Re: [liquidwar-user] A Map

[Mouse]

> Your method of creating a map, that is create a "shape" bitmap and an
> "appearance" bitmap raises an interesting problem: maps in LW5 look
> rather "flat" and this is not very nice to look at. So you decided to
> give it a "3D" effect.

I don't consider it a "problem".  Liquid War to me is about simple (yet 
strangely addicting) gameplay.  It would still be just as good even if it 
used 16 color CGA graphics.  On the other hand, aesthetically pleasing 
graphics would only enhance the game even more.

> being dependent of a given program to create maps, especially when it's
> a DOS program.

One of my two graphic programs of choice is a DOS program, Neopaint.

> So that's it for my ideas, I'm waiting for yours 8-)
> Personnally, my favorite solution is b), but that's _my_ opinion only.

How about a combination of (a) and (b)?  When the program starts, check for 
a config file matching the map name.  The config file could contain a 
preferred texture scheme (, music, and whatever future options you include) 
for the map.  When cycling through the maps, load the preferred stuff 
instead of (or over) the previously selected.  When you move on to a map 
without a scheme, reload whatever the user had selected themselves.  Take 
it a step further by adding a "do not use preferred scheme" toggle so every 
map will use the user preference, keeping the current method intact.

Not really related, but I do think some kind of thumbnail selector (for 
both maps and textures) would be nice.  That way one wouldn't have to 
scroll through everything individually.

> PS: I think including map3d_m.bmp in the current CVS tree is a good
> idea. However, I don't think I'll include the textures until we've
> found a way to handle them "cleanly". Is it OK to include map3d_m.bmp
> (GNU GPL etc...) ?

Can if you like.  I was never good at naming stuff like this, so just use 
LWMX1, Mouse1, or anything else if you can think of something 
different/better.  It's no big deal to me.