"… save the downloaded file in your ...\Data\Scenarios\Elevation Maps folder as =filename=.dat. Note that you may need to change the extension to .dat. You must also add a text file in that same directory called =filename=.txt. Note that both =filename=s must be the same. In the txt. file, put the width (columns) and then the height (rows) of your downloaded data separated by only a space and no return at the end of the line, for example:

240 240

With the two files in place, you can choose the Elevation File from the drop down list on the Map Creation screen.

It should be enough to get you started, but if it isnt: ..."

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One of the great features of the EE editor is the ability to import elevation data and use it to create a map. What does this mean? It means you could use imported elevation data to recreate e.g. France and the map would recreate the country from the data. Create any part of the world in minutes!

First thing you need is the folder to put the data in. Go to wherever you have installed EE and find your Scenario Folder, e.g. C:\Program Files\Empire Earth\Data\Scenario. Make a new folder in here called Elevation Maps.

Next, somewhere to get the data from. We recommend the site below;

National Geophysical Data Center: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/mgg/ff/nph-newform.pl/mgg/topo/customdatacd

Data Center 2: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/gdas/gd_designagrid.html

The second link is better as it has no download limit - it also makes smaller files. Our example uses the first link.

In order to define the area you wish data for you need the following four figures;

• the latitude that defines the north of your map
• the latitude that defines the south of your map
• longditude that defines the east of your map
• longditude that defines the west of your map

As you can see this creates a square area with the land that falls between those coordinates. You can use the java map to draw the area you wish, or enter the coordinates by hand.

In our example we wish to create The British Isles and part of France so we give it the following figures;

• Northern most line of latitude is 60 degrees
• Southern most line of latitude is 47 degrees
• Western most line of long is -12 degrees
• Eastern most line of long is 10 degrees

Enter these figures and hit the select button. The data is generated and the page refreshes. You will see a message appear in the blue banner strip across the page that will look like this;

"Output data will be raw binary (with little-endian—Intel PC—byte order), is about a 13 by 22 degree area (1560 rows X 2640 columns = 4,118,400 grid cells), and each data value will occupy 2 bytes. The uncompressed data file size will be 8,236,800 bytes."

The important information here is the number of rows and columns, make a note of them as you will need these later.

Grab the data by pressing get data under the blue banner strip. A new page opens up where you will see three files at the top with different extensions, as follows - mydata.bin, mydata.hdr and mydata.fmt. The one you want is the .bin file so right click on the link and save as, then save to your Elevation Maps folder, giving it whatever name you like and changing the extension from .bin to .dat.

WARNING: these files are often quite large, for the above example an 8MB file is generated.

Ok, you've got your data. In the Elevation Maps folder in Explorer, create a new text file and give it the same name as the file you just downloaded, i.e. if it is called BritainAndFrance.dat call your text file BritainAndFrance.txt. Open the text file and put the number of rows and columns you made a note of. The columns must come first, then a space, then the rows, so in our example this would be 2640 1560, then save and close the text file.

Open the EE Editor. Click on the mountain icon to get the Elevation Screen, then select your file from the drop down list under the Elevation File label. 4 more settings appear, set them as follows;

• Water Depth 2 or 3
• Water Cutoff around 1000
• Land Height 9 or 10
• Land Cutoff 2000 or 3000

Set the Map Width, choose the Terrain you want then hit "Create Map".

And that's it! One map in a few seconds, saving you hours of painstaking recreation. Experiment with different settings to see the effects of scale between the land and any units you place. You will also have to play around with the land and water cutoff values at times if the imported terrain looks too mountainous.

Some figures for you to try (note you will need the second link that has no download limit for these);

Africa:

• North 37.539444
• South -40.403893
• West -18.170559
• East 63.498604

Antartica:

• North -60.501945
• South -90.0
• West -180
• East 180

Asia:

• North 81.290543
• South -10.93
• West 25.663883
• East 180.0

Australia:

• North -10.05139
• South -43.66
• West 112.907211
• East 153.64

Europe:

• North 81.851929
• South 34.808884
• West -10.474724
• East 68.931366

North America:

• North 83.623596
• South 7.206111
• West -179.142
• East -52.614449

South America:

• North 13.378611
• South -55.919724
• West -109.44917
• East -29.84

The World:

• North 90
• South -90
• West -180
• East 180