View pathing grids?

[N0ctrnl]

Is there a (current) tool to load pathing grids from a zone? I know there have been a few of them over the years, but can't seem to find anything current.

I'm trying to assign NPCs to pathing grids in a few zones, but having to find the grid_entries manually and line them up isn't working well at all for me and this would hopefully help.

Thanks!

[Shendare]

There used to be an in-game command to make pathing grid waypoints appear as NPCs so you could visualize them. That still working?

[N0ctrnl]

I guess I've got a disconnect in my mind on that. Yeah, it still works (#path shownodes), but that just loads from the zone's .path file, does it not?

[Shendare]

Ah, maybe it is. Not useful for db waypoints at all, then.

[N0ctrnl]

Doesn't seem to be. I appreciate the reply though!

Here's what I've found so far...

Theeper's grid viewer tool from 2008: http://www.eqemulator.org/forums/showthread.php?p=159530 - It's old VS source code, so I'm working through getting the environment setup to compile it. No luck yet.

The (deprecated) Map and Path viewer from the source tree years ago: https://code.google.com/p/projecteqemu/downloads/detail?name=map_path_view.zip&can=1&q= - The EXE actually runs, but that's as far as I get.

[Shendare]

Hopefully somebody's got something more recent and functional they can chime in with.

One idea that I've been rolling around in the palm of my brain has been trying to put together a mapping module that can display npc spawns, grids, ground spawns, objects, etc. as layers on vector maps drawn from the LoY maps for each zone.

Would make some things so much easier. Would also take some time to play with and implement, though.

[provocating]

It would be cool indeed. Ideally something like what we have for the pathing files (ninja's) would be cool. You could even do a format like 15-60 to show waypoint 15, 60 second pause. I find the pathing system pretty easy, as long as you do not have to manually connect nodes too much, which can crash when adding/removing too many manually. The waypoint system would be better if you could see them visually, I guess you could use ShowEq and have it draw trails on the screen.

Totally missed Theeper's program being out there, should be pretty easy to get it to compile again.

[Shendare]

Can you expound on "something like what we have for the pathing files (ninja's)"?

[provocating]

Go to a zone with a working path grid, like unrest. Then do a #path shownodes

[N0ctrnl]

If you're using mq2, make sure you unload the map plugin first or it'll crash in most zones.

[Tabasco]

http://www.eqemulator.org/forums/showthread.php?t=38911

[Shendare]

Oh my.

Gonna have to take a look at this!

[N0ctrnl]

While that tool is super cool and really useful, it still doesn't do what I'm after.

[Tabasco]

You have a full grid list and you can reference an existing NPC's grid just by clicking on it. From there you just click the new NPC, hit the second edit icon, and input the grid. It might be possible to optimize that pipeline, but you're talking about a difference of about two clicks.

Creating a fresh grid might actually yield better results and can be done very quickly.
The interface is daunting at a glance, but it's actually pretty simple once you get used to it.

[N0ctrnl]

The issue at hand here is having dozens of grids in a zone, and not being able to align a zone full of mobs that don't path to a grid that exists somewhere under my feet.

I understand what you're saying as far as copying grids. What I'm after here is something that'll show me what grids exist so I can easily see what a path is going to look like without having to plot it all out. Unless I'm missing something, your tool lacks that functionality.

The only thing I've found thus far is the grid viewer from '08. I got it to compile, but having a couple other issues getting it to work properly.

[Tabasco]

The limiting factor is that the grid needs to be assigned to some NPC first in order for it to be visualized on the map. If you're wanting to recycle zone grids you can browse them using a stock version of the zone.

The folder icon at the top shows you the raw grid data, but I understand that's not very helpful by itself. It would be a pretty trivial code change to add a jump link to that view that drops the camera on a given grid point. You have the coordinates, you would just need to modify one of the camera to X functions a little bit.

One of the first things I noticed when going through these maps and visualizing grids myself, is that they are either very specific paths (like goblins on stairs in sol) or sprawling messes of seemingly random points (like south karana mobs).

If you're writing zones from scratch I would suggest making grids from scratch also since it can be done so quickly. That's not what you want, of course, but it is what I would do in that case whether I had quick grid visualization or not.
I *think* I can produce a quick patch for arbitrary grid visualization from the zone data view, since that does appear to be what you're after.

[N0ctrnl]

If you could, that would be awesome!

What I'm ultimately trying to do is fix some of the wonky pathing by finding out which grids are good, and which aren't. I'm planning to keep the good ones, and rework the ones that need TLC.

As somebody mentioned in another post here somewhere, the packet captures undoubtedly picked up mobs being aggroed or otherwise pulled off their normal route and that probably accounts for some of the grids being crazy. I believe that with the proper visualization, those grids can be made workable without a lot of time spent.

None of this is to mention zones I've imported from other/older databases that don't have any grid assigned to the NPCs at all. That's really where I started with this.

[Tabasco]

Done, updated in the demo and github.
There is a 'Show' button in the zone view, grid tab.
This will allow you to display a grid and manipulate its points without an NPC selected.

The points will still show up in the side so you should be able to jump to them in the view and edit them independent of a connected NPC.

It is a very hasty change, so let me know if you find any unusual behavior.

[N0ctrnl]

I got it pulled down and connecting to my database. Don't see anywhere to set a maps directory though, unless I'm just missing it (which is possible).

I'm literally on my way out the door, but I plan to play with this when I get home tonight!

[Tabasco]

Check the map download link in the original thread. It might be harmless to put on github, but I didn't want to take any chances. The maps are converted to json and anything you can configure should be in config.js and ajax/db.inc.php.

For best results you will at least want to set up the PEQ editor as it makes it easy to actually assign grids to NPC's.
This should all be detailed reasonably well in the readme and the guide in the original thread.

Good luck!

[N0ctrnl]

I totally missed the map files. Pulling them down now. So how hard is it to make these? Is that something the tools are included for or does it have to be done some top secret way? :) I mainly ask because I'm using old versions of some zones.

[N0ctrnl]

Ok, so got the maps working.

I gotta say, while this tool is really, really cool, it's more than a bit cumbersome for what I'm trying to do. The 3D is just a bit much for me I guess.

Don't take my feedback as me expecting you to do anything at all. Just seems like an overlay would be a simpler way to go for me.

Thanks for all your work on this tool. I'm going to use it for other things for sure. :)

[Tabasco]

The 3D navigation is a little clunky. I'm used to it so I can fly through a map without much trouble, but that's 3D in a browser for you. Pointer lock and drag controls really mess with the UI so I decided on pure keyboard and target navigation. I do hope you get some use out of it for other things.

I will mention one other technique that might get you closer to what you want in the absence of true 2D replacement.
Hit the gear icon to open your settings and set the map material to translucent. Once you pick a grid, click one of the Go To arrows on any one of the grid points.
This will have you positioned above the point looking down. From there translate back with S until you are the desired height. You can use A/D + R/F (Or A/D and rotate with Q/E) to move around while maintaining that top-down perspective. With translucent material you will be able to see the path lines through the ground geometry. It's basically a 2D perspective projection at that point.

[Akkadius]

Isn't Tabasco a badass?

[demonstar55]

I know KLS is hoping to get some path stuff into the zone-utilities project. Not sure if that's set in stone yet, but will probably be cool once it's done.

[N0ctrnl]

I updated my tree and compiled those today in anticipation. Now if I can just make it run without segfaulting. :P

Tobasco, I'm starting to get the hang of it a bit more. I'll definitely add it to my toolbox.

[Tabasco]

I might get back into development on it as things settle down at home.

Akkadius, thanks for keeping the dev server up.

[Akkadius]

I might get back into development on it as things settle down at home.

Akkadius, thanks for keeping the dev server up.

You know me bro

[demonstar55]

https://i.imgur.com/5yi5SNh.png this is something KLS has been working on :P

[provocating]

https://i.imgur.com/5yi5SNh.png this is something KLS has been working on :P

Strange question I know, what O.S. is that?

[demonstar55]

Strange question I know, what O.S. is that?

Linux. (Gentoo, 10 chars)

[Kingly_Krab]

I must say, that navmesh stuff is definitely awesome. I can't wait to see it in play.

[provocating]

Linux. (Gentoo, 10 chars)

I used to do way more Linux on the desktop years ago, not so much anymore.

[N0ctrnl]

X forwarding is a wonderful thing.

[Apocal]

This looks really cool, but the original pages with the guides are down. Does anyone have them or is there another tool that is working?