Right now we're already able to nudge stuff in the map, and what not; much like we would in the icon editor. We cannot, however, flip/rotate the location of a selected area of the map the same way we can with icons; which brings me to my suggestion.
A simple addition of flip/rotate buttons above the Add/Fill/Select that look just like the ones in the icon editor, and cause the same effect on selected areas of the map. Not sure this is possible, but I am pretty sure it is.
I'm sorry if this has been posted before, but I did search, and in fact I even found one topic that is very similar; but it was just too old and mixed up for me to feel right reviving it.
I also know of the alternatives mentioned elsewhere, such as editing the map file with code or other means to accomplish this, but that's nothing more than a work around for this feature.
This would save a lot of time, and make a lot of sense; so I sincerely hope it is added and once again I apologize for a semi-duplicate post.
ID:685060
 Apr 20 2012, 12:15 am
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Apr 20 2012, 4:44 am
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Lummox JR
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I think flip/rotate in the map editor would honestly just confuse people, because it wouldn't flip or rotate any icons, just the series of tiles.
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I can see how that might be a problem, but I've come across a need for this several times. Maybe having it directly say something like Flip Location would work; if not then I'm not opposed to some other implementation of this. An option under Options next to Zoom, or any other method that is less confusing would be fine.
If this isn't added because of the risk of confusion, then I suppose I can understand that, but it would be a nice and useful feature to be able to access easier somehow. Either way, I appreciate your response and consideration. | |
How often does a need for flipping/rotating a map really come up though? I'd have to guess not very.
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Hm, that's a good question. I can't speak for anyone else on this one, but for me it has been often; at least in my latest project. It seems to mainly come up when you get into curves and such to avoid that square-look.
One example I think might be less project specific and more common would be if you have mapped a large continent or island, and made the top right higher than the top left. Naturally, if you want to change this it would be very time consuming. Though in my case its usually city mapping, what with neighborhoods and such. I guess it really just depends on the project and the designers preference. Maybe I've only noticed it more lately because I'm shaping things out a lot more, and what not. | |
I think rotating, and nudging objects should be their own buttons somewhere on the map editor interface. Rotating would just change the object's dir. For faster editing or something. Nudging would change their pixel_x. Maybe even the ability to change a layer. ...something like this.
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@SSX: He's not talking specifically about rotating objects and changing their dirs on the map. He's talking about taking a chunk of map, ie a 5x5 tile area, and rotating that by 90 degrees.
Although I do like your little idear there what with the buttons and the numbers and the doo-dads. Do it, Lummox. | |
Sorry. 4:30 am post and what-not.
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Lummox JR wrote:
How often does a need for flipping/rotating a map really come up though? I'd have to guess not very. It would sure have come in handy for making symmetrical maps in a competitive multiplayer shooter. | |
Lummox JR wrote:
How often does a need for flipping/rotating a map really come up though? I'd have to guess not very. Giving this topic a quick bump, because it's coming up more often than even I expected; plus I have a better example now. Lets say you're mapping a large area of land, naturally you want a good shape, and you may even use the little preview window in the DM map editor to judge this. For the shape, it's as simple as using a simple repeatable tile to form the outline before adding edges, and this is where it would be useful to flip and rotate. One side of an island or continent or whatever you might call it or be doing may come out really good, and so then you might want to make the other side the same or simply modify it a bit; not make another side entirely from scratch. This is a very common case, at least for me, and without this feature I have to just settle for mapping another side entirely because I don't feel like finding and using a good work around. This particular example comes from an entirely different project than before, so this may be pretty common. This mainly applies to flipping, though. | |