Cloud Editor

The Cloud Editor allows users to design cloud fronts to be used in Aces High arenas.

The cloud fronts can used offline, in Lan play, or built into a terrain using the Aces High II Terrain Editor.

Getting Started

NOTE: The Cloud Editor will only display properly at 1280 x 1024 resolution or higher. It can not be resized for smaller resolutions.

The first step in creating clouds is to open a terrain bitmap. Click on File--> Open Terrain, and then choose a [terrain_name].bmp file. The terrain map will appear on the left side of the Cloud Editor.

If you are editing existing cloud fronts, you would then Click on File--> Open Weather, and then choose a [terrain_name].awa file.

Cloud Fronts

Cloud Fronts Dropdown List

The weather fronts included in this weather file.

Add a Cloud Front

Add a new cloud front by clicking the New button under the cloud fronts list. The new front will be generated with default settings.

Delete a Cloud Front

Delete a cloud front by clicking the Delete button under the cloud fronts list. The front showing in the list will be deleted and the other fronts will be renumbered.

Cloud Front Layout

Cloud Front

The cloud front appears in the editor as a parallelogram with a directional vector V extending from the anchor point A. The AW line segment is the weather front width, the WD line segment is the front depth. The V vector indicates the direction and angle of the weather front.

Changing the Cloud Front Position

To change the anchor position of the front, click the A button in the Points group, then click and drag the weather front to it’s new position.

Changing the Width of the Cloud Front

To change the width of the cloud front, click on the W button in the Points group, then click and drag on the map to set the front width.

Changing the Depth of the Cloud Front

To change the depth of the cloud front, click on the D button in the Points group, then click and drag on the map to set the depth.

Changing the Direction of the Cloud Front

To change the directional vector, click on the V button in the Points group, then click and drag on the map to set the direction of the front.

Cloud Front Parameters

First Create Time

Sets the time delay for creation of the cloud front in the arena. The time is in hours and is based on the arena time. Example: If the First Create HR is set to 0.30, the front will appear thirty minutes after the arena is started.

Front Down Time

Sets the length of time the cloud front will be down after it has run it's path. If this value is set to 1.00, the weather front will stay down for an hour before regenerating.

Speed

Sets the speed of the weather front in MPH.

Minimum and Maximum Altitude

Sets the minimum and maximum altitude of the cloud front. The front will actually be generated at some random altitude between the specified min and max.

Minimum and Maximum Size

Sets the minimum and maximum size, in feet, of the clouds in the front. The clouds are generated at some random size between the specified min and max.

Minimum and Maximum Type

Sets the minimum and maximum type of the clouds in the front. The cloud types are 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and Layer Thin, Layer Medium and Layer Heavy. Cloud type 0 is light, fluffy white clouds and the cloud types of Layer are a overcast cloud. Cloud fronts with cloud types 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 may be set up to pass over one another, but two fronts of cloud type Layer may not pass over each other.

Clouds Per Row

Sets the number of clouds generated on the AW line segment in the front.

Cloud Rows

Sets the number of cloud rows in the front.

Animate the Fronts

Clicking on the Animate button will set the fronts in motion to show how they will move in the arena.

Current Cloud Count

The number of clouds in the arena at any time is displayed after clicking on the Animate button.

Max Cloud Count

The maximum number of clouds in the arena is totaled up and displayed after clicking on the Animate button. It is recommended that no more than 900 clouds be included in an arena.

Set Map Size

To scale cloud fronts to an arena bitmap, select Set Map Size from the File menu. Select the scaling from the drop-down box and click OK. The cloud front will resize to the correct scaling.

Saving & Using Clouds in Aces High II

To build the cloud front into a terrain using the Aces High II Terrain Editor, save the weather file in the ../HTC/ah2editor/ahiiterr/[terrain_name] folder and give the file the same name as the terrain. Save as a file of type “Weather”. This will put an .awa extension on the file. When you build the terrain, the cloud fronts then become the default weather for that terrain.

To use the cloud front offline or in Lan play, save the file in the ../HTC/Aces High II/terrains/ folder and give the file the same name as the terrain in which the clouds should appear. When the terrain is loaded into Aces High II, the new cloud front will override the default weather for that terrain.

Bibliography

• HiTech Creations. Cloud Editor Help File. (Program Documentation), 2001.