How the F*** do I use the map designer?!

[Secondhand Samurai]

So I've spent about four hours trying to figure out how to build my own map and I'm about to put my fist through my screen. I set planets, stars and the like but when I try to put one player per system it won't load my faction just a bunch of random ones that I can't control. Also I want to start in a specific galaxy, is this possible? Every time I try to load my faction in one system and the others in the other system my faction always winds up with the others and a random one is where I want to be. Is this random, or uncontrolable?

[WHIPperSNAPper]

The built-in map designing program works in mysterious ways. Perhaps over time you'll figure out how to use it. You might prefer to use the Galaxy Forge program to specify the exact coordinates of each individual planet and gravity well. I haven't messed around with Galaxy Forge for three years, so I have no idea where you'd go to find it now-a-days.

[GoaFan77]

First of all, about the bunch of random factions, you're probably hitting the preview button. This is used to see how your map might turn out (all Galaxy Designer maps are random, they are never exactly the same). If you want to play your map for real with the faction of your choice, you need to start it like a normal game. Map Designer maps have their own tab in the map selection window (after large I Think).

Second, do you want yourself in one galaxy and everyone else in another, or do you want each player in their own galaxy? It is possible to do the latter, t my Enhanced 4X mod comes with a random map of every size where each player has their own solar system (called Fiefdoms). http://www.moddb.com/mods/enhanced-4x-mod

The former is not possible with the map designer/random maps. This is because random maps have no concept of player order, so a random player will always be assigned to whatever homeworld is put in the other solar system.

It is possible to do this with the Galaxy Forge external tool located in your Sins install directory. Unlike the map designer, it makes fixed AKA Non-random maps. Every time you load it the placement of the planets at least should be the same. There is an option in galaxy forge to disable "Random Positions" or something like that, which will make the human player player 0 every time. Thus you could make your own solar system just for yourself that way.

Actually, to save time, you could make the map like you want it in Map Designer, then open it with galaxy forge. Opening a random map in galaxy forge causes it to make a random instance of that map. Thus it saves you a lot of time with placing planets, so you just have to make sure player-0 is in the galaxy alone and turn of random positions. Then save the map as a fixed map (in the Galaxy Forge folder in the Sins "My Games" folder, which is located with the Mod and Setting folders).

[Secondhand Samurai]

Originally posted by CPPFZGoaFan77:

First of all, about the bunch of random factions, you're probably hitting the preview button. This is used to see how your map might turn out (all Galaxy Designer maps are random, they are never exactly the same). If you want to play your map for real with the faction of your choice, you need to start it like a normal game. Map Designer maps have their own tab in the map selection window (after large I Think).

Second, do you want yourself in one galaxy and everyone else in another, or do you want each player in their own galaxy? It is possible to do the latter, t my Enhanced 4X mod comes with a random map of every size where each player has their own solar system (called Fiefdoms). http://www.moddb.com/mods/enhanced-4x-mod

The former is not possible with the map designer/random maps. This is because random maps have no concept of player order, so a random player will always be assigned to whatever homeworld is put in the other solar system.

It is possible to do this with the Galaxy Forge external tool located in your Sins install directory. Unlike the map designer, it makes fixed AKA Non-random maps. Every time you load it the placement of the planets at least should be the same. There is an option in galaxy forge to disable "Random Positions" or something like that, which will make the human player player 0 every time. Thus you could make your own solar system just for yourself that way.

Actually, to save time, you could make the map like you want it in Map Designer, then open it with galaxy forge. Opening a random map in galaxy forge causes it to make a random instance of that map. Thus it saves you a lot of time with placing planets, so you just have to make sure player-0 is in the galaxy alone and turn of random positions. Then save the map as a fixed map (in the Galaxy Forge folder in the Sins "My Games" folder, which is located with the Mod and Setting folders).

I checked in my Sins folder and didn't see anything about Galaxy Forge

[Cheet4h]

Originally posted by RedFlash913:

I checked in my Sins folder and didn't see anything about Galaxy Forge

For me it's in "\Steam\steamapps\common\Sins of a Solar Empire Rebellion\Galaxy Forge". You sure it's not there?

[Secondhand Samurai]

Originally posted by Cheet4h:

Originally posted by RedFlash913:

I checked in my Sins folder and didn't see anything about Galaxy Forge

For me it's in "\Steam\steamapps\common\Sins of a Solar Empire Rebellion\Galaxy Forge". You sure it's not there?

That's why I couldn't find it, it was right in front of me. Thank you everyone

[Secondhand Samurai]

Ok so I made my galaxy but now I have 2 problems. 1: I can't change the number of players from 2 it's greyed out and won't let me edit it no matter how many stars and/or homes I place. And 2: My galaxy doesn't show up in-game in the galaxy forge section of the map selection screen. I tried moving it to the regular galaxy folder but that yielded the same result. I'm sorry that I don't already know this. But how do I change it to allow for 5 (me and 4 others) players and how do I get it to actually show up? Plese tell me I don't have to write code. I don't know how to do that.

[Carolus]

Originally posted by Bad Luck Charm:

Ok so I made my galaxy but now I have 2 problems. 1: I can't change the number of players from 2 it's greyed out and won't let me edit it no matter how many stars and/or homes I place. And 2: My galaxy doesn't show up in-game in the galaxy forge section of the map selection screen. I tried moving it to the regular galaxy folder but that yielded the same result. I'm sorry that I don't already know this. But how do I change it to allow for 5 (me and 4 others) players and how do I get it to actually show up? Plese tell me I don't have to write code. I don't know how to do that.

Keep in mind, I'm using map designer here. Not galaxy forge.

You can create a bigger map to increase the player count, if you have a big enough map to support a higher player count then it should be no problem using my technique. I'm 4 years in the future now that I think about it you already know this.



You can decrease the amount of players from a larger number, but can't increase them from a smaller number. This has nothing to do with the map designer though, When you go to the perfect map with say, 10 player slots, you can block some out, put AI in, and control your player count when you're about to host it. This allows for comically oversized maps to become an issue, but it makes more space for AI factions. This does work.

[WHIPperSNAPper]

The problem I've had with the Map Designer, at least years ago when I used it, is that something about the phase lane settings was off. You could end having maps where it takes forever for ships to traverse the phase lanes. It was just a game killer.