Allow access to the pixel colors of a map

Is your feature request related to a problem?

Yes

Describe the solution you'd like.

A way to access all colors/pixels of a map, so that it can be retrieved for database storage or cross server synchronization.

Describe alternatives you've considered.

The current way i do this is by using reflection to retrieve the buffer field from the maps MapItemSavedData#vanillaRender.

This field returns a byte[], which represents all colors stored as indexes, but since usage of the byte indexes is recently deprecated in the API, all access to byte -> color related methods are now scheduled for removal. So i will be unable to convert the retrieved byte[] into proper colors to for example render a map from one server on another, or save the pixel data.

After the removal, i am unsure how to continue development without access to map pixel data

Other

No response

Start by reviewing MapItemSavedData#vanillaRender and the current API methods that expose map byte indexes, including the methods scheduled for removal. Determine the public representation needed for retrieving all map colors or pixels; done means callers can obtain pixel data for database storage, synchronization, or rendering without reflection or deprecated byte-to-color methods.