what do I get?

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mac
New User
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Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2018 8:25 am

what do I get?

Post by mac »

Hi guys,

great job you are doing here. As I'm new and have no experience with POL I'd like to understand what I get if I download and install POL Core and the Official POL Distro.

Does this mean I get the basic functions needed to run an UO-shard, like NPC selling-system, fighting, skill-gain-mechanics and so on?

And how does the map look like, do I have a plain map where I can build statics or is it the whole UO map? As I know there are tools which let you create your own map.

Thanks,
mac
Yukiko
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Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2006 1:41 pm
Location: San Antonio, Texas
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Re: what do I get?

Post by Yukiko »

In short, the answer is yes. You have a working UO shard. The maps, or facets, are the standard UO maps. The are not decorated initially. This means that the doors and signs etc are not installed. There is a command to decorate the facets (also called realms in POL parlance). The command is .decoratefacets. All commands in POL are preceeded by a period. Please note that the decoratefacets command might place some items incorrectly. It takes awhile to explore all of the facets to locate those items that might be misplaced and as we have been working hard on the scripts we have not had time to walk all the way through the facets to find mistakes. Also be sure to download the POL Configurator. It will help you to tweak POL's many settings.

Please feel free to post any questions you may have..

Thank you for trying POL.
mac
New User
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2018 8:25 am

Re: what do I get?

Post by mac »

Thanks for your quick reply.

Some more questions:

1)
That original map is far to big for a small private shard. Therefore I would have to take only a very small part of the original map or (which I'd prefer) draw a new map from scratch. As I understand I can do this with a bunch of different map tools?

2)
You already said that the basics are included in POL and the official POL Distro. Does this mean that, for example, I can create a mine, define a mining aerea where the players can go and dig for ore, which can later be made into iron barren and weapons? The same for leather (armor), crops (food), and so on? So it's like point and click world design?

3)
It's seems to me that if I just take the basic functions as they are, you can rather easy and comfortable create your own shard. Is it like this? Or are there some other functions, not included in the basic ones, which I will need and have to implement on myself?

Thanks!
Yukiko
Distro Developer
Posts: 2825
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2006 1:41 pm
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Contact:

Re: what do I get?

Post by Yukiko »

To answer your first question, you can design your own map using tools available elsewhere. If you are looking for a good source of maps and design tools I would recommend you check out Darkshard. Carl has a large collection of custom designed maps, tools, and custom graphics that he makes available on a DVD or thumb drive. I have used his maps and utilities for my shard. The cost is very reasonable considering what is included, about $40 US. Some of the utilities and graphics are available for free online but not his custom maps but having them all available on a DVD is an enormous time saver.

You mentioned the size of the map as an issue. You could start your players out in Tokuno. That facet is much smaller than Felucca and is basically an island.

Unfortunately the actual dimensions of the maps in UO cannot be changed. For example Felucca is is 7168 x 4096 "squares". This is a UO client restriction. So if you design a custom map for the Felucca facet and wanted a smaller land mass then most of the rest of the map would be water. This is not a problem but I thought you would want to know.

Now as far as the second question is concerned, yes you can setup special mining locations and have them produce special ores. You may have to modify the scripts depending on how extensive you want the customization to be. The same applies to leather, wood, crops, and wool. It is basically fairly easy to add some built in customization but not quite point and click.

Your last question depends on the additional features you might imagine to add. :)
You can add whatever you want to do as long as you take some time to learn the eScript language and the built in function's that POL provides.

If you have any questions you can always ask them here on the forums and someone will help you.
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