The .SET File

The .SET file is a file that controls the details of a tileset (for example ttr01.set for the rural tileset). The difficult part of creating a tileset is creating rules for how the set works. These rules are stored in the .SET file.

[GENERAL]
Name=ttr02
Type=SET
Version=V1.0
Interior=0
HasHeightTransition=1
EnvMap=ttr02__ref01
Transition=5
DisplayName=4995
Border=Grass
Default=Grass
Floor=Grass

The last three lines (Border, Default, and Floor) are also very important. Each line refers to a terrain type. The default terrain will be the corners and parts not given a terrain. The border terrain will outline the new area on initial creation i.e. the walls in the crypt tileset. The default floor terrain will tile the floor of a new area.

The [TERRAIN TYPES] section begins with the count of terrain types:

[TERRAIN TYPES]
Count=3

Then one entry for each terrain type:

[TERRAIN0]
Name=Grass
StrRef=63635

The names listed here will be referenced several times in the rest of the .SET file.

The [CROSSER TYPES] section begins with the count of terrain types:

[CROSSER TYPES]
Count=4

A crosser entry looks like this:

[CROSSER0]
Name=Stream
StrRef=63302

Again this section begins with the count:

[PRIMARY RULES]
Count=28

A rules entry looks like this:

[PRIMARY RULE0]
Placed=Grass
PlacedHeight=0
Adjacent=Grass
AdjacentHeight=0
Changed=Grass
ChangedHeight=0

For example if a tile had the top part consisting of this:

Topleft=Forest
Topright= Grass

It could only link to a tile that also had those settings on its adjacent sides. If the adjacent tile is empty (i.e. doesn't contain a feature) the toolset will adjust the adjacent tile as necessary.

The 4 corner sub-sections (i.e. topleft, topright, bottomleft and bottomright not top, bottom, left, right) of a tile can be given a height of either 0 or 1. With 1 being one level above flat ground. The top, bottom, left, right sub tiles will act as transition elements. For example if topleft has a height=1 and topright has a height=0 then the top sub-element is a cliff. However if topleft and topright had a height=1 then the top sub-element will be a flat section.

If a tile has its edge heights definitions like this:

TopLeft=Grass
TopLeftHeight=1
TopRight=Grass
TopRightHeight=1

Then the tiles adjacent to this one must have its heights set to 1 (on its connecting edge). Again if the adjacent tile is empty (i.e. doesn't contain a feature) the toolset will adjust the adjacent tile as necessary.

Any tile listed in the tile section that is not referenced by a group is considered a terrain tile. With terrain tiles the toolset will randomly pick one tile it can find that matches the sub-sections terrain types. For example when you first start an area each tile is set like this:

TopLeft=Grass
TopLeftHeight=0
TopRight=Grass
TopRightHeight=0
BottomLeft=Grass
BottomLeftHeight=0
BottomRight=Grass
BottomRightHeight=0

The unspecified sub-sections default to grass. There are several tiles in the tileset that match these sub-sections that don't appear in groups. The toolset will randomly pick one.

When placing crosser elements (streams, walls, etc.) you are actually setting the non-corner edge types (i.e. top, bottom, left, right). You will also notice that if you are placing a crosser on the bottom edge of one tile you are also placing a crosser on the top edge of the adjacent tile. You are actually setting the terrain type of the top sub-section of one tile and the bottom section of another. For example if you place a road across the tile then its sub-section terrain types look like this:

TopLeft=Grass
TopLeftHeight=0
TopRight=Grass
TopRightHeight=0
BottomLeft=Grass
BottomLeftHeight=0
BottomRight=Grass
BottomRightHeight=0
Top=Road
Bottom=Road

Again there may be several tiles in the tileset that match these sub-sections that don't appear in groups. The toolset will randomly pick one.

A Group entry has the following format:

[GROUP25]
Name=ShipDocked01_2x2
StrRef=63702
Rows=2
Columns=2
Tile0=178
Tile1=180
Tile2=177
Tile3=179

The rows and columns line determine the group size. In this case the group is 2x2 and therefore has 4 tiles.

The next set of lines list the tiles that belong in that group. Each number represents a tile from the [tiles] section. In this case the first tile is 178 with tile 180 placed to one side. Tiles 177 and 179 are placed below the first two tiles. It appears that it fills the columns first then moves to the next row if there is one.

If you need to make a group that has an odd shape (an L shape for instance) then you will still make a rectangular group but you can make certain tiles empty by setting the Tile=-1. For example the following groups is actually an L shape (tile 2 is -1 and therefore unspecified):

[GROUP41]
Name=ShipDocked02_2x2
StrRef=63703
Rows=2
Columns=2
Tile0=230
Tile1=180
Tile2=-1
Tile3=179

Remember to create a group for any tile you want to be placeable as a feature. If you don't the tile will become a terrain tile an will randomly appear in your area.

ELEMENT
    NULLFLAG
    STRING: NAME = "Anthill 2"
    RESREF: RESREF = "ttr01_p05_01"
END ELEMENT

Notice this entry references a model name (ttr01_p05_01). This same model name is referenced in the Tile section. Now notice that there is no reference to the model name in the groups section. The only connection between a group and an entry in the ITP is through the list of tiles. So if you have the same model in two or more groups how does the tileset know which one to place? The connect is like this:

ITP -> Tile -> Group

Therefore for each entry in the ITP file you can have only one tile in the .SET file that uses that model. Furthermore, you can only have one group that references that tile. A tile can appear in more then one group as long as that's not the tile/model you reference in your ITP.