Several maps are still using old tricks that are obsolete now. Cleaning up these maps would make them easier to maintain and would also help the server cleanup by simplifying the map loading code (loader.l).

• Objects using the old spell number instead of having a spell object in their inventory
• Objects missing a plural (name_pl attribute), material name, or item power
• Objects using the old last_heal instead of gen_sp_armour

Most of these problems could be fixed automatically by running the script cfmap-normalize from cfplus.

• Conveyor belts for keys. Some maps use conveyor belts and other tricks in order to deliver a key or a pass to the player every time they are triggered. These hacks are not necessary anymore because the creator archetype can duplicate the contents of its inventory when it is triggered. Creators can allow infinite uses and never run out, unlike the conveyor belts that require a map reset from time to time.
• fire/lightning walls for destroying scrolls on buttons. Some maps implement on/off triggers by having a scroll dropped on a button (⇒ switch to “on” state) and another trigger that destroys the scroll by opening a gate in front of a lightning wall or fireball wall (⇒ switch to “off” state when the scroll burns). It is better to use a duplicator with its number set to 0 (so that it effectively destroys the scroll instead of duplicating it) because the duplicator is triggered instantly and does not generate sounds (for those who play with sounds enabled).

Some messages refer to things that do not exist anymore or things that have a different behavior now.

• References to old difficulty levels used before skills were introduced and when any player above level 20 could beat most monsters
• References to alchemy as a spell to be used over cauldrons
• References to locations that were easy to find in the old maps but are hard to find in the bigworld maps

• Missing floors. Some old maps do not have any floor under some walls (especially cave walls). The missing floor is more visible now with the PNG images (compared to the old XPM images that were smaller). It is even more visible when map smoothing is enabled because of the “bleeding” effects.