User:Ayin/New terrain graphics system proposal

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Revision as of 10:10, 15 October 2005 by Ayin (talk | contribs) (Rewrite of the terrain graphics system: work document)
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This page is a working document for a proposal for a complete rewrite of the terrain graphics system. It may be considered as a counter-proposal to the extended terrains proposal.

Motivations for the proposal

The current terrain-graphics system is a powerful, albeit complex, system whose purpose is to transform maps (which are, basically, 2-dimensional arrays containing 1-character terrains) into a list of graphics for each location in the map.

The base for the system, and the root of a terrain_graphics rule, is: "pattern of terrains => associated images". In my (Ayin (talk)) opinion, pattern-based rules are the way to go: those are simple to understand, and allow nearly anything.

However, the current system (see documentation here TerrainGraphicsWML, or, better, here) has several drawbacks, which I will try to detail below: