Tilemap and Basin Encoding Options

Height Data Compression

Current Implementation: 2D Array Format

Pros: Human-readable, easy to debug
Format: Each row on a new line, digits concatenated
Example:
```
0123456789
1234567890
2345678901
```

Alternative 1: Run-Length Encoding (RLE)

Best for: Maps with large uniform areas
Compression ratio: Very high for sparse/uniform data
Format: Array of [value, count] pairs
Example: [[0,50], [1,10], [2,5]] means 50 zeros, 10 ones, 5 twos

Alternative 2: Base64 + Bit Packing

Best for: Maximum compression regardless of content
Compression ratio: ~50% (2 height values per byte)
Format: Base64 encoded binary data
Trade-off: Not human-readable

Basin Data Compression (New Optimized Format)

Current Implementation: Optimized Tree + 2D Map

Basin ID Map: 2D array where each cell contains the basin ID for that tile
Basin Tree: Hierarchical structure showing outlet relationships between basins
Basin Metadata: Volume, water level, and other properties per basin

Format Structure:

{
  "format": "optimized_v1",
  "basinIdMap": {
    "format": "string_rows",
    "data": "0|0|1A|1A|2A\n0|1A|1A|2A|2A\n..."
  },
  "basinTree": {
    "1A": {"outlets": ["2A"], "height": 1},
    "2A": {"outlets": [], "height": 2}
  },
  "basinMetadata": {
    "1A": {"volume": 100, "level": 2, "tileCount": 15},
    "2A": {"volume": 50, "level": 1, "tileCount": 8}
  }
}

Benefits:

Space Efficient: Stores basin topology once, not per tile
Fast Reconstruction: Direct 2D array mapping
Tree Structure: Preserves outlet/overflow relationships
Scalable: Works well with large maps and many basins

Legacy Format (Backward Compatible)

Individual basin objects with tile coordinate lists
Still supported for existing save files

Usage

Height Compression

To switch compression methods, modify the compressHeights() method:

// Current: Readable format
return this.compressHeights2DArray(heights);

// For sparse maps: Run-length encoding
return this.runLengthEncode(heights);

// For maximum compression: Base64 packed
return this.base64Encode(heights);

Basin Compression

Basin compression is automatically optimized and uses the new format by default. The system automatically detects and handles legacy formats during import.

All formats are automatically detected and handled during import.