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Editor Basics & Navigating to the Editor

MapEditorSelected In PauseMenu

You must have Silver VIP or better and use Strike. Arena players cannot use the editor.

VIP players can start a solo match on the map you wish to edit and press Esc to find the Map Editor and Sandbox buttons. To access the Map Editor, click the Map Editor button (depicted on the left)

Click and drag with the middle mouse wheel to navigate around the map. Scrolling up or down with the mouse wheel will zoom the camera in or out. Click and drag to move objects on the map, and use Ctrl to select multiple objects.

EditorSelectionButtons

The top-left buttons will change your cursor's behavior from normal click/drag to rotating, resizing, or box select.

Units of Measurement

There are two different units that we'll be referencing today: Terrain units and Object units. The easiest way to remember this is that one Terrain unit is 8 Object units.

Creating your Map

Map Metadata

EditorButtonMetadata

It is important when mapmaking to fill out your map's metadata (either just meta, info, or data, from here on out) either when or before you are creating your map. Meta includes things like your Map Name, map boundaries, and Kill Planes.

Map Bounds

In this section, you can adjust where the player and their camera are allowed to be. "CameraExt" is how far the camera can go. "MapExt" is how far the minimap will go. Force Box is a set of coordinates, as well as Power and Rotation, that set where Mechs and units are allowed. If you want to disable the Force Box, set the second-to-last number to 0. If you want it enabled, then set it to any number that is 1 or higher. All of these coordinates are managed in terrain tiles, not units.

Light Values

EditorMetadataLightSlider

In this section, you have the ability to adjust the lighting in your map. It is suggested that you use the Light Slider tool, as shown in an image to the right, which can be accessed using a button on the top o the interface. You can alternatively enter the data directly into the boxes below the Light Slider button. It is recommended that you only do this if you are looking for precise colors or values.

Plane Zones

Under Plane Zones, you can find just two values: TransformPlane and KillPlane. These are the levels, in object units, that will deal damage and cause your Mech to transform into their aerial counterpart, respectively. The default values should be fine for most maps.

Map Info

This one is important. Here, you can give your map a name (spaces allowed!) in the MapName box, cannot choose a skybox likely because of a bug, can (and really should) set the PregameTime, which is the countdown before the match begins, and how long you have to select your loadouts before the game starts. PregameRadius is pre-set and should be OK for most maps. GameStyle is the different styles of game, most of these are from Wastelands. These game modes appear broken in AirMech's current state. The only game style that works is Versus.

Adding Objects

EditorButtonObject

New objects can be placed by clicking the + button at the top-right of the editor. Use the drop-down box to filter by category. You can place objects on the map by clicking and dragging them from the editor panel to the terrain. Use the drop-down box at the bottom to assign team control.

Objects on the map can be selected with the mouse cursor after clicking the wrench icon at the top-right. Hold Ctrl to select multiple props. Click and drag to move props around the map. You can quickly duplicate an object by holding Shift while dragging. Press E to make the mouse cursor rotate objects. Press R to have it change the render scale. Press W to go back to moving objects. Holding Alt will allow you to move the object vertically. Press M to plant an object to the terrain or object below.

IntroCam1 Options

IntroCam1 on Vale depicted in the Map Editor

Useful Objects

  • Auxiliary Power Sockets are the prop "FortPadBase"
    • Sockets and Socket-Related things, like wires, can be located by searching "pad"
  • Outposts can be found under Prefabs. Modern Outposts, with units on top, have a "v2" at the end
  • The only Game Location is the "Circle," which is used for setting positions for the pre-game camera (put the label as IntroCam# where "#" is the order you want the camera to go, starting at 1. For examples, see any Official map) and scripting.

Editing Objects

To edit objects, you will either be using the cursor tools (i.e. rotate, move, resize) to minipulate objects, or you will use the Options tab. At the top-right corner, just like adding objects, there is a wrench icon. This is the Options Tab. The Options Tab contains lots of information about units and their positions, down to crazy decimal levels. Some of the things you can do here include (but are not limited to) change a Terrain Object's Render Scale or Rotation, move an object to fine decimal places, have a unit's Max HP and DPS match that of a Mech, etc. This tab is also used in Scripting to identify things like Elevators, Units, and Locations (as depicted above with the IntroCam# locations).

Things of note

  • With a few exceptions, Render Scale (modified by changing the text box or by using the Scale tool) only affects RENDER. It does not affect physical object size (hitbox). This can be exploited in certain ways like making a Socket on top of a Powerstation Outpost (similar to the Sockets on top of the Fortress) and making invisible walls/platforms when using "0" or any non-numeric input.


Terrain Editing

EditorButtonTerrain

At the top-right corner, click the terrain editing button that looks like a slope, then click on a terrain tile to begin editing. you can change the tileset of the tile with the drop-down box near the top-right. The icons near the top will change the mesh set (0 through 9 are hotkeys for these). The double arrows will cycle through available variants of that mesh set, or use the dice button to randomize. Below that, the curved arrows will rotate the tile by 90 degrees. The vertical arrows will raise or lower the tile's elevation. The textbox beside these arrows will determine how many Terrain units to raise/lower the terrain each time. For fine manipulation of terrain tiles, you can also use the arrow keys to transform the positioning of terrain tiles by one unit at a time in the X and Y axes. You can, of course, hold Control to transform by 4 units at a time. Even more powerfully, you can also, once a tile is selected, you can go to the Object Options tab to fine-tweak options up to the character limit. 

EditorTerrainModeDropdown

For mas terrain manipulation, you may also want to visit the Generate section of the Terrain Editor. There, you can find useful tools for creating flat tiles and destroying terrain tiles and even objects. When generating, you can select a biome from Tile Mode, and then generate to your heart's content. Gen = Generate. Nuke = Destroy. Vis = Visible.

 

NavMesh and Pathing

EditorButtonsNavMesh

NavMesh is a layer above the terrain that serves as a geometry map for units to calculate paths. You can see a visualization of the NavMesh by pressing F4 once or clicking the left NavMesh button at the top. Press again to see infantry specific pathing. Pressing once more will toggle it off. NavMesh is generated by clicking the right NavMesh button at the top of the editor view (may take a few seconds to finish). This must be done any time terrain or props are changed. It is good practice to do this before you test or publish your map.

 

Sample Map

EditorButtonSampleMesh

The Sample Map is like the NavMesh but is instead for AirMechs. It needs to be updated whenever changes are made to the terrain or tall props. Click on the Sample Map button at the top-right corner to view the Sample Map grid. Map coverage, rotation, spacing, and height can be adjusted here, but it's usually best to use the values already set for each map. The Generate button will create a new Sample Map. It is good practice to do this before you test or publish your map.

Looking for more?

Editor Keybinds/Hotkeys

Key

What it Does

Any Arrow Key Moves selected object(s) by 1 Object unit
Control + Any Arrow Key Moves selected object(s) by 4 Object units
Shift + G Toggles Grid Snap. By default, this is 0.5 Object units.
Comma (,) Rotates selected object(s) by 90 degrees (clockwise)
Period (.) Rotates selected object(s) by 90 degrees (counter-clockwise)
Delete Deletes selected object(s)
Shift + Click and Drag Duplicates selected object(s)

(The click-and-drag action is performed on the duplicated object)

W Switches mouse to Move mode
E Switches mouse to Rotate mode
R Switches mouse to Resize mode (broken)
B Switches mouse to Mass (box) Select mode
M Snaps selected object(s) to terrain elevation.

*Can rotate objects, but this is likely a bug.

Shift + M Snaps selected object(s) to terrain elevation. Rotates objects.
Control (ctrl) or Command (⌘) + M Snaps selected object(s) to terrain elevation. Does not rotate objects.
F5 Toggles NavMesh Visualization
F6 Toggles Wireframe (Mesh View) Mode. This disables your typical UI.
Any Number Key (0-9) Sets the shape of the selected Terrain tile.
Shift + Space Resets camera angle, but not position. Broken at the time of writing.
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