Curse

Livingston · Sep 27, 2006, 02:14 PM // 14:14

If you wish to submit your maps for checking please see tomorrow's service thread at the following link:

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...php?t=10155598

Note: After some of the recent updates and the announcement of GW2 I've decided to move to Lord of the Rings Online as I tried it in beta and it's pretty cool. If you do see me on it will just be me popping in, but don't be shy, say hello. ^_^

A huge Thank You goes to SilentVex and tommarrow for volunteering to check people's maps in the past. And here's hoping for their full recovery from any brain and eye damage acquired in the process.

A big congratulations to Zophar for being the first person we know of to achieve the Elonian Grandmaster cartography title and for winning the 10K prize! And a big congratulations to Garethporlest18 for being the first we know of to beat the game.

************************************************** **********************

This is a thread for those who want to become a Grandmaster Elonian Cartographer by uncovering 100% of Elona themselves. This means not having to ask someone else to point out spots that you have missed. A hassle? Perhaps, but tell me, doesn't a title like GRANDMASTER Cartographer fully embody the epitome of coolness when YOU are the one who has found very little tiny spot on your map?

That's what I thought... So let those pesky spots cower before your all mighty wall hugging skill.

In this thread I will show you "exactly" how to do this by providing you with information based on crazy skills gained from comparing literally 100s of Canthan maps as well as months of research as detailed in "Livingston's Guide to becoming a Grandmaster Canthan Cartographer!" (psst go here if you want to truly conquer Cantha

)

Note: If you message me in game and I don't respond, I'm not being uppity, I'm more than likely comparing maps with a full U map (or have fallen asleep at the keyboard) and won't see or hear your message. If I don't respond, simply leave a message and if I remember to check when I'm done, I'll either try to message you back or PM you here, so leave your GWG screen name.

*************************************

In Elona there will be areas that have fog on them that seem like you should be able to uncover, but you won't be able to. Don't panic it's ok. You only need to uncover the areas that you can uncover; you won't be able to unfog the entire map. Thus the first step in becoming a Grandmaster Cartographer is of course to figure out which areas can indeed be cleared and then proceed to clear as much fog from the map as you can, without having to hunt around for specific spots. There are a few keys to achieving this:

1) Hug the walls!!! Every single area you go to, including outposts. Hug the Walls! This means that you need to travel around the edge of each and every area you come to. This will not only uncover most of the fog within the area, it will also uncover bits of fog that are outside of the explorable area, including water and small islands close to the coast. Most areas that people miss are found by extreme wall hugging. So no matter what area you are in, grab a wall and show it some love.

2) Make sure that you enter every mission area to explore within it's borders.

3) Hug The Walls!!!

4) Most "Enter Mission" areas have an explorable area that you can only access once you have completed the Enter Mission. Make sure that you explore these as well, as they will often have areas that were inaccessible during the mission. Also, do not be content to simply do the mission and leave the exploring for the explorable area, as some missions may not have explorable areas, or may have areas that are not accessible within the explorable areas. To be sure you must Explore Everywhere!

5) Hug The Walls!!! Your passion in this should make the Mesmers and Paragons blush.

6) When hugging the walls, Walk Slowly! If you run it, you can easily skip over little corners and juts that you would have hit had you walked, and these are usually the places that people miss. Slow and steady wins the race!

You can also accidentally skip over these areas if you are not using the keyboard to move, as mouse walking is extremely inaccurate. If you are not facing the wall that you are exploring, then you are doing it Wrong. Facing the wall (at least a 45' angle) will ensure you hit every nook you can. Otherwise you can pass them up even when going slowly.

7) You might want to try hugging the walls, I think it could help...

*************************************

If you do all of these things, all of the time, you should actually come out with 100% explored once you have completed the game and have accessed all the areas.

However, no one is perfect and it is very easy to miss many of the more difficult spots. In fact most people will probably end up missing the same exact spots. If you even loosely followed my seven steps above you should have most of the map done with your initial exploration of the game through to the end.

So how do you go about finding all of those pesky little spots that will clear the rest of the board? You let them behold the majesty as you follow the next directions.

The following method (coined by Leighwyn) requires the least amount of external program assistance, though it is yet to be seen if it is the most efficient; as it was with Cantha and less so with Tyria (which has more efficient methods).

All we need is a 100% map to compare to:

Map 1

Map 2

Map 3

You should right click on the above links and select Save Target As, and save it somewhere on your hard drive that you can easily find.

Map 1 and 2 should be the primary map used for comparing as it was made using the U maps.

Map 3 was made using the normal map, thus it should be used mostly for second reference.

Open guild wars and enter the game with a character that has completed Nightfall. You should then put the game into windowed mode by clicking the middle icon in the top right corner, to the left of the "x." Now press the "U" key in order to open the mini map display. Next, drag the mini-map to the top left corner of your screen, then click on the bottom right corner of the min-map and drag it down and out to expand it, fully covering your entire window with the mini-map. It should look something like this:

Windowed Mode.jpg

Now open the 100% map that you saved from above in "Window's Picture and Fax Viewer" (or whatever program you have that will allow you to zoom in on the photo). If you have Windows XP then it should do this automatically when you open the file.

Next, zoom in on the map until the image is as close to the same size as the one on your mini-map as is humanly possible. Once they are the same size, you can begin the comparison process. Simply line up your mini-map with the same area on the 100% map, so that they are in the EXACT same position. They should overlap perfectly. Now when you switch back and forth between them, you should see the exact same area in the exact same place, like this:

Mini-map
100% Map

Tab back and forth between the two while staring at the borders of the area. If you are missing a spot in that area, your eye should notice the very slight difference between your mini-map and the 100% map and go straight to it. Take note of the exact area you are missing and then go get it. If you do this with your entire map, you should have no problems finding the last spots that you need to get your title.

Make sure to use the U mini-map and Not the full map that you get when you press "M." The full map contains clouds that will obscure your vision and mess with your eyes when trying to pick out color and shape variances. It will also show the outpost emblems which can obscure areas that you need.

Another thing to note is that it is much easier to set up your 100% map to the area you want to examine, and then move your mini-map to line up with it, as you can easily drag the map surface back and forth on the mini-map in order to line things up. Also in case you weren't aware, and many people aren't, you can use your mouse's wheel button to zoom in on your mini-map to have a closer look at specific spots.

This method is far superior to having both maps side by side and simply looking back and forth, as your eyes will not hold the images as readily, and you will lose a lot of information in the back and forth movements. If you use Leighwyn's method and rapidly switch out the images, any spots you are missing should jump out at you.

A tip from Leighwyn:

"Sometimes when comparing maps, the only thing that appears different is the shadowing. A big example of this (In Cantha) is the region between the SW and SE corners of Nahpui explorable and mission area, respectively. That little region of empty space has the slightest change in shadowy hue when you fully reveal it. Another example of this rare phenomenon is the western edge of the Jade Brotherhood, docks, headquarters, island, thingamabob, which is clearly seen on a zoomed out map (the wonderful line glitch) but on a zoomed in map, only changes the water ever so slightly."

*************************************

A variation of this method is to save pictures of your own map and compare it to the 100% map with an image program. If you have an image program and know how to use it, simply open the 100% map in your program and then open an area of your map as another layer that lines up with the 100% map. Then switch back and forth between the layers. Sometimes putting Guildwars into windowed mode will warp the color a bit, so this method may allow you to pick up things you hadn't noticed in windowed mode. If you don't know how to do this, then stick to the first method.

Leighwyn suggests IrfanView, it's free to download here:

http://www.irfanview.com/

Make sure to unclick the google software when installing, unless you actually want (the tool of the devil!) it.

*************************************

Another method, which was introduced to the boards by LuXa (now know as Sab), is very popular with Tyrian cartographers, but less so with Canthan, as the nature of the Canthan map makes this method less effective than it is with Tyria. The topography of Elona seems to be more akin to Tyria than Cantha, so this may prove to be the most effective method to use for Nighfall.

In order to use this method you must have an image program with the proper functions and know how to use them. This is a method only for those who understand what I am talking about when reading this. If you don't understand it, then you should stick to the first method.

You need one of the following 100% zoomed out maps. Choose the resolution that works best for you:

1600x1200
1280x1024
1024x768
1440x900

It may take awhile to download, as these are bitmap files, which are needed in order to make the most out of this particular method.

Since I can't explain the process any better than Sab has, I will simply link to her explanation of the method. Just use the Elonian Maps above instead of the Tyrian maps that she links to. Here it is:

LuXa's Method

*************************************

If you have used this guide and found success with it, please make a post here and let me know about it. Also feel free to post a small screenshot here of your character with the Grandmaster title, if you used this thread to achieve it. ^_^ Make sure your pic is around 396 x 609 pixels, and absolutely no bigger than 640 x 984 pixels, as it will warp the thread and is against GWG board policy.

If you use what's in this thread to the fullest and still come up short, or if you really can't go through the hassle of earning the title yourself, then please read the next post below this one. Also the third post down is a Q&A post that I will be updating regularly with common questions concerning the Grandmaster Cartographer Title, so check it out if you get stuck.

If you couldn't get the title using the information on this thread, please let me know what else you needed so I can add it here. And of course any other suggestions for changes or additions are more than welcomed.

Special Thanks To: SilentVex, tommarrow, lakatz, Myster Grim, =HT=Ingram, Leighwyn, Sab (LuXa), and Juhgis.

This map is from =HT=Ingram and is an estimation of the comparitive sizes of the world maps:

Edit by SnipiousMax
Here is another great post by ddust.
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...postcount=1402

It shows the 'walkable' portion of the area boundaries! One of the best resources I've seen to date.

Livingston · Sep 27, 2006, 02:15 PM // 14:15

If you have followed all the directions from the post above and have checked all the Q&A below and you still can't uncover that last little bit, do not abandon all hope, there is still help for you (at least when it comes to getting the title

).

First make sure to recheck your map for these commonly missed areas.

NOTE: There are currently no volunteer map checkers in this thread. As such, RTSFirebat has requested that no one post maps in this thread.

If you need your map checked, Livingston provides the service for a fee at the following thread:

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...php?t=10112904

Livingston · Sep 27, 2006, 02:18 PM // 14:18

General Questions

1) Is there anything I can do while mapping that will help make sure that I get everything?

Well of course you have to make sure that you wall hug every single border in every area including the towns. But there is something else that you can do, as pointed out by Silent Vex (the second on this thread to achieve the title). If you open your U map, you can zoom in on it by using your middle mouse button (if your mouse doesn't have one, Abaddon should be arriving shortly to devour your soul). When you zoom in you should be able to see that the uncleared areas have a smooth texture to them, where as the cleared areas look rough and grainy. Thus you should look for any smooth areas near or overlapping walls, and try to clear that area.

Another thing you can do if you seem to be missing spots and can't find any fog, is to go through all of the portals that lead from one mission to the next the opposite way than what you have done before. Or you can do this while you explore. Each time you go through a portal go back through it from the other direction, apparently this may add extra % even if you don't see it uncover any fog.

2) Are there any places that I need to uncover that I won't be able to see by looking at the fog on the U maps?

At this point there isn't any specific areas that are like this, however you should make sure to explore the middle areas of all regions thoroughly as there have been reports of players who even though their U maps seemed to be clear, they ran through the middle of the area and gained more percentage points for it. So don't rely solely on the overlapping mapping of the boarders to uncover the middle of areas. Make sure to actively explore these places as well.

3) Do you have to beat the game in order to achieve the title?

Yes you can achieve the title before finishing the game. However, you will have to do a very good job at mapping everywhere for this to happen. You also need to make sure to map the areas in The Remains of Sahlahjaif mission using the wurms. The ending cinematic has also been reported to give anywhere from .0-.2%. Though .0% has been the most reported gain.

Beating the game also gains you access to the back area of the Chantry of Secrets which will net you .1%.

Location Specific Questions

1) How can I get to the following areas?

For the moment, only Elonian born characters can access this area, and part of it can only be reached through the tutorial.

This area is similar in nature to the Monastery Overlook in Cantha, which can only be reached by native Canthans or by attending the Dragon Festival games. Whether a similar event will be held for Elona that will grant access to this area as well, is yet to be seen.

It does count towards the exploration title, however you do not need to get this in order to achieve the title.

2) Are there any missions that you have to map, which do not have an explorable area?

Yes, the Remains of Sahlahja.

Here is a little mini-guide courtesy of Silent Vex for mapping this area:

1. Set up with a build to solo a lvl 20 blood necro and a couple running skills, enter mission.
2. Dance with the little girl, re-enact the fight, and kill the lady with the rare artifact (do the other 2 mini-games if you're going for bonus), and go talk to the princes.
3. After the cut scene, all the guards blocking the stairs will have left their posts to attack the Skree.

Now's your chance to simply run outside and explore the whole zone.

Dynastic Tombs is also only accessible through the Remains of Sahlahja challenge mission.

*Minor Spoiler*

Tihark Orchard mission allows you to access Garden of Seborhin. You won't be able to access this area in the explorable areas unless you have royalty with you. Lucky for you, Tahlkora happens to be the daughter of Prince Mehtu, and thus qualifies you for entry. So either map the area when you go into the mission, or make sure to bring Tahlkora into the explorable area.

3)Does exploring the areas that are accessible by opening doors in The Remains of Sahlahja challenge mission count towards the title?

Yes.

4) If so, what's the best way to explore them all?

The Remains of Sahlahja is a challenge mission where you have to use a wurm to score points in order to open doors. Scoring 60 points will unlock all 4 areas.

You should explore each area immediately after opening a door. This way if you die while exploring an area, you won't have wasted all the time opening the other areas.

It should also be noted that the doors open in a random order each time, though some may seem to open first on a more frequent basis.

As such you may choose to score enough points to open one door, explore the area, kill yourself, and then repeat until you have opened all of the doors. It is up to you to decide if it's easier to get all 60 points or to keep on dying and hoping the first door to open is one you don't have.

5) Are there any areas specifically that do not count towards the title?

The Realm of Torment does not count towards the title.

6) Are there any areas that people commonly miss?

The Dynastic Tombs and Poisonous Outcrops are often missed on the wurm paths.

Mournblade · Sep 28, 2006, 02:48 PM // 14:48

So where's your version of the 100% Preview map?!? This is a map thread, right? =)

Livingston · Sep 28, 2006, 06:26 PM // 18:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mournblade

So where's your version of the 100% Preview map?!? This is a map thread, right? =)

I believe that one is provided on the front page of this board. Unfortunately I had to work during most of the preview event.

Thank you,
Livingston

DynaBlue · Sep 28, 2006, 06:46 PM // 18:46

Has anyone checked to see if NF maps are checkable via the Tyria-style difference engine or does it require the Canthan map-flipping method?

Mournblade · Sep 28, 2006, 07:40 PM // 19:40

If the rest of Elona is desert and brush like the intro island, then it will be hard to do a difference map, I would guess. The more 'hard edges' there are, the easier it is to see the differences. It also depends on how large the total Elonian map is. Cantha is smaller than Tyria, so it was harder to see details on the zoomed-out map.

Regardless, the community will find a way to make it easier on folks. I have faith. =)

Leighwyn · Sep 28, 2006, 11:00 PM // 23:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by DynaBlue

Has anyone checked to see if NF maps are checkable via the Tyria-style difference engine or does it require the Canthan map-flipping method?

I didn't actually save a zoomed-out Elona map (doh), only put together the zoomed-in one. If, however, someone has an image of one on their computer I or someone else can check.

Or we can just wait a month and find out

Livingston · Sep 29, 2006, 03:06 AM // 03:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leighwyn

I didn't actually save a zoomed-out Elona map (doh), only put together the zoomed-in one. If, however, someone has an image of one on their computer I or someone else can check.

Or we can just wait a month and find out

I did get a zoomed out one, but I don't think there's much point in it at this stage as we don't really know what cleared landscape will look like other than on the island, and it might even change. I'll go ahead and post it though when I have more time.

Edit: Done

Livingston

Leighwyn · Sep 29, 2006, 04:17 AM // 04:17

Looks good so far...like I said, I don't have a copy of my own zoomed-out map where everything is complete, this is just based off Livingston's blank map and another I found which had barely anything explored....

But so far yeah, things are looking up for those who prefer it. Of course, things could be completely different on the mainland, as Livingston said, and this method STILL won't completely tell you every detail you're lacking, just most of the general regions you need to work on; alt-tab is always going to be best for that. But hey, sometimes people just want to know those general areas and off they go.

RTSFirebat · Sep 29, 2006, 06:26 AM // 06:26

I've added this to sticky, but closing is for now. Its just getting a lot of +1 post counts which have nothing to do with this being a Guide.

Livingston just PM me when Nightfall gets closer to release and I'll reopen then for you. Or PM me to open it so you can add information to it.

Livingston · Oct 27, 2006, 10:29 AM // 10:29

Open only a few hours and already I have updates.

Added a couple new maps to the OP. Should be very informative.

Of course a commonly missed spots map scheme can not be created until we have enough people who first have 100%, then enough people trying in vain to get 100% so we can see what spots they can't seem to find.

Unfortunately I will be very far behind in mapping Elona to 100% myself, as I am working too much, and because I refuse to zip through the game with elite guild groups or even with PUGs.

I have a personal rule that I must solo the game before I'm allowed to group with others in it as I find the game extremely too easy when grouping with other players, and I like a challenge. I use henchmen only if I see no possible way to get my character (W/E) through a mission without them; though I may use the Hero's regularly in Elona simply for the novelty of exploring their uses and system, though if I find the game to easy with them, I'll dump them and save them for another character to use after I complete the game.

That being said, I will still be gathering all the information relevant for this thread, which funnily enough doesn't actually require me to do any mapping myself, though it will certainly help once I do have it done.

So lets see those 100%!

In the mean time, if you have any questions about mapping Elona, please post them here. Also if you have seen anyone else post any questions about mapping Elona and they have received good answers, please post them here.

For the moment I simply wish to gather all the relevant information on mapping Elona and stick it all here for easy access.

Livingston

Livingston · Oct 27, 2006, 11:34 AM // 11:34

I'm offering a 10k prize to the first person that shows me their Grandmaster Elonian Cartographer title, and provide good pics for me to display here of their U maps.

^_^

Luciora · Oct 27, 2006, 07:09 PM // 19:09

Ok so I started the mapping process with my ele. Started Island is done as far as I can see. Did all the usual wall creeps and not found any funny map glitches yet.

My total for the starter bit is 22%, can anyone collaborate on what they found thusfar?

Livingston · Oct 27, 2006, 08:59 PM // 20:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monkey Blonde

That is very generous of you. I think this is worth me opening a PayPal account...

In Game Money Thank You!

And if anyone gets any wise ideas to come looking for me, I do own a Katana and have trained extensively in its use.

So bring it on Margarine Boy!

Quote:

Originally Posted by bog boy

lol the games been ot for a day and u guys just care bout mapping

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leighwyn

Actually, if you read Livingston's post, you'll see all he cares about is everything BUT mapping..............

LOL, pretty much personally, as that would involve me speeding through the game, which is simply against my religion.

Though as far as what concerns me about what other players are doing, that's pretty spot on.

If you take a look around the board, you'll notice a severe lack of posts from me virtually anywhere else besides the cartography threads, and the specific forums that contain them.

Think about it like this. For every section of the game there is a small group of people who are decidedly obsessed with that little corner of the gaming experience. Thus from these people come the most abundant and detailed knowledge of said corner. So yes in relation to this board we/I only care about mapping, but that's because that is what I have decided to do here. Other people only/mostly care about their little corners.

So by all our Powers Combined, I am Captain Pl... ummm I mean we have a whole lot of in depth knowledge about every aspect of the game....

Livingston

Cyclades of Knossos · Oct 28, 2006, 05:54 PM // 17:54

I'm on 39.2% and counting.

EDIT: 51.2%

EDIT: 60.5%

EDIT: 79.1%

EDIT: 99.7% and a bit stumped...

Doom Runehammer · Oct 29, 2006, 04:44 AM // 04:44

Last I checked, I was only at 38%, but that's because over 2 days of playing, I'm at the Mouth Of Torment outpost. So all of my map is just what's been explored on the way. I'll start mapping tomorrow ^^

SnipiousMax · Oct 30, 2006, 02:48 AM // 02:48

I've been mapping as I go this time! Truth be told, it's made the game alot more enjoyable.

TechnoSword · Oct 30, 2006, 04:13 AM // 04:13

I've reached 100% canthan because of your guide, and so far I've beaten nightfall which I loved way better then factions btw. Anyways I've gotten 47.9 explored soon and Alot of spots I can still explore so I'll see what I can do for you.

garethporlest18 · Oct 30, 2006, 04:25 AM // 04:25

Last I checked I was at 52%. But I have a lot more to explore.