Icewind Dale: ToEE - Total Conversion

No - it'll just distort the images and keep the 'pitch' problem. (Trust me, I've been around this from all angles.) The only way this could be corrected is to get your hands on the 3D project files they used to create the maps and change the angle. (I have the actual figures that ToEE uses somewhere but I don't know them offhand.) Basically the issue is that the maps and all the elements they represent in the quasi-3D domain need to be rotated about 10 degrees toward the viewer to match ToEE.

Unfortunately as was learned with the BG EE projects, those files don't even exist anymore.

IMO the new map idea is a non-starter. Take the KotB lesson learned for that - it can be done but it'd take a phenomenal effort and longterm commitment from probably more than one artist. IMO that leaves simply using the originals and accepting the limitations, but that inherently means the project would start out as a 'B level' thing from the get-go. But there's no other practical alternative.

 

So we can remake Gauntlet, but Baldur's Gate is going to need edits to World Ed first? Oh well, there is still the possibility that maps from another game could be used to make a new module, but they too would have to conform to ToEE's specific isometric view to look right.

 

They would, and it just seems like going way out of your way to do something that simply wouldn't translate the way the maps that were actually made for the game would no matter how you slice it, at the expense of accepting B-level to start.

To be clear, my suggestion is to just use the IE maps, avoid increasing your work load by at least 50% (and the attendant loss of likelihood that the project would be completed), and accept the inherent limitations. But it's best to know exactly what you're getting into and the standard that can be achieved ahead of time.

 

I've not painted sectors on map files in World Ed before, could we not sector the maps with World Builder instead and achieve a workable result?

 

WorldEd is much easier for sectoring than WorldBuilder, one of the few areas that it is better (I think WorldBuilder is the superior tool overall myself).

Btw Allyx, if you are serious about doing this, I can sector some of the maps. I am loathe to commit to anything that involves brainwork when I have KotB to worry about, but menial grunt work like sectoring or converting dlg files would be right up my alley

 

I'm hoping that the majority of the work involved will be grunt work, the data for the module is all there, it just needs translating into a format ToEE understands.

I am wondering if adding a lot more game.area [#] numbers is possible now as I recall we hit that limit with just a few (3?) added areas, as the BG world map has about 5 or 6 times as many as ToEE has. We could just use doors for map transitions, but that would eliminate random encounters while travelling.

 

While I think of it, map numbers too could use an increase if possible, Verbobonc has a few maps with multiple shops on as that limit was also reached, and the tutorial is a couple of maps short too.

 

I'll leave all that to you Just let me know what you need. I don't have any IE tools or BG installed atm so if you can find their equivalent of whatever they use for maps (or download some high quality ones from a BG modding site), send the jpgs (or whatever) over and I'll sector 'em. Split 'em for free, too.

Something else to think about - cooperative combat. One of my favourite bits of BG was the fact that when the various assassins in each new locale tried to do you in, any nearby Flaming fist warrior would join in on your side.

 

Importing videos from BG might prove problematic, BG seems to use a .wbm file format exclusive to the IE games, I've searched but couldn't find a video converter program for that extension type. I'll ask on beamdogs forum later if they have made one.