RE: Creating maps for scrolling............

["Josiah Avery" <josiahavery@hotmail.com>]

>From: Kevin Wolfskill <kevin.wolfskill@jadesolutions.com>

>Not sure what you are creating a map for, but let's assume you are 
> >creating an orthagonal view map for something like a Real Time Strategy 
> >game (RTS). Typically, what these games do is to create their world >with 
>tiles (like a custom character set).  That way you can create a >small set 
>of bitmaps (the tiles) which when used together (placed side->by-side), 
>look like a much bigger bitmap.  The key here, is that the >tiles have to 
>be of something that is generic enough (like the water in >the middle of a 
>lake), that they can be used repeatedly together to make the bigger bitmap. 
>  With the water example,you could create 1 or 2 >tiles with waves for 
>water away from shore, and then some number of >tiles that are the 
>shoreline (don't forget that each one of these might >be able to be rotated 
>90 degrees and used as the shore on the top, >bottom, left, and right 
>sides).  Then, you keep placing the same tile
>over and over to create a larger bitmap.  To pan the display, you just
>scroll the display for the stuff you will still see, and place the new 
> >tiles at the leading edge in the direction you are panning.
>
>OK, what does this gain you?  Two things:  1.  Huge memory savings >because 
>of the small bitmaps being used over and over.  2.  Much less >effort 
>creating a few small bitmaps instead of a set of large bitmaps.
>
>Hope this helps!
>
>Kevin Wolfskill


   Hello,

   I've actualy used this method, and found it to be a bit to limiting ( 
while much easier to implement ). By forcing you to work with a finite 
number of bitmaps, it loses the uniqueness that a hand-drawn image has. In 
the project I am working on now, I wish to have a cartoonish feel. Thanks 
alot, and I may still wind up doing that way...

   Josiah
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