Possible import or read format for maptool.

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huhlig
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Possible import or read format for maptool.

Post by huhlig »

I am curious, would it be possible for maptool to read ODF. Specifically ODF Draw. It works beautifully for making maps and being able to modify maps in ODF without the extra import and things. Would also allow for the GM to turn on and off various layers without too much hassle, Things like DM notes. I might be rambling but it seemed like a good idea.

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snikle
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Post by snikle »

What is ODF? Never heard of that format before.
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huhlig
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Post by huhlig »

Open Document format. Made popular by Sun's Opensource Office Suite Openoffice.

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trevor
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Post by trevor »

huhlig wrote:Open Document format. Made popular by Sun's Opensource Office Suite Openoffice.
Do you mean for storing campaign notes ? Or the actual map ?

Could you flesh out your idea a little more so I can more clearly see your vision :) ?
Dreaming of a 1.3 release

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ego093
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Post by ego093 »

Actually, SVG would probably be a workable, compatible format if you're looking to use vector graphics. I use Inkscape for object placement and I imagine it would be useful to just export my final layouts in SVG as opposed to PNGs which I then compress into JPGs.

But really... that's just dreaming and making things complicated. Bitmaps work great, and you can create them in just about any program.

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trevor
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Post by trevor »

I'd actually love to use SVGs. I did a little research on them a bit ago, it's going to take some work to get them integrated into the map and keep it performant. When we get to 1.3 (the graphics pipeline focused release) I'll look into adding more formats, such as svg.
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huhlig
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Post by huhlig »

I tried using inkscape, but how to you render a texture to a polygon. Truthfully, from what I see of where Trevor is going with maptool. MapX had an excellent format. SVG style XML with embedded images. It seemed to work really well, and would allow for unlimited layer support(in the file format anyway). Same as ODF.

I am simply wondering if Auto FOW would be better done with an SVG style format. so that you can define "floor" on one layer, Walls on another and so on. Makes the actual Graphics layering and rendering faster I would think.

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trevor
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Post by trevor »

I'll do some research into odf
Dreaming of a 1.3 release

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ego093
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Post by ego093 »

Huhlig - you use Object to Pattern, which is a little non-intuitive. That said, I LOVE laying out the polys for my maps in Inkscape, which I then export to Photoshop for full texturing and effects.

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