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OpenTS Manual

Height

A structure's vertical extent, the number of cell rows a smudge covers, or a generated map's size index.

Structure vertical extent

Specification — Structure vertical extent
Applies to
BuildingType
File
art.ini
Section
[<Image ID>]Image ID: Image= value; ObjectType ID when omitted
Value
integer
When omitted
1

The value is the structure’s height in steps of 200 leptons, a little under two terrain height levels of 104 leptons each. It is read as a whole number, so Height=1.5 gives 1.

art.ini
[MYWEAP] ; example war factory, drawn from its own Image ID
Foundation=4x3
Height=2

The height does not change how the structure itself is drawn. It has three effects:

  • Selection bracket and health bar. The bracket drawn around a selected structure rises to this height, and the health bar sits at its top.
  • Jumpjet flight level. A jumpjet sets its flight level from the top of whatever occupies the cell below it. A structure’s top is 200 leptons per step above the ground it stands on. A moving jumpjet also looks at the cell ahead. It takes that cell’s height when it is the higher of the two, and otherwise the average of the two.
  • Aim of straight shots. When a projectile that neither arcs nor is a voxel is fired at a structure more than 200 leptons above or below the firing turret, it is pitched at a point 200 leptons per step above height level 0. That point ignores the ground the structure stands on, so on raised terrain the shot aims below the structure’s roof.

Smudge rows

Specification — Smudge rows
Applies to
SmudgeType
File
rules.ini
Section
[<ObjectType ID>]
Value
integer
When omitted
1

Height is the number of cell rows the smudge covers, and Width is the number of columns. The block’s top corner is its origin, and the origin sits on the cell where the scorch or crater is requested. Columns run down and to the right from the origin, and rows run down and to the left.

rules.ini
[MYCRATER]     ; example two-by-two crater
Crater=yes
Width=2
Height=2

The game draws only the first frame of the smudge’s artwork, positioned from the origin cell. A multiple-cell smudge therefore needs one image that covers the whole block.

A smudge type fits a spot only if the origin cell is inside the playfield. The rest of the block may extend past it. Every cell of the block must also meet none of these conditions:

  • the cell is a ramp;
  • the cell already has a smudge;
  • the cell holds an overlay, such as Tiberium;
  • a structure stands on the cell, except when the request is a destroyed structure’s central mark;
  • the cell’s tile is Morphable=no.

Among the types that fit, the request prefers some sizes over others:

  • A destroyed structure’s central mark prefers multiple-cell smudges, those with both Width and Height above 1.
  • An animation prefers one-by-one smudges. If its largest frame is more than 48 pixels wide and more than 40 pixels tall, it has no preference.
  • The marks a destroyed structure lays across its footprint have no preference.

If no type of the preferred size fits, the pick is made from every type that fits. A type with only one side above 1, such as two by one, is never preferred. It is picked only by a request with no preference or when no preferred type fits.

Generated map height

Specification — Generated map height
Applies to
random map generation
File
map seed file
Section
[RandomMap]
Value
integer
When omitted
0The smallest playable area the chosen player count allows.

The value is a size index from 0 to 3, not a cell count. It sets the depth of the generated playable area between a smallest and a largest size that depend on the player count. 0 gives the smallest size and 3 the largest. 1 and 2 give a third and two thirds of the way between them, rounded down to whole cells. At two players the range is 50 to 100 cells, and at eight players it is 135 to 175. Map seed files gives the range for every player count and describes the section the key is written in.

map seed file
[RandomMap]
NumPlayers=4
Height=3

The playfield is twelve cells deeper than the playable area.

On a mutated map, Height also raises the upper limit on how many mold and crystal growths the map gets. Width gives the formula.

Before a map is built from either the dialog or a scenario file, a value below 0 becomes 0 and one above 3 becomes 3.

See also — Foundation, MidPoint, Width, Crater, Burn