Custom Map Marker Framework

This SKSE plugin provides a framework for mods to add new map marker icons without being subject to the limitations that normally apply when adding markers without SKSE. This means:

• No conflicts with mods that edit the UI
• No conflicts between mods that add markers
• Customizable discovery music
• Far more than 256 icons

The canonical implementation of this framework, which it was created for, is CoMAP - Common Marker Addon Project by Jelidity.

Usage

The SKSE plugin reads config files from the Data\MapMarkers\ directory in order to apply its changes. Each active plugin in your load order can have a config file associated with it, using the same stem filename and a .json extension. For example, the config file corresponding to the Skyrim.esm plugin is Data\MapMarkers\Skyrim.json. Conflicts between these config files are resolved based on the plugin load order, just like plugin contents, .bsa files, and .ini files.

Adding New Markers

In order to add new icons, you first need to create a .swf file that exports 2 sprites, one for the discovered marker and one for the undiscovered marker. See the CoMAP Dev Kit Guide for information on how to create the icons and .swf files.

Here is an example of what a config that assigns a new marker to Riverwood could look like:

{
  "iconDefinitions": [
    {
      "name": "RiverwoodMarker",
      "source": {
        "path": "resources\\mymarkerart.swf",
        "exportNames": ["RiverwoodMarker", "RiverwoodMarkerUndiscovered"]
      },
      "scale": 1.333333,
      "discoveryMusic": "MUSDiscoveryTown"
    }
  ],
  "mapMarkers": [
    {
      "refID": "Skyrim.esm|162A4",
      "iconName": "RiverwoodMarker"
    }
  ]
}

The name property is a name that you provide for each icon so that it can be assigned to via the iconName property. It is recommended to add a mod-specific prefix to your names to avoid conflicts, just like with editor IDs, scripts, and asset paths.

The source property contains information about the .swf file where markers should be read from. It is recommended to use the resources\ subdirectory for your resources for organizational purposes. The export names are defined within the .swf file. You should provide exactly 2 names, corresponding to the discovered and undiscovered marker.

The scale property configures how large the icon should appear on the map. Recommended values are 1.333333 for towns and cities, and 0.666667 for minor locations.

The discoveryMusic property configures the music that plays when the player first discovers the location. This property accepts the Editor ID of a Music Type form. The tracks provided by the vanilla game are MUSDiscoveryCity, MUSDiscoveryTown, MUSDiscoveryDungeon, and MUSDiscoveryGeneric.

The hideFromHUD property can also be added and set to true for markers that should not appear on the HUD compass. This is useful for icons such as arrows which would not make sense in the HUD.

Editing Existing Markers

It is also possible to make some edits to existing markers within the config.

Here is an example of some possible edits:

{
  "iconDefinitions": [
    {
      "index": 15, // Mine
      "discoveryMusic": "MUSDiscoveryGeneric"
    },
    {
      "index": 57, // DLC02ToSkyrim
      "hideFromHUD": true
    },
    {
      "index": 58, // DLC02ToSolstheim
      "hideFromHUD": true
    },
  ]
}

The index property identifies the icon by index. These can be found by decompiling the relevant .swf files or in the CommonLibSSE source code.

The discoveryMusic and hideFromHUD properties are the same as for new markers. Note that the scale property is NOT supported when editing existing icons.

Local Map Markers

You can customize the markers that appear for doors on the local map.

Here is an example of a possible local map config:

{
  "mapMarkers": [
    {
      "locType": "LocTypeInn",
      "iconName": "InnMarker"
    },
    {
      "vendorList": "Skyrim.esm|937A0", // VendorItemsTailor
      "iconName": "TailorMarker"
    },
    {
      "location": "Skyrim.esm|2263B", // Riften Fishery
      "iconName": "FishMarker"
    }
  ]
}

The location property specifies a specific location to assign an icon to.

The vendorList property specifies a vendor's buy/sell list. The specified icon will be used for any location containing a vendor that uses that list.

The locType property specifies a location keyword, by name. The specified icon will be used for any location that uses that keyword.

Each of the above properties take priority from least to most specific. location has the highest priority, followed by vendorList, and then locType.

Build Instructions

Requirements

• CMake
  • Add this to your PATH
• PowerShell
• Vcpkg
  • Add the environment variable VCPKG_ROOT with the value as the path to the folder containing vcpkg
• Visual Studio Community 2022
  • Desktop development with C++

Register Visual Studio as a Generator

• Open x64 Native Tools Command Prompt
• Run cmake
• Close the cmd window

Building

git clone https://github.com/Exit-9B/MapMarkerFramework
cd MapMarkerFramework
git submodule init
git submodule update
cmake --preset vs2022-windows
cmake --build build --config Release