Is it possible to have a map being partially installation?
Maybe making a platform map with a part being an installation, the same being done with other tilesets on other map types, I'm currently using ScmDraft but I don't seem to be able to copy over parts of an other map type into the current, the program crashes.

Doing this would require significant modding, if my understanding of modding is correct.

It cannot be done with scmdraft.

The closest thing you could do to simulate installation on another tileset is to use the installation doodad sprites. Some doodad sprites, however, get distorted when they're placed on tilesets that aren't the ones that they belong on, so it may not even look that good if that's what you try to do. :\

If this was possible you'd have seen it done before.

there's no way to have 2 mapsets without changing the palette dramatically. A SC map is just a 256x256 image (or whatever) with each tile referring to a number which correlates to a 32x32 pixel image. The palette is all of those images put together in a large grid. i don't know an easy way to change the palette so that you can have multiple terrains on the same tileset, but it would certainly be possible with modding.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Jan 6 2013, 1:47 am by Roy. Reason: Deleted quoted post

Guess that every map is it's own thing with it's own palette and resources, and importing tilesets doesn't seem possible.
About some tilesets which actually share some things like high dirt on jungle seems to be the same as high dirt in an other map type.

Also I wonder in SCMDraft for both Higher ground and normal ground of the same kind like dirt and looking the same, why do they have the same doodads for respective height?
And if you would put a high dirt doodad on low dirt ground in SCMDraft, how would the vision look like?
Also why do Doodads have some part of the ground type they are supposed to be with on the doodad base?

There are some things like badlands trees which only have what they stand on having pre decided tiles to stand on while the outside is black meaning that it would look good no matter how the map looks like around the trees.

But I can't find elements like trees in the tileset indexed even though trees can be made in to terrain.
Even though the tree is converted, nothing but the base of the tree can be affected and whne converted to terrain i can't remove the tree.
No matter what I do with the terrain around these onjects they stay where they are still being terrain of nature but not being affected by anything.
Seems like Doodads with shadows are those that when converted to terrain can't be removed.

Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Jan 6 2013, 10:48 am by Raygoza.

Because you can fly over it and there's flags for locations that can check for height. Also some doodads are walkable and then would serve as higher or lower ground.
As usual. You can't look up (across height levels), but you can look down.
Not sure why Blizzard did this, but I guess they wanted to have good looking predefined combinations, rather than flaky looking customization.

Does this means that Doodads of different heights have different heights as well and are not identical in properties as other Doodads of an other height even if they would look the same?

By the way if an other tileset uses the same palette at least for it's things like an other map type, could that tileset be imported into the tileset window of the other map type?

Just discovered that such doodads are partially sprites, does it matter which height they are put on then?
And do Doodads always need a part of them being a tile of some sort?

Post has been edited 3 time(s), last time on Jan 6 2013, 11:32 am by Raygoza.

You need to think of doodads as terrain tiles + sprites, they can always be separated and copy-pasted around.
Terrain tiles are the only ones with properties like 'unbuildable' or 'provides cover' or 'height level 14'.
Sprites don't carry any properties and you can put them anywhere without worry.

This had me thinking: is it possible to make air units collide with certain height levels by lowering their height level and increasing the terrain's?

If I had to guess, I'd say pathing is hardcoded into the terrain for ground units, and air units don't even check for terrain collisions. If you notice for some tiles, they are partially walkable, but they cannot have partial height flags.

I wouldn't know how to go about testing this, but maybe a modder could help out here and do a test.

Colliding if possible would then probably only be as a wall for an air unit, though it doesn't seem very likely to me.

Though TF about Doodads being both things there are Doodads that are only terrain, I wonder if there could be Doodads that are only Sprites.

Well I told you about copy-pasting sprites, those are the 'doodads that are only sprites'. Did you check the sprite layer in SCMDraft? It's very intuitive.
Oh and if you're actually asking whether there are any doodads in the game that are only sprites, then no, there aren't any at all.

But could there be a way to import a tileset to an other map type?
Even if we assume that the tileset would be using colors of the palette already in use.
Could this allow having something like some installation tilesets available on let's say a badlands map?

What kind of modding would this require, and would it be possible to extend the palette with more colors?
Also would it be possible to map with SCMDraft if you somehow would import a tileset from an other map type?

No, you cannot mix tilesets no matter what program you use. Maybe with modding, but I don't think it's that easy to do it then. Like everyone said before, it's not possible.

With modding it should be easy to mix tilesets. However you have to sacrifice tiles from one tileset to look like ones from another set. The problem of wrong color palette would still apply though.

It should be possible to compile new palettes, if you figure out how SC reads the palette .pcx image. I remember using programs like Bright183 to make 8-bit palettes for other games.

No. There is only low ground, medium ground, and high ground, and the height of the terrain is part of the tiles themselves. There is no arbitrary height, and ground height only affects ground units.

Starcraft has a 256-color palette, and you cannot add colors. Other than specific tilesets, every color is used on the palette. Not to mention if you change the palette you have to modify every in-game graphic to use that palette. The only way to mix tilesets is to edit the tilesets themselves (which requires a ton of time and patience), and the way tilesets are set up the results will not be pretty.

This is well beyond the scope of SCMDraft. It is impossible in this scope.
And there is no way to "import" another tileset. The tileset specified in the map (jungle, badlands, ashworld) is the only reference to which set of tiles (hence the term 'tileset') the map references. If you go to the "Tileset Index" mode for Terrain in SCMDraft, you will see all the tiles as they are available to the map.
About doodads, if you scroll down past the 1024th row in the tileset index, the rest is all of the doodads. Doodads are just tiles with slightly different images, and sometimes a sprite on top of that to make it prettier (or provide cover).
Jungle and Badlands share some terrain types because that is just what is included in the artwork. They aren't mixed in any way, Blizzard just made them similar in that way (similar to how the Brood War tilesets have the same terrain types, but recolored).

Actually they kind of do. Each 32x32 tile is itself made up of 16 8x8 tiles (in a 4x4 configuration). These minitiles are actually the ones that have flags for ground height, walkable, and blocks view (for doodads). The only whole-tile property is related to it being buildable (is unbuildable, is creep, can place beacons), and that is applied to the entire row in the tileset index.

Post has been edited 5 time(s), last time on Jan 8 2013, 5:03 am by FaRTy1billion.

Sprites don't provide cover, only tiles seem to have properties associated with them.
Check that map in the melee subforum that has 'cover tiles' without any trees on them, in front of each base.

I've never seen a "cover" property on a tile. Which map?

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Jan 8 2013, 9:57 am by FaRTy1billion.