-= Gametoast.com =-

Hello, I've been trying to make a map of my own ever since SWBF1 came out. But I just can't find a decent tutorial (read: simple yet effective tutorial explaning the basics to someone who has no prior experience with mapping or modding) for SWBF2

I've been searching the net and found nothing substantial yet, your forums may offer a great deal of info for those who already now the basics but that's it. And don't even get me started on the 'official' mod guides, they explain every little function and corresponding button, they tell you what it takes for someone to start a mod...but a simple start for aspiring mappers? For example, these official guides say that you can import textures from map X to map Y but they say nothing of what extension these files have! So I look for map X but can't continue because there are dozens of different file extensions in there, but the guide says nothing about which extension these texture files have.

Please, will someone make a thorough map/mod tutorial for SWBF2 explaining step-by-step what to do in laymans terms? I know plenty of working with Windows and related programmes (I'm no newby at this) and I now enough about mod files due to the fact that some mods require you to make backup files and overwrites and such. But if someone would just explain all the basic functions for making a map/mod for SWBF2 to someone who has never made one himself...I would be very grateful.
Hell, I'd even pay you a small amount of money if this tutorial would do this, with screenshots and clear footnotes on how it all works.

If such a tutorial already exists, please give me a link to it. Thank you

have you downloaded the mod tools? if so there is a folder titled "documentation". read it. it has most of the stuff you need to make adecent map.

Have you downloaded the mod tools? if so there is a folder titled "documentation". read it. it has most of the stuff you need to make a decent map.

Yes I have dowloaded and installed the SWBF2 ModTools and read through the documentation, that's what I meant with 'official' guides. And no, there isn't everything to make a basic mod...at least not in such a way that it is intelligible to me

did you read the "getting started" one? its really not that hard to follow...

gametoast has a very in depth tutorial floating around, do the search feature and u'll find it.

Did you read the "getting started" one? its really not that hard to follow...

Yes I read it, I could follow it until they started about importing objects and textures in ZeroEditor. They left certain things out so that you just don't know what to do next, it's like they're deliberately leaving stuff out

I give up, I give up!

I found a nice tutorial on FileFront.com with screenshots and elaborate explanations and...wait, if it's so great then why am I giving up? I'll tell you why, because every blasted map/mod tutorial for these feckin' Battlefront games is incomplete! I started out with this 'nice' tutorial and it all made sense to me, and then I got to the camera controls for ZeroEditor. They explained what to do when you first start ZeroEd and you want that nice looking green-wire grid, I did EXACTLY what they said, to the letter did I follow their instructions. Did it work? NO it didn't, I triple checked with everything in the tutorial in case I made a mistake or misread it. But to no avail

I've wanted to make a simple map for these Battlefront games ever since the original one came out, I downloaded and installed the tutorials, I read the official documentation, I searched the internet for more tutorials, and tried it out as far as I could follow, and what happened? Nothing, absolutely nothing!
Feck it, I will never make any attempt at modding SWBF2 ever again. I mean, how difficult would it've been for Pandemic to make one really good tutorial? One simple, understandable yet thorough map/mod tutorial? It would've taken two employees a single work day, that's how long it would've taken! One guy makes a complex map/mod (one for land, one for space) and another guy sits next to him writing it all down and taking the occasional screenshot, that's how 'much' effort it would've cost them, but they didn't think it was worth it. Well f*ck you Pandemic.

Maybe it is just me, maybe I'm to stupid and simple-minded to understand something that even some 16year old puberally stressed teenager can grasp. Who knows, who cares...certainly not me anymore!

So that's it, I realise all to well that this little statement of mine doesn't really interest anyone, but it was neccessary for me to make it anyway. Thanks for all your time and effort, but I'm out of here and out of SWBF2 mapping/modding as well.

http://www.saturnlabs.net/The_Lab/TIE.html

And don't swear. Even if you do put in a * in place of a word. It's against the rules. This is your first warning.

Well, it doesn't really matter because I wont undertake any endeavor again to map/mod SWBF2. Therefor I shan't be visiting these support forums anymore, only the forums where I can download maps and mods that other people've made

i have some basic tuts i made for my friend. its easy if u read and follow on. PM me if you want any of them. or i can zip them and upload them somewhere. everyone says to me that they dont understand the docs so i just send them my notpad docs

Thanks, but no thanks...as I said before, I give up.

EDIT
Well...it's been some months since I made above statement, and I'm currently thinking of giving it another try.
I HATE THE OFFIAL BF2Builder DOCUMENTATION !!!

This is from their documentation:

Changing the Default Sky

By default, the template map uses the sky file from Yavin. Changing this is a fairly simple thing to do. Browse to the world that you want to use the sky file from (again, I’ll use Kashyyyk as our example) in \BF2_ModTools\assets\worlds\KAS\world2 and copy the sky file (kas2.sky) into your mod worlds folder (\data_abc\worlds\abc\world1) and rename it to abc.sky (where abc is the 3-letter name that you gave your world when you first created it). Open up that sky file, and search for which assets are used by the sky file, and you’ll need to copy those assets into your mod level’s world folder (\data_abc\worlds\abc\world1). They will be a/some sky .msh files, and some textures. Only worry about files that are actually located in the assets\worlds\KAS\world2 folder. If there are files that the sky file is looking for that aren’t located there, then don’t worry about those.

Concerning the Bold text, open up the sky file with WHAT ??? Again, they leave vital steps to a decent map completely out of their documentation!

I beg of you, can anyone PLEASE give me a decent in-depth tutorial on how to make a map for Battlefront 2 with the BF2Builder Tool ???

Don't give me a tutorial on how to make a map with the BF1Builder Tool because it differs to much from the new mod tools. Don't give me a tutorial like the one I got last time, it went over a very specific aspect of adding some texture to a map while leaving out EVERYTHING else you would need to know on how to mod Battlefront 2.

What I would appreciate in a BF2Builder tutorial is this: the basic run-down on how to edit the terrain (height, texture, vegetation, rocks, ...), how to place CPs and make them work. And how to get vehicles to work in this map.
If you would include a tutorial on making space maps, that would also be very much appreciated.

The sky file is a text file. Use Notepad or similar to open it.

On ZE, it functions basially the same as the BF1 version. Don't let the new features fool you. So, yes, the BF1 tuts do have some relevance. If you want to know what something does, experiment. See what happens. You should do a little test map first to see what you can do with the editor and the game. If you have further questions, look through the documentation again and see if it makes more sense or use the search function on this forum. Between the docs and the board, you have much of the info you need. In truth, you can't really make a step-by-step tutorial that would explain everything. At most, you can only get the very, very basics because the possibilities are beyond count. That's why this forum is here. If you have a question, it's likely there's an answer for it here somewhere. If you get stuck, and the question doesn't seem to be answered or you can't make sense of the one you find, make a thread explaining what you have a problem with. More than likely someone will share the answer or at least point you in the right direction. Some things you will have to figure out on your own, though. There some things even the most advanced modders don't yet know.