So here's the deal.
I'm currently working on this roguelike, revolving around the world of the novel series "A Song of Ice and Fire" (AKA Game of Thrones) by George R. R. Martin. This will be a Dwarf-Fortress-scale project, I already laid down the ground work for something grand, it'll also be open-source and I'm going to upload it to github once it enters alpha stage.
The game supports maps which are already 3-dimensional (voxel-based) and can be extended to use graphics (SDL and whatnot), but currently runs in a console and only builds on 64-bit Linux since I had no time to compile it on other platforms, although that's not a problem since it has no platform-specific code.
Development-wise, I've reached the point where I generate procedural worlds. The maps are stored as two inseparable .png files, a colour-coded terrain map specifying one biome-per-pixel and a grey-scale height-map that determines the height of said pixel/sector (white is highest, black is lowest), and the alpha channel is always ignored in both cases. When the game starts, a small chunk of the world is generated from both files where the player will start playing, then as the player moves, more areas are generated as they move around.
I'd use a 3D format if it was feasible, but I don't think something on that scale is possible.
So here's where my request comes in: I've been doing light digital painting/drawing in the past; but alas, those days are gone. My creative (or at least graphically adept) mind dried up a few years past, and I need your help. I need someone with that sense I long lost and the right tools for the job to help me construct a [url=http://gameofthrones.net/images/Westeros_Maps/map_of_westeros.jpg]map of Westeros[/url], and only Westeros, not the whole world (not yet at least). But due to technical limits it has to meet certain requirements:
1. You can use any colour you want for biomes, so long the colour is consistent.
2. You can be creative, new biomes can be added dynamically through JSON definition files, the engine can handle them just fine. Biome definitions include, amongst other things, materials for the generated sectors: rock, sand, snow, beach, desert, river, etc.
3. Biomes are read by matching the colour of pixels to JSON entries which contain a HTML/hex colour code (shorthand form is not allowed), and as such I'll need a full list of the colours used and their respective biomes. Here's a small example of the (yet unfinished) syntax: (You don't have to supply this, just the HTML/hex colour codes you picked and for what)
[code] {
"name":"Plains",
"sym":".",
"style":{"fgcolour":"Yellow", "attributes":["Dim"]},
"materials":["Dirt", "Grass"],
"layerStart":0,
"layerEnd:":2,
"mapColour":"#827f00"
},[/code]
4. Locations of well known cities and landmarks don't really matter, since I plan to add pre-made definition files for those later, although I'm not sure how that's going to work as of yet. I'd leave the sites flat (e.g. The Wall)
If you like where this project is going and want to ask questions, please feel free.
And lastly, I'll leave you with a few screenshots, some old and some new, so you can get a feel for what to come:
[img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/27714141/Screenshot%20from%202013-11-05%2009%3A26%3A44.png[/img]
[img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/27714141/Screenshot%20from%202013-11-07%2005%3A39%3A56.png[/img]
[img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/27714141/Screenshot%20from%202013-10-22%2007%3A29%3A17.png[/img]
[img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/27714141/Screenshot%20from%202013-10-25%2006%3A19%3A27.png[/img]
[img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/27714141/Screenshot%20from%202013-11-06%2004%3A27%3A05.png[/img]
[img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/27714141/Screenshot%20from%202013-11-07%2000%3A15%3A52.png[/img]
[editline]7th November 2013[/editline]
Forgot to post example map:
Map:
[url]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/27714141/map.png[/url]
Height map:
[url]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/27714141/heightmap.png[/url]
[url=https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/27714141/westeros.svg]Messy SVG[/url] [url=https://github.com/maihde/jDip-Westeros-Map]Original[/url]
Well, it appears that no one is interested. Thank you for taking the time to read this though.
I know it's far too complicated, so consider this request retracted. I'll hopefully figure something out on my own.
i wish i could help out, but i don't have that amount of skill in these things. your game sounds grand, i do like a good roguelike. perhaps you'd be better asking in the programming or general games discussion forums. you could also try game development forums ([url=https://www.google.co.uk/#q=game+development+forums]gofigure[/url]).
good luck with the project
[QUOTE=barrab;43129105]i wish i could help out, but i don't have that amount of skill in these things. your game sounds grand, i do like a good roguelike. perhaps you'd be better asking in the programming or general games discussion forums. you could also try game development forums ([url=https://www.google.co.uk/#q=game+development+forums]gofigure[/url]).
good luck with the project[/QUOTE]
Thank you. I've already requested help at [url=http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=133727.75]bay12 forums[/url], I figured if someone was going to help out it was going to be the Dwarf Fortress community and its modders.
The project has come a long way since then, the bitmap versions of the map are completely optional right now. The editor I'm writing can import them and convert them to vector graphics/polygons (which is what's used in actuality by the engine) for use in map generation. Once I'm done with it, you'll also be able to attach all kinds of data to the map now that I ditched the raster version, things like temperature, political overlay, etc.
[img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/27714141/adwif_editor1.png[/img]
I now realise it was too early to ask for help, it'll come when it's time. :)
this looks fantastic, i'll certainly be following this project.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.
