EQ Zone "Previewer"

[Mongrel]

I was curious about the WLD file format and WCs OpenZone always makes me jealous, so I decided to write my own zone viewer.

I can load zones and objects just fine and fly around. Transparent/Masked textures aren't really working yet, but that won't take long. Also it's kinda slow right now, but unoptimized, since I was learning WLDs while I was writing the viewer.

(Note: I know, there's another zone viewer out there, but I never really liked the fact that it's closed source, plus it's not THAT advanced.)

This, in itself, doesn't justify the time spent, so I'm thinking of extending this to make it a "zone previewer" for EQEmu.

I could connect to the DB and populate the zones with the mobs (with dummies as models, since we can't load the actual EQ models).

The viewer would always show your loc, show the aggro radius (large 3D circle on the ground or maybe a sphere) of mobs, the loot, stats, etc... (maybe by clicking on it), the names of all placed objects and things like that.

This would allow world builders to quickly preview a zone without having to use the client. And it would be possible to show additional information about the mobs which would otherwise need complicated commands.

Now, here's my question:
Would you be interested in this?

[Kroeg]

http://www.rpgexpert.com/articles/EverQuest-Viewing-Zones-Offline.htm

Great Idea, but just know that it has been done.

Although, something that would be new and cool would be the ability to be able to view animated textures on-the-fly (like you're really in the zone) in the "previewer", and stuff like that. Otherwise, it'd only be an extra app to load to do the one thing that openzone already does. Hope this helps.

[Mongrel]

Read my post again :)

I know that there's a zone viewer, which is why want to add the DB stuff to make it more usable for EQEmu.

[Trumpcard]

If you could meld in the ability to manipulate the objects, say visually move a mob around, change its facing, etc, then you'd have an awesome world building tool

[Kroeg]

that would be awesome, and would probably get used by everyone..

Mongrel: sorry man, I shouldn't read the forum before 7am... sometimes tired eyes don't read everything. Actually, your idea is awesome and I, for one, would love it.

[farce]

So what you're saying is to create an EQ zone viewer, with some code written to allow you to view spawns ( but maybe not with models ) and to place them, edit loot, spawngroups and such, perhaps paths?

Kinda like EQemu and an eq client... =P

But you're right.. a custom interface for it would be much better than #commands.

I say yes!

[Mongrel]

This is in no way meant to be a client. It should never communicate with the server.

A ZoneViewer that is able to communicate with EQEMu -> A ZoneViewer that is able to communicate with live server -> Lots of trouble with SoE -> BAAAAD thing!

:)

[samandhi]

If you could meld in the ability to manipulate the objects, say visually move a mob around, change its facing, etc, then you'd have an awesome world building tool

There IS such a basic tool out there that you can do all this, except you will have to stick with using #commands like we do, and that basic viewer is called Ethernalquest <smile>

[Kroeg]

Are you being serious, or are you just trying to knock your post count up? lol :lol:

[Windcatcher]

A ZoneViewer that is able to communicate with live server -> Lots of trouble with SoE

I doubt that could ever even happen, let alone be a problem for SOE. I doubt anyone would ever be able to 100% recreate the encryption anyway, and it would be absolutely trivial for SOE to detect anyone using a client other than theirs to connect to their servers. I don't think you need worry about creating a client. Frankly I look forward to laughing (hard) at the nimrods who'd use it to try to cheat on EQLive and get their behinds banned.

The only thing I was worried about when writing OpenZone was if people tried to use it to cheat ingame. Not as a client, but if people tried to change existing SOE zones. That's why OpenZone doesn't have the ability to load .WLD files. It would be utter child's play for me to add that capability, but I won't -- because cheating would indeed then be easy and that isn't my intention at all (and I'm not interested in antagonizing SOE for no reason).

WC

[Shadow-Wolf]

actualy wind they wouldn't be able to play if you skip the patcher servers wont let you in atleast i dont think they would be able to cause i went past the patcher to eqlive servers(not for cheating reasons i didn't even know Openzone or custom zones existed) and i kept gettin 1017 until i patched(and there was nothing for the patcher to DL)

[Mongrel]

Hmm, I stopped playing live over a year ago, but back then it was possible to skip the patcher. I did it every time, because the patcher was/is so annoyingly slow, hehe.

[1010101]

I still skip the patcher on a daily basis. It can certainly be done. From past experience, however, I seem to recall that if you try to use a modified executable (well, a significantly modified executable, anyway), it'll dump you rather than let you log all the way in. If I'm remembering correctly, zoning into a modified S3D caused the server to dump you, too. It's been a few years since I've done any experimentation with that, though, so my memories might not be correct.

[Daeath]

If you could meld in the ability to manipulate the objects, say visually move a mob around, change its facing, etc, then you'd have an awesome world building tool

Mongrel, if your viewer could both read and write to the DB then you would take an uber-like status with much of the world building community; ie. asked to kiss babies, be put on christmas card mailing lists, name in lipstick on mirrors/bathroom stalls, etc...

Seriously, a 3D viewer with SQL query/statement capabilities would definately top the download charts. And, if you throw in a way to view npc movement/wandering AND/OR quest interaction (practically the whole client, I know)- stop the presses! I for one would be the first in line to download it, nay - I would even think about donating to such a worthy charity - thinking being the keyword, of course. ;)

[Chicomalo]

:shock: Wow! if you can come up with something like that, I think that would kick some serious a$$. I am not much of a coder so I won't have any idea how it can be possible, but if you know a away and have some idea in how to make it happen. Then more power to you bro. The mind is a very powerful tool that if you can put your mind into anything. It can be done.

So, Wish you best of luck if you start a project like that, would love to see the result in the end. I think it would make it easy for alot of world builders and peepz.

:D

[sandy]

hello =)
if you can do a 3D viewer, you can do a 3d editor, and now, it's what worldbuilders want ^^
include the abilities to put and remove monsters in the 3d view, to change their stats in a npc editor, to change their loot by dbl cliking on em and assign em one or more lootables you can create before in a looteditor you can access in the menu, that's what we need =)
something like warcraft 3 or neverwinter editor ^^

[Mongrel]

Just a little update:
Zone Previewer is almost done, still working on the UI, to make everything a bit easier to use.

But I'm having exams right now and one project required me to work on it for 3 days with 12 hours / day to get it done in time, so I didn't code that much in the last two weeks.

Another question though:
I intend to make screenshots of all 300+ races (not including all the different skins though) and use them to display mobs. Distributing screenshots of eq data is fine, right?

[Daeath]

I intend to make screenshots of all 300+ races (not including all the different skins though) and use them to display mobs. Distributing screenshots of eq data is fine, right?

What, like in-game sprites? Going back to the good ol' Doom days! <sniff> Those were the days... To save yourself some time Mongrel there's a 'server handbook' I DL'd from the forums somewhere - it's in PDF format that already has snapshots of all the classes and thier various textures.

Is your previewer going to be able to read and write to the db? Will it handle loot/mob stats as well as spawn info?

Well, despite whatever you do - I give you snaps for donating your free time to the community. Thanks!

[Mongrel]

>> What, like in-game sprites? Going back to the good ol' Doom
>> days! <sniff> Those were the days...
yup, hehe. Not really like those 2d sprites though, I'll map the images around a box with a front and a back view, that way a world builder can see the heading of the mob right away.

>> there's a 'server handbook'
I know, but those pictures are just "normal" in-game screenshots, I need two pictures per race (front and back) in front of a single colored background so that I can mask out the actual mob image.

>> Is your previewer going to be able to read and write to the db?
>> Will it handle loot/mob stats as well as spawn info?
read/write: yes
loot: not yet
mob stats: yes, on a per npc_type basis
spawn info: yup

[1010101]

Another question though:
I intend to make screenshots of all 300+ races (not including all the different skins though) and use them to display mobs. Distributing screenshots of eq data is fine, right?

It wouldn't be much different than posting screenshots taken in-game, really. I don't see how you could get in any trouble. I'm no lawyer, though...

[Daeath]

So Mongrel, what's the status? You building this or what? Desperate server admins want to know! ;)

[Mongrel]

yes, yes, I'm building this :)

Though, as I already mentioned above, RL stuff had interfered, so I couldn't work on it for a bit. Got one last presentation tomorrow, which means you can expect a release by the end of the week.

[Turath]

hey, was wondering if you could add in the ability to move and place objects too instead of just npc's, unless you posted you are planning to add that and I missed it, in that case can just ignore me

but, in the client all you can do it click objects to use, some can't even use, is only decoration, but sounds like with this program you could make something to represent the object and could move the thing around to just the way you want it to be and then have it saved to the database that way

prob be real nice for placeing tradeskill things and other decorations or teleports or whatever you want instead of having to go in the client stand where you think you want it get the loc go and use eqemu admin or something to add it to the database start your world up log in then see you got the heading or wanted it to the left or right a little bit :)

well just a suggestion incase you didn't think of it already, but sounds like an awesome idea you got going here with this program you're making

[vesuvias]

I was wondering are you planning on realeasing source for this and if so what language are you doing it in. Please do release source. This project sound great, thanks for putting in the effort.

Ves

[Mongrel]

Yes, source will be released (C++). However, only the actual program itself, not the engine I'm using (which was also written by me, but I'm using it for other projects as well, so I cannot release the source).