[Tutorial] Creating your first map

[Scrumpeh]

at the part where i'm supposed to put the {
label:'My first map',
src:'images/my_map.png',
level:'my_map.xml',
}, it doesnt work, it takes all the mods and the default maps off of overgrowth and it doesnt let me click on anything, i'm not sure if im putting it in the wrong spot or not.

If you use any characters in that list that also double as code, it will not be able to render the area properly. Try to avoid any punctuation and spaces in file names, apostrophes are a definitely issue. Even spaces can make things work poorly, so try to use underscores instead.

Can you give me an example?

[Anton]

at the part where i'm supposed to put the {
label:'My first map',
src:'images/my_map.png',
level:'my_map.xml',
}, it doesnt work, it takes all the mods and the default maps off of overgrowth and it doesnt let me click on anything, i'm not sure if im putting it in the wrong spot or not.

If you use any characters in that list that also double as code, it will not be able to render the area properly. Try to avoid any punctuation and spaces in file names, apostrophes are a definitely issue. Even spaces can make things work poorly, so try to use underscores instead.

Can you give me an example?

instead of using a file name like: my map.xml
try using: my_map.xml

don't use: Scrumpeh's Aweome.LEvel
try using: scrumpehsawesomelevel.xml

[Scrumpeh]

Okay, I will try, thank you for taking your time to help me

[Anton]

Okay, I will try, thank you for taking your time to help me

Sure. If you ever have more questions like this, I'm usually in Wolfire's IRC, just join in, and typing my name will help get my attention, (If I'm around...). I'd be able to answer questions like this much faster.

[Scrumpeh]

It worked! thanks again!

[Angos]

Nevermind. It has already been answered.

[Black_Stormy]

This is a good, informative tutorial Steelraven. Are you going to be continuing it? Perhaps it would be better placed in the wiki?

[CryptoSeven]

Can I ask a question? When you edit a map, where is it stored, because I look in the Overgrowth installation folder and all the maps are the basic maps that come with the game with no edits, so I was wondering where your custom maps are stored?

EDIT: nevermind, found out it was deep in the 'VirtualStore' folder in appdata. Seems like a kinda stupid place to put them.

We're looking into why it does that... it seems to only happen when you launch from SUMLauncher... but it is something we've been discussing with David...

Any news on when this happens? Ran into it now no idea why. Would be nice to have this in the tutorial.

I was about to rage cry and punish something inanimate when my map was nowhere to be found.

[Anton]

Can I ask a question? When you edit a map, where is it stored, because I look in the Overgrowth installation folder and all the maps are the basic maps that come with the game with no edits, so I was wondering where your custom maps are stored?

EDIT: nevermind, found out it was deep in the 'VirtualStore' folder in appdata. Seems like a kinda stupid place to put them.

We're looking into why it does that... it seems to only happen when you launch from SUMLauncher... but it is something we've been discussing with David...

Any news on when this happens? Ran into it now no idea why. Would be nice to have this in the tutorial.

I was about to rage cry and punish something inanimate when my map was nowhere to be found.

It seems that SUMLauncher does it, because you launch Overgrowth as an admin. We don't know WHY it saves to that location though, since there is nothing in Overgrowth telling it to save to that location. Maybe Aaron can add an "open virtual store" button inside SUMLauncher so at least it's easy to get to. (We have buttons for the other two data locations, this seems like it would be an easy thing to add... I'll mention it to him.)

[CryptoSeven]

Ok. Though it's the other way around for me. SumLauncher uses the regular folder and standalone OG saves to virtualstore. Either way I read a bit about this and as I understand it's a built in feature in windows vista and 7. Programs generally shouldn't write stuff to "Program Files". If they do they need admin rights or they'll be redirected to virtualstore instead.

Did a small test just now. If I run OG as admin it will indeed save the level in regular folder but if I don't it saves to virtualstore.

The strange part is that I can save a level that previously has been modified without writing it to virtualstore. Or something like that. There is still some mystery here I feel.

[TorQueMoD]

Is there a hotkey for de-selecting an object? Typically its CTRL+D or sometimes Shift+N but I can't figure out how to do it in the Overgrowth Editor.

There's a tutorial by Overgrowth Weekly that talks about creating waypoints and player spawns. If you select any rabbit and hit CTRL+P on them, that marks them as the player. If you accidentally hit CTRL+P (Palette editor command) on an NPC you will turn them into your player spawn. IF you hit CTRL+P on Turner, it will disable him as the spawn point and the game will spawn you in the center of the world which is typically in the air, and you will fall to your death.

To Create a Patrol Point for an NPC, CTRL + LEFT click on the ground. Once you've placed two Patrol Points on the ground, select one (double click) and then hold ALT and Left Click on the second point. This will join them together. Once you have two Patrol Points joined together, simply use CTRL+ALT+Left click to link this point to the previous ones. This makes building a chain a lot faster.

To associate an NPC to a patrol point, simply select the NPC then ALT+Left click one of the patrol points.

I'm guessing linking Waypoints is the same, I just don't know how to create a waypoint yet :)

The entire video is here

[Constance]

waypoints? what waypoints?

[TorQueMoD]

The mission objective points. There's a way to link them together too so that you have to follow them in order as if they were checkpoints for a racing game... I figure they'd link together the same way but I don't know how to create one.

Also, is there a way to tell an NPC to do a specific action, like jump if you want them to get up to a ledge, or stop and pause at a patrol point for example? I've got an NPC who starts on a rooftop and I want him to jump down, move to one point, then go to another point on a lower rooftop and then jump back up to the starting point, but he only tries to walk to the patrol points and can't figure out to jump/climb up to it.

[Constance]

ah. those 'waypoints' are hotspots, and you find the game settings and switch the objectives to follow the hotspots.

also there isnt a way to do the thing with the things that you thinged with the thing.

[TorQueMoD]

lol.. ok no jumping NPCs then? I'm re-building the nav mesh so maybe he'll get smarter now?

Oh snap! He sort of did... he skipped the far lower roof and just jumped back up to the top of the first one, but for some reason he's just hanging there now :P Time to tweak.


Very strange. In one circumstance the NPS figured out to jump up to the top of the wall but once he was there he couldn't do anything. I added another patrol point at the top, still noting. Added another to see what would happen if I try to get him to climb up the other side of the wall and now he won't jump up there. Very strange. Game definitely needs some properties for the patrol points so you can hint at when an NPC should jump or climb to get to different areas. I mean, if they can figure it out while chasing you down, you should be able to script it.

Also having a helluva time getting a weapon to link to an NPC. They'll pick it up when they spawn, but its not working properly to ALT+Left Click to link them... I got one working but it took about 30 tries and now I can't get the others linked up.

Infact, I can easily unlink a weapon from an NPC -ALT+SHIFT+Left Click works no problem even if the items aren't linked to begin with, but ALT+Click doesn't seem to select the next item.