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MAP DESIGNER USERS MANUAL
Copyright 1996,1997 by John Daigle  All rights reserved.

Note: Substitute MAPDEMO for all References to FSMAP


 Minimum hardware needed to run MAP DESIGNER:

  An IBM compatible computer 286 or better.
  An EGA, VGA or SVGA color monitor.
  A 2 or 3 button mouse.

Loading MAP DESIGNER from the floppy disk:

Put the disk in either floppy drive, go to that drive ( a: or b:) and type: fsmap

Loading MAP DESIGNER on your hard drive:

Go to the directory on the hard drive, you want MAP DESIGNER loaded into or create a directory using MKDIR (DOS command) then put the MAP DESIGNER disk in the 'A' or 'B' drive and type: copy a:*.* (if disk in the 'A' drive) or type: copy b:*.* (if disk in the 'B' drive). Run the program by typing: fsmap (while in that directory).

Attention Windows users:

MAP DESIGNER is fully compatible with Microsoft Windows. A custom MAP DESIGNER icon is provided with this program, fsmap.ico. Use the Windows program manager to install the program and icon after it is loaded on your hard disk. You may use the detailed installation procedure below if you wish. This procedure will create a directory on your hard drive, load the MAP DESIGNER  files on to it and create a Windows icon for it.

Troubleshooting Hint: If you attempt to run the program in Windows 3.1 and get an error message 'program terminated -no mouse detected', the problem is probably that your mouse driver is not loaded in DOS.
DOS applications such as this program need the mouse driver loaded in DOS to operate properly. See your mouse documentation for instructions for loading the mouse driver in DOS

Installing MAP DESIGNER in Windows 3.1 
       
1-Put MAP DESIGNER disk in 'A' drive  (if your 3 1/2 drive is  the'B' drive, put it there and substitute B for all references to A).
2-While in Windows click on 'FILE MANAGER' in the MAIN group.
3-Click on the C:\ directory (root directory).
4-Click on FILE then CREATE DIRECTORY under NAME type FSMAP then click OK.
5-Click on the ' A drive symbol '
6-Click on FILE then COPY. in the TO: box type C:\fsmap then click OK.
7-Close FILE MANAGER
8-Open (double click on) the group you want MAP DESIGNER in 
(ie: APPLICATIONS).
9-Click on FILE then NEW. PROGRAM ITEM should be marked, click OK.
10-In COMMAND LINE box type C:\fsmap/fsmap
Click on CHANGE ICON. click OK in NO ICONS AVAILABLE.window.
 11-Delete the file name in CHANGE ICON window and type C:\fsmap/fsmap.ico then click OK twice. Click on OK in the PROPERTIES window.

The MAP DESIGNER icon should be in the group window. Double click on  icon to run MAP DESIGNER.

Loading MAP DESIGNER in Windows 95

1. Click on DOS prompt icon
2. Type mkdir fsmap then press enter key
3. type cd\fsmap then press enter key
4. insert MAP DESIGNER disk in 'A' drive
5. type xcopy a: then press enter key
6. type exit then press enter key (returns to Windows 95)
7. click on empty spot on screen with right mouse button
8. click on New (left mouse button)
9. click on shortcut
10. click on browse
11. click on fsmap
12. double click on fsmap
13. click next
14. click next ('name for shortcut window')
15. click finish ('select icon window')

MAP DESIGNER is now loaded in Windows 95.
click on MAP DESIGNER icon to run.

Note: Shaded areas on the map.

An area on the left edge of maps displayed will be shaded to show the area that will be covered by the control buttons & windows in The Firestorm &  Firestorm Pro programs. Do not place any of the units in that area. They will be covered over by the control buttons/window display when loaded by the  program. An area in the lower right corner of the map will also be shaded. This is where the compass rose is placed in the Firestorm &  Firestorm Pro programs. The compass rose is a light green color so make that area of your map a contrasting color (ie: darkgreen [light fuel] or blue [lake or bay]).

Drawing maps with Map Designer ( an overview).

NOTE: When you first use this program, before attempting to make a new map or modify an existing map, load up some of the existing maps and using the zoom feature, study them and see how they are drawn.

This program (with some modifications - for ease of  use) is the same one I used to make the 4 maps for Firestorm & Firestorm Pro. I have found 2 different approaches to drawing maps. One (the Northwest map as an example) comes wholly from the imagination, placing mountains (forested areas) meadows, rivers, roads, lakes, oceans and buildings at whim as I see fit, drawing an imaginary place. The other method is to use available printed maps and make the terrain features as much as possible like the actual area. (as in the other 3 maps: Oakland Hills, Malibu & Yellowstone) Sometimes I use "poetic licence" and place airports, helipads & buildings where there may be none, either because the information is unavailable or real air fields are too far away to fit into the scale of the map. As each pixel of the screen represents one acre, the map should represent an area 25 miles wide and 14 miles long. I have found that the best way to start a new map is to  first click GRID ON  and use the right mouse button to redraw the map with the grid then fill the entire area with meadow(ie: flat lands). This is already done for you when you click on NEW MAP. Then click on WATER and (using the left mouse button click on the areas you want oceans or lakes, for large bodies of water, just outline the shore area and use the FILL button (or hold the left mouse button down & move the mouse around) to fill in the rest. Use the same procedure to draw in forested (mountain) areas using the FOREST button. Meadow, Forest and water can be drawn on the ZOOM 1 scale (full map). Other terrain features must be drawn on the ZOOM 2, 4, 8 or 16 map as the ZOOM 1 map is to small a scale to accurately place  rivers, roads, buildings or crews. When you are in ZOOM 1 and click to ZOOM 2, 4, 8 or 16 you can use the left mouse button to see the area of the map you will zoom to. Push the right mouse button to zoom the map. ZOOM 4 or 8 are the best map scales to draw rivers, roads, buildings and add crews.After I am happy with the basic topographical features of meadows, forests & oceans/large lakes, I add in the rivers, roads, small lakes and buildings then I add in the airfields and helipad, lastly I add the crews.

Using the screen buttons to load, create and modify maps.

NOTE: All buttons are clicked by using the left mouse button.

When the program is first loaded, 3 buttons are displayed at the top left of the title screen: LOAD MAP, QUIT, & NEW MAP.

QUIT  button:

Clicking on QUIT  displays the message in the lower right of the screen: PRESS ENTER TO CONTINUE-ESC TO CANCEL . Pressing the ENTER key on the keyboard terminates the program, Pressing the ESC key cancels the QUIT command, all other keys are ignored.

LOAD MAP button:

Clicking on LOAD MAP  displays the message in the lower right of the screen: "PRESS ENTER TO CONTINUE-ESC TO CANCEL" . Pressing the ENTER key on the keyboard displays the load map menu, Pressing the ESC key cancels the LOAD MAP command, all other keys are ignored.


NEW MAP button:

Clicking on NEW MAP  displays the message in the lower right of the screen: "PRESS ENTER TO CONTINUE-ESC TO CANCEL" . Pressing the ENTER key on the keyboard displays a new map a solid field of meadow ( green ) & the 7 unit symbols shown in a row in the upper left area of the map (these will be placed later).  Pressing the ESC key cancels the NEW MAP command, all other keys are ignored.

Using the Load map menu:

The load map menu is identical to the load map menu in FIRESTORM & FIRESTORM PRO. Move the mouse to highlight the map you want to load and click any mouse button.

When a map has been selected (NEW MAP or LOAD MAP), 3 more buttons will be displayed at the top of the map: SAVE MAP, GRID  & ZOOM.

SAVE MAP button:

Clicking on SAVE MAP  displays the message in the lower right of the screen: "PRESS ENTER TO CONTINUE-ESC TO CANCEL ". Pressing the ENTER key on the keyboard displays the message in the lower right :"Enter file name"  (See Saving Maps below), Pressing the ESC key cancels the SAVE MAP command, all other keys are ignored.

GRID  button:

The GRID button is a toggle button, clicking on it switches between GRID OFF & GRID ON. The grid will be displayed or removed when the map is refreshed or zoomed with the right mouse button.

ZOOM  button:

The ZOOM button is also a toggle button, clicking on it switches between ZOOM 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16. The map is zoomed by pointing to the area of the map you want to zoom to and clicking the right mouse button. In the full map display ( zoomed to ZOOM 1) , clicking to another zoom scale and then pointing to an area of the map with the mouse arrow and clicking and holding the left mouse button will outline the area of the map that will be displayed when the right mouse button is clicked.

A message in the upper right of the map with a yellow background tells you the name of the map displayed or "UNTITLED MAP" in the case of a new map.

The map object buttons.

The map object buttons [WATER, MEADOW, FOREST  (always shown) & BLDG, RIVERS, ROADS, RUNWAY, UNITS  (shown in ZOOM 2,4,8,16) are on the bottom left of the map.A small icon displaying the map object selected is displayed in the upper right of the map,  just to the left of the H/ V coordinates display.

Using the map object buttons to place objects on the map.

WATER button (blue):

The WATER button is used to create oceans, bays & lakes. Clicking on this button with the left mouse button, selects this object. The object icon in the upper right will be a blue square. With this button selected clicking the left mouse button on any square on the map will turn the square blue. By holding the button and dragging the mouse you can fill multiple squares. You can also fill a rectangular area by clicking on the FILL button (colored blue when WATER is selected). After clicking on the FILL button, click on the upper left corner of the area you wish to fill with water, then click on the lower right corner. That area will be filled blue.

MEADOW button (green):

The MEADOW button is used to create meadows or flat lands (medium vegetation). Clicking on this button with the left mouse button, selects this object. The object icon in the upper right will be a green square. With this button selected clicking the left mouse button on any square on the map will turn the square green. By holding the button and dragging the mouse you can fill multiple squares. You can also fill an area using the FILL button (see WATER button above).

FOREST button (light green):

 The FOREST button is used to create forests or mountainous areas (heavy vegetation). Clicking on this button with the left mouse button, selects this object. The object icon in the upper right will be a light green square. With this button selected clicking the left mouse button on any square on the map will turn the square light green. By holding the button and dragging the mouse you can fill multiple squares. You can also fill an area using the FILL button (see WATER button above).
Note: Although forests/mountains appear solid light green on the map, when loaded in FIRESTORM or FIRESTORM PRO they will have the forest pattern like the maps supplied.

The following object buttons are only displayed on the ZOOM 2, 4, 8 or 16 maps.

BLDG button (brown):

The BLDG (building) button is used to put structures on the map. Clicking on this button with the left mouse button, selects this object. The object icon in the upper right will be a brown square. With this button selected clicking the left mouse button on any square on the map will put a small brown square inside a green square (building surrounded with medium vegetation).

RIVERS button (green with blue line):

The RIVERS button is used to draw rivers & streams on the map. It is recommended that the grid be on the map when using this button. Clicking on the vertical edge of a square draws a vertical light blue line on the map and clicking on a horizontal edge of  a square draws a horizontal line. Clicking any where else in the square has no effect except a buzz sound. Continue clicking on the edge of squares until the river is drawn.

ROADS button (green with white line):

The ROADS button is used to draw roads on the map. It is recommended that the grid be on the map when using this button. Clicking in the middle of an edge of a square draws a road from the middle of that square to the middle of the one next to that edge. Clicking any where else in the square has no effect except a buzz sound. Continue clicking on the edge of squares until the road is drawn.

Note: Roads can only be drawn in the vertical or horizontal directions.

RUNWAY button (green with yellow line):

The RUNWAY button is used to draw the two air fields and the helipad on the map. It is recommended that the grid be on the map when using this button. Clicking in the middle of an edge of a square draws a runway from the middle of that square to the middle of the one next to that edge. Clicking on the corner of a square draws a runway from the middle of that square to the middle of the square next to the corner (slanted  45 deg. line).The helipad can be drawn in a diamond or square shape.

UNITS button (white):

The UNITS button is used to place the four ground crews, the two air tankers and the helitack on the map. Each time you click on the UNITS button, a different Unit icon will be displayed in the icon box in the upper right. Click the UNITS button until the unit you wish to place is in the icon box then move the arrow to where on the map you want to place the unit and click the left mouse button. The unit will appear at that location. If you want to change the location, just move the arrow to the new location and click again. When you refresh the map (right mouse button) the unit will be placed only at that location. Ground crews should be placed on the south end of a dead end north-south  stretch of road for the crew to start properly in the simulation program. Air tankers should be placed on airfield runways, two air tankers may share the same field but be sure to put a little space between them to avoid confusion (look at the Yellowstone map).
Place the helitack on the helipad you have drawn.

Saving Maps:

To save a map you have created or modified use the SAVE MAP button. Clicking on SAVE MAP  displays the message in the lower right of the screen: "PRESS ENTER TO CONTINUE-ESC TO CANCEL ". Pressing the ENTER key on the keyboard displays the message in the lower right :"Enter file name"  , Pressing the ESC key cancels the SAVE MAP command, all other keys are ignored. Enter the name of the file you wish to create or the name of the file you loaded if you are modifying an existing map. Use 8 characters or less and don't enter the 'dot' extension. If you make a typing error use the backspace key. Hitting the enter key with a blank filename will cancel this command. When you have entered the file name and pressed enter, you will be asked to enter a map name, give your map a name using 23 characters or less and press enter. The message 'saving map file' will be displayed and when completed, 'file saved' will be displayed. If you enter the file name of an existing map file, the warning message 'FILE EXISTS!' will be displayed. If you wish to cancel the command press ESC key, if you wish to write over the file press ENTER key.

NOTE: In order to protect the map files that were provided with your simulation, any file name entered starting with the letters 'FSMAP' will display the error message 'RESERVED FILE NAME! HIT ANY KEY'.  When you hit any key, the save map command will be canceled. You can still modify the maps provided with your simulation by saving them to another file name!


If  you have any questions or comments regarding this program contact:

John Daigle
c/o Cricket Software
10680 West Rd.
 Redwood Valley Ca. 95470

Phone (707) 485-5565
	email  jjcricket@juno.com




         note: Windows & Windows 95 are  trademarks of Microsoft Corp.
