[Therion] Map offset: just specify offset in complex dataset (proposes new "offset" thconfig compiler command)

[Benedikt Hallinger]

Hello,
I currently experiment with creating a nice overview map of a fairly 
complex part of the Hirlatz cave. The dataset spans about 8km in passage 
lengths in variuous levels with lots of over-/underlaying passages.
The data is organised in surveys, where each survey defines at least a 
"Hauptmap" wich usually includes all the submaps the main map is 
composed of. The main intend of the "Hauptmap" is to nicely render the 
survey alone.

Now I want to create an overview map and using the select statement I 
can easily instruct therion to suck in and render all the maps of the 
entire region. Offsets are stripped this way, but therion does a very 
nice job in sorting te maps according to the altitude, which eases my 
brain very much, since i don't need to wrap my head around sorting 54 
maps by hand. Therion does a splendid job with this already.

However this produces one problem for me: I cannot render map offsets 
easily anymore.
So what I had to do is to select the entire region using "select 
Wandaugenlabyrinth.Hirlatzhoehle" and render that.
This will print the processes maps into the therion.log file.
 From there I have picket it up to create a new "map" structure (`grep ^M 
therion.og |sort -r | awk '{print $3}'`).
This i added to the thconfig file and selected that instead. There it is 
now easy to define offets again.

BUT: This introduces another, long term problem:
When sometimes in the future someone adds a new survey to this region, 
he needs to remember to merge its maps also into the overview map 
definition (at the correct position because of altitude!).



Thus, it would be cool if we had some kind of "offset" thconfig command 
alongside the select one.
This would allow me to read in the entire regions maps, and just specify 
offsets for the offset ones; something like this:

----- thconfig -----
source ../../therion/Hirlatzhoehle.th
select Wandaugenlabyrinth.Hirlatzhoehle   # read in all defined maps of 
the Region

offset 173-Anschluss-177 at 173.Wandaugenlabyrinth.Hirlatzhoehle [20 15 m] 
below
offset 177-Hauptplan at 177.Wandaugenlabyrinth.Hirlatzhoehle     [-30 -20 
m] above
--------------------

Expected result would be all the maps read and printed at their altitude 
level, but the two maps offset as already known from the "map" command.
If someone adds, lets say, 
200-Hauptplan at 200.Wandaugenlabyrinth.Hirlatzhoehle and recompiles the 
file, the new survey would be included *without specifying it 
explicitely*.


Is such a command possible?
I know it's not such a big deal with smaller caves, but in my dataset 
this would save a tremendous ammount of time down the road when I will 
make the atlas of Hirlatz regions (not to mention a big overview map).


ps. and probably relatet: When I give "select 
Wandaugenlabyrinth.Hirlatzhoehle" and then "unselect 
177-Hauptplan at 177.Wandaugenlabyrinth.Hirlatzhoehle", 177 survey is still 
printed to the map. I would had expected that the scraps of the map 
would be hidden from output.


Kind regards,
Beni