[This tutorial is for people who have some knowledge of photo editing programs such as Photoshop & Paint Shop Pro and the MCM 2 Track Editor "Armadillo".]

Placement maps are used, in an MCM2 track, to put a particular kind of vegetation exactly where you want it to be. The following steps will show you how to make one in the easiest possible way.

1. Create a "New" 24-bit black image in your photo editing program at 1280x1280 (pixel) resolution.

2. You need to "Index" the colors you'll be using to place your vegetation by:

• In Photoshop, at the top:
  Click:
  • "Image"
  • "Mode"
  • "Indexed Color"
  • Click the drop down box where it says "Forced" and pick "Custom".
• In Paint Shop Pro, at the top:
  Click:
  • "Colors"
  • "Decrease Color Depth"
  • "X Colors (4/8 bit)"
    When the "Decrease Color Depth" box pops up:
    • Fill in the number of vegetations in the .est file you're going to use.

• Make sure "Optimized Median Cut" and "Nearest Color" is checked.
• DO NOT check the "Include Windows Colors" Box


Click:

• "Colors"
• "Edit Palette".

3. The "Edit Palette" box will pop up which will have 256 color squares. The first square , in the top left corner, will be "0" - DO NOT change it, leave it black - then 1, 2, 3, etc.

You can change the color of each square by double clicking it causing a "color picker" to pop up and picking the color you want for that square/vegetation.

4. Each palette index color, corresponds directly to the vegetation list in the .est file you're going to use on your track. So color "1" will be vegetation "1", color "2" will be vegetation "2" and so on.

5. Now that you have indexed the colors for the .est file you'll be using, take your track's dismap and:

A. Resize your dismap to 256x256.
B. Turn it 90 degrees counter clockwise (CCW).
D. Copy & paste it into the center of your 1280x1280 placement map.

Here's a way to center it:
• Shrink your 1280x1280 by "Zooming Out" (under the "View" tab) and move it to the bottom right of your photo editor.
• When clicking "Paste", DO NOT move your mouse, then "left click" twice.
• It will paste it perfectly into the center of the 1280x1280, if you haven't moved it.

• Paint each vegetation color in a line off to the side of your
track, on flat ground, spacing them apart.
• Render them in armadillo.
• Take a screenshot of them.
• Crop it to just the row of vegetations.
• And use it for reference when you're placing them.
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You will be saving 2 copies - one for editing and one to put in your "Projects" folder.

• Click "Save as"
• Name it (yourprojectname)_place.
• Save in the "Default" format - in Photoshop it will be ".PSD" - in Paint Shop Pro it will be ".PSP".
• Click "Save as" again.
• Name it (yourprojectname)_place (if you need to).
• Choose "Windows or OS/2 Bitmap (*.bmp")" format.
• Put it in the folder where your track is located - usually your "Projects" folder.

• Click the "File" tab.
• Click save.
• Re-open your project.
]

• Open your project in Armadillo.
• Click the "Hand" at the bottom right.
• Slide your cursor straight up, which will move you forward across your track (which is the direction they are rendered in), until you can see the edge of your track.
• If the vegetation doesn't make it to the edge in that area, add to the number of vegetations to generate - if they go beyond where you intended, reduce the number of vegetations.
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