What is Remapster?
The goal of the project is to develop a
Windower addon that allows players to easily use high definition maps (created by myself and possibly other artists) to navigate FFXI.
Dev Blog & Reddit
We are
tracking progress over on the dev blog and
this reddit post but will try to provide updates here as much as possible.
Art Goals
Create HD map assets (at least 2048 x 2048) that remain true to the character, style, and feel of the legacy maps, remastered in high definition. This means that while I will be redrawing the maps from scratch, if I do this right they shouldn’t look or feel too much different from the originals, which have a lot of sentimental value for many of us. The goal isn’t to be super disruptive here – as lacking or flawed as some of the maps are, I also have a deep reverence for them.
Source and integrate popular features and data from other community map projects that provide useful location information for things like:
Certain important quest markers
One-way cliffs / drops / doors / holes
Critical gameplay entities like Home Points, Waypoints, Cavernous Maws, Survival Guides, Telepoints, etc.
Frequently used gameplay entities like Colonization and Lair Rieves, etc.
All that being said, I do not want to clutter these maps, so I’m going for quality and usefulness over throwing everything and the kitchen sink on there. There are a lot of items and coordinates that, after many years, aren’t as relevant anymore, and might better be left off.
(TLDR: It’s impossible to replace all wiki guides, so realistically, we shouldn’t be clogging the map in an effort to try. Instead, we can be thoughtful in our inclusion of certain POIs (points of interest) and weight it more toward the most useful for the community at large.)
For maps that are straight-up unreliable for getting anywhere (Yuhtunga Jungle, Yorcia Weald, I’m looking at you…), I would like to maintain their look but provide accurate pathing information so that you can actually use and rely on the maps to help you get where you need to go. You know, like a map is supposed to do.
This includes maps that have “hidden pockets” that aren’t drawn into their design.
Process
This is a “free time” activity for me, and likely anybody else that gets involved. I can only work at the pace I can work at. For reference, I’ve got two kids and a full-time gig. I started playing FFXI when Chains of Promathia came out, and at that point I was in my late teens.
Using this reddit thread, I will source the community (via upvotes and follow-up replies) for direction on which maps I create and in what order.
I will provide project updates in the devBlog section of the site and make the art available to download and view for free, all I ask is that you properly credit me and redirect people back to the site and reddit thread.
Contact
If you have any questions, you’re welcome to reach out to me via the Windower Discord; I go by the name
spalose in there.
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Below is a look at the current version of
HD Bastok Markets (click the image to see full resolution):
