Originally with Age Of Singularity I wanted to use the original world data files to convert it to 3D, but I could never figure it out.
I actually somewhat put off remaking Ultima VI with modern tech for a several years because I was like "it would take too long to remake Ultima VI's world map manually, tile by tile, so I need to figure out how to use the original map data to auto-generate it, because that's too much work for a fan project. But then eventually I was like "fine, I'll just remake the entire thing tile by tile myself." THEN I realized that tiles have their place, but sculpting the whole thing is much faster and more dynamic. Now that it's done, I'm super glad I did it that way, since it frees me to interpret things in a more modern and dynamic way.
The desire to make the overworld led me to recreate the world and all assets in 3D myself, essentially tracing the world in Blender using Ian Albert's hi res map rips, which I think ended up better because what works in a 2D flat plane, may not look dynamic enough converted to 3d. Someone converted ultima VI's world into 3D in a minecraft map and exploring that map made me realize this.
So remaking it in 3D allows me to re envision it and not be rigidly tied to the "map pacing" of the original. So while now my overworld is almost complete for my project, I was never able to "disassemble" the data in the original ultima VI files to do anything useful. Everything for me has been manually eyeballing and placing things, etc. I still think it would be cool to do this but have no idea since I'm a much lower level coder and while I can work in basic C# in visual studio code using Github Copilot and ChatGPT, converting the original files is beyond my skill level, and I never really found easy leads on how to do it.
Although, there is this, though making use of it is beyond my knowledge level: https://ultima.fandom.com/wiki/Ultima_VI_Internal_Formats
At this point now, considering Ian Albert's scans show every building, path, item placement, etc., getting that map data would actually be somewhat obsolete and even constrictive since #AgeOfSingularity's detail level has surpassed the original Ultima VI game world's while allowing for more freedom and dynamism. Not sure if those maps show spawn locations of animals and monsters, though (I think they might show eggs on the map), and that's something I want to use as aa guide for when I populate the world.
My general philosophy is "start by matching the original, and the moment you feel you can do better, improve it." just like with modeling objects - I always google the common xyz dimensions of those objects in the real world, and keep my 3d model within those bounds.
Even if I "riff" past that point, having that anchor as a starting point, automatically grounds and strengthens any fantastical stuff I add later. I consider "anchor realism" with 3d models, with story elements, with character backstories, etc., because I think having that grounding will, in the mind of the player, even unconsciously, strengthen the feeling they are "in good hands" and will allow them to subconsciously add more strength and weight to the experience.
