s6 seed manual uk

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Settlers 6 - S6_SEED_Manual_UK.docManual

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SE|EDSettlers Editor

Manual


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SE|ED Settlers Editor

ManualContent:

1. Introduction

2. User Interface

2.1. Work Area / Viewport

2.2. Menus

2.3. Symbol Bar

2.4. Tool Bar

2.5. Status Bar

3. Functions

3.1. New Map, Open Map, Save Map, Map- & Script Wizard3.2. Cancel / Repeat

3.3. Terrain Grid with Blocking Information3.4. Aligning to Grid & Docking Entities

3.5. Quests

3.6. Toggle Tool Dialog

3.7. Balloon Tips, Toggle Help Windows

3.8. Camera Settings3.9. Season Settings

3.10. Main Player ID

4. Tools

4.1. Select Entities

4.2. Place Entities

4.3. Terrain Height

4.4. Terrain Texture

4.5. Group

4.6. Templates

4.7. Clutter

4.8. Water Texture

4.9. Water Height

4.10. Water Vectors

4.11. Roads

4.12. Walls

4.13. Wall Gates

4.14. Territories

4.15. Copy/Paste


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5. Method (Workflow Walkthrough)

5.1. Phase I (Planning)

5.2. Phase II (Basic Editing / Blocking Version)

5.3. Phase III (Gameplay-Test Part 1)

5.4. Phase IV (Detail Editing / Final Version)5.5. Phase V (Gameplay-Test Part 2)

I. Introduction to the SE|ED LevelEditor

1. Introduction

What is the meaning of SE|ED?

SE|ED is the name for the most important tool in the sector level design. It is an abbreviation for theinternal name Settlers Editor. Furthermore, the abbreviation is consistent with the English termseed. And you can really see it like this: The release of the SE|ED Level Editor is like us sowing theseed, and your work on your own levels with the SE|ED Level Editor makes it grow into a magnificentplant, which returns fruit: your self-created levels.

This manual is supposed to help you to get to know the user interface, the features and the tools of

the level editor for THE SETTLERS: Rise of an EmpireTM

.

The SE|ED manual can always be used again to look up information about features and tools and tofind questions to your answers

Furthermore, you get an insight into the method and the sequence of work steps (workflow) requiredto edit a complete level.

Due to the considerable complexity of the SE|ED Level Editor, there will soon be further step-by-step-tutorials regarding the most important areas.

If you have questions or need inspiration, check out the new editor sub forum of the settler forum:www.siedler.de


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2. User Interface

2.2. Menus 2.3. Symbol Bar

2.4. Tool

Bar

2.1. Viewport / WorkArea

2.5. Status Bar

2.1. Work Area

The work area (viewport) takes up the largest area of the screen and permits direct editing followingthe principle WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get).

Individual tool dialog windows can freely be moved around the whole viewport and can be toggledon or off by pressing TAB to get the maximum work space possible. On multi-monitor systems it ispossible to shift the tool dialog windows to the second screen.

Navigation on the viewport is possible with the cursor keys as well as by pressing the middle mousebutton to grab and drop the landscape.

The viewportcamera can be toggled between three different modes (editor camera, game cameraand topview camera) and features progressive zoom (mouse wheel). The camera angle can bealtered with Ctrl+Mouse Wheel and may be set to default by pressing Space.

The SE|ED Level Editor applies the graphic settings of the game THE SETTLERS: Rise of an

EmpireTM

. If you wish to alter certain graphic settings for the editor, you need to make theseadjustments in the graphic options of the game.

2.2. MenusThe menus give access to all important features, tools, view options, helpers and window settings.

Keyboard shortcuts can be found next to the respective menu items.

The following image shows all the menus at a glance:


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2.3. Symbol Bar

The symbol bar is linked to the upper edge of the viewport and facilitates easy access to importantfunctions of the editor by simply clicking them:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18.

1. New Map (starts the Map & Script Wizard for a new map)

2. Open Map

3. Save Map

4. Cancel

5. Restore

6. Toggle Grid

7. Align to Grid8. Quest Wizard

9. Show Tool Dialog

10. Show Balloon Tips

11. Editor Camera

12. Game Camera

13. Topview Camera

14. Spring

15. Summer

16. Autumn

17. Winter

18. Main Player ID


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2.4. Tool Bar

The tool bar is linked to the left edge of the viewport and enablesaccess to all important tools:

Upon activation of a tool, an individual tool dialog window willopen where you can adjust the settings for the respective tool.

The tool dialog window can be toggled by clicking on the tooldialog icon on the symbol bar, or by using the TAB-key.

2.5. Status Bar

The status bar is linked to the lower edge of the viewport and gives information about the coordinates,function of the mouse cursor, performance and tools.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

1. Cursor position in coordinate system X

2. Cursor position in coordinate system Y

3. Cursor position in coordinate system Z (terrain height)4. Cursor position in coordinate system Z (water height)

5. FPS (frames per second)

6. Active tool


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3. Functions:

3.1. New Map, Open Map, Save Map & Map- & Script Wizard

New Map:In order to start a new map, you may either click the symbol New Map in the symbol bar, select themenu item File > New, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+N. This starts the map- and script wizard toassist you during the basic configuration of your map.

Open Map:

In order to open an existing map, you may either click the symbol Open Map in the symbol bar,select the menu item File > Open, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+O.

Save Map:

In order to save an open map, you may either click the symbol Save Map in the symbol bar, select

the menu item File > Save, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+S.

Map- and Script Wizard:

In order to open the map and script assistant again later in the editing process, you can select therespective menu item File > Map/Script Wizard.

The map- and script wizard consists of several configuration pages, which in the following will beintroduced in detail:

3.1.1. Step 1: Map Settings


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Map Size:

You can adjust the map size with the slide control in the box Map Size. It can be gradually increasedwithin the values 64 (small) and 1024 (very large). Use the following list to get a rough idea aboutsensible map sizes:

64 to 288 Very small maps (only for exceptional situations)320 to 512 Small maps (recommended small map size)

544 to 640 Medium maps (recommended medium map size)

672 to 800 Large maps (recommended large map size)

822 to 1024 Very large maps (only for exceptional situations)

Climatic Zone:

Before starting the editing process, you must select a climatic zone. Available terrain types, textures,entities, doodads and animals are specially pre-selected for each climatic zone.

After clicking the drop down menu, the list of available climatic zones appears:

MiddleEurope:

- temperate climatic zone

- friendly, fertile climate

- even spread of season duration of temperate winter, sunny spring, moderate summer and rainyautumn

NorthAfrica:

- hot climatic zone

- dry, arid climate

- no snow, very long and hot, dry summers

- very little rainfall during winter and autumn

NorthEurope:

- cold climatic zone

- long, hard and bitterly cold winter with a lot of snow

- there might be permafrost areas or glaciers

- very short, but mild summer

- little rainfall during autumn

SouthEurope:

- warm climatic zone

- long, moderate and fertile summer

- much rainfall during autumn

- no snow during winter

Map Name:

The name of the map, which will be visible in-game in the map selection menu, can be entered in thebox Map Name.

Map Description:

You can enter a short description of the map in the box Map Description. This will be displayed in

the map selection menu and on the loading screen during start-up of the map.


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Multiplayer Map:

In order to access and play the map in multiplayer mode, you need to tick the box Multiplayer Map.

3.1.2. Step 2: Player Configuration

The table Player Configuration enables you to set all important player parameters. You can alwaysaccess the entries in this menu, also during the later editing process, and adjust the settings further.Settings may be directly typed into the text boxes, or selected via drop down menus.

Player ID:

You may appoint up to 8 different players. In single player levels, Player 1 is always the human

player. The Player ID correlates with the ID of buildings, walls, roads and territories of a player.

Player Type:

The Player Type may not be set. It rather updates itself during a new start of the map- and scriptwizard. (e.g.: if you edit a castle for a Player ID, the program detects that a town exists; if you edit avillage storehouse, the program detects the village; if you edit bandits headquarters, the programdetects the bandit player)

Player Name:

In this text box, you may directly enter the respective Player Names. This name is displayed e.g. inthe diplomacy menu.

Player Head:

You can select the dialog head models (3D) via the drop down list of the head menu.


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The following head models are available:

Knights (Town Head Models):

H_Knight_Chivalry Markus

H_Knight_Healing Alandra

H_Knight_Plunder KestralH_Knight_Song Thordal

H_Knight_Trading Elias

H_Knight_Wisdom Hakim

H_Knight_Sabatt Sabatta

H_Knight_RedPrince The Red Prince

Others:

H_NPC_Amma Leader of Vikings

H_NPC_Generic_Trader Trader (Port)

Castellan / Keeper: (Town Head Models)

H_NPC_Castellan_ME

H_NPC_Castellan_NA

H_NPC_Castellan_NE

H_NPC_Castellan_SE

Bandits / Mercenaries: (Bandit Camp Head Models)

H_NPC_Mercenary_ME

H_NPC_Mercenary_NA

H_NPC_Mercenary_NE

H_NPC_Mercenary_SE

Monks: (Monastery Head Models)

H_NPC_Monk_ME

H_NPC_Monk_NA

H_NPC_Monk_NE

H_NPC_Monk_SE

Villagers: (Village Head Models)

H_NPC_Villager_ME

H_NPC_Villager_NA

H_NPC_Villager_NE

H_NPC_Villager_SE

Player AI:

In order to create a Standard AI (artificial intelligence) for a player, you can choose from 4 basicsettings for AI:

None: no AI

Passive: only reconstruction, AI building order possible

Normal: reconstruction, AI building order possible, conquest of territories and militaryAggressive: reconstruction, AI building order possible, conquest of territories and aggressive

military


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Reconstruction: Pre-edited buildings from the editor will be rebuilt after damage /destruction.

AI Building Order: Pre-edited buildings from the editor will be erected by the AI based onthe entity parameters set in the building sequence. Even thoughthese buildings have been pre-edited, they are not visible from the

game start, but will be erected later by the AI.

Conquest of Territories: Pre-edited outposts from the editor will be erected by the AI based onthe entity parameters set in the building sequence, which results inconquest of territories. Even though these outposts have been pre-edited, they are not visible from the game start, but will be erectedlater by the AI.

Further instructions and details concerning the subject AI Building Order and AI will be given in

the tutorials (AI: AI-Building Sequence of buildings and conquest of territories) and (AI: Military).

3.1.3. Step 3: Diplomacy

The table for Diplomacy configuration enables you to set all the diplomatic relations between therespective players. You can access these settings in the later stages of the editing process to adjustthem. The particular diplomatic status can be selected via a drop down menu:

Enemy: Units will be attacked, no trade possible, no mutual Fog of War

Unknown: No trade possible, not visible in the diplomacy menu, no mutual Fog of War

Known: No trade possible, visible in the diplomacy menu, mutual Fog of War


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Trade Partner: Trade possible, if the knight is close to the storehouse, visible in thediplomacy menu, mutual Fog of War

Ally: Trade possible (even if the knight is not close to the storehouse), visible in thediplomacy menu, mutual Fog of War

3.1.4. Step 4: Resources at Game Start

The table for the Starting Goods configuration enables you to set the amount of resources for eachhuman player in the single player mode. You can access these settings in the later stages of theediting process to adjust them again. The values are directly written into the respective boxes.

3.2. Undo / RedoDuring editing, the user may undo certain actions and if necessary redo them as well. This function isnot available for all tools.

Undo: This function is available by clicking on the respective icon in the symbol bar,by selection of the menu item Tools > Undo, or by using the keyboardshortcut Ctrl+Z.


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Redo: This function is available by clicking on the respective icon in the symbol bar,by selection of the menu item Tools > Redo, or by using the keyboardshortcut Ctrl+Y.

3.3. Terrain-Grid with Blocking Information

By activating the Terrain Grid, you receive detailed information about the shape of theterrain and all relevant blocking information for terrain, textures and entities.

This feature is available by clicking on the respective icon in the symbol bar, by selection of the menuitem View > Grid, or by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+G.

When modelling the landscape terrain, it is very helpful to work with the grid, as many small detailsand gradients only become clearly visible with the grid applied.

The activated grid enables you to quickly see which areas of the level can be passed with movingunits and which areas are blocked for moving units.

Color Code: Blue Terrain & Entities Movement and construction possible

Red Entities Blocks movement and construction

Dark Green Terrain Blocks movement and construction

(Walls are docked with terrain blocking)

Pink Entities Removable blocking, blocks movement, butconstruction is possible on these entities

Green Buildings Entrance side, this side docks with roads

Light Green Shallow Water Movement possible, blocks construction

Black Deep Water Blocks movement and construction

3.4. Align to Grid & Docking Entities

Many entities can be aligned to the grid (in 90s teps) or docked with other entities (e.g. cliffelements).

This function is available by clicking on the respective icon in the symbol bar, by selection of the menuitem Help > Align to Grid, or by using the keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+Shift+G).

Attention: When this function is active, buildings and entities may not be freely rotated and will notcorrectly self-align to roads!

3.5. Quests

The Quest Wizard enables you to relatively easily put together quests by simply clicking on aUser Interface.

To start the Quest Wizard, you need to click the respective icon in the symbol baror select the menuitem File > Quests.


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Quest Behaviour:

In the menu Quest Behaviour, all behaviour optionsavailable for the selected quest are shown.

Select Add to create new quest behaviour, click Delete,

to remove a certain quest behaviour.

You can choose from a list of pre-fabricated questbehaviours. Their parameters can be specified in moredetail via additional on screen dialogs.

You can combine as many quest behaviours as you wish.

If you want to control certain functions via script entities orscript names of entities, you should already have editedthe entities for this level. Once you select an entity with thiskind of functionality, the dialog displays a selection list ofall script names/entities available for this level. The sameis the case when scanning for territory conquest(Goal_Claim). In this case, you also need to have createdthe respective territory for it to show up in the selection list.

3.6. Toggle Tool Dialog

This function enables you to hide or show information windows of tools when necessary. Thismakes sense if you need a lot of space in the viewport and do not need to make further adjustmentsto the settings in the active tool window.

The visibility of this tool dialog can be toggled on or off by clicking the respective icon in the symbol

bar, by selecting the menu item Window > Tool Dialog, or by pressing TAB.

The tool dialog windows can be freely moved around, adjusted in size or even shifted to a secondmonitor to have the maximum possible workspace available.


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The editor remembers the adjustment of the position of the tool windows individually for each tool andthey can be reset to their default position should it become necessary (Window > Reset Tool Dialog).

In the following you will receive detailed information about the individual tool windows included in the

tool descriptions.

3.7. Balloon Tips, Toggle Help Windows

This feature enables you to display aninformation window with regards to tool functionalityand keyboard assignment.

It is available by clicking on the respective icon in thesymbol bar, or by selecting the menu item Window >Balloon Tips.

This is an example for the balloon tip for the toolTerrain Height

Especially when learning the functionality of the editor, it can prove very helpful to always haveaccess to the most important keyboard shortcuts and tool functions.

3.8. Camera SettingsBy clicking the respective icon in the symbol bar it is possible to activate different camera settings.

The camera can always be freely rotated (Ctrl+Mouse Wheel). You can set the camera back to itsdefault-angle by pressing Space.

The image section can be moved with the cursor buttons, or by grabbing and holding with the middlemouse button and then moving the mouse.


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Editor Camera Perspective camera with very free zoom possibilities perfectly suited foractions requesting an overview of large areas of the level.

Game Camera Identical camera parameters as for editor camera. Very useful for checkingwhat the level will look like in-game.


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Topview Camera Topview Camera with very free zooming possibilities, perfect for actionsrequiring an overview of large areas and the top perspective.

3.9. Season SettingsThe editor is already able to display the visual changes that will happen during the change of seasons

(spring, summer, autumn and winter) in-game.

By clicking the respective icon in the symbol bar you can activate the desired season.

This feature is especially useful, as the visual effect of the landscape can change a lot during thecourse of the seasons. Light settings, colors of textures and of entities like trees, bushes and grasses,as well as the water/ice might considerably change, or might only be visible during certain seasons(e.g. flowers and grass).

Landscape and water in Spring

Landscape and water in Summer


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Landscape and water in Autumn

Landscape and water during transition from

Autumn to Winter (water is already partially freezing)

Landscape and ice in Winter

3.10. Main Player ID

You can set the Main Player ID via this drop down menu. Afterwards, all entities(which can have a Player ID) placed on the map will be furnished with the pre-set Player ID from thislist.

For some tools, as e.g. roads, walls and gates, it is requested that you set the Player ID suitable forthe territory in order to be able to place these objects on the map.


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4. Tools

4.1. Select Entities

Select Entities is the main tool for selecting, moving,cloning, aligning, scaling and deleting objects in the editor.

In order to activate the Select Entities tool via a keyboardshortcut, you need to press Ctrl+1.

Entities may be selected by clicking them, or by creating aselection area.

Selected entities can be moved, cloned, aligned to rotation, scaled and deleted individually or as agroup.

After double-clicking an entity on the viewport ordirectly in the Select Entity Dialog, the window DialogProperties opens:

Options:

All parameters in the options are Internal Values andStrings, which may not be altered.

Type Internal name of selected

entity.ID Internal Entity-ID, which isunique for every entity on the mapand

which may serve scriptidentification

purposes.

Properties:

All parameters of the properties can be changed orset by typing into the boxes, or by selecting from drop down lists.

Player ID Determines which player this entity belongs to.Script Name Enter a random script name here in order to access this entity via a script.

Position X Coordinates position on X-axis

Position Y Coordinates position on Y-axis

Orientation Rotation angle of entity

AIBuildingOrder AI Building Order > by allocating numbers you can decide the building

sequence for this AI player.

Upgrade/Improvements:

Upgrades For entities like buildings it is possible to change the upgrade level of thisfield. Once a building (or more) is selected, pressing + or is enough to raiseor lower its level without having to access the properties.


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Select Entities Dialog Window:

(press TAB to toggle the window for the tool Select Entities)

The Select Entities dialog window can be freely scaled and its position on screen randomly chosen.

The selection list can be sorted up- or downwards by clicking the tab names. It is possible to domultiple individual selections (Ctrl+Click), or mark many entities at once (Shift+Click).

A right-click in the selection list opens a context menu:

Go to Entity direct jump to coordinates at which

this entity is located.

Edit Entity Opens the window Entity PropertiesDelete Selected Entities Removes the selected entity(ies) from the map

Remove from Selection Removes the selected entity(ies) from the selection

Invert Selection Reverses the selection

Buttons:

Select All When clicking this button, all entities (depending on the settings of theselection filter) that exist in this level are selected.

Set Player ID After having selected a Player ID from the drop down list, you can assign thisPlayer ID to all select entities.

Selection Filter The type of entities to be selected can be configured in more detail via theSelection Filter:

-> All

-> Buildings

-> Trees

-> Animals

-> Aggressive Animals

-> Resources

-> Cliffs

-> Sounds

Show Entity by ID By entering the entity ID and clicking the button Show, you directly jump tothe coordinates on the map where this entity can be found.


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Selection List - Columns:

Player ID Determines which player this entity belongs to

Entity Name Internal name for selected entity

Entity ID Internal Entity ID, which is unique for every entity on the map and may serve

script identification purposes.Script Name You can enter a random script name in this box in order to access the entity

via a script.

X-Position Coordinates position on X-axis

Y-Position Coordinates position on Y-axis

Orientation Rotation angle of entity

AI-Build Order AI Building Order > by allocating numbers you can decide the building

sequence for this AI player.

4.2. Place Entities

The tool Place Entities is used to place all kinds of objectsfrom the settlers world within the level.

In order to activate the tool Place Entities via the keyboard shortcut,you need to press Ctrl+2.

You can change the alignment of an entity even before placement (Shift+Mouse Wheel) and thenplace it by simply clicking on the desired spot on the viewport. Entities are for example: buildings,resources, trees, rocks, cliffs, doodads, )

Place Entities Dialog Window:

(press TAB to toggle the dialog window for the tool Place Entities)

The Place Entities dialog window can be freely scaled and its position on screen randomly chosen.

Buttons:

Random Rotation Tick check box to place entities using random rotation.

Random Scale Tick check box to place entities using random scaling.

Embedded Object Height In order to place an entity (e.g. a cliff module) on a certain height, youcan set it in this box by simply entering a number.

Alternatively, you can click an already placed entity with Ctrl+Right MouseButton in order to apply the existing height. The respective height value isthen automatically entered into this box. Especially when placing many cliffmodules, it is very helpful to automatically set the right height.

The standard value for height is called Terrain and means that the entity isplaced on the same height existent underneath the cursor.

If you already entered a numerical value into the height box and now want toreturn to the Terrain settings, you simply need to use Ctrl+Right Mouse

Button anywhere on the terrain where there are no entities. This will select thestandard Terrain setting again.


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Entities can be selected in the Entity Explorer. In the entityexplorer, you navigate just as in the Windows Explorer. Theentities are sorted by subjects and might be further split updownwards in the hierarchy (e.g. Main Folder > Sub Folder > > Sub Folder > Entity).

Furthermore, entities can be selected directly on theviewport, if they are already available in the level. By right-clicking already placed entities you can select them withouthaving to navigate the folder structure of the entity explorer.

(Attention: The number and type of the entities displayed in theentity explorer will differ according to the selected climatic zone.Only generic entities will be displayed, which are speciallyassigned to the selected climatic zone)

The Player ID of functional entities to be placed can be assignedwith the Main Player ID (symbol bar) even before placement.

If you want to place more than one entity at once, there arealternative tools, which enable more efficient editing than thetool Place Entities. The tools worth mentioning are mainly thetools 4.5. Groups (Entities & Textures) and the 4.6. Templates(entities, textures & 3D-clutter).

Start Position Entities:

It is essential to place the following special buildings and entities for a human player that cannot beconstructed by the player himself. Furthermore, additional buildings may be placed.

There needs to be ONE castle, ONE marketplace, ONE storehouse and ONE cathedral for eachplayer.

These special buildings may not be placed more than once per player. Otherwise, fatal errors mayoccur during the game!


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4.3. Terrain Height

With the brush of the tool Terrain Height, you canmodel the terrain. Mountains, valleys, river beds and plainsare swiftly shaped.

In order to activate the tool Terrain Height, you need to usethe keyboard shortcut Ctrl+4.

During the modelling process of the terrain, it isrecommended to always activate the grid (Ctrl+G) in orderto be able to view all details directly.

The size (Shift+Mouse Wheel) and density (Ctrl+Shift+Mouse Wheel, or via the slide control in thetool dialog window) can be freely adjusted.

The terrain may be raised, lowered, smoothed out, fissured, or edited as a plateau.

Terrain Height Tool Dialog Window:

(press TAB to toggle the dialog window for the tool TerrainHeight)

The Terrain Height dialog window can be freely scaled and itsposition on screen randomly chosen.


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Buttons:

Brush StrengthUse the slide control to adjust how heavily the terrain shall be modified by the brush.

Brush Type Select the shape of the brush from a drop down list:

- Circle

- Cone- Gaussian

- Plateau

- Pyramid

- Smooth

- Square

- Thorn

Plateau Height With Alt+ Right Mouse Button you can pick up a certain terrain height on the mapto insert it anywhere in the level via the plateau feature (Alt+Left Mouse Button). Thenumber box shows the height picked up (Z).

4.4. Terrain Textures

The tool Terrain Textures is used to place all kinds oftextures in the level.

In order to activate the tool Terrain Textures via a keyboard shortcut, you need to press Ctrl+3.

The diameter (Shift+Mouse Wheel) of the terrain texture brush can be freely adjusted.

Terrain Textures Dialog Window:

(press TAB to toggle the dialog window for the tool Terrain Textures)

The dialog window for the tool Terrain Textures can be freely scaled and placed randomly on thescreen.

You can select textures in the Texture-Explorer. In the textureexplorer, you navigate just as in the Windows Explorer. The texturesare sorted by subjects and might be further split up downwards in thehierarchy (e.g. Main Folder > Sub Folder > > Sub Folder > Texture).

Furthermore, textures can be selected directly on the viewport, ifthey are already available in the level. By right-clicking already placedtextures you can select them without having to navigate the folderstructure of the texture explorer.

(Attention: The number and type of the textures displayed in the textureexplorer will differ according to the selected climatic zone. Only generictextures will be displayed, which are specially assigned to the selected climatic zone)


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4.5. Groups

The tool Groups enables you to place several entities andtextures in a single step.

The tool Groupsis used to place all kinds of entities and textures of the settlers world on the map.Here you can configure, whether you want to place entities AND textures simultaneously, ONLYentities, or ONLY textures.

In order to activate the tool Groups via the keyboard shortcut, you need to press Ctrl+5.

Groups Dialog Window:

(press TAB to toggle the dialog window for the tool Groups)

The dialog window for the tool Groups can be freely scaled andplaced anywhere on the screen.

Buttons:

Random Scale Check box to be able to place entities

using random scaling.

Place Random Entities Check box to be able to place entities

with the group brush.

Slide Control The slide control determines the densityof the entities in the brush area.

Apply texture type Check box to be able to place textures

with the group brush.

You can select groups in the Group Explorer. In the groupexplorer, you navigate just as in the Windows Explorer. Thegroups are sorted by subjects and might be further split updownwards in the hierarchy (e.g. Main Folder > Sub Folder > > Sub Folder > Entities/Textures).

The groups brush size (Shift+Mouse Wheel) and the entity density (Ctrl+Shift+Mouse Wheel or viaslide control in tool dialog window) can be adjusted freely.

(Attention: The number and type of the groups displayed in the group explorer will differ according tothe selected climatic zone. Only generic groups will be displayed, which are specially assigned to theselected climatic zone)

Group Configuration:

Groups can be freely configured, changed and even created by the user.

If you right-click an element from the list in the group explorer, a context menu is

displayed, which enables you to manage and edit the groups.

Once you select Add, the Group Generator is displayed:


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In order to create a new group, you first have to enter a Group Name, which needs to be confirmedby clicking Add Group. This group will now appear in the group explorer and can be filled with furthersub-folders or directly with textures and/or entities.

In order to add Textures to a group, you select the desired group from the group explorer and thenclick the button Add Texture. You can also open the context menu and select Add.

Now you select the desired texture from the list Terrain Textures. Confirm your selection by clickingthe button Add Texture. This can be repeated until all desired textures exist in the respective folder

in the group explorer.

In order to add Entities to a group, you select the respective group on the group explorer and thenclick the button Add Entity. You can also open the context menu and select Add.

Now you pick the desired entity from the list Entities of the group generator and confirm yourselection by clicking Add Entity. This can be repeated until all desired entities exist in the respectivefolder in the group explorer.

.


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4.6. Templates

The tool Templates enables you to edit a completeterrain type with one stroke of the brush. Templates includes

Terrain Height, Terrain Textures, 3D Clutter and Entities andis the fastest tool to visually edit a part of the map in detail.

The user can select from a large bandwidth of pre-editedtemplates, which were used during development.

In order to activate the tool Templates via a keyboard shortcut,you need to press Ctrl+6.

(Attention: The number and type of the templates displayed in thetemplate explorer will differ according to the selected climatic zone.

Only generic templates will be displayed, which are speciallyassigned to the selected climatic zone)

Templates Dialog Window:

(press TAB to toggle the dialog window for the tool Templates)

The dialog window for the tool Templates can be freely scaledand positioned anywhere on screen.

Templates can be selected from the Templates Explorer.

The templates brush can be freely changed in size (Shift+MouseWheel).

Template Types (using the example of a forest):

Underwood Templates Undergrowth with stones,bushes and grasses

Border Templates Forest edge with low trees anddense undergrowth

Core Templates Core forest with high and dense trees and undergrowth

Transition Templates Transition between different terrain types (here: Forest > Grassland)


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4.7. Clutter

With the tool Clutter, meadows can be decoratedwith 3D-grasses. The user can pick from a large selection ofdifferent grass types, which were used during development.

In order to activate the tool Clutter with a keyboardshortcut, press Ctrl+7.

During the editing process of the grass details, it is recommended to activate the grid (Ctrl+G). Thegrass will stand out nicely from the colors of the grid.

Some grasses, bushes and especially flowers are only available during certain seasons.

(Attention: The number and type of the grasses displayed in the tool Clutter will differ according tothe selected climatic zone. Only generic grasses will be displayed, which are specially assigned to theselected climatic zone)

Clutter Dialog Window:

(press TAB to toggle the dialog window for the tool Clutter)

The dialog window for the tool Clutter can be freely scaled andpositioned anywhere on screen.


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Buttons:

Type Select the desired grass type from the drop down list.

Density Set the density of the grasses placed with the slide control.

Color By clicking the button Color you can display a color palette, from which you can

pick the desired color. Use it to color existing grasses and further adjust them to theindividual situation.


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4.8. Water Texture

The tool Water Textures offers a selection of manydifferent water types, which may vary in color, type of shore waves

and the status freezing or non freezing.

In order to activate the tool Water Texture via the keyboardshortcut, you need to press Ctrl+8.

The water texture brush can be freely adjusted in size (Shift+Mouse Wheel).

Water Texture Dialog Window:

(press TAB to toggle the dialog window for the toolWater Texture)

The dialog window for the tool Water Texture can befreely scaled and positioned anywhere on screen.

Water textures can be selected from the water textureexplorer.

Furthermore, water textures can be selected directlyfrom the viewport, if they already exist on the map.Simply right-click an already placed water texture toselect it without having to navigate the water textureexplorer.

When the tool Water Texture is active and the grid is activated (Ctrl+G), a special water texturegrid is displayed enabling you to see the placed water textures directly (color-coded).


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4.9. Water Height

The tool Water Height enables you to raise or lowerevery individual surface of water immediately.

In order to activate the tool Water Height via the keyboardshortcut, you need to press Ctrl+9.

The water height brush can be freely adjusted in size (Shift+Mouse Wheel).

Water Height Dialog Window:

(press TAB to toggle the dialog window for the tool Water Height)

The dialog window for the tool Water Height can be freely scaled and positioned anywhere onscreen.

Button:

Fill If you activate the Fill-feature, water is filledinto terrain troughs as if poured from awatering can. If the feature is deactivated, thewhole water surface of a connected water type(texture) will be raised.

4.10. Water Vectors

The tool Water Vectors enables you to set the flowdirection of the selected water surface in a detailed way byclicking and dragging the vectors.

This tool does not feature a tool dialog.

To activate the tool Water Vectors via the keyboard shortcut, you need to press Ctrl+0.

Once the tool is active and you click a water surface, white water vectors are displayed. Keep in

mind that this is merely a graphic display and that the white vectors can only indirectly influence theflow via the green control water vector. Hence you have to edit much less to achieve the desiredeffect.

In order to create a greencontrol vector, it is sufficient toclick the water surface and thendrag it into the desired direction.You see immediately how thewhite water vectors alignthemselves to the green line.

A control vector consists of ananchor point (displayed as a cross) and an end of random length pointing into the desired flowdirection.


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Buttons:

Road Type Distinguish between trails and roads (same as in game)

Use Player ID 0 With this box checked you can also place neutral trails and neutral roads witha neutral Player ID. This is useful for territories, which are not occupied yet,

but which should feature roads

4.12. Walls

The tool Walls enables you to pre-edit fences, monasterywalls, palisades and stone walls just as easy as in the game.

The orientation of the wall elements can be reversed beforeplacement by pressing Shift.

To activate the tool Walls via the keyboard shortcut, you need to press Ctrl+F2.

In order to be able to place walls, it is required to set the correct Main Player ID for the targetterritory in the symbol bar.

(Attention: The number and type of the walls displayed in the tool Walls will differ according to theselected climatic zone. Only generic walls will be displayed, which are specially assigned to theselected climatic zone)

Walls Dialog Window:

(press TAB to toggle the dialog window for the tool Walls)

The dialog window for the tool Walls can be freely scaled andpositioned anywhere on screen.

The desired wall type can be selected from the dialog window.

Wall towers dock with other wall towers and wall gates.

4.13. Wall Gates

With the tool Wall Gates, you can pre-edit gates forfences, palisades and stone wallsjust as easy as in the game.

The orientation of the gates can be freely adjusted (Ctrl+MouseWheel).

To activate the tool Wall Gates via the keyboard shortcut, youneed to press Ctrl+F3.

In order to be able to place wall gates, it is required to set the correct Main Player ID for the target

territory in the symbol bar.


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(Attention: The number and type of the wall gates displayed in the tool Wall Gates will differaccording to the selected climatic zone. Only generic wall gates will be displayed, which are speciallyassigned to the selected climatic zone)

Wall Gates Dialog Window:

(press TAB to toggle the dialog window for the tool Wall Gates)

The dialog window for the tool Wall Gates can be freely scaledand positioned anywhere on screen.

The desired wall gate type can be selected from the dialog window.

Wall gate towers dock with other wall gate towers.

4.14. Territories

With the tool Territories, you can directly draw territories onthe viewport. You can set details, as e.g. names, Player IDs, priceand color, via the tool dialog window.

To activate the tool Territories via the keyboard shortcut, you needto press Ctrl+F4.

The territory brush can be freely adjusted in size (Shift+Mouse Wheel).

Territories Dialog Window:

(press TAB to toggle the dialog window for the tool Territories)

The dialog window for the tool Territories can be freely scaled and positioned anywhere on screen.

Buttons:

(Territory) ID Internal ID, cannot be adjusted, is determined by editing sequence. Scriptfunctions can access this Territory ID.

Player ID Determines, which owner the respective territory belongs to.

Name Here you can enter a name for each territory, which will also be displayed inthe game

Price Select a price from the drop down list that has to be paid when occupying thisterritory

Color Here you can select a color. The color is the same that you see when drawingthe territory on the viewport.

Size Basic area of the territory

In order to create a new territory, you have to right-click anywhere in the dialog window of the toolTerritories. A context menu is displayed. Select the menu item New to create a new line for a newterritory:


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This step is repeated until all desired territories have been entered into the dialog window of the toolTerritories with all settings:

As soon as territories are available in the dialogwindow of the tool Territories, you can select therespective territory by clicking it in the list. Thenyou can directly draw the territory on the terrainin the viewport with the territory brush. The color-coded territory grid will be very helpful.

Territorial border stones will be automatically setand updated.

You can directly select territories from theviewport, if they already exist. You can select analready placed territory by right-clicking on it. Thenyou do not have to navigate the dialog window for the tool Territories.

In the end, the whole area of the level is filled with territories. It is important to make sure that thetransition of the territories is drawn very tidily. Otherwise you might get patches of the Fog of War,which cannot be unveiled.


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(Attention: Territory ID 0 is a special territory type, which may not be used inside the map and is onlyutilised for the inaccessible periphery of the level. Territory ID 0 is never assigned to a player and isblocked for all types of movement and construction.)

4.15. Copy / Paste

With the tool Copy/Paste, you can copy and save existing areasof the map and paste them again where desired.

You can select individual elements or everything at once (textures, heights,entities and clutter).

In order to activate the tool Copy/Paste via the keyboard shortcut, you need to press Ctrl+F5.

To pick up an area, you need to draw a rectangle around a certain area, to copy the area inside therectangle into the copy template. The selection represents the size of the copied area. The copiedarea of the map can be pasted anywhere on the same level (by navigating the selection to the

desired area and right-clicking). It might also be saved for other purposes.

You can also save the whole map as a template.


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Naturally it is possible to create a collection of copy templates in order to use them again andagain.

Copy/Paste Dialog Window:

(press TAB to toggle the dialog window for the tool Copy/Paste)

The dialog window for the tool Copy/Paste can be freely scaled and positioned anywhere on screen.

Buttons:

Paste Textures Textures are overwritten during integration

Paste Height Terrain height is overwritten during integration

Paste Entities Entities are overwritten during integration

Paste Clutter Clutter is overwritten during integration

Additive The heights of the selected area will be added to the existing heights

AdditiveEx The heights of the selected area are kept and inserted on the averageheight of the existing terrain

Normal The heights of the selected area are kept

Rotation The selected area will be inserted after being rotated by therespective angle

Open Pattern Start the Open dialog by clicking this button

Save Pattern Start the Save dialog by clicking this button

Save Map as Pattern Start the Save dialog for a whole map by clicking this button

Paste pattern into Map Start the Insert dialog by clicking this button


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5. Method (Workflow Walkthrough)

5.1. Phase I (Planning)

Phase I is all about getting an overview of the content and the visual aspects of the level and committhat to paper, in order to create a good basis fort he remaining steps.

The better thought out the planning and design, the less stress you will have during the upcomingwork steps. Changes can be converted most quickly during this phase.

1. Collect ideas & create rough draft2. Create detailed layout3. Mission- and quest design

5.2. Phase II (Basic Editing / Blocking Version)

Phase II is about creating a rough first playable version of the level.

For now it is not important to finalise every visual detail, but rather achieve a result that can be testedwith intensive play. These tests are important to recognise design flaws early, to correct these errors

and optimise processes and functionality.

4. Basic settings and map script (Map- and Script Wizard)5. Editing terrain heights (Terrain Height) or import of a height map in the expert mode (Expert

>Load Height Map)6. Editing territories > Territory Player ID, territory name, territory costs, territory colors and

designing territory areas (Territories)7. Drawing water texture and editing water height; it is already important to distinguish between

deep and shallow water (Water Tools)8. Use blocking textures to mark areas in the map, where you will be placing cliff modules during

the later stages of the editing process (Textures)9. Placement of entities that are very important for a functionality test of the map (e.g. starting

position entities, NPC-villages, NPC-monasteries, NPC-towns, bandit camps, roads, wallsand gates, interactive objects, script entities (Place Entities)

10. Placement of resources and commodities, which are very important for a functionality test ofthe map (e.g. game, fish, iron mines and stone quarries, sheep and cattle) (Place Entities)

11. Rough basic editing of templates to get a pretty good idea about which terrain types will bewhere in the level. This step also includes editing of forests and tree resources with foresttemplates (Templates)

12. Creation of quests (Quest Wizard and/or Expert > Import Map Script)

5.3. Phase III (Gameplay-Test Part 1)

As the result of Phase I and II, we now have a playable version. It might only be roughly elaborated

with regards to looks, but it contains all important functional elements and is hence ready for the firstgameplay tests.

This rough blocking version of the level is perfect for testing functionality and gameplay fun, as well asthe functionality of quest links and general logical functionality. The distances a player will have toovercome on the map can also be easily checked with this version. Based on this tests, you shouldmake adjustments to the balancing (resources, AI-settings, etc.).

Do not invest too much time into visual things right now, keep everything rough and simple. If you dofind problems during the first gameplay tests, it is much easier to make larger adjustments in a roughversion. After these gameplay tests you can put more effort into the level, which leads us to the nextphase:


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