spell range and map size

[subtledoctor]

Anyone know how big a typical map is, in terms of whatever units are used for spell range?

I'm working on an ability that lets you cast spells outside the normal visual range, as long as you have a spotter like a scout or a Wizard eye.  I've got the system working but so far I had just used a 'range' value of 500... I suppose it's worth setting that to a meaningful value, rather than "some random high number that sounds about 15 times the normal visual range."

[Bartimaeus]

400 is what's used for Dimension Door in vanilla BG1 and BG2, if that means anything.

[lynx]

The "feet" are 16px horizontally or 12px vertically, but from caillean's testing spell range is also capped by visual range.

[subtledoctor]

31 minutes ago, lynx said:

but from caillean's testing spell range is also capped by visual range.

With long range and the "no LOS requried" flag, you can cast spells at any spot that is not covered by the fog of war.  I've tested and it works; in my the old version of my mod, each ability was coded as a wizard spell with unlimited range, and I would use a different wrapper spell depending on whether my "cast from afar" HLA was in effect.  The wrapper spell with typical 30' range and LOS required would use opcode 214 to choose which wizard spell to cast, and the result was bound by the limits of the wrapper spell, i.e. limited to visual range as usual.  But when I used the HLA, it would use the unlimited wrapper spell; thus, when choosing a wizard spell neither the wrapper nor the spell itself was limited, and I could cast Magic Missiles literally across the entire map.  Since the whole casting system for that kit involved using the opcode 214 method every time you cast a spell, it was easy and convenient to make the HLA work with any spell in the system. 

Now I am rebuilding the system from the ground up, and it no longer uses wrapper spells or opcode 214.  I'm hoping I can make it work when the spells are cast directly, by simply having an unlimited-range clone of each one, and having the HLA switch between the limited and unlimited variants.  It's a pretty cool divination effect, which makes Farsight/Wizard Eye/scouting thieves very useful.  Very powerful though, if its use is not carefully constrained, which is why I made it an HLA.

Edited February 3, 2020 by subtledoctor

[Ardanis]

I used distance check of 999 to determine if PCs were anywhere on the same map as the object (FF camp in SoD). Not sure if it was overkill or not, though, never bothered to test.