Author Topic: Community Map Pack  (Read 16653 times)

Offline luke83

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Community Map Pack
« on: January 28, 2020, 07:15:10 am »
So i was already planning to upgrade my Hybrid Globe into a Large map set in the future but since i have received a few PMs of the past few weeks, i think it would be best if i expand this goal into creating a new Community Map pack.

The Goal:
 To provide a one stop shop download to add more map variety to Vanilla UFO  &  the Hybrid Vanilla Globes.
 The Scope of these new maps should be Vanilla in focus, if a map set does not make sense in relation to the Vanilla Story lines than it should not be added ( for example  i have several maps creations that make perfect sense in my OXC - FACTIONS mod but would not be used in this set as they are too far from Vanilla.
 To encourage other modders from the broader OXC modding community to contribute Maps, Sprite Sets or even Special Scripts to this pack so its not just a IDT only map pack.

FAQ:

Who can use this  Map Pack?
 Everyone, feel free to use this on your one off games OR build the entire set into your customer MegaMod ( just dont complain to me if we make a update and you need to manually patch your data). All maps, sprites, data ETC contributed to this map pack are done so under the condition that you provide them under the Creative Commons  Attribution Licence (CC BY NC) see link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/


What do i need to do to donate some maps to this project?
Basically the same thing you would do if you where building it into a Mod yourself, just provide the Rulesets file just for your maps ( please remove any Vanilla data from them) and all the necessary Maps files, Terrain File and Routes. Also, if you could include the Mapview Ruleset data ( please use MAPVIEW2 if you can as it make it easier for me) that will allow us to also provide the mapfiles in the downloaded mod for Other modders to expand your work.

Can i just contribute a Map Block instead of a map set?
Yes, BUT, if your expanding a vanilla mapset, you need to make sure your new block is in the same "style" of the original map and you will need to ensure you provide a  working Ruleset also to allow this to mix in at the correct "ratio" so it doesnt look out of place.

I have this mapeset you can include but i have modified one of the Vanilla MCD/PCK/Tab files when i made it, what do i do?
Simply rename that file with a unique ending so it wont overwrite any Vanilla files when i merge it, as an example, i am sure everyone modder has seen a Terrain file with "_L83" on the end, these are vanilla files i modified instead of making from scratch. Also, dont forget to update your Ruleset to the new file names before sending them in!

Can i create 2 version of the same mapset, donate one edition to the community but still keep the other version free of all your licence BS?
Yes, once you contribute a set of maps to us, they become the property of the whole community and will NOT be removed even if you request, but as the original creator, you can have your own set and  choose to do what ever you please with them even use them on a commercial project if you wish, the originals are still yours.

Hey, i have this script that Mixes mapset A with mapset Z, can i contribute it?
Yes, BUT, the 2 mapsets should blend together seamlessly and they total feel of the map should still be maintained. As you can image, if you where mixing a Desert block with some Polar Blocks, expect to be told no :)

Will the map pack contain UFOs?
Yes, however for TFTD the Vanilla game states that the aliens USOs are all based on Underwater Animal Designs, as such to keep the Vanilla feel, we will only support USOs that look something like a animal (it doesn't need to be perfect just not a huge 8 level high cube  :P ) For Vanilla UFOs they game is a little more flexibly when it comes to the shapes so as long as its not to far from the original designs they should be acceptable . Each UFO though should come with the correct interception ( dogfighting) image. Note : any NEW ufos should be similar in total Size to a existing class of ufos.

Hey, i found a error on Mapset X, who's job is it to fix it?
We would prefer the error be flagged with the mapsets original creator ( and a list of who made what will be in each download) so they can fix the error. If they are unwilling or unable to fix the error, then we will have a look and try to fix it ourselves.

Who is running this thing?
To start with i ( Luke83) will act as Administrator of this map pack but i would love it if some other Senior members of the modding community volunteered to help out with this also to spread the workload a little would be great, In a perfect world, this would not just be a IDT team project but a mix of several modders form several "projects", let see who else would like to contribute. All Assets contributed become the property of the community but credit for each contribution will always be given to the original creator, the Administrators are only involved to act as Quality Control and merge and release the data.

Will you be updating the Globe with more Textures?
Eventually YES but due to other modding obligations it may not be for several months, however if you have any TEXTURES for the globe that you would like to contribute, please send them in :)





« Last Edit: January 30, 2020, 10:40:38 am by luke83 »

Offline hellrazor

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Re: Community Map Pack
« Reply #1 on: January 28, 2020, 08:24:18 am »
Hi luke83,

as we have spoken before via PM, i would like to lay out the following points:

- The creative common licence used should be focused on non-commercial usage. This includes in my eyes attempts to sell community work against money. Personal donations are something, i think which does not really fit into this, as long as the rest of the licence is honored. That is a point which needs to be discussed.

- The goal should be to keep this maps within the community available to all modders for all times.
- The intended long term goal in my eyes is to make sure the Hobbes incident does not happen again

I am personally majorly pissed off about Hobbes revoking the usage of the Terrain Pack files in all other mods. Despite the deep respect and admiration i do have for his past work and his contribution towards the community, i think it is best to let him be in his corner and act like a prima donna. Throwing childish tantrums...

Yes i am calling him publicly out here, since thanks to his tantrum I can basically scrap my mod (https://openxcom.mod.io/hardmode-expansion) which i spent time on creating since 2015. Thanks for nothing...

I will contribute the following assets (luke83 agrees with this) as long as the cc licence makes sure stuff is only used non-commercial (we have to discuss and define this):
https://openxcom.mod.io/expanded-terror-reworked
https://openxcom.mod.io/expanded-ubase-reworked
https://openxcom.mod.io/ufo-vanilla-variants

The best course of action in my eyes would be to have two major packs, a UFO Defense one (which i am majorly interested in), a TFTD one.
And last but not least a combination of both, to satiesfy Total Conversation Mods.

I would like to recommend creating a public github to which pull requests could be send to.

I am sorry luke83, but so far i did not had the time to set up MV2, to provide you with the required YAML files.
I am also offering to help bugfixing, overworking, reworking or expanding maps (especially recreating globe terrains) or adding turned versions etc..

hellrazor

PS.: Very important keep a meticolous list of credit so everyone can be properly mentioned.

EDIT: Solarius Scorch, I would also like to include into the Map Packs the Solars New UFO's Mod on which i created most of the additional maps (interior variants).
I do have a complete set of all UFO maps, which are honoring the UFO Defense style in my mod.
« Last Edit: January 28, 2020, 08:40:45 am by hellrazor »

Offline luke83

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Re: Community Map Pack
« Reply #2 on: January 28, 2020, 11:45:29 am »
Lets not turn this into another pick on Hobbes topic, Hobbes made a decision and regardless of if you agree with it or not, that was his decision and as a community we should respect it. This is about how we move forward and i am only volunteering for service as someone needs to take the first step ( plus i was going to do something similar anyway for my Hybrid :) )

I will look at the rules under the Non-Commercial license in more detail as no matter what, Donations should be allowed as someone may ask for donations to keep a server running or pay a artist to do some custom work for example ( im actually  looking at commission a sprite for Factions, image if i didnt have to pay for it out of my beer money) so we shouldnt get upset if they do it and spend it all on beer.

So at this stage i dont have plans for a TFTD one however i do have some maps in FACTIONS that can be ported back to TFTD if anyone wants them. There would be a Pure Vanilla version as one download and a Hybrid version as a second download, i will adjust my rulesets so as i expand the vanilla i just need to duplicate the data over for the Hybrid game.

I have no experience with Github and was just going to manage these with some versioning notes inside each Rulesets like i do in Factions:

Quote
############################
## FACTIONS - armour - RULESET
## V0.0.2
## Lasted Changed by L83
## Comments: 18-01-2020 -Added Wanderers Unit
## Comments: 20-01-2020 -Added lostone Unit
###########################

Everytime i add something i just add some notes, thebulk of this process should just be copy, paste and test so i dont think i will be too hard to manage however if someone can point me to a idiots guide to Github i will at least watch a video and see how it all works :)

What ever version of mapview someone uses is not a big issue either, Pretty sure @kevl has made a convertor so if i get the old format i will just have a crack at converting it, its more important that the Rulesets work correctly, i dont want to be re-writing everyones map generation scripts  :P




« Last Edit: January 28, 2020, 11:47:14 am by luke83 »

Offline Solarius Scorch

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Re: Community Map Pack
« Reply #3 on: January 28, 2020, 01:18:25 pm »
Of course, any map resources I made are fully available for anyone. Credits would be good though.
Is there anything I should do here? Or will you guys handle the ripping?
Also, what is your standing towards OXC/OXCE? Much of the terrain stuff I make these days requires OXCE features, most notably verticalLevels, and won't work with OXC.

This is a great initiative, I wish you luck!

Offline Meridian

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Re: Community Map Pack
« Reply #4 on: January 28, 2020, 02:03:45 pm »
Also, what is your standing towards OXC/OXCE? Much of the terrain stuff I make these days requires OXCE features, most notably verticalLevels, and won't work with OXC.

All mapblocks should be usable both in OXC and OXCE.
OXCE didn't change the original map block formats (MAP and RMP).

Features like verticalLevels only allow to mix and match various mapblocks together (using mapscript) for a final effect... but the raw data is still usable everywhere.

Offline Solarius Scorch

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Re: Community Map Pack
« Reply #5 on: January 28, 2020, 02:21:48 pm »
To be honest I can't see how you can use a loose collection of office tower floors without being able to stack them one over another.

Also stuff like the "terrain:" command can in some cases be required, as a terrain may be incomplete - for example when it uses landing sites from another terrain.

Offline Meridian

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Re: Community Map Pack
« Reply #6 on: January 28, 2020, 03:37:58 pm »
To be honest I can't see how you can use a loose collection of office tower floors without being able to stack them one over another.

Also stuff like the "terrain:" command can in some cases be required, as a terrain may be incomplete - for example when it uses landing sites from another terrain.

I would not include those then.
They are not real standalone map blocks... just some kind of building blocks... and require mapscripts to work properly... if I understand correctly, mapscripts would not be part of this map pack (is there a first version of this map pack available somewhere to see how it looks?).

But I'll leave it up to you modders, don't want to interfere.

Offline Solarius Scorch

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Re: Community Map Pack
« Reply #7 on: January 28, 2020, 05:07:51 pm »
I've been thinking along similar lines - this example building needs to stand on some other terrain, so it is not self-contained. Therefore you could designate it as "not terrain".

But then you have my underground cave village, which is pretty much self-contained, except for the fact that it uses verticalTerrain to spawn your craft in a certain location (via borrowing the landing zone from another terrain, probably URBAN or DESERT, it doesn't matter). So, is this a "terrain" or not?

I don't have the answer myself, which is why I asked. Despite the appearances, the issue is not binary at all.

Offline luke83

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Re: Community Map Pack
« Reply #8 on: January 29, 2020, 12:28:58 am »
To start with atleast, we should keep it to maps that work in oxc, if in 2years time we need some oxce feature than we can then speak to the devs to see if something can be ported back from oxce to oxc... As a none coder, i have no idea how hard this so dont want to waste devs time until we know of its even needed.

Offline luke83

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Re: Community Map Pack
« Reply #9 on: January 30, 2020, 10:35:20 am »
Is there anything I should do here? Or will you guys handle the ripping?

I can handle the ripping mate but to save me time, if you could just outline which maps are good for Geoscape replacements and which ones are suited to vanilla style Terror Missions it will save me a lot of trial and error as i am not overly familiar with what maps you have i hate to say it :( Also keep in mind that we need to keep OXC compatibility so if you have a mapset that could work if i re-write the scripts let me know and i will hit them after all the easy ones are in :)

To start with im going to focus on Geoscape and Terror missions, at a later date we acn double back and look at alien bases.

THanks again for the donations :)

Offline luke83

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Re: Community Map Pack
« Reply #10 on: February 07, 2020, 09:36:19 pm »
Working on a Rice Farm for this mapset, most likelyhalf way there on the maps, still have a heap of sprite work to do.


Also i will merge some more maps into this set this weekend, hopefully we can get version 1 out in a few weeks :P

Offline hellrazor

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Re: Community Map Pack
« Reply #11 on: February 12, 2020, 08:06:31 pm »
Luke83,

is that the correct Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode ?

Maybe that would be to invasive?
« Last Edit: February 12, 2020, 08:12:00 pm by hellrazor »

Offline hellrazor

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Re: Community Map Pack
« Reply #12 on: February 15, 2020, 09:15:07 pm »
To start with im going to focus on Geoscape and Terror missions, at a later date we acn double back and look at alien bases.

In regard of UFO Defense, i guess alien bases have some nice things already: https://openxcom.mod.io/expanded-ubase-reworked

Offline luke83

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Re: Community Map Pack
« Reply #13 on: February 15, 2020, 11:05:35 pm »
In regard of UFO Defense, i guess alien bases have some nice things already: https://openxcom.mod.io/expanded-ubase-reworked

Hell yes, i have the Expanded U-Base in the mod already since it adds so much to the game, at some point though i need to add the TFTD ones for the Hybrid version but i want to get the other basic mission types working first.

Offline hellrazor

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Re: Community Map Pack
« Reply #14 on: March 08, 2020, 09:22:58 pm »
Well have fun. I am out of this. Can't work with groups after all.