Map Spawn Viewer (WIP)

[AndMetal]

Originally Posted by GeorgeS

How did you decode the eq map files - they have syntax like

L 3.2725, 216.7370, 0.6260, -58.9923, 331.4005, 0.6260, 150, 100, 0
L -58.9923, 331.4005, 0.6260, -148.8005, 426.0498, 0.6260, 150, 100, 0
L -148.8005, 426.0498, 0.6260, -260.0621, 494.2486, 0.6260, 150, 100, 0

It looks like it's broken down in to the following:

Type (Line, Point, etc)
X Coordinate (looks to be inverted, so negatives are positive & vice versa)
Y Coordinate (looks to be inverted, so negatives are positive & vice versa)
Z Coordinate (doesn't look to be inverted)
Attribute 1
Attribute 2
Attribute 3
Attribute 4
Attribute 5
Attribute 6 (optional?)

It looks like Attributes 1-5 depend on what type of coordinate it is.

For example, on a Point, Attributes 1-3 look like they may be the color (yellow is 255, 255, 0 & black is 0, 0, 0, so it looks to be Red, Green, & Blue), Attribute 4 looks to be the size (2 for Medium), and Attribute 5 is the actual text for the Point. It doesn't look like there is a 6th attribute for Points.

On a Line, Attributes 1-3 look to be the ending X, Y, & Z coordinates (Z & Y being inverted like the first set) and Attributes 4-6 look to be the color of the line (RGB like the text colors).

On a somewhat side note, I found this website while looking up some other stuff. It basically creates an image using the map files with what looks to be a CGI script. It's not downloadable, but it might give you some ideas.

Hope this helps

[GeorgeS]

Thanks - that pretty much explains it. I added a few more map file and shortly will attempy to do this in 2D overlay, then try it in 3D

GeorgeS

[sesmar]

For 3D, I know that you use Visual Basic 6 GeorgeS, but for .net take a look at the XNA Framework. You can do a lot of stuff both 2d and 3d without a lot of work using VB.Net or C#.Net.

[rmanders]

A while ago I was working on something similar to what Kayot is doing now. I kind of stopped working on it for the reasons described in this post.... It's neat to view the spawns, but to actually place them you need a way of viewing the map topology....or at least "dropping" a spawn just above the surface. The problem is how to get this data. Could it be read from an s3d file?

[GeorgeS]

Yes, in essence everything in the the S3D file such as the 3D zone. It's complicated to figure out, and I tried just to export the .obj 3D file. But even that is hard to work with. I have ideas - just need time to figure it out.

The only tool is truevision3D.dll - which allows for Z-height mapping, and I'll start with that.

GeorgeS

[Bulle]

This calls for a question then : what do the *.map files contain, the ones from the Maps directory that you have to put in your server DIR ? I had always thought they contained a dumbed down 3D description of the zones, basically the world coordinates of the solid areas, so that NPCs do not fall underground etc. Am I wrong to think the contents of these files *.map is well-known and "easily" parseable ? I got them from Sourceforge so that was a given for me.

The S3D files are Sony material and feel like "less desireable", being proprietary.

I know nothing about how the 3D in EQ is orchestrated so I am asking newb questions here, to understand what we know and can retrieve, and what we cannot. If there is a place to get a bit more enlightened about this topic I welcome any link

[Derision]

Originally Posted by Bulle

This calls for a question then : what do the *.map files contain, the ones from the Maps directory that you have to put in your server DIR ? I had always thought they contained a dumbed down 3D description of the zones, basically the world coordinates of the solid areas, so that NPCs do not fall underground etc. Am I wrong to think the contents of these files *.map is well-known and "easily" parseable ? I got them from Sourceforge so that was a given for me.

The EQEmu .MAP files are created by the Azone utility (comes with the EQEmu source). Azone rips the polygons (triangles) describing the 'ground mesh' from the S3D or EQG files. By ground mesh, I mean the .MAP doesn't include what are classed as 'placeable objects' such as trees, some small rocks, small buildings etc. (even quite large structures such as a bridge in one zone (I think it was Thundercrest)).

As well as the actual polygons, the .MAP file contains an octree that divides the zone into rectangular 2D nodes so the code can find all the polys in a particular area of the zone quite quickly.

There is code in zone/Map.cpp to use the .MAP files, e.g. load them into memory, check if a line between two points intersects any polys etc.

The FindBestZ code for example projects a line vertically downwards from a given X,Y,Z location looking for 'the ground'.