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<<<Nord Invasion Map Making Guide>>> Updated as of: 14 April 2012
#1
Hey!

I'm horns and this is my guide! I have made maps for cRPG and other mods so map making is easy for me. So i decided to make a guide Big Grin

1.) The Idea
2.) Outside of Game Editing

  • scenes.txt
  • strings.txt

3.)In Game Editing
  • Things to Know
  • Editing Commands

4.) Finishing Up

1.)The Idea

Your Idea is everything. If you want to make a decent map you need to have a good map idea. The idea also needs to be unique in its on way. A bad example of this is  having a map called "Mountain Valley" and just make a snowy valley. That map is too similar to "Mountain Path" and probably won't be accepted.

Make your idea have a different outline than others. Instead of a snaking funnel of troops like "Swadian Town" add a new design like a maze or something else.

*DON'T BE A TROLL* If your map has tons of pit falls or a bridge of criss crossing beams ( Wink) its probably a troll map. Troll maps are never taken seriously even if you think it should be. Before posting it for submission ask friends to take a look at some screen shots and cretique it to make sure your map is a good one.

2.)Outside of Game Editing

Before you enter the in game editing, you first need to make a new copy of Nord Invasion. Just make a copy of the whole folder and paste it again making sure that its copying a new one and not replacing it.

Once you have made your copy go into M&B:W Native with scene editing mode on. Now go to an old character or make a new one until you cant get to the map. In the lower left corner there should be a generate terrain button
In the Terrain Generator there are a variety of things you can do. I will cover some of them because even I don't know what some of them do  Tongue

Place River: will put a river in the map randomly (you can edit this later in the editing mode if you want)
Disable Grass: disables any grass foliage from appearing on the map
Polygon Size: determines how big each square on the map will be (used to increase or decrease map size)
Terrain: depicts the terrain and gives you a preset *NOTE* any vegetation in the preset cannot be removed in the editor.
Vegetation: Determines the amount of vegetation you will have on the map *NOTE* this cannot be removed in the editor if you don't want foliage set this to zero
Ruggedness: Will make the map rougher or smother
Valley: adds a valley in for you ( this can be managed in the editor as well)
Hill Height: determines the height of the center of the hill
Size Y: determines the length of the map of one side
Size X:determines the length of the map of the other side

Once you have the terrain you like hit the copy button located above. If it turns out you don't like the terrain and need to edit it. Paste the code you have with the paste button and continue editing.

Scenes.txt

This next part may get a little complicated so if you have any questions post them or pm me and I will try to get to them ASAP.

For this next part I suggest you get notepad++ because it simplifies the process of editing the text files a lot more.

Download link for notepad++: http://notepad-plus-plus.org/download/v5.9.6.2.html

Now that you have notepad++ it is time to put your terrain code in the scenes.txt of the copied Nord Invasion. First open up scenes.txt with notepad++ and search for scn_multi_scene_1 (this map is actually ruins but we will get to that later) Search is Ctrl+F and a menu should pop up.

Now you should still have your terrain code saved. Take the terrain code and replace it with the terrain code at the highlighted below.

Once you've inserted the code you have a choice of changing the outer terrain. The outer terrain is dictated by the fourth line of the code in the scenes.txt.

You can change the following lines to any of the following:
outer_terrain_plain
outer_terrain_snow
outer_terrain_steppe
outer_terrain_town_thir_1
outer_terrain_castle_9
outer_terrain_desert
outer_terrain_desert_b
outer_terrain_beach
outer_terrain_plain_2
outer_terrain_snow_2
outer_terrain_steppe_2
sea_outer_terrain_1
sea_outer_terrain_2

All of these are different from the next so feel free to screw around with them to find out what they are.

Strings


Just some real quick knowledge. the strings file is used to connect your scene objects file to your terrain code in the scenes.txt and that is why this is a very important thing.

Now that you have named your map differently, you need to open the strings.txt with notepad++. When that is open search str_multi_scene_1 with ctrl+f. This is where you will change the name of your map. When you search that this should pop up

str_multi_scene_1 Ruins

you are going to put the name of your map where Ruins is. My example is "Suck it Newb" and it would look like this

str_multi_scene_1 Suck_it_Newb

*THINGS TO KNOW* When changing the name do not remove the space in between the str_multi_scene_1 and your name or the code will be read wrong. ALSO, know that if you want a space in the name it needs to be an underscore, otherwise your code will also be read wrong.

3.)In Game Editing

HOORAY!!!! You can now start editing in the game.

First things first, you need turn on edit mode and also open in windowed mode. They are located in the configure menu before choosing a mod. Now open up the copy of Nord Invasion you have made and where you have done all your editing.

You will be editing the map you have named in the multiplayer settings. First go to multiplayer and then click "Host a Game". The first map that comes up will be your map that you named. Like this:

Now you can edit your map and add things yourself. I learned the ropes of the editor by just screwing around a little. I hope to change this by making a tutorial on hot keys and other things, but I've been typing for the past hour and a half and would prefer to not do this right now lol  Big Grin

[size=24pt]Things to Know[/size]

I can how ever give you some very vital information specific for Nord Invasion map making, but first I need to describe the spawn points or entry points.

Entry points look like arrows in the editor but are invisible in game. Entry points have many uses dictated by the number of the entry point. Entry points will line 

The spawn points for this mod are as follows

(20-12-2011, 09:14 PM)Hande link Wrote: Small info:
Use these Entry Points: 0 & 1 for players and 32 - 40 for AI

One more thing you need to know about maps in NI is that you have to add these things from the object list

(20-12-2011, 09:14 PM)Hande link Wrote: Small info:
Use these Entry Points: 0 & 1 for players and 32 - 40 for AI
Remember also to place these items in your map:
- forage_bush
- tbgc_box4
- tbgc_box5
- tbgc_shrine

It is necessary for you to add these things other wise it will be a no go on your map.

Lastly, the map making is always changing so check this forum post constantly for updates: Click me for updates!

4.)Finishing Up

When you think your map is done, do some tests with it. Join as team 1 for the player spawns and for the Nord spawns join as team 2. When this is done, test everything to make sure it works okey. Also, start parkouring around and try to find glitching spots. If you find some put a barrier there to make sure it is not abused. It is likely you will miss some of them but that is why there are bug patches  Wink

Once all of these trials are done follow the directions on this forum post: http://forum.nordinvasion.com/index.php?...489.0.html (hint: this is for updates as well :o)

I hope this has helped all of you aspiring map makers and if you have any questions please PM or post here. I am also generally on this TS: 88.198.5.120:9990 (official nord invasion TS)

This is not the end of my map making tutorials or assistance, I hope it is just the beginning and I hope i can get the in game map editing post up soon!

I'd like to give a special thanks to some of my house mates from scarlet blade for giving me a refresher in my map making ways!!!!

With love,

Horns


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#2
reserved newbs XD

anyways, if anything gets added to the guide it will be in the second post Big Grin

AI Meshing:

so once you have created your map and have an idea of where you want your nords to go, you need AI meshing. How people mesh is really up to them but the mesh itself really only works in one way to lead the nords to the designated area.

This tutorial here- http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php?t...126.0.html

is what i used to learn AI mesh.

thats all for now peace dawhs

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#3
Perhaps I could add a few pointers about the guidelines of map editing in this mod which the dev would follow under these terms.

- Mostly Glitch-free
You might need to test your map first before sending it to the team as glitching is taboo here in this mod. It's alright if you have a few lying around, the devs will test the map to make sure it's idiot-proof. Giving the devs a clean map would make our lifes much easier.

-Stick to the theme
Some maps are rejected due to the fact that they are not within the Swadian lore (Such as an Arabian Castle). Be sure to create maps that reflect to both the Swadian & Nord culture. (European and Scandanavian Culture) Unless you can come up with a good idea to why the Swadians are in the oasis, you best sitck to Swadian lands for the time being.

Interesting and Varied
The Mountain Pass is a horrible map, hands down. It only features a killing zone that allows players to repeatedly grind endlessly in the same area over & over again. That is not the point of this game (Even when its RPG-ish). Variety gives unpredictability and reduces repetition, and in return, gives players more initative to teamwork. Give different areas where the players can fall back to or seperate spawns for the horde to surround the players.

Hope this would prove useful to all map makers.
[Image: 2n6u4ux.png]
For the Honour of the Fallen Swadians.
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#4
Horns this is a nice guide! We need more make makers! PS: Horns ima fix my map today U down?
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#5
i would like to point out that one of your pictures linked to this

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/6beb5

some gif meme
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#6
bump
Blut und Ehre
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#7
Thx for this great guide, very usefull info about spawn entry and NI items.
Is there something that we should know about bots barriers and bots path to avoid blocked bots (like it happens sometimes on some map)?
Thx again!!

Ps: should be stickied!
[URL=http://"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2W4FsDVKMY"]"Tu vois, le monde se divise en deux catégories, ceux qui ont un pistolet chargé et ceux qui creusent. Toi tu creuse. "[/URL]
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#8
(09-01-2012, 12:37 PM)Blondin link Wrote: Thx for this great guide, very usefull info about spawn entry and NI items.

This thread will get updated everytime when something new comes:
http://forum.nordinvasion.com/index.php?...489.0.html

(09-01-2012, 12:37 PM)Blondin link Wrote: Is there something that we should know about bots barriers and bots path to avoid blocked bots (like it happens sometimes on some map)?
Yes but I will test them when new map comes for me so it is not so big deal if they are not so well placed.
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#9
is it one spawn entry point per bot/player? (do I have to place millions of them D:?)
Nothing is impossible, it's just a matter of determination and probability.

2nd Knight forever!

No longer active.
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#10
(13-01-2012, 04:52 PM)Senni link Wrote: is it one spawn entry point per bot/player? (do I have to place millions of them D:?)
For players you need to place only 0 & 1
For Bots you need to place only 32 - 40 ( 32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40 )
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