[Showoff] High Res Minimap-based WorldMap from Alpha 0.5.3 Client

[akspa420]

I hope this is not a repost - I searched the forum for similar threads, but none appear to have the same content.

These are NOT the in-game world map - that map is very outdated for the in-game content. The minimaps I've compiled here are the state that wow development was at by version 0.5.3.

I've been fooling around with the 0.5.3 client as of late, and ended up manipulating the MPQ files using modern tools to grab the highest quality minimap world map dumps possible.

Captured using a multi-step process:

Extracted all MPQ files from the leaked alpha client. Created a new MPQ 2.0 archive called patch.mpq in the alpha client directory, made up of all the extracted files.
Downloaded latest build of WowMapper, and managed to get it to dump the minimap files you see here.
I then converted them to png-8 w/256 colors in Photoshop from the exported bitmaps that Wowmapper created.
These are extracted from the minimap files, not the in-game map textures, which are very much incomplete within the game. This is much more detailed and complete than the world map in the leaked client.

(I have a pro Flickr account)
v0.5.3:


Version 0.7.0:


Version 0.9.0:


Version 0.10.0:


Version 0.5.3 Alpha: WoW Leaked Alpha v0.5.3 Minimaps - a set on Flickr
Version 0.7.0 Beta: WoW v0.7.0 Minimaps
Version 0.9.1 Beta: WoW v0.9.1 Minimaps
Version 0.10 Beta: WoW v0.10.0 Minimaps

I'll be updating the 0.7.0 and 0.5.3 sets with select WMO-based minimaps.

I still have to do v0.5.5 captures. I've done everything else up thru version 0.10.0

[Harlski]

@ Carbonite

[akspa420]

Very much like Carbonite, but this is from the alpha client, not the PTR or 1.0 for that matter.

[novan]

These ruins you've captured w/ white background looks like those in Tanaris w/ ogers and so on.

[akspa420]

These ruins you've captured w/ white background looks like those in Tanaris w/ ogers and so on.

I think you're right.

I've updated the first post with the sets from version 0.9.0, and 0.10.0. I've still got to get my hands on the 0.11, and 0.12 patches so I can cap those. I still have verison 0.5.5 to capture as well.

Initially, I didn't think to try and capture any of the WMO minimaps, but with v0.9.0, I tried that out, and ended up with some interesting results. There's a lot of little things that changed between versions of the dungeons.

I'll be updating this thread as I go through all the map captures. If anyone wants a specific WMO minimap to be dumped, go ahead and ask. :wave:

I have found that there are a few issues with the stock md5translate files (the file that tells the game, or worldmapper for that matter, what adt to associate the blp file with), including mangled stormwind in version 0.10, which is bizarre, given the fact that most other wmo minimaps are fine with that version.

[Iaccidentallytwink]

Could you upload the WoW Clients? I'd rep you +3 for each one you upload, I'd love to get my hands on these and an emulator for them.

[akspa420]

Each client is about a 2.1GB iso. The version of 0.10 I have is a patch for 0.9.1, which is itself 630MB. I guess I could setup a torrent or put all of them in a cloud data service, so it never disappears. I'll see what I can do.

[Multitask]

addon called yatlas...

[akspa420]

addon called yatlas...

Again... These versions of WoW are so old they do not work with modern day addons. The version of lua in the WoW executable during these builds was version 5.0. The current version is 5.2. All addons designed for TBC, WoTLK, and (probably) most Classic will not work with these builds. They cause errors and fail to function.

[Naralesca]

These minimaps have piqued my curiosity. So much so I've got hold of the 0.5.3 alpha for myself.

+Rep

[akspa420]

The 0.5.3 alpha WMO's are all MPQ-packed. I assume Blizzard did this to make replacing 1 WMO faster than having to patch a huge wmo.MPQ file on their development machines/servers. I have to manually extract them by hand, and rename them, then re-pack it all into a new MPQ so that Wowmapper can give me proper minimaps.

I also discovered that I'm an idiot, and was not capturing the WMO's at the highest resolution. I'll be redoing all of them as time goes on.

[Mansion]

CARBONITE ftw? :>

[akspa420]

I don't see any high resolution maps.

Here is an example of high res map:



I was not able to get it anymore sharper, wasn't able to upload it.

The higher res maps are linked at the bottom of the first post. For example...
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2572/...c17167d3_o.png - This is a 8704px × 12544px image of Kalimdor from the 0.5.3 alpha. I haven't altered the maps in any ways (no sharpening or filters).

[bilkos]

awesome tnx

[Trollblod]

Ye, Carbonite..