Mapping: IronTaxi's Mapping Tips and Tricks

[IronTaxi]

---Sticky this thread and edit into post 1 please---


[quote name='Titch2349' date='Mar 12 2006, 04:46 AM' post='32406']
Checklist to completing your first map start to finish

Introduction: The following is a checklist of steps to create a map from start to finish. It does not explain the entire process, but does list the process in order and links to some excellent threads on each subject.

A basic user guide to the editor can be found at "...\Battlefield 2\bf2editor\Help\Workshop\LevelWorkshop.doc"
1) Create the Terrain. There are a number of different options available to you, but the easiest and most recommended for your first go at a map is by following the tutorial "Creating the Basic Terrain", which can be found in the a wiki here. Once you know the basics, you may find it easier to create the layout of the terrain first in photoshop by editing heightmaps, a tutorial for which can be downloaded here. Once you want to get much more advanced with terrain creation and heightmaps, you may want to try out Terragen.

2) Texture the Terrain. Refer to the tutorial "Creating the Basic Terrain", which can be found in the a href="."/wiki/index.php/Creating_a_Basic_Terrain">wiki here. This tutorial should be read to grasp the basic concepts of color and detail textures, but you may find the actual texturing of your map much easier with TPaint, or BF2Ecomap.

3) Place your objects, spawnpoints, configure level settings. The official tutorial, "Creating the Basic Level", which can be downloaded here.

4) Overgrowth

5) Undergrowth

6) Roads

7) Water (Basically- extract the 'server' zip file of a bf2 map, then find the water.con file, and copy it into your map folder....)

8 ) Layers- 16, 32, 64 player map sizes
- Control Points
- Spawn points (in level editor, right click, add spawn point.)
- Object Spawners (in level editor, right click, add object spawner, choose object, press okay)
- Area around flag where it can be capped
- Combat Area
- Commander assets

9) Loading screen
- Background
- Music
- Map image thingy
- Intro of map
10) Ambient Sounds

11) Ambient Effects (birds etc)

12) Sky Settings (Basically- extract the 'server' zip file of a bf2 map, then find the sky.con file, and copy it into your map folder....)

13) Environmental Maps

14) Lightmaps, but i found that far too complicated for me, so i made this topic and mschoeldgen[Xww2] explained it simply for me....

15) Ticket Ratio

16) Minimap

17) Do all the Singleplayer stuff (if you want...) ( i have never done singleplayer... so if that info isnt the best.... tell me- i will change the link)

18 ) Pack Map- Mod Manager, Pack Map, then go into the Map folder, and delete everything apart from the server.zip, client.zip, & 'info'

edit- all links added
edit- edited the first half of the post with more information, introduction <- who edited this? (thanks)
[/quote]

[Griffon2-6]

Actually... Don't copy the water.con or sky.con from a stock BF2 map. It really depends what kind of feel you are going for in your map, as some skies aren't used in stock maps, and a copied water.con may not match your sky.

[IronTaxi]

point is to use the same maps sky and water i think...

is this a definitive list do you think? anything we can add..??

[PF-Greasy Monkey]

I think that there is a way to "automatically" add the overgrowth and the undergrowth with the temp. files that you get from bf2_tpaint...
It would be a real time saver

edit: if you are a terragen user this tutorial might help to speed up the terrain building phase
http://bfeditor.org/forums/index.php...74&hl=terragen
unfortunately Im not a big fan of terragen :P

re-edit: Okay there is a way to put grass where your grass texture is with photoshop and b2_tpaint:

first in editor:

Go to Terrain Editor>undergrowth

Pick a color(I used 15 and it worked great, but you can use any color you want)
Set a material and a type, paint it a bit and save so that the undergrowth.raw file is created.

Now photoshop part:
First lets create a new psd the size of your map+1 in RGB.
Fill the layer with black.

Open the detailbig.tga (one of the temp. file that BF2_tpaint make) in photoshop.
Go to Image > Adjustement > Posterize: set it to 2.
Resize your image the same size of your map+1.
Go to Select > Color Range: select the green(grass) zone.
Drag the selection in the previous psd that you jst created(the one you filled with black).

No more working in RGB mode, converting to regular Grayscale, and having it not work properly in game (and then adjusting it in the editor again trying to get it to match).

Go to Image > Mode > Indexed Color
In the Palette drop-down pick Custom
In the window that pops up in the Table drop-down pick Grayscale
Now in the Indexed Color window you should see that it's goign to use 256 colors.

The NUMBER you choose for your material in the editor corresponds to the RGB grayscale value (that's what I call it).
So for material #1 (blue in the editor) you want to paint with R, G, and B values of 1 each.
And for material #15 (darkest gray) you want to paint with R, G, and B values of 15.

Use the Color Range selector to select your grass part and fill it with it your corresponding undergrowth color.

Save as Undergrowth.raw in your level folder (remember to make back-ups).

The Undergrowth.raw file dimensions are the same as the primary heightmap, except 8-bit instead of 16.

TADA! You just saved a ton of time AND your map looks good.

NOTE: You can use this method with overgrowth too.

[PF-Greasy Monkey]

about the terrain, there is also L3DT
a very simple yet usefull tool explained here:
http://bfeditor.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=7315

[Pantera]

....

I use Photoshop then handtweak them in the editor and photoshop some more! lol

Thats the way forward.......And also with terragen and L3DT you can never get the terrain the way you want it. (ive spent a few hours on both to no avail!!). Hand Tweaking ftw

[Gyberg]

this might be a stupid question.... but here it goes: Where do I download bfeditor and does it cost anything?

[duckhunt]

http://www.ea.com/official/battlefie...downloads.jsp#


scroll down to MOD Files

it costs no money, but takes your social life, sanity and health.

[Griffon2-6]

I wouldn't get the EA provided one, get 1.3 from FileFront.

[Gyberg]

thx for the help guys..... but Im having some troubles.... as soon as im trying to create a new map the editor crashes... it creates some of the files necessary but not the files i need to render heightmaps and stuff... please help...