Making custom maps
There are two types of maps in Allegiance - originals and custom maps.
Original maps are hardcoded into Allegiance and are available on every server. This group includes maps such as HiHigher, InsideOut and Star.
Custom maps have been created by players. This group includes maps such as Limited Diamond, Dune and Sinuous.
What is a custom map?
A custom map is a .igc file created by a player using the Allegiance Map Editor. If a server host likes the map they may add it to their server, then anyone playing on that server can select the map to play on.
Allegiance Map Editor (AME)
AME is a program created by KGJV to enable players to create new custom maps for Allegiance. To install AME you will need to download the installer which can be found in the FAO downloads page.
Using AME
The AME interface
Sector View
The right hand side is the main editing screen. You use this to edit everything within a sector - bases, alephs, and asteroids.
Minimap
In the lower left is the minimap. You use this to create new sectors, move sectors, create alephs and select sectors for editing.
Sector List
The top left has a list of sectors within your map, and some other buttons we will cover later. You can use this to select sectors.
File options
Along the bottom are file options: New, Load, Save, etc.
Creating a map
The basics
Sectors
- To create a sector double right-click on the minimap.
- The new sector is created empty of rocks, alephs and bases.
- A white dot representing the new sector will appear on the minimap and the sector will be listed in the sector list.
- To move a sector:
- Left-click on the sector in the Mini-map and drag the sector to move it.
- You can drag the sector outside the minimap (either above or to the right). The minimap will resize to accomadate.
- To remove a sector:
- Double left-click on the sector in the Minimap or Sector List; or right-click anywhere on the Sector View and select properties.
- Click on Delete in the new window.
Alephs
- To add an aleph between two sectors:
- Right-click on a sector, hold the button down, and drag to another sector.
- A blue line will appear on the Minimap, and aleph icons will appear in the Sector View.
- The Alephs created will be named for the sector they lead to.
- To remove an aleph:
- Select the sector which has the aleph in it.
- On the Sector View right-click the aleph and select Delete.
Bases
- To add a base:
- In the Sector View right-click and choose "Add Base"
- Double left-click on the base icon and in the top right select which team it belongs to.
- To remove a base:
- Select the sector which has the base in it.
- On the Sector View right-click the base and select Delete.
Creating a functional map
For your map to be functional each team needs a base and a home sector. To define a sector as such:
- Double left-click on the sector in the Minimap or Sector List; or right-click anywhere on the Sector View and select properties.
- By default the sector belongs to team 0 (no team) change this to whichever team's base is in this sector.
- The sector should change colour on the minimap to reflect it's ownership.
Other sectors
Apart from alephs and the garrisons the sectors are empty. An empty sector is randomly populated by the server when the game is created according to what money settings were chosen. In addition the alephs will be randomised. This means that a blank sector will have normal rocks, helium rocks and tech rocks added to it.
Saving
Use the Save As button to save the map. You should now be able to test it in a LAN server and pass it on to a server host to add to their servers.
Tips for basic maps
Layout
It is suggested that maps are kept symmetrical as this ensures that the maps are evenly balanced for both teams. Some people prefer 2-axis mirror symmetry whilst others are happy with rotational symmetry. It's the choice of the map maker but if players don't like the layout they aren't likely to play the map.
Aleph links
Try to make your aleph links as clear as possible when viewed on the minimap. Try to avoid alephs that cross and look messy. At all costs avoid having an aleph that crosses behind another sector but doesn't join to it.
Advanced techniques
Double Alephs
You do not need to link sectors using just one Aleph. You can repeat the process to add another aleph link. More if you prefer.
Fixing giant Alephs
The default size of all Alephs created in AME is 200. This makes them appear very large in game compared to the standard maps. Many players dislike the large alephs so it is worth taking the time to make them 100 in size.
There are two ways to achieve this. Firstly you can edit the properties of each Aleph. In the Sector View double click or right click and select properties on the Aleph you wish to edit. In the box named size change the number to 100. Then repeat for each Aleph.
The alternative way is to use the templates system in AGM. On the main screen click the Templates button and select Alephs. The screen that comes up is a lot like the properties screen for an individual Aleph. Change the size setting to 100. Now hit the save button to keep this template for further use and click Apply to all. This will change the size of all the Alephs on the map in one go.
Sector lighting and backgrounds
Each sector has a defined light source which you can change the position and colour of. Right click on the Sector View and select the properties option. The sector properties screen gives you options for the position and colour of the lighting amongst other things. It's a simple case of trying different colours and lighting positions.
In this screen you can also change the background image for each sector. It's a good idea for immersion to try and match the background to the lighting you choose (or vice versa). A bright red star may look odd in a sector that's being lit by green light.
Selecting black as the lighting colour will make the sector totally dark. No objects in that sector will show up in game, although you can still target and hit them.
Rotating Objects
All objects (Alephs, bases and rocks) can be set to rotate via their properties screens. Rocks will rotate by default but Alephs and bases are static.
If you set Alephs to rotate they will change the entry vector of all incoming ships. This makes them harder to camp and especially hard to prox. However they will also send ships out in the direction that they're facing when the ship enters which may be the opposite direction to the path the ships wish to follow.
Bases set to rotate will rotate about their centre point. This makes manual docking harder and drones will not be able to dock at all (they line up but by the time they've done that the door has moved so they have to line up again and so on).
Positioning Alephs
The aleph location randomizer is VERY smart, it keeps the distance to center within a defined range, so that if you set alephs in the quadrant and distance you want, the randomiser will then randomise their location based on a sphere with a specific width. Keep alephs you want out on the edge out on the edge of the sector view and those you want closer closer to the centre point.
'Home' sectors
Setting a sector to belong to a team does not necessarily mean that they should have a base in that sector. It actually affects the resources placed in that sector by the game. Most game settings will have a different number of helium and tech rocks in a home sector when compared to the other sectors. By setting more than the starting sectors as home you can create sectors with limited resources as defined by the settings in Allegiance.
Multiple Starting Bases
With maps for larger games particularly you may wish to have more than one starting base for each team to avoid activating Sector Overload when people first launch to scout. The commonest option is to add a second Garrison sector for each team, although other bases can also be used.
With multiple Garrisons, miners and constructors will launch from the first Garrison you create in the map for each team. So you can specify which location each team will expand from.
Adding Rocks
Rocks can be added to a sector in much the same way that bases are added. However if you add any rocks the game will not populate the rest of the sector with any other rocks.
If you want to make a fully populated sector you will need to add tech rocks, helium rocks and normal rocks. You can use AME to add a group of normal rocks randomly but be sure not to add too many or the large update when a player first enters that sector in a game may crash people.
You can also make an empty sector by placing a normal rock a long way out of the centre of the sector and giving it a very low sig.
Custom Helium Rock Settings
It is important to know what you are doing when you add Helium rocks to a sector. AME by default sets up the rock with a random amount of He3 that is generally far higher than normal rocks generated by the game. To create custom He3 rocks with more normal values you can calculate the settings using the process described below.
The important factors in determining how much He3 a given rock has on it are the pre game settings of resources and total money.
- The resources setting determines how many He3 rocks there are in each sector.
- When set to Normal or Plentiful there will be 2 rocks in the home sectors and 4 in every other sector.
- In the Scarce settings there are 2 He3 rocks in non-home sectors and between 0 and 2 He3 rocks in home sectors.
- The total money setting determines how much He3 is on the map.
- This He3 is spread evenly between all the He3 rocks, so if there are more rocks, there will be less He3 on each rock by default.
- Most cores will give 3000 units of He3 at a total money setting of Medium (1.0).
- The number in brackets is a multiplier so if you set it to High (1.25) the 3000 units will be multiplied by 1.25 to give 3750 units.
Now given these two settings you can decide how much He3 to provide on each of your custom rocks. As a guideline, work out the He3 per rock on your map assuming normal/medium settings. This is easily done using the following calculation:
2(no. home sectors) + 4(no. normal sectors)
3000
With this baseline you can decide to have more or less He3 on your rocks but you should at least be able to avoid having stupidly high amounts of He3 on your rocks.
