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Revised World Map Test

CerevantCerevant Member Posts: 2,314
edited February 2013 in General Modding
Hello All,

There are a number of issues with the Vanilla BG and BGEE World Maps:
* Travel times are inconsistent between areas
* Travel between areas seems to take convoluted paths
* BGEE: Areas were shifted east on the map, resulting in crowding of areas on the East edge of the map
* BGEE: Game text says that Adoy's Enclave is East of Firewine Bridge, but it is south
* You could travel directly from Ulgoth's Beard to Durlag's Tower and the Cloud Peaks
* Areas are not near their FR canonical locations: Ulgoth's Beard, Durlag's Tower, Gullykin, Nashkell, others
* Travel time to/from, location of the Cloakwood Mines & Bandit Camp near the main road didn't make sense

All of these items are addressed with this mod, plus a number of other inconsistencies have been corrected and general clean-up of the data.

For now this is a unzip to your override mod containing the updated worldmap.wmp and an updated AR0400 (zombie farm). You will need to start a new game to see the effects of this mod.

I welcome any and all testers, and please let me know what you like and don't like! Keep in mind that you won't necessarily find everything where it was before - below is a graphic showing where all the areas are and what links they have. Let me know if you have any questions!

The two graphs attached give some of the data about the map:
The area graph edges show exit direction:time/4:arrival edge (encoded)
The encounter graph edges show exit direction:encounter probability:encounter area

Dudleyville is a good reference for AR numbers.

0.3 update: new art for AR3200 and AR3800 courtesy of @Yovoneth to remove overlap with Beregost since those areas aren't really adjacent. Moved link to GDrive since the file is pretty big now.

0.4 update: changed link from Gullykin to Durlag's Tower to a north exit, since the east side of the Gullykin map is not accessible. Added the encounter graph - hard to read, but provides some good info.

0.5 update: all the Durlag's tower links fixed.

0.6 update: cleanup of links and map edges so that links can be followed. Shortened travel times along the Coast Way (N-S road from Baldur's Gate to Nashkell)

0.7 update: fixed entry point for AR1800 (Cloakwood Mine)

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwOwEmwBQcTWVEFmSjVfRUI0Ukk/edit?usp=sharing
Post edited by Cerevant on
mars0124Pecca[Deleted User]BalquoErgCrevsDaakgeminibrunijackjackelminster
«1

Comments

  • PeccaPecca Member Posts: 2,175
    Good work! I was quite surprised about Ulgoth's Beard location.

    With quick testing I noticed I cannot reach Durlag's tower.
  • CerevantCerevant Member Posts: 2,314
    @Pecca - Thanks for giving it a try!

    How were you trying to get there? There isn't a direct path any more - you need to travel through the areas in between. This is more consistent with the other quests in the game.
  • PeccaPecca Member Posts: 2,175
    I was trying to get there from Gullykin (to the north) and area3500 (to the south). Your posted map suggests to travel there from eastern edge of those maps, however, that is not possible.
  • CerevantCerevant Member Posts: 2,314
    Ok, I'll look into it.
  • CerevantCerevant Member Posts: 2,314
    edited February 2013
    0.3 update: new art for AR3200 and AR3800 courtesy of @Yovoneth to remove overlap with Beregost since those areas aren't really adjacent.
  • CerevantCerevant Member Posts: 2,314
    edited February 2013
    @Pecca: did you talk to the folks in Ulgoth's Beard who tell you where to find Durlag's Tower? Like Cloakwood and a few other areas, it won't show up until you hear about it.

    There is an issue with Gullykin in that there isn't access to the eastern edge of the map. I've made it a north exit in version 0.4.
    Post edited by Cerevant on
  • PeccaPecca Member Posts: 2,175
    Yes I have talked to ike, and the area appeared on the worldmap, however it isn't accessible from any area.
  • CerevantCerevant Member Posts: 2,314
    @Pecca - ok, with 0.4 I'm able to get to DT from Gullykin by going north, and from AR3500 by going south. If you are still having trouble, can you post a save game?
  • PeccaPecca Member Posts: 2,175
    I am now able to go there from the north edge of gullykin, but still not from the south edge of area3500.
    procco
  • mars0124mars0124 Member Posts: 180
    Confirmed working on the iPad on v2012. Won't have a chance to verify area exits until later. Is there anything in particular that needs testing. If 'everything' is the answer, could you write up a checklist? Maybe via a read-only google doc?

    I like the addition that opens up Beregost at the same time as High Hedge when moving south from the area Gorion died in (sorry, don't know the AR codes yet).

    Thanks for your hard work @cerevant!
  • CerevantCerevant Member Posts: 2,314
    edited February 2013
    Ok, all the Durlag's Tower link problems should be worked out now (0.5).

    @mars0124: We mostly need to test that we can get from each area to each adjacent area on the map above. Watch the travel times - if there is a bad link, it is possible the game will route you through areas that have good links (that's what was happening to me with AR3500 above). Note that the time values on the map are multiplied by 4 in the game to give you hours. For a checklist, you can print out the area map above, and check off each arrow as you use it and check the travel time.

    You can also check long distance trips (across multiple areas) and make sure the game is taking the shortest time route available, and that the reverse trip takes the same amount of time.
  • PeccaPecca Member Posts: 2,175
    Yes Durlag's Tower works fine now.

    About the area3800, don't you think that 12 hours is little too much time to get there from Beregost? There is a kid from Beregost on that map picking fruits. I would suggest something between 4-8 hours.
  • CerevantCerevant Member Posts: 2,314
    All the times are proportional to the absolute distance between areas, using a scale factor that minimized the change from the originals.

    A core problem that is beyond the scope of this mod is that the map artwork is significantly taller than it should be. This forces me to spread things out more N-S, while compressing things E-W.

    Most of the original area art can be stitched together into a seamless area, but I think the original designers realized that had everything too close together.

    Anyway, AR3800 is a problem without a good solution. I'm open to suggestions, but remember that any change has consequences across the whole map.
  • PeccaPecca Member Posts: 2,175
    After further testing, there is a problem in cloakwood. I can't go from area1600 (shadow druids) to area1700 (wyverns), because I can't leave the area from western edge.

    Also the Coast way (Nashkel to Friendly Arm) traveling time is quite an issue, because it is supposed to be much faster, than traveling in the wilderness. I'd like to look into it, but I just found out that I have some corrupted files, so it might be time to reinstall my game.

    Anyway I really like this mod, I wanted to do something like this myself, but was too lazy. Keep up good work!
  • CerevantCerevant Member Posts: 2,314
    Thanks @Pecca, I appreciate the support.

    Looks like the search map updates (what determines if you can leave an edge or not) are more extensive than I expected. I'm going to do a review of all the areas to make sure everything is legit. I'll get an update together sometime tonight or tomorrow morning.

    I'm feeling pretty stubborn about travel times, but let me think on this and run it by some of the others who have been giving me feedback. I may give on this point (faster travel by road) but I will likely not entertain discussion of whether it is faster to travel in woods or grassland or mountains, and which direction is uphill. I'm sure this is how we ended up with this mess in the first place.

    To put it in perspective, using the Forgotten Realms atlas, It is over 300 miles from Baldur's Gate to Nashkell. There is no way to make that trip on foot in less than a week.
  • mars0124mars0124 Member Posts: 180
    Cerevant said:

    To put it in perspective, using the Forgotten Realms atlas, It is over 300 miles from Baldur's Gate to Nashkell. There is no way to make that trip on foot in less than a week.

    I know I'm causing trouble, but I'm pretty sure Elminster could manage to give you a piggyback in less time.

  • bigdogchrisbigdogchris Member Posts: 1,336
    Sweet looking mod. Can't wait to try it.
  • CerevantCerevant Member Posts: 2,314
    0.6 update is up. Fixed a bunch of map edge/link agreement issues, shortened the travel time along the Coast Way.
  • CerevantCerevant Member Posts: 2,314

    Sweet looking mod. Can't wait to try it.

    So what are you waiting for? Give it a try! You know you want to...
  • PeccaPecca Member Posts: 2,175
    Awesome!

    Minor thing. When I travel to Cloakwood mine I appear in the north, where trees block the edge of the map, so I can't travel back from that position and it looks a little weird. I would suggest another area art fix, with few of those trees deleted, so the edge of the map could be reached from that spot. Or make the traveler appear on the east side. Or nothing, it is really minor thing.
  • CerevantCerevant Member Posts: 2,314
    Actuallly, it is an easy fix - I'll just change where you appear on the map (upper right corner). I have some notes I want to check when I get to work before I release the next update, but this fix will be in it.
  • CerevantCerevant Member Posts: 2,314
    Fix is up.
  • FrecheFreche Member Posts: 473
    Really nice mod.
    Would you consider adding names to some more areas?
    Like: Lion's Way, Coast Way, Wyrms Crossing, Lighthouse, etc.

    Not all wilderness areas need a name but some of them could have.
  • CerevantCerevant Member Posts: 2,314
    I actually discussed adding more captions with the other beta testers, and we decided it was best to not over do it, and make up a lot of names. However, I can see adding a few canonical names like you mention, along with obvious landmarks.
    mlnevese
  • BalquoBalquo Member, Developer Posts: 2,746
    The lighthouse has an official name. "Seawatcher Ruins"
  • CerevantCerevant Member Posts: 2,314
    @Balquo - where is that from?
  • BalquoBalquo Member, Developer Posts: 2,746
  • CerevantCerevant Member Posts: 2,314
    Hmmm...is that Seawatcher (ruins) or Seawatcher Ruins?
  • smeagolheartsmeagolheart Member Posts: 7,963
    Suggest Seawatcher Ruins, like Cloakwood Forest isn't just Cloakwood (Forest)
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