Research is mostly complete. Still, these Map Standards may change.

The D'ni Polar Coordinate (DPC) map has been published. The D'ni Universal Coordinate System (DUCS) was being researched in 2004 and 2005. The initial KI in Uru 1.0, 1.2 and LIVE was flawed and misreported some coordinates crating confusion. With the addition of Expansion Pack 1 (XP1) the KI changed and provides accurate results. The improved KI seems to have made its way into Until Uru.

A conversion page was created to convert DPC (D'ni Polar Coordinates) values to DUCS values. The latter can then be used to aid in mapping. The conversion page was revised 3/29/04 to correct errors in it and adapt to the new KI.

As of 4/2004 there was still discussion on which direction was north. The KI reports direction. One must decide if they consider it similar to the compass and GPS devices we use on the surface. If one does then a compass/GPS indicates the direction of north from where one stands. Standing in California, Canada is north and Mexico is south. A compass and GPS unit indicate the direction north by pointing to north. Standing at the foot of the Great Stairs in Ae'gura the KI reports 0 torantee, which is similar to 0 degrees azimuth on the surface and commonly known as north. As one moves up the stairs the spans to the Great Zero decrease. My thinking was that like a GPS device the KI is reporting the direction to the GZ. By this thinking north is UP the stairs. But that does not fit with other evidence.

At present the KI in Until Uru D'mala Shard is not reporting coordinates (if your is let me know). But calibration markers are reporting polar coordinates. Evaluation of these indicates that 0 torantee and the Great Stair are definitely aligned. Looking down the stairs, small values of torantee are the the right and larger values to the left. So, just as 0 degrees is north on the surface and 90 degrees (east) is to the right and 270 degrees (west) is to the left then the D'ni system works the same if one considers North is Down the stairs.

GIS Guild Master Jenniran's Position on GIS

The most complete GIS system that is free is GRASS. [ It now runs on Windows and Linux. - edited] It does do everything we'd probably need including the conversion of raster images to vector data. We could use it to scan hand-drawn maps for instance and then use the KI system and other methods to adjust the resulting vector maps as well as add overlays of other data (linking books, barricades, or anything else we might want to track).

After more reflection I am not so sure that a GIS system should be the core of any mapping effort in Uru. Usually you would do that, but in this case I think that would be too limiting. GIS software is very technical and its use might exclude a lot of people who could otherwise help. I may set up GRASS for myself and even offer a database where others with that interest can share data for use with that system.

In time perhaps we can use it as a framework to improve our maps with things like online object registries and maybe a web-based map generator that can custom render maps with different layers of data depending on what a user wants to see (so that people who want to know where markers are can see them, but those who don't like spoilers won't).

KI reported coordinates are in error. - (No longer true as of 3/04 and expansion pack #1)

In versions 1.0 and 1.2 the KI was reporting coordinates incorrectly. One would only know this if they made it to the LIVE online game. Since LIVE was discontinued the problem was mute. The problems were corrected in XP1.

With the 2006 introduction of Until Uru and the D'mala shard for online play the question arises of whither or not the pre-expansion pack errors are in D'mala. I do not yet have that answer. Email in this regard would be appreciated. Eventually I'll track down the markers and retest test them in a current game. (3/31/06)

I've tracked down several markers now (4/12/06). The KI in Until Uru D'mala Shard is not reporting coordinates. But found calibration markers do report their position when collected. They appear to report correctly when one stipulates North is DOWN the Great Stairs.

However the question that remains is, does the KI report an azimuth measured from KI to the GZ or from the GZ to the KI? Answering this question will have to wait until I get a calibrated KI.

BUT... Is north up or down the stairs?. How to decide?

Using Calibration Mission #8 Great Stair (16 marker): (The following can be a spoiler) There are two markers on the Great Stair as you are going down to the Harbor Courtyard. One is over the west side stairs and must be jumped for to collect. The other is just over the east edge of the center island of the stairs.

62,417, 56, 81 - Marker on West Side
51, 57, 82 - Marker on East Side of Island

These two markers reveal the azimuth of the Great Zero by one being left of the 0 azimuth and the other being right of it. Also the westerly one proves the problem of miss reporting markers has been corrected in Until Uru within D'mala Shard. SO, North is from the Great Zero along and down the Great Stair center line. This means most of our maps are upside down.

Since the KI is not registering coordinate yet, I still have not determined if it is working correctly. The assumption is that because markers are reporting correctly the KI will also.