A Map By Any Other Name

If you've been playing on the Origins Beta server, you've no doubt noticed that EQ2MAP is not showing any maps at the moment. EQII game developers made some changes to the internal mapping system that affect how EQ2MAP works on the Beta server.

EQ2MAP developer jnils is currently working on a solution, and in the meantime we made some updates to the premium DarqUI Map files that should produce maps for you without having to do anything drastic. Check for updates and get the new Map and you should be good to go. Free DarqUI players will need to uninstall EQ2MAP on the Beta server in order to see default maps, and then reinstall it once it's fixed.

Personally, for a special ruleset server that seeks to start over from the ground up, I'm okay with maps that are not littered with 20 years' worth of crowdsourced quest helpers. After all, when we first set foot in Norrath we were lucky to have a map at all! (Uphill both ways in the snow and all that.)

With the current focus on maps, you may have seen the term "map2" tossed around. This may lead you to wonder what happened to map1. Map2 is the "new" mapping system that was introduced in 2008 with the TSO expansion. The map revamp included improvements like a search box, mouse wheel zooming and the mini-map. Check out the O.G. announcement!

While we're waiting for EQ2MAP to come back online in Beta, there is a nifty alternative that I recommend you try just for kicks: map1! All you need is to uncheck a single checkbox in Options. Click on the image at the top of this post to see the setting. My baby characters can't get into all the zones, but the few zones I checked out have maps in the old system. Now you're really back in 2006!

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PS: Did you notice that authentic-looking UI skin from days past? You can get it here. There are DarqUI-compatible folders in the download that can be dropped directly into your DarqUI_v3 folder, selectable on the Themes page in the DarqUI utility. Nice!