Map around the Temple in Allanak

[OSOK]

No matter what I do, the Temple and the Arboretum happen on to land on top if one another on my CMUD map.  I am told this should not be the case.  What gives??

[BadSkeelz]

When they rebuilt the Arborteum a few in-game years ago, a structural collapse caused the building to do a somersault across the north side of Meleth's circle. It settled atop the Dragon Temple, the door on the southside of the circle's center. The Highborn generally approve of the improved visibility over the cuddler and a few more cords distance from the rinth.

((The map on the website is wrong. The Arboretum and the Temple share the same "space" in the center of Meleth's circle now.))

[OSOK]

When they rebuilt the Arborteum a few in-game years ago, a structural collapse caused the building to do a somersault across the north side of Meleth's circle. It settled atop the Dragon Temple, the door on the southside of the circle's center. The Highborn generally approve of the improved visibility over the cuddler and a few more cords distance from the rinth.

((The map on the website is wrong. The Arboretum and the Temple share the same "space" in the center of Meleth's circle now.))

Great!  It was driving me nuts. 

One last q:  how do you arrange this in your map so it looks decent?

[Lizzie]

If you're using an excel or open office spreadsheet file to make your map, you'd mark that square and add a link to some unused section of the map. Then, in that unused section of map, you'd map out the actual building - first floor = two rooms with solid wall between them, one entry to the west, one entry to the south, "UP" link to the second floor at the room with the southern entry. You'd mark the section "non-linear" and include a cross-link back to the spot on the main section of map. Since there's already a link to "UP" on the room with the southern entry, you'd need to put the cross-link back to the main part of the map in the square with the room that has the western entry.

[OSOK]

If you're using an excel or open office spreadsheet file to make your map, you'd mark that square and add a link to some unused section of the map. Then, in that unused section of map, you'd map out the actual building - first floor = two rooms with solid wall between them, one entry to the west, one entry to the south, "UP" link to the second floor at the room with the southern entry. You'd mark the section "non-linear" and include a cross-link back to the spot on the main section of map. Since there's already a link to "UP" on the room with the southern entry, you'd need to put the cross-link back to the main part of the map in the square with the room that has the western entry.

I'm using CMUD for the map.  Is Excel the preferred method?

[Lizzie]

If you're using an excel or open office spreadsheet file to make your map, you'd mark that square and add a link to some unused section of the map. Then, in that unused section of map, you'd map out the actual building - first floor = two rooms with solid wall between them, one entry to the west, one entry to the south, "UP" link to the second floor at the room with the southern entry. You'd mark the section "non-linear" and include a cross-link back to the spot on the main section of map. Since there's already a link to "UP" on the room with the southern entry, you'd need to put the cross-link back to the main part of the map in the square with the room that has the western entry.

I'm using CMUD for the map.  Is Excel the preferred method?

I don't know what the "preferred" method is, but mine's an Open Office spreadsheet file. It's compatible with Excel. I have recommended OO for years, however the Oracle folks are considering retiring it due to lack of interested and active developers (it's open source). If you're interested in switching away from Microsoft, you could try OO's counterpart, LibreOffice, also produced by Oracle.

[OSOK]

If you're using an excel or open office spreadsheet file to make your map, you'd mark that square and add a link to some unused section of the map. Then, in that unused section of map, you'd map out the actual building - first floor = two rooms with solid wall between them, one entry to the west, one entry to the south, "UP" link to the second floor at the room with the southern entry. You'd mark the section "non-linear" and include a cross-link back to the spot on the main section of map. Since there's already a link to "UP" on the room with the southern entry, you'd need to put the cross-link back to the main part of the map in the square with the room that has the western entry.

I'm using CMUD for the map.  Is Excel the preferred method?

I don't know what the "preferred" method is, but mine's an Open Office spreadsheet file. It's compatible with Excel. I have recommended OO for years, however the Oracle folks are considering retiring it due to lack of interested and active developers (it's open source). If you're interested in switching away from Microsoft, you could try OO's counterpart, LibreOffice, also produced by Oracle.

If you don't mind me asking, why not use the MUD client for mapping?

[Lizzie]

If you're using an excel or open office spreadsheet file to make your map, you'd mark that square and add a link to some unused section of the map. Then, in that unused section of map, you'd map out the actual building - first floor = two rooms with solid wall between them, one entry to the west, one entry to the south, "UP" link to the second floor at the room with the southern entry. You'd mark the section "non-linear" and include a cross-link back to the spot on the main section of map. Since there's already a link to "UP" on the room with the southern entry, you'd need to put the cross-link back to the main part of the map in the square with the room that has the western entry.

I'm using CMUD for the map.  Is Excel the preferred method?

I don't know what the "preferred" method is, but mine's an Open Office spreadsheet file. It's compatible with Excel. I have recommended OO for years, however the Oracle folks are considering retiring it due to lack of interested and active developers (it's open source). If you're interested in switching away from Microsoft, you could try OO's counterpart, LibreOffice, also produced by Oracle.

If you don't mind me asking, why not use the MUD client for mapping?

Because I started with a spreadsheet over 10 years ago, and see no need to start all over with the client (Gmud is the one I use). I add/subtract to my existing map file whenever I encounter changes/new areas/new activity in existing areas. I can add notes to specific rooms or even to entire areas of rooms, I can color travel paths and uncolor them when my character dies so my new character doesn't "magickally" know the way if she's exploring an area she's never been to before (I still get lost in some places without that map, even after more than 10 years of playing). I don't spam walk, so I don't need an "automapper" for anything, ever. I don't even know what the GMud mapper looks like, and I've no interest in learning how to use it.

[valeria]

I'm on the same page as Lizzie.  Those are more or less the exact reasons I use the excel map I started back in 2009.

[OSOK]

Would either of you two be willing to share a portion of your map, just so I can see how you do things? 

Also, since excel doesnt track your "movements" ... how do you keep track of it yourself?  I imagine you run two monitors?

[Lizzie]

Would either of you two be willing to share a portion of your map, just so I can see how you do things? 

Also, since excel doesnt track your "movements" ... how do you keep track of it yourself?  I imagine you run two monitors?

Hopefully this will explain everything. It's all on one 21" monitor. There's a portion of a map. The tiny blue lines are actually links to other pages of maps. If I click on them, they bring me directly to the exact spot on map #2 where the spot on map #1 left off (so if I map out a 20-room building, I don't need 20 spaces on the Allanak city map. I just need one square with a link, that links me to a map of the building.

There's my character pfile, which I append as needed.

There's my buddy list, so I can talk with my sister or my dad or whoever else (it's a very small list - just a handful of names on it).

There's the game window front and center.

How do I track? Very carefully. And even then sometimes I mess up and end up falling off the shield wall or into the spider's nest. That's exactly how I lost my favorite - and last - full-out whiran character: I overshot a routine air travel path from a spot I was in, to outside Allanak, and ended up in front of the spider's nest. I figure it shouldn't be foolproof anyway - our characters aren't robots, they're people, and people make mistakes.

[valeria]

I'll give an example when I get back home 

[OSOK]

Would either of you two be willing to share a portion of your map, just so I can see how you do things? 

Also, since excel doesnt track your "movements" ... how do you keep track of it yourself?  I imagine you run two monitors?

Hopefully this will explain everything. It's all on one 21" monitor. There's a portion of a map. The tiny blue lines are actually links to other pages of maps. If I click on them, they bring me directly to the exact spot on map #2 where the spot on map #1 left off (so if I map out a 20-room building, I don't need 20 spaces on the Allanak city map. I just need one square with a link, that links me to a map of the building.

There's my character pfile, which I append as needed.

There's my buddy list, so I can talk with my sister or my dad or whoever else (it's a very small list - just a handful of names on it).

There's the game window front and center.

How do I track? Very carefully. And even then sometimes I mess up and end up falling off the shield wall or into the spider's nest. That's exactly how I lost my favorite - and last - full-out whiran character: I overshot a routine air travel path from a spot I was in, to outside Allanak, and ended up in front of the spider's nest. I figure it shouldn't be foolproof anyway - our characters aren't robots, they're people, and people make mistakes.

WOW.  When did you take that screenshot?

[RogueGunslinger]

WOW.  When did you take that screenshot?

Hahahha. Lizzie likes her old operating system. The date is right there in the screenshot, bottom right.

[OSOK]

WOW.  When did you take that screenshot?

Hahahha. Lizzie likes her old operating system. The date is right there in the screenshot, bottom right.

I saw that.  Wow... I wouldnt even have thought that that OS would still be able to connect to the internet!

[Barsook]

And someone of us are on the dark side of the OS's.

[Lizzie]

It's just Windows 7 - nothing outdated, it's still supported by Microsoft and there are millions of people who still use it.

I just like mine to look like Win95 so I have the "skin" emulating it.