Maps

ID:152141
 
Dec 31 2007, 5:03 am
As with the real world, it only makes sense that changes to the landscape, well, stay changed.

However, just using a basic list and savefile, though simple and easy, is not that fast.

I have looked at both pif_MapLoader as well as SwapMaps, and I feel that pif is probably the best option at the current time.

But then there is the question : SHOULD the entire map be saveable?

Just because both as a player and a developer I am all for realism and unable to see anything but pros with it. So, I ask you the potential player base : what do you think?
Dec 31 2007, 10:36 am
Jamesburrow wrote:
But then there is the question : SHOULD the entire map be saveable?

Unless you're doing something like burrows in Hedgerow Hall where the entire map section is customized by the player (in which case SwapMaps still seems the better option, although I'm not to familiar with "pif" stuff), then the answers is NO.

Only save what needs to be saved. That means keeping track of which things the players can change and only saving those. If players can cut down trees, then keep track of which trees have been cut down. If players can build structures, keep track of where structures are built. There's no reason at all to go through the trouble of saving everything if everything isn't going to be changeable.
Dec 31 2007, 12:25 pm
In response to Foomer
Thats the thing. If it works as I intend, EVERYTHING will be changeable.
Building can be built or torn down, regular land can be turned into farm lands, rives can be diverted or dammed off, mountains can have tunnels built into them, etc...
Dec 31 2007, 12:39 pm
In response to Jamesburrow
Sounds like a whole bunch of potential that is going to result in people walling off the place new players spawn while laughing at the OMGNOOBZ.
Dec 31 2007, 12:46 pm
In response to Jamesburrow
Jamesburrow wrote:
Thats the thing. If it works as I intend, EVERYTHING will be changeable.
Building can be built or torn down, regular land can be turned into farm lands, rives can be diverted or dammed off, mountains can have tunnels built into them, etc...

Then save the whole map.
Dec 31 2007, 1:29 pm
In response to Jamesburrow
Jamesburrow wrote:
Thats the thing. If it works as I intend, EVERYTHING will be changeable.
Building can be built or torn down, regular land can be turned into farm lands, rives can be diverted or dammed off, mountains can have tunnels built into them, etc...

Well, think of it this way. When the map is saved, which is going to be the majority most of the time: Modified terrain or default terrain? Save whichever one is smaller.
Dec 31 2007, 3:39 pm
In response to Obs
Now, WHY didn't I think of that?

...

Re-read my post. That's what I want to do, my question was the best way to do it.
Dec 31 2007, 3:41 pm
In response to Garthor
Relax Garthor, I'm not completely incompetent (only marginally so ;-) ), there will be safeguards in place for that.
Dec 31 2007, 3:56 pm
In response to Jamesburrow
If it's an area disabling building, build around the area.

And if you want to save the whole map, the best and only way to do it is to use a for() loop.

If you want to save it neatly, don't ask me. :)
Jan 1 2008, 2:24 am
Just because both as a player and a developer I am all for realism and unable to see anything but pros with it. So, I ask you the potential player base : what do you think?

Saving and loading will be slooooooow if you try and do it all at once. I suggest dividing up the map into certain sized regions and save and load them independently as needed and only save if it changes from the default layout. And unless you want to save the map in an easily readable and editable format its much better to handle saving yourself since you can optimize it to load much faster or save much smaller or some of both depending on how you want to handle it.