§13.2. Publishing
These three examples simply show what can be done using Inform's EPS-format map output, if one is willing to tweak the design in some vector-art program. Unfortunately, at present, there are few alternatives to Adobe Illustrator - a superb but very expensive program - in the field of EPS editing, and indeed, of vector art generally: this is especially the case for Windows users. Inkscape is a usable free alternative, but it needs to have EPS files translated to PDFs before they can be used. On Mac OS X, the built-in Preview application can do this; otherwise the open-source Ghostscript might be used, but it can be a pain to install. Still, for the IF author who does have EPS editing facilities available, Inform will play nicely with them.
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If our map is largely or entirely set inside a single building, we might want to produce something that resembles a floorplan. It's possible to do this with a little tweaking, like so:
Now we have a map made of white lines and boxes over a white background, which is not very exciting. If, however, we put a layer of black under this and slightly adjust the room shapes (using an image editor such as Adobe Illustrator), we can produce something that plausibly resembles a floorplan or museum map, like so: |
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If our map is largely or entirely set inside a single building, we might want to produce something that resembles a floorplan. It's possible to do this with a little tweaking, like so:
Now we have a map made of white lines and boxes over a white background, which is not very exciting. If, however, we put a layer of black under this and slightly adjust the room shapes (using an image editor such as Adobe Illustrator), we can produce something that plausibly resembles a floorplan or museum map, like so: |