Perfect maps would be way too much work. Llet's call them suggestions for improvement. Moreover, I've made many improvements to my own imperfect maps by comparing them to yours.
Literally interpreting the data files seems to me the only way to really generate "improvement-proof" maps.
Darendor's BTI Map Set
It would be nice if there was a C64 version hack or something that allowed you to teleport to any square on any dungeon and ignore specials or whatnot so we could see what's going on in those "inaccessable" areas.
A 'BTCS' as it were reverse-engineered from the 6502 versions of BTI would be a cool thing!
Oh well, back to getting started on BTII...
A 'BTCS' as it were reverse-engineered from the 6502 versions of BTI would be a cool thing!
Oh well, back to getting started on BTII...
I took a look at the MSDOS, C64, and Amiga data files, briefly. They seem to be compressed. The PC data files are .HUF--perhaps he used Huffman coding.
Unfortunately, the Bt-builder project never intended to decipher the original games' data files, and so none of that work has been done. It's too bad that the BTCS was such a disappointment.
Unfortunately, the Bt-builder project never intended to decipher the original games' data files, and so none of that work has been done. It's too bad that the BTCS was such a disappointment.
Death and drek? WTF?
I concur with the locations of your "UNKNOWN" squares on the 2nd level of the sewers, 3rd level of Harkyn's castle, and 5th level of Mangar's tower. Back in the old days when I was mapping Bard's Tale 1, I spent a long time trying to figure out what these squares showing up on my SOSI spell were all about. The interesting thing about the one on Mangar's tower is that the game would always access your disc whenever you walked on it (hard to notice this these days when everyone is playing the games on emulator). I tried everying -- walking over it with and without bard songs playing, with and without spells, with and without monsters in the special slot, with and without the different items like the silver shapes, etc. I could never get anything to happen there.
About a year ago I found another set of maps online that claimed you could rarely encounter Liches on that square. This prompted a fresh attempt at walking over the square back and forth a few thousand times, before I finally concluded I was barking up the wrong tree. Again.
I was always hoping someone would hack into the BT1 code to find out about these squares. Or at the very least find out what Liches and Death Denizens were supposed to look like.
Marco.
About a year ago I found another set of maps online that claimed you could rarely encounter Liches on that square. This prompted a fresh attempt at walking over the square back and forth a few thousand times, before I finally concluded I was barking up the wrong tree. Again.
I was always hoping someone would hack into the BT1 code to find out about these squares. Or at the very least find out what Liches and Death Denizens were supposed to look like.
Marco.
Meanwhile, as you can find in other topics here, the whole map format in the C64 version had been decoded. In March or so 2009 I made a VB program, that reads out the maps from BT1 directly from D64 images. It decodes all fields fully.
From that program I can answer the questions in this forum:
Hope this helps
From that program I can answer the questions in this forum:
In the top left corner of that area is a random fight flag. There are walls on the left side of that room in west-east direction.* If anybody can tell me what's beyond the teleport that's guarding 5N, 18E on level 2 of Harkyn's Castle, speak. That is pretty much the ONLY unmappable area in the entire game!
Fact is, that level 3 has neither flag set, not for APAR LOCK nor for PHDO lock.* Speaking of the Castle, it is my personal (insane?) opinion that MC forgot to make level 3 APAR/PHDO proof. Otherwise why bother with the puzzles and obstacles when all you have to do from the entry stairs on level 1 is APAR to 1N, 21E to activate the warp to Kylearan's?...
Yes there is a special flag set, but (initially?) none of the possible types of specials assigned to it. Is it possible, that the BT game will modify map files upon certain events and add a special later? Else it could be a forgotton flag during design time.* And since we're discussing level 3 of the Castle, what is up with 17N, 4E? A "special" zone that has no function whatsoever. Another code glitch by MC? A special that was later removed only 95%? Was it there to DRIVE ME INSANE MUHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA TACOS HERE I COM--- er sorry.
That field will load file NM3F, an event. It checks first, if Mangar is dead. If not, nothing happens. If Mangar is dead, 2 Liches appear here as opps.* I will pay $25 to whoever can tell me what is up with 8N, 10E on level 5 of Mangar's Tower. It seems to be a poorly coded teleport that runs the hard drive for no apparent reason.
Hope this helps
Re: Darendor's BTI Map Set
That has always intrigued me too - I remember checking all the houses beyond the two statues convinced that there was something interesting down there.Darendor wrote: * While mapping Skara Brae, I noticed the two Stone Giant statues near the end of Fargoer Street. They seem to be guarding the southeast corner, but there's nothing at all there. I suspect MC may have planned to put something else there but time constraints prevented him and he left the guardians in.
Maybe that was intended to be the entrance to the sewers, and the wine cellar would have been a one level 'starter' dungeon with no access to the sewers? As it is there's no point venturing into the Emerald/Fargoer/Death Archer part of the city apart from to fight the two guardians....
Re: Darendor's BTI Map Set
... That could explain why the official clue book shows stairs at N0 E0 on Sewer level 1 map as well.DMan wrote: Maybe that was intended to be the entrance to the sewers, and the wine cellar would have been a one level 'starter' dungeon with no access to the sewers? As it is there's no point venturing into the Emerald/Fargoer/Death Archer part of the city apart from to fight the two guardians....
Whoa... I've had that clue book printed out for about 2 years... never noticed it was on all the maps! Guess I should have looked a 'lil harder. 
I still think, however, that the sewers were supposed to start at a different location... If you look at that map from a 'new player' perspective, this would be the first 'not trainer' dungeon, so N0 E0 would make it easier to map the dungeon. New players that may have an error on their wine cellar map would at least know where the stairs out of the sewers are.
the phrase "There is something strange going on." at N9 E0 would be found faster from N0 E0, giving a clue that the map wraps at the edges. The current location of the stairs gives a lot more opportunities for map wrapping via logical exploring before you get to the 'hint'.
And as mentioned, it gives the statues on the southside of the map a reason to exist, and would be a reason to explore that part of the map.
I still think, however, that the sewers were supposed to start at a different location... If you look at that map from a 'new player' perspective, this would be the first 'not trainer' dungeon, so N0 E0 would make it easier to map the dungeon. New players that may have an error on their wine cellar map would at least know where the stairs out of the sewers are.
the phrase "There is something strange going on." at N9 E0 would be found faster from N0 E0, giving a clue that the map wraps at the edges. The current location of the stairs gives a lot more opportunities for map wrapping via logical exploring before you get to the 'hint'.
And as mentioned, it gives the statues on the southside of the map a reason to exist, and would be a reason to explore that part of the map.