Old/Modified Map Files

[Sistema]

There has recently been complaints about not being able to see players/bots/creatures when they're actually there, or people reporting bugs such as their character falling ten meters beneath the ground in certain places.

 

The main reason of this is because players are using outdated or illegal/modified map (.elm) files. The minimaps (or tab-maps, or what ever you call them), or in other words, the .bmp files located in your "Maps" folder would not affect being and not being able to see players/bots in anyway. If you cannot see players or bots in specific places, or if you suddenly fall ten meters below the ground while walking in-game (which means your maps differ from the server's) means that you are using outdated or illegal/modified .elm files, or have downloaded a map-pack that contain these files.

 

As of now, using outdated or illegal unofficial map (.elm) files that have been altered from the official versions is officially ILLEGAL.

5. Do not cheat.

Cheating in the game means using outdated or illegal clients, outdated or illegal unofficial map(.elm) files that have been altered from the official versions, unregistered and/or unapproved bots, macroing, automating, scripting, exploiting bugs, muling, or any other form of illegal multi-playing*.

To use a bot, it must be registered and approved; it must adhere to the rules of the client's license and all your code must be open source. If you find a bug in the game, you must tell the owners of Eternal Lands immediately.

(See: Eternal Lands In-Game Rules)

 

If you are a player who uses unofficial .bmp (minimap) files, please keep in mind that they are unofficial and are not supported by Eternal Lands or its staff in any way. They can become outdated when new areas are added to the game. Bugs reported to us because of these files may result in punishments (we devote our time and go to the locations reported to us to find not the slightest hint of a bug, and it can get annoying).

 

When we release client updates, players are usually advised to install a clean/fresh version of the client. When doing so, players tend to backup their old .bmp (minimap) files and paste them into the "Maps" directory in their new client. But some players copy the whole folder (or everything inside it) ALONG WITH the old .elm files. This is where most players go wrong, please be careful.

 

When copying your maps from old clients to the newly released ones make sure you ONLY copy the .bmp files. Not doing so may get you in trouble.

 

For those who manually alter the official maps and distribute them or use them for themselves, I'd suggest you stop immediately =)

Altering maps to suit your liking is considered cheating and against the rules, because it helps you gain benefits other players don not have.

 

If you are having troubles with maps (ie. not being able to see players/bots) I'd suggest completely uninstalling the EL client and installing a fresh version of the latest one released.

If that doesn't help, you can post here or contact me via PM in-game or forums and we'll try to help (or ban ).

 

 

Thank you.

- Sistema.

Edit: Do NOT mix up the .elm and .bmp files guys, they're both different things. The maps hosted on places such as EL-CEL and *R* websites are .bmp files and are NOT illegal, but are also not official.

Edited August 31, 2007 by Sistema

[Zipher]

so would CEL maps and the *R* maps be illegal??

[Jezebelle]

Just a quick question..when one uses such maps, and dont report bugs..is it still illegal to use em?

 

Jez

[csiga]

so would CEL maps and the *R* maps be illegal??

 

*R* maps are only .bmp files, so its legal, but maybe outdated

[Acelon]

Case of the selective reading?

 

Those maps are still legal, just not supported by us, like always.

 

We are talking about the .elm files, not .bmp files.

[Sistema]

Just a quick question..when one uses such maps, and dont report bugs..is it still illegal to use em?

 

Jez

such maps as in .elm = yes it's illegal

such maps as in .bmp = no

[BloodSucker]

Good to have clear statement in this case.

 

I just spend whole day making new bmp maps

Edited August 26, 2007 by BloodSucker

[Tarnbriar]

This rule is going to create a complication for Vista users. Because of Vista's new User Access Control feature, Vista forces EL to create and use .elm files in a local Program Files folder for each user account. Where USER NAME is the chosen user name, the active .elm files can be found in the folder:

 

C:\Users\USER NAME\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\Eternal Lands

 

I recently uninstalled and completely reinstalled EL. That didn't remove the outdated .elm files associated with my user name. So Vista users may need to manually delete all the .elm files in the folder that I identify above each time that there is a client update.

 

Alternatively, Vista users could run EL "as an administrator" every time they play. (This is done by right clicking on the EL icon and then scrolling down to "Run as administrator.") It may be hard for people to remember to always do that though.

 

Note: I am no computer expert, and I am relatively new to Vista. I discovered this issue while trying to find my chat_log. Mods, if I've provided erroneous or misleading info here, please feel free to delete this post.

[Davross]

Alternatively, Vista users could run EL "as an administrator" every time they play. (This is done by right clicking on the EL icon and then scrolling down to "Run as administrator.") It may be hard for people to remember to always do that though.

 

Note: I am no computer expert, and I am relatively new to Vista. I discovered this issue while trying to find my chat_log. Mods, if I've provided erroneous or misleading info here, please feel free to delete this post.

 

An easier method for Vista users would be to right click on the Eternal-lands shortcut, go down to properties (and left click it) then put a tick in the box under the compatibility tab "Use as administrator". That way, every time you use that shortcut, you automatically use it as an administrator.

[LabRat]

Can I be the first to ask if you dig up the dead bodies yourself or you have a graverobbing team?

 

Fair comment though nonetheless.