Map editor

Map editor
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Overview

The in-game Map Editor allows for the creation of custom maps using built-in props, primitives and terrain presets. It is a simpler yet more restrictive means of creating custom levels than the Unity Toolspack method.

Custom levels created in the editor can be uploaded onto the Steam Workshop, but can be played normally by the creator without needing to be uploaded. A created level will appear in the custom maps list in the instant action menu, but this may require a game restart.

Getting Your Level to Work

Getting your level to work is a fairly simple affair. There are a few vexing issues that can inhibit proper bot behavior, and while most of those issues possess some advanced solutions, the simplest solutions involve keeping things simple.

The minimum requirements for a functional map are thus:

• There need be at least 2 flags present, one for red and one for blue. They must be connected via Neighbours in Level Details > Main Menu, and they MUST be clear of clutter and fencing. If a vehicle or bot is incapable of touching the flagpole itself, they may not bother attacking at all. Remember that bots cannot jump over obstacles.
• The paths between flags must be at least 3m wide to guarantee that no navigational errors occur along the way. No path should be steeper than 35˚. Paths should be as smooth as possible. If your map is mostly open fields, there is usually very little to worry about.
• The flags must be over terrain, otherwise they will be out of bounds. Out-of-bounds bots cannot navigate without the use of a manually placed pathfinding box (explained extensively in their own section below).
• The map must be saved through the Main Menu, with the “save with pathfinding enabled” box checked. Quicksaving while the Navmesh button is on does not produce the same effect. Pathfinding must also be re-generated each time the map is saved with changes made to it.
• After all this, even if you have not saved a thumbnail, the map should appear on your custom map list after a quick game restart, and will be fully playable.

The editor possesses many other functions, some of which are far less easy to intuit. These functions are listed and explained below.

Basic Controls

• W A S D to move, Q and E to ascend/descend. Hold shift to move faster and hold ctrl to move slower (might conflict with auto-quicksave without pathfinding key).
• Left-click to select something.
• Left-click Drag to select multiple objects.
• CTRL Left-click to add object to multiple selection.
• CTRL Left-click drag to select multiple objects without omitting previous selection.
• Right click and drag to move camera.
• CTRL C to copy (same for Macs).
• CTRL V to paste.
• CTRL X to cut.
• CTRL Z to undo.
• CTRL Y to redo.
• CTRL S to quicksave without AI pathfinding generating.
• DELETE to delete something (not to be confused with backspace). For laptops or Macbooks without a secondary delete key, use your function key along with backspace or delete (Fn DELETE or Fn BACKSPACE).
• SHIFT while placing object to place multiple.
• SHIFT while moving/scaling to use grid snap.
• N to toggle night vision goggles.

Creating a New Map

Upon choosing to create a new map, you will be presented with several options that will determine what terrain type you start with. There are currently only two default biomes offered, but there is no limit to what ground textures or props can be applied to either one. After selecting which biome to generate, each re-generation will offer a new procedurally-generated terrain, though some consistent patterns will emerge. Make sure to chose a setting that suits your needs.

• Round Island: This creates a roughly round-ish island with a water plane extending far off into the horizon. This biome type is recommended for beginners and/or for those who simply want a quick and simple terrain for prop-based maps.
• Monument Valley: This creates a flat dune-swept desert dotted with massive rock pillars. The water plane is invisible beyond the terrain limit. Because of this, this biome may require some sculpting to hide the out-of-bounds areas, and is not recommended for use with aircraft, but will nevertheless offer a simple starting desert environment. Because of how tall the rock formations are, some of them may become unnavigable to bots.
• Flat: A completely blank square of land. Recommended for those who plan on manually sculpting a large portion of their map, or for those who have no use for the two previous options.

Adding to biome type, there is also a size option. Each size of map will determine what playstyle this map is best suited to. For reference, the distance between the eastward Airstrip and westward Checkpoint on Dustbowl is roughly 1400m, the distance between Archipelago's Carrier and Landing flag is about 500m, and the total width of Island is roughly 400m. The size of your map cannot be changed afterwards, so be careful not to chose something too small.

• Small, 550m x 550m: Ideal for anything between tiny Close-quarters maps and small dense battles.
• Medium, 1050m x 1050m: Offers sufficient space for most types of battles, but leaves little room for background mountains and other decorative terrain.
• Large: 2050m x 2050m: Ideal for archipelago or desert maps, but may be very difficult to fully populate. My also cause performance loss on weaker machines.

Note that any props placed beyond the limits of the terrain square will become unnavigable to bots, unless manually fitted with the appropriate navigation tools (covered extensively below).

The Top-Bar Tools

These are the options that appear on the white toolbar present in the normal editor scene.

Select

This will allow you to select an object by clicking it. With pathfinding links, it allows you to adjust the other half of the link (see Navigation section for details). It performs no other action for any other object.

You can still select an object using the move, rotate and scale tools. Select multiple objects in any mode by CTRL clicking them all, or by dragging the selector box over them.

Place/Assets

This lets you chose from the list of props and objects to be used in your map. Hold shift while placing an object to immediately place multiples without selecting an asset from the list again.

It is not possible to add your own assets to this list.

Move

This lets you move objects. Drag the arrows to move an object straight along their axis. Drag the circle to move the object freely along the ground.

Hold shift While dragging to snap the object to the grid (very useful for assembling modular parts or buildings.) Change the grid size in Main Menu > Settings.

Rotate

Rotate an object by dragging the rings.

Scale

This tool lets you stretch and resize objects along 3 axis. Drag each one of the arms to make an object taller/wider/longer. Drag the cube at the centre to resize the whole thing uniformly. This tool also benefits from the grid snap function when you hold shift; a 1m grid will only allow an object to be scaled x1, x2, x3, etc.

Terrain

This is a more complex tool: It lets you deform and paint terrain freely. You can change the size of the brush and the intensity (speed) with which It operates.

• Raise: Lets you Raise and lower terrain. Click on the ground to raise a hill, CTRL-click to dig a hole.
• Flatten: Creates a flat section of ground. CTRL-click on a section of ground to copy that height to flatten, otherwise it will simply flatten to the bottom of the map.
• Smooth: Smoothens out an uneven section. Note that using this brush with a large size or high intensity can cause some unnatural spikes to form.

Below this, you have 4 layers that can be used to paint the terrain. Only these 4 are used on a default piece of generated terrain, but you can add any number of layers with new textures, or change the texture of the existing layers. Adding or editing a layer will bring you to the materials list. Creating a new layer will either require you to make a new material for it, or use an existing one from the list.

Auto Paint will automatically paint grass, rocks and gravel onto your island. It only uses the first 4 layers, and will not overwrite any layers added by you. If used multiple times, it will blot quite inelegantly, so be careful to only use it once or twice per map.

Materials

Here you can see the list of materials you have created. Materials can be assigned to shape primitives or painted onto terrain. Each map starts with 4 already set up for you. When you click "Add" in the material list, you will be asked to give a name for the new material. After this, you will need to assign the material a texture and a 'normal texture' before saving. After this, you can freely assign the material to any shape primitive or bit of terrain.

Each material has 2 components: A Main Texture and a Normal Texture. The Main texture is simply the appearance of your material; It can range from grass to rock to sand, etc. Click and chose one from the dozens of options available.

The Normal Texture is a special texture that gives the illusion of bumpiness to a flat surface, useful for giving a flat section of sand texture some cool windswept shadows, for example. There are only a few Normal textures available, but by assigning one to a material, you can make terrain look much prettier than before.

Left-Side Arrow: The Hierarchy Tab

This shows a list of all the types of props you’ve used in your map. You can bulk select them here, and bulk delete. By selecting an entire category, you can also see the total number of selected objects in the properties Tab.

Right-Side Arrow: The Properties Tab

This is a multi-purpose tab whose contents change depending on what object or tool you have selected. If you’re using the terrain tool, it will display terrain tools and layers.

If you have a prop selected, it will display the prop’s name and positional co-ordinates. You can manually input the rotation / position of each object here, useful if you’re putting together a building that requires precision. But remember that grid snap also exists.

If you have a shape primitive (cube, sphere, etc.) selected, it will give you the chance to assign it a material. Note that primitives do not currently use the Normal Texture in an material.

If you have a gameobject selected (Flag, Spawnpoint, Pathfinding box, etc.) it will show a range of settings for you to change, depending on the object type.

Photo

Saves an thumbnail image of your map. You can change the zoom FOV of the image by scrolling the mouse wheel. The image stays even if you don’t save the map after you take it. This does not save the whole map however, so make sure to save manually afterwards if you need to.

Main Menu

Hosts a variety of options.

• Play: Quickly lets you playtest a map. It defaults to skirmish mode with 50 bots. You will need to save before you can play. If you quicksave with CTRL S, bot navigation will not be saved, and the bots will not be able to move. Note that turrets do not appear properly in skirmish mode.
• Save: save the map. Allows you to decide whether or not to save pathfinding, which takes some time to generate. Before you play your map, you will need to save with pathfinding. Any changes you make will require you to re-save it fully.
• Open: opens another project. Be careful, it doesn’t ask you to save before moving on.
• Level Details: A host of technical map elements, explained further below.
• Night: Shows how the level looks when played in night mode. Note that this does not forcibly turn the map into a night map.
• Navmesh: Generates and allows you to visualize the bot’s navigation. Does not save it, and does not update it in real-time while changes are made.
• Mute: Mutes all sound objects you have in the map while you’re editing.
• Settings: Changes the grid snap size and autosave frequency.
  • Note that the grid snap bar may bug out and not display decimal points properly, turning a 1m grid into a 1.073559m grid without you knowing it, for example. Fix this by typing in as many 0 decimals after whatever size you want, such as “1.000000000000”.
• Exit: Exits the map creator.

Global/Local

• Using global allows other players to access your map. Use this if you want to upload your map to the Steam Workshop.
• Using local allows it to only be accessible to you and not other players. Use this if your map is for personal use.

Level Details

This section houses some crucial elements for your map's function. You will want to give this section's categories a once-over before finishing a map.

Neighbours

This is the one section of level details that cannot be ignored. Here you will connect flags together to determine what order the AI will move from base to base. Click and drag to create a neighbour arrow. Click an arrow to select it and change its land/water properties.  Those properties let you chose whether to allow ground vehicles/ infantry or boats to attack flags. If you uncheck both options, only air vehicles will be able to use that neighbour.

The one-way option allows bots to only attack in one direction. This can be used for defence maps or for flags atop un-scalable structures, such as the dam on Canyon.

Note that this is not the place where you determine the AI’s battle plan. When setting up neighbours, you need to consider all possible combinations of flag ownership, so it is best to simply connect all nearest flags together, without encouraging the AI to walk through foreign flag territories while on their way to another one.

If some flags are left with neighbours unassigned, the editor will give a warning to this effect, but will not stop the user from uploading or playing their map. A flag with no neighbours leading to it will generally be ignored by bots, whilst a map with absolutely no neighbours at all will spawn sedentary bots at all owned flags.

Minimap

Here you can adjust the Minimap camera distance. Make sure that all flags are within the minimap’s boundaries, otherwise they may become un-click-able.

Note that the Minimap camera can only display objects and terrain that are ≤200m above sea level.

Scenery Camera

This camera is used at the start of the match to show an establishing shot of the map behind the loadout menu. Selecting the camera will allow you to rotate and move it like any other object.

World

This tab lets you control world settings. Currently, the only option available is Water level, which allows you to raise or lower the map's default water plane.

Lighting

Here you can adjust the lighting of your scene. The options for day mode are mirrored for night mode, and must each be configured individually. Note that the editor will display your lighting choices as darker than the final product, so it may be necessary to frequently save and test any changes you make.

• Sunlight/ Moonlight color can be adjusted to change the brightness and color of outdoor areas. Note that the default sunlight color may be too bright, and can be decreased in intensity to reduce blinding glare.
• The sun/moon pitch and rotation change the direction in which the sun is facing.
• Daylight/Moonlight Above, Side and Below each describe how bright a surface will be based on its angle from the sun. Daylight Above applies to surfaces facing the sun, whereas Side and Below apply to side faces and undersides respectively, such as building dark sides and interior ceilings.
• Fog color and distance can be adjusted freely. Fog is disabled by default, and can be increased in intensity via the slider.

Atmosphere

The 10 available Post Processing presets in the editor.

Here you can change various other settings that affect your map's appearance.

• Sky thickness alters the width of the horizon color. While the color of the horizon cannot be changed, extreme settings can simulate the appearance of heavy smog.
• Sky exposure alters the brightness of the sky.
• Sun size alters the sun's size, and does not alter the intensity of sunlight.
• Sky tint can be used to change the color of the sky. While it is not possible to fully override the default blue color, it can be combined with tint colors to drastically alter the sky's appearance. For example, a gray-white overcast effect can be produced with a peach/pink sky tint, and a gloomy purple effect can come from a deep burgundy tint. It is not possible to produce a reddish or orange sky in this manner.
• Ground color affects the lower portion of the skybox, typically invisible on most maps. While this color usually wont be visible, it does still reflect off surfaces, so it is wise to chose a ground color that mimics the tint of the most-prevalent texture or color on your map (blue-green for ocean maps, green for forest maps, orange for desert maps, etc.).
• Post processing presets affect the color grading used on your map. Chose one that suits your needs.

Upload

This will let you publish your map to the steam workshop. Note that publishing is not required for you to play your own map.

• Connect your Steam account to the workshop.
• Create a new workshop item entry if you are publishing a new map, or select an old item slot from the dropdown list if you are updating an old map. Updating will overwrite the old map and forcibly update it for all those who have already subscribed to it.
  • You can also open the item’s workshop page to see what it looks like before publishing. This is not mandatory. This neither creates the page nor uploads your map.
• Write a title and description for your map. You can edit this later by visiting the workshop page through steam or through your browser. Be careful when updating a map: while you can write as much as you want in the description, the game only grabs the first few lines of text when re-uploading to an old slot, so a longer description will get cut off unless the box is left blank.
• Chose whether or not you want the map to public, then Upload the map. At this stage, the editor will always re-generate pathfinding. This does not save the map to your computer. Once the map has uploaded, it will show you your newly created steam page. It may take a few minutes for the item to be visible on the workshop.

The Navmesh

The navmesh can be visualized by checking the navmesh box in the Main Menu. The navmesh is, simply put, the thing that lets bots know where they are allowed to walk and drive. They don't "see" obstacles in any true sense –– rather, they let their feet lead them over a massive grid that covers every walkable surface. This is the principle of the navmesh.

The navmesh will automatically generate once you either save with pathfinding enabled, or hit the navmesh checkbox (the latter option does not save the navmesh to the map, however). Except in extenuating circumstances, you do NOT need to place pathfinding boxes manually, as a giant invisible one is already placed down for you. You do not need to look at the navmesh before playing your map, but it can help to do so if you want to verify whether your map is functional before saving.

Navmesh Color

Good infantry navigation has been generated around this house, and inside it too.

Infantry navigation has generated inside and out, but has failed to connect through the narrow door.

The mesh will generate in several colors, the first of which is white. Different colors do not mean anything by themselves, but if you see areas with different colors from one-another, this means that bots cannot cross from one color to the other.

• In these two images, we can see examples of this. In the first image the entire navmesh in the areas is white. This is because it successfully generated all around the house and through the doorway. This house is fully bot-accessible.

• In the second image, the navmesh inside the house is black. You can also see that there is no connection running through the doorway. Because the navmesh missed this spot, bots will not be able to enter this house.

• Also note that in both images, rooftops are black and inaccessible. This is generally not a concern, unless you want bots to climb onto roofs. If you do want bots to get on roofs, a simple ladder or ramp leading up there will usually suffice.

Just remember that the rule of thumb for making certain areas or paths accessible and one-color is to: 1, make a wide enough path or surface into the area (usually 2-3m space minimum) and 2, to keep your slopes gentle enough to walk up (no sharp edges, no jump-only obstacles, nothing steeper than 35˚). Follow these guidelines, and all areas should become walkable without the need for pathfinding tools. Of course, making a path wider may be undesirable for house props, and that's where pathfinding links and pathfinding boxes come in to help (explained in their own section below)

Navmesh Type

You can cycle through the different types of the navmesh by using the arrow keys. Infantry, Car, and Boat meshes all have subtly different characteristics that suit each category.

Cover Arrows

Cover arrows generate around any object that can be used for cover. Blue arrows are crouching points, while green ones are leaning points. The number above each arrow roughly corresponds to how far a bot can see when using it, and will determine how likely a bot is to use that point. Cover points under roofs are twice as likely to be used by bots.

When using cover to defend a flag, bots will pick arrows that:

• Are inside the flag's protect range
• Are facing the enemy flag as much as possible
• Have the highest number.

If your assets are not generating cover arrows, edit and place a primitive plane underneath your desired asset and open the Navmesh to check if it works. If it doesn't work, then keep changing the primitive plane's position/scale until it generates cover arrows (make sure to open the Navmesh to check then close it afterwards).

The Navmesh also has several properties that determine how close to an object it will generate, how much of a slope it will tolerate, and how precise it will be. These parameters cannot be changed on the default mesh, but can be changed inside a pathfinding box that generates its own navmesh. Pathfinding boxes are explained in detail in their own section below.

The Technical Objects/Built-In Types

Some objects in the editor are more complex than simple props, and can alter the function of a map. Below is a list of all such object and their function. These object all appear under the "Built-in-Types" tab of the asset menu.

Flags:

Flags have several settings that will need to be taken into account. Simply placing a flag without changing any settings will still allow it to function properly, but it is highly recommended that each flag be configured according to the space they occupy.

• Each flag must be named. Both the Name and Short Name slots should be filled, so that the flag’s name will be displayed in both normal matches and in specops/debug text. If two flags share the same name, the computer may get confused as to where to send bots.
• Each flag has an owner setting. This decides who owns the flag at the match start.
• The flag’s capture range decides where the flag can be captured from. The capture range is in the shape of a cylinder, and can be adjusted in height with the Capture Ceiling and Capture floor sliders.
  • Note that bots will often try to capture a flag from above or below the intended zone, regardless of ceiling/floor settings, making multi-storied maps problematic.
• The protect range decides what area around the flag is considered its territory. It is in the shape of a sphere, and it is within this radius that usable vehicles must be placed. Bots will also attempt to defend flags by seeking out valid cover within this radius.
  • Attacking bots will also try to land boats anywhere that a flag's protect radius touches the shore, so take care in creating these "landing zones" on water-accessible flags.
• The capture rate multiplies the speed at which a flag can be captured. A capture rate of 2 will double the speed, while a rate of 0 will render a flag un-capture-able.

Spawnpoints

These allow bots to spawn in close to a flag. They are not mandatory, as a flag without assigned spawnpoints will simply disgorge troops all around its base, but they are still very helpful for preventing troops from piling up around a flag that is in the process of being captured.

• A spawnpoint will automatically connect to the nearest flag.
• A normal spawnpoint will spawn troops at its location instead of at the flagpole.
• A contested spawnpoint will override all normal ones, but only when the flag is in the process of being captured.

Vehicle/Turret Spawns

These must be placed in the flag protect range in order to function properly. They can all be configured for type of vehicle or turret to be spawned. For vehicles, it is possible to specify the speed and conditions under which they respawn. For example, a “respawn when moved” condition may be better than the default “respawn when destroyed” option whenever transport boats are concerned.

Ladders

Functional Ladders are comprised of two parts: a visible ladder prop (or any prop that can indicate a climbable area) and the ladder link object. The ladder object is the important part, since without it no ladder can function.

• The ladder’s base is indicated by the little square ladder icon. The ladder rises straight up from that point, unless it is rotated.
• The Ladder height is what determines how far up it goes. Do not scale the ladder to make it longer.
• The exit directions determine where a soldier will be deposited when they exit the ladder. The default positions are usually fine, but can be configured manually to deposit a soldier anywhere.
  • In this manner, it is possible to create a “teleporter” with a ladder link. Simply keep the ladder distance short, and configure the top exit direction to be very far away, and soldiers can be transported over large distances in the blink of an eye.

Collider Box

This creates a large invisible solid barrier.

Light

This creates a local light source, the range, color and intensity of which can be configured. Note that due to performance and engine limitations, using more than 5 or so light objects in your map is inadvisable. Larger light sources also impact performance very heavily, so discretion is advised.

Audio Source

This allows for ambient sound to be played on a location. The volume and audible range are configurable, but are currently nonfunctional.

Water Volume

This creates a volume of water anywhere it is placed, useful for creating elevated lakes or rivers. Note that this object merely simulates water physics in an area, and is not recognized by the AI on its own. In order to prevent bots from obliviously swimming or driving through this object, a boat-type pathfinding box will need to be applied over its surface (see “Pathfinding Box” below).

The most common use for pathfinding links. This house's interior was previously inaccessible due to the narrow door, but the placed path link has "forced" a narrow path to generate there.

Pathfinding Links

These create a short narrow path for bots to follow. They effectively “stitch” or “staple” two pieces of the navmesh together. Generally, these are only needed to correct navigational errors, such as narrow doorways that bots can’t fit through.

• The link can be moved with the move tool as with all other objects, but the endpoint distance can only be adjusted with the Select tool.
• The “one way” option can be used to create a jump-off point for bots. Place the startpoint on the top of a ledge and the endpoint at the bottom, enable one-way, and bots will leap off the link without then attempting to climb back up.
• The "cost factor" setting determines how likely a bot is to use that particular link to move around. The default is 1, which allows them to use the link normally. An extremely high value like 100000 will effectively bar them from ever using that link if there is another route available.
• To enable a bot to pass through a narrow space like a house door, simply place a short link through the threshold (see image).
• Note that if the link’s endpoint defaults to the centre of the map, this is a bug that can be bypassed by holding Shift when placing a link.

Pathfinding links are best used as tiny pieces of duct tape in small areas. Do not use a pathfinding link as a bridge or “go here” command. Since bots are incapable of changing direction while using a link, it is highly recommended that the link always be kept as short as possible, absolutely no longer than the default 3m.

Pathfinding Boxes

Also called "Pathboxes" for short, these are the counterparts to pathfinding links, and can be used to create entire navigable surfaces. Since the editor scene automatically places giant invisible pathboxes on your map from the get-go, these are, once again, only ever needed to correct errors in navigation. For a more thorough understanding of navigation, see “Navmesh” above.

• Cell size is the precision of the pathfinding box’s mesh. A smaller number like 0.1 is very precise, good for small areas with many obstacles. A larger number like 1 is very imprecise and can fail to generate around obstacles properly, but will generate very quickly, and is less taxing on game performance.
• Character radius is the distance in metres that the mesh will try to keep while generating around obstacles. A small number like 0.4 will allow bots to navigate narrow staircases, especially when combined with a small cell size.
• Cover point spacing determines how frequently cover arrows generate close to one-another.
• Climb height is the statistic that allows bots to skip over little bumps or ridges on the ground without getting stuck.
• Max slope is the maximum angle that bots are allowed to climb up. Since the player is generally incapable of climbing more than a 35˚ angle, it is recommended that you do not change this number.
• Tiled is an option that changes how the box generates a navmesh in certain situations.
  • Leaving "Tiled" un-checked will cause the pathfiding box to generate a very precise mesh strictly within its boundaries. This setting is recommended for small correctional pathboxes. Using this setting on larger pathfinding boxes may cause the bots to navigate to their objectives in illogical ways, or even crash the game in extreme cases.
  • Turning "Tiled" on will cause the pathbox to generate a less precise but faster-running mesh. This setting is recommended for large boxes that measure dozens if not hundreds of metres wide, as it will be less taxing on performance, and slightly less likely to cause illogical bot navigation (though this may still occur). The large invisible default pathbox uses this function.
• You can change the type of box to be either Infantry, Car or boat oriented. For cars and boats, it is generally best to give a high character radius in order to prevent the vehicles from getting stuck.

Using Pathfinding Boxes and Links

Pathfinding Links are best used for simple wrinkles in the navmesh, where the only thing needed is a straight bridge for the bots. The most common usage for pathboxes is to correct missing navigation in more complex areas, places where a simple pathfinding link would otherwise fail. A common example is the Outpost Tower prop, a prop in which navigation always fails to generate. Since the stairs are too winding and complex for a linear pathfinding link, a Pathfinding box is used in tandem with links to fix the issue:

An example of how to fit a pathfinding box around an outpost tower. Note the use of multiple redundant pathfinding links to allow for natural bot movement.

The following process can be applied to any similar scenario or object.

• Place a pathfinding box over the whole tower, fitted as close to the tower’s shape as possible.
• Set the Cell size to 0.1.
• Set the Character radius to 0.4.
• Leave "Tiled" un-checked.
• Place at least one pathfinding link at the base, allowing bots to cross over into the pathfinding box zone from the outside.

Thanks to the smaller cell size and character radius, the tower should now be accessible and navigable to bots. If the situation calls for many of such pathfinding boxes in a large but dense area such as a town or cluster of Towers, it may be more practical to use one large pathfinding box with "Tiled" turned on, and to adjust it's settings until all tight spots are accessible.

It is recommended that you allow the default navigation to do as much as possible on its own, since overuse or misuse of pathfinding boxes can potentially ruin a map’s functionality. Generally, the outpost-tower-type scenario is one of the only times that a pathfinding box will be needed, but on the off-chance that you need the box to perform other tasks, there are some things to keep in mind:

• Bots cannot enter or leave a pathfinding box without a pathfinding link.
• 2 Boxes can overlap, but the resulting third zone will only inherit the properties of one of those boxes, and need more links to be accessible.
• On larger boxes, bots may develop the ability to “walk” on the box’s top face. While this may be harmless, be warned that rare in cases, a bot can spawn in thinking that they are using the navmesh above them instead of the one below them, resulting in all sorts of odd behaviour.
• If you wish to place a pathfinding box over an entire map, The "Tiled" option must be turned on to reduce illogical bot navigation and / or performance loss and crashes.

Avoidance Boxes

These boxes prevent bots from entering an area. Should a bot fall into an avoidance box, they will attempt to exit as quickly as possible.

• The box can be targeted to infantry, car or boat navigation specifically, or to all three at once. This option is currently nonfunctional.
• The unwalkable option is non-functional.
• Like with pathfinding boxes above, large avoidance boxes may occasionally allow bots to “walk” along their topside, though since they have no collision, this is always in error.

Be warned: This object is best used sparingly to prevent improper navigation. It is not a fit substitute for a fence. If the aim is to close off out-of-bounds areas, this box is well suited for the task. However, if the aim is to stop bots from wandering over an exposed hill, or an open field, then this box is a terrible choice. If there is a need to guide bots towards a certain area, then do so with visible, physical objects that the player can see. Otherwise, a map littered with avoidance boxes can see a player separated from their squad without their knowledge.

Miscellaneous Tips

Performance/Optimization

• Since the editor's ability to optimize maps is very limited, it is recommended that you avoid over-stressing the game with excessive object placement. Performance will of course vary greatly depending on computer specs, but there are nevertheless some general guidelines that can be followed to minimize lag on average rigs.
  • More than 2000 objects per map can be considered a bit excessive for some computers. Try to be economical with object placement.
  • Light objects can drastically tank performance. Use sparingly.
  • Semi-transparent objects like waterfalls and palm trees can also drop frames when layered on top of one-another.
  • Tall walls and deep ravines may also affect performance quite drastically.
  • Trees with billboard models (the low-res model that replaces them at long distances) also have a knack of tanking performance.

Distance Measuring

• If you need something that serves as a ruler or distance measuring stick, a cube primitive is fit for the task. A cube measures 1x1x1m, and is great for checking the size of doorways or window height.
  • Likewise, a cylinder or capsule measures 1x2x1, and can be used as a rough estimate of a soldier's height (a soldier being roughly 1.8m tall)

Primitive Building

• If you're making custom buildings out of primitives or other props, setting the grid snap size to 1.0 or 0.5 will work wonders when it comes to creating precise structures. Rotating in increments of 90˚ from the properties tab also helps to keep right angles straight.

Save File Location

Your map files are saved on your computer in the following locations:

Windows: %AppData%/../LocalLow/SteelRaven7/RavenfieldSteam/MapDescriptors

Mac: Application Support/unity.SteelRaven7.RavenfieldSteam/MapDescriptors

It is in these folders that you can edit the map's name, delete it and replace its thumbnail. When replacing the thumbnail with one of your own, make sure that the image has the exact same name as the original (eg. "MAPNAME.rfld.png"), and that the new image is no larger than 485x485 pixels. An image larger than that may cause the map to be un-upload-able.

Save file modification

• If you open your map save file in a text edit program like Notepad, you will be able to directly view and edit the very substance of your map manually. While it is highly recommended to never do this on a map that you don't want to break or corrupt, it is possible to experiment with and tweak various map settings in this way.
  • It is possible to "transplant" terrain data from one editor-made map to another, though this will break the 4 default textures on the resulting map.
  • It is possible to forcibly alter the minimap size and position beyond what the Level Details setting allows.
  • The list goes on, certainly...

Trivia

• The map editor was not initially a planned addition to Ravenfield, as the existing Unity Toolspack method already offered flexibility and power to map creators.
• The editor's environment was designed by user Wronex, a colleague of Steelraven's. It is he who went onto designing the LUA -based framework for the Ravenscript system.