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[Sizik]

(For the latest updates, see the thread in the modding forum.)

MapTiles (v1.1) is a tileset(/mod) that lets you view your worlds in full geographical glory! No longer will you be confused by which human settlement has more people, or wonder why that tundra looks a z-level below where it should be!

Basic version
This is a 16x16 tileset. Place it in /data/art, edit your init file, and away you go into map heaven. Note: users may experience the following side effects when using this products: Phantom-Elves-Surrounding-Trees Syndrome (PESTS), Lack-of-Willow Syndrome (LOWS), Garbled Alphabet Syndrome (GAS).

Advanced Version
This is a slightly modded version of DF, in which each tree has it's own, unique tile, so there's less collision between things that use the same tile (like elven settlements and highwood trees). Just copy over your save file(s) and you're ready to go! Other than the extra trees, this contains the exact same tiles as the tileset above. Note: may cause some users to experience really bad GAS.

Examples:
Without MapTiles:

Spoiler: Small map (click to show/hide)

Large Map
With MapTiles Basic:

Spoiler: Small map (click to show/hide)

Large Map
With MapTiles Advanced:

Spoiler: Small map (click to show/hide)

Large Map

Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome.

Tree guide:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Credit to Mike Mayday's graphics set for the following tiles:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

     -oceans/lakes/sand deserts ('~', '≈')
     -rock deserts (',', ''')
     -shrubland, savanna, swamp, and marsh ('τ', '"')
     -forests ('♠', '↑', 'Γ')
     -glumprong, willow, and ash trees, tower-caps, and saguaro cacti.
  and for the tiles from which the following tiles were derived:
     -all trees, from trees.
     -tundra ('∙', '·'), from grass, etc (',', '.', ''', '`')
     -elven settlements ('î', '¶'), from some tree
     -grassland, savanna, and marsh ('⌠', 'ⁿ'), from armor stands ('√')
     -ruins ('µ'), from elven settlements (I think, 'î')

Spoiler: Changelog (click to show/hide)

v1.1 - 3/12/10
 Made hills less repetitive. Gave ocean/desert tiles a background.
v1.0 - 3/11/10
 Release

[Tokkius]

Ow. Mine eyes.

[Sizik]

Ow. Mine eyes.

I know, the old maps really look terrible compared to this, right?

[Tizer]

I like the crisp look of the original, same reason I continue to use ASCII rather then Mayday's. :\

[clc02]

I can't see a difference between normal and advanced?

Anyway does this replace normal tiles too?  Or would sand still be ~ on the fortress?

[Grimlocke]

A tileset just for the map display, nice idea, havnt seen it before. Though you would have to change the init and reload to game for it to not show world map tiles in the actualy game modes.

Im not too fond of the gritty look, but that might be just because of my taste for good ol' ascii.

Also, nice ruined elf retreats.

[buckets]

Woah, this looks awesome!

I realy want it but if it messes with the alphabet, or other symbols, I'll probably have to skip it.

[Volatar]

I assume you just forgot to attribute where you got the tiles right?

Or, by not attributing anyone, are you implying you made these tiles? (hint: You didn't)

[Sizik]

I can't see a difference between normal and advanced?

Anyway does this replace normal tiles too?  Or would sand still be ~ on the fortress?

The difference is that all trees have their own, unique tile, so highwood trees won't look like large elf settlements (can be seen in the southeast area of the map), glumprongs trees won't look like river/road intersections (can be seen in the northwest corner of the map), and willow trees won't look like swamps (can be seen in the mid-south area of the map).

And, this does replace tiles, so sand would look kinda watery (might change this in the future, since the tiles I'm using for oceans, lakes, and sand deserts doesn't look too much like water or sand).

Woah, this looks awesome!

I realy want it but if it messes with the alphabet, or other symbols, I'll probably have to skip it.

The only normal letters messed with in the basic version are 'n' and 'V', used for hills and badlands respectively. The advanced version replaces every character between 'É' and 'ª' with trees, so most text will be unaffected.

I assume you just forgot to attribute where you got the tiles right?

Or, by not attributing anyone, are you implying you made these tiles? (hint: You didn't)

Good point. Edited the OP with source info.

[Scarpa]

I find it far harder to read with the map tiles. World generation was the exact thing that caused me to abandon graphic tilesets in favor of custom character sets - I just couldn't understand anything.

[Noble Digger]

To me, the readability and clarity is not improved at all. The speckling in the backgrounds of many tiles makes it look very noisy like there are bitmap artifacts everywhere. You could argue that a newer player would have an easier time recognizing mountains, etc. when viewing this world map but I just don't think it looks good, or appealing, the tiles themselves are just dark and harsh and noisy whereas the default ASCII at least has contrast and tile distinctiveness going for it. Hills look like horizontal rows with black space or colored dots in between. The elf caricatures beside the settlements are really cute.

[Sensei]

I really like what all the settlements look like, but some of the tiles -especially hills and marshes- are rather noisy and hard to make out. They could use either more contrast or clear borders somehow. It ought to be a little more obvious where one tile ends and the other begins.

In other words, it's a lot clearer what things are, but they need clearer borders.

[Iban]

Nothing will ever beat the ASCII. ToadyOne is a brilliant man for displaying that much information so clearly with so little.

[UristMcGunsmith]

No offense OP, but you're fixing what ain't broken.

[Sizik]

I really like what all the settlements look like, but some of the tiles -especially hills and marshes- are rather noisy and hard to make out. They could use either more contrast or clear borders somehow. It ought to be a little more obvious where one tile ends and the other begins.

In other words, it's a lot clearer what things are, but they need clearer borders.

That's somewhat intended. I wanted a sort of middle ground between the tiled look of each tile having a solid background and the darkness of the map being almost half black (as it is in ASCII). In particular, I wanted rivers and roads to fit well with other tiles. If they had a solid background, they seem too fat, as can be seen below; with no background, there's too much empty space (especially at corners, since 75% of the tile is background there).

For reference, here's the same map with Mayday's graphics.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

EDIT: Updated hills to be less repetitive, and water/sand to be less black.