For a start for the first idea: Iso (half of it)
I imagine you probably want to make the slopes a bit more steep and the map taller instead of wider. Perhaps a 256x256x512?

For the second, are you describing the canyon map in my last post, but taller, rotated and the river more winding?

Maybe slope it off and make a shallow ocean?

Actually, yeah, in seeing that, I do see that the proportions need reworking. It could also be longer in one direction, which could be interesting. (256x512x256?)

And, yeah, similar to the one you posted, but basically bigger in every respect.

Are you running multiple machines or just frequently swapping maps.

I have two servers running concurrently and we seem to switch maps every two or three weeks.

Question about your Isocraft output: Is it automated? Can it be set to run and then export to a file directory? If possible, it would be a neat way of gallery-izing your map files (and potentially make them available for download).

Let me clear that up:

If Isocraft is capable of being automated (I am sure it can be on a Unix system, I don't know about Windows), you can set it to export image files to a directory on the most machine, and then use ImageMagick scripts to automatically resize. You can then make those images available in a gallery format based on the map name, allowing people to view each map (and by association, the map download perhaps).

Just a thought.

Yes it can, and a several people on the minecraft forums have made dynamic updating images to show the current state of the map, usually set to update every minute.

Though on rereading you seem to be asking if I can set up a series of .dat files and have Isocraft do a batch-render of them all, outputting images based on the name of the .dat. Stock download from the thread, no. I was hoping, looking through the .bat file included, that he would have handled input through the .bat, but it looks like he didn't. Shame. There is a guy on the forum who used an Expect script, which I believe has a windows port.

EDIT: I think the river on this is too narrow, but is it getting closer to what you were thinking of Grif?
(this is the entire map, no cutaway)
Isocraft

Idea: I am not sure what the CPU and memory overheard for Isocraft is, but it seems like it should be possible to have several different instances of Isocraft running at separate times.

I am not sure how Isocraft works. I assume it can only process server-level.dat? If that is the case, just export the maps into new folders and then rename the maps server-level.dat

To attack the problem, I guess I would have to know more about how Isocraft processes a file. Does it only process server-level.dat

Isocraft is packaged with two .jars and two .bats (and two tilesets and a readme, but they're not important for this), regular Isocraft and Timelapse.
Isocraft, when executed, asks you through Java for three pieces of input, the .dat file, the tileset, and the output filename, then it goes ahead and does it's thing. I haven't used timelapse, but it generates a new .png every time it renders (time is configurable) in numbered sequence. You have to place Isocraft in the same directory as the server_level.dat for it to work, as it only uses that filename.

There are two and a half ways I think you could do batch renders:
1. Use Expect like the one I mentioned did, and somehow (I don't know how Expect works) queue up several filenames to put through it
2. Use the timelapse coupled with a second script to change the server_level.dat every time it renders
0.5. Bug the developer to add batch support in his source, or release the source

Also, another version of the river canyon, imo much nicer with the narrower canyon. Might need to make the slopes less slopey though, they're pretty strange looking on the side of the canyon there.

I prefer the last one, this canyon feels too big and gaping.

Hmm. I dunno, somehow in my head I'm picturing a more grand-canyon like feature set-
roughly level top surface with fairly sheer cliffs down to a more smoothly curved bottom, which happens to have a river through it.

See this reference for a wonderfully textured view that I think could be recreated fairly well (admittedly at the expense of some serious time in omen)
http://fireflyforest.net/images/firefly ... canyon.jpg

And a mockup of the canyon I'm envisioning, which is actually somewhat different from the actual grand canyon. Picture something more like the cliffs of dover, except, y'know, two sides.

403: Forbidden on that link. EDIT: nvm, got around thatI can slope the walls more, it's quite easy to do that. I'll have another Iso up shortly with the new version.

EDIT: I don't know if you've used OMEN, Grif, but you can import a heightmap, so if you want the grand canyon I can just grab a heightmap of it and shove that through the churning gears.
Like so: Iso

As is typical, the kind of automation I would like to see is much easily doable on a Unix system.

Anyway, why don't you just dig up a heightmap or topo of the Grand Canyon?

So much win.
:3

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