[crossfire] On the software side of "reorganizing the world"

[Lalo Martins]

I've been busy, so I have mostly lurked through this discussion, although 
it's very interesting to me.  This week I have some time, so I'm writing 
a detailed braindump that I should post later.

Meanwhile, here's an idea I had when working on Pupland; I didn't pursue 
it, but it could be very useful if this proposal really goes forward.

What I think we need is a "world editor".

Editing the world right now is very messy and hard (which is why nobody 
merged Pupland yet, after what, getting close to 10 years of Bigworld).  
It's difficult to do, the tools are sub-optimal, and the most obvious 
ways mess up elevation.  (The discussion of whether the current elevation 
values are even useful belongs elsewhere, in the discussion about 
weather).

Ideally, I'd like an UI on at least the magicmap scale, maybe farther, 
where I can lay mountains, rivers, forests, marshes, sea/land, and 
preferably copy large chunks right out of an older map (say, Lone Town) 
and paste into the world.  Also control elevation by hand, using an 
interface similar to map editors in god games (eg, Sim City).  And define 
things like regions right there, too.

If someone wants to pursue that, either as a separate tool or a mode for 
the new editor, I'd be happy to contribute, although I don't know where 
to start if I were to write it myself.

best,
                                               Lalo Martins
-- 
      So many of our dreams at first seem impossible,
       then they seem improbable, and then, when we
       summon the will, they soon become inevitable.
                           -----
personal:                    http://lalo.hystericalraisins.net/
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