Ryandor.com

Has anyone tried this? If anyone has please post links, I was playing a few free UO shards when I lost interest, because I've noticed there are only 2 types of free UO shards out there,

ones that attempt to copy the official servers either past or present

ones that attempt to be the opposite of the official servers yet are misguided by over dying and adding artwork that has no business being in the game resulting in a type of furcadia trippy experience

I will attempt to rebuild 2 entire maps copying Ultima VII The Black Gate & Ultima VII part two Serpent Isle, it may take a long time but I think it would be the perfect setting for a free shard, no made up crap simply straight from U7, I'm all for PvP but the lack of a storyline or any quests at all results in mindless pvp having no point, too much rpg results in the same thing a mix of both would be good, but I know if a server with these things existed already I would be playing it, along with other vets.

Since I've never edited a map before can anyone tell me what programs I should start with? I have done some google searches and have found many good programs that are no longer supported so I'd just like a current list, thanks.

_________________
--- Razimus
serpentisle.com

Map making utilities generally fall into 2 categories:

1. Programs that convert bitmap graphics into a map. (Dragon, Map Generator 2, UO Landscaper).

2. Programs that let you edit the map 1 block at a time (World Maker, WorldForge, etc.)

If you are going to build your new map from scratch, I would recommend that you start with a bitmap-to-MUL program for the large work (laying out your map terrain, etc.); and then use a map editing program for detail work and touch-up.

Recommended programs:

For your bitmap-to-MUL program: Either Map Generator 2 (recommended) or Dragon.

Dragon uses 1 bitmap for both altitude and terrain, so it might be a little easier to use - however, it doesn't support 3-way transitions so your map will need a lot of touch up, especially the coastlines.

Dragon is also restricted to 256 terrains/altitudes (because it is all on 1 indexed bitmap with 256 color palette). Map Generator 2 and UO Landscaper both use 2 bitmaps, 1 for terrain and 1 for altitude, so basically you can have 256 different terrain types, and 256 total altitude conversions - a lot more flexible. Both programs also support 3-way transitions, so less touch-up needed with completed maps. However the learning curve may be a little steeper.

UO Landscaper is similar to Map Generator 2 in the way it works, but it has some bad issues with memory management which makes it difficult/impossible to compile a Britannia sized map. So I would not recommend UOL for a Map0 as you might not be able to compile it.

For your direct map editing program: World Maker.

Punt is the author of both Map Generator 2 and World Maker and visits here from time to time.

I believe you can find all files at either:

http://punt.demuria.com

or

http://www.ryandor.com/files

_________________
-= HellRazor =-
Shattered Sosaria is coming!
http://www.shatteredsosaria.com

Thanks Hellrazor, well I tried to work with Map Generator but it seemed a bit complex, I also tried dragon but couldn't get it to run for some reason. I'll try it out again but I found this webpage

http://ultima.lonet.cz/download.php

and it has a lot of programs, I just started using 'WorldForge 6.4 R2', and it's easy to use, just for the base tiles on map0.mul, I'll continue to try to learn the other tools but I tossed up a webpage and hopefully the project will gain some momentum.

the page for the project is: http://razimus.com/u7

_________________
--- Razimus
serpentisle.com

Nice web page!

I've actually done a Serpent Isle map, it is about the size of Hythloth Isle in UO. Finished the 3 cities but haven't started on dungeons and temples.

_________________
-= HellRazor =-
Shattered Sosaria is coming!
http://www.shatteredsosaria.com

Thanks, Cool so you made a SI map, can I see a shot of it? Want to join in the project? I know mapping is harder than it looks and if one is already made it would be nice to possibly use. I've googled and haven't found any one that has made any u7 UO style maps, I kind of pictured a Serpent Isle map would be bigger than Avatar Isle, but maybe a smaller map would suit it better, especially on a free shard, giant maps on free shards with few players are kind of a waste when you don't run into players for hours on end.

Just a few words on the project to those reading..

The project is in it's infancy so any help is appreciated. This is the first place I have even mentioned the UO to U7 project so I will post about it at a few other forums. While I was placing a few tiles I noticed they matched up with current roads already on the map. UO's original world was supposed to be within the time frame of Ultima II to VII. The Britain of Ultima VII looks much more industrial with the farms and houses closer together as if it were set in UO's future, and since it is over 10 years since the release it makes it a storyline easy to follow for those that never played Ultima VII.

I know there are a lot of re-make projects out there but none for Ultima VII, some of the re-makes are in 3d, and the 2d ones use very old looking
graphics, I prefer 2d to 3d personally and my notebook can run 2d easily as opposed to impossibly being able to run anything with 3d accelerator requirements, it's safe to say UO will be the last 2d Ultima to ever be made, it's the perfect choice of an engine for a remake considering how many tools have been made to edit it. Anyone that wants to join the team to help build the map, or get the word out on the project please let me know, scripter/coders will be needed in the future as well.

_________________
--- Razimus
serpentisle.com

Well I hear you can turn BMP files into MAP.MUL files is this true? How do I do this? I have the full size resolution maps of The Black Gate & Serpent Isle in bmp format, what program do I need to make this conversion?

_________________
--- Razimus
serpentisle.com

Dragon, Map Generator 2 or UO Landscaper works that way.

But you need to convert your BMP according to the color scheme (i.e. palette) of the program you choose. Thats the fun part! I normaly start with a of map I found on the net and do exacly that.

Yeah, you won't be able to do a direct conversion (it's not quite as easy as just feeding the scan of the map to the program).

The bmp-to-map programs basically have configuration files that align a palette color on the bitmap to a terrain type and/or altitude.

When I did my SI map, I started with a scan of the cloth map, then used that for the outline of the terrain and to guide me in putting mountains and such in the right places. But otherwise, the work was all manual.

Unfortunately my SI map is spread out between a few locations right now and I need to locate them all (yes I am notoriously disorganized). I have it scattered between several different places, some of it is already in MULS and statics, some of it is still not "frozen" to map yet from the emulator and is in different installations of the emulator, so its kind of spread out and I have to find all the pieces! Right now the terrain is done but probably needs some tweaking and all 3 cities are done. The cities aren't exact copies but are fairly close. The dungeons and temples still need to be finished (so if you want, work on those and if I ever piece my SI map together we can just add the dungeons to it).

_________________
-= HellRazor =-
Shattered Sosaria is coming!
http://www.shatteredsosaria.com

Okay well hope you find the SI pieces, this all seems like a lot of work, I think I could actually manually build the Britannia map easier just by altering the existing map, it won't be as exact but it's not supposed to be anyway.

_________________
--- Razimus
serpentisle.com

Ok thnx, I won't be needing a cloth map scan version after all I'm almost done with the exact ful rez version painted to few colors, the cloth map is extremely inaccurate anyway, it's almost as though it's a concept sketch compared to the actual layout of cities and roads. I'll read up on it but I hope the Dragon palette is at least 25 colors, but even if it's 15 I can easily change the number of colors with a fully painted map change grass to any color in a few seconds of flood coloring.

_________________
--- Razimus
serpentisle.com

Dragon uses a 256 color indexed bitmap. The main limitation is that both terrain and altitude are in a single bitmap, so you are limited to 256 total terrain/altitude combos (which add up quickly). The other limitation of Dragon is that 3-way transitions (especially on coastlines) will need to be touched up manually since Dragon doesn't support them.

Map Generator 2 and UOL both have 1 bitmap for terrain and 1 for altitude, which basically allows up to 256 different terrain types and 256 different altitudes. And they both support 3-way transitions.

_________________
-= HellRazor =-
Shattered Sosaria is coming!
http://www.shatteredsosaria.com

Where can I get a copy of Map Generator 2? And I tried to use Dragonmod11
but I can't get it to convert, I have a painted map... I don't see any decent help readmes on converting... and yes I've searched extensively.

_________________
--- Razimus
serpentisle.com

Just two topics above: http://www.ryandor.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3019

_________________
Admin of Northern Winds shard.

It may be missing some required DLL's tho. I'm planning on uploading a complete version to Ryandor's file section over the weekend.

_________________
-= HellRazor =-
Shattered Sosaria is coming!
http://www.shatteredsosaria.com