Introducing a new kind of map (looking for feedback)

[Wolfshead Sky]

I've had an idea for quite a while. Instead of the current 2D maps that we currently use (EQ Atlas, etc.), what if you could go to a website and fly around a zone to learn it, see a mob, NPC, camp, etc., locations? That idea finally became a reality (partially...it is currently only a proof of concept). A friend and I put our heads together and figured out how to pull the zones into Unity and tinker with them. Thus began EQ Explorer! (http://www.legendreaders.com/eqexplorer/)

What is it?

It is a Unity program exported to work on a website. The program will only remain at the above link so long as I feel it necessary.

It is NOT meant for mobile devices. Try these at your peril.

Possibly buggy, definitely not optimized, your resolution may throw things off, etc. You have been warned :).

It currently only has ONE zone (Temple of Veeshan).

You can fly around the map and explore.

Locations of interest and notable NPCs can be represented.

For proof of concept, you can click on a handful of locations and NPCs via the interface and be zoomed off to their location. Two NPCs have floating heads representing them, and a third has a Magic the Gathering style card with information pulled from the wiki here.

It currently has the zone music which can be toggled off and on.

This is ONLY a proof of concept. Giving all 117 zones the preferential treatment they deserve in a project like this would be a monumental undertaking (too bad it doesn't work like the wiki!!). Still, it was a neat little project to develop and play around with, and we wanted to share it.

Who knows? Maybe it will turn into something bigger. Or perhaps individuals with more time on their hands can take this idea and run with it. There is a lot of potential for ideas in a project such as this. At any rate, we hope you enjoy it :).

[DoucLangur]

nice idea, there was a program which you could actually use like this in the old days, just to load the EQ game zone files and fly through them (without clipping, too).

If you wanna do it web-based, here's my suggestions:
- the controls need some serious work (currently it is next to impossible to navigate without overshooting)
- clip / noclip (and potentially even stick to floor / free float) should be options
- make a simple engine that will allow people to edit the zone NPC / location info like a wiki. Like - people can set markers, fill them with info & then you can approve / not approve markers by user. That'd take some of the effort out of said huge undertaking
- option to turn off music ;)

[Wolfshead Sky]

Noted, but this idea is more along the lines of "a quick way to explore the map" rather than a full-blown, physics-based project. Still, I'm in the mood to tinker, so I'll see what can be done. Not sure what else can be done with the camera beyond adjusting the speed. And there is already an option to turn off the music. Speaker icon in the How to Use panel :).

[Mblake81]

Nice

[loramin]

On a practical level there are already desktop programs that you can run to "fly through" any EQ zone you want, so I'm not sure there's a need for this ...

... but with that being said, that's a really awesome project! I was skeptical as to how good of a job a Unity port would be in my (Linux-backed) browser, but it all worked super well and totally proved the concept. Cool idea and great execution.

http://i.imgur.com/oVG43Je.gif?noredirect

[Wolfshead Sky]

Definitely isn't a need, but it was still fun to put together. The main idea was convenience. Many people don't have the programs or are tech-savvy enough to open the zone files. And even for those who are, this is meant to be much quicker and easier. Besides, it has been a BLAST going through old models and textures :).

[Champion_Standing]

gimme all the zones!

[Wolfshead Sky]

:)

[Vapos]

Really cool. I enjoyed the card at LTK, and the ability to get a birds-eye view of the mazes in East and West. Great work.

[Hibbs]

If im ever lost I usually log on my 105 SK on live and run around and learn where to go lol

[Wolfshead Sky]

Update!

Fixed a few bugs, but most notably added sliders so users can adjust their movement and mouse look speeds.

[Wolfshead Sky]

Update!

Zone music is now off by default.

Created a Settings panel and placed the movement and mouse look speed sliders there. Also added the audio mute functionality to the Settings panel. Created a volume control and also placed it in the Settings panel.

There are 3 Notable NPCs in the program so far. For testing, 2 of them had their 3D model heads representing them and one had a Magic the Gathering style card representing it. Changed all of them to the MtG style cards. Having the heads was neat and all, but the cards give lots of good info.

The "cards" now rotate to face the player.

Adjusted the "fly to" functionality so the users stop a little further back and in a good position to see the card information.

http://www.legendreaders.com/eqexplorer/

[ryachart]

This is super cool.

[Twochain]

This is awesome! Great work man!

[Wolfshead Sky]

Thanks for the compliments, all :).

Another update!

The cursor now changes to the "pointy finger" when hovering over something that is clickable in the UI. Considered going with the middle finger cursor from Grand Theft Auto, but figured we'd keep it classy :). Might implement something like the Konami code to unlock it :D .

Cards now have rounded corners. A small detail, but am glad it was done.

Swapped out the card for Lendiniara the Keeper for a lower-resolution original design. The MtG template is great, but don't want any conflicts with what IP. Our "original design" is inspired by MtG to be sure, but we built it from scratch, and gave it some recognizable EQ elements. And it is still a work in progress. The lower resolution cards are needed anyway. The other cards (Dozekar the Cursed and Lord Vyemm) are great at high resolution, but the size of the program will balloon up quickly with a zone potentially having scores of these cards floating around. We are trying to figure out how low of a resolution we can go but still have the card look nice and be readable.

[Wolfshead Sky]

Forgot to mention this in the last update and I don't see an option to edit my post:

Pressing "U" will now toggle the interface.

[moltm]

you have 140 characters to convince me to use this and not eqzoneviewer

[Aluin]

Is there any possibility of making this open source? I'm sure a few of us wouldn't mind contributing.

[Wolfshead Sky]

Aluin:

I'm not sure how to go about that. This has been a HUGE learning experience for me, and there is still much that I don't know how to do. But I'll look into it :).

moltm:

No :D

[TripleLegit]

This is great, need Old Sebilis on here :P

[tylidian]

This is incredible. Bravo and keep going with it please!

[Bbeta]

Quit trying to ruin my immersion

[skjoldinbrothr]

Hey guys, I am looking for your feedback on the NPC cards we have in EQExplorer. There are currently three variants (two of which are variants of the same design), although I am tinkering around with other ideas and edits. Your feedback will help me create the best user-friendly experience, while hopefully allowing us to create a wholly unique overall design.


https://imgur.com/a/BdccuVT

[Muggens]

Hey guys, I am looking for your feedback on the NPC cards we have in EQExplorer. There are currently three variants (two of which are variants of the same design), although I am tinkering around with other ideas and edits. Your feedback will help me create the best user-friendly experience, while hopefully allowing us to create a wholly unique overall design.


https://imgur.com/a/BdccuVT

I like the top one the most, with the MtG look(although i think the old MtG design was best)

[skjoldinbrothr]

I like the top one the most, with the MtG look(although i think the old MtG design was best)

I forgot to mention that the first image was more of an example of where we started (as it is a MtG card). We are looking to make our own unique cards and stay as close to EverQuest as we can when it comes to assets with as little outside influence as possible.That being said, besides the MtG design was there anything about the first card that drew you to it?

[Muggens]

I forgot to mention that the first image was more of an example of where we started (as it is a MtG card). We are looking to make our own unique cards and stay as close to EverQuest as we can when it comes to assets with as little outside influence as possible.That being said, besides the MtG design was there anything about the first card that drew you to it?

I liked the neat and clean look of it :) also Ive been playing MtG on and off since '96 so hehe.
Who woulndt love to see MtG cards with EQ motifs and lore <3

[skjoldinbrothr]

I liked the neat and clean look of it :) also Ive been playing MtG on and off since '96 so hehe.
Who woulndt love to see MtG cards with EQ motifs and lore <3

I will keep that in mind moving forward. Of the other two, which do you prefer and why?

[Izmael]

Amazing work.

Any way to load a different zone?

[Wolfshead Sky]

Not yet. Working on Sebilis at the moment :). What I may do is just "dump" the bare zones themselves in so people can at least fly around them. Then we can add the map content later when we have time.

[Wolfshead Sky]

Update!

Working on a system to make all zones available. The initial idea was to have this as one entire program with the hopes that doing just the zones would make it small enough to go that route. Yea right! Instead, the main link (http://legendreaders.com/eqexplorer/) is now a simple HTML page, with links to the individual zones being available there.

Current zones available:

Temple of Veeshan (incomplete)
Old Sebilis (incomplete)
Plane of Fear (zone only)

Right now, the idea is to just get the zones out without taking the time to add content. That way users can at least fly around and explore. All the content and bells and whistles will be added later.

If a particular zone's background music hasn't been added, then the option to adjust audio will not be present.

[Muggens]

I will keep that in mind moving forward. Of the other two, which do you prefer and why?

The mtg card is alot more tidy and cleaner looking, visually and how the info is placed than the other two. It also looks as it has more stats and info. Not digging the other two as much, could be the resolution...
Maybe make a copycat style card of mtg instead of a pure copy? WotC are greedy bastages but im sure u can use a mtg template without getting sued :p
My 2 cents

Good luck!

[Izmael]

Can't wait for Highpass. Maybe with this tool I'll be finally able to learn my way around this zone, after 20 years of being lost.

[Wolfshead Sky]

Someone ask for Highpass? :)

[Bardp1999]

I wanted to hate this before I clicked because who needs more maps? But I will admit its pretty awesome. Good work friend.

Making the controls a little less clunky would be a good start, and definitely adding in more "points of interest". One of these for SolB and Sirens Groto would be the coolest...Chardok also!

I hope the community ends up fleshing this out competently and we can add it to the Wiki

[Wolfshead Sky]

Glad you guys are liking it. And what better praise than to get a thumbs up from someone who wanted to hate it LOL :).

I've added more zones. Again, for now, these are only the zones. No bells and whistles, yet. But while working on Erudin Palace, I noticed an area that doesn't appear to be accessible in the game. At least I couldn't figure out how to get to it when I made a character to double-check. It is a small area off in the distance with only a building and what looks like 3 teleporter pads. But that isn't what makes it interesting. What makes it interesting is one of the textures on the building :). I left it in the map so users can see it for themselves, but check out the image below.

http://www.legendreaders.com/eqexplorer/Erudin_Palace_Odd_Texture.png

[Wolfshead Sky]

All world zones have been added. Almost all of these are "zone only" and have nothing beyond the actual zone file itself. This means some buildings, structures (such as druid rings), and even trees are usually missing. Time permitting, they will be added later, but it will be a slow process. This also means that the "fly to" functionality by clicking on a point of interest is also not available yet. Again, this adding this content will be a slow process. Despite these shortcomings, the zones are still available to fly around in!

You can think of this project as being very much in beta, and things will be goofy, perhaps the odd broken link, loading the wrong zone, mispelled word, etc. Also remember that the complexity of the zone will determine how choppy the program can be. It is in a browser, after all. This can affect the smoothness of the flying controls. Please report any problems you run into here.

Some zones have collision polygons mixed in with the terrain polygons. I've managed to clear some of the zones, but some zones have these collision polygons (to keep players from going where they aren't supposed to) linked to actual, necessary terrain polygons and deleting the former will also remove the latter. These zones will be flagged as needing to be "cleaned up" and will require some love in a 3D modeling program and re-imported back into Unity. These zones will be cleaned up as time permits.

For now the main EQ Explorer page is simply a web page. It will be upgraded soon to an actual Unity program. But for now, it'll get you to the zone you want to explore.

BONUS! I found the zones for the original character select screen and tutorial. These will be at the bottom of the page, and are pretty neat to explore :).

Some of you have expressed a desire to help out with this project. If you would like to help, I have lots that needs doing, so please PM me :).

Enjoy!

[Wolfshead Sky]

We've been working hard on the project. Almost every zone has been cleaned up. The Hole, The Warrens, Paineel, and Plane of Mischief, while still available to explore, still need to be cleaned up.

Note! We've run into a few technical glitches here and there with Unity. Seems like Unity has been acting persnickety at times and dropping textures and/or making the colors appear a little off. There was even an extreme case where Unity removed all textures from a zone map for some reason. If you notice anything goofy like this, please report it here.

Even though this is just a map project, we've been toying with the idea of being able to toggle atmospheric effects just for fun. Zones like Kithicor Forest and Misty Thicket look odd without the fog and green tone. It might be neat to be able to toggle these effects. Again, just for fun :).

Right now, we are at the point where we are trying to determine what we should add to the project. We've toyed with ideas of floating information cards at notable locations, zone music, etc., but all of these things drastically increase the size of each zone. Even though each zone is its own application, they are web applications and making the download/load time too long for each one can be cumbersome. In one respect, we are incredibly satisfied with being able to simply fly around an empty zone to explore. If the project must remain that simple due to size constraints, so be it. However, if we can, we'd love to add bells and whistles here and there to make flying around the zones a bit more fun and informative.

Objects! Adding objects to the zones is still on our to-do list. As I've mentioned before, many of the zones are pretty bare. Indeed, flying around East Commonlands without any trees in it is rather odd. Due to the amount of time it takes to add items, for now we are only going to give priority to certain objects. For example, adding the druid rings to West Commonlands is more important than adding a bookcase to an out of the way room in some building in Freeport.

Have any suggestions? We'd love to hear them! We've been having a blast with this project and it is pretty neat to see how these zones are put together.

[Terrel]

Thanks for all of the work on this!

Would it be feasible to set up an option so that you can't walk through walls/floors? That'd be awesome!

[Wolfshead Sky]

We've been wanting to implement something like this for a while, but have run into a number of issues. Getting the collisions to behave has been a pain in the butt. We THINK we've found a workable implementation, but it comes at a cost which is movement speed. Our biggest issue is the speed that we can zoom across the map, which is great for being able to navigate quickly, means that we fly right through the mesh collider of the map. You can fix this in a couple ways. One, you can make the user/player collider bigger. That isn't feasible since there are so many tight tunnels. The only other option we can come up with is slowing the camera down so we don't shoot past the collisions between frames. We are working on it, and like I said, we THINK we've found a workable solution. Doing some testing now :).

[Wolfshead Sky]

Made a few changes.

First, we changed the name to EQ Scout. Turns out that there is an EQ Explorer website already out there and we don't want any confusion :). This means there is a new URL to the project: http://www.legendreaders.com/eqscout/

Radically changed the interface. It is now very minimal and is inspired by old and new EQ interfaces. You'll also see grayed out options for features to be implemented in the future.

It also turns out that the ability to change movement and mouse speeds wasn't available in every zone. This has been fixed.

Still working on a way to allow for collisions so the user has the option to not simply fly through everything. Unfortunately every solution we've come up with causes problems in other areas.

Enjoy!

[LanternEQ]

Hi. I have a project that may help you and it's open source on github. https://github.com/danwilkins

The first part is a zone extractor that extracts zones (with correct collision), objects (with correct collision models), and support for transparency, the transparency from black shader, animated textures, vertex animated models, and the general correct lighting model for EQ (looks like you're using the standard Unity shader).

I think it's quite a bit further along in terms of accuracy compared to whatever you're currently using and in one click, it can import the zone, lights, objects and sounds and assign the correct shaders.

Let me know if you'd like some further assistance. More info about the project is here: https://www.reddit.com/r/everquest/comments/ap6sd2/the_lantern_project/