One-time Map Grid Linking

[Zeno]

Hello. This is all **server-side**.

This is a short tutorial on how to make a set of maps on a grid such that they are already linked to walk between them. This does not change anything else. This is purely for convenience … and I know I'm way less likely to screw up a grid if it's done in the beginning for me!

This code is intended to be injected into a fresh project, run, and then the code removed. You could leave the code in; however, it makes saving maps slightly less efficient and would overwrite any changes to the internal grid links.

You can use this in a started project. The risk is that it may place inappropriate maps, such as indoor or test maps, onto your grid. You can correct this by renaming the innappropriate map in your maps folder to map#.dat where the # is any unused map number past (grid side length)^2\.  Then, make a new map and either boot up and and shut down the server (with the code injected), or go into your map editor and adjust the values manually (after the code has been removed). Note that you will also have to update any warp tiles, events, map links, etc. involving the old map to its new map index.

To begin with, add this line in your modConstants:

```
Public Const MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH As Long = 5

```
Change the number 5 to be whatever you'd like the maximum width and height of your grid to be. I used five because it was a small number for testing. A way to find this out is to think how many maps you'd like to have on your main field (e.g., 100, 200, 400) and taking a nearby square root (e.g, 10, 14, 20).

Search your source for the following in SaveMap:

```
Put #F, , Map(mapnum).Up
Put #F, , Map(mapnum).Down
Put #F, , Map(mapnum).Left
Put #F, , Map(mapnum).Right

```
And replace it with: 

>! ```
If mapnum <= (MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH * MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH) Then
Select Case (mapnum Mod MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH)
Case 0 'right side
If mapnum < MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH + 1 Then
Put #F, , Map(mapnum).Up
Put #F, , mapnum + MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH ' Map(mapnum).Down
Put #F, , mapnum - 1 'Map(mapnum).Left
Put #F, , Map(mapnum).Right

ElseIf mapnum > ((MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH * MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH) - MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH) Then
Put #F, , mapnum - MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH 'Map(mapnum).Up
Put #F, , Map(mapnum).Down
Put #F, , mapnum - 1 'Map(mapnum).Left
Put #F, , Map(mapnum).Right
Else:
Put #F, , mapnum - MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH 'Map(mapnum).Up
Put #F, , mapnum + MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH ' Map(mapnum).Down
Put #F, , mapnum - 1 'Map(mapnum).Left
Put #F, , Map(mapnum).Right
End If
Case 1 ' left side
If mapnum < MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH + 1 Then
Put #F, , Map(mapnum).Up
Put #F, , mapnum + MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH ' Map(mapnum).Down
Put #F, , Map(mapnum).Left
Put #F, , mapnum + 1 'Map(mapnum).Right
ElseIf mapnum > ((MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH * MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH) - MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH) Then
Put #F, , mapnum - MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH 'Map(mapnum).Up
Put #F, , Map(mapnum).Down
Put #F, , Map(mapnum).Left
Put #F, , mapnum + 1 'Map(mapnum).Right
Else:
Put #F, , mapnum - MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH 'Map(mapnum).Up
Put #F, , mapnum + MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH ' Map(mapnum).Down
Put #F, , Map(mapnum).Left
Put #F, , mapnum + 1 'Map(mapnum).Right
End If
Case Else 'middle
If mapnum < MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH + 1 Then
Put #F, , Map(mapnum).Up
Put #F, , mapnum + MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH ' Map(mapnum).Down
Put #F, , mapnum - 1 'Map(mapnum).Left
Put #F, , mapnum + 1 'Map(mapnum).Right
ElseIf mapnum > ((MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH * MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH) - MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH) Then
Put #F, , mapnum - MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH 'Map(mapnum).Up
Put #F, , Map(mapnum).Down
Put #F, , mapnum - 1 'Map(mapnum).Left
Put #F, , mapnum + 1 'Map(mapnum).Right
Else:
Put #F, , mapnum - MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH 'Map(mapnum).Up
Put #F, , mapnum + MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH ' Map(mapnum).Down
Put #F, , mapnum - 1 'Map(mapnum).Left
Put #F, , mapnum + 1 'Map(mapnum).Right
End If
End Select
Else
Put #F, , Map(mapnum).Up
Put #F, , Map(mapnum).Down
Put #F, , Map(mapnum).Left
Put #F, , Map(mapnum).Right
End If
>! ```

Boot up and then shut down your server to save your maps. MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH^2 maps will have their Map.Up, Map.Left, Map.Right, And Map.Down changed to place them on a square grid of side length MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH, with no change to their direction links on any edge of the grid.

You can adapt this to a rectangular grid by making a MAX_WORLDHEIGHTLENGTH constant and replacing the appropriate MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTHS with it.

Once you've injected, ran, and removed this code, I strongly recommend only placing grid maps on the first MAX_WORLDHEIGHTLENGTH^2 maps. Any indoor, world, dungeon, etc. maps should be placed after that number.

Have fun! C:

[abhi2011]

A picture please. I didn't understand what this is.

[xx0m3gaxx]

I think what this does is make a grid of your maps and links them like this?

1<>2<>3<>4

^     ^     ^     ^

v    v     v    v

5<>6<>7<>8

^     ^     ^     ^

v    v     v    v

9<>10<>11<>12

ect

[Ryo]

It makes X numbers of map linked, if MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH * MAX_WORLDSIDELENGTH = 200

the first 200 maps will be automatically linked to each other

it can be useful for an automated world map among others things

[Zeno]

Yes, spot on. Thanks! Both are great explanations of what I meant by a linked grid.

[abhi2011]

By linking maps you mean warps? (Direct warps not the attributes.)

[Zeno]

> By linking maps you mean warps? (Direct warps not the attributes.)

Yes, exactly.

[abhi2011]

Might I ask then why add the code into the engine? Why not just load the map files form a different application and edit the map files?

[Zeno]

Yeah, you could absolutely do that. It's a chosen personal preference. 

I just find it much easier to add a line, replace four, and then press undo a few times than to make a new project and have to copy types, generals, saving, loading, etc., plus add in those lines. Lately I've been changing my map type a lot too, so in my case especially it makes sense to do it this way.

~~It would be better compiled and separate though. I think I'll compile this later for the resources section with an option of which engine's blank map files (or a custom list from an .INI) and a setting for a numbered start mapnum.~~

Started and abandoned a compiled version. It might be a good idea for a specific engine, but there seem too many issues for doing a general one, most of these having to do with RTE errors for reading certain elements with null values.