Architect Map Editor

Project will not be released here. I'm done putting up with this shit.
Beta testing will only be available for private members.

Hey everyone,

As most of you know, I usually have two ongoing projects: a main project and a side project. A day ago, I completed my side project in designing a bot that would pass though TQ's antibot undetected. In its place, I decided that I would reattempt my Architect project for community use and for my portfolio.

As I've said before, it seems that most programmers here go through a stage where they want to create a fully functional map editor. I have definitely gone through that stage and I did start my own editor once upon a time, but I was quickly overwhelmed by college classes and multiple projects. Since then, I have lost the project. Looking back at similar projects posted here, it seems that they have all fallen under the same fate.

With my bot project completed, I'm shifting my side focus to an old project of mine called Architect. As I've stated before, the tool will not, I repeat, not be a fully visual map editor like you've seen under development by other programmers. It's a much simpler editor - same functionality, just not completely visual. This will allow me to get the tool done quickly and in more manageable parts. The tool will allow the user to modify and create data maps. Aimed features are: modifying tile information (elevation, accessibility, and surface type), scenery management (bridges and such), portal management, cover management (fences, animations, and such), sound management, puzzle management (background editing), etc.

The final design for the project uses a graphical user interface (GUI) written in C# using Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). It saves your GUI configuration to the Windows registry (hooray) so that you don't have to keep finding your map projects and such. Here's a picture of the tool from day 1 of the new development (revision 2):

[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]

You may notice that the tool looks radically different than the previous version, and that's because I've created a completely new window for it. I plan to redesign how the user will interact with the map being edited. Regarding the testing of the tool, I will be opening a public technology preview as soon as basic project management features are programmed. Feedback is welcome at any time (reason for this thread), so if you want me to address anything special with the tool, leave me a comment. Thanks.

Kind Regards,
Spirited

Hopefully people will implement lots of maps with naked ladies!

Well, it's not much progress, but here we go. I finished the layout of the base map editing environment that handles input. I also finished the new project window and conversion wizard. Now, I'm working on the actual conversion of a map into an Architect project. The project will be composed of INI files, and the executable will support command line arguments (planned), just in case you don't want to use a GUI. Here are some pictures (ignore the times stated in the GUI; it usually processes windows before rendering them).

Edit: Note, these are all unique, custom made windows. No templates, just the Windows Presentation Foundation.


More development is coming soon.

Hey everyone,

So, I have most of the data map (dmap) file structure down (along with other file dependencies), meaning that most Conquer Online data maps can now be converted into an Architect map project (which will be edited in the map editor, or may be edited using text editors). After reviewing the program so far, I found that I was really unhappy with the way the editor performed with user experience, so I redesigned the editor to perform much better with keyboards and standard user input. It not only looks better and feels better, it supports much more customization and expansion. My apologies for not working on this for a few weeks. More development is coming soon.

[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]

Regards,
Spirited

I think It would make more sense to make the Project Name the same as the Map Name and get rid of the Map Name Text box.

Also that Create button feels like its in the wrong place somehow :P

Maybe unrelated, but can you still modify the minimap in CO?

Quote:

Originally Posted by { Angelius } I think It would make more sense to make the Project Name the same as the Map Name and get rid of the Map Name Text box. Also that Create button feels like its in the wrong place somehow :P

I agree.

I swapped the position of the cancel and create button. Also, the tool encourages the same name until the user changes the map name separately from the project name. In other words, when you change the project name, the map name is automatically changed unless it was changed manually, similarly to how Visual Studio allows for a separate solution name from the project name, but encourages the same name until manually changed.

[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]

In regards to the minimap, yes. The minimap will be brought over with the map conversion. The minimap is separate from the data map (quite unrelated actually), but I do recognize its importance. I'll make sure I don't forget to handle that.

Hey everyone,

This is an update from roughly a week ago. I'm updating the "other" board first, then updating this board later. If you're really interested in this project, check out the other board (link might on my blog). There's a lot more content that you won't get here on the other board's Architect thread (discussion). People on the that board are actually interested in the development of Architect rather than the final outcome, which is why I will be updating that board first. Until I see better feedback from members here (which I don't think I'll see), I'll be keeping to this schedule or possibly delaying updates here even more. We'll have to see - it'll depend on the feedback I get here. Thanks for keeping interested. :)
__________________

I know it hasn't been long since I wrote about my previous updates, but I thought it would be a notable progress point. Today, I finished writing an implementation of WindSoul Data Files (WDFs). The original implementation, written in C++ and assembly, can be found [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]. If you don't know much about WDFs, the original file structure was developed with the WindSoul++ game programming library by 云风 (Cloud Wu) in 1999-2001. The file structure is used in Conquer Online for storing map and entity textures. In Architect, needed files will be automatically fetched from data.wdf without the need of extracting the entire file. Here's a picture of the first file extracted:

[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]

From here, I'll be working on improving client verification and map conversion. More development is coming soon. Cheers.

Just go to "the other board" already and get out of here. Nobody cares about "that board" nor who is there and what "the other board" is interested in.

I might sound cocky, but it sounds like you're trying to "advertise" "the other board" and somehow wants to make it seem like a "better board", but if it's so much "better" and they seem to be "interested" in this, then why do you post this "here" ??

Before you take this as a "personal attack" as you "always" do then try to read your post again. You constantly referres to "the other board" in the first half.

You speak so much about "feedback" and that "interest", but to be honest there is literally nothing to give feedback on and that may be why "nobody" has any "interest" in your project. Perhaps if you showed some code, techniques and the different procedures you've went through to create this, maybe people would be "interested" in it on "this board" since most people here are interested in programming and not actual user interface and how "userfriendly" and "good" a program looks.

I fail to understand how we can possibly give any feedback on the development when all you've shown is a GUI, perhaps.

You seem to think people here are interested in the outcome of your project, which IMO probably isn't the reason nobody has taken interest into it, but rather because they don't have any interest in the outcome, but rather how it's created. This doesn't mean you'd have to show every line of code etc. but the simple procedures and how it could be achieved might spark more interest as people would actually be able to learn something from it.

At this point all it will do is:
1. Spoonfeed people when the project is finished
2. Be a waste of thread since you just show GUI images and a short brief of what you've done, but nothing in detail that can actually be considered useful information.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Super Aids Just go to "the other board" already and get out of here. Nobody cares about "that board" nor who is there and what "the other board" is interested in. I might sound cocky, but it sounds like you're trying to "advertise" "the other board" and somehow wants to make it seem like a "better board", but if it's so much "better" and they seem to be "interested" in this, then why do you post this "here" ?? Before you take this as a "personal attack" as you "always" do then try to read your post again. You constantly referres to "the other board" in the first half. You speak so much about "feedback" and that "interest", but to be honest there is literally nothing to give feedback on and that may be why "nobody" has any "interest" in your project. Perhaps if you showed some code, techniques and the different procedures you've went through to create this, maybe people would be "interested" in it on "this board" since most people here are interested in programming and not actual user interface and how "userfriendly" and "good" a program looks. I fail to understand how we can possibly give any feedback on the development when all you've shown is a GUI, perhaps. You seem to think people here are interested in the outcome of your project, which IMO probably isn't the reason nobody has taken interest into it, but rather because they don't have any interest in the outcome, but rather how it's created. This doesn't mean you'd have to show every line of code etc. but the simple procedures and how it could be achieved might spark more interest as people would actually be able to learn something from it. At this point all it will do is: 1. Spoonfeed people when the project is finished 2. Be a waste of thread since you just show GUI images and a short brief of what you've done, but nothing in detail that can actually be considered useful information.

You obviously haven't visited the other board, and this is the first and only time I've ever mentioned it. There's so much negativity ruining this board for everyone interested. I mean, look at this shit you just wrote. What negative, senseless garbage. Being insulted constantly, reading angry members' complaints constantly, dealing with arrogant remarks and random negativity from inappropriate members. I'm burned out. It's not fun developing here anymore, and it's definitely not to my benefit. The other board is just so much better than this, in multiple magnitudes. We actually have a discussion going about how I'm developing this and about good software design - from members interested in learning and growing as a software developer. WHAT A CONCEPT. Then you look at this board, and how utterly disappointing. This thread can be closed. I'm over it.

finally fang saw what this forum is like... and to add to the negativity, i dunno why ur wasting ur time on a map editor, i already told u, if u release it, mine will be released for free, wich already has everything u have implemented plus 100 more features lol and its wysiwyg, well tbh im gonna be nieve and say even with yours or my editors out there, the best people will be able todo is move objects around as there are no more decent artists who have any idea about isometric design left in the community.