Tilemaps let you encode any single layer 2D tile map in a compact and simple XML based format. This spec is still in development, and some issues (like spoofing and asking the user before downloading random links) are still being decided upon. Feedback is welcome!
<tilemap name='Map1' tiles='http://wiki.ultimacodex.com/images/5/55/Ultima_5_-_Tiles-pc.png' tileSize='16,16' mapSize='10,4' enc='hex_4'>0123456701234567012345670123456701234567</tilemap>
name='string' - The name to show in the map window
tiles='string' - The URL of the tilemap file, can be any size and format
- The tiles are assumed to be stored left to right, top to bottom without gaps. There is no restriction on the aspect ratio of the tilemap. If a tile map holds fewer tiles than are referenced by the map data, the wrong graphics might be drawn (or none at all). If a tile map holds more tiles, then it's just being wasteful.
tileSize='width,height' - The size in pixels of the tiles in the tilemap
- tileSize is currently restricted to at most 256 in each dimension (tileSize='256,256') most tiles are probably 32 by 32 or 16 by 16.
mapSize='width,height' - The size of the map in tiles
- mapSize is currently restricted to a maximum size of 256 by 256 (mapSize='256,256'). That is a huge maximum and most maps are expected to be much smaller, like mapsize='32,32'.
enc='string' - Encoding format of the content data (the 012345... part between the tags) enc has multiple possibilities to make it easy to use or as compact as possible:
- hex_4 - Hexadecimal with 4 bits per tile (16 tiles possible). In this format a single hex character is a single tile. ** The tilemap tag at the start of this document uses hex_4 encoding
- hex_8 - Same as hex_4 but it's two hex digits (256 tiles possible)
- base64_8 - Base64 encoded 8 bits per tile
- zbase64_8 - The data is zlib compressed then Base64 encoded, this is great for static content that doesn't change.
The map data itself is just a binary block of data with the ordering being from left to right, then top to bottom.
<tilemap name='Lighthouse 1' tiles='http://wiki.ultimacodex.com/images/5/55/Ultima_5_-_Tiles-pc.png' tileSize='16,16' mapSize='32,32' enc='zbase64_8'>eJytkkEKwjAQRVe5TrB6hVn7D6DeqWhxXRBEaHXdhejWYzltEjrWGbpoPjT54f2ZDiHO5ZPXrFeCi3pnajjbK+N/EGT1BYiAq8j8YfoMmSekEmdMQ2hLl/2hN2/c6SZ5rCjZdhSXCU+IzZHQtArn73ECVa8zJvVB7Mq4NO0Ocv4wIzpl/hQACj5s9PvrC53FE1jEVyzBvdyLMarXr4Ms/juGpVrl4r0Ebj/Mmf4a/wJ4Ll9p</tilemap>
<tilemap name='Laboratory' tiles='http://www.beipmu.com/FutureTiles.png' tileSize='32,32' mapSize='16,16' enc='ZBase64_8'>eJyT5kUBfNosrEiATX/mLEeG2wxgEHMsWUx/5apAhtevGDg4uRhyrhWL6WuDZH4xSEhKMdQwNID4WotBQsYgAsKfDtG+eyeUv5xBF8Q/fRLKD2WwZbh8mYHhJlyeAci/DNe/nQEswHAHzI9lSAcbd5nhDZhfy9DOEM1whAFm31cGBADxVVSRgJq+jy8K8AMAsu0ywg</tilemap>
To enable tilemap tag parsing, type: \tilemap on To show an example tilemap, use: \test tilemap1