KaM4Mac

[Kridge]

Hi,

I'm trying to make a new game for Mac called the KaM Defender Game. The Defender is a mix between the 1940 (or 1945) Game Maker game and the Tower Defense . Of course, it has multiple elements of KaM too.
I'm trying to create this game using Game Maker Lite for Mac. It is free, so I don't have to spent money on this, which is a very good thing. Now, I already have all the units and building, but I need some terrains. Since Map Editor is for Windows only, I need to use instead. But I don't have the option to raise terrain and stuff. My question is now, is it possible to create a map in Map Editor and take a screenshot of it, without any units? Or should I just make flat maps, using the tiles? (does anyone know how to get the different tiles?). The last option would be very easy, and it wouldn't take much time. The map should be something like 640p high and 800p wide.
Is there anyone able to help me out?

*I could make maps with mountains and hills in using screenshots, so if it's really not possible, i'll try and create some in Photoshop. But i'd still need those tiles as images. Doesn't matter what kind of file (png/bmp/jpg/tiff/psd/gif etc.) everything should work.

Edit: It'd be something like a scrolling shooter, but in the KaM style

EDIT:
I changed the scrolling shooter idea to the essentials of KaM, a fighting mission. In the future there may be more options, but not for at least a year. More information? Look at my second post in this topic. The big one.



Thanks,

Kridge

[Krom]

Take a look at here: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=458&hilit=animation

You can create a map in KaM Editor and make it completly flat, then take a screenshot from it. That could work too.

Or please be more specific on effect you want to achieve, since your story is controversial at parts

[Lewin]

If you want to convert a KaM .map file into a .BMP file you can use my tool Map2Bitmap. There is a version for 16x16px tiles and 40x40px tiles and one for the minimap. It can even render the trees and other objects on the map. (optional) You need to pass it some parameters and it will make the bitmap for you. You can then load this into Game Maker. It would allow people to make their own maps easily and use the original ones, you can just include Map2Bitmap with your release and when loading a level it uses it to make an image.
Thunderwolf used this for his KaM Mission editor written in Game Maker and it worked well for him.

EDIT: I just realised you're using Mac and Map2Bitmap is only compiled for Windows. However I am pretty sure I can help you compile it on Mac, Lazarus works fine on Mac and that's what I wrote it in. There shouldn't be any OS calls so it wouldn't be hard. If you're interested let me know and I can help you with it. But if that's not what you had in mind I'm not offended

[Kridge]

Hi,

Thanks for your quick reply, both of you.

Take a look at here: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=458&hilit=animation

You can create a map in KaM Editor and make it completly flat, then take a screenshot from it. That could work too.

Or please be more specific on effect you want to achieve, since your story is controversial at parts

@Krom:
Uhm, yeah sorry for the controversial parts, I was still developing the idea in my head and came up with some new stuff, overwriting the old stuff. Sorry, again. I know I can use the KaM Editor, that was my first idea. But I then realised, as far as I know, there's no version for Mac, so I wouldn't be able to do so. So I thought I could use Photoshop to create the maps. Then I realised that would be a very difficult thing to do, since Photoshop is just some 2D editor. So leveling terrain would be very hard. And the link in the topic you linked me to, leads to your news section. What I meant, is that I need the tiles, in some that can be used in photoshop to copy-paste on the big map. So I will manually do what your Map Editor does automatically, like transitions, trees, trunks, rocks, mountains (and so on). But to do so, I need the tiles. Like a spritesheet, or as individual 'sprites"

If you want to convert a KaM .map file into a .BMP file you can use my tool Map2Bitmap. There is a version for 16x16px tiles and 40x40px tiles and one for the minimap. It can even render the trees and other objects on the map. (optional) You need to pass it some parameters and it will make the bitmap for you. You can then load this into Game Maker. It would allow people to make their own maps easily and use the original ones, you can just include Map2Bitmap with your release and when loading a level it uses it to make an .
Thunderwolf used this for his KaM Mission editor written in Game Maker and it worked well for him.

EDIT: I just realised you're using Mac and Map2Bitmap is only compiled for Windows. However I am pretty sure I can help you compile it on Mac, Lazarus works fine on Mac and that's what I wrote it in. There shouldn't be any OS calls so it wouldn't be hard. If you're interested let me know and I can help you with it. But if that's not what you had in mind I'm not offended

@Lewin
That Map2Bitmap is a very nice tool, but indeed it's only for Windows. Which is logical. Knights and Merchants runs only on Windows, so why make a Mac version? Makes perfect sense to me. But I haven't heard of Lazarus yet. So I'm interested. Don't forget I'm totally new at this advanced (regarding my experience) stuff. But I'm willing to push my brain to understand it.

And I'm thinking to change the scrolling shooter part, because that would become different when units start to fight. The units would stop, but the background would go on. That'd look quite stupid, right? So instead of going that way, I'm thinking about making a "remake", but extremely simplified, only concerning the fighting part. Maybe town-defense and town-attacks missions, but that's way further away. First, I need to start working on the select & command/send part, because I have this idea how to make a spot on the map like a button, without seeing it, but I have no idea how I should command the "team" to go to the selected location. Maybe Thunderwolf could help me out a little, because Game Maker itself isn't very different regarding the Mac and Windows version. I will ask him, if he could help me out with some basic things, on which I can base the game. Then I can start working on the parts that are a lot harder to execute. And in the near future, I might buy the full version of Game Maker, so that every Mac user is able to play it, without using Game Maker as executable. But don't expext the Mac version to be as good as the awesome KaM Remake, that's just impossible. At least in the upcoming year(s).
I think it'd be awesome if there was a full version for Mac and Windows, including the Map Editors, Mission Editors, KaM Editors, and so on. But that's not going to happen for some long time. First this, then the rest might follow. As far as I know (nothing), might Game Maker refuse to do this advanced stuff. But we'll see that in a couple of years. So first, try and create a succesful system that'd be able to do the essentials of Knights and Merchants.
Since there will be holidays waiting for me on Wednesday at 10h00 (Dutch Timezone), I can make some decent start. Again, don't expect to much, it may sound great, but it may not even work.

Thanks,

Kridge

[Lewin]

Well I don't have any Macs so I can't compile a version for you. There was a Mac port of KaM by the way. Add me on ICQ/MSN/Google Talk/Skype (or email me your details) and I'll show you how to compile it. You won't need much technical knowledge.

[Krom]

You can always prepare your assets on Win PC, or run a Win inside of VM on Mac. Also, such simple tools as Map2BMP might work well with Wine - give it a try.

[Kridge]

Well I don't have any Macs so I can't compile a version for you. There was a Mac port of KaM by the way. Add me on ICQ/MSN/Google Talk/Skype (or email me your details) and I'll show you how to compile it. You won't need much technical knowledge.

Alright, i'll do that this afternoon. I'll see whether you're on-/offline, but it would be nice to create something like that.

You can always prepare your assets on Win PC, or run a Win inside of VM on Mac. Also, such simple tools as Map2BMP might work well with Wine - give it a try.

Yeah, and normally I would do that, but since someone at my school threw my windows partition away (we use laptops on or school), I don't have no windows version anymore. I guess Wine is something like CrossOver, running Windows programs on Mac?

[Krom]

Yes, there are number of Win emulators and wrappers for Mac

[Kridge]

Is it possible to change to topics name? Into KaM4Mac?
And are there already images of the maps in TSK & TPR? The fighting missions in particular, like mission 3?
If so, where and am I allowed to use them?

Thanks,

Kridge

[T*AnTi-V!RuZz]

I've changed the topic title for you

[Kridge]

Thanks,

Kridge

[Kridge]

And by the way Lewin, I saw on the website that there was a mac version in what like 2001? I think that's what you mean with port.
I know about some 'third' party company, who created an emulater for mac, but that works only on the old macs: powerpc's. Now there are Intel macs...
But I don't know about that mac version. I hope it works on the newer macs. I'm interested if it's still somewhere on the web.

[Lewin]

There was an official version of Knights and Merchants released for Mac. They took the source code and compiled it for Mac. (a process known as porting) I did a quick search and found the demo available for download here.
But as far as I know Wine works with Intel Macs as well.

[Kridge]

Are there even mac-users on this forum?

[Krom]

I have a Mac Mini, but I did not played KaM on it yet
I'm using it to develop Delphi applications that natively run on OS X (using Felphi XE2 Firemonkey).