What is Stratlas?
Stratlas is a tool for rendering 2d maps of popular Real-Time Strategy games to standalone image files. It aims for pixel-perfect accuracy (that is, what is rendered is exactly what you would see in-game) and support for many different RTS games. Ever wanted to look at the Total Annihilation maps outside the game, or have a poster-sized Big Game Hunters hanging by your desk? Now you can.

Why did you write this?
I have always been fascinated with maps, especially from RTS games, and the idea of studying the maps outside the game was very intriguing. Blizzard was on the right track with their Enlarged Map Images for Warcraft II and Starcraft, but I found them lacking: they are scaled down, rendered after the game has already started, incomplete, and JPEG compressed. In response I wrote pud2bmp, a tool to render Warcraft II images, but then decided to expand it into a full-blown RTS map tool after finding file formats for other popular games.

Why do I need the original game to make map images?
Stratlas is distributed without any copyrighted content: it uses the data files from the original game to render. This frees us from legal problems, simplifies development, and decreases the size of the Stratlas distribution. We want Stratlas to be easy to use, so in most cases you don't have to do anything more than locate the directory where the game is installed on your hard drive. The rest should be automated.

How can I help?
Try out the tool and report your findings! Bug reports and feature requests are welcome and appreciated. If you're a developer, take a look at the SVN repository - we would love to have contributions of new in_, out_, or hlp_ plugins.
Incidentally the list below may be incomplete: if you find a 2-d RTS that is not supported already (or planned for support), let us know and we can get it added. Finally, if you end up doing something especially cool with Stratlas (e.g. printing off a map poster or even an atlas), please share a picture and we'll post it on the site. Spread the word!

What language is Stratlas written in?
Stratlas is written in a mix of C and C++ and uses wxWidgets to provide a GUI.

What is the current feature set of Stratlas?

• Input Formats
  • Warcraft 1 (.SAV)
    Warcraft did not have an official map editor, though a third-party editor with limited functionality (WARCEDIT) was later released.
  • Warcraft 2 (.PUD)
    DOS version only (non-BNE)
• Output Formats
  • BMP (8- or 24-bit)
  • PNG

Which games are likely to be supported by Stratlas?
Much of this info is from the RTSC at http://www.rakrent.com/rtsc/rtsc_netgames.htm.

• Command and Conquer: Tiberian Dawn
• Command and Conquer: Red Alert
• Command and Conquer 2: Tiberian Sun
• Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2
• Dune 2000
• Warcraft: Orcs and Humans
• Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness
• Starcraft
• Total Annihilation
• Age of Empires
• Age of Empires 2
• Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds
• Rise of Nations
• Close Combat (series)
• Sudden Strike
• Sudden Strike 2
• Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns
• Settlers (series)
• Enemy Nations
• NetStorm
• Stronghold
• Supreme Ruler 2010
• Dark Reign
• KKND
• KKND 2
• Submarine Titans