1 - Beginner Very basic Map making Tutorial

[moonsense715]

Author: danpaul88

Skill level: 1

 

An Introduction to Renegade Mapping Foreword

This tutorial is designed to give you a brief insight into creating maps for renegade.It only covers the very basics needed to get started.

 

Getting Started

To get started with renegade mapping you will need to download and install Gmax and Renegade Tools. It is important to install Gmax before Renegade Tools, or you will not be able to export from w3d files from Gmax.

 

Download Gmax from here.

Download Renegade Tools 2 from here.

 

Now all you need to do is install gmax followed by Rengade Tools 2 and your all set.

 

Creating your terrain

The first thing to do when created your own map is make the terrain (land) for your map. This is done with RenX (the renegade addon installed to gmax). Locate RenX on your start menu and open it.

 

On the right hand side of the RenX program there are several buttons under Object Types. Click Plane (A Plane is a flat square when created).

 

 

 

In the Top view area click and drag to create the Plane. Your will see what you are creating in the other view windows from different angles.

You should now have a simple, flat area of land to work on.

 

Editing your terrain

Now that you have created your land you might want to move it around, make hills etc. To do this make sure your land is selected, right click on it and go to Convert To -> Editable Mesh.

The window on the right of RenX will now have changed. Click the + button next to Editable Mesh and select Vertex. Blue dots will appear on your land.

By moving these blue dots you change the shape of the land. First select the Select and Move tool at the top of the screen.

Click on one and drag it around to move it. To move it up and down, click the arrow with the Z label and the move it.

To switch back from up and down movement locate the part of the menu bar shown below and select the XY option. NOTE: if it shows YZ or ZX then click and hold until a small menu appears and choose XY there.

Play around with this method of shaping the terrain for a while, the best way to learn is by doing.

 

Preparing to Export your terrain

Once you are happy with your land you need to prepare it for use in Renegade. Click on the hammer tool on the right and select W3D Tools.

Scroll down until you come to Collision Options. Make sure you have your land selected and tick Physical, Projectile and Camera Options. This means you dont fall through your terrain, bullets cant pass through it and the camera does not go under it.

Before exporting you must create your Mod Folder. Open the Renegade Editor program from the start menu. It will show a window titled Choose Mod Package. Click New... and type in Test Level and click OK. Select your newly created package and click OK. When the program finishes loading minimise it.

Exporting from RenX

You now need to export your terrain the the W3D format recognised by renegade. Go to File -> Export. You must set it to save as type : w3d and enter the name terrain. Save it in C:\Program Files\RenegadePublicTools\LevelEdit\Test Level, assuming you installed to the default location.

 

 

 

You will be shown an options window. Select Renegade Terrain mode and click OK. It will export, and you can close RenX (save the terrain first if you wish to come back to it later to edit).

Adding level objects

Now your terrain is created all that remains is to add it to the renegade editor program and add spawn locations.

 

On the right window of Level Editor click the + next to terrain. Keeping the terrain folder selected click Temp at the bottom of the screen (there is a reason for not using Add, but that is not relevant here).

 

 

 

In the new window enter the name terrain. Click the settings tab and click the folder icon next to the text field for m_ModelName. Select your terrain.w3d file. Click OK and the terrain is now available for use in Level Editor.

Select your new terrain preset and click Make (next to Temp). Your terrain will now appear in the main window.

Now all you need to do is add spawners and export. In the presets window go to Object -> Spanwer -> Startup Spawners. Select the GDI Spawner and click Make. It will appear on your terrain. Select it and move it to one side to make room for the Nod Spawner.

Exporting your level

Once you have made the 2 spawners you are ready to export your level.

 

Firstly you must save the level. Go to File -> Save and enter the name testmap.

 

Once saved go to File -> Export Mod Package. Navigate to your Renegade Data folder (if it is not already shown), enter the name testmap and click save.

 

Your map will be saved as a pkg file. This is a mod package, not suitable for use on servers, but for this test it is easier to leave it in this format.

 

Open renegade, click LAN, host a new game (1 player) and select the mod package testmap which you have just created. Start the game and run around in your new level.

 

 

 

Notes

This tutorial is very basic, and only intended to help you get started mapping. The best way to learn mapping is to keep trying new things to see what they do.

[NicoFeu9]

Thanks a lot!