Star Trek Armada : A guide to making maps
 

Index of Common Problems

-Map Editor does'nt load
-When i load the map editor, i get a blank 'fog' map with no build menu
-Mini map is too big, when i host a game.
-I made the map for 2 players, but 8 people are able to play

-My mini-map has the trapezoid shape on it ! I don't want this !
-When the map editor starts, it does'nt show the map which i know i made !
-I saved my map, and when i play it, the ships and other map objects look all spaced apart/too close to eachother.
-Since i started using the Map Editor, i am unable to host games.

 

Why does my Map Editor not load ?

1.Did you create the shortcut correctly ? Check your shortcut properties,, if in doubt, delete the shortcut and follow the steps again.

2.Are you certain the 'target line' in the shortcut is correct ?
Remember, the target line MUST be the following....

"C:\Program Files\Activision\Star Trek - Armada\Armada.exe" /edit yourmap.bzn

where 'yourmap' is the name of your map... so if your map is called battle10.bzn ..... the target line will be...

"C:\Program Files\Activision\Star Trek - Armada\Armada.exe" /edit battle10.bzn

3. Perhaps your Armada directory is on another disk drive though ? In which case, you need to change your command and target line.
 

When i load the map editor, i get a blank fog map with no build menu

possible reasons...

1. This is due to the command line being WRONG ! - usually. You should delete the shortcut you made, and start again. The shortcut must load up the armada.exe file, using both the 'command' and 'target' lines.  Recheck what you did.

2. You have downloaded the 'qedit' from another website - and it must be unzipped first and then placed into the right folder.
     note : the downloadable qedit file on this techguide does NOT need to be unzipped.

Mini map is too big when I host a game.

All .bmp minimaps should always be resized to 128x128 pixels.
 

I made the map for 2 players, but 8 people are able to play

Are you sure you have done the Camera's correctly ?
Camera names must be in lower case....except for the first letter.....

so...... Camera_1     is correct          camera_2    is wrong !

*Armada map editor is very particular about upper/lower case..... so please be careful about whether 'Caps lock' is on or off.

My mini-map has the trapezoid shape on it ! I don'nt want this !

Before you save your completed map, you should scroll to a corner of the map, and then 'Zoom in' FULLY. This will make the 'viewable' area shape dissapear.
To zoom in, press the '+' button, on the far right of your keyboard.

When the map editor starts, it doesnt show the map which i know i made !

Is the map name more than 11 characters long ? If you create a map named with 12 or more letters, it will NOT save properly.
Are you certain you have the right map name in the target line of your shortcut ?

Remember, you must change the 'shortcut' properties, each time you wish to edit/create a new map.

I saved my map, and when i play it, the ships and other map objects look all spaced apart/too close too eachother.

If you resize you map, after you have placed all the objects/ships, ALL such items will be changed relatively. So, if you make a map setting down ships etc, and then resize it by +50%, all distances between ALL objects will be 50% more.

The first thing you should do when making a map is to select the map size in the map dialog box, save the map, close the editor, and then restart the editor.
Yes, it seems annoying, but resizing only takes place AFTER the map editor is closed and restarted.

Since i started using the editor, i am unable to host games.

This is a problem related to corrupt/unfinished maps.
A classic sign :  you host your own game room, you click on 'select map' your drive starts to load up all the maps, and then you crash to desktop.

To rectify this, you MUST find out which map is either corrupt- or more likely you did'nt finish the map properly, and you must delete OR complete the map properly.

If you can'nt find the corrupt map, then as a last solution, delete ALL maps in the 'add-on' folder - but be sure NOT to delete the 'addon' folder itself, just clear all the contents.
 

Proceed to final Step by Step Summary


Last updated : 07/08/04