MapFog.xml

One file sets how every map looks: distance fog, sun tint, contact shadows, colour grade, glow, the day/night cycle and weather (rain, storms with lightning, snow, blizzard, fog).

Everything here is client-side and visual only. It changes nothing on the server: no stats, no drops, no damage.

File Location#

<client folder>\Data\Local\MapFog.xml

Plain XML, not encoded. No ConfigEncoder run is needed.
It ships with the client. Players get your edits through the normal launcher update.
AxiomConfigEditor.exe (in Tools\ConfigEncoder\) edits it in a form with the limits checked. See ConfigEncoder.

Seeing changes: edit the file, then type $weather reload in game chat. The file is read again on the spot. A client restart also works.

Dependencies#

Depends on	What it means
`ClientConfig.xml` `<PostProcessing>`	Global switches. `EnableFog`, `EnableSSAO`, `EnableBloom` decide whether fog, contact shadows and glow exist at all. `Fog_DensityScale` multiplies every map's `Density`.
Player graphics options (World tab)	Each player can turn off: Atmosphere (fog), Contact Shadows, Enhanced Colors (grade), Glow (bloom), Weather. The day/night cycle cannot be turned off by players.
PC clock	Day/night and weather are worked out from the UTC clock, so every player sees the same time of day and the same weather with no server packet. A player whose PC clock is wrong sees a different time.

Structure#

<MapFog Enable="1">
    <Default Density="0.9" ... DayLight="1.0" NightLight="0.5" DayLength="1440" DayOffset="180" />

    <Map Index="0" Name="Lorencia" Color="146,160,112" Weather="rain,storm" WeatherChance="0.25" />
    <Map Index="1" Name="Dungeon"  DayLight="0.8" NightLight="0.8" />
</MapFog>

Element	Meaning
`<MapFog Enable>`	`0` turns post-process fog off on every map. Grade, glow, day/night and weather keep working.
`<Default>`	Values for every map.
`<Map Index="N">`	Override for map number `N` (0-127). Anything it does not state comes from `<Default>`.
`Name`	Label for you. The client ignores it.

Every attribute is optional. Only write what you want to change: a <Map> row with one attribute still inherits all the others.

Map numbers

Index	Map	Index	Map
0	Lorencia	33	Aida
1	Dungeon	34 / 35	Crywolf
2	Devias	37 / 38	Kanturu 1 / 2
3	Noria	39	Kanturu Relics
4	Lost Tower	41 / 42	Barracks / Refuge
6	Arena	45-50	Illusion Temple
7	Atlans	51	Elbeland
8	Tarkan	56	Swamp of Calmness
9	Devil Square	57 / 58	Raklion / Raklion boss
10	Icarus	62	Santa Village
11-17	Blood Castle 1-7	63	Vulcanus
18-23	Chaos Castle 1-6	64	Duel Arena
24-29, 36	Kalima 1-7	65-68	Doppelganger
30	Valley of Loren (Castle Siege)	69-72	Imperial Guardian
31	Land of Trials	79	Loren Market
		80 / 81	Karutan 1 / 2

Configuration Sections#

"Shipped" is the value in the <Default> row of the file that comes with the client. Values outside the range are clamped.

Fog#

Distance fog that is thicker low down and thinner on high ground.

Attribute	Shipped	Range	What it does
`Enable`	`1`	0 / 1	`0` = no fog on this map. Grade, glow, day/night and weather still apply.
`Color`	`120,136,148`	R,G,B 0-255	Fog colour. Fully used only when `AutoColor` is `0`.
`AutoColor`	`0.45`	0-1	`0` = use `Color`. `1` = follow the zone's own dominant colour.
`DominantBias`	`0.15`	0-4	How the zone colour is picked: `0` = strongest hue wins, higher = plain average. Lower it if the fog looks washed out.
`Saturation`	`1.0`	0-4	Saturation of the picked zone colour.
`Brightness`	`1.05`	0.1-3	Brightness of the picked zone colour.
`Density`	`0.9`	0+	Overall fog strength. Multiplied by `Fog_DensityScale` from `ClientConfig.xml`.
`HeightFalloff`	`0.0015`	0.00001+	How hard fog hugs the ground. Larger = thin fog layer near the floor.
`BaseHeight`	`0`	any	Ground height where fog is at full strength.
`MaxOpacity`	`0.65`	0-1	Ceiling, so far-away things never vanish fully.
`SkyOpacity`	`0`	0-1	Fog over empty void (map edges). `1` = void becomes fog.
`StartDistance`	`300`	0+	Clear radius around the character, in world units (1 tile = 100).
`AmbientTint`	`0.12`	0-1	Light tint at every distance, so the zone feels wrapped in its air. Raise it if fog only shows at the horizon.

Sun glow in the fog#

Attribute	Shipped	Range	What it does
`SunColor`	`255,224,170`	R,G,B	Colour the fog bends toward on the sun side.
`SunAzimuth`	`135`	0-360	Compass direction of that glow. Does not move shadows.
`SunElevation`	`26`	-90 to 90	Height of the glow above the horizon.
`SunExponent`	`8`	0.01+	Higher = smaller, tighter glow.
`SunAmount`	`0.45`	0-1	How strongly fog takes the sun colour.

Contact shadows#

Short soft shadows where objects and characters meet the ground. Needs EnableSSAO in ClientConfig.xml and the player's Contact Shadows option.

Attribute	Shipped	Range	What it does
`ContactShadows`	`1`	0 / 1	`0` = off on this map.
`ContactShadowStrength`	`0.45`	0-1	Darkness of a full shadow.
`ContactShadowLength`	`220`	10-1000	How far shadows reach. Longer = taller shadows, more edge artefacts.
`ContactShadowThickness`	`90`	5+	Assumed object thickness. Too low = gaps; too high = dark halos behind characters.
`LightAzimuth`	`-1`	-1, 0-360	Direction light comes from. `-1` = match the character blob shadows (recommended).
`LightElevation`	`-1`	-1, 0-89	Height of that light. `-1` = match the blob shadows.

Colour grade#

Final look of the whole picture. Works even when the map's fog is off. The HUD is never affected. Players switch it with Enhanced Colors.

Attribute	Shipped	Range	What it does
`Grade`	`1`	0 / 1	`0` = leave this map ungraded.
`GradeSharpen`	`0.5`	0-1	Brings back texture detail softened by anti-aliasing. `0.4`-`0.7` is the useful range.
`GradeContrast`	`1.08`	0.5-2	`1` = unchanged. `1.05`-`1.15` adds depth; higher crushes dark areas.
`GradeSaturation`	`1.12`	0-2	`1` = unchanged, `0` = grey. `1.3`+ looks cartoonish.
`GradeWarmth`	`0.3`	-1 to 1	`-1` cold blue, `0` neutral, `1` warm orange. Snow maps negative, deserts and lava positive.
`GradeVignette`	`0.22`	0-1	Darkens screen corners. `0.15`-`0.3`.
`Bloom`	`1.0`	0-3	Glow strength on this map (times `Bloom_Intensity`). Lower on bright maps (snow, sky), higher in dark interiors. `0` = no glow.

Day / night#

The scene gets darker at night: ground, buildings, trees, characters, monsters, NPCs. Spells, glows, torches, lamps, lightning and the UI keep full brightness, so they stand out in the dark.

Attribute	Shipped	Range	What it does
`DayLight`	`1.0`	0.1-2	Brightness at noon. `1` = original game brightness.
`NightLight`	`0.5`	0.1-2	Brightness at midnight. `0.5` = twice as dark. Set it equal to `DayLight` to switch the cycle off on that map (and give it a fixed brightness).
`DayLength`	`1440`	10+ minutes	Length of one full day. `1440` = real 24-hour day. Shorter, e.g. `120` = day and night every 2 hours.
`DayOffset`	`180`	minutes	Your server's timezone as minutes from UTC, so noon is real noon: UTC+3 = `180`, UTC+2 = `120`, UTC-5 = `-300`.

What players see:

Night: the shipped value is half brightness with a slight blue moonlight tint. Fog gets cooler and glows a little stronger.
Sunrise / sunset: a smooth change with a warm orange tint, each taking about 10% of DayLength. On a 24-hour day that is about 2.5 hours around 06:00 and 18:00; full night is roughly 19:00-05:00.
Day: unchanged from the original look.

Weather#

Attribute	Shipped	Range	What it does
`Weather`	(empty)	list	What can happen on this map, comma separated: `rain`, `storm`, `snow`, `blizzard`, `fog`. Empty = never.
`WeatherChance`	`0.3`	0-1	Share of time some weather is active. `0.25` = about one slot in four.
`WeatherLength`	`600`	60+ seconds	Length of one weather slot. Each slot is either clear or one type from the list, picked at random.

Type	What players see and hear
`rain`	Rain streaks and splash rings, slightly darker and greyer world, thicker fog, rain sound.
`storm`	Heavier rain, darker world, plus lightning every 5-20 seconds. A strike lights up the whole scene (player, monsters, ground), hits the ground away from the player, and thunder follows from that direction. Some flashes are distant sheet lightning with a far rumble.
`snow`	Gentle snowfall, light white fog, cooler colours.
`blizzard`	Dense wind-driven snow, thick white fog, wind sound.
`fog`	Thick fog only.

Changes fade in and out over about 15-20 seconds. Entering a map during weather shows it at full strength straight away.
Players can switch weather off with the Weather checkbox in graphics options (World tab).
Weather only thickens fog that exists. On a map with fog off (Enable="0"), or for a player with Atmosphere off, fog weather shows nothing and rain/snow add no fog.
Lightning is never darkened by night, so storms at night look strongest.

Important Behavior#

Same for everyone, no server work. Time of day and weather come from a hash of the map number and the UTC clock. Every client gets the same answer, so players standing together see the same rain and the same night.
Inheritance. A <Map> row copies <Default> first, then applies its own attributes. Changing <Default> changes every map that does not override that attribute.
Night and fog together. Fog colours are darkened with the night light, so fog never glows against a dark world. Maps that use AutoColor follow the darker scene by themselves.
Valley of Loren (30) ships with Enable="0": Castle Siege draws its own fog. Turning MapFog fog on there doubles it.
Vanilla weather stays. Devias snow, Icarus rain, Lorencia leaves and the event-map effects still play. MapFog weather is added on top: for example, blizzard on Devias adds a storm to its normal snow.

Testing commands#

Type these in game chat. They only change what you see, until you switch back or relog.

Command	Effect
`$weather rain` / `storm` / `snow` / `blizzard` / `fog`	Force that weather now. A storm strikes within a second.
`$weather off`	Force clear weather.
`$weather auto`	Back to the scheduled weather.
`$weather reload`	Re-read `MapFog.xml` without restarting.
`$time 22`	Jump to 22:00 (any hour 0-24, decimals allowed: `$time 18.2` is mid-sunset).
`$time auto`	Back to the real clock.

Examples#

<Default ... DayLight="1.0" NightLight="0.5" DayLength="1440" DayOffset="120" />

Noon at 12:00 server time, midnight at 00:00.

<Map Index="1" Name="Dungeon"   DayLight="0.8" NightLight="0.8" />
<Map Index="4" Name="LostTower" DayLight="0.8" NightLight="0.8" />

Equal values = no cycle; the map keeps a fixed 0.8 brightness.

Common Issues#

Problem	Check
No fog at all	`EnableFog` in `ClientConfig.xml`, the player's Atmosphere option, `<MapFog Enable="1">`, the map's `Enable`.
Weather never shows	The map needs a `Weather` list and `WeatherChance` above 0. The player's Weather option must be on. Test with `$weather storm`.
Two players see different weather or time	One PC clock is wrong. Both are worked out from the PC's UTC time.
Night too dark on an indoor map	Set `DayLight` and `NightLight` equal on that map, or raise `NightLight`.
Edits do nothing	Edit the file in the client folder players actually use, then `$weather reload`. Check `MuError.log` for `MapFog -` lines (bad index, parse error).
Fog looks washed out	Lower `AutoColor` to trust `Color` more, or lower `DominantBias`.

Tuning order#

When a zone does not feel right:

Color - pin the hue you want.
AutoColor - lower to trust Color, raise to follow the zone.
AmbientTint - raise if fog only shows at the horizon.
Density - overall strength.
MaxOpacity - lower if distant objects disappear too much.
DayLight / NightLight - overall brightness and night darkness.