Releasing a map

Mapping for FF The Basics Setting up Hammer Getting Started With Lua Releasing a map FF-specific Entities ff_minecart ff_miniturret info_ff_script info_ff_teamspawn path_mapguide trigger_ff_script trigger_ff_clip Lua location system Map Templates Basic Teamplay Capture the Flag Attack and Defend Invade and Defend Territory Control Hunted FF Lua Documentation Entity Typing Entity Collections Commands Buildables DamageInfo HUD Items Sounds and Messages Objective Icon Players Scheduling Menus Entity Functions Teams Utility Functions Data Saving Functions Callbacks Global info_ff_script trigger_ff_script Spawn turrets Spawn point control

Introduction

You've made a map, now you probably want people to play it, right?

Finishing touches

Before you compile, remember these finishing touches:

• Soundscapes and other ambient sounds.
• Cubemaps
• location triggers
• path_mapguide
• info_intermission
• Show all visgroups in Hammer

Then compile with full vis, -final lighting, and HDR if you wish. You want this version of the map to look and play as well as possible.

• Do a final visual inspection. Test out flags, doors, ammo bags, and spawns for all teams.
• Build your cubemaps.
• Bspzip any files you want to imbed into the map.

Files to include

Only the first two files are strictly needed, though all are recommended.

• maps\mapname.bsp --the map
• maps\mapname.lua --The game script
• maps\mapname.res --A Resource list of all included files; This is used for when players download the map from a server.
• maps\mapname.txt --A short description of the map, contact information, etc.
• materials\vgui\loadingscreen\mapname.vmt --loading screen material
• materials\vgui\loadingscreen\mapname.vtf --loading screen texture

Finally, include any custom textures, models, sounds, etc. your map uses--unless you've already used bspzip.

Zip it up

Pack all your files for easy distribution. .zip and .rar are popular compression formats. If you include the directory structure as listed above, users can simply unzip the archive into their FortressForever folder, and they will be ready to go.

Testing

It's important to give your installer out to a few players and play it on a server before releasing it to the general public. Your testers may find bugs, graphical glitches, or missing files that you wouldn't.

Host it

Put a list of hosting sites here?