Following the Easy way to random stipple on a per pixel basis? thread, I made up a python script to implement the idea. I'm not sure it works very well to blend parts of the image, but it can do some cool-looking things such as this:. The attached zip contains the python and a quick html write-up.

Gimpchat users have the priviledge to try (and debug) it before the rest of the world, as well as finding a good name for it.

Have fun.

It took me a few tries to get there. This try, I made an orange background and blue text and merged the layers. I find it a likable script. I need to do some more experimenting with it.

I ran the script and my settings: W & D = 30, Quadratic.

Just to try something different, I selected the daffodil and made a path. This is not something I'd likely use the script for but it's interesting.

Cool script, can we name it "ofNutsdistress"
As it does a pretty darn good job of distressing pixels

Entropic edges is what I would call it.

First off, it works! Second, your included help doc has a link to your wrap-map script instead of the pixel path one

Here is an example of the end result... why I was looking for a randomizer in the first place (yes, I started the "other" thread too). Each clump of grass and/or sand represents a value given to one pixel by your script. It's modified beyond that in the game engine to extract a value from it's nearest neighbors too but I don't think that has a whole lot of impact. This sort of thing is easy to do manually but as I said in the other thread I'm working with masks on the scale of 5-10,000+ pixels where each pixel = one meter! The brush (from the other thread) works well for touch ups but I prefer your script for selecting long sections of a border that might represent several kilometers of terrain. Because it's path based it gives me quite a bit of control without sacrificing a lot of development speed.

Many thanks again!

That looks really good, Oktyabr.

What program did you say you are using to create this terrain by chance? Very realistic.

Good. Just ask in PM if you need small improvements.

Looks like the script works so well that I can't find where you used in the image above

Btw, care to provide a before/after example for the doc for when I put it on SourceForge?

The engine is Bohemia Interactive's Visitor3, in this case used to generate working maps for their ArmA 2 game. It does look good and the ability to create fantasy landscapes of huge scale is what lured me into it quite recently. I actually needed this (these) tools for a map I volunteered to do for another development crew as sort of a rush "can someone give me what I need"/learning experience, but they certainly have applications in many similar engines. My personal pet project is a volcanic island that is based in part on Hawaii (the basalt flows primarly) and inspired in large part by the highly volcanic Montserrat in the West Indies. I intend to make good use of these tools there too...

It's a common thing working on a representation of a large terrain to shorten the work by making simplistic "masks" that can tell the engine where to differentiate between terrain types... yellow for sand, green for grass, black for basalt, etc. Serious mappers can take months to get these masks dialed in where they need to be. As I primarily work with fantasy terrains I don't have quite the same concerns and can make use of such tools to turn a very simple two or three color bitmap into something more random... more "natural" looking... with ease. I'm not sure how it will work on interior terrains yet but for the rather chaotic transition from a sandy beach to grass covered dunes these tools are GOLDEN

I WAS using Filters/Noise/Spread to try and achieve the same sort of results but these tend to scramble pixels that I don't want moved too.



Absolutely! I can supply a simple mask image, before/after, as well as in game rendering of the same terrain if you like. I'm trying to wrap up my volunteer rush job project as I type this (ooops!) but if you can give me a day or two I'll come up with something for you.

Again, many thanks for the rapid responses and thoughtful solutions!

Cool, no hurry on my side.

Hi- So how is that different from spread? (Can you post a comparison?) I use spread a lot and would like to see what your script's advantages are.

Thanks,

-Rob A>

The spread filter is isotropic, my filter swaps pixels across a path. The density of the pixels can be adjusted. The density can be higher around the path. And the results are pout on a new layer.

In the image, from top to bottom, regular spread filter, filter in linear mode, filter in quadratic mode.

Ahhh! I get it now.

Thanks for the example!

-Rob A>

I'm interested in trying stuff like this but I have not got the foggiest how to save them as script files. I see the text there but dont know what to do with it.

Thats a pretty tag Gynsu..I'd love to see how it was made some day.

See sidebar at http://gimp-path-tools.sourceforge.net/