How to: Biome Maps

[Galileo]

This is a quick tutorial on how I create biome maps. I have read how others do it and I'm sure others do exactly as I do but I haven't seen a tutorial so, here is mine. If i do anything wrong in this tutorial please feel free to correct me. 

I'll be using the latest Photoshop CC during the tutorial, but it can easily be done in Gimp.

 

Ok so, lets begin:

 

Create a new project, DUH

 

 

Select whatever texture you want to create a biome for.

 

 

Once you have done that, create a new layer.

 

 

Next, Select your rectangle tool and cover the entire texture with a black rectangle.

 

 

Now set the opacity of this layer to roughly 30%.

 

 

Now pick an area that you want to have a biome. For my example im using this crater.

 

 

Now Select a color that you want to represent this biome. Ill be using RGB Red.

 

 

select a solid brush and set the hardness to 100%. You can set to whatever size you want, I wouldn't go too big or too small though. (don't select the type of brush I used, its too soft).

 

 

Now, color in the area you wanted as a biome with the color you chose earlier. You can get as detailed as you want.

 

 

Now you can choose another area that you want as a biome. I chose another crater area (you can do anything, not just craters)

 

 

Again choose another color. I chose RGB Green.

 

 

Color that area in with the color you chose

 

 

You can do as many biomes as you would like but KSP only allows so many. I forget how many that is.

 

Once you finish coloring in the areas you want to be biomes, go back to your layers and change the opacity back to 100%

 

 

Your texture should now look like this (obviously if you have more biomes it will look different)

 

 

Now go to your Window Tab and select Info

 

 

Now if you move your cursor over your biomes the info tab will reflect the RGB value associated with that biome. Remember this or write it down.

 

 

Now you can save your work. I usually save my biomes as PNG but DDS will work as well.

 

Remember those RGB values? now you can imput those into your biome node in your planet's cfg (I'm not going to teach how to write out a cfg. If you are making biome maps you are beyond that already)

 

Thats basically it. Just place your biome map where ever you need it to be. Again, if you are making biome maps you probably know where you need to put it.

If there is anything that i need to change or include let me know. I made this rather quickly and probably skipped something.

 

I hope this helps those of you that want to know how to do this.  It may not be the best technique but it works for me, so maybe it will work for you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 7, 2016 by Galileo

[Shadriss]

Quick. Simple. Relatively elegant. My only question regards the 'value' line in the CFG... specifically what that number actually is. The rest is pretty cut and dry.

Oh, also... are the colors that you select the same as what would show up in, say, SCANSat when you do a biome scan?

[Galileo]

5 minutes ago, Shadriss said:

Quick. Simple. Relatively elegant. My only question regards the 'value' line in the CFG... specifically what that number actually is. The rest is pretty cut and dry.

Oh, also... are the colors that you select the same as what would show up in, say, SCANSat when you do a biome scan?

I don't really know the answer to those questions bit maybe @Poodmund can clarify for you.  I just always set each biome to 1

[Brigadier]

3 hours ago, Galileo said:

Select whatever texture you want to create a biome for.

From where do we get the textures?  Are you going to farm them out or choose from all submissions?

3 hours ago, Galileo said:

now you can imput those into your biome node in your planet's cfg (I'm not going to teach how to write out a cfg. If you are making biome maps you are beyond that already)

Whoa there.  When I said "from scratch" I really meant it.  I still want to learn and have started reading up on config files but if you have a link to a good planet cfg file resource to learn, I'd appreciate it.  I've started with a Google search and will see what comes up.

Don't you already have planet cfg files that we can insert data into?

Do you have any particular guidance as to what you would like to see?  Would you prefer us to follow KSP convention regarding biome names, i.e. highlands, lowlands, polar, grassland, etc. or will you simply take what you get and alter later.  If the latter, then I don't have to wonder what I'm going to call them.

3 hours ago, Galileo said:

I hope this helps those of you that want to know how to do this.

Absolutely!

Does every last pixel need a colour or is there a default for the biome map (i.e. if it has no colour in the map it must be biome x)?

[Galileo]

15 minutes ago, Brigadier said:

From where do we get the textures?  Are you going to farm them out or choose from all submissions?

Whoa there.  When I said "from scratch" I really meant it.  I still want to learn and have started reading up on config files but if you have a link to a good planet cfg file resource to learn, I'd appreciate it.  I've started with a Google search and will see what comes up.

Don't you already have planet cfg files that we can insert data into?

Do you have any particular guidance as to what you would like to see?  Would you prefer us to follow KSP convention regarding biome names, i.e. highlands, lowlands, polar, grassland, etc. or will you simply take what you get and alter later.  If the latter, then I don't have to wonder what I'm going to call them.

Absolutely!

Does every last pixel need a colour or is there a default for the biome map (i.e. if it has no colour in the map it must be biome x)?

Lol that part wasn't directed at you guys it was just in general since I had to make the tutorial public.    

I can give you some planet textures and the cfgs for you to look at and play with

Edited September 8, 2016 by Galileo

[Shadriss]

Tutorial Change Suggestion: As opposed to doing all Biome areas in a single layer, do each one on it's own layer, then merge all of them together when you've adjusted each to suit. More layers in the creation, but also more flexibility and less likely to mess up a section you've already done.

Also: would the black area need to be defined as it's own Biome as well, giving you three total in your example?

 

[Poodmund]

Here is an animated graphical example of the general process I go through when creating a Biome Map:

Example 1:

Example 2:

Please note that the final biome map image is an indexed .png with a colour palette of ONLY the 13 colours used to represent the 13 biomes and there is no dithering/blending of colour between any regions.

The .gif compression has ruined the above animation for actual use but the idea/concept is still relevant.

EDIT: It should also be noted that any biome maps where biomes based on elevation are evident that the heightmaps used should not be the ones used before any PQS generation is done and that 'actual' in-game heightmaps should be used by using tools such as Stupid Chris' Heightmap Extractor or Kittopia Tech.

EDIT2: This is also a very handy tool for when converting your colours to float values for the configs: KSP RGBA to Float Converter - I got frustrated doing it myself every time so I set that up to make it easier.

Edited September 10, 2016 by Poodmund

[Van Disaster]

13 hours ago, Poodmund said:

Please note that the final biome map image is an indexed .png with a colour palette of ONLY the 13 colours used to represent the 13 biomes and there is no dithering/blending of colour between any regions.

That is important, because interpolated colours on the boundary of biome areas can result in you having a very different and unexpected biome at the boundary.

Edited September 10, 2016 by Van Disaster

[Poodmund]

14 minutes ago, Van Disaster said:

The index

That is important, because interpolated colours on the boundary of biome areas can result in you having a very different and unexpected biome at the boundary.

Yes very important, I touched on this issue of interpolation and dithering over in the Kopernicus thread here:

Hopefully with the improvements to the biome system in KSP 1.2, as touched on in a previous Squadcast, this may no longer be such as issue. We'll have to wait and see.

Edited September 10, 2016 by Poodmund

[Van Disaster]

Jagged edges on a biome map isn't *really* a big problem unless you have some crazily small biome ( is there a seperate PQSCity biome map type? I doubt KSC is done with the Kerbin map ). What happens if the biome map is higher rez than the surface? it shouldn't really be a problem but "shouldn't" and "isn't" aren't always the same

[Poodmund]

Well with dithering or 'not clean separation of biome regions' it is more of a gameplay issue. You don't really want the game to be manically switching between two biomes as you're flying over them. Its more sensible, manageable etc. to create a hard edge in an appropriate location to say, 'now switch from Biome 1 to Biome 2'.