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diff --git a/doc/map_cache.txt b/doc/map_cache.txt new file mode 100644 index 00000000..19ab92a4 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/map_cache.txt @@ -0,0 +1,68 @@ +//===== Hercules Documentation =============================== +//= Hercules Map Cache Builder and Format Documentation +//===== By: ================================================== +//= DracoRPG +//===== Current Version: ===================================== +//= 20070724 +//===== Description: ========================================= +//= A complete manual for Hercules' map cache generator as +//= well as a reference on the map cache format used. +//============================================================ + +Preface: +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Since SVN revision ~10000, the map-server no longer knows how to read GRFs directly. It reads maps from a +"map cache" file that contains all and only the useful data about the maps. A map cache containing every official +kRO Sakray map currently supported by Hercules is provided as a default. +If you have custom maps or want to minimize the size of your map cache because your server does not load all of them +(multi-map-server or light test server), you can use the map cache builder to generate a new one fitting your needs. + +Map cache builder manual: +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +The source code for the map cache builder is located in src/tool/. It can be built using "make tools" if you use the Makefile +or using the "mapcache" project under Visual Studio. Named "mapcache", the executable will be in your Hercules main folder. +The map cache builder needs 3 file paths : one is a list of GRFs and/or data directory containing the maps, the second +is the list of maps to add to the map cache, and the last one is the path of the map cache to generate. Default values for +those paths are "tools/mapcache/grf_files.txt", "db/map_index.txt" and "db/(pre-)re/map_cache.dat". + +As of r16867, the mapcache within SVN can be located in db/pre-re/ and db/re/. This is due to renewal and pre-renewal modes +having slightly different maps. When building your cache, you should ensure you're pointing the tool to the correct location. + +The list of GRFs and/or data directory must follow the format and indication of the default file: as many "grf:" entries as +you wish and optionally only one "data_dir:" entry with trailing backslash included. // comments are supported as usual. +In fact, any file with one map name per line can be used as a map list, that's why the map index list is used as a default: +we are sure it contains every map supported by the server. Anything after the map name is ignored, // comments are supported +and if the first word on the line is "map:" then the second word is used as the map name instead: that allows using +/conf/maps.conf as your map list, which is handy if you want to generate a minimal map cache for each of your multiple +map-servers. +The map cache file path can point to an already existing file, as the builder adds a map only if it's not already cached. +This way, you can add custom maps to the base map cache without even needing kRO Sakray maps. If you wish to rebuild the +entire map cache, though, you can either provide a path to a non-existing file, or force the rebuild mode. + +Here are the command-line arguments you can provide to the map cache builder to customize its behavior: + -grf path/to/grf/list + Allows to specify the file containing the list of GRFs and/or data directory + -list path/to/map/list + Allows to specify the file containing the list of maps to add to the map cache + -cache path/to/map/cache + Allows to specify the path to the generated map cache + -rebuild + Allows to force the rebuild mode (map cache will be overwritten even if it already exists) + + +Map cache format reference: +------------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +The file is written as little-endian, even on big-endian systems, for cross-compatibility reasons. Appropriate conversions +are done when generating it, so don't worry about it. +The first 6 bytes are a main header: +<unsigned int> file size +<unsigned short> number of maps +Then maps are stored one right after another: +<12-characters-long string> map name +<short> X size +<short> Y size +<long> compressed cell data length +<variable> compressed cell data |