Map Editor

[FallenMorgan]

What do you think about a map editor? I really hope its an external one like BF2 thats good and not like the one in GRAW, where you have to enter a code thing, and also its uncompleted and very just plain annoying

I will be so P.O.-ed if they make it like the one in GRAW

[Flubber]

It will probly be more like crysis's... ;)

[ThQp]

if its simple enough its good. if you need coding, ill never use it.

[Soduka]

What is wrong witht he GRAW one? Really, I don't know, please enlighten me :)

[Sir. Tasty]

Well i think any editor will be better than the bf2 one :D

[Sir. Kain]

if its simple enough its good. if you need coding, ill never use it.

simple means you will have limits..... I dont like limits :mad:

[dalton270]

Well, perhaps they can suit both with a basic version (for n00b builders like me) and then a huge mod/map system for those who code.

[FallenMorgan]

I mean with GRAW you have to edit command lines and stuff to get the editor

[Sir. Jameslcfc]

I hope it's external like BF2, I can't wait to map for this!

[ThQp]

simple means easy enough for me to understand. not simple in what it can do

[FallenMorgan]

simple means easy enough for me to understand. not simple in what it can do

yeah, the Crysis map editor looks way to complicated for me, its annoying when they require alot of code and stuff like that just to make a map, with BF2 you don't need to make all this other stuff or have a little bunch of holes in the map

[ForrestKaos]

Since we're using the unreal 3 engine, we're using the unreal 3 tool set. Unreal has always had a very large community of users and a wide variety of users, so it's pretty easy to find tutorials and help if you run into trouble.

Some tutorials have already started hitting the web, even though the only unreal engine game to ship with an editor thus far has been Roboblitz (http://www.roboblitz.com/). You can see a couple UE3 tutorials made by Hourences at his help site (http://book.hourences.com/tutorialsindex.htm).

The editor itself is very robust, and if you've had any experience working with the unreal engine in the past, it will be very familiar. As you may have also noticed, as a studio we're pretty open to communicating with our community, so I imagine that it'll be pretty easy to get help with Frontlines' specific issues with the editor.

[ThQp]

now thats why i like this. did we ever get news like this from EA? NO! Thanks for the information

[FallenMorgan]

Will it be anything too complicated like the CoD editor?

[ForrestKaos]

I've never used the CoD editor (or any radiant variations) myself, so I couldn't say for certain, but using this version of the unreal editor is certainly easier then working in Hammer (the Half-Life/counterstrike map editor) or earlier versions of the Unreal editor.

[FallenMorgan]

OK well will I be able to use stuff from L3DT IE the detailmap, colormap, heightmap, etc? like what will the standard size be? 256x256, 512x512, 1024x1024, etc?

[ForrestKaos]

While I'm unfamiliar with L3DT, after checking out their site it looks like it'll probably be possible. You'll probably just need to do some file format conversions. G16ed (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/martingbell/ut2003/) is a good program to help when going from greyscale heightmaps to terrain. I don't see any reason you couldn't use the colormap or detail map from it either. You might just need to play with the material system to figure out the best approach.

You'll probably want to shoot for a heightmap resolution of 256x256. If you wanted to create a super huge terrain, you could also use multiple terrains in 1 map, just by cutting a 512x512 heightmap into quads. You can also make non-square sizes, if you wanted a long rectangular map, for example.

Thanks for pointing out L3DT. It looks like it might be a fun program to play around with.

[FallenMorgan]

While I'm unfamiliar with L3DT, after checking out their site it looks like it'll probably be possible. You'll probably just need to do some file format conversions. G16ed (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/martingbell/ut2003/) is a good program to help when going from greyscale heightmaps to terrain. I don't see any reason you couldn't use the colormap or detail map from it either. You might just need to play with the material system to figure out the best approach.

You'll probably want to shoot for a heightmap resolution of 256x256. If you wanted to create a super huge terrain, you could also use multiple terrains in 1 map, just by cutting a 512x512 heightmap into quads. You can also make non-square sizes, if you wanted a long rectangular map, for example.

Thanks for pointing out L3DT. It looks like it might be a fun program to play around with.

Cool because I believe rectangular heightfields are possible in L3DT, your welcome for bringing it up :D

[ThQp]

well i have read this and know that i dont understand any of this. (calls for darthmaster)

[FallenMorgan]

well i have read this and know that i dont understand any of this. (calls for darthmaster)

Well I hope I can understand it, rofl

Well that makes it more fun, you try to figure it out and laugh at yourself when you can't figure it out :D

[ThQp]

as i said, i will call for darthmmaster. if he doesnt answer, i will play the game and not edit it

[FallenMorgan]

as i said, i will call for darthmmaster. if he doesnt answer, i will play the game and not edit it

Who is darthmaster?

[ThQp]

Sir. Community
Lord of Mapping

[FallenMorgan]

Sir. Community
Lord of Mapping

Oh yeah, him rofl

I hope to be the FFOW lord of mapping, rofl