Map making without coding skills.

[purplehaze34]

So I wanted to make a map but really don't know much about coding. I was wondering if there are ways to make a map without any skill in coding…

[Bambino]

You can try BZEdit assuming you're on Windows: http://my.bzflag.org/w/BZEditWin32

Or you can look at the whole map making section: http://my.bzflag.org/w/Category:Map_Making

There are examples on how to code each object.

You don't need to know real coding like C++ or whatever. It's all really easy and basic.

how to make a simple box:

Code: Select all

box
name awesome box
position 0 0 0
size 10 10 10
rotation 0
end

[hutty]

Mapping by hand is easy ans Bambino said.

just get out some graph paper (or normal paper with lines) draw some boxes and then use the box code above changing positions and sizes in order to fit the graph.

If you think sound crazy visit one of my servers (fairgrounds especially). It was entirely hand-coded from something drawn up on scratch paper.


If you still think I am crazy there are plug-ins for wings 3d and blender (WSIWG editors) where you cant make bzflag maps. Those require no coding.

In my opinion learning to type up the map is actually easier that learning wings or blender. but.. I guess everyone has their own opinions.

ps. and do visit the wiki (Bambino linked it above) it is the easiest place to lean how to map in any way shape or form.

[Spazzy McGee]

I am of the opinion that if you want to be a truly good map maker, you should try and learn to use all the tools at your disposal - there's no point using a hammer to do a spanner's job. If you're just building a map out of boxes and pyramids, use BZEdit. If you need to add a few materials and physics, crack open your text editor. If you're in need of a complicated shape, it's time to learn Wings 3D. There's ample tools at your disposal, once you've learned the basics, it's really just your imagination that's the limit.

And as far as BZW coding goes, it's easy: it's in a simple format, and there is loads of reference documentation in the wiki. You literally just type the name of object you want to place, type it's position, and type it's size. At first, you may find it hard to visualise where things are in a 3D space - but don't worry, I felt like that to begin with, and now it comes naturally.

[ahs3]

I made a tutorial on basic map making. It simply gives examples of what the wiki already has.

http://ahs3.blogspot.com/2009/11/bzflag ... art-1.html

It also includes links to the wiki for the examples.


Also a great tool for learning the layout and positions of a map, is Purple Panzer's map template. It is a invaluable tool.

http://linux-rating.com/bzw-tut/maptemplate.pdf

Practice makes perfect.

[hutty]

and if you still cant figure it out, look at examples.

Almost all the maps in the map realeases section have the map file with them. Just pick a simple one, and open the map file in notepad.

[optic delusion]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. No matter how good you are with BZEdit, Wings3D, Blender, or all the other 3D editors, sooner or later you will have to do some mapping in a text editor. You may as well learn it, it's not nearly as hard as you think. It's pretty simple really.
Here's the manpage. Use it. http://man-wiki.net/5:bzw.pdf