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JA2 BETA Editor - where?[message #9648]

Sun, 12 September 2004 04:22

Tyco

Messages:188
Registered:September 2001
Location: Be'er Sheva, Israel

Where can I find a clean install of the JA2 Beta editor? Or does the one with UC utilities can work with any other JA2 version without overwriting it with UC data?

Also, what map format does the JA2 Beta Editor read?

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Staff Sergeant

Re: JA2 BETA Editor - where?[message #9649]

Sun, 12 September 2004 13:11

Bearpit

Messages:1068
Registered:August 2001
Location: Sydney Australia.

Beta Editor is designed to work with a specific type of map file format, it wont handle normal JA2 maps.
You must convert them to Beta Editor format .... there is a tool in the UTILITIES pack which does this courtesy of Batman.
This utility only converts from JA2 type 1 to Beta format so if you have UB maps .... convert to JA2 type 1 first.

Oops nearly forgot.
I think you must add .BETA behind the JA2 type 1 files, then convert otherwise it wont work.

You can reconvert them back to JA2 or UB format after you've finished.

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Sergeant Major

Re: JA2 BETA Editor - where?[message #9650]

Mon, 13 September 2004 09:42

Khor1255

Messages:1815
Registered:August 2003
Location: Pleasantville, NJ

What is this utility that Batman made called? I'm asking because I'm also interested in making Ja2 maps but can't get the Beta to completely work. The method I used was to extract the MAPS .slf into it's own folder and I think a few other .slfs but can't quite remember which ones.

What happens is that I can create maps in the regular Ja2 format but the Beta Editor crashes when ever I try to add items to either the map or anything I've placed.

Finding the correct way to use the Beta would help me out quite a bit.

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Sergeant Major

Re: JA2 BETA Editor - where?[message #9651]

Mon, 13 September 2004 21:42

Wodan

Messages:538
Registered:December 2001
Location: Antwerp, Belgium

I think you can also just download the beta exe at Lords of the bytes. To fire up the editor,
you add -autoeditor to the command line.
For UC, we used a batch file to do that. Check it in the utils pack if it doesn't work.

Since the exe used for the beta editor is the German beta exe and thus not the same as the JA_uc.exe, I reckon you can use the one in the UC-utils pack without problems.

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First Sergeant

Re: JA2 BETA Editor - where?[message #9652]

Tue, 14 September 2004 23:29

Tyco

Messages:188
Registered:September 2001
Location: Be'er Sheva, Israel

Im getting an error massage when trying to load a converted UB map (from UBEditor format to JA2 Type 1 and then to BETA format).

Says that the map version is greater then current version. How do I get around this?

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Staff Sergeant

Re: JA2 BETA Editor - where?[message #9653]

Wed, 15 September 2004 00:09

Batman

Messages:363
Registered:January 2001
Location: Gotham City

It sounds like you have not converted the map correctly. Follow these steps:

1. Load a Map into the UB Editor.
2. Ensure that the Map is utilizing Tilesets 1-49 Only (Other Tilesets are not supported in JA2)
3. Ensure that the North, South, East, West and Center Entry Points are all defined. If these are not, the JA2 BETA Editor will not be able to load the map once converted.
4. Change the Name Field in the UB Map Editor to "BETA" (without quotes). I have found that if you change the Name Field of the Map, you must also make some other change on the map (preferably with ground tiles) in order for the new name to be saved.
5. Save your map, then re-load it to verify that the new name of "BETA" has been saved.
6. Load "Gold's Map Converter" and Convert the Map to "JA2 TYPE 1" Format.
7. Load the "BETA Map Converter" and select the "Source" Folder where the map file is located.
Note: The BETA Map Converter will convert entire Folders only, not individual files.
8. Select the "Destination" Folder where the converted file(s) will be stored.
9. You may use the "Browse" Buttons next to each field (Source/Destination) to browse for a folder.
10. The "Verify" Button will re-read the Source Folder in the event changes have occurred.
11. Select the "Convert" Button to convert the file(s) to the JA2 BETA Editor Format.
12. Load the "BETA Editor" and check the map, then re-save it.

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Master Sergeant

Re: JA2 BETA Editor - where?[message #9654]

Wed, 15 September 2004 01:15

Tyco

Messages:188
Registered:September 2001
Location: Be'er Sheva, Israel

Thanks Batman, works fine now.

Change the Name Field in the UB Map Editor to "BETA".
Did you mean the Sector Description (where it usealy says "Forest, Swamp, Town etc.) or the file name itself? Cause I put in BETA in both and it works.

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Staff Sergeant

Re: JA2 BETA Editor - where?[message #9655]

Wed, 15 September 2004 01:43

Batman

Messages:363
Registered:January 2001
Location: Gotham City

I haven't used the UB Editor in probably a few years now... It's the field on the left side of the screen not the actual file name...

Thanks,

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Master Sergeant

Re: JA2 BETA Editor - where?[message #9656]

Wed, 15 September 2004 02:39

Tyco

Messages:188
Registered:September 2001
Location: Be'er Sheva, Israel

Yeah, sector description. Alright, thanks.

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Staff Sergeant

Re: JA2 BETA Editor - where?[message #9657]

Sat, 30 July 2005 17:00

suppatruka

Messages:1
Registered:July 2005

Any idea where I can get my hands on the Batman's Utility pack now days

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Civilian

Re: JA2 BETA Editor - where?[message #9658]

Sun, 31 July 2005 01:16

Khor1255

Messages:1815
Registered:August 2003
Location: Pleasantville, NJ

I have those things. My e-mail is listed in my profile.

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Sergeant Major

Re: JA2 BETA Editor - where?[message #9659]

Mon, 29 August 2005 18:50

Longshot

Messages:43
Registered:November 2002
Location: Columbia, Mo.

Yeah so, dl'ed utilspack in the same folder as UC, found the betabat, double clicked it...and it hangs forever...

this was with the 1.12 version I have.

So, I tried it with 1.03...same thing. I must have missed something. checked readme. It pretty much just says to unpack everything into the same file as JA2(UC) then click the .bat file.

Now I got this to work in my regular version of JA2 but I don't remember the exact steps I had to follow to make it happen...

Just for grins I clicks I clicked on the beta.exe and it runs the whole the intro sequence then hangs forever. If I try to left click to skip the intro, it just hangs.

Any ideas or tips would be appreciated...(and I did check lotb first too...)

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Corporal

Re: JA2 BETA Editor - where?[message #9660]

Wed, 31 August 2005 10:24

Longshot

Messages:43
Registered:November 2002
Location: Columbia, Mo.

*sigh*

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Corporal

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