VirtualScape 1.070 available

[lefton4ya]

Yea, we really need a cryptolith in VS. I guess the cardboard cut-out could be added too, but my vote is for the Cryptolith being used in more Heroscape maps.

If someone wants to avoid some work on not making the mats, you can download and open one of the hsc files linked in my Herosape and Magic:AotP Cryptolith Map Contest by @quozl and his daughter, and then just take the first layer as mats, and select the 48-hex mats and move as necessary. That's what I did; to update my Mountain Over the Shadow I used Shadow Crypt.

[ZeusEQ]

Hi,


I decided to try my hand at creating a map (well, actually to modify an existing one because I have an extra castle set to use for it ), and installed VirtualScape. I can only say: wow, what a great tool!


It's super easy to use, but one thing that I see regularly in map instructions but I can't find how to do in VS is adding a number to the map (in this case to indicate how many ladder pieces should be used, so as not to have to add several levels for only those ladder pieces). How can I do that? Basically I add a ladder piece to a hex, and then I would like to show "5" in the hex.


Thanks, Zeus

[DanieLoche]

There is no way in doing this properly with VirtualScape. I suppose the easiest way to go is creating custom hex tiles with numbers on them, and transparent textures. Then adding both the custom hex and the ladder to the map could make the trick. Only drawback is that in the 3D view you will have only the first ladder piece...

Another solution would be to create new 3D files for stacked ladders (5 and 6 might be the most used values). But not sure about the complexity there...

[Dr.Goomonkey]

Hey, I've got a couple questions that seem to have been addressed in this thread before, but I'm not really a computer savy person (not for my age, anyways) and am still having 2 issues.

First, and most importantly, how do I save the map instructions? I'm going to Print Overview and seeing the instructions, but I have no idea what to do at this point. CutePDF was mentioned earlier, but I don't know what that is.

Second, and somewhat less importantly, what am I supposed to do with Windows 10 to make the high quality rendering work? I'm getting a blacked out map when I try to use it.

[superfrog]

Windows 10 basically means you're screwed for high quality rendering.

For saving, just go to Print, and then you probably have Microsoft Print to PDF as one of your printer options. Choose that.

[Dr.Goomonkey]

Thanks! High quality isn't necessary, I suppose. Online maps look better without shadows, right?

[DanieLoche]

Originally Posted by Dr.Goomonkey

Thanks! High quality isn't necessary, I suppose. Online maps look better without shadows, right?

For the High-Res preview.. do you have a dedicated graphical card on your computer ? Like a Nvidia xxxx or an AMD xxx ? If so, you might want to try a right click on Virtualscape launch file, than "Choose graphic card to launch with" (or some choice like that...)... and there you choose your dedicated graphic card instead of your "default" one that is probably a "Intel xxxxxx". For me, launching the application this way the High Res feature works.

[Dr.Goomonkey]

Originally Posted by DanieLoche

For the High-Res preview.. do you have a dedicated graphical card on your computer ? Like a Nvidia xxxx or an AMD xxx ? If so, you might want to try a right click on Virtualscape launch file, than "Choose graphic card to launch with" (or some choice like that...)... and there you choose your dedicated graphic card instead of your "default" one that is probably a "Intel xxxxxx". For me, launching the application this way the High Res feature works.

I don't see that option, and I also haven't added anything to the computer since getting it, so it probably only has the "Intel xxxxxx" graphics card. Thanks for the help though!

[superfrog]

Hey everybody, just thought I'd share some things I tinkered with today (mostly as a cautionary tale, and partially to see if anybody else has gone down the same rabbit hole as I have):

As has been well-documented in this thread, you can't get the high-quality 3D images in VirtualScape on newer Windows computers. I have Windows 10, so I'm one of those who suffers from that fate.

I used VS for years on Vista and Windows 7 with no problems. Compatibility mode, as capsocrates suggested above, didn't solve my issues, sadly.

I decided to install a Windows XP engine on my VirtualBox and see if it could run VirtualScape. After following some YouTube tutorials, I got everything set up, with access to my local files on the virtual machine.

I opened VS, and it ran fine. Unfortunately, when I went to view my map in 3D, it came up with this error: "The OpenGL extensions for shadowing are not available !" It then shows the 3D map, which looks fine, although with no shadows. I got the same error when attempting to go to a high-quality view.

I wish I knew what that meant, but I'm really not sure. The virtual machine can connect to the internet, but it only has an old version of Internet Explorer that can only browse Bing pages. It could be that there's some connectivity that's being interrupted, but I'm not quite computer-savvy enough to know how those OpenGL things work.

The "preferences" dialog box appears to not do much. Changing the shadowing and quality settings does nothing, but you can still show and hide the table.

Compared to my Windows 10 VirtualScape, there's one big difference: The image is brighter and more vivid, the way I remember VS images being back in the day. The comparison picture below shows the screenshots, with brightness and quality maxed out in both shots.

(Virtual) Windows XP:

Windows 10:


Not sure if there's anything worth digging further there, but I thought I'd share just in case anybody was interested.

[itsbuzzi]

I use VS to try to get an older program of mine to function correctly. I have noticed VS only comes with an older version of IE. I haven't planned on using the internet but I'm sure you could download other browsers.

[superfrog]

The missing piece here is the OpenGL stuff. I don't know what's required to make that work. For all I know, it's not working in Windows 10 either, but it suppresses the errors somehow.

(The virtual machine and my regular machine are running the same copy of VS, so there should be no difference).

[caps]

OpenGL is like a framework or library for dealing with graphics. Usually you have to have so e drivers installed for it to work, I think. You could try updating the OpenGL drivers on your VM.