Needed Tools:
· World Editor
· Patience
Introduction:
WorldEdit has a very powerful Terrain Editor and it is one of the
most important tools in making a map of any kind. To make a good map,
you need to have some sort of basic outline, drawing it on a piece of
paper is good, or if you'd rather have it on your computer, you can
draw it in MSpaint or some other program like Photoshop or Paint Shop
Pro. No matter how you choose to do it, always prepare your map out to
some extent before starting it. As you read this tutorial, all things
written in red will be TFT only. Now time to start this tutorial!
Creating a New Map:
When you create a new map, you’ll see a window appear, titles
“Create New Map.” This is where you choose all the basic terrain
features your map will have, but note all of these can be edited at any
point when you are actually working on the map.
Map Size:
This defines how big your map will be overall. It can be any
combination, but the smallest dimension available is 64, and the
largest is 192, or 256.
Playable Area:
This is the one field you cannot change in the “Create a Map”
window. However, this tells you what area of the map is actually
playable. As the overall map size gets larger, so does the playable map
area. Note that this value can be changed after the map is made.
Size Description:
This is just a way to label the map size; it is displayed when playing a map in-game.
Tileset:
This is of course the most important decision in making maps. You
have a choice of eighteen different tilesets to choose from. This can
also be changed at any time during the actual construction of a map.
This section also has the Initial Tile section. This sets the default tile in the map you make. Then this can be edited by selecting and painting different tiles onto the ground.
Initial Cliff Level:
This selects the starting cliff height for your map, from a level of 0 to 14.
This section also has the Initial Water Level section. This gives you the option of covering the whole map with ground, shallow water, or deep water. The default setting is ground. It also has another sub-section, an option called Random Height Field. This is much like a global “Noise” terrain modifier. It makes variations in terrain height on your map.
The Tools Available:
On the left side of the WorldEditor there are three boxes. From the
top, there is the Minimap, the Previewer, and the Brush List. The
Minimap is just a small graphical representation of your map that
displays units, doodads, and terrain. It also displays regions. The
Previewer allows you to look at the currently selected Doodads, Item,
Unit, or Terrain Tile. The Brush list contains all the objects and
terrain tools you will need to make your map. We'll start off with
terrain.
Textures:
These are all the different types of tiles your map currently has,
you can change most of these by modifying the tileset. The option to do
so is in the Advanced menu. Refer to the Advanced World Editor tutorial
for more help on modifying tilesets. Also, there are some tiles that
structures cannot be built on, but units may cross freely. These tiles
have "(unbuildable)" next to their names. No matter what tileset you
made your map in, it will always have the Blight, Boundary, and Remove
Boundary Tiles.
Cliffs:
All tilesets have two types of Cliffs. Unlike Tiles, these cannot
be swapped around for other cliff types without the use of 3rd party
programs. There are eight different cliff manipulation brushes. The
brush size can be changed by holding Control and pressing either
1,2,3,4 or 5. 1 is the smallest brush size, and five is the largest.
You can also toggle between round and square brushes by pressing
Control+6. They are the same for all cliff types.
Height:
This last section the the Terrain tools in the Brush list allow you
to manipulate the height of the terrain without using cliffs. It allows
you to make rounded hills and valleys, and make completely flat or
natural looking terrain.
The Objects:
Every tileset has its own set of doodads and Neutral Hostile units,
or creeps. All tilesets have access to all Night Elf, Human, Orc and
Undead units and structures as well. Every basic map needs the basics:
Gold Mines, and trees. However, there are dozens of other doodads and
Creeps that give your map more of a natural feel to it. Most people
find locating Gold Mines and Trees frustrating, so here are some
directions.
Gold Mines:
These are structures belonging to the Neutral Passive Player. From
the brush list, click on Units, then Neutral passive, then on Melee,
then on Buildings. Gold Mine is the first structure on the list that
follows.
Trees:
From the Brush list, click on Doodads, then on Trees/Destructables.
Each tileset has a different looking tree, but they all work the same
way. Some tilesets, like Ashenvale have a regular tree, and a Canopy tree,
but they can both be harvested from like any other tree. Also, every
type of tree also has a dead version of it. Not incredibly useful, but
it does make your terrain look a bit nicer, like any other doodad.
Bridges:
Besides being able to place bushes, mushrooms, rocks, benches and
birds, you can also place Bridges. Many people have trouble with
bridges because they can't seem to be able to align the bridge with the
ground. All bridges are found in the "Bridges/Ramps" under "Doodads: in
the Brush list. So this will be explained in detail.
First, place your bridge and select it. (to select an object, you must be in that objects "layer." in order to switch to the Doodad layer, press "D" or go to the Layer menu at the top of the World Editor and select "Doodad.")
Basic Hotkeys:
This is just a list of the most basic hotkeys you will need.
Layer Hotkeys:
There are five different layers in the World Editor. Switching to
any of these layers allows you to select, edit, delete, and add objects
associated with that layer. (i.e. the Doodad layer allows you select,
move, or delete doodads, but you need to switch to the unit layer to do
the same for units.)
Map Viewing:
There are many many hotkeys associated with how you see the map in the World Editor. Here are a few basic ones.
Map Properties:
The final steps in making a regular melee map are usually naming it
and giving it a description. You can find these fields by looking under
the scenario menu along the top of the World Editor.
Name:
The name of your map.
Suggested Players:
You should type in what sort of matches are good on your map. (i.e. Is it good for 2v2, or Free For All?)
Description:
Type in what your map is about!
Author:
Your name goes here. Some people also put in their email address if
the map made for distribution across Battle.net or on a website.
Expansion Required:
This tells you if your map requires the Frozen Throne expansion or
not. It also provides you with a list of reasons as to why your map
requires the Frozen Throne expansion or not.
Map Options:
This gives you ten different options for your map. You can do a
multitude of things here, but many of these are expansion-only. Sorry
folks.
Map Size and Camera Bounds:
This allows you to change the size of your map, and the playable
map area as well. Use the arrows at each of the four sides to resize
your map. You can choose what to resize by checking or unchecking the
two boxes below the minimap. Note that the maps full size must be a
multiple of 32 in both dimensions. You can also check both boxes to
increase/decrease the overall map dimensions while still keeping the
proportion between plyable map area and overall map size.
Modify Camera Bounds:
If you wish to increase or decrease the playable area of your map,
check this box and resize the camera bounds using the eight directional
arrows.
Modify Map Bounds:
If you wish to increase the size of the entire map, check this box
and resize the camera bounds using the eight directional arrows.
Map Loading Screen:
If you are making a campaign or a non-melee map, then you may want
to use another loading screen. The loading screen is the background you
see when a map is loading, after a game has started. Here you can
designate a custom loading screen from the game, or you can import your
own. You can also give your map a Loading Title, Subtitle, and
Description.
Map Preferences:
Here you can choose a Sky and a time of day for your map.