[crossfire] Buildable Land Plots

[Alex Schultz]

Hi,

For a while I've been hearing on and off about people thinking about 
making buildable land plots in bigworld. I'm not sure who to credit for 
the origional idea, but I've taken some time to plan out one possible 
way of doing it. Here's the steps to buildable land plots according what 
I've been thinking would work well. In this plan, I try to keep every 
feature that could potentially be useful outside of the bigworld land 
plots in the server code as opposed to python just to make it flexable 
for map makers to use such features in the future for other things. So 
here's what I've been thinking would be a good way to impliment 
buildable land plots adding feature by feature.

-Add 'global unique' maps:
    -permenantly stored like unique, only it's stored in a different 
location and is shared between all players
    -existing permenant maps (i.e. guild) like maps shouldn't be used 
because these need are generated while running like unique or random 
maps, so near the unique maps in their own place makes sence.
    
-Random map changes:
    -Allow random map generator to make unique maps (is this already 
possible?)
    -Allow random map generator to make 'gobal unique' maps
    -Create 'open space' map style, which generates no walls except for 
the outer border.

-Building changes:
    -Allow maps to specify in their header that building is restricted
        -'Building passes' allow building in these areas (can be made as 
an invisible force, or as a card type object, to be flexible)
        
-Fix overlays:
    -Fix conflicts with weather
    -Fix other misc bugs
    
-Write python glue code for details of land plots that can't be used as 
features elsewhere:
    -Python for making the map entrance, and the building passes
    
-Make random map styles

ISSUES:
    -Where should land plots be buildable?
    -When a map maker builds over a land plot entrance, what happens to 
the land plot?
    -What (if anything) should be done about the potential issue of 
players trapping eachother in buildable areas.
    
Supporting (not needed or important, but would enhance the experience of 
buildable land plots) details:
    -Buildable savebeds
    -Buildable lock/key pairs
    -Buildable shops
    -Buildable teleporters
    -Buildable crafting stations (?)
    -New buildable things (i.e. new walls, grass, etc.)

Comments? Suggestions? Any help working on any parts of this would be great.
   
Thanks,
        Alex Schultz