Original Post
Hi All, I'm creating a 2d zelda-esque game and am currently deciding on how to store the map. I've decided that I'm going to use a layered approach (a layer for background, bounding box, objects, etc..). This is all fine and dandy, but I'm starting to get worried about the size of the map files. For a 20x20 tile map with only 2 objects, the size of the file is around 150k. Keep in mind that this is before switching to the layered approach, which equates to the map file being about 3 times that of what it is now. Currently I'm using xml to store the data but I'm thinking that might not be the best approach. Would storing the data in binary (or some other language along the lines of xml) be a better approach? Right now I have visions of maps being > 1mB and it seems like that's awfully high for a zelda type game. And these sizes don't include the actual bitmaps or sounds or anything. Just the data describing the layout and positioning of things on the map. Is this a valid concern, or am I just worrying over nothing. Thanks in advance for any suggestions given.