Collections Are Here

Collections are here, and this is one of those updates that may look simple on the surface but matters a lot for where MapToPlay is going.

For the people who came here from Maps4FS, you probably remember the texture schema. In simple terms, it was a map of how Maps4FS should work with OSM tags and how those tags should be interpreted. If OpenStreetMap said "this is farmland" or "this is grass" or "this is forest", the schema helped decide what that should become in the generated map.

From Texture Schemas To Collections

Maps4FS was always about customization. I wanted people to be able to build whatever they wanted, not only what I happened to decide was the correct default.

MapToPlay follows the same idea, but I want it to feel much more convenient. Instead of editing files somewhere, keeping track of versions manually, and hoping you can reuse the same setup later, collections are saved directly in the platform. They can be reused across projects, shared with a team, and opened again when you want to adjust something.

That is the important difference for me: customization should not feel like a side quest for power users. It should be a normal part of the workflow.

Starting With Vector Mapping

For now, custom collections start with vector mapping. That is intentional, because vector mapping is the most important collection type for the core map generation workflow. It decides how incoming vector data is understood before it becomes something visible and editable in the project.

Other collection types will come later. Textures, 3D models, trees, buildings, and similar assets need more careful processing so they look good inside the editor and behave properly in exports. I do not want to simply let people upload things and call it done if the result feels messy or unreliable.

So the first step is the one that gives the most control immediately: deciding how OSM data should turn into meaningful map features.

Reusable, Shared, And Community-Powered

Collections are also built as a community feature from the beginning. You can keep collections private for your team when you are working on something specific, or make them public so other creators can discover and use them.

Public collections can be favorited and rated, and the creator is shown with a link back to their community profile. I like this a lot because good configuration work is real creative work. If someone makes a useful mapping collection, that should be visible. People should be able to find it, trust it, and follow the person behind it.

• Create team-level custom vector mapping collections
• Keep collections private or share them publicly
• Start from the default mapping, another collection, or from scratch
• Favorite collections you want to reuse
• Rate public collections and see how many people saved them
• Earn new achievements for creating collections people actually use

Why This Matters

The default collections will always be there, and I will keep improving them. But no default can cover every place, every mapper style, every modding preference, or every personal taste.

Collections make MapToPlay more flexible without making every project feel like a one-off experiment. You can build a mapping style once, use it again, share it with collaborators, and gradually improve it as you learn what works.

This is exactly the kind of feature I wanted MapToPlay to have: powerful enough for advanced users, but still comfortable enough that customization feels approachable.

This is only the first version, but it is an important foundation. Vector mapping collections are here now, and more collection types will follow when they can be handled properly.

As always, I am looking forward to seeing what people build with it.

Stan, Developer of MapToPlay