Hey guys, I need some help. Some assistance. Some suggestions.
I am currently working on making a Mapping Repository. I would like to integrate it with the Tileset repository in some meaningful way, too, but the problem I’m facing is one of organization.
Here is the current tileset repo:
Looks fine, right? Not quite. The tileset repo isn’t just ‘some tilesets inside these top level folders,’ it’s also currently organized with folders inside folders.
FE6/7/8 all have a folder with the vanilla tilesets crammed in there.
Feaw also has a folder with a bunch of his tilesets.
Structurally, I want to reconfigure the tileset repo so that every tileset is its own folder. Until about one week ago, I never so much as nudged the tileset repo, so I had no real idea of how it was setup. I think I clicked there once or twice, and only did so to link a tileset for someone else.
This brings me to the Mapping Repo, a project I am also working on. Here is what I have currently.
All the games from FE1-8, plus Primefusion’s map pack, and also a few giga-sized continental projects.
I am struggling to explain how I should present the issue I’m facing.
I need to manage four distinct paradigms:
- Author credits
- Tileset origins for maps (Ex: FE7’s Prologue uses the Sacae Overworld tileset)
- Game origins (Which game does this map originate from?)
- Organization; not making the entire thing a huge clusterfuck
So here are two possible organization methods I’ve thought up.
#1: The Tileset Top-down Method.
I would start by putting every single tileset from the repo into individual top-level folders. Think like this image, but with waaaaaaaaaay more folders. (Also I’m sure I’d organize them so game-specific tilesets are together, or maybe themed tilesets like deserts, snow, villages, etc)
Inside each folder, we would have the one tileset, plus a map folder. Any maps that use that tileset go inside the folder.
And finally, inside those map folders, I would have all the maps, plus any relevant mappy/tiled/etc files, all named with the following criteria:
[Game Number(if any)] {Map Creator(IS/Primefusion/Etc)} [Map Name/Designation]
Here are a few examples:
[FE7] {IS} Chapter 2 Lyn Mode.png
[FE7] {AuraWolf} Chapter 2 Lyn Mode REVAMPED.png
{Primefusion} Mapping Comp 3 Entry.png
Strengths/Weaknesses/general ‘meh’ optics of this first method:
- Upside: For the purposes of future FE Map Creator exploits, keeping all of the maps together with their specific tileset is especially helpful.
- Upside: For people looking to use a tileset, having examples of maps using that specific tileset is really handy.
- Middle-Ground: Tilesets are at the top level, easiest to access. This makes the repo tileset-focused, and thus necessarily makes finding maps a tad more cumbersome.
- Downside: It will lead to a huuuuuuge number of top-level folders, unless I deliberately place them in subfolders, such as desert and mountain and village and snow-themed folders.
- Downside: Games are not together, meaning you can’t find all the FE7 vanilla maps in one folder. However, by searching something like
[FE7] {IS}you WILL get them all together. A bit roundabout, but I think it works. (Also, if you need to find all of the vanilla game maps, the wiki does already exist.) - Downside: Artists are not all together. You won’t find all of Primefusion’s maps inside a dedicated Primefusion folder. (You can also get around this by simply searching for his username though, so this downside isn’t that major imo)
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The first method is the one I’m leaning toward. I think that overall it is the most organized and intuitive.
#2: The game and custom tileset-sorting method.
This method is, in my opinion, inferior to the first method, but it does have a few upsides. Here’s how it works. Important: This method would keep the tilesets SEPARATE from maps, segmented into their own sections. The Mapping Repo would be a separate thing from the Tileset Repo.
First, we organize the folders so that every game has a folder of its own. That means not just FE1-8, but 9+ all the way up to FE16 and including future games. At the bottom, there would be a Community Custom Maps folder, where specific creators get their own folder just like with the Portrait Repo.
So, like this, but with more games. Inside each game’s folder, there would be another folder filled with vanilla maps, while any maps that are revamps or recreations/edits of vanilla game maps would go in the top level game folder. Think like how the Portrait Repo functions, except it would be for maps.
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Next, each game has all of its maps put inside, like this image but with more specific/better organized names for the files.
Every single map file would, in theory, include a tiled/mappy file plus the png preview. They would be named like so:
[Game Number(if any)] {Tileset Used} {Map Creator(IS/Primefusion/Etc)} [Map Name/Designation]
Here are a few examples:
[FE7] [Sacae Overworld] {IS} Chapter 0 Prologue Lyn Mode.png
[FE7] [Sacae Overworld] {AuraWolf} Chapter 0 Prologue Lyn Mode REVAMPED.png
[Sacae Overworld] {Primefusion} Mapping Comp 3 Entry.png
You will notice that with these examples, I added a link to specific tilesets in the filenames. The biggest issue with this method is, if we decide to rename tilesets at any point in the future, it will also require us to rename any images referencing those old names. This is a huge negative point for me, something that makes me hard lean away from this method.
Strengths/Weaknesses/general ‘meh’ optics of this second method:
- Strength: Artists have all of their work together. If you like Primefusion’s maps, it remains easy to find his work.
- Strength: Games have all of their maps together. If you want to quickly grab an FE7 map, it’s right there in the FE7 folder.
- Strength: If you want to find maps that were specifically made as edits of an existing game, it’s easy to find them. Good for people who wish to creates demakes and remakes of existing games but don’t know where to find solid maps. (Note that with the first method, you could still search for
[FE7] Chapter Xto find edits and revamps of specific maps, but it’d be harder to find them all together.) - Middle-Ground: The Mapping Repo would keep the same consistency as the Portrait Repo. They both would have the same general folder structure. This is generally good, but not something I particularly am aspiring to, it’s just incidental.
- Middle-Ground: This method keeps the tileset and mapping repositories separate. This can be a good or a bad thing depending on how you intend to use them.
- Weakness: Renaming a tileset will also necessarily mean renaming all maps which reference that tileset.
- Weakness: Less convenient for people looking to find examples of maps made with specific tilesets.
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So, with everything I’ve just listed, I now need the community’s feedback.
Mappers: Would you prefer having the first method available to you, making it easy to find map examples for tilesets? Maybe the second, keeping certain ‘types’ of maps together? Would merging the tileset and mapping repos together be problematic in some way?
Mod Creators/General Non-Mappers: Do you feel you’d prefer one method over the other?
I could really use some thoughts from people who will be using this repo on the regular. I’ve been struggling between both choices (plus two other less-than-ideal options I’m not even going to bother typing about because I’m tired) and don’t yet have a mental consensus.
Give me your thoughts, guys!