Part One: Overview

In this section you will set up the folder for your map, as well as preparing the way to make in total 4 separate and complete versions of your map..

1.0 The Basic Map Set Up or 'Where to Start'

When making maps, I use a separate folder from Cataclysm to work in, I named a folder 'Workshop' While I prefer to create a folder for a new map on desktop and working in there, and then copying the entire map into the ..\Sierra\Cataclysm\Multiplayer directory when I want to look at it, there is nothing to stop you working in your multiplayer folder from the start. I only do this so I can get access to all the files I may need easier, especially for copying and pasting between directories which is a common feature of maply creation. You can see a screen-grab of what I'm talking about here.

1.1 - Basic Folder set-up.

Create a folder in your desktop and rename it: Downward Spiral, You would really only need this one folder, but as this tutorial aims to cover everything, we are going to make Four versions of our map first we will make a 2 player or 'beta' version as once we have finished with it we will wont need it no more and will be dumped, but there is nothing stopping us from keeping and using this 2 player version as it will be a completed map (see chapter 10). Our final map will consist of three versions; a 2-4 player version; a 4-6 player version and a 6-8 player version. The Downward Spiral folder will contain everything we need in one easy set of folders. So lets start off then by preparing the four folders that will be the maps, differentiating between them is the maximum number of players the map can support.

- Go into this folder and create 4 new folders called;

DSpiral2
DSpiral4
DSpiral6
DSpiral8

1.2 - What's going to be here by the time you finish...

Open up the DSpiral2 folder and move the window aside. Leave it open somewhere on the screen as you are going to be in and out of this folder like a yo-yo from now on.

1.2.1 How we will go about business

We will not actually be creating all the various files that make up a map from scratch here, we will be editing existing maps. Confused? Worried? The reason is, is because Cataclysm is unforgiving if you deviate from the format the files are in. You will crash faster than a dotcom company. So we use existing files as templates. The end result is usually almost a complete rewrite of the code that was their before, but the ability to copy and paste between these files is what makes it so simple. If you have TextPad then this is made all the easier with its ability to deal with multiple files. With Notepad it’s a little less wieldy but still far, far easier than the mysteries of MissionMan.

1.2.2 Why we are making Four Maps

As shown above our map will accommodate up to eight players, and so only need to have a single map with eight Mothership files designating where each of these players may start. But then, why are we are making Four maps here! you're saying...

Well, I will tell you happy mapmaker. When you start a 2 player game in a map that can accommodate eight, there is a damned good chance your players will end up starting right on top of one another. The 8 player map gives the cpu 8 positions to choose from when it decides where to start each player, and what would you know? Sod's law plays its part as the players more often than not end up starting right next to one another. What fun. Thank you, barking dog. So, we will make four maps. Each map will be pretty much identical, once you made the first its merely a matter of adding more Mothership_#.missphere files to each successive version (the number of mothership files in each folder is shown by the number at the end of each folder name and hence shows at a glance the number of players that specific map will support).

At the moment all four of your revelations folders are empty. You have your empty DSpiral2 folder open, right? By the time you have finished this primer you will have the following files in here;

Description.txt
This file gives the description of your map viewable in the game it also allows you to deal with the options that are available within the HW:C game itself, in the Multiplayer/Skirmish Vs CPU settings screen. There will never be more than one per folder (and all will contain only minor changes between folders of the same map but for different maximum players).

DSpiral2.level
This file contains all the basic information about your map. It contains the name and race of all the starting ship files, the name of the resource file, the universe size, the lighting type, the background type, the sensor manager zoom sizes, the default song to be played and any ship restrictions. There will never be more than one per folder (and all will need contain only minor changes between folders of the same map but for different maximum players).

Mothership_0.missphere and Mothership_1.missphere
Mothership files contain all the player starting fleets and the starting location of those fleets. The most important aspect of these files is the fact that these files are named in the level file and the game will seek out these named files, if they are not included exactly as listed in the level file (case and spelling!) then the game will crash.

Resource.missphere
This file contains every single resource element that we want to use in the map including asteroids, dust clouds and crystals. When ships are placed in the ResourceSphere they go under AI control, even when playing with no computer players. Slipgates and Meteor Storms are controlled in these files too. There will only be more than one of these files, only if it becomes bigger than 64k and must be split.

Distribution files (*.dist)
These files contains the information on the size and amounts of each size of the resource you have in a cluster. They are very simple files giving the relative sizes of asteroids/dustclouds of the resources named in the Resourcesphere file. There can be any amount of distribution files in the folder.

All these files are required for each and every map, although you could get away with less ‘*.dist’ files if you have less asteroid types named in your ResourceSphere file, but that particular point is covered later. We will take each file step by step in the order I have shown them in above.

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