I just dug up an old shard project I was working on like ten years ago, with custom maps and the like, and intended to load the mul files into the most recent client. I then noticed that the naming of the .mul files has changed drastically. Most notably, there no longer seems to be any mapX.mul files.

Is there any comprehensive source where I can read about these changes? Help appreciated.

Two quick questions:
- Will the old mul files work with a new client?
- If no: Which is the latest client which supports oldschool mul files and where can I get it?

Thanks.

On edit: I should probably have used the search function... I see now that there are several threads about this. I just wonder if someone has ever written a comprehensive primer.
 
Last client is 7.0.23.1 after that maps, gumps, multis were packed into uop. In Classic client uop files are only containers that have packed muls inside them so you can pack your muls into uop. Using UOFiddler or https://github.com/cbnolok/LegacyMULConverter-N I'm not sure if packing map that is pre-ML size will work but you can try.

UOP support needs more work in UOFiddler as we have only minimal support. Later this year there will be few updates but I'm not sure when.

I don't think that there is comprehensive and update guide to uo file formats.
 
I will add information about other aspects. I do not recommend using my old files. Newer versions of the UO and its files change the bit structure. You can find more here on the forum. I recommend taking out your built-in graphics, animations, gumpy from the old .mul files and inserting them into the new ones (I will also say .mul files - I'll explain later). Map - this might not be a problem. You just need to set the size in the emulator for the release before the ML. So now more about versions and uop. No need to worry about the .uop file format. It's just a package. And he had files in it. There are several ways to use them. One mentioned AsYlum, creator of UO Fiddler. You can use Nolokovo program LegacyMULConverter-N. But you don't have to either. You can use a plugin written for UO Fidler. You'll find him somewhere on the forum. I do not use any of these variants. I really liked the uoptool program.

https://github.com/cbnolok/LegacyMULConverter-N
https://www.servuo.com/threads/standalone-uop-unpacker.1619/

And now you certainly have a question to which version of your work to put. Here it depends on what you want to use. If you also want to create your own multis houses, you must use the UO version up to 7.0.36. I don't know exactly now. But later multis was changed to multicolection.uop and no one has been able to use it yet. If you do not create your own multis, I personally recommend using it until version 7.0.59. But AsYlum also creates a UO Fiddler for newer versions of UOs. So maybe it will work for the newer ones. I've been careful with new versions for ages and prefer not to use them. And the third variant is, if you do not want to use the .uop format, then you already know that .mul files ended with version 7.0.23.

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But I will repeat myself. I strongly recommend: Do not insert old files into new versions of UO !!! This will guarantee that the server will crash and break the entire UO installation.
 
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