Tiled Map Editor compression help please

[bumblberry]

I've been making maps in Tiled v0.15.2 and exporting them as .lua files so I can have them drawn at different times. The problem is, Tiled doesn't seem to support the compression for love2d any more. By that I mean how in every tutorial I see the layers[1].data table looks something like this:

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data = {
                1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
                1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1,
                1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1,
                1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1,
                1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1,
                1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1,
                1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1,
                1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1,
                1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1,
                1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1,
                1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1,
                1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1,
                1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 1,
           }

But the only options is Tiled now are XML or CSV compression (these are the only ones that say

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encoding = "lua"

like in the tutorials):

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data = {
        618, 620, 621, 620, 621, 620, 621, 620, 621, 620, 621, 620, 621, 620, 621, 623,
        652, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 267, 268, 269, 12, 195, 195, 196, 100,
        652, 100, 87, 88, 89, 100, 100, 100, 299, 300, 9, 112, 195, 226, 226, 100,
        652, 100, 119, 120, 121, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 195, 218, 219, 220, 260, 136,
        652, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 265, 100, 195, 250, 251, 252, 385, 168,
        652, 100, 100, 258, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 11, 100,
        652, 100, 100, 258, 387, 258, 12, 138, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100,
        652, 100, 100, 258, 322, 258, 143, 144, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100,
        652, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 143, 144, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100,
        652, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 143, 144, 100, 100, 100, 100, 133, 166, 100, 100,
        652, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 143, 144, 228, 100, 100, 100, 100, 42, 10, 100,
        684, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 103, 104, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100
      }

base64 uncompressed:

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data = "agIAAGwCAABtAgAAbAIAAG0CAABsAgAAbQIAAGwCAABtAgAAbAIAAG0CAABsAgAAbQIAAGwCAABtAgAAbwIAAIwCAABkAAAAZAAAAGQAAABkAAAAZAAAAGQAAABkAAAACwEAAAwBAAANAQAADAAAAMMAAADDAAAAxAAAAGQAAACMAgAAZAAAAFcAAABYAAAAWQAAAGQAAABkAAAAZAAAACsBAAAsAQAACQAAAHAAAADDAAAA4gAAAOIAAABkAAAAjAIAAGQAAAB3AAAAeAAAAHkAAABkAAAAZAAAAGQAAABkAAAAZAAAAMMAAADaAAAA2wAAANwAAAAEAQAAiAAAAIwCAABkAAAAZAAAAGQAAABkAAAAZAAAAGQAAABkAAAACQEAAGQAAADDAAAA+gAAAPsAAAD8AAAAgQEAAKgAAACMAgAAZAAAAGQAAAACAQAAZAAAAGQAAABkAAAAZAAAAGQAAABkAAAAZAAAAGQAAABkAAAAZAAAAAsAAABkAAAAjAIAAGQAAABkAAAAAgEAAIMBAAACAQAADAAAAIoAAABkAAAAZAAAAGQAAABkAAAAZAAAAGQAAABkAAAAZAAAAIwCAABkAAAAZAAAAAIBAABCAQAAAgEAAI8AAACQAAAAZAAAAGQAAABkAAAAZAAAAGQAAABkAAAAZAAAAGQAAACMAgAAZAAAAGQAAABkAAAAZAAAAGQAAACPAAAAkAAAAGQAAABkAAAAZAAAAGQAAABkAAAAZAAAAGQAAABkAAAAjAIAAGQAAABkAAAAZAAAAGQAAABkAAAAjwAAAJAAAABkAAAAZAAAAGQAAABkAAAAhQAAAKYAAABkAAAAZAAAAIwCAABkAAAAZAAAAGQAAABkAAAAZAAAAI8AAACQAAAA5AAAAGQAAABkAAAAZAAAAGQAAAAqAAAACgAAAGQAAACsAgAAZAAAAGQAAABkAAAAZAAAAGQAAABnAAAAaAAAAGQAAABkAAAAZAAAAGQAAABkAAAAZAAAAGQAAABkAAAA"
    }

base64 gzip compressed:

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data = "H4sIAAAAAAAAA8tiYmDIAeJcMuh8IO4B4hQG3JibkYGBB4h5QTSQfxiKj0DlYfrDgTgCiCPR9GsD9ekAMSeQXQDV+wiKkfWXA3EFEFficAdI3y0gvg3Ed4CYBWhmBwNh93MyIvT/AuLfQPwHiBuB4ivQ9DMx4jcLJVzQ3A/T38wIoUFh1UWEOej6naD6+4H8CSTqR8a00t8KxMtI0P8Ei5wWEHNB2Wtw6E8H4gwi3A8AJMztOAADAAA="

and base64 zlib compressed:

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data = "eJzLYmJgyAHiXDLofCDuAeIUBtyYm5GBgQeIeUE0kH8Yio9A5WH6w4E4Aogj0fRrA/XpADEnkF0A1fsIipH1lwNxBRBX4nAHSN8tIL4NxHeAmAVoZgcDYfdzMiL0/wLi30D8B4gbgeIr0PQzMeI3CyVc0NwP09/MCKFBYdVFhDno+p2g+vuB/Akk6kfGtNLfCsTLSND/BIucFhBzQdlrcOhPB+IMItwPAIx0UQM="

How do I load my maps and draw them in these formats?

[Sulunia]

Well, after a quick look i think you'll have to parse the XML file yourself i'm afraid, based on this: http://doc.mapeditor.org/reference/tmx-map-format/

[s-ol]

When you ship your game you compress everything into a zip anyway, so the file-level-compression of the maps doesn't really matter much.

[bumblberry]

Well, after a quick look i think you'll have to parse the XML file yourself i'm afraid, based on this: http://doc.mapeditor.org/reference/tmx-map-format/

Do you know any tutorials on how to parse an XML file?

[Sulunia]

It's definitely not simple, but i'll try to break it down for you:

To parse a given file, you must first know how it stores things. In the given TMX, it looks like everything is separated by a section indicator, such as <map> or <tileset>.

Then you have to create functions that read all lines of the given file, looks for the section header (for example <map>) and then parses the lines as it follows by using a string splitting function. For example, we have this:

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<Map>
MapName: MapNameHere
Version: 0.3
</Map>

To parse it, i would create a function like this:

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parser = {}
fileLines = {}
function parser.loadMap(file)
	if love.filesystem.isFile(file) then 
		for line in love.filesystem.lines(file) do
			table.insert(fileLines, line)		--Needs to check if the file really exists or not, otherwise, wild crashes may occur.
		end
		return true
	else
		print("Failed to load file "..file)
		return false
	end
end

function parser.getMapInfos()
	for key, line in ipairs(fileLines) do
		if #line>0 then
			if string.find(line, "<Map>") ~= nil then
				mapNameLine = fileLines[i+1].split(": ") --Returns 2 strings, everything before and after the ":"
            mapVersionLine = fileLines[i+2].split(": ") --the second string is the value we want , so we get it now
            mapName = mapNameLine[2]
            mapVersion = tonumber(mapVersionLine[2]) --remember to convert string to number!
			end
		end
	end
        mapInfos = {name = mapName, version = mapVersion} -- Save everything on a table
	return mapInfos;
end

THE ABOVE FUNCTION PROBABLY DOESNT WORK! I mean, seriously, these things are damn hard to get working correctly on the first try.
As for the string.split() function i used there, i recommend you get the python one from here by JoanOrdinas:
http://lua-users.org/wiki/SplitJoin
as it is very easy to use.

[s-ol]

again, I don't at all see why you would want to do this. It will perform worse in every case!
In releases it takes longer to load (because you decompress it twice and the parsing is 100% unecessary overhead) and it will probably actually increase filesize because it wont compress the maps any better and you now need to ship the XML parsing and maybe even a gzip library.

And even during development it will take longer to load (because it needs to be decompressed), you need to write and maintain the XML parsing stuff and you can't take a look at the data if you need to (for debugging).

LÖVE has builtin compression it handles for you and an exported .lua file is the fastest means of loading the data possible and you don't need to do anything at all to make it work. why would you not take advantage of that, for free?

[bumblberry]

again, I don't at all see why you would want to do this. It will perform worse in every case!
In releases it takes longer to load (because you decompress it twice and the parsing is 100% unecessary overhead) and it will probably actually increase filesize because it wont compress the maps any better and you now need to ship the XML parsing and maybe even a gzip library.

And even during development it will take longer to load (because it needs to be decompressed), you need to write and maintain the XML parsing stuff and you can't take a look at the data if you need to (for debugging).

LÖVE has builtin compression it handles for you and an exported .lua file is the fastest means of loading the data possible and you don't need to do anything at all to make it work. why would you not take advantage of that, for free?

Mostly because I don't know how to draw and manipulate my map tile-by-tile when it is compressed. I guess I can load it compressed, but then I need to figure out how to decompress it and loop through it in the code (if that's possible?). There's probably a way to work with it while it is still compressed, but I haven't found any tutorials for that yet.

[bobismijnnaam]

Have you seen this? https://github.com/karai17/Simple-Tiled-Implementation Been trying various settings in Tiled (csv, gzip, etc.) and STI seems to understand them fine. Or is this not fast enough for you? It feels a bit clunky to work with but it seems to get the job done just fine.

[bumblberry]

Have you seen this? https://github.com/karai17/Simple-Tiled-Implementation Been trying various settings in Tiled (csv, gzip, etc.) and STI seems to understand them fine. Or is this not fast enough for you? It feels a bit clunky to work with but it seems to get the job done just fine.

This is awesome! I just spent the whole afternoon working with it and got my maps to run satisfactory. Thanks a lot!