Unofficial maps in game

[Eloa]

So what is the official name of this mod? is it quibmap or what? I need to have a NAME so I can make a graphic and some other stuff. TESTING POI submission db is up at maps.eq2interface.com. It is in testing/developing status only. If you guys have comments, suggestions, dislikes, or likes about it just let me know and I'll fix it while its early on and I still can.

[Quib]

I'd rather not have my name in the title; I had thrown the generic name "Advanced Map Window" on it when I uploaded our first release to the downloads section. But that hardly fits with what we're doing here. Maybe "Exhaustive Map Project" or the "Comprehensive Cartography Concern" or something lame like that with good initials (EMP/CCC with the previous examples).

If anyone wants to throw out some suggestions I imagine we can agree on something.

If quibmap came about due to the littering of QM_* throughout the xml, it's because QM are my initials (for my online persona) and I was making sure objects had unique names (which I later realized isn't as important in EQ2 UI XML as it was with EQ1 UI XML).

Quib

[sunthas]

I call it quib's map when refering others to it

[Eloa]

ATIYEW - All the info you could ever want
LOMAI- Lots of maps and icons
YCGMDTT - You cant get more detailed than this
WWlI - Window With lots of Icons
^^ hehe. very descriptive, but a lil dumb lol
TIMP -The Integrated Map Project
MAP - ...cant think of a good acronym for MAP...
MMLS - Multiple Map Library Sytstem
AMI - Advanced Map Interface

[ger]

Originally Posted by Eloa

MAP - ...cant think of a good acronym for MAP...

Modular Atlas Project.

[Eloa]

Originally Posted by ger

Modular Atlas Project.

Hmm...

.

[Zonx]

Maybe this is old hat to you all, but I've figured out a way to grab clean versions of any maps that autoload in game. No fog, No Icons.

Figured this out while trying to get a new window to automatically load whatever is shown in the Map window. Sadly it doesn't appear that I can auto-reference styles embeded in another window and I can't extract the image source reference to create an identicle style in my new window.

[Killarny]

Originally Posted by Killarny

I was just down in Stormhold on levels one and two, and the maps didn't show up for either level. Am I doing something wrong?

Originally Posted by Quib

Short answer, yes. I've been there quite a few times and had no trouble with Stormhold.

Various troubleshooting stuff:
1) Was there just ugly solid blocks of color instead of a map?
2) Were there still loc icons and the buttons to change floors?
3) Was there a current map tab while you were in Stormhold?

If 1 and 2, you probably are missing the map .DDS files for Stormhold somwhow.
If 3 there's something wrong with your map XML file.
If your problem is unrelated to those questions try and give me a detailed explanation.

Quib

1) No solid blocks of color, just a black background.
2) Yes, all the loc icons and mapchange buttons were there.
3) I didn't notice if the current map tab was showing, but I assume so.. it WAS attempting to show a map..

As far as missing the dds files, I don't think I am.. I have the files that were distributed with the first 'release' in my images folder. map_stormhold.dds and map_stormhold2.dds are there, along with all the other maps that work properly.

The map XML file I'm using is the latest one I've seen posted here in this thread.

Note that this issue is not a new problem. I've always had this problem with the Stormhold maps, but I had always just assumed that it was something that would get fixed eventually, so I didn't mention it. I say this so that you don't think that it had anything to do recent patches.

Edit: Okay, I'm an idiot. I had deleted my entire mod directory and repopulated it a few nights ago, and when I unzipped the 'advanced map' mod, I had just assumed it would create the proper directory structure in my images folder. So, I didn't have the map dds files in the images/maps directory - my bad.

I will try Stormhold again and see if I am still having problems.

[tonyis3l33t]

Originally Posted by Zonx

Maybe this is old hat to you all, but I've figured out a way to grab clean versions of any maps that autoload in game. No fog, No Icons.

Figured this out while trying to get a new window to automatically load whatever is shown in the Map window. Sadly it doesn't appear that I can auto-reference styles embeded in another window and I can't extract the image source reference to create an identicle style in my new window.

ive got em extracted already or at least all the ones i can go to at lvl 24...will get zek, EL, and all that once i get proper lvl.

[Killarny]

Could someone make a better tradeskill instance map? Apologies to whoever made the one we're using now, but it runs off the page, and it doesn't really look very professional.

Also the icons for the tradeskill tables look odd too.. can these be changed?

Sorry if I sound ungrateful, I'm not I am just trying to make suggestions that will improve the quality of the mod

Also, after getting my dds format plugin finally working in PSP, I looked at the Caves 2 map, and the problems with it not fitting in the window are dds related as well. The actual dds image is cut off at the sides.

Edit: I posted this same message earlier, but somehow it got deleted, so I'm reposting it.. sorry!

[Quib]

Originally Posted by Killarny

Could someone make a better tradeskill instance map?
Also the icons for the tradeskill tables look odd too.. can these be changed?

Also, after getting my dds format plugin finally working in PSP, I looked at the Caves 2 map, and the problems with it not fitting in the window are dds related as well. The actual dds image is cut off at the sides.

You also said "I had just assumed it would create the proper directory structure in my images folder." in the post before your last.

I'll zip it with directory structure this time, that should alleviate many problems.

The tradeskill instance map was just a fun project of Tony's as I recall and one of his earliest maps. It runs up to the edges, but shouldn't actually be going off.

As for those icons, I think they're really clever; they symbolize the type of things you craft at the various stations.

As for caves floor 2, I've said it like a jillion times, it's really hard to do multi-floor maps. To fix it so the map doesn't have to go off the edges, it'd take a zonerect and image overhaul (which means repositioning all the loc icons too) and that's just not something worth bothering with at the moment when we should be working on getting more zones done.

I do appreciate the feedback, it's just a clash of opinion and precision we shouldn't worry about at the moment.

Zonx, I really like the vermins snye touch up, but I'm not too pleased with the others; there's far too many graphical anomalies for my taste. An example of what I mean, in map_thewailingcaves.dds, you've added a lovely shadow around the edges, but there's little specks of tan between the shadow and the black border and there's a weird chunk bitten out of the far upper right hallway. Wailing Caves 2 lacks texturing on the tan fill, and most of the edges are too thin and inconsistent in their thickness. The outlines on the varsoon maps are badly speckled, and the fill lacks texture.

Don't take the criticisms too harshly, again this is largely my personal opinion and my abstract sense of uniformity.

Quib

[Zonx]

Originally Posted by tonyis3l33t

ive got em extracted already or at least all the ones i can go to at lvl 24...will get zek, EL, and all that once i get proper lvl.

Please share. It'll save me the hassle of extracting them.

Also wanted to comment that I'm a bit concerned that some images obviously pulled from SOE resources and converted to the appropriate map formats are stamped with your sig, giving the impresion you did the artwork. The Sprawl map is one such example. I know it takes work to convert the art to the correct size/format, but how would you feel if I stamped your art with my sig after making touchups?

Zonx, I really like the vermins snye touch up, but I'm not too pleased with the others; there's far too many graphical anomalies for my taste.

Yah not happy about the edging on some of them myself, but without the original layered files to work from, I made due with the Magicwand wand to subtract the background. Even with the annomolies, I still like most of them better than what I started with, particularly the unfilled, no shadow originals.

If Tony wants to pass me layered files, I'll be happy to produce cleaner images.

[tonyis3l33t]

killarny i made the tradesill map. Just threw it together real quick cuz it wasnt really important. I just thought it would be funny Not sure if ill ever remake it since it has no importance whatsoever. Feel free to redo it yourself tho

as for the icons i was experimenting with using icons from other text files. I kept them similar to what the tables do hehe



hey guys i wrote this script that will take a raw eq2log file and extract every loc into a textfile that looks like

-171.42, 11.02, -69.20
-170.08, 10.91, -69.87
-165.93, 9.11, -72.23
-163.50, 9.78, -73.33
-159.85, 7.28, -73.29
-156.25, 6.92, -73.55
-153.27, 7.00, -73.44
-149.89, 7.38, -73.27
-146.97, 7.60, -72.63

i think ill end up throwing it on an angelfire site since i dont think this eq2interface will allow vbscript

[sunthas]

Originally Posted by Zonx

If Tony wants to pass me layered files, I'll be happy to produce cleaner images.

Most of the map orginals are burried in this thread

[diztorded]

I know it took me WAY too long to get these so I made it a little easier to put into the XML.

[Quib]

Originally Posted by diztorded

I know it took me WAY too long to get these so I made it a little easier to put into the XML.

Ah! Thank you a ton, and there's 0 errors in the xml (run the main map xml through UIBuilder then open it with wordpad, there'll be tons of screwed up characters littering the XML at seemingly random places and they take a few minutes to find and fix).

Quib

[diztorded]

Here it is tested, tweeked, and loved.

[tonyis3l33t]

good job diztorded

check out my latest discovery....if you already knew, shame on you for not sharing

1 /loc coordinate = 10px on our little maps.

i found this by facing 90 degrees, standing at xxx,-1.99 location, then stepped forward until i was at xxx,-0.99.

Took screenshots at both locations. Then i pasted one image on top of the other and made it 50% transparent.

using the ruler on the side i found out how far apart the tips of the arrows were.

[Cutanea]

i know this is a dumb question but still gonna ask

i downloaded this one
http://www.eq2interface.com/download...fo.php?id=3391

is that the most current, or do I have to go through the thread and grab all the updates?

either way...this thing rocks my socks off

[Quib]

Originally Posted by tonyis3l33t

good job diztorded

check out my latest discovery....if you already knew, shame on you for not sharing

1 /loc coordinate = 10px on our little maps.

i found this by facing 90 degrees, standing at xxx,-1.99 location, then stepped forward until i was at xxx,-0.99.

Took screenshots at both locations. Then i pasted one image on top of the other and made it 50% transparent.

using the ruler on the side i found out how far apart the tips of the arrows were.

This is map dependent. It's just coincidence that this was the ratio of pixels to locs on the map you tested on. Try the same test in a small zone like the tradeskill instance or Crow's Resting Place, you should find it's a few more pixels per loc value. If you had squeezed the varsoon map onto 1 page, it'd be very few pixels per loc, whereas as 3 maps, you spread out the pixel to loc ratio considerably.

Cutanea, that is the most recent (and only so far) official public release. If you wanted to be on the cutting edge of our mapping endeavor, you'd need to grab the newest xml from here (this thread) as well as a handful of maps.

Quib

[tonyis3l33t]

heres Tradeskill zone made up a lot better.
included the xml for icon placement and new zonerect. XML is based off the one diztorded just posted

two zips cuz im too lazy to put both the files in the same directory then delete them

edit
updated the tradeskill map to have my sig. please use the newly attached map Quib.

[tonyis3l33t]

heres the map window with a realtime /loc displayed in the titlebar right next to the loc finder

[Eloa]

So thats the tradeskill map? I like it, even the icons.

[Eloa]

Since there was really no decision on a name, I chose what I thought was the best one to put on the website, EQ2MAP or MAP for short, for EverQuest 2 Modular Atlas Project. If you guys want something else, tell me to change it.

[Quib]

Originally Posted by tonyis3l33t

heres the map window with a realtime /loc displayed in the titlebar right next to the loc finder

I'm not gonna support the loc value in the map window. It crowds the path finder where you placed it, and it's just so unneeded and imperfect when compared to the rapidly updating compass tooltip.

Your new tradeskill map's been committed to my main folder and the icons and zonerect have been noted.

Quib