More of a question about a plugin for Cartographer or other map addons than a request

[littlebuddha79]

I am researching how to make addons, and learning the specifics because I am thinking about writing a new map addon, or maybe just a plugin for existing map addons that will show you town maps when you enter a town like Booty Bay, Crossroads, Thelsamar, etc.... It will work a bit like the instance plugins for map mods, but insteas, when you enter a town and pull up the map the maps from the Paper Book Atlas will show up, just like a city map.

The question I have is: why hasn't this been done before?

It seems like a simple thing to do: scan the pictures, resize and convert to the proper format.

The only thing that is making me weary of doing this is, if it hasn't been done yet, is it because using the pictures in the book and distributing them in an addon would be against copyright laws?

[Slakah]

Originally Posted by littlebuddha79 I am researching how to make addons, and learning the specifics because I am thinking about writing a new map addon, or maybe just a plugin for existing map addons that will show you town maps when you enter a town like Booty Bay, Crossroads, Thelsamar, etc.... It will work a bit like the instance plugins for map mods, but insteas, when you enter a town and pull up the map the maps from the Paper Book Atlas will show up, just like a city map. The question I have is: why hasn't this been done before? It seems like a simple thing to do: scan the pictures, resize and convert to the proper format. The only thing that is making me weary of doing this is, if it hasn't been done yet, is it because using the pictures in the book and distributing them in an addon would be against copyright laws?

What extra information does this wow guides map have, couldn't you just make a map note mod, with the information imported, I also have a feeling that just plain importing this map into wow would indeed be against compyright laws.

[littlebuddha79]

It's not the notes that I want to import...It is the closeup view of the smaller towns in WoW. It shows the individual huts and buildings that are in the town, so you can see details of the town instead of just the name on the world map. I think it would help a lot in remembering where vendors are in towns like booty bay. Instead of having 10 notes piled on top of one another in the corner of the zone map, you would have a close up of the layout of the town with the notes at the building where the vendor you are looking for is at.

[Slakah]

Originally Posted by littlebuddha79 It's not the notes that I want to import...It is the closeup view of the smaller towns in WoW. It shows the individual huts and buildings that are in the town, so you can see details of the town instead of just the name on the world map. I think it would help a lot in remembering where vendors are in towns like booty bay. Instead of having 10 notes piled on top of one another in the corner of the zone map, you would have a close up of the layout of the town with the notes at the building where the vendor you are looking for is at.

I personally think it would be easier to code, and better from a users standpoint, if this was a map note type mod i.e notes where the buildings are. If you share my view then I would suggest waiting until Xinhaun and the other Mapster authors release their mapnotes addon, 0 of which you could write a plugin for containing building positions, descriptions etc.

[littlebuddha79]

I think I might be explaining this wrong. When you look at the map of Durotar, you see the notation on the map for Ogremar, Razor Hill and so on. When you enter Ogremar, the map changes to a more detailed map with a close in view.

What I was hoping to do, is the same kind of thing, but with towns like Razor Hill. When you enter Razor Hill, the map changes to Razor Hill. Or when you enter Gadgetzan, the map changes to a detailed map of Gadgetzan.

Here is a sample photo I found of a few of the town maps:


If this cannot be done (which I have a feeling that it can't, since I believe that the capitol cities are considered their own zone), then I was thinking of a plugin (like Atlas, or the portion of Cartographer or Metamap) that displays the instance maps.

[Gemini_II]

I'm not sure on this but you might be able to get the subzone name and then provide a replacement map while in that subzone. Perhaps a plugin to Cartographer or something. You would of course have to do your own graphics for the maps and abide by copyright. I'm guessing that screenshot was from one of those printed leveling guides or similar, which would be copyrighted.