Background images for maps

[KaL]

Ok, I successfully used the ZoneConverter program to create an image of the Nexus.

I converted the image to .pgm format.

ShowEQ loads the background image successfully, and it looks pretty damn good considering it's on my 14" monitor. But anyway, I'm having a problem that I'd like to see if any of you can figure out.

The map is off-center, and doesn't zoom properly. This is two different issues. Try it yourself.

I really am out of my league at this point; I would appreciate any help in getting the map to be properly centered.

I'd attach the Nexus.pgm file I've been using, but the attachment limit here is 25k according to the little blurb down there.

I made two images; one at 2048x2048 and one at the size specified in the .map file, and they both get resized to about the same size by ShowEQ.

Here's a link to the one that's 967x928 or whatever it says in the .map file.

Nexus.pmg (http://www.eq-toolbox.com/downloads/Screenshots/Nexus.pgm)

It's 900k.

Thanks in advance.

[KaL]

Over 70 views and no responses?

I guess this is a feature no one uses.

:(

KaL

[Cryonic]

I have no idea what a pgm or pmg file is (png is an image format). How are you loading the images? I don't see an option for loading a background image in the SEQ interface.

[fryfrog]

hehe, yeah i'm wondering the same thing. is it like odinseye/excalibur? i sure would like to have pretty maps, but i think there are some zones that wouldn't work very well (dalnir, seb, etc...). outdoor ones sound good though :)

how do you make them? and how do you use em?

[Mr. Suspicious]

pgm = Portable GrayMap, should be openable by any decent Grafics program

background to the map area is just that: background. It would be near impossible to center it correctly and even more problematic to add spawns, drops and corpses onto it because each map has a different 0,0 offset + X,X offset to calculate the relative position of the spawn to 0,0. These two offsets ofcourse change as the map gets zoomed in and... I just can't see it happen within a year (that is if someone starts working at it now)

[KaL]

For those asking, I'm using Mitselplik's updated EQZoneConverter to generate full color maps for zones. Unfortunately, ShowEQ only utilizes .PGM's, which are greyscale.

Yes, like Excalibur (or Excalibar or whatever) for DAOC. I used that in the past too, and the maps it generates are amazing.

It would be great if someone with some experience coding ShowEQ could take a closer look at a solution for this. If we could get an exact size of the generated maps and force ShowEQ to somehow relate to that exact size based on zone information, that would be great. There's gotta be a way. The DAOC people did it.

KaL

[jonnyboy]

I have just tried this whole thing myself by using the Nexus as a base. Basically I used a paint program to resize the image using trial and error method and loading the map in seq. I finally got it to align (more or less). Problem is when you magnify the map the alignment is gone: x2 it goes to lower right, x3 almost aligned but still on lower right, x4 it goes to upper left. x5 and up no more background image. I was looking through the source code and found something in mapcore.cpp but I'm not exactly sure how offset and resizing is calculated but I saw some test for magnification above certain value dont show image anymore. I'll try to figure and see if I can at least get it to be consistent with magnification. anyone else working on this part of the code?