HW:C Tutorial: Downward Spiral

This Tutorial is designed to take you through the creation of a Cataclysm custom map entitled 'Downward Spiral'. To make things as easy-peasy as possible I have included all the files you will need in a folder called 'HWC Tutorial Map Files' and if you don't already have it, you can download a zipped version of them here. Alternately you could quite happily dredge up all the files from any existing map you already have.

For our map Downward Spiral, we will recreate a spiralling stream of asteroids, plunging into a black hole. I will be making this map as I write this tutorial so you can be sure it will be full of really top tips as to how I do each step as we go along. I will be using Excel to make this, if you don't have it I will try and cover the math as we go along, but if you do (or if can get hold if it, I suggest you do), you will see how quick and easy it is to use excel for HW/HW:C mapping as we work through this. You can download the HW:C Excel spreadsheet I will be using, here. Concept drawings are just that, concepts, here's my initial scribble so you can see the basic idea I have in mind.

Our map will have a maximum of Eight Players and they will start set up in a huge circle around the top of the map, in the outer most spiral arm. The arm will spiral mostly downwards, but a bit side wards, this is because we will have the black hole background set up so it looks as if the cluster is spiralling into the event horizon, and its not very forgiving when changing the background to place the black hole directly beneath the map, but we will do our best.... We will have meteor showers also moving into the event horizon from the top of the map, passing through the arm itself to act as a hazard for the resource collecting shipping. The entire arm will contain harvestable asteroids, and, nearer the event horizon the spiral will contain crystals (ie tremendous forces at work etc). Sounds good huh? Well I think so, but things may change as we go on, like I am a bit unsure how the background is going to look at this juncture...

Still, it will be fun finding out how all this will look, right?

notes:

The Cataclysm Tutorial Map Files Folder.
I will be mentioning this folder a lot. This folder will contain every file I talk about throughout the tutorial. Don't let this stop you trawling through other custom maps, you could always grab each and every file from almost any map. Its just easier for all concerned if i give you all the stuff in the one folder.

The Multiplayer folder. (..\Sierra\Cataclysm\Multiplayer).
This folder is found in the Cataclysm folder, and is where all your multiplayer maps are stored. When you first install the game, if it is there at all, it will be empty, when you download a map from a multiplayer (online) game, this is where the map is stored, you need to restart Cataclysm for the game to recognise it, and thus list it in the Multiplayer\Skirmish Vs CPU settings screen. Go find it now, if it don't exist then create it, just make sure you name and place it exactly as i have shown above, directly into the Homeworld folder.

Jumping in and out of the game: ALT-TAB-ing
Using the windows shortcut ALT-TAB to switch between the game and desktop is how all the tweaking is done. Did you read the point about downloading maps over WON when online? The 'restarting Cataclysm so it recognises the new folders added' bit? Well, the same process happens whenever you add a map folder into the Multiplayer folder, you wont see it listed in the game until you quit and then restart the game. But happily this does not apply to the folders contents, you can add empty folders containing nothing but a description file and still have them listed when you start up the game, then add what you need to the folder, delete it, change it, swap it for another file etc, all while the game is running, ALT-TAB back into the game, reload the map, view your changes.

I find on my CPU the transition between Homeworld and windows to be much faster when I use the in game options to turn off the graphics card and select ‘(SW) Software’ as the rendering system. But this may just be my CPU…

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