Using Redviewer to convert a zar into a Tile for Fallout Tactics.

1. First set up Redviewer’s configuration, I find it essential to save the window locations and states and it is very useful to have it remember your last directory etc. and also to tick the Bounding box option in the main window.

2. Next find the zars you have created using FT Tools in the quick and dirty open window. If you are just making a single tile you can use the open command but when you have a lot of tiles to make the quick window is essential.

Just click on the file name and it will appear in the main window of Redviewer.

3. Now you need to open the zar clipboard and add each zar to it. If you are just making a single tile you can now go to step 4, but if you have a batch of tiles to make add all your zars to the clipboard first.

4. In version 16.0.23 you can’t create a new tile from scratch so you need to open an existing tile. To prevent overwriting a tile by mistake I created a new tiles folder under My Documents and copied the invisible (pink) tile there to use as a template. I can now just open this whenever I want to make a new tile.

5. Once you have a tile open you need to export your zar from the clipboard into your tile. Select the zar and click on export.

6. When you import your image from the clipboard you’ll notice it doesn’t line up with the bounding box.

In edit offset click on picture and use the WASD keys to move your image until it lines up with the bottom left corner of the bounding box.

In the example above I’ve converted an existing tile into a new image, when doing so if I open up the original tile and export the new image from the clipboard it will fit in the bounding box exactly and then I can just save it as a new tile.

7. Now in the bounding box section adjust the numbers until the box encompasses the image.

It’s just a matter of trial and error to get the right dimensions. If once you have the correct dimensions you’re not happy with the positioning, you can use the WASD keys again to adjust the offset. You will need to click on none first in edit offset and then picture before you can make the adjustments.

8. Once you are happy with the bounding box you need to set the tile attributes, the type of material is in a pull down list. Remember to choose the right attributes for if the image is a wall, floor or object tile and any flags if it’s a window etc. See Appendix

9. Now just save the tile, if you are making several versions of the tile facing different directions then in the file name the compass direction must be in capitals for it to show up when you filter the tiles by direction in FT Tools.

Once the file is saved create a directory under core/tiles for you to place your work in the editor. All my tiles are go in core/tiles/requiem and then I’ve subdivided the directory by type.

Appendix.

Tile Flags

In the attributes section of the main window there are several tick boxes for the tile flags.

The flags tell FT Tools that this tile does something special.

The flags are as follows

Ethereal: as this suggests with this flag the tile is not solid and can be walked pass through by actors and projectiles. It doesn’t make the tile transparent though. Decorative floor tiles such as blood pools are ethereal so that the player doesn’t have to climb over them; likewise small plants such as grass shoots are ethereal so that they don’t cause obstructions. There’s nothing worse than crashing your tank by hitting a blade of grass.

Animated: for animated tiles such as the bubbling goop floor tiles.

Window: allows the actors to see through a wall tile that has a window opening, even if the image is transparent the actors can’t see through the bounding box unless the tile is flagged window. Effectively it halves the bounding box allowing actors to hide by crouching or going prone behind the tile or to see and shoot through the tile.

Trellis: I believe this is actually misnamed and should be named Cover. Used in conjunction with the trellis flag this will give an actor some cover behind a tile that is transparent or partially transparent. To flag a trellis tile you will actually need to edit the attributes boxes on the left.

The bottom box should have a value of 8 to add the trellis flag to a tile. The trellis flag allows an actor to see and shoot through a tile like the window flag, but unlike flagging a tile window, actors hiding behind a trellis tile will still be visible when they crouch or go prone. The best example of its use is SenorDeluxe’s chain link fence tiles.

Climbable: another obvious one, this should be used for climbing tiles such as ladders or rope, not stairs or slopes.

No Alpha: again I believe this is misnamed and should be named No Shadow. If a tile is flagged with this it will not show a shadow (turn black) when another tile is placed partially over it or if it is placed outside the camera boundaries. This flag should mainly be set in FT Tools, not Redviewer, and will not be stripped if you update tiles.

No Shadow: I believe should actually be No Popping, this will stop a tile from popping when an actor passes underneath. Again this flag should be chosen in FT Tools not Redviewer.

Invisible: Once update tiles is run this flag will turn tiles invisible, mainly used to pop a roof of a building slightly earlier.