Hi all, new member on board.

[Redrobes]

Hmm and now I understand what your trying to do then I do hope your aware of VTTs and programs like my ViewingDale. It seems as though you are using a set if icons and building the maps based on limited sets of tiles. This is VTT killer territory. VTTs are virtual table tops which render out maps based on images with tokens on top. In mine the map *is* as set of tokens as the underlying image is optional. So if you are going to make your map from tokens anyway then it might be best to do it in a similar fashion.

VTTs play the game via custom internet connections through the app. Usually the app can be a server or a client so one person hosts a map and the rest log in with same app but running as clients and these map tokens are sent over the link or just the positions and orientations of them are sent and the map is rendered locally from this data set.

In other words its like sending the ascii and getting an app to draw the bitmapped based map locally. As you move about the new ascii is sent.

But in my last V1.08 release that is now sporting a new server side rendering and http browser based view of the map as well as the more normal way of doing it.

So in theory, if the map had fixed icon sets then it could all be done like this. VTTs offer a way to move top down bitmapped characters and monsters about. Its just like a MUD but more RPG usually but it never had to be like that, thats just how they are normally used.

Anyway - im waffling again. Check out my ViewingDale but also MapTool and I think BattleGroundsRPG is also in the set of VTTs that suit this type of style.

You have 5 hrs on me so I am off to bed now ! Plenty to think about I reckon.

[Jeff_Wilson63]

OK. You already have database containing the information used to the generate the ASCII view. You can take each ASCII representation / database definition and build an image for it. Then you rewrite to substitute the image for the ASCII in your display. As time goes on you can create new image tiles and update your database. You could even start by putting in solid color blocks.

It sounds really easy. What am I overlooking? I don't know what your back-end is written in, but overlaying a monster/character token is easy in all the languages I know.

[Aylorian]

OK. You already have database containing the information used to the generate the ASCII view. You can take each ASCII representation / database definition and build an image for it. Then you rewrite to substitute the image for the ASCII in your display. As time goes on you can create new image tiles and update your database. You could even start by putting in solid color blocks.

It sounds really easy. What am I overlooking? I don't know what your back-end is written in, but overlaying a monster/character token is easy in all the languages I know.

You're right Jeff, in it's simplest form that is exactly it. That would be the first step to get the graphic driver in place and working (and is partly done). Everything is going to look blocky of course until we get into blending edges etc, but it's a starting point.

However, after seeing some of the fantastic maps here it got me to thinking about it the other way around - maybe we should commission maps of our areas based on the ascii map plus their room descriptions then break those down into the tiles.

After seeing some of the work in the links Redrobes included where he and RobA generated much more realistic looking dungeons and maps using scripts it seems we might be able to have a much more elaborate "auto-generated" starting point.

Thanks to everyone for showing so much interest in this, very impressed with this forum so far!

[RobA]

Interesting thread!

My script is based on Gimp, RR's isn't, so depending on whether you want to pregenerate tiles, or render them on the fly either could be an option.

My script has a batch mode built in, so it can be pointed at a whole directory of B&W templates, then set running.

-Rob A>

[Aylorian]

Thanks Rob. RR recommended I take a look at ImageMagick which has a C interface - the game itself is written in C. As the game itself is ultimately the source for all the room layouts, there might be a good fit there combined with some of the techniques in the pages here.

As I told RR, after 12 years working on a text game I feel like I'm trying to write a novel but just learning the alphabet. It's fun, but kind of daunting too

[Jeff_Wilson63]

However, after seeing some of the fantastic maps here it got me to thinking about it the other way around - maybe we should commission maps of our areas based on the ascii map plus their room descriptions then break those down into the tiles.

OK. I see what you're trying to do now. Keep in mind that players like things to be consistent, and part of the way to part of the way to make them feel at the center of the action is to give the same degree of development to all areas. You probably know all that already, but it means that development can go in two ways. First you build a generic tile set, and then give your mapmakers a call to develop maps with the same look and feel. OR, you could have a map built, and then turn the tiles created from it into your generic images. Keeping the same the same look and feel throughout your tile set is fairly important.

[NeonKnight]

Welcome to the Guild!