name that you will use to reference thepiece inside the database. This is the name you willinput when prompted for a piece name in the @ehicle+dit dialog in order to display the piece.

$. 6ou must tell the database how many frames wideand high the source image is, as well as how manytotal frames are in the image.

(. 6ou need to tell the database whether this is anenemy piece. If you select 76es7 the piece will beadded as an enemy piece. #electing 7?o7 willdesignate this as a friendly piece. Armored Task Force uses this data to decide whether the playeris playing as 7Aed7 or 73lue7 during a game. If morethan half of the player7s vehicles are 7Aed7, iconsand dots on the 8verview 5ap will be displayed asAed during game play.

%. How to Add a &ehicle to the Database

% vehicle ob ect in the database contains all of the data defining a vehicle type, including its special capabilities,its starting ammo, its speed and dimensions. +ach unit in the game refers to a vehicle in the database andderives its capabilities from the vehicle ob ect in the database.


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1. #elect the 7Copy...7 function from the 7@ehicle7 sub"menu of the 7)atabase7 menu in the ATF Power Toolkit .

2. #elect the vehicle you wish to copy.Ideally, you select a vehicle which hassimilar vulnerabilities to direct fireweapons. ill 8dds are time consuming toedit, so if you can start with a close match,you will save time.

!. #elect 7?o7.

$. #elect a name for your new vehicle.

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(. -ill in the edit bo4es forthe vehicle data.

#peed. The speed of the vehicle duringnormal movement.

#print #peed. Thespeed while under the7#print7 8rder.

Aeverse #peed, Turn#peed, Turn Aadius.Currently notimplemented.

Target @alue. Bsed bythe %I to select targets

for direct and indirectfire.

Threat @alue. Bsed bythe %I to select targetsfor direct and indirectfire.


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-inally, we delete the old weapon and clic 7%dd7 to add a new weapon to the vehicle.

&. o bac to the image for yournew vehicle in whatever drawingprogram you prefer and try toidentify the location of weaponson the image. This is the placefrom which weapons bursts willbe shown when the vehicle isfiring. 8n a tan , this might bethe turret mu==le, but on ouraircraft, this is the door gun.

The value you need is from thecenter of the vehicle 9with upbeing the positive 6 a4is andright being the positive * a4is:.In other words, you need tosubtract the coordinates of thecenter from the coordinates of the weapon location and then

multiply the 6 value by "19huhD:.

This number will be input intothe -lash 8ffset *, and 6 for theaircraft. Aight now, flashgraphics are not implemented.3ut this may change somedayas the Armored Task Force game engine is upgraded, so it is a good idea to input this value so that yourvehicle and database will remain 100E compatible when the engine is upgraded.

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#uppression Aadius. This is the radius that can be suppressed on the ground with this weapon when theunit has the 7#uppress7 #8P set.

Percent Infra"Aed. % value from 1"200. This is how well the vehicle sees in infrared 9used when loo ingthrough smo e:.

Percent ?ight @ision. % value from 1"200 describing how well the vehicle can see during limited visibility9night:.

Co"%4ial. If chec ed, this weapon is fi4ed to either the chassis or the turret of the vehicle which it is a part.If this is the case, the vehicle or turret will be rotated when the weapon engages targets.

#hoot 5oving. If chec ed, this weapon can be fired while the unit is moving.

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. -irst we fill out the formF

%ltitude. The height above ground level atwhich the vehicle flies while moving normally.

#print %ltitude. The altitude at which the

aircraft flies when sprinting.

)efilade %ltitude, )efilade Popup. If defiladepopup is chec ed, then when the vehicle is indefilade, it will fly at the 7)efilade %ltitude7.

/and uipmentD

Time to )ismount. Timeto unload all of thedismount teams aboard anaircraft.

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Time to Close. %fter mounting or dismounting is complete, how long it ta es to close the carrier.

5a4 ?umber of )ismount Teams. #elf"e4planatory.

8pen raphic Piece. 6ou can create a separate graphic piece to display the vehicle while it is open andspecify it here.

12. ?ow we will specify thegraphics which represent thevehicle on the map. -irst, wewill specify the ?%T8 iconwhich represents the vehicleby selecting the 7?%T8 Piece7button...

1!. ...%nd specifying the rather generic7-riendly %viation 3lue7.

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1$. ?ow we are going topic the graphic piece wecreated so that, when wehave selected 7@ehicle Icons7in our 7@iew 8ptions7window, our new graphicpiece will be displayed.

#elect 7 raphic Piece7 andthen select the 7B "&0/7graphic that we created inthe previous topic.

1(. If you wish to change the vulnerabilities of the vehicle to direct fire weapons, you can do so by selecting 7 ill8dds7. 6ou will be presented with the 7


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3ac , ?e4t. Cycle through all of the weapons in the database.

6ou can also edit these values by using the 7p /ist7 functions, 7Import7 and 7+4port7.


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2. To use your database in a scenario, after creating a new scenario using ATF Scenario Builder , select7Import )atabase7 from the 7-ile7 menu.


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2. 6ou will be prompted for an *)5 fromwhich to ma e the map. If you wished tocreate a map from a B# # format )+5,you could change the entry in 7-iles of typeF7 to load a )+5.

!. T8 +*%CT/6 A+CA+%T+ A+%/ T+AA%I? 8?/6. o to the margininformation of your 1F(0,000 or 1F100,000 map of the terrain and loo for the 75agnetic Information7.


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(. T8 +*%CT/6 A+CA+%T+ A+%/ T+AA%I? 8?/6.


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rassland. reen.

-ro=en.


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-irst, you are prompted to provide a name for saving the temporary color map that you will then convert to a )*map.

. Provide a name for thecustom map. The mapmust reside in the 7)ata7sub"directory of the

Armored Task Forceinstall directory in order tobe converted by thePower Toolkit .

10. The contour interval is the vertical difference between contour lines on the contour map. Contour linesconnect points of e>ual elevation on a map. This value is entered in tens of meters. -or flat terrain, you may use717. -or mountainous terrain, you may use anywhere from 2"$. The intent is that the contour map not be sosaturated with contour lines that it is unreadable.

11. 6ou must also specify the name for the

temporary contour map.

12. %gain, it must be in the 7)ata7 sub"directory of the Armored Task Forceinstall directory.

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1!. ?e4t, we must save the elevationmap.


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!. #elect a name with which to save theconverted file. %gain, we recommend usinga name similar to that of the other mapfiles, so that it will be easy to find later.

$. The .map file is lin ed to the )* formatmap file. It basically tells Armored Task Force how many bloc s a )* format filehas been chopped into. %gain, we

recommend a common name with the othergame map files.

(. ATF Power Toolkit will tell you how many tiles and of

what si=e it has chopped the map into during the conversion.

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&. The .gmp 9game map: file is the toplevel file for an Armored Task Forcemap.


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10. #elect a name with which to savethe contour map.

11. %ll images of the same si=e will alwaysbe chopped into the same number and si=eof tiles. #ince our color and contour map

are both the same si=e, we can save overthe original .map file.

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)-%. dit the Armored Task Force /ame *ap

The only thing left to do is gather all of the pieces we have built into an Armored Task Force game map. Thegame map 9saved in the .gmp file: 7points7 to all of the components that ma e up the game map. In order tocontinue with this topic, we will assume you have already loaded a game map, either by responding 7yes7 to theprompt to do so during the map creation process, or by using 78pen7 from the 75ap7 menu.

1. #elect 7+dit7 from the 75ap7 menu.

2. 6ou will be presented with the 7+dit ame 5ap7dialog. +nter the name of each file which ma es up thegame map. -or a game map to function correctly in

Armored Task Force , it must have an entry in everybloc e4cept 7%I elp 5ap7. owever, unless you have amap of completely open, completely flat desert,hierarchies will not be able to e4ecute formations or5issions correctly without the help map.

!. To use a file dialog toselect files, clic on a73rowse7 button. #electthe file name for the fileyou wish to include in eachentry. %ll of the specifiedfiles must be in the 7)ata7sub"directory of the

Armored Task Forceinstall directory for thegame map to loadproperly.

5a e sure you save themap using 7#ave7 from the75ap7 menu beforecontinuing.

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. How to Add Terrain to a *ap

In addition to the elevation data they contain, the elevation map component of an Armored Task Force gamemap also contains all of the special terrain 9trees, roads, water, and urbani=ation: for the ATF game map. Thisterrain impedes or aids movement and visibility and creates a tough, comple4 battlefield for Armored Task Force players who will play your scenario.

There are two components which ma e up the terrain you see on the Armored Task Force map. The first isthe Terrain Type /ist and the second is the Terrain /ist 9again, both are saved as part of the .emp, +levation5ap file:. The Terrain Type /ist is li e a database that contains all of the information about the different terraintypes on the map and how they interact with units and are drawn on the screen. The Terrain /ist is the actualterrain ob ects on the map, each of a type described in the Terrain Type list.

-1. 2oad Terrain T,pes


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-!. Add Terrain Ob3ects to the *ap

?ow that you have the Terrain Types loaded into your +levation 5ap, you can draw terrain ob ects on the map.If you are recreating real terrain, you will need to be very careful to replicate the location of trees, roads, andrivers. 3ut, if you are creating a map from your imagination, it is only important to capture the 7feel7 of a realmap. Aivers run in low ground, and roads generally follow contours to minimi=e grades.

It is not a good idea to overlap terrain.


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!. 3egin left"clic ing on themap to indicate outline of the terrain ob ect you arecreating. -or streets andrivers you will have to drawthe complete outline to geta realistic effect.

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4-1. "han$e Terrain T,pes 5or "olor 6eplacement


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!. In each 7Terrain Type7 dialog, ensure that the 7Color7button and the 7#olid7 button are selected, and that the78utline Invisible7 button is unchec ed.

ue colors specified for their 7Color7 representation 9if you need to change a color, select 7Colors...7:.

4-!. Build an 7port *ap +ma$e

The ne4t step is to create an e4port map. % good e4port map indicates where terrain is on the map, so that youcan replace it with your own, more attractive and descriptive graphics. +ssentially, what we are doing isconverting the map from )* format 9see Creating a ?ew 5ap:L bac into a normal


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2. #econd, we select 7+4port 5ap7 fromthe 7?ew7 sub"menu of the 75ap7 menu.

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2. %fter the e4port map is open, in Paint, we select 7#elect %ll7 from the7+dit7 menu...

!.... %nd then 7Copy7, also from the 7+dit7 menu.

$. The whole e4port map is nowstored in the clipboard.

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&. #elect 7+dit Colors7 from the 7Colors7 menu.

'. #elect the 7)efine Custom Color7 button...

. ...%nd then the 7%dd to Custom

Colors7.

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. ?e4t we are going to open the bitmappanel we built which corresponds to the terrainwe want to draw on the map.


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1!. ue7 function 9sothat the bac ground color will not be drawn on pastedimages: by selecting it in the 7Image7 menu.

1$. ?ow we are going to paste our e4port map 9stored in theclipboard: over the panel. %ll of the places on the e4port mapwhere the selected terrain is will be replaced with the graphicsfrom our panel.

1(. ?ow we save the resulting, composite image overour old e4port map using 7#ave %s7 from the 7-ile7 menu9ma e sure you don7t save over your panel by accidentLyou may want to use it again for other maps:.


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4-(. +mport the 7port *ap Back into the /ame *ap


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$.


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4-). *ake Terrain Ob3ects +n'isible


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!. -irst we are going to select the 7Color7 button, select7Invisible7 and 78utline Invisible7. This will prevent

Armored Task Force from drawing Terrain 8b ects of this type on the map.

$. Then, we are going to select the 7Contour7 button andselect the pattern and color which we want to use torepresent the Terrain Type on the contour map.

#o that our graphics can show through the contour mapwhen using the 7Contour 8ver Color7 view, we recommendusing line patters rather than 7#olid7.


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4- . *akin$ Terrain Permanent on the "ontour *ap


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$. ...


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'.... 3ut not the game map ob ect 9.gmp:.

. To see our map, we need to reopen it. #elect 78pen7 from the 75ap7 file...

.... %nd the game map files for this map

9.gmp:.

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4-4. *ake Terrain Ob3ects +n'isible8 Part ++

-inally, we have to tell Armored Task Force not to draw the terrain when the contour map is shown, either.

1. #elect 7+dit Terrain Type7 from the 75ap7 menu again.

2. 8ne last time, we are going to go through eachterrain type.

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!. This time, we are going to, for each terrain typeLselect the 7Contour7 button, and then 78utline Invisible7and 7Invisible7. This will prevent Armored Task Forcefrom drawing this terrain type on the map.

9. How to Add A+ Terrain to a *ap

%I 9%rtificial Intelligence: Terrain is 7hints7 that you give to Armored Task Force to help it ma e decisions. ATFuses this data to ma e decisions about formations, movement of units, and e4ecution of 5issions for enemy andfriendly hierarchies. The %I elp 5ap is a list of %I Terrain ob ects 9much as the Terrain /ist is a list of Terrainob ects:. There are four types of %I Terrain ob ects stored in the %I elp 5ap.

Impassible Terrain 5ap. This terrain ob ect is actually a map 7overlay7 which describes which spots on themap is impassible to vehicular traffic. It can only be generated automatically, by the ATF Power Toolkit:sautomation features.

Aegions. These are manually drawn areas on the map, much li e normal Terrain ob ects, which describeregions that are impassible to certain types of traffic. Aegions are much more powerful than an ImpassibleTerrain 5ap because ATF can use the region7s bounding points to determine a path around the region.

owever, they ta e a very long time to create, even for the easiest of maps.

Aoutes. Aoutes are user defined paths around and through restricted terrain. They help ATF determinehow to pass through difficult regions on the map. They are much more useful if they are drawn as shortsegments that Armored Task Force can lin together into a coherent path for units and hierarchies.

#3-7s. This stands for #upport 3y -ire. These are groups of points on the map which are favorable forobservation and fields of fire for different types of vehicles. They can be drawn manually, but this is verytime consuming. It is much easier to use the Power Toolkit:s automation features to select them for you.

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9-1. *ake A+ Terrain &isible

In order to ma e changes to the %I elp 5ap, we must ma e it visible in ATF Power Toolkit . The %I elp 5apis only visible in the Power Toolkit . It can not be seen in the ATF Scenario Builder or Armored Task Force .

1. #elect 78ptions7 from the 7@iew7 menu.

2. +nsure that the 7#how %I elp 5ap7 bo4 is chec ed.

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9-!. "reate and Sa'e an A+ Help *ap


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9-%. Auto-/enerate A+ Terrain Ob3ects

The first ob ects that we need to add to our %I elp 5ap are an Impassible Terrain 5ap and #3-7s. This is bestdone using the auto"generate features of the ATF Power Toolkit . -or the auto"generate functions to wor correctly, these terrain ob ects must be created in this order.

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9-(. Add 6outes to the A+ Help *ap

The last terrain ob ects we need to build are routes. Aoutes help the Armored Task Force %I figure out howto negotiate restricted terrain. They wor best if planned in short segments of a few ilometers in length. The

%I can then 7tie them together7 into a single route to where it wants to go.

Bnrestricted, flat terrain may have no routes at all.


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!. -ill out the %I Terrain Aoute )ata dialog.

Terrain ?ame. Can be left blan .

Aoute Type. %llows you to indicate for which

modes of travel the route is intended. Aotary and-i4ed


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ATF Power Toolkit.pdf