VidiotMaps for Issue 24 and Beyond

 

 

 

 

Background

For the people who have been around CoH for a while, especially those who called themselves Badge Hunters, they will likely remember the VidiotMaps map overlays. Since 2004, these files replaced the in-game textures to help facilitate finding exploration badges, history plaques, day job locations, and other zone-relevant features. When Issue 24 was being beta tested, work still continued on the map updates that would have been part of that. Obviously, those never had a chance to go into regular use. While SCORE made their efforts to improve the game, VidiotMaps were there to continue that legacy. Now, they continue here on Homecoming.

 

The "MoreMaps4U" collection contains all updates that would have been released in Issue 24, as well as those that SCORE did to develop their Issue 25, and now Issue 26 here. If you're not familiar with the icons on the maps, pull up your in-game city map for an explanation. (It's also visible at train stations.)

 

I welcome any feedback you have, and please let me know if you find any problems with the updates so I can get them fixed. Thanks, and enjoy!

 

Instructions

The files in the "MoreMaps4U" collection go in your main game installation folder, and include the "\data\texture_library" subfolders. If you don't already have those folders, the PC installer linked above will automatically create them. Otherwise, you'll have to create them manually and unzip or copy the files to the proper location.

 

If you've unzipped the files and still don't see anything different in-game, make sure you haven't inadvertently created extra subfolders, such as ..\<CoH Game folder>\data\data\texture_library or ..\<CoH Game folder>\data\texture_library\data\texture_library. If you do, simply move the contents of the extra folders into the proper original folders.

 

Revision History

All changes are cumulative, meaning the collection linked at the top of this post will have the most recent of all revisions since the game shut down.

 

October 1, 2019

• map_V_PvP_02_01 (Bloody Bay) - Added new exploration badges
• map_V_PvP_03_01 (Siren's Call) - Added new exploration badges
• map_V_PvP_04_01 (Warburg) - Added new exploration badges
• map_V_PvP_05_01 (Recluse's Victory) - Added new exploration badges

 

June 11, 2019

• map_city_04_02 (Brickstown) - Corrected location of Forward Thinker badge
• map_city_05_03 (Kallisti Wharf) - Added Ada Wellington trial contact

 

May 31, 2019

• map_city_02_05 (Faultline) - Updated new assortment of exploration badges
• map_city_05_03 (Kallisti Wharf) - New zone map
• map_trial_02_01 (Echo: Faultline) - Updated new assortment of exploration badges

 

December 27, 2017

• map_city_03_04 (Cimerora) - Added Battle Hardened badge

 

October 22, 2014

• map_city_01_01 (Atlas Park) - Updated base map image to reflect the new Freedom geometries
• map_city_03_01 (Talos Island) - Updated base map image and removed arena day job marker
• map_hazard_01_01 (Perez Park) - Updated base map image for more accurate tree overlay

 

May 24, 2014

• map_city_01_02 (Kings Row) - Changed zone event from "Paladin Construction" to "The Clockwork Paladin" and updated mob level info
• map_city_01_05 (Echo: Atlas Park) - New zone map with new exploration badges
• map_city_02_04 (Pocket D) - Updated day job info, added Architect overlay and Thrill Seeker badge
• map_city_03_01 (Talos Island) - Removed "Adamastor Rising" zone event
• map_city_03_02 (Independence Port) - Updated base map image and day job info
• map_city_04_02 (Brickstown) - Updated base map image, added new history plaques and "Prison Break" zone event
• map_city_06_01 (Ouroboros) - Added Mender Tesseract for new co-op version of zone
• map_hazard_02_01 (Boomtown) - Updated base map image and mob level info, added Goliath War Walker spawn, and adjusted history plaque locations
• map_hazard_03_01 (Echo: Dark Astoria) - Re-added Adamastor monster to legend
• map_hazard_04_01 (Crey's Folly) - Adjusted Jurassik spawn points
• map_IOM_FB_Breakout (Breakout in Flashback) - New zone map
• map_IOM_FB_Outbreak (Outbreak in Flashback) - New zone map
• map_trial_02_01 (Echo: Faultline) - New zone map with original badge markers
• map_trial_05_01 (Echo: Rikti Crash Site) - New zone map with new exploration badges
• map_V_City_04_01 (St. Martial) - Added "The Family Raid" zone event and corrected Thrill Seeker name in legend
• map_War_05_01 (Rikti War Zone) - Removed eight badges that were transferred to Echo: RCS

 

File Contents

Since .texture files are not viewable out-of-game and have generally unhelpful names, here are the combined detailed contents of each folder.

 

..\GUI\Icons\Badges\

• badge_count_200 - Corrected artwork for Trailblazer badge
• v_badge_StatureBadge7 - Corrected artwork for Skip Tracer and Portal Hopper badges

 

..\MAPS\city\

• Paragon City overview maps

 

..\MAPS\Dark_Astoria_Makeover\

• map_Coop_06_01 - Dark Astoria

 

..\MAPS\Midnight_Squad\

• mid_squad_chamber - Midnight Squad circle chamber room

 

..\MAPS\NewPlayerTutorial\

• Map_N_City_00_01 - Destroyed Galaxy City

 

..\MAPS\Safeguard\

• All Safeguard mission maps

 

..\MAPS\sewers\

• Detailed sewer mission maps (original working files are lost to the æther)

 

..\MAPS\static\

• map_city_00_01 - Outbreak
• map_city_01_01 - Atlas Park
• map_city_01_02 - Kings Row
• map_city_01_03 - Galaxy City (Original)
• map_city_01_04 - Echo: Galaxy City
• map_city_01_05 - Echo: Atlas Park
• map_city_02_01 - Steel Canyon
• map_city_02_02 - Skyway City
• map_city_02_04 - Pocket D
• map_city_02_05 - Faultline
• map_city_03_01 - Talos Island
• map_city_03_02 - Independence Port
• map_city_03_03 - Croatoa
• map_city_03_04 - Cimerora
• map_city_04_01 - Founders' Falls
• map_city_04_02 - Brickstown
• map_city_05_01 - Peregrine Island
• map_city_05_03 - Kallisti Wharf
• map_hazard_01_01 - Perez Park
• map_hazard_01_02 - The Hollows
• map_hazard_01_03 - Tunnels of the Trolls
• map_hazard_02_01 - Boomtown
• map_hazard_03_01 - Echo: Dark Astoria
• map_hazard_03_02 - Striga Isle
• map_hazard_04_01 - Crey's Folly
• map_hazard_06_01 - Firebase Zulu
• map_hazard_06_02 - Cascade Archipelago
• map_hazard_06_03 - The Chantry
• map_IOM_FB_Outbreak - Outbreak in Flashback
• map_P_City_00_01 - Nova Praetoria
• map_P_City_00_02 - Imperial City
• map_P_City_00_03 - Neutropolis
• map_P_City_00_04 - First Ward
• map_P_City_00_05 - Precinct Five
• map_P_City_00_06 - Underground Nova
• map_P_City_00_07 - Underground Imperial
• map_P_City_00_08 - Underground Neutropolis
• map_P_City_00_09 - Night Ward
• map_trial_01_01 - Abandoned Sewer Network
• map_trial_01_02 - Sewer Network
• map_trial_02_01 - Echo: Faultline
• map_trial_03_01 - Terra Volta
• map_trial_04_01 - Eden
• map_trial_04_02 - The Hive
• map_trial_05_01 - Echo: Rikti Crash Site
• map_trial_06_01 - Storm Palace
• map_War_05_01 - Rikti War Zone

 

..\P_MAPS\

• Praetoria overview maps

 

..\V_MAPS\City\

• Rogue Isles overview maps

 

..\V_MAPS\Outdoor_Missions\

• All Mayhem mission maps

 

..\V_MAPS\Static\

• map_city_06_01 - Ouroboros (Hero version, now co-op)
• map_IOM_FB_Breakout - Breakout in Flashback
• map_V_City_00_01 - Breakout
• map_V_City_01_01 - Mercy Island
• map_V_City_01_02 - Port Oakes
• map_V_City_02_01 - Cap au Diable
• map_V_city_03_01 - Sharkhead Isle
• map_V_City_03_02 - Nerva Archipelago
• map_V_City_04_01 - St. Martial
• map_V_City_05_01 - Grandville
• map_v_city_06_01 - Ouroboros (Villain version, original)
• map_V_PvP_02_01 - Bloody Bay
• map_V_PvP_03_01 - Siren's Call
• map_V_PvP_04_01 - Warburg
• map_V_PvP_05_01 - Recluse's Victory
• map_V_Trial_04_02 - The Abyss
• map_V_Trial_04_03 - Monster Island

 

 

Edited October 2, 2019 by Blondeshell

<3 ty

dude, thank you!

Niiiiice, been waiting for this to happen!

Stupid Q, does this defog the zone maps?

 

 

 

My new best friend!

 

Thank you thank you thank you!

 

Stupid Q, does this defog the zone maps?

Nope, that still requires the Reveal power.

I had initially downloaded Tequila in my downloads folder for Paragon Chat. When the game came back, I dug up an i-23 copy of VM and basically downloaded it into my downloads folder. Probably not the most organized way.

 

So I can just extract the new Moremaps into my download folder?

 

Do we need to restart the game?

Is Beefcake back in the game? And Snow Globe? They were ‘names’ in the old badge community Inrecall.

 

MCM

I had initially downloaded Tequila in my downloads folder for Paragon Chat. When the game came back, I dug up an i-23 copy of VM and basically downloaded it into my downloads folder. Probably not the most organized way.

 

So I can just extract the new Moremaps into my download folder?

 

Do we need to restart the game?

 

It's definitely a good idea to not be logged into the game when you go updating the textures, especially if you're in a zone that's being updated. And you would extract the MoreMaps4U into the \texture_library folder as mentioned in the first post, so wherever the I23 copy went is where this would go.

Is Beefcake back in the game? And Snow Globe? They were ‘names’ in the old badge community Inrecall.

 

MCM

 

I've seen Snow Globe around here and there, but don't know if he's in Homecoming. Beefcake basically faded away by 2012 due to a job change, only coming back for technical stuff with the Badge Hunter site when needed. I haven't heard from him since before shutdown.

I had initially downloaded Tequila in my downloads folder for Paragon Chat. When the game came back, I dug up an i-23 copy of VM and basically downloaded it into my downloads folder. Probably not the most organized way.

 

So I can just extract the new Moremaps into my download folder?

 

Do we need to restart the game?

 

So long as they end up into the right folder structure inside your Data folder, then you're fine. I read elsewhere that the change should happen immediately, but as mentioned above. It'd be best not trying to access said maps while doing so (logged out being safest).

Snow said in the triumph reconnect thread that he's back and on 3 homecoming servers but not troch. Haven't seen him despite being on a lot at the same times I used to see him on secret world legends. Possible he just didn't join Triumph watch though.

Thanks for the updates.

Is there a tool or a specific file format that can be used to edit .texture files?

Thank you for the update and al the work you put into it.

THANK YOU!!!

Briskstown lower quarter of the map is wonky.

 

 

I've never used VM before, but this seems like a good time to do it. Can someone ELI5 how they work? Once it's all downloaded into the "..\data\texture_library\ " folder, do I need to do anything special in-game to enable the overlays, or are they just turned on automagically? And do they only show up on the mini-map or will I see stuff in front of me while I'm jumping around?

I've never used VM before, but this seems like a good time to do it. Can someone ELI5 how they work? Once it's all downloaded into the "..\data\texture_library\ " folder, do I need to do anything special in-game to enable the overlays, or are they just turned on automagically? And do they only show up on the mini-map or will I see stuff in front of me while I'm jumping around?

 

Once installed (following the instructions in this thread) they permanently replace the existing zone maps.  They are best used by zooming in to locate the specific markers and to read the text that is there.  They do not alter anything else, just the maps...

Awesome, thanks!

 

.... they permanently replace the existing zone maps.  ...

 

I was under the impression that they were overlays, not permanent replacements...?

 

.... they permanently replace the existing zone maps.  ...

 

I was under the impression that they were overlays, not permanent replacements...?

The "overlays" term is used to indicate that there's extra information on top of the standard map. They are, in fact, texture replacements. That's the only way to get something different into the game than what's contained in the PIGG files, be it textures, sounds, or any other customization.

I was under the impression that they were overlays, not permanent replacements...?

 

I'm assuming it was a mis-speak as you are correct. Nothing is modified, merely redirected. IE: Anything in the Data folder (so long as it's compatible) will take the place of what would normally be loaded in memory while not actually modifying game files (against the original EULA).

Briskstown lower quarter of the map is wonky.

 

In what way? Mine comes up fine in-game. Is it distorted somehow or is there something missing? The correct current version should have a marker for the Prison Break zone event and three Park Stroller history plaques.

Thanks for the updates.

Is there a tool or a specific file format that can be used to edit .texture files?

 

You're welcome.

 

Texture files aren't edited directly. They're converted to and from other formats (either BMP or DDS) via specific programs that can do that.