SOLDAT MAP MAKER - HELP FILE (EN)

INTRODUCTION:

    With the Soldat Map Maker you can make your own map in 5 minutes. But if you want to do a really good map you have to spend some time on it. Like everything, this program needs skills and patience. When building Soldat maps you need to follow some simple rules that are written below. The most improtant rule is to look at the old Soldat maps and learn from them. And remember - Soldat maps are made of polygons and with polygons you can build everything! 

THE PROGRAM SCREEN:

• 1. Load Map

Loads and old map. Extension - *.PMP

• 2. Save Map

Saves the current map. You should place the maps in the Soldat\Maps folder. Map names shouldn't be longer than 16 chars.

• 3. New Map

Cleans everything up.

• 4. Load Texture

Loads the map texture. The textures must be placed in the Soldat\Textures folder.

• 5. Compile Map

Before saving a map (if you edited in any way the polygons) you have to press this button. If you don't there will be problems with map collisions.

• 6. Polygon Colors

Colors of the polygons vertices.
Vertice 1,2,3 : the three polygon vertices

• 7. Background Colors

Background colors:
Upper Color
Lower Color

• 8. Delete Last Poligon

Deletes the last made polygon.

• 9. Scenery

Scenery elements (grass, stones, sandbags)
The elements are in the listbox. When you choose one you should place it on the map.
Make: creates the element that was chosen earlier from the list
Delete: after pressing this click on a scenerty element to delete it. You have to click on its beginning (usually the left side).
Delete Last: undos the last element.

• 10. Make Colliders

Colliders are areas that collide with bullets. They are placed on sandbags and other obstacles.
Area sizes:
Very Small:
Small:
Medium:
Big:
Delete: after pressing this click on a collider to erase it.

• 11. Bot Waypoints

Turns on bot waypoints making mode. More in the Bot Waypoints section.

• 12. Wireframe On/Off

Draws the polygons as wireframe or filled.

• 13. Make Spawn Point

Creates places for players to respawn.
Normal: standard respawn point for almost every game mode: Deathmatch, Pointmatch, Teammatch i Rambomatch.
CTF Team 1: respawn point for the red team in Capture the Flag.
CTF Team 2: respawn point for the blue team in Capture the Flag.
Undo: undos the last made spawn point
Delete: after pressing this click on a spawn point to erase it.

YOUR FIRST MAP:

    From this section you'll get to know how to build a simple map. Thanks to this you will learn the basics.

PROGRAM CONTROLS:

RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON - used to scroll the map

Some functions are made by using key + mouse combinations:

CTRL + LEFT MOUSE BUTTON - used to move the polygon under your mouse cursor

SHIFT + LEFT MOUSE BUTTON - used to erase the polygon under your mouse cursor

START:

1.

    Click on the map area and you will start making a polygon. The basic element of the map.
Move your mouse a little further and click to create a second vertice.

After that click for the third time and the polygon will be done.

Thanks to joining many polygons like this you will create a map.

2.

     The following screens will teach you rules that you have to be caution of when making a map.

The first screens show how not to join polygons:

You can't join the polygons by the edges. It will cause several problems..
The edges might seem cracked or players can fall into them.

You have to put the polygons on each other like this:

An often problem that will occure during map making will be polygon peaks like this:

They can cause the players to stop by them. You can't smoothly walk through them.

You can get rid of them in two ways:
1: place the polygons differently
2: cover the peaks with another polygon

Its very usefull to turn on WIREFRAME MODE when editing a map.

3.

    When you finally make the map from polygons place some scenery.
In the SCENERY menu choose a scenery element:

After that click on the map area (the chosen element will be created), move your mouse to define the size of it and click the second time:

4.

   Scenery might be defensive positions and stop bullets. If you want that click on the MAKE COLLIDERS button.
Choose the size of the collider area and place it on the map. The red circle is the area where bullets collide:

5.

    Its about time to create respawn points. It is a VERY improtant element, without it the map won't work.
Click on the MAKE SPAWN POINTS button and choose a spawn type (usually NORMAL) and place it on the map.

CAPTURE THE FLAG
    Important! In CTF the order of placing the spawn points is very improtant.
The first to points that you create are the flag spawn points!
- FIRST SPAWN POINT (CTF Team 1) - place it in the red teams base
- SECOND SPAWN POINT (CTF Team 2)  - place it in the blue teams base.
After making that you can place spawn points freely.

6.

This is a good moment to set the BACKGROUND COLORS.
When everything is done don't forget to click the COMPILE MAP button!
Now you can save the map by clicking SAVE MAP. Save it in the Soldat\Maps folder.

    From now only your imagination is the limit!

BOT WAYPOINTS

    Bot paths are made out of connected WAYPOINTS. They are the most difficult thing in making maps, but can bring you the most satisfaction.
The most important thing is to look how the waypoints are done in standard Soldat maps and to experiment a lot. In this way you will learn much.
 

    After clicking the BOT WAYPOINTS button you will see a new menu in the lower right corner:

Delete: erases the selected waypoint
Clear All: erases all waypoints on the map

The following checkboxes define the selected waypoint:
Path 1,2: the waypoints path number
left, up, right, down, fly: type of movement that the bot has to do to get to this waypoint

Show:
All: shows all waypoints
Path 1, 2: shows only specific waypoint paths

WAYPOINT CONTROLS::

You create waypoints with the LEFT MOUSE BUTTON.

CTRL + LEFT MOUSE BUTTON - moves the waypoint under the mouse cursor

SHIFT + LEFT MOUSE BUTTON - connects the previously selected waypoint with the one that has been clicked

HOW DOES IT WORK:

    To be able to create bot paths you have to understand how they work.
Bots from there spawn place, if they don't see anyone to fight, will just walk through there waypoints. So it is important to precisely place the waypoints and connect them.
They can easily fall out of a path, thats why you have to place waypoints everywhere to head the bot on the good path.

Here is a simple waypoints example:

Lets say that a bot is at point B and he walks in a circle over the platform. He has to go first right then jump up, go left, jump down, go right and so on.

We place the first waypoint in the place where the bot is standing (usually it will be a respawn point). After that we place waypoints in order in the most important places:

Now we have to connect them in strict order. First we select the first waypoint and holding down the SHIFT key we click on the second waypoint. Then we connect 2 with three and so on.
Lines should appear between them:

Now we have to settle what will happen if the bot touches the waypoint.
It goes like this:
if a bot is at point 1, his current waypoint is 1. If so he does what the next connected waypoint (2) tells him to do. To get from point 1 to 2 we have to check RIGHT in the BOT WAYPOINTS menu. The bot will go right towards point 2.
After getting to waypoint 2 his next waypoint will be three and it will tells him what to do. Again we select RIGHT for this waypoint.
When the bot gets to point three, he has to get up towards waypoint 4. In waypoint 4 we check UP.
After he jumps to waypoint 4 he has to jet towards point 5. In waypoint 5 we check FLY.
When he gets to 5 he has to go left towards 6. In 6 we check LEFT.
And so on...

In the end it looks like this:

The colors of the lines between the waypoints specify the path type:
red - go right
green - go left
yellow - jump
blue - crouch
grey - use jetpack

If we would like the bot to go also in the other way (from point B go left and the up) we have to do waypoints with Path Number 2. To do this select PATH 2 from the BOT WAYPOINT menu.
If we want the bot to go from one path to another you just have to connect them with there waypoints using SHIFT.
If from one waypoint there are multiple connections the bot will choose randomly a possible path.

 Jezeli chcielibysmy zeby bot chodzil rowniez w drugim kierunku (po rozpoczeciu poszedl w lewo i na gore) nalezy zrobic sciezki z numerem 2. W tym celu nalezy zaznaczyc w menu BOT WAYPOINT -> PATH 2.
Dzieki temu druga sciezka nie bedzie kolidowac z pierwsza.
Jesli chcemy by bot przeszedl z pierwszej sciezki na druga mozna swobodnie polaczyc je uzywajac SHIFTA.

CAPTURE THE FLAG
Important! In CTF mode the path numbers correspond to teams.
Path 1 is used for red team bots to get to the blue flag.
Path 2 is used for blue team bots to get to the red flag.
When returning with a flag the bots use the other teams path.

Those are the bot waypoints basics.
I suggest you study standard Soldat waypoint maps.

    Thats all for now, I wish you great maps!

    05-08-2002