5 While I can't help you make a map, I can help you get it listed in the menu and
6 working in the maplist. :p The central object is the .mapinfo file, but
7 there's much more available.
12 (get your map listed and working)
28 Appendix A - Advanced mapinfo
30 Appendix B - Helpful extras
34 Appendix C - Advanced Darkplaces shaders
36 ========================
37 =I. Map Lists & Scripts=
38 ========================
40 There now is just a single script/cfg file available to you, containing all map
45 The mapinfo is actually required - however, the game is so nice that it
46 automatically generates a draft of it for you.
52 *cue even more scary music*
54 The mapinfo file is basically what gets your map listed in the menu, and sets
55 up the options needed to change to it. If no mapinfo file exists, the menu
56 will automatically generate a rough draft for you on game startup. It will get
57 stored into data/data/mapname.mapinfo.
59 As an example, let's say I make a map called "wazat1.bsp". As long as I'm
60 fantasizing, I might as well say this map is so well done I'm actually willing
61 to release it for friends, neighbors, fellow forum visitors and other people
62 who like me to judge me by. Let's also assume that I want domination,
63 deathmatch/team deathmatch and runematch to all be playable on my map.
65 This is very easy. First, I start the game and exit it again so the game writes
66 data/data/wazat1.mapinfo for me. The file may look like:
68 title Wazat's Great Map
81 As I see, the menu autodetected that my map may be suitable for deathmatch,
82 domination, runematch, last man standing and arena. But I want the map to be
83 played in domination, deathmatch, team deathmatch, runematch only, and I also
84 want different timelimits/fraglimits, so I will change the "type" lines to:
91 Also, while I am at it, I should fix the placeholders in the map description lines:
94 description A large multi level arena map
97 Although not entirely necessary, I will now move the .mapinfo file from
98 data/data/maps/wazat1.mapinfo to data/maps/wazat1.mapinfo, so it is at the same
99 place as my map. Next time I start the game, my map will be shown supporting
100 the right game modes and with the right description in the menu.
102 Also, note the "has weapons" line. If this line is not there (which happens if
103 the map contains no weapon entities other than the Nex), the map will run in
104 MinstaGib only and not be shown in the menu normally. So if you look for your
105 map and don't find it, add "has weapons" to the mapinfo file, and make sure you
106 have weapon entities placed.
108 There's much more power in a mapinfo file. See Appendix A for more details.
110 Gametype | Syntax | Notes
111 ----------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------------------------------------------------
112 Deathmatch | type dm <fraglimit> <timelimit> |
113 Team Deathmatch | type tdm <fraglimit> <timelimit> <teams> | 2, 3, or 4 teams
114 Domination | type dom <pointlimit> <timelimit> | teams are set by the map's entities
115 CTF | type ctf <pointlimit> <timelimit> <caplimit> | pointlimit if g_ctf_win_mode is 2, otherwise caplimit
116 Runematch | type rune <pointlimit> <timelimit> |
117 LMS | type lms <lives> <timelimit> |
118 Arena | type arena <fraglimit> <timelimit> |
119 Key Hunt | type kh <pointlimit> <timelimit> <teams> | 2, 3, or 4 teams
120 Assault | type as <timelimit> | never uses points
121 Onslaught | type ons <timelimit> | never uses points
122 Race | type rc <timelimit> <qualifyingtimelimit> <laplimit> <teamlaplimit> | g_race_teams: teamlaplimit is used instead of laplimit
123 CTS | type cts <timelimit> <skill> | never uses points
130 So, you've got your map listed in the menu and it plays properly, but the menu
131 isn't showing your picture! Or the picture is scaled badly! What manner of man
132 would create such an accursed abomination?!
134 Well... That sounds like something I'd do. :D
136 And it is really easy: just make a screenshot of the map in action (preferably
137 with crosshair and HUD switched off), and place it next to the map as
138 mapname.jpg. For best rendering and file size, make the image in 4:3 aspect
139 ratio, but scale it to the resolution 256x256 or possibly 512x512. It will look
140 skewed in your image editing app, but the menu will show it right, and your
141 graphics card LOVES images of such dimension.
148 In order to get Domination working well in your map, you need to place dom_team
149 and dom_controlpoint entites. You *must* have at least 3 dom_team entities - 2
150 minimum teams and one blank one (empty netname and no team). You can have up to
151 4 teams (5 dom_team entities), and remember: if you set 3 teams, the third team
152 must be the yellow one, according to the team order.
157 netname name of team (Red Team). Set to "" or don't define for the required
159 cnt color of the team. See the "Helpful Extras" section for info.
160 model When this team captures control points, the points turn to this
161 model. If this is the neutral team, points start out as this model.
162 noise Sound to be played on the control point when it's captured. Only
163 players nearby will hear it.
164 noise1 Sound to be played to all players when the control point is
165 captured. Also good for an annoncer voice ("Red Team has captured a
170 classname dom_controlpoint
171 message message to be displayed to all players when this point is captured,
172 preceded by the team's name. This defaults to " has captured a control point".
173 You can specify different names for each point, for example " has captured the
175 origin where in the map this point is
176 wait How often this point gives its controlling team frags.
177 frags How many frags this point gives each wait cycle.
179 Here is an example entry in a .ent file that includes colored text and 3 teams:
182 "classname" "dom_team"
184 "model" "models/domination/dom_unclaimed.md3"
187 "classname" "dom_team"
188 "netname" "^4Blue Team"
191 "noise1" "domination/claim.wav"
192 "model" "models/domination/dom_blue.md3"
195 "classname" "dom_team"
196 "netname" "^1Red Team"
199 "noise1" "domination/claim.wav"
200 "model" "models/domination/dom_red.md3"
203 "netname" "^3Yellow Team"
206 "noise1" "domination/claim.wav"
207 "model" "models/domination/dom_yellow.md3"
210 "netname" "^6Pink Team"
213 "noise1" "domination/claim.wav"
214 "model" "models/domination/dom_pink.md3"
217 "classname" "dom_controlpoint"
218 "message" " ^3has captured the ^1Hallways"
219 "origin" "-206.0 -488.8 -150.0"
225 "classname" "dom_controlpoint"
226 "message" " ^3has captured the ^1Lavaroom"
227 "origin" "1457.1 19.9 -110.0"
232 "classname" "dom_controlpoint"
233 "message" " ^3controls the ^1Nex & Strength"
234 "origin" "-259.8 299.3 5"
239 "classname" "dom_controlpoint"
240 "message" " ^3has captured the ^1Upper Platform"
241 "origin" "539.7 1206.0 182.0"
246 "classname" "dom_controlpoint"
247 "message" " ^3has captured the ^1Teleport Room"
248 "origin" "-1000.0 636.2 -16.0"
254 As you can see in the example, there are 5 dom_team ents: one blank, Red, Blue,
255 Yellow and Pink. Each control point has a different message (giving it a
256 special name), and the one in the hallways gives 3 frags every 5 seconds
257 instead of just one, making it more valuable.
259 If your map contains the required entities for Domination, the menu will
260 automatically detect it for supporting Domination. To force the map to get
261 re-detected after you add such entities, delete the data/data/mapname.mapinfo
262 file - or simply edit it to add the "type dom" line.
269 Capture the flag needs at least 1 CTF flag per team, and can also make use of
274 classname item_flag_team1 or item_flag_team2
275 angle direction the flag will point
276 model model of the flag (default: models/ctf/flag_red.md3 or
277 models/ctf/flag_blue.md3)
278 noise sound played when flag is stolen (default: "ctf/take.wav")
279 noise1 sound played when flag is returned by a teammate (default:
281 noise2 sound played when flag is captured (default: "ctf/capture.wav")
282 noise3 sound played when flag returns itself (default: "ctf/respawn.wav")
286 classname info_player_team1 or info_player_team2
287 *note: These function just like info_player_deathmatch, but for one team only.
288 If you don't make team spawnpoints, info_player_deathmatch is used instead.
290 If your map contains the required entities for CTF, the menu will automatically
291 detect it for supporting CTF. To force the map to get re-detected after you add
292 such entities, delete the data/data/mapname.mapinfo file - or simply edit it to
293 add the "type ctf" line.
299 Runematch needs only one type of entity to work: rune spawn points. You will
300 need at least one for each rune (5 minimum at the time of this writing), though
301 you should probably have more than that in the map. Just give the points a
302 classname and origin.
306 classname runematch_spawn_point
308 If your map contains the required entities for Runematch, the menu will automatically
309 detect it for supporting Runematch. To force the map to get re-detected after you add
310 such entities, delete the data/data/mapname.mapinfo file - or simply edit it to
311 add the "type rune" line.
317 Making a race map is not hard: you need some special spawnpoints, and some checkpoints.
321 classname info_player_race
322 target targetname of the checkpoint
323 race_place for finish line checkpoints, the place of the point, or -1 to make it qualifying/CTS-only, or unset to let all the other players spawn
327 classname trigger_race_checkpoint
328 targetname some name to target the checkpoint with
329 cnt number of the checkpoint (or 0 for finish line)
331 Note that checkpoints are brush entities, and they should be somewhat thick and
332 cover the full volume the player could use to get past them.
334 Example of entity placement:
337 ---------------------###---
339 / 9999 8 6 4 2 >### \
340 | ------------------### |
343 | ^ ^ ------------------$$$ |
346 ----------------------$$$---
349 ###: classname = trigger_race_checkpoint, cnt = 0, targetname = finish
350 $$$: classname = trigger_race_checkpoint, cnt = 1, targetname = cp1
351 %%%: classname = trigger_race_checkpoint, cnt = 2, targetname = cp2
352 >: classname = info_player_race, target = finish, angle = 0
353 1: classname = info_player_race, target = finish, angle = 0, race_place = 1
354 2: classname = info_player_race, target = finish, angle = 0, race_place = 2
356 8: classname = info_player_race, target = finish, angle = 0, race_place = 8
357 9: classname = info_player_race, target = finish, angle = 0, race_place = 9
358 <: classname = info_player_race, target = cp1, angle = 180
359 ^: classname = info_player_race, target = cp2, angle = 90
361 If your map contains the required entities for Race, the menu will automatically
362 detect it for supporting Race. To force the map to get re-detected after you add
363 such entities, delete the data/data/mapname.mapinfo file - or simply edit it to
364 add the "type rc" line.
366 CTS maps do not use checkpoints with race_place set, so you can leave them out
369 The skill parameter in the mapinfo entry for CTS shall be in the range from 0 (easy) to 10 (impossible).
375 There are three required entities: nexball_redgoal, nexball_bluegoal, and one of nexball_basketball
376 or nexball_football. There are also optional nexball_yellowgoal and nexball_pinkgoal entities (don't
377 add a pink goal when there is no yellow goal on the map, it will crash)
379 Goals are made just like any other regular triggers. You can use multiple brushes for one trigger,
380 but avoid this if possible.
382 There are also two other goal-like entities, nexball_fault and nexball_bound, the first taking a point
383 from the team that hits the trigger with the ball, the second simply returning it. You can spawn the
384 ball inside a goal-like trigger, this can be useful for basketball maps with separate teams and a
386 The different keys for the entities are documented in entities.def.
388 The ball is affected by trigger_impulse, but not by trigger_push or teleporters.
390 You should better avoid patches on the field, as collisions can sometimes get buggy on these.
393 ===============================
394 =Appendix A - Advanced mapinfo=
395 ===============================
397 You now know how to make a basic, bare-bones mapinfo to set up a couple options
398 and load your map. However, there's much more you can do! Consider these
401 1. The laser has too high of a force for laser jumps and ruins CTF
402 2. I don't want players to start out with the shotgun, but with the machinegun
404 3. The map takes so much server CPU performance that the anti-wallhack can't be
407 Each of these situations can be resolved with ease with a little work in the
410 To do this, I can add the following lines to my mapinfo file:
412 settemp_for_type ctf g_balance_laser_primary_force 200
413 settemp_for_type all g_start_weapon_shotgun 0
414 settemp_for_type all g_start_weapon_uzi 1
415 settemp_for_type all sv_cullentities_trace 0
417 These "settemp" settings are automatically removed when the map is left and
418 another is loaded. As you can see, it is possible to make per-mode temporary
419 settings, and global ones.
421 Similar settings are also possible for the client:
423 clientsettemp_for_type all r_shadow_glossexponent 96
425 Another possibility is to specify fog settings in the mapinfo, for convenience
426 in case you set sv_foginterval by it too (to force the fog on the clients):
428 fog 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.3 1 1500
429 settemp_for_type all sv_foginterval 5
432 =============================
433 =Appendix B - Helpful Extras=
434 =============================
439 When you need to set an entity's color or team, use these values:
465 Occasionally you may want to print text in color, such as team names. Here are your options:
478 ==========================================
479 =Appendix C - Advanced Darkplaces shaders=
480 ==========================================
482 Shader parameters for DP's own features:
483 - dp_reflect <distort> <r> <g> <b> <a>
484 Makes surfaces of this shader reflective with r_water. The reflection is
485 alpha blended on the texture with the given alpha, and modulated by the given
486 color. distort is used in conjunction with the normalmap to simulate a
487 nonplanar water surface.
488 - dp_refract <distort> <r> <g> <b>
489 Makes surfaces of this shader refractive with r_water. The refraction
490 replaces the transparency of the texture. distort is used in conjunction with
491 the normalmap to simulate a nonplanar water surface.
492 - dp_water <reflectmin> <reflectmax> <refractdistort> <reflectdistort> <refractr> <refractg> <refractb> <reflectr> <reflectg> <reflectb> <alpha>
493 This combines the effects of dp_reflect and dp_refract to simulate a water
494 surface. However, the refraction and the reflection are mixed using a Fresnel
495 equation that makes the amount of reflection slide from reflectmin when
496 looking parallel to the water to reflectmax when looking directly into the
497 water. The result of this reflection/refraction mix is then layered BELOW the
498 texture of the shader, so basically, it "fills up" the alpha values of the
499 water. The alpha value is a multiplicator for the alpha value on the texture
500 - set this to a small value like 0.1 to emphasize the reflection and make
501 the water transparent; but if r_water is 0, alpha isn't used, so the water can
502 be very visible then too.