official Map Editor Tutorial

[R4bitF00t]

Welcome fellow Skylords, to the official map editor tutorial!
Split into several parts, this tutorial will guide you on how to work with the BattleForge Map Editor. By the end, you will be able to create your own maps, script them, and publish them to the Community Maps section of the game.

Some of the topics might seem pretty lenghty. Truth is I only wanted to be thorough when making this tutorial, as the BF Map Editor has many little quirks, and any of them may prevent you from playing your map.
Don't be discouraged though, I will point out any known issues as I go along, and once you get more experience with the editor, you will find your best practises.

To begin, we'll need to start the map editor.

 

• Starting the Editor

Map editor is automatically installed with the game and is located in your Battleforge installation folder - look for pluginbasededitor.exe  
Simply double click the exe, wait for the editor to load and congratulations! You have just launched the editor and are ready to make some awesome maps!

 

Below is a list of tutorials we will go over, in order.

 

• Tutorials

In-Depth Tutorials
These tutorials are meant to be followed in order, and are aimed at complete beginners. However they sometimes contain little details that are not widely known about the editor, so these can contain some new information even for a more experienced user. As the scripting tutorials go along, the topics covered in them get more complex.

• Map Work
  • Creating a Map
  • Working with Entities 
  • Sculpting the Terrain and Blocking
  • Texturing the Terrain
  • Adjusting the Playable Area and Minimap
  • Publishing a Map

 

• Scripting
  • Script Editors
  • Scripting Introduction
  • Scripting Basic Events Part 1
  • Scripting Basic Events Part 2
  • Script Groups, Script Areas and Script Paths
  • Creating Goals
  • Default Script Files
  • Member Scripts and Camp Respawns
  • Using Ifs and Loops
  • Warfare Patterns (Coming Soon)

 

Extra Tutorials
These tutorials discuss topics that are not necessary for map creation, but can make work easier or elevate the map to another level.

• Importing a Heightmap
• Map Patches (Coming Soon)
• Sound Tool (Coming Soon)
• Creating Cutscenes (Coming Soon)
• Unit Aggro (Coming Soon)
• Template Scripts

 

• FAQ

Before we begin with the tutorial itself, here are some frequently asked questions.

Note that you can always ask questions in official Skylords Reborn Map Making Discord.

Q. Why cannot I see the map in the game?
A. Make sure that you:

• set up the teams and player kits, ideally, using the available presets
• create and save the map description
• place and assign a starting position and monument for each player
• PAK the map 
• look in the correct place in game - for PvE maps only - open the Community maps node, for PvP or PvPvE maps open the Sparring node

 

Q. Can I create my own entities? Such as an XL Mauler or S sized Emberstrike?
A. Unfortunately, no. BUT you can "modify" entities via the scripting tool. It is very basic and easiest is adding passive abilities. If you want to add active abilities, you also need to manually script the unit to use those abilities and where to target them, which is another problem altogether.

 

Q. My map keeps crashing when I want to play it, what do I do?
A. If you get an error message (it might be a bit tough to actually open the error message window) try to read it, it usually gives you a pointer to a script that is causing the issue, and what the issue might be.

If the map crashes without an error, check for any typos in your code, or if you accidentaly put an Action into Condition block, or vise versa.

If you still cannot figure it out, turn to our map making discord: Skylords Reborn Map Making

 

Q. What are the things that can crash the editor or corrupt my map?
A. Several:

• Cutscene editor - crashes, prevents map saving
  While the tool is functional, it is heavily advised to leave creating cutscenes as the absolute last part of map development.
• Switching maps and then changing tags of entities - crash
  With frequent saving, this, as any other crash, will be only a mild inconvenience.
• Working on a map that is not saved - crash
  It is best to save your map as soon as possible, the editor cannot handle working on an unsaved map for longer period of time and you will lose all your work.
• Selecting quest_pve_soullight object under Leveldesign folder (DBID 254) - crash
  Simply selecting the object in Entity Placement is enough to crash your editor.
• Hiding entities via Entity List - occasional crash
  Sometimes the editor crashes when hiding entities, it seems to mostly happen for the first couple of times you use it, just save often and you'll be fine.

 

Edited January 2 by R4bitF00t