Map Format

SVG format as world format?

There was a suggestion for using a simple ascii format for maps on the developers blog. It was seen as too restrictive, something more flexible would be needed.

A Common vector picture format would allow leveraging existing picture editors as map editors, and might thus be promising.

The problem is exactly how to encode the information required by the game in a vector picture.

Some thoughts:

• Allows use of existing, advanced editors
  • Defining and sharing patterns becomes possible
  • Maps are directly in a visible format
• Point entities, roads, and areas supported
• Raster import also supported..
• Color coding of areas & rasters
  • Morphology as hue?
  • Height as brightness?? - problem: Only 255 levels --- or are floats supported?? - still clamped to 0-1 -> some scaling factor needed...
    • Perhaps the morphology could provide detail height data, and just a general rough heightdata would be given with color..
    • Or perhaps a layer of contour lines can be extrapolated into height data. PeterBlake 04:56, 15 May 2007 (CEST)
• Pattern / texture (or color?) of roads defines their type
• Icon / prefab graphics of point defines its type - possible to attach parameters? At least scale - perhaps even unique item id:s, that are already existing on the server, or defined in separate file
• Should be possible to also export the current map from a world for editing

• A building is a group with building type or such, with a group for each floor. Lines for walls, a polygon defining floor & roof. Gabling of roof can be done by game.

• Object types and such should be defined in simple csv files, allowing editing in excel etc. - or editing on the wiki? - even better.
  • The engine should be able to reread these files on the fly?