Did You Know?: Shade Of Map Pixels Tell A lot About A Location

[Magicono43]

So here is something I just learned that I never realized until I was looking for something else in the code. The shade of color for the pixels on the world-map actually have a meaning, they are not just some random range for each different type of area. So those brighter brown dots on the map actually mean bigger cities/towns than the darker brown ones which mean smaller/poorer towns and houses, etc.

Apparently this was common knowledge to some people, but I actually had no idea until now and thought it might be helpful for anyone outside of the know, apparently this "feature" is not mentioned in the manual at all either. http://www.concept-micro.com/~petchema/ ... 0Guide.pdf

Here is the code as proof of this claim, from "DaggerfallTravelMapWindow.cs"

Code: Select all

locationPixelColors = new Color32[]
            {
                new Color32(colors.GetRed(237), colors.GetGreen(237), colors.GetBlue(237), 255),  //dunglab (R215, G119, B39)
                new Color32(colors.GetRed(240), colors.GetGreen(240), colors.GetBlue(240), 255),  //dungkeep (R191, G87, B27)
                new Color32(colors.GetRed(243), colors.GetGreen(243), colors.GetBlue(243), 255),  //dungruin (R171, G51, B15)
                new Color32(colors.GetRed(246), colors.GetGreen(246), colors.GetBlue(246), 255),  //graveyards (R147, G15, B7)
                new Color32(colors.GetRed(0), colors.GetGreen(0), colors.GetBlue(0), 255),        //coven (R15, G15, B15)
                new Color32(colors.GetRed(53), colors.GetGreen(53), colors.GetBlue(53), 255),     //farms (R165, G100, B70)
                new Color32(colors.GetRed(51), colors.GetGreen(51), colors.GetBlue(51), 255),     //wealthy (R193, G133, B100)
                new Color32(colors.GetRed(55), colors.GetGreen(55), colors.GetBlue(55), 255),     //poor (R140, G86, B55)
                new Color32(colors.GetRed(96), colors.GetGreen(96), colors.GetBlue(96), 255),     //temple (R176, G205, B255)
                new Color32(colors.GetRed(101), colors.GetGreen(101), colors.GetBlue(101), 255),  //cult (R68, G124, B192)
                new Color32(colors.GetRed(39), colors.GetGreen(39), colors.GetBlue(39), 255),     //tavern (R126, G81, B89)
                new Color32(colors.GetRed(33), colors.GetGreen(33), colors.GetBlue(33), 255),     //city (R220, G177, B177)
                new Color32(colors.GetRed(35), colors.GetGreen(35), colors.GetBlue(35), 255),     //hamlet (R188, G138, B138)
                new Color32(colors.GetRed(37), colors.GetGreen(37), colors.GetBlue(37), 255),     //village (R155, G105, B106)
            };

[pango]

Yup, brighter = larger place.

On that topic, brownish pixels on green background is almost your standard color blindness test. I'm not sure they even thought about accessibility in '96.

[Magicono43]

Yup, brighter = larger place.

On that topic, browning pixels on green background is almost your standard color blindness test. I'm not sure they even thought about accessibility in '96.

Yeah, I highly doubt accessibility was in any of their list of priorities when they could barely finish the core-game, lol. I could actually barely make out the Dark blue pixels on the green background myself. I mostly brought it up because this information is actually pretty handy if using mods such as Tedious Travel, as you obviously can't just fast-travel in 10 seconds to check out a location, you may actually risk your characters life during that trip.

[mikeprichard]

On that topic, brownish pixels on green background is almost your standard color blindness test. I'm not sure they even thought about accessibility in '96.

Yeah, I do have fairly severe red-green color blindness, so these pixels are largely indistinguishable for me. I've been thinking for some time how great it would be to have color blind-friendly pixels in base DFU or a mod!

[pango]

Yeah, I do have fairly severe red-green color blindness, so these pixels are largely indistinguishable for me. I've been thinking for some time how great it would be to have color blind-friendly pixels in base DFU or a mod!

Do you have ideas about how that would look like?
I was thinking of a black outline around pixels, but maybe they're better solutions...

[Ralzar]

While at it, accurracy in mouse-over could use some fine tuning I feel. Managing to hit specific pixels is at times annoyingly hard.

[Magicono43]

Yeah, I do have fairly severe red-green color blindness, so these pixels are largely indistinguishable for me. I've been thinking for some time how great it would be to have color blind-friendly pixels in base DFU or a mod!

Do you have ideas about how that would look like?
I was thinking of a black outline around pixels, but maybe they're better solutions...

Not an expert on color-blindness, but I figure there is some range of colors that are more visible/distinguishable than others on certain backgrounds maybe? Like some games with accessibility options change green health-bars to blue or something around those lines.

[Magicono43]

While at it, accurracy in mouse-over could use some fine tuning I feel. Managing to hit specific pixels is at times annoyingly hard.

Maybe it's just me, but maybe a better mouse cursor sprite could help with that problem, like one that is more clear on where your mouse is actually pointing at to pixel accuracy.

[mikeprichard]

There are quite a few mini-guides online about color blind-friendly palettes, but I think one good basic description - with a helpful "Accessible palettes" section at the bottom of the page - is at https://davidmathlogic.com/colorblind/# ... -%23004D40. Pango, I do also like your idea for stronger black outlines around the pixels, if that's feasible given how obviously tiny they are!

On Ralzar's separate point, I agree mousing over the pixels is generally a challenge, although it seems a bit more responsive in DFU than in classic (can't be sure if that's just in my head). Magicono mentioned an improved sprite for the mouse cursor to better show exactly where you're pointing, which would also be nice.

[Ralzar]

I think the problem with the arrow is that the actual hit-point is an invisible spot just vertically above the tip of the arrow. Just moving that spit down one pixel would probably help a lot.