I've read the The Limits of ToEE Modding thread and am sorry to hear that map modding isn't currently 100% possible. In the off chance it could be done (I'm doubtful after reading the thread), I wanted to ask whether maps from other games (BG, IWD) could be ported to ToEE. In BG and IWD's cases the camera angles (geometric, not optical) in the rendered images are the same (not sure about the scale or lighting), so things shouldn't look too much "out of whack." It seems ToEE's map format is a lot more complicated, having real 3D objects at times as well as the cover system. I have some experience with mods/computer graphics (see my webpage: link), and have always wanted to work on an RPG.
Yeah, you've got the idea: the main thing to mention is that the lack of full 3d control is irrelevant in 99% of cases. It just means the critter (PC & NPC) and object (doors, items, animated trees etc) models don't get properly clipped at certain moments: players don't run 'into' long grass, closed doors don't disappear behind door frames etc. But 99% of the time you don't notice and wouldn't care, so if there are maps you want to bring in, go for it. Certainly BG could be done by anyone with an insane amount of free time
Thanks! I was thinking of doing one map as an experiment and then seeing if I could automate the process. No, I'd never do all the maps by hand!
Can anyone with more experience tell me which files I should be looking at/extracting? PS: Extra cookie if you happen to *also* know which BGII files I should be extracting/comparing. I've written a Homeworld to Homeworld 2 map converter and a Lua pretty-printer, so I know my way around batch conversion and parsers. -Mike
I'm also curious what the units of scale are in the game. Let's say a creature is 5'8" tall. How many pixels does this translate to on the screen (when comparing it to the background image)? -Mike
Can't help with that one, sorry: I just go by sight. Re what files you need, I would check Jota's How to Make a New Map thread, where he details all of them.
