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Map Extractor

Map Extractor
Version 1.6

I know there are several applications out there to extract maps or sections of maps and copy the contents to other maps. Unfortunately though, I have not been able to get any of those applications to function properly. Perhaps that is because I am using Windows 7, or maybe they just don't work with the new file sizes. Either way, I decided to go about creating a utility for my own use.

I use Dragon Mod9 to create my maps. While it does a good job for what it is, it doesn't allow creation of maps other than map0 in the old size. This application can allow you to use Dragon, of another mapping program, and then splice maps together to form a product that you can start editing with Worldbuilder, CentrED or the like.

To start, simply specify the path where your map and static muls are located and the destination path to copy to. This can be the same path as long as you are working with different maps. If you are simply resizing an existing map, it would be best to specify a different folder for the destination.

Next, specify the source and destination maps. For example, if you want to enlarge a 6144x4096 Felucca map, select Map0 6144x4096 as your source map and Map0 7168x4096 as your destination. If you draw a new Tokuno map within a map0 created by Dragon, then select Map0 6144x4096 as the source and Map4 as the destination.

By default, the application will clone the source map and make a straight copy. If you are copying a larger map to a smaller area, the application will start at coordinates 0,0 and stop at the destination map size. If you are enlarging a map, the application will fill the additional space with black space.

You can specify to copy statics to the new map and you can set the application to copy a specific portion of the source map to a specific location of the destination map. This will allow you to utilize that extra space in the 7168x4096 maps.

I think that pretty well sums it up. Hopefully some others can make use of this application. There are other applications that do similar functions, but this is a fast alternative if you are having difficulty performing these map making tasks. Let me know if you run into any problems and I will get them corrected as soon as possible.

Changes in Version 1.5:
Added ability to convert IDs of statics.

Changes in Version 1.6:
Corrected sizing issues when creating map2.mul replacements.

Dougan Ironfist
 

Attachments

  • Map Extractor 1.6.zip
    162.2 KB · Views: 138

Jeff

Lord
Does this extract the original map? If so you might consider blocking that feature like Dragon does... for the same reasons Dragon does.
 
I wasn't aware that Dragon blocked any map creation. I also didn't realize that Dragon extracted sections of existing maps. Programs like RadMap Copy also the copy of any portion of any map. What reasons are there? If it is a copyright issue, then how to tell if the source map is an OSI map? I wasn't able to locate any copyright info within the file itself or any file properties to suggest it. Please clarify what you are asking.

I have removed the application download until I am certain that it is not breaking any copyrights.
 

Jeff

Lord
Maybe it was map2mul (which i thought was part of Dragon9)... but ya... check out that app, its something to do with extracting copy righted data.
 
Ahh, I think I remember something like that in one of the tools I was looking at. I believe it was supposed to convert a mul into a bmp for dragon. Something along that lines. It always popped up a message about using copyrighted data was illegal and would not proceed. It would do that even for custom maps. Maybe that is what you are referring to. I can't find that application now since I remove any application that doesn't work properly.

I have put the application back up for now, but I will definitely modify it if I can find a way to determine if the source or destination maps are standard OSI maps.

Could I possibly build in a method of tile matching for the standard maps? Pick 20 tiles of the map and if they match the OSI maps exactly in both Tile ID and Altitude, then reject the map as copyrighted? What do you think about that method?

On a side note though, how would this application be different from using WorldBuilder or CentrED to modify to map tiles other than it allows you to copy areas rather than manually rebuilding?
 

Jeff

Lord
I don't know the legalities of it, but was just a suggestion. Maybe someone who knows things from a legal standpoint can chime in.
 
Alright. Thanks for the feedback. I will do some searches also and see if I can turn up anything. I'll make some changes if necessary.
 
its legal to put whatever you create yourself in the map format.
itsillegal to put any existing portion of the map (even if modified/addons made to it, etc)

However, its NOT illegal to create a tool that allows for copying portions of the map, the liability is, (and should) be on the end user not to infringe copyrights. If this were not the case, dvd copiers wouldn't be legal since they allow for you to do so. The map2mul was like that as a courtesy, or to reflect the original authors personal views on the matter, not any actual laws (in the united states)

Think of it as puttign your own content in a word document or pdf, or adding to an existing work in a pdf, and then republishing it.
Word, and other tools will allow you to do this, but it doesn't make it legal to do so. The tools may have copy restrictions in place, but that is not at the behest of the law, but simply because they choose to do so, to make their product line more attractive to copyright holders.

Also, depending on the size and scope of the copying being done, it might not be illegal. Hell, you might unintentionally have created a mountain on your custom map that looks just like one in felucca, but when you decide to make an island shaped the same, with buildings in the same place, with the same name etc etc, or something, that's when you show intent that you are copying.

Back to the word document analogy, theres phrases or word strings that might be copied, just due to the fact that they are so commonly strung together, but its when actual ideas and concepts are copied, that it becomes infringement.

Of course size and scope are inherently ambiguous, but thats what lawyers are for.

If you do wish to check if the file is one of the osi maps (for your own reasons, not legal), I believe you can do a checksum on the file itself and reject anything that matches it
 

Tabain

Sorceror
Any chance you're going to release the source for this?

I need to replace a few static items on my map with another item, and every application out there that does it doesn't seem to work.
 
I will probably release the source after any more quirks are worked out and the coding is cleaned up. I don't see any reason why I can't incorporate a tile translator feature that could allow you to swap statics of ID x in the source with statics of ID y in the destination. I'll see what I can come up with.
 
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