Map Making

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Androsynth
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Map Making

Post by Androsynth »

I want to make maps for this game, but I do not know how. My friends and I have been trying to get the editor and stuff but we can't figure it out. Can anybody help us? It would be greatly appreciated.

We've tried putting AMRTS assets into the DR2 editor and it didn't work. It's frustrated all 3 of us.

How do we do this the right way and without screwing anything up?
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TommyCD1
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Re: Map Making

Post by TommyCD1 »

I've created a master post with a lot of tools for doing this. http://clanexf.com/forums/viewtopic.php ... 423#p13303

The studio editor is stand alone and it creates DR2 maps, but also contains the worlds necessary for Army Men RTS. You can find a tutorial on how to use the studio editor here. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... lahaW4yVXt

This studio, nor does any studio at this time, does not support Army Men RTS objects, because they are not backwards compatible with Dark Reign 2, so if you want to insert objects into your maps, the currently only way to do that is to put a placeholder in your map using the studio and then manually change it to the prop you desire in the objects.cfg file. I've been working for a few years now on a studio with amrts objects, but that project is currently at a stand still since I cannot get 3D Studio Max 8 running on my computer... but maybe someday I can return to it idk

Once you've created your map and preferably tested it using DR2, then you'll need to convert it to an amrts map. Luckily, the studio does not compile missions for you, allowing easy access to the files you need to change. The first part will be modifying the game.cfg file..

When you open your game.cfg file it will seem rather small, but there are many changes that need to be made if you want army men to play run your mission.
  • Step 1 - Adding the ruleset - Dark Reign 2's mutliplayer mode allowed interchangeable rulesets, which means the ruleset is configured differently than in Army Men RTS. Simply find these lines of code:

    Code: Select all

    DefaultRule("None");
    FixedRule(0);
    RequiredAddons();
    and change them to this

    Code: Select all

    Ruleset("None");
    To use a ruleset, enter one of the following values instead of "None"
    1. "protect" - Standard rules; protect your HQ for 3 minutes, else death occurs.
    2. "koth" - King Of The Hill rules; build an HQ on the hill and keep it there for 5 minutes. Requires a specific region and tag within the map to function, not recommended unless you know what you are doing.
    3. "sarge" - Protect Sarge rules; if your Sarge dies then you self destruct. (?!)
    Note that these three are the only rulesets included with vanilla AMRTS, but you can use any custom ruleset you like, as long as you know how. If you leave the ruleset as "None" then your mission will never end and players will be forced to quit manually.
  • Step 2 - Adjusting teams - Dark Reign 2 also allowed two different factions in multiplayer mode: the JDA and the sprawlers. You'll need to change the configuration in order to make the client an army men faction.

    Code: Select all

      CreateTeam("team1", 0)
      {
        Color(0, 0, 0);
    
        Relations()
        {
          With("team1", "Ally");
          With("team2", "Neutral");
        }
    
        DefaultClient(1);
        AvailablePlay(1);
        HasStats(1);
        PermanentRadar(0);
        RequireAI(0);
        Side("sprawler");
        SideFixed(0);
        Objectives();
        StartRegion(1);
        StartPoint(0.329513, 0.704884);
        StartYaw(0.000000);
        Personality("None");
        PainCurrentCluster(0);
        UniqueScriptId(0);
        ResourceStore(0);
      }
    In this chunk of code is where a single team is defined. You'll need to make some fine tunings here. First you should change the side.
    Simply change the side from "jda" or "sprawler" into "army", otherwise you'll spawn without any units. Next you'll need to give your team resources. See this line here?

    Code: Select all

        ResourceStore(0);
    Army Men RTS has two whole resources to work with rather than DR2's single taelon resource. You should replace that line with this:

    Code: Select all

        Storage()
        {
          Add("Plastic", 2000);
          Add("Electricity", 800);
        }
    2,000 plastic and 800 electricity are just the standard values, but you can change them to whatever you like. If you want endless resources, then set them both to 9999999999 (10 9's) and you'll have a maxrush map!
  • Step 3 - Changing the world - Finally, at the very bottom of the .cfg you'll see this line

    Code: Select all

    TerrainGroup("Attic");
    simply change this line into this one and you'll have a working game.cfg!

    Code: Select all

    World("attic");
    You'll need to decide which world you're going to use when creating a new map in the studio. Changing it manually in the game.cfg file will cause major issues.
Once you have finished attuning your game.cfg file, you are ready to move on. The next file you'll see is objects.cfg, however this file is auto-generated by the studio editor and should be good to go right away, however you can make some adjustments if you like, such as changing your placeholders into amrts props.

If we move on from objects.cfg, you find a file called 'terrain.blk'. This is the terrain mesh used by your mission. You'll need to edit this too, however you cannot use regular windows notepad to do it, as it will become corrupted. I would recommend using Notepad++, which can be found in that tools master post I mentioned earlier. Anyway, if you open terrain.blk with Notepad++ or a suitable substitute, you'll need a lot of mess... but that's okay. We aren't going to touch any of that, instead we're going to use the search and replace function. Press Ctrl + F to open the find window, then click over to the replace tab. Enter '.pic' under what to find and then enter '.tga' under what to replace with. Your window should look like so:
pUjQq23.png
pUjQq23.png (11.34 KiB) Viewed 1364 times
pUjQq23.png
pUjQq23.png (11.34 KiB) Viewed 1364 times
Click on replace all and it should find and replace around 20 - 30 instances, although it can be any number depending on how diverse your map was. Save it and make sure the filesize is exactly the same, otherwise you may have replaced too much or too little and corrupted the file.

Next stop, you'll see a file called terrain.bmp. This is your mini-map, although it is in the wrong format. Simply save it as a .tga file and Army Men RTS will use it correctly. If you want to make changes or add colors etc, then you can save your modified copy as terrain_custom.tga and amrts will choose to use that file instead. Do not compress your .tga files with RLE. This will crash the game.

Finally, you want to compile your mission. If you have DrPack installed, then you can do this by simply right clicking on the folder. However you'll need to change the extension from '.zwp' to '.x' This can be done using Notepad++ or a hex editor or whatever, just open the file and save it with a .x extension without changing anything. Do not use windows explorer or windows notepad to change your extensions, as this will cause your mission to become corrupt.

:blah: Well, that was a bit to go through, and I may have gone over a tiny detail since I've become pretty much autonomous when converting maps, so if you run into any trouble then please feel free to ask.
I may not make the best maps, or be the best player, but I put a lot of time, effort, and care into my stuff. That counts for something, right? No.
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Androsynth
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Re: Map Making

Post by Androsynth »

Thank you so much!

So there is no way to put in AMRTS textures in too?
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TommyCD1
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Re: Map Making

Post by TommyCD1 »

What do you mean? Do you mean textures on the ground?; because that's the world of the mission and is already included in the studio linked.

If you mean the interface, then no, there's nothing like that yet, although I'm working on it! :COFE:
I may not make the best maps, or be the best player, but I put a lot of time, effort, and care into my stuff. That counts for something, right? No.
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Androsynth
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Re: Map Making

Post by Androsynth »

I mean like the textures such as grass and sand. We did not find them in the studio you provided. The worlds in there do not work.
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Re: Map Making

Post by TommyCD1 »

  1. Click on 'Tools'
  2. Click on 'New Map'
  3. Click on drop menu for World
  4. Select any AMRTS world
    • Attic
    • Basement
    • Bathroom
    • Bedroom
    • Kitchen
    • Livingrm
    • Sandbox
    • Yard
  5. Click 'OK'
If these steps do not work you may try to manually add the worlds to your studio. Extract this link to the same directory. It should add or replace those already there. If that doesn't work then try replacing the base.zwp file with this one:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ZALnE ... 8phWvt6q4d
The base.zwp file is located under the packs folder.
(warning: untested and may be unstable)
I may not make the best maps, or be the best player, but I put a lot of time, effort, and care into my stuff. That counts for something, right? No.
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Bowser7372
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Re: Map Making

Post by Bowser7372 »

Where can I get the resources? Because when I go to objects and then resources but I do not even have regens of any kind. If there is something I gotta do please tell me, thx.
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Re: Map Making

Post by TommyCD1 »

Here's a base.zwp file for the studio that should fix resources not being included. It should also include the Army Men RTS resources with proper footprints to make placing them easier, although they will have very low res placeholder models.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nzn7g ... eSAESWZtH-

It's an old file though and I haven't used it since, so if it doesn't work right feel free to let me know.
I may not make the best maps, or be the best player, but I put a lot of time, effort, and care into my stuff. That counts for something, right? No.
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Bowser7372
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Re: Map Making

Post by Bowser7372 »

It includes the regens, but no AMRTS resources, in addition, i wanted to ask how to delete an object placed in a map?
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TommyCD1
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Re: Map Making

Post by TommyCD1 »

To delete an object, simply select that object with the left mouse button and press the Delete key on your keyboard, usually located above the arrow keys. The backspace button also works as a undo button to remove the latest object you just placed.

Sorry about the studio not having the amrts props, but it's a bit picky to try and fix and I have a lot of other amrts projects lined up at the moment. Sorry :COFE:
I may not make the best maps, or be the best player, but I put a lot of time, effort, and care into my stuff. That counts for something, right? No.
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GameRanger ID: 913974
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