Battlecraft Map Editor for BFV - making a map.
This week I am going to start the process of making a custom map for Battlefield Vietnam. I don't plan on finishing it soon but I hope to get a functional and enjoyable map produced some day. It will be inspired slightly by Operation Hastings (my favorite map) and hopefully it will have something not yet seen in the current maps.
My goal would be to make a better than average map (since most of the custom maps right now are of just average to poor quality). Once I get into it I might learn the whole process is more involved than I had originally thought but I am willing to give it my best effort.
I downloaded the map editor last night and I am going to start on the tutorials tonight. If any of you have made a map before and have some tips, please feel free to share them. (I probably need it)
If anyone else is interested in downloading Battlecraft, go here.
PSN ID: Haul_N_Oats
Ooh, I may have to play with this some. I GUNNA MAK MAH MAP WIT 666 HUEYZ IT WIL RULLE!!!!11
I called it, just sayin'.
When you''re ready for suggestions on what kind of battle you want to make, let me know. I''m full of great map ideas and totally devoid of knowledge on how to make them.....
XBox Live: SwampYankee68
STEAM: SwampYankee
Sounds like we are in a similar situation Swamp. I like BFV enough to learn everything I can about map making and I hope I can pull it off. It would be a nice feeling to actually play a map that I created. It would the first map I have made for any game.
PSN ID: Haul_N_Oats
I was a map-making fool for Quake 2, but that was years ago. I had to invest some serious time learning Radiant, too. If you''re anything like me, don''t expect to make anything worth playing for at least a month or so.
Morrolan wrote:
Since I am at work and can''t access my copy of BFV can someone tell me how many discs are included with the retail version of BFV? I was told three but I don''t remember seeing the third CD. I was also told the map editor is on one of the discs and you don''t have to download it. If anyone can confirm this I would appreciate it.
Oh yeah, didn''t work with the tutorials last night because I was busy playing Raven Shield.
PSN ID: Haul_N_Oats
Yup, BFV is 3 discs, and when you install it, you are presented with the option to install Battlecraft (which I did, though I don''t know if I''ll use it).
Personally, I''m really interested in trying out my hand at making some UT2k4 maps.
"This game looks sweet. I want to save hawt chix with my sword extended towards their heaving bosoms. Oh yeah...I want to rescue them all over their chest." - TheArtOfScience
Thanks Farscry.
Try it out! It would be great for some of us to collaborate on map ideas and design. It would be impressive to have a map in our rotation made by one of us.
PSN ID: Haul_N_Oats
I''ve said this before, but I think that as long as you include civilians in your map you can''t really go wrong.
“While American democracy is imperfect, few outside the majority of this court would have thought its flaws included a dearth of corporate money in politics.” - Justice John Paul Stevens
Haha, I know you want them and the more I think about it, I do too.
Could you imagine having civilians working the rice paddies on the plantation flag point on the map Operation Hastings? They would be kneeled down and working but then scatter when heavy combat starts or a chopper comes in.
That would be priceless.
A site I am using for research.
Beware of pop-ups.
PSN ID: Haul_N_Oats
The final battle in Platoon. A desperate struggle to fend off human wave attacks from prepared positions. You''d need to have 2 or 3 to one odds for the attackers. IOt would be cool if they could be bots and we could play co-op against the oncoming hordes. Then call the ""broken arrow"".
XBox Live: SwampYankee68
STEAM: SwampYankee
Nice Idea Swamp. Having bots would add an interesting twist to the game.
PSN ID: Haul_N_Oats
Damn Flux. We are on the same wavelength or something. I was just looking at the Battlecraft editor yesterday. After reading the quick start map making guide, it doesn''t seem very difficult just time consuming. The tools seem intuitive enough.
My idea was to make a Hamburger Hill map. One big mountain in the middle with entrenched NVA positions. One main US base with choppers and F4s. Of course the NVA would have AA tanks
. There should be one of those portable spawns for the NVA and maybe a tunnel or two. Trees placed to resist easy troop transporting by the round eyes.
I then saw on Xfire that you were playing Raven Shield and thought I should get some practice in for the Thursday night game.
BF2
BF2142
Ooooh, tempting. I''ll have to mess around with Battlecraft when I get back from my business trip.
Maybe we should have a GWJ map contest...the winner gets to massage Elysium''s bunions.
Xbox Live: hubbinsd
Great idea Slick. I say go for it, the hamburger hill concept would make a challenging and fun map in my opinion.
As for Raven Shield, I was trying to learn the game last night and working on tutorials. I felt like leaving Xfire on so people would know what I was doing, I guess it worked.
PSN ID: Haul_N_Oats
Yeah, it would be cool if the map had a historical tie-in to a real battle. I''ll see if I can dig up some more real Vietnam battles that would make good maps.
Credulous at best, your desire to believe in angels in the hearts of men.
The grassy hill battle from the movie A Thin Red Line would be an idea similar to Hamburger Hill.
PSN ID: Haul_N_Oats
Here are some real battles that might make cool maps:
Operation Starlight
US must be airlifted in and defeat heavily dug-in NVA.
Operation Birmingham
Tons of choppers and armor for vehicle lovers.
Operation Attleboro
Excellent terrain details.
Deckhouse Five
Possible POW mod?
Battle at the Hamlet of Ap Bac
US has two landing points to attack NVA hiding in hamlets.
Operation Crimp
Find and destroy all those pesky NVA tunnels.
The Deckhouse Five Operation gave me a cool idea for a POW mod. Instead of killing an enemy when you hit them with the knife, machete, or other melee weapons, they are instead put in POW cages at your base. The POWs are then stuck there and cannot respawn until rescued by their teammates. This is probably well beyond our modding abilities, but it sure would add an interesting new gameplay element!
Credulous at best, your desire to believe in angels in the hearts of men.
This guy has tons of labeled topo maps on his site showing battles and other important areas during the Vietnam War: http://www.rjsmith.com/topo_map.html
Credulous at best, your desire to believe in angels in the hearts of men.
Thanks Cloke. I see there is plenty of material to work with.
PSN ID: Haul_N_Oats
I used to make maps for DOD and CS with the old hammer editor and then got into making Maps with UnRealEd for things like AAO. The last editor I tired was Battlecraft and it is by far the easiest and most rewarding editor to use. In no time at all you can be making very polished and professional maps that come out the exact way you dreamed them up. Just go through the tutorials and you cant go wrong. Good Luck.
Thanks Chairborne. That helps my confidence a lot so we shall see how it goes. Doing the tutorials right now.
PSN ID: Haul_N_Oats
Let us know how it goes. I''m sort of inspired to do my own map after researching battles, but I don''t have tons of time to devote to it.
Credulous at best, your desire to believe in angels in the hearts of men.
How''s the map making going Flux?
I''ve been working on mine over the weekend. For research purposes, I watched the Hamburger Hill movie. I saw on PlanetBattlefield someone has already made a Hamburger Hill map. Damn. Oh well, I think mine will be different enough to stand on its own. I''ve got the terrain roughly laid out, the first two flag spawns, and some vegetation. Next up will be some bunkers and a small airfield.
It''s been rather easy to get used to using the Battlecraft tools. The only problem I''m having is getting the ''map test'' function working right. I''m sure there is some step I''m missing. There is nothing in the little user guide that has helped me get it working. Hopefully I can find something on a website.
BF2
BF2142
It is going fairly well and I have learned a ton. I was out of town the past 3 days so I didn''t get to touch it this weekend. I will do a lot this week (probably finalize the heightmap).
I have been so busy working on terrain and texture painting that I didn''t go into the objects until recently and I have a problem. When I try the Add An Object feature I have nothing on my list, what is up with that?
PSN ID: Haul_N_Oats
Just a guess. Do you have to drag the object onto the map before it shows up on the list?
BF2
BF2142
Based on the quick tutorial instructions and the actual manual you don''t have to. Once you add/import an object into the list it is then cached for use. However, I can''t get a single item on the list. Obviously something is either wrong or I am making a big rookie mistake.
PSN ID: Haul_N_Oats
Hey Flux, I remember I had the same problem when I started using BC. Its been a while now, but I think what is happening is that when you import the objects they are going to their default location and their deafult location is probably under your ground or water level. have a really good look under your ground and water, they may even be hidden under a mountain somewhere in whihc case they will be really hard to find.
Thats the hardest thing to get working in the editor. Follow the tutorials from start to finish exactly because i think if you miss one of the first tiny steps then your map is pretty much worthless...... but its been a while so I might be a bit of the mark...... Good luck.
That''s exactly what happened to my spawn points. The spawn points showed up on my list though. Flux can''t even get them on his list. I haven''t tried the object mapper enough to remember how it works. Now I''m wanting to get home and work at it some more
BF2
BF2142
Exactly. I have no objects to even select! Frustration is setting in.
PSN ID: Haul_N_Oats
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..... Strange. I haven''t used it in a while, so I think I''m pretty much out of ideas.