Special thanks to former staff member FD2 and our contributors
The Battle for Middle Earth 2 World Builder, although complicated, is a powerful tool enabling designers to create new maps for the game. This thread is to teach the basics, and to ask questions, which will then be added to the continually expanding FAQ.
To start, get yourself acquainted with the Worldbuilder by exploring the various tools and options in the program. Take your time, and learn the structure. You can then read the tutorials to get set for map-making. Tutorials and Guides by EA or submitted by users, all can be found in the Tutorials and guides section below!
If you have any questions, then in your browser, press Ctrl+F to open the Find toolbar in which you may type the keywords of your question. Search for your keywords and locate the right question. If no such question exists, then ask it here.
A. Go to
In the Application Data folder, goto
A. Make sure you saved your map in the correct folder. While saving, make sure the 'User Maps' tab is selected. Donot forget to enter a name and description for your map in the Map Settings found in the Edit Menu in the Worldbuilder.
A. The map is added in the maplist present in the game. Custom-made maps have a 'hammer' icon next to them. You can find your map in the list of skirmish maps.
A. The AI will only build economy structures on Farm Templates. You need to place down Farm Templates by clicking on 'Place Objects', then going to
A. EA and our contributors have written many tutorials and guides, all available in the Tutorials and Guides section at the bottom of this FAQ.
A. First place the bulding, then return to the normal mode by selecting
A. Make sure the 'Show Objects Icon' option is enabled in the 'View' menu.
A. Waypoints are location markers that you can place on the map for your facility, as well as for using in triggers (for example, to mark a place to spawn new units). You can also make a path using waypoints to facilitate patrolling, movement etc. To make a waypoint path, place a waypoint, then click on it and drag to the next point. A brown line will show the path. You may continue this to make a path of any number of waypoints, and you may also connect it to the first to form a cycle.
A. Use the Terrain Brush tool in the toolbar to raise or lower the ground. Select the desired options in the Terrain Brush Options dialog box and apply the height changes on the map. Click and brush the region with your mouse pointer to cumulate the raising or lowering effect.
A. To create hills, just use the Height Brush and select a height that is not much heigher the the map height. Select cell and feather size as per choice, preferably large. To create mountains and sharp heights, use the Mound tool in the toolbar. However, to create good mountains, use the Height Brush first to create the base for your mountain(s). Once a basic shape has been created, use the Mound tool to make the finer details.
A. Use the Dig tool in the toolbar to create deep depressions in the ground. Adjust the Brush Size, Feather Size and the Height to lower as desired. Use the Height Brush if you wish to lower the ground for shallow depressions.
A. Rivers can be created using the River tool in the toolbar. First, use the Dig or Height Brush tool to make the river channel. Next, select the River Tool, then click and hold the mouse button on any location of the map. Now, drag the mouse pointer to another location and release the hold. You will see a black line connecting two points. Click and drag the black line to another location. A new black line will be created connecting two points, thus forming a rectangle. The four points will be connected by flashing blue lines. Adjust the height of the water in the Options box, till it is visible on the ground. You can move the river by moving the individual four corner points. You can create more points in between to create curves, by selecting the River tool and clicking on one of the blue lines. Create as many points as desired, and move them to make the desired shape of the river. You may need to modify the terrain for improving the river's appearance.
A. Lakes can be made using the Lake/Oceans tool in the toolbar. First use the Dig tool to dig the lake bed. Next, select the Lake tool and click around the lake perimeter to create points that encompass the lake and complete a polygon. Create as few points as possible, to prevent excess load on the game. Once the lake polygon is complete, adjust the water height in the Options box, till the lake is visible and is at the desired level. You may have to modify the terrain to improve the lake's appearance.
A. Yes. The Worldbuilder is power-packed to facilitate RPG gameplay. Maps such as the in-game campaigns can be made, and the WB supports a lot of features like camera animations for videos, closeups, character modifications and a wide range of triggers to make any scenario possible.
A. The videos are separate files from the map, and therefore you cannot make them in the WB. You'll need to make separate movie files like the EA movie files externally. You can, however, replicate the videos with in-game camera animations by using scripts for Camera, or using the Camera Animation feature.
A. You'll need scripts to run the animation. For the effect, choose 'Move using Camera Animation' in the Camera effects and select your animation (don't forget to name it first).
A. You can add text to maps by making a notepad file and saving it as .STR in your map folder. In the file, write the text in three lines as:
Headline
"Your text here"
End
Then, use the
If you wish to change the line (the Enter key) in your text, then write /n.
A. Yes, there are triggers. They go by the name of Scripts. You create scripts using the 'Edit scripts' button in the toolbar. Create scripts in the player folders and choose the conditions and effects from the vast lists.
A. You can change the command points by using scripts with the Action
A. Use the 'Single Tile' or 'Large Tile' tool in the toolbar. Select the type of texture you want to apply, and paint over the desired location. Use 'Flood Fill' tool to fill a large area of map. For more details and help, see the
A. For this, you'll need to extract W3D models for water. The main W3D file in your BFME2 folder is a .BIG file. Open the .BIG file in
In
Then, create your ocean using the Lake/Ocean tool. In the Options box, under FX Water Options, uncheck the Enable FX Shaders option. Then again click it, and this time a dialog box will open asking you to locate the W3D files. Select your extracted W3D files and click OK. Your new textured ocean should be visible. Then use the Wave tool to create your wave. Click on the 'Enable PCA mode' to enable it. You should now see not the ordinary 2D waves, but realistic 3D waves.
Out of all the W3D water files, only a few have waves, such as Ettenmoors, Forlindon and Gondor W3D water models (wtr_ettenmoors, wtr_forlindon, wtr_gondor).
A. Yes, there is one way to avoid Fortress from being spawned. When you have placed the Player Start Point, in the Options box, set the Waypoint to 'Beacon'. This way, a fortress will not spawn. However, remember that the player must have atleast one starting building or else the player will be defeated.
An alternative is to create the Player Start Point outside the border of the map. The fortress then cannot be seen or selected. You can use Camera scripts to change the view from this Start Point to someother point present inside the map borders.
A. This can be done using scripts. Make the first script with the Action:
Next make a script on looping, and set the action to:
Next create a third script on looping. For the action, choose:
You can also remove the Builders' dying sound effects by creating another script, and setting the Action as:
A. There are special fortresses other than each faction's fortress that can be placed on maps as an alternative. Such fortresses appear in Minas Tirith, Helm's Deep, Isengard, Minas Morgul, Erebor, Rivendell and Dol Guldur maps. Simply create one of such fortresses found in
A. In the Terrain tools section of the toolbar, you'll find the Single Tile and Large Tile tools. Using either of these, a box will open. You will recognise this as the tool with which you paint the terrain. However, at the bottom of the box you'll find a section titled Terrain Painting Mode. In this section, select Passability. It will bring forth on their right-hand side a new set of options. Select Impassability and then paint over the map where you want it to be impassable.
A. In the Terrain tools section of the toolbar, you'll find the Single Tile and Large Tile tools. Using either of these, a box will open. You will recognise this as the tool with which you paint the terrain. However, at the bottom of the box you'll find a section titled Terrain Painting Mode. In this section, select Flammability. It will bring forth on their right-hand side a new set of options. Select Grass or Highly Flammable and paint over the part of the map where you want flammability.
A. You can place units, buildings and other objects by using the Place Objects button in the toolbar. The button possesses the symbol of the 3 dimensional axes. Clicking on this brings up a box containing a vast categorized list of objects for you to choose from. Simply click on the map to place the selected object.
A. Create a script with the default settings and desired conditions. For the Action, choose:
A. Create a script with the default settings. For the Condition, choose:
A. Use the following actions in a script:
A. Interpolation means the path taken by the camera from one keyframe to another in a Camera Animation. The motion of the camera between keyframes can be tweaked using the Interpolation option in the main Camera Animations window. Selecting Smooth at any keyframe will make the motion of the camera from that keyframe to the next smooth, oriented according to the position of the camera in both the keyframes. Selecting Linear will make the motion of the camera rigid and straight from that keyframe to the next.
[This message has been edited by Pulkit (edited 06-17-2007 @ 10:58 AM).]