Comments on: Blog Updated To WordPress 3.0 (And Built a Map “Editor” While Waiting…)

By: Sam

Sam — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 03:26:52 +0000

I’ve often thought a lot about the idea of implementing map/level data with XML files generated with Javascript/PHP. There’s some cool things you can do with that kind of toolset. For the future I think I’ll be using HTML/Jquery/PHP to generate/create my maps and levels.

By: Juuso

Juuso — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 16:49:35 +0000

Heh, that’s a pretty cool idea :)

The map file will be relatively small, so I doubt that in this case there will be any speed issues. In fact, I know there won’t be.

(Hmm, if Notepad++ can do that hex thing then I could consider… Hmm, there’s a plugin for that: http://sourceforge.net/projects/npp-plugins/files/ :)

By: Ben

Ben — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 12:57:46 +0000

Why not save to a binary file? If you open it in a hex editor and make sure you set the “text-wrapping” (for lack of a better word) to the same width as your map width, you can see the shape easily. Then you have 256 possible tile types, and loading and saving will be quicker if as you don’t have to convert to and from strings.

By: Juuso

Juuso — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 03:54:52 +0000

@Fili: Yeh, there will be ends in left & right. And yeh, I was thinking after posting this that letters might be a better idea (especially if there’s more objects).

…but then again, my game maps are not playing such important role that I believe this format will be pretty cool.

@hermitC: hah. :)

By: hermitC

hermitC — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 21:43:00 +0000

“For now.” sounds also familiar ;)

I like the procedural approach of roguelike games, especially the possibilities in Dwarf Fortress (http://bit.ly/9bAEyJ). I just can’t stand the ASCII graphics.

By: Fili

Fili — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:35:35 +0000

“1000100100002000000000100001″ I hope that’s not binary, right? There was a joke with something like 11000111002 :)
If you go with that approach, you should consider three things:
-laying the map using new-lines instead of one looooong line so that you can see better the layout
1000100
1000020
0000000
0100001
-most algorithms suck when they hit the map edge. So don’t allow them to reach there. Surround your map with a wall.
-using letters instead of numbers. Use dot for space, D for doors, L for lamp-post, W for water, # for walls.
In the end you should get something like
###############
#….L……..#
#…….WWWWW.#
#………WW..#
######DD#######

(i think the image fill be fuxxored because the font isn’t monospaced…)

Hermit’s advice should be considered. Using a more complex data structure could allow you to create multi-layered maps, switches and all sort of cool stuff. But it involves more work and could be overkill for some simple games.

By: Juuso

Juuso — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 18:58:31 +0000

“lamppost nothing nothing nothing lamppost nothing nothing”… ;)
My maps are very most likely to be very, very simple, and I feel that this is enuf good for testing. For now.

P.S. I guess you don’t like old skool Rogue games then? :)

By: hermitC

hermitC — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 18:53:25 +0000

“1000100100002000000000100001″ sounds familiar to me. I went nuts decoding my tile layer data for their meaning by hand. So I implemented a XML solution. Additional work but accelerated dev and debug.

I don’t know how you use your digits, no critique here. I just wanted to share my own hassle :)