Making-a-Map-for-Capture-the-Flag.md

Making a Map for Capture the Flag

1. Required tools

It is not recommended to make maps on a mobile device - Android or iOS/iPadOS. {style="warning"}

• Luanti version 5.7 or above. The latest stable version is always recommended.

  If you don't have Luanti installed, you can download it from the official Luanti website. {style="note"}

• Capture the Flag game for Luanti.

  You can install the game from either the in-game ContentDB within your Luanti client or from the ContentDB website.

  Once you have downloaded the .zip file from the ContentDB website, extract the .zip file and move the folder inside it to [user data directory]/games.

  Going to the About section in Luanti's main menu and clicking the Open User Data Directory button will lead you to your Luanti user data directory if you do not know its location on your filesystem. On Windows, that would be the folder Luanti is located in. {style="note"}

• WorldEdit mod for Luanti. ^(optional)

  Although this is optional, it is recommended that you install WorldEdit. This tool is helpful when building desired map structures, and it can also speed up the process of creating large builds.

  You can install WorldEdit from either the in-game ContentDB within your Luanti client or from the ContentDB website.

  Once you have download the .zip file from the ContentDB website, extract the .zip file and move the folder inside it to [user data directory]/mods. {style="note"}

2. Planning the map

• A map shouldn't be too big or too small. The size of a map can vary depending on the terrain and structures that the map will have. With a typical map size, players should be able to reach the middle of the map with a full sprint bar before running out of sprint. A maximum of 230 x 230 blocks in surface area is recommended.

• If you are making a map for the official CTF server, it is important to note that your map should be unique and not similar to the maps that already exist in the game.

  "The design of a map should encourage differing gameplay and tactics."

  — -sniper-

• The map design shouldn't give any team advantages (such as having a better position or more resources). All teams should have an equal chance of winning.

• Using certain mods on the world the map-making takes place might cause unpredicted problems to the finished map. Switching Luanti or CTF game versions in the midst of the map-making process might also cause problems.

3. Creating the world

• After opening Luanti, go to settings and under Capture the Flag, enable Low RAM mode. Enable this setting to prevent the game from crashing due to memory related crashes.

  

• Return back and make sure you are in the Start Game tab. Then, select the Capture the Flag game.

  

• Create a new world. You can use any mapgen. If you would like to use generated terrain, you can choose the v7 or flat mapgen. If you plan on building the terrain/structures yourself, you can choose the singlenode mapgen.

  

• After you click Create, uncheck Enable Damage and check Creative Mode. Creative mode will enable mapedit mode.

  

• If you would like to use WorldEdit, click Select Mods, select WorldEdit, and click Enable modpack.

  

• Click Save and play the world.

4. Setting up

• Grant yourself the "ctf_map_editor" priv by running /grantme ctf_map_editor. You can also use /grantme all to grant yourself "ctf_map_editor" and all the other privs that will be useful while making a map, such as fly, noclip, fast, etc.

• You can hit Esc on your keyboard and click Change Keys to see your controls (such as how to fly, noclip, etc.).

  

• Tip: Run /time 12000 and /set -n time_speed 0 if you want to disable nighttime while building the map.

5. WorldEdit basics

• To use WorldEdit, first, you must select an area where your actions occur.

• You can use the WorldEdit Wand tool to select your area. To select your area, you select the two opposite corners of the area. Left-click a node with the tool to make the node the first corner, and right-click to set the second.

  

• An alternative method is to stand at the point you would like to select and run //1 in chat to set the first corner and //2 to set the second.

• The area within will be selected.

  

  Remember to back up your world before risky operations! {style="warning"}

• Open your inventory. Under the Crafting tab, an earth icon is hidden behind the crafting options. Click it to open the WorldEdit GUI.

  

• These are the tools that you can use to alter the nodes within your selected area. You can experiment with the options.

  

• To set the area you've selected earlier with a certain type of node, click Set Nodes, type in the name of the node you would like to set in the field, click Search or press enter, and click Set Nodes.

  

• If you've selected a large area, WorldEdit might warn you in chat. Type //y in chat to continue.

  

• To replace a certain node type with another one in your selected area, select Replace Nodes. In the first field, type in the node you would like to replace; in the second field, type in the node you would like to replace with.

• To only place nodes where there are no nodes, you can replace air with the node you want to use.

  

6. Removing the surrounding terrain

It is your choice to build the barriers first or the map first. For this example, we are going to build the barriers first. {style="note"}

• This is optional and only applies if you're using generated terrain. If you're using the singlenode mapgen, you can ignore this and continue reading from here.

• It might be hard to place the outer barriers when the terrain outside your map area blocks your view.

• To get rid of the extra terrain, first, select the area your map will be in with WorldEdit.

  

• Once you select the area, run //mtschemcreate <any name>. For example:

  //mtschemcreate map_terrain
  

• You can copy the exported schems to a singlenode world and place the terrain there. But to keep it simple, you can just fly up in the air and place the terrain in the sky.

• Enable fly, fly up, and find a suitable place. Place a corner with WorldEdit by running //1 in chat. Then, run //mtschemplace <your schem name>. For example:

  //mtschemplace map_terrain
  

• With that, your terrain should be placed there successfully. If you're unhappy with the result, you can go back down, pick another terrain, and do it again.

  

7. Placing the barriers

• An easy way to place the outer barriers is to run the following command and select your whole map by supplying the two coordinates as instructed in chat:

  /ctf_barrier place_outer
  

  Doing this will surround the selected area with an indestructible glass/stone barrier, replacing all the nodes in the outermost layer of the selected area. This action is not revertible. {style="warning"}

• If you would like more customization with the outer barriers, you can use WorldEdit to place them instead:

  • To make the bottom of the map indestructible so that players can't escape, select the bottom layer of your map and replace it with any indestructible node through the WorldEdit GUI, or the command //s <node itemstring>. For example:

    //s ctf_map:ind_stone
    

    To see the itemstring of a node when hovering over it inside your inventory, you can go to settings, search for "append", and enable Append item name.

    You can find a list of commonly used itemstrings during map making and tips for using them here. {style="note"}

  • Your outer barriers can be placed outside your map area, override the outer slice of your map, or leave parts of the map terrain/structures outside the barrier.

    

    

    

  • To place the outer barrier, select the area where the barrier will be with WorldEdit (this area should only be one node thick) and set it to Indestructible Barrier Glass (ctf_map:ind_glass) or any type of indestructible node. Many nodes have indestructible variants, which you can use. You can place it using the WorldEdit GUI, or through the command //s <node itemstring>. For example:

    //s ctf_map:ind_glass
    

    This method will penetrate the terrain/structures if you have some within your selected area.

    

  • To replace the terrain with a type of indestructible node and everything that is not terrain with the barrier glass like the image below, you can replace-inverse air with your indestructible node and then replace air with Indestructible Barrier Glass.

    

  • To do that, select the area where the barrier will be with WorldEdit and replace-inverse air with your indestructible node through the WorldEdit GUI or using //ri air <node itemstring>. For example:

    //ri air ctf_map:ind_stone
    

  • Then, without selecting a new area, replace air with Indestructible Barrier Glass using the WorldEdit GUI, or through the command:

    //r air ctf_map:ind_glass
    

  • After finishing your first barrier wall, proceed to build the other 3 sides of the barrier.

  • You can also make a roof using any type of indestructible node such as Indestructible Barrier Glass, but if you set your map area correctly later on, players shouldn't be able to escape through the roof. So, you do not necessarily need to add a roof.

8. Building the map

• If you are using the singlenode mapgen, because of the world being filled with "Artificial Ignore" (ctf_map:ignore), players will not be able to move around without noclip.

• "Artificial Ignore" is a type of invisible, un-diggable, and un-pointable (you cannot select it) block. You have to set the area you want players to move in with air using WorldEdit. So, to make a map in the singlenode mapgen, you will need to enable noclip, and set the area you require for map making to air, and run:

  //s air
  

• When building your map, you can add any structure you want. Many blocks have indestructible variants, which you can use for builds you don't want players to destroy (use the admin pickaxe to break indestructible blocks).

  

  Another special node that CTF provides is the "Kill Node" (ctf_map:killnode). It is a glass-like, un-walkable node that does a damage of 20 HP per second when in contact. It is pointable, in other words, selectable, only in mapedit mode.

• You should also add the following:

  • Indestructible blocks under the position of the flag (the flag will be added later). The minimum surface area for this indestructible platform is 5x5 blocks (the flag should be in the middle).

  • Team chests for each team. You can find them as a node in the inventory.

    

  • Optional: ores (such as iron, diamond, or mese ores). The number of ores for each team should be about the same to ensure that no team has an advantage (please note that mapgens such as v7 and flat come with ores).

  • Note: if you want to enable your map for the classic mode, ores are required.

9. Building the build-time barrier

• Your build-time barrier should be in the middle of the map. It is fine if it can't be precisely in the middle.

  You can press F5 to show your current coordinates. {style="note"}

• To place the build-time barriers, run the following command in chat and select the area where your build-time barrier wall will be by supplying the two coordinates as instructed in chat (you can include terrain/structures in the selection too; don't worry they won't be replaced):

  /ctf_barrier place_buildtime
  

• The above will replace certain nodes with the corresponding build-time barrier, creating a build-time wall. To remove a build-time wall or any part of it, run the following command in chat and supply the coordinates:

  /ctf_barrier remove_buildtime
  

• To place the build-time barrier wall with WorldEdit, you can do the following:
  • The Indestructible Red Barrier Glass will disappear once build-time is over, so your build-time wall should not replace any part of the map terrain/structures. To do this, select the area where the build-time barrier wall will be with WorldEdit (you can include terrain/structures in the selection too; don't worry they won't be replaced), and run:

    //r air ctf_map:ind_glass_red
    

  • If there are stone nodes within the barrier wall, you can replace them with Indestructible Red Barrier Stone, which will turn into normal stone once the match starts. To do this, maintain the same selected area as before and run:

    //r default:stone ctf_map:ind_stone_red
    

  • If there is water within the barrier wall, you can replace it with Indestructible Water Barrier Glass, which will turn into water once the match starts. To do this, maintain the same selected area as before and run:

    //r default:water_source ctf_map:ind_water
    

  • If there is lava within the barrier wall, you can replace it with Indestructible Lava Barrier Stone, which will turn into lava once the match starts. To do this, maintain the same selected area as before and run:

    //r default:lava_source ctf_map:ind_lava
    

• If there are still breakable nodes within the barrier wall, you can leave them there, because if you set your team-zones correctly later on, players should be teleported back to base if they cross the barrier wall.

10. Selecting the map area

• After you finished building your map, run the following command in chat:

  /ctf_map editor
  

• Click Create New Map.

  

• Follow the instructions given to you in chat and select the area your map is in, just like how you would select the area with WorldEdit. You can either punch a node to select or stand where you want to select and run the following command:

  /ctf_map here
  

  

  Make sure you selected your entire map and that you did not select any extra space. If you have decided to leave some terrain/structures outside your outer glass barrier, include them too.

11. Exporting the map

• After selecting your map area, run /ctf_map editor in chat again. This will open the Map Editor.

• Check Map Enabled unless you don't want to make the map available for play. If you are making the map for the official server, you will check this.

  

• In the license field, add the license of your map. Every map must have a license. The official CTF server will only accept free culture licenses like CC BY-SA 4.0. Please note that some CC licenses, such as CC BY-ND are not free. You can find a list of CC licenses here.

  

  From the ctf_map README:

  You can append any attribution you need to give to the license field (For example: If you modified someone's map or used one of their builds you'd list their name and what map/build of theirs that you modified/used). If you want to give more information, you can use the Other Info field.

  Please make sure you know what you are doing when choosing a license.

• In the Folder Name field, type in the name you want the map folder to be. For example, if your map name is "My Map", it is recommended for you to name the folder my_map.

  

• Give players a hint about your map in the Map Hint field, such as where the treasures/ores are.

  

• Use Other Info for additional information about the map. You can leave this empty.

  

• In the Map Name field, type in the name of your map. For example, "My Map".

  

• In the Map Author(s) field, type in the name(s) of the author(s) of your map.

  

• From the ctf_map README:

  initial_stuff are the items given to players at their (re)spawn. The initial_stuff field is located in the map.conf file. At least a pickaxe and some torches should be given in the map's initial_stuff.

  An example of initial_stuff value that registers a stone pickaxe, 30 cobblestones, 5 torches and a pistol is given below.

  default:pick_stone,default:cobble 30,default:torch 5,ctf_ranged:pistol_loaded
  

  

• Map Treasures is optional. You can leave this field untouched. From the ctf_map README:

  (Map Treasures is) a list of treasures that can be added specifically for your map that don't end up in chests by default.

  Format:

  [name];[min_count];[max_count];[max_stacks];[rarity];[TREASURE_VERSION];
  

  rarity is a value between 0 and 1 specifying the probability it will be added to a chest. TREASURE_VERSION should currently be set to one.

  Example:

  default:lava_source;1;10;1;0.2;1;default:water_source;1;10;1;0.2;1;
  

  

• The Skybox is an image of a sky that will replace the default sky when players play your map. You can leave this as none to use the default sky or select one of the skyboxes. You can also add custom skyboxes. (WIP)

  

• In Map Modes, you can select the modes that will be enabled for your map. By default, all modes are enabled. To disable/enable a mode, double click it. Disabled modes are in the Available Modes box.

  

• Map Constants (from the ctf_map README):

  1. Map Shadow Intensity: Sets the intensity of the shadows.
  2. Map Gravity: Gravitational constant of the map. (default = 1)
  3. Map Movement Speed: Regulates the speed at which players move. (default = 1)
  4. Map Jump Height: Regulates the height of jumps. (default = 1)
  5. Map start_time: Sets time of the day the match begins at. Changing this field will instantly update the time of day in the world you are editing.
     • 0 is for midnight
     • 1000 is for 1 AM
     • 2000 is for 2 AM
     • etc.

• Below the map constants, you will see a list of the different teams with a checkbox next to them. Use the checkbox to enable the teams that exist in your map.

  

  Next, click the Set Flag Pos button below your first enabled team and punch the node where that team's flag will be on. This will place the flag on top of that node.

  Then, click the Zone Bounds button below the Set Flag Pos button and select the team's team-zone. A team-zone is the area where the team's players interact within during build-time before the build-time barriers drop. During build-time, players who leave the team-zone will be teleported back to base. Even standing on the edge of the team-zone will teleport the player back to base, so make sure to include the barriers within your team-zone too, or players will get teleported back to base if they touch the barriers during build-time!

  

  The Look position is the direction the players will look when they spawn at base. You can leave this by default (default is: auto).

  Repeat the same process for every enabled team.

• To add treasure chests to your map, click the Add Chest Zone button to add a chest-zone. A chest-zone is an area where the treasure chests will spawn randomly. You can add multiple chest zones. Click on the Chest Zone - (0,0,0) - (0,0,0) button for each chest zone to select each chest zone's area. You can only add one chest zone and have it cover the whole map, or you can add several different chest zones. You can edit the number of chests that will spawn randomly in each chest-zone.

  

  You can click the X button to remove a chest zone. Make sure each team gets around the same number of chests on their side!

• Once you finish configuring the map, click the Finish Editing button at the very bottom to finish.

  

12. Testing the map

• You can find your exported map folder within [(user data directory)]/worlds/[Map World]/schems/.

• To test your map, copy that folder into [user data directory]/games/capturetheflag/mods/ctf/ctf_map/maps. You can go to your Luanti user data directory and paste the following into your file manager's search/directory to navigate there quickly:

  /games/capturetheflag/mods/ctf/ctf_map/maps
  

  If you experience a problem with the above path on certain file managers, copy it without the / at the start. {style="warning"}

• Create a new world in the Capture the Flag game with the singlenode mapgen.

  

• Disable Creative Mode, and play the game.

  

• Grant yourself the ctf_admin priv (required to run upcoming commands) by running the following command:

  /grantme ctf_admin
  

• To skip to your map, you can run the command /ctf_next -f <map_name> or run the command /maps. Once you run the /maps command, you will be in the "Map catalog" menu. Find your map in the list, select it, and press the Skip to map button.

  

• To skip build-time, you can run the following command:

  /ctf_start
  

• To set yourself to the other team, run:

  /grantme ctf_team_admin
  

  Then:

  /ctf_teams set singleplayer <team color>
  

  For example:

  /ctf_teams set singleplayer blue
  

13. Screenshot

• If you choose to submit your map, include a screenshot of it in the exported map's folder. It should be taken without any texture packs enabled and must have an aspect ratio of 3:2 (screenshot 600pxx400px is suggested).
• To set the correct aspect ratio, you can:
  1. Change the height and width of your Luanti client window and take a screenshot or
  2. Use a tool of your choice after taking the screenshot. For example, you can use this website.

Using Luanti to adjust screenshot aspect ratio

1. Go to your Luanti client's settings and under Graphics, temporarily set the Screen Width and Screen Height to 600 and 400 respectively as shown below:
2. After making sure that the values are properly set, close and re-open your Luanti client. Your Luanti window's height and width should have changed now.
3. Keep the window size as it is and follow the screenshot steps mentioned in the next section

Taking the screenshot in Luanti

You can take a screenshot easily by doing the following:

1. Hide the HUD. By default, F1 does that.
2. Hide the chat log. By default, F2 does that.
3. See if your screenshot looks better with/without fog enabled. You can toggle it with F3 by default
4. Try to find a good view that shows most of the map.
5. (Optional) Increase your view range if important parts of the map cannot be seen. By default, the = (or +) and - keys do that.
6. Take a screenshot from Luanti. By default, F12 does that.
7. You can find the screenshot in [user data directory]/screenshots unless you have changed the path in the settings.

If you did not use Luanti to adjust the screenshot aspect ratio, then crop the screenshot into the correct aspect ratio using a tool of your choice. Put the screenshot inside your exported map's folder. It should be named screenshot.png.

14. Submission

• Now that you have finished making your map, you can submit it to the official CTF server. You can learn more about submission here.