Ok, maybe I sure make a case for it rather then just asking for it. I am on my fifth or sixth attempt at a game. Presently this one is the most elaborate, a time travel game which is both fun and extensive/exhaustive for game plots. I have come across many things that could be fixed with just one simple step: <b>Have the map reset on exit.</b> Here are some advantages to make the case.
<b>Vehicle resetting!!!</b> Presently a tile or npc would have to generate one at a location that really requires it. But this gets troublesome when many boats or tanks are left all over the map, reducing the amount of items that can be dropped or left by dead monsters. A problem I keep running into is vehicle specific areas and if one dies that quest can no longer be completed unless a vehicle is remade on a spot. Which I hotfixed already. But now it's looking tacky since the coast is full of boats. And let's be realistic, monster loot left on the ground for longer then a day is already taken by other monsters or adventurers. So the map will get tidy and clean when entering a city.
<b>Random maze creation</b> upon entering a map. Entrance macro creates random secret doors or normal pathways while the exit macro resets the map. For a prison map this would be a wonderful trick. The escape rout would always have to be different every time you went to jail. But this would only truly be great if the map could be reset upon going to jail each time. Surely the warden would get wise and prevent the previous way to escape. Also the shovel object would allow one to dig their way out. Remember DigDug?
I really need it for <b>NPCs that need to die over and over again.</b> As in my battle arenas. Also like the shadow lords from Ultima who could be killed with the glass sword but only to escape their nightmare prison. Their is only one way to finally kill off the shadow lords. Weapons dropped, picked or found, as well as map changes during battle could be fixed or erased. I have another battle bot game and tested a nuclear missile. The result leave a 9 tile crater while a bmp animates a mini nuclear explosion. A large map can be destroyed by npcs and can be fixed again.
I also have a <b>random planet generator.</b> Every time the space ship lands, I have the tileset swapped randomly. But it would and terrain features changed at random. But I could do so much more without extensive macro cleanup commands for this map if it could be reset upon exit. Then I would implement planet wide random effects like volcanoes, or forest fires. Mainly I have like twelve cities covered by a terrain looking misc. objects. When your spaceship lands I have to randomly remove one and upon exit have it put back which I haven't done yet. This would solve that problem.
It's just that there are times when the map needs permanent changes and a time when it really doesn't, and not just from a realistic point of view but from a game mechanics point of view where stages can be considered levels. At least when they are written linear style. Ack almost allows for both kind of games accept the option to have a map reset upon exit. This could be decided with "O" options in map builder.

This is not a feature I would personally find useful, but it's a nice idea. It should also be fairly easy to implement.

How about it, rld?

Hi folks. Just thinking of a great way to expand ACK.
The ability to reset a game map from the game's original state.
This occurs naturally when we start a new game because the files that "know" the state of an unvisited map exist

in the game folder, however the altered state of the maps, after being visited and changed through macros or

objects that are designed to change, are saved in the "SaveGame" folder, or the subfolders found in the game

folder that are generated once a new game is started.

Concept: You visit a room map, and trigger traps and lower bridges or kill monsters (non-wandering) but then when

you leave a room, an 'exit macro' gathers the files from the original game folder and transfers copies to the save

game folder. Then when this room is revisited, the bridges are raised again, the traps are reset and monsters are

again spawned (non-wandering).

Benefits: As said above there would be no trick macro required to change events to a returned state, which there

could be countless reasons for. If an important NPC is killed, they are brought back to life. (though this can be

already accomplished with hit points set to zero or minus zero or something).

You could have ice boots that turn lava objects into frozen objects as they are walked on, and then once when the

map is revisited, the ice has again melted.

Also you can be bad to a town; robbing, stealing, murder, then return and everything is right in the world again.
Great challenges can be made where someone has to figure out a puzzle to brake into the royal mint and then have

it all reset if one failed or died.

Also think about this happening without leaving the map. Or even when testing an area to reset it to try something

again. Or see it functioning from the other direction.

This was how Ulima 1 - 4 did there maps.

Permanent changes are important. I'm not saying this to replace the way it works now, just the ability to add

resetting maps. I assume this would not be done for ALL MAPS, just ONE room map or several room maps, and any map

that you exit.

Does anybody think this is a good idea?
DO you think that it is even feasible?

I know some of the files only work when others are present, so changes in one file map not work if others are

changed.