Map Converter (for the new cartography)

[cattj]

I wrote a quick utility to convert SEQ maps to the new cartography format. For those of you that have access to the new map system you can get the converted maps and the converter here

http://www.eq-toolbox.com

Enjoy.


Thanks to Fatal and http://www.eq-toolbox.com for the webhosting

[LordCrush]

Just curious ...

What features has that new Cartography system ?
Is there an active part or just an passive atlas ?

plz dont tell me to wait till tomorrow when it will be showen on the LOY page ... thats marketing :D

[fryfrog]

omg, they look almost like they took seq's mapping system and thought "humm, they already did all the work... lets just use the same general idea" :)

i can't wait to see what its like, if you already know how to convert them... do you have access to it already on test or something?

[cattj]

The cartography systems is a map window and several map tools that allow you to draw on the map as well as make labels. There is a small arrow that represents you and your direction. There is z filtering and 3 layers of the map.

By far the most convenient feature is the auto map... when this is clicked where ever you walk a line will be drawn. Of course with all of the SEQ maps imported this won't be too necessary. ;)

Yes the file format is similar... but much bulkier... you notice that all lines are 2 points... so let say we had a line that went from point A to point B to point C...

in a SEQ map that would be

M, name, color, id, Ax,Ay,Az,Bx,By,Bz,Cx,Cy,Cz

in EQ its

L Ax,Ay,Az, Bx,By,Bz, red, green, blue
L Bx,By,Bz, Cx,Cy,Cz, red, green, blue

labels are almost identical

SEQ
P, name, X, Y

EQ
P x,y,z,red,green,blue,size,name

[valenj3]

Where can I get his map thing at?

[cattj]

you'll get it on Feb. 24th if you order the new expansion.

[S_B_R]

How about a screenshot Cattj? ;)

[cattj]

haha i would but i'm at work today...

tell you what i'll get a screenshot tonight if you arent sufficiently satisfied with the pictures that SOE releases on their website today.

[bonkersbobcat]

Originally posted by LordCrush
plz dont tell me to wait till tomorrow when it will be showen on the LOY page ... thats marketing :D Actually it is a non disclosure agreement.

[S_B_R]

Originally posted by cattj
haha i would but i'm at work today...

tell you what i'll get a screenshot tonight if you arent sufficiently satisfied with the pictures that SOE releases on their website today.

The 14th is tomorrow ;)

[cattj]

ah yes... so it is... i'll see what i can do tonight then ;)

[S_B_R]

WOOT! ;)

[Fatal]

When you see the new map window, you are going to recognize it immediately.

You are going to know where the code came from for sure. Look, feel, and functionality. I'm sure a new SeQ looking mod will be made for the map window so all the keys are in the same place..

I'm surprised credit wasn't given as called for under the GPL, thats how close it is.

In the past 6 months, SoE has incorporated several 3rd party software products in to their product without credit to any of the original sources. EQAtlas (the map book), EQwindows, and now SEQ. Is anyone ever going to call them out on this? Can anyone?

Hopefully next they will incorporate some of EQmacros so you have a clean interface to run your cleric bot ;)

[Raistlin]

Originally posted by cattj
By far the most convenient feature is the auto map... when this is clicked where ever you walk a line will be drawn. Of course with all of the SEQ maps imported this won't be too necessary. ;)


What do you mean "automap"...can you expand on this a bit? does this mean that the map window isn't immediately filled in with the zone...what's this about lines being drawn...you mean a line between where you are and a particular point on the map?

More details please (This is the feature i've been waiting on to base my decission to purchase or not) if you can of course..:)

[throx]

I've heard it's on test at the moment if you want to look at it.


In the past 6 months, SoE has incorporated several 3rd party software products in to their product without credit to any of the original sources. EQAtlas (the map book), EQwindows, and now SEQ. Is anyone ever going to call them out on this? Can anyone?

EQAtlas: Did you actually look at the book? I seriously have to doubt it because the Maps of Myrist are completely different to those found on the EQAtlas site.

EQWindows: DirectX has always provided this functionality. They certainly haven't used any of the EQW code or they wouldn't be able to switch from fullscreen to windowed mode.

SEQ: I thought the way SEQ drew maps was fairly obvious. I don't see any good reason for them NOT to use a similar file format (just a little more flexible).

Honestly, I think your paranoia has gone way over the top on this one.

[S_B_R]

Originally posted by throx
EQAtlas: Did you actually look at the book? I seriously have to doubt it because the Maps of Myrist are completely different to those found on the EQAtlas site.

Yeah the maps aren't anything like the one on EQAtlas. Basically all Sony stole from EQAtlas was the name (sort of)...

[Raistlin]

Originally posted by S_B_R


Yeah the maps aren't anything like the one on EQAtlas. Basically all Sony stole from EQAtlas was the name (sort of)...

And his ability to find a reseller for a book version of his site *GRUMBLE*. Basically, once EQ came out with their "EQ Atlas" he couldn't find anyone to publish a version of his website in book format.

[cattj]

Originally posted by throx
I've heard it's on test at the moment if you want to look at it.


it is on test buy only for people that were invited to the beta... so if you didn't get the invite email then you can't see it yet.


Originally posted by Raistlin


What do you mean "automap"...can you expand on this a bit? does this mean that the map window isn't immediately filled in with the zone...what's this about lines being drawn...you mean a line between where you are and a particular point on the map?

More details please (This is the feature i've been waiting on to base my decission to purchase or not) if you can of course..:)

when you first get the map up there is nothing on it (unless you have grabbed the converted maps i did <see link above>) essentially automap treats you like the pencil... anywhere you walk a line is drawn... but you'll only need this if you want to add something to the maps.

if you take the ones that i have.. put them in your maps directory then log into eq and click on the map button... turn of z filtering and zoom out a bit <default is zoomed all the way int> then you will have a nice line drawing of the map and a little arrow that represents where you are in the zone and what direction you are facing.

[AlphaBeta]

Basically, once EQ came out with their "EQ Atlas" he couldn't find anyone to publish a version of his website in book format.

Well I think he waited to long myself. Also his maps and extra information is much, much better than SOE's Map book if you ask me. Also SOE's book is filled with errors.

[Fatal]

It was tongue in cheek mostly.. no paranoia here.

But.. the mapping utility is almost exactly like seqs, no kidding there.

Oh.. and do the converted maps show the grid lines?

[Hobo]

FWIW a screenshot ripped from the monk site, although I suspect it may have originally been ripped from someone here. :)


http://pub147.ezboard.com/fmonklybusiness43508frm1.showMessage?topicID=36964 .topic



Also, I have a question. With regards to the arrow on the map that represents you...Does this arrow move around as you do? In other words, does it move around like SEQ? If it sdoes, while it will never replace SEQ, it would certainly be a nice addition for those times when SEQ is "broken".

[cattj]

yes it moves around as you do.

[throx]

it is on test buy only for people that were invited to the beta... so if you didn't get the invite email then you can't see it yet.
Thanks for the correction. Had a person in guild chatting to us about seeing it on test but I didn't realize it was beta only.


I wonder if we'll see a "Gnomish Mob Detector" in the next expansion that puts little blips on your map where it finds mobs, possibly out to a certain range (which would obviously be higher for trackers)...

[Raistlin]

Um, what happened to the tool and the map links? Why were they removed?

EDIT: Never mind, it would help if i'd RTFP (Read the ...um...post)

[cattj]

read the message.. at the bottom


Originally posted by cattj
i took out the url because of
a) the hijacking of this link without any credit what so ever
and
b) the fact that they started to generate way too much traffic.

if you would like these utils feel free to PM me

[Raistlin]

Originally posted by cattj
read the message.. at the bottom



Yea, RTFP, I noticed that just after posting, my bad.

[cattj]

the new links are up

you can get the utility here:

http://www.eq-toolbox.com

thanks again to Fatal and eq-toolbox for the hosting.

[fgay trader]

Does the new cartography system also have the SpellList and SpawnList2?

Hey, I can dream, can't I? :p

[Ratt]

Hmm... This might be a good opportunity :) As with DikuMUD awhile back, a court order to allow myself or Fee to examine the EQ code to make sure it's within the bounds of the GPL could be a reality.

It would be a pain in the ass, but something that might be worth it... if they did indeed steal the SEQ code, but are not providing the source publically available, ouchies.

As I understand the GPL, since this has been included into EQ itself, they have to provide the entire source to EQ... the reason we can get away with out doing that for libEQ.a is because SEQ will run w/o libEQ.a as a standalone product... the mapping system won't run w/o EQ as a standalone product, thus the entire code base must be made available.

Anyone who's better at legal interpretations know if the file format of SEQ is covered and attached to the GPL or is that PD?

Cattj -

I'm going to grab your converter and the maps and put them up in the file section on SF here.

[cattj]

Thanks Ratt... hopefully I'll get color and z filtering working soon.. unfiltered dungeon maps are just ugly. Not sure about the color because of the backgrounds... I have a feeling that yellow is going to look awfully bad on the scroll background. I'll probably implement it with a command argument to turn it on... but it will be off by default.

While the file format is similar there are very distinct differences. Not sure what it would take to have a case on that one.

[Mr. Suspicious]

What exactly does that "Auto Map" button do?

[cattj]

i believe i covered this a few posts back... basically it turns you into a pencil and where ever you walk a line is drawn.

[Cryonic]

But will EQ run without the mapping features? If so, then it would just be like a library and you can have non-gpl code link into a gpl library and not have to give out your source.

[Raistlin]

I'm very likely out of my mind here, but is there any possiblity that Sony would make these converted maps illegal or how they'd even attempt to do so?

I'm just wondering if tomorrow we're going to see a big writeup on how the cartography system works and how if you have maps that look too similar to SEQ's maps you'll be banned...

Hey, they're desperate right? It's getting toward the end of the month, the ban quota has got to be low considering SEQ has been down right? :D

[Mr. Suspicious]

i believe i covered this a few posts back... basically it turns you into a pencil and where ever you walk a line is drawn.

Ah yes, I am sorry, just wanted to be sure. Sounds to me that feature will create very messy maps *tails around with mobs on his tail whilst creating lines all over the map*



I'm very likely out of my mind here, but is there any possiblity that Sony would make these converted maps illegal or how they'd even attempt to do so?

I'm just wondering if tomorrow we're going to see a big writeup on how the cartography system works and how if you have maps that look too similar to SEQ's maps you'll be banned...

Hey, they're desperate right? It's getting toward the end of the month, the ban quota has got to be low considering SEQ has been down right?


You are right, they sure will. Just as they've banned each and every EQ-Toolbox user that uses the downloadable "skin" that contains SEQ map images. Haven't you heard?

[cattj]

well i just got a chance to look at the z-filtering.... it seems that the map file uses a relative z... the height you are at where you zone in seems to be 0... the z is only related to the z value from /loc by that constant... that said unless i know the initial value for each zone there is no easy way to do this... however.... since it is a constant all of the z values are still relative to each other... so adjusting the ceiling and floor values for the z filter (which got renamed to height filter so as not to confuse the kiddies) should give you the desired effect... for example

in blackborrow the z values are off by 30 too high... but if you set your ceiling and floor to 30 the filtering should work just fine... or if you want some lines a bit higher and lower than set them higher and lower... so if you want lines 10 above you and 10 below you to show up... set ceiling to 40 and floor to 20...

again it won't always be 30 off this is just an example... you'll have to play around with them in each particular zone..

hope that helps

[Catt]

The legal issue may be why they opted for thier bulkier file format, instead of using SEQ/SINS file format.

Once each line segment is separated, it makes little difference if the colours change, as it's defined anyway.

I can't help but wonder how much of a resource hog this is going to be, damn game runs poorly now on fairly robust equipment (P4-2gig, 1 gig RAM, GF3).

Well, guess I'll have to fix the XML to look like SEQ, you just know they will have the stupid ass 'tool tips' like when you point to the up arrow tool tip says "scrolls up", like, no, really?

Would be very nice if TRACKERS got see the TRACKABLE mobs on the map, in con colours (skittles, damit), you think?

[throx]

Originally posted by Ratt
Hmm... This might be a good opportunity :) As with DikuMUD awhile back, a court order to allow myself or Fee to examine the EQ code to make sure it's within the bounds of the GPL could be a reality.

It would be a pain in the ass, but something that might be worth it... if they did indeed steal the SEQ code, but are not providing the source publically available, ouchies.

As I understand the GPL, since this has been included into EQ itself, they have to provide the entire source to EQ... the reason we can get away with out doing that for libEQ.a is because SEQ will run w/o libEQ.a as a standalone product... the mapping system won't run w/o EQ as a standalone product, thus the entire code base must be made available.

First, you'd have to sue Sony. That's not a particularly nice prospect to begin with.

Secondly, just because maps look the same doesn't mean the code is remotely close. It's far more likely that they'll just show up with some source code that has little resemblance to the SEQ stuff and countersue you for something they dream up, not to mention having to pay their court costs if you lose.

Thirdly, the best possible outcome would be that Sony removes the Cartography system until they get a chance to rewrite it without the infringing code. You wouldn't successfully get them to release the EQ source.

Fourthly, you'd have to use your own names to sue. Exactly how long do you think SEQ would last once they subpoena every SEQ author by real name and ban every account they find associated with it?

Lastly, libEQ.a is a tricky case that I'd hate to have to defend as being strictly within the bounds of "GPL". It *does* link against SEQ code and therefore by the terms of the GPL is "derivative" even though SEQ can operate independantly of it. No one cares though.

Disclaimer: IANAL. I don't even play one on TV.

I don't think it's worth it. If I were in your position I'd take imitation as the sincerest form of flattery and possibly even move the SEQ code over to reading the EQ style maps.

[Ratt]

Originally posted by throx
Secondly, just because maps look the same doesn't mean the code is remotely close. It's far more likely that they'll just show up with some source code that has little resemblance to the SEQ stuff and countersue you for something they dream up, not to mention having to pay their court costs if you lose.

There are very few laws (and I mean *VERY* few) that allow for the winning party to collect legal/court costs in a court battle. That's an urban myth from hell. If you go to court, you pay. Period. Doesn't matter whether you win or lose.


Thirdly, the best possible outcome would be that Sony removes the Cartography system until they get a chance to rewrite it without the infringing code. You wouldn't successfully get them to release the EQ source.

Doesn't matter, assuming it went off without a hitch, the code was released, and thus, the code at that point in time needs to be made publically available... as defined strictly by the GPL. But then again, I'm sure there are legal loopholes that could be used to prevent that.


Fourthly, you'd have to use your own names to sue. Exactly how long do you think SEQ would last once they subpoena every SEQ author by real name and ban every account they find associated with it?

So what? SOE can blow me ... I'll take my 7 accounts and go elsewhere. Won't make any difference to me, and they'll lose a chunk of change a month... Win/win for me.


Lastly, libEQ.a is a tricky case that I'd hate to have to defend as being strictly within the bounds of "GPL". It *does* link against SEQ code and therefore by the terms of the GPL is "derivative" even though SEQ can operate independantly of it. No one cares though.

So what if it links against the SEQ code? Technically speaking, it doesn't link to the SEQ code, the SEQ code links to it, and the libEQ.a blackbox spits out an answer... Regardless, even if it did link into SEQ, nothing in the libEQ file was GPL'd, and thus doesn't fall under that license. It's a stand alone library for use by SEQ, not the other way around. External libraries for software have already been tested in court, I doubt this would turn out any different.


I don't think it's worth it. If I were in your position I'd take imitation as the sincerest form of flattery and possibly even move the SEQ code over to reading the EQ style maps. [/B]

Didn't say it would be worth it ... but it's something to ponder.

[Spook]

Would be interesting to run Ratt's idea by EFF and the DikuMUD folks for comments.

[LordCrush]

Provided that after the LoY there will be many people make maps it probably would be nice to have a tool to convert from EQ-Maps to SEQ-Maps :D

-- just a thought

[Hobo]

Actually Ratt your statement regarding the payment of court costs isn't quite right. While it is true that there are very few LAWS forcing the losing party to pay court costs, it is a frequent occurence to see a judge award court cost damages and attorney fees to the winning party, IF the winning party was the defendent and the judge determines the suit had little or no merit. There are also certain statutes providing for relief of court and attorney fees for frivolous lawsuits or other legal proceedings considered unwarranted by the court.

However, more often than not, the final court costs and attorney fees are split amongst both parties based on a formula administered by the judge. Sometimes this is in the favor of one or the other parties, but most often it's a 50/50 split. So if one side paid $10,000 for their attorney and the other side paid $20,000, it's not unusual to see both parties pay out $15,000, plus equal amounts for court costs.

Edit - I should note that this is in reference to civil cases.

[throx]

There are very few laws (and I mean *VERY* few) that allow for the winning party to collect legal/court costs in a court battle. That's an urban myth from hell. If you go to court, you pay. Period. Doesn't matter whether you win or lose.
Unless the judge decides the case is frivolous and charges you court costs. Happens all the time in civil cases.


Doesn't matter, assuming it went off without a hitch, the code was released, and thus, the code at that point in time needs to be made publically available... as defined strictly by the GPL. But then again, I'm sure there are legal loopholes that could be used to prevent that.
The most likely course of action would be that Sony would be found in breach of the GPL and have to pay damages as well as remove the offending code from their product. A judge would simply force them to either release their code *or* remove the offending code.


So what? SOE can blow me ... I'll take my 7 accounts and go elsewhere. Won't make any difference to me, and they'll lose a chunk of change a month... Win/win for me.
I figured that much. Whether the other SEQ devs all feel the same way or not, having them all banned would pretty quickly put the SEQ project on ice - or at least slow it down significantly.

For the libEQ.a problem, the GPL states that any code shipped in the same executable must be GPL'd. From the GPL FAQ (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#MereAggregation):

Combining two modules means connecting them together so that they form a single larger program. If either part is covered by the GPL, the whole combination must also be released under the GPL--if you can't, or won't, do that, you may not combine them.

Of course, that's just the author of the license's view. He may not be correct.

;-)

[Ratt]

For the libEQ.a problem, the GPL states that any code shipped in the same executable must be GPL'd. From the GPL FAQ:

Combining two modules means connecting them together so that they form a single larger program. If either part is covered by the GPL, the whole combination must also be released under the GPL--if you can't, or won't, do that, you may not combine them.

Of course, that's just the author of the license's view. He may not be correct.

That's just it... that doesn't apply to libEQ.a

libEQ is not provided with SEQ. It is the end users responsibility to procure libEQ and link with it. Thus, as it's the end user linking the two, nothing in the GPL is violated, as the GPL doesn't cover end user USE, only distribution.

That's why libEQ.a isn't hosted on Sourceforge and hosted by, what effectively amounts to, a disinterested source. I realize that casey is nominally a dev, and HAS contributed to SEQ, but that, and the fact that he happens to host libEQ.a are to seperate issues, not part of the same legal arguement.

[throx]

Fair point, Ratt.

This makes any binary snapshot illegal though and gives you fantastic ammunition against the people providing the SEQ machines - they are breaking the GPL if they can't provide you with the source for libEQ.a. If you really want to start tossing lawsuits around then there's a much better place to start than Sony.

[keymaker]

Originally posted by Ratt


That's why libEQ.a isn't hosted on Sourceforge and hosted by, what effectively amounts to, a disinterested source. I realize that casey is nominally a dev, and HAS contributed to SEQ, but that, and the fact that he happens to host libEQ.a are to seperate issues, not part of the same legal arguement.

Don't say that about Casey, next thing you'll know, he'll start hitting us up for his soda and eq money, or for plat in the game LOL

[The Duck]

I'm very likely out of my mind here, but is there any possiblity that Sony would make these converted maps illegal or how they'd even attempt to do so?

One thing I noticed here was that they said some zones may require special parchment to actually record maps (why, I have no clue...get a life people...)

Anyway, potentially one way they MIGHT be able to detect people is if they go to use a map they haven't actually had the ability to scribe yet and there's a map there...

However, this idea is blown out of the water if the maps don't have any sort of encoding on a character by character basis, and I doubt they'd even care if you tried to copy your own maps from one account to the other...you just may have to spend the pp on both accounts for the parchment.

So most likely not...actually checking the files to see if they are showeq files doesn't mean jack. Just because you're using show eqs community resource maps doesn't mean you use showeq.

Technically...they could ban you for it...just like they could ban you for making modifications to your UI (on a very strict technicallity, you're modifying files in the EQ directory...) Is it going to happen? Not very likely.

*quack*

[Certa]

Was bored (and I dont like running strange executables on my machinge) so I wrote my own conversion script that converts maps as well. It also does the color strings to the apropriate RGB values and you "should" be albe to filter by Z axis but it is relative ... think someone mentioned this somewhere.

I don't have access to the cartography window though so I have no idea if they are actually right :D

If anyone wants to test them for me they are here:

http://66.229.166.69/CRMaps.zip

converter is here

http://66.229.166.69/converter.pl

[cattj]

for those of you paranoid types that don't have perl on your windows machines the source is here..

http://www.satelliteanime.com/cattj_utils/main.cpp

[Certa]

lol, not paranoid ... much.

[cattj]

haha... oh i wasn't implying anything

<_<
>_>

one thing about the maps make sure you negate the x and y... they flipped em in the eq maps... not sure if you did cause i didn't look at the script..

[Certa]

Was just gunna ask about that, took a look at your maps to see if I could verify mine and my numbers were all inverse of yours.

BTW since I don't want to make you have to do the RGB conversions again here is the colors.txt file I came up with.

http://66.229.166.69/converter.html

[cattj]

great thanks.. i'll get this added in tomorrow...

[cattj]

ok the color stuff is added... its kind of a pain to see the yellow on this background... but luckily like most eq windows you can change the background from the texture to a flat color..

the converted maps, the new exe and the source are here:

http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=10131

use the -c flag to turn color on if you want it...

thanks to Certa for the rgb values for the colors.

Also SOE added a bunch of maps for the cities... SEQ maps overlap almost perfectly. Theirs are labeled better and have a little bit more detail. So when you are in the city zones you might want to turn of layer 1 (thats the layer that SEQ maps are on) or if you think the SEQ maps are better then turn of the "Base" layer.

Enjoy

[Ratt]

These have been added into the SEQ/SF file section for download... don't kill CattJ's stuff, just download it from SJ :)

[quackrabbit]

Originally posted by Ratt
These have been added into the SEQ/SF file section for download... don't kill CattJ's stuff, just download it from SJ :) For those of you who can't find this magical place where Ratt is talking about, the following link is for you!

http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=10131

[quackrabbit]

On a related note, I wonder if it would be worthwhile to write a utility that converts SoE's format for use with SEQ...

[ksmith]

Save the following code as eqtomap.awk and then run

awk -f eqtomap.awk < zone_1.txt > Zone.map

This will do a very basic conversion of the EQ cartography maps to ShowEQ. No color, no z-axis fixing, etc.



BEGIN {
RS="\r\n";
print "Converted map,converted,0,0"
}

/^L / {
gsub(",", "");
gsub("L", "");
print "M,line," getcolorname($7, $8, $9) ",2," int(-$1) "," int(-$2) "," int($3*10) "," int(-$4) "," int(-$5) "," int($6*10);
}

/^P / {
gsub(",", "");
gsub("_", " ", $9);
print "P," $9 "," getcolorname($5, $6, $7) "," int(-$2) "," int(-$3)
}

function getcolorname( r, g, b) {
cmd = "grep \"" r " " g " " b "\" RGB.txt";
cmd | getline color
if (color != "") {
split(color, C);
return C[4];
} else {
print "*unknown color: " r ", " g ", " b > "/dev/stderr";
return "unknown";
}
}


Edit: updated the code to invert x and y, and convert rgb to color names.
Edit: and multiply z by 10

[mantra71]

Im so tired, and I cant think straight, so Ill just ask around instead and see if someone can straighten me out :)

What exactly can I do to find the floor / roof loc I need to use for a zone.

As an example:
If I open layer 2, and draw a small line where I zone in and save it. If I then look at the saved file, would that hint me on the offset for floor and roof, I need to use so that the depthfiltering works with the converted maps as they are now?

I can image someone posting, go ahead and try instead of asking, but its my sons birthday and Im suffering hard from having to be away from EQ when I want to play around with this stuff.

[cattj]

you got it exactly ... draw a line and look at the z value... its

L X1, Y1, Z1, X2, Y2, Z2, red, green, blue

i've been told though that you can get the correct (or roughly correct ) value by taking the current value and dividing by 10... hope that helps

the floor and roof values in the ui are relative to that... so if you get it right than 0 and 10 should be fine

[Mr. Suspicious]

On a related note, I wonder if it would be worthwhile to write a utility that converts SoE's format for use with SEQ...

There is. The default starting zone maps provided by Sony are quite a bit better then the SEQ maps of those same zones. Would be grande if we could incorporate those into SEQ.

[cattj]

A reverse conversion should be no more complicated than the initial conversion... drop the floats to ints... negate the x and y... multiply the z by 10 and convert the rgb back to a string color.... and viola... SEQ map from EQ map...

[Amadeus]

I'm not trying to sound like a leech or lazy; however, it would be nice if someone kept a .zip file of the best-of-the-best EQ cartography maps, and released it regularly (so we could just overwrite our map directory rather than changing all the _1's).

I do agree that the default Sony maps are probably better than SEQ ones ...at least from what I've seen.

[throx]

Actually, it would be even more advantageous to have SEQ be able to read the Sony map formats. Would save having to convert between the two.

[oakley]

Personally, I think the in game mapping is a good idea, unfortunatly I don't like the way it works. Its in the way, and annoying to always go and look at. But yet, its very usefull. What they should have done is to release a seperat program, like seq I suppose. That only shows the map and your location, then it wouldn't be in the way, but... I doubt they would do that, so, Ill just keep using showeq, makes it easier then clicking to open the map all the time.

[Poncho]

Looks kinda like Sony just handed the mouse to the cat. There seems to be some great stuff here and SEQ is only gonna get better because of it. Hell, maybe we ALL can win sometime....

Poncho

[KaL]

My problem is that while trying to make a map, you have to use the mouse. The buttons can't be mapped to hotkeys.

It's very awkward to run around with the keypad and use the mouse right next to it.

[Samefudge]

WASD, once you get the mappings for other functions down (use, auto target, hail, con, etc.), you'll be loving it.

And if not... well, FPS setups aren't for everyone

[seqcleric]

I've been trying to find a readme on useage and the dos commands keep giving me a program error dialog. Is there any specific usage and can I run the program to convert ALL the maps at one time?

Thanks,
Seqcleric

[cattj]

just put in the the directory with the .map files and run the batch file with the -c or the -w flag

mapconv.bat -c

or

mapconv.bat -w

-w is the no white which should show up better on the scroll background...

-c is all the original colors which works best if you change the background to flat black..

hope that helps

[seqcleric]

I'm getting this message, am i just thick? :)

for %x in (*.map) do call mapconv -c %x

[cattj]

thats the command that the batch file is running... not sure why its just printing out on the screen... basically it just loops through all the .map files in the current dir and calls

mapconv -c or -w <mapname>

[seqcleric]

Ok, should it be renaming all the maps to something else that EQ can use? They're still all .txt files.

Also, after they're done, do i put them in the Map dir within EQ?

Thanks for your trouble, sorry i'm a dork :)

[cattj]

no trouble at all

eq uses the .txt files... just put them in your

c:\Program Files\Everquest\maps

directory and you should be good to go

[orenwolf]

Ratt,

You're dead on about libEQ. Anyone who distributes either a binary of ShowEQ with libEQ compiled in, or a binary without source, are violating copyright.

That's important to note BTW, they are violating copyright, NOT the GPL.

copyright law says you can't copy something someone else owns and distribute it. the GPL grants exceptions, if you follow the license. If you link against closed source and distrbute it, you violate the license and are liable under copyright law.

I often wondered why you didn't go after SEQBox owners for that very reason.

But something *else* you might want to consider. Why go after sony at all? Sick the FSF on them! The FSF suggests that people sign away the copyright on GPL'd works to them specifically for this purpose. If you make your work copyright the FSF, *they* can go after Sony.

*that* is when Sony starts to worry. :) and the end result would be A> removal of mapping tool, or B> opening up the SEQ binary to everyone. :)

The

[seqcleric]

Heyya, just wanted to tell you that I got it working right and it works GREAT! Thanks very much for your work and your patience to help me get mine working. You rock :)

Sincerely,
Seqcleric

[cattj]

no problem... glad you got it working :)

[Archaeopteryx]

I dont think it's such a good idea converting SONY maps into SEQ and distributing them with showeq.... I think that would violate copyright. I dont think however there is a problem with writting an app that will conver their format and letting everyone do their own conversion.

-Arch

[high_jeeves]

Or, just edit ShowEQ to read both types of maps...

--Jeeves

[Archaeopteryx]

Not sure what i'm doing wrong, downloaded the pre-converted maps and placed them on my eq map dir .. (my eq dir is not default), when i zone into say PoN ... the maps is not shown. I alt-tab into d:\program files\everquest\maps and the ponightmare_1.txt is there =/ any suggestions ?

[Dedpoet]

Turn off height filtering in the map window.

[KaL]

And zoom way out. Sometimes you have to click the zoom out thing like 80 zillion times.

[high_jeeves]

The mouse wheel also zooms in/out.. much easier to use, if you have one.

--Jeeves

[Amadeus]

I dont think it's such a good idea converting SONY maps into SEQ and distributing them with showeq.... I think that would violate copyright. I dont think however there is a problem with writting an app that will conver their format and letting everyone do their own conversion.


We run SEQ ...do you think we really care about Sony's copyright on a few silly text files? :)

[high_jeeves]

Its the difference between cheating at a game, and breaking the law by distributing copyrighted matierials... big difference..

--Jeeves

[Archaeopteryx]

Thanks deadpoet, that did it :) ...


Now as to the copyright issue, like jeeves said, its much different to say you are cheating at the game then when you say you destribute works created by the game manufacturer. Keeping THEIR files off showeq dist is important. You have to remeber, it's THEIR files, we simply have a liscense to use them.

[Cryonic]

however that doesn't mean you can't convert them yourself and use them in your copy of SEQ.

[lane]

Archaeopteryx, I think the _1 at the end of the file name refers to the "1,2,3" overlays of the map, so make sure you have atleast 1 clicked.



We run SEQ ...do you think we really care about Sony's copyright on a few silly text files?

LMAO

-Lane