General Boards > Mapping Tips/Guides
How to make a video game map. Basic Mapping Methodology.
feos:
Ripping from LOSSLESS video
Trop:
Those could work. But for now I'm going to do simple screenshots.
Another important program:
http://pikensoft.com/programs-bgmapper.html
Once you've downloaded all the stuff on the links I posted create a folder called zsnes and move them all into it. Start the Zsnes program, load Donkey Kong Country 3, and press F4 on the keyboard. Then just play around in the level to get used to it if you've never played this game before. Just press F4 again if you die.
Now that you've gotten the basics of everything let's get started. The most important part of a video game map is the foreground so we'll map that first. On the keyboard press 2, 3, 4, and 5. That will make everything but the foreground disappear. In Zsnes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 control the graphical levels of the game. Play around with them to see how they work. For this level 1 is foreground, 2 is transparency, 3 is background, 4 is not used, and 5 is sprites.
With only 1 on all you see is the foreground, so when you take a screenshot all you'll get is the foreground. If you move forward taking screenshots you can overlay them to make a single image that shows more of the foreground then just one screenshot does, even though it leaves out some of what you wanted to capture. And with that you have the beginnings of a map. Also you can now see the two biggest problems with game mapping. How to disassemble the game to only get the parts you want. And how to get all the parts you want without missing any.
Trop:
So the first thing we have to do is check to see if anything is missing. It looks like were at the start of the stage in the bottom left corner, but are we? Hit escape to pause Zsnes and click the top middle bar called Cheat. Under that click Add Code, then Load in the row of buttons. The list of codes that pop up are more or less everything you need to map this particular game. On the list of codes double click camera scrl left at the bottom and walk forward in the game. You'll get stuck as the code prevents the camera from leaving the stage's left wall.
So we know where the left wall is how about the stage bottom. Turn on the camera scrl down code and jump around to see if the camera moves lower. In this instance the stage truly does begin at its bottom left corner.
Now the best way to map any video game level or stage is to remember that all game stages take place in a big box. So all you have to do is scan that box back and fourth until you get everything. You can scan in any direction you like but for this stage lets go top down, left right. That means before we start we need to be in the top left corner. Back in the cheat menu turn off all other codes and turn on invinc, animal activator, and squaks. This will make you the games flying character, the parrot Squaks, and make you invincible since you don't need to worry about dying while trying to make a map.
Use the jump button to fly squaks to the top of the map, and once there turn on the camera scroll left and camera scroll up codes and press F2 to save. Now you are at the top left of the stage and we can begin to scan it down and right. On the Zsnes menu screen you see when you hit the esc button you'll find a misc button at the far right, click it. On the misc menu under Quick keys there is a snapshot box. This is what you are going to use to take your screenshots. Pick a button on your keyboard and assign it to snapshot then go back ot the game.
Trop:
Now that you're in position turn off layers 2, 3, 4, and 5 and press your snapshot button to take a screenshot. Then go into the cheat menu and turn the scroll up off and the scroll down on. As Squaks falls the screen will scroll down, and as it does you can take a new screenshot a certain intervals. But now we have a new problem: how do you judge intervals and how do you keep track of screenshots that are almost identical. The answer is landmarks.
At the top of the level there are three little bushes on the screen. As Squaks floats down the bottom bush rises to the top and another little bush appears. This is a good time for your second screenshot. As Squaks keeps falling another row of bushes appears so again time for a screenshot. Finally Squaks reaches the first ledge which makes another good spot for an interval screenshot.
Now two of your screenshots are nearly identical #2 and #3. How are you going to tell them apart when you start assembling them. Simple, during assembly you are going to go back and count. But for now lets move on. As Squaks hits the ledge he stops and bounces and the screen stops scrolling because my codes are not perfect. To get the scroll down code to kick in just move him to the right of the screen. The camera will attempt to adjust itself, it will scroll up, then start doing what the code instructs it to do. As is slowly scrolls down the level you can take your screenshots at whatever landmark intervals you like the best. When I find an interval I like I like to press the in game pause button to avoid camera jitter. The jitter is another side effect of my codes.
Keep doing this until the camera stops because it's at the bottom of the level. For me it was about twenty screenshots from top to bottom. Now press 5 on your keyboard because next we're going after sprites. Sprites are all the little animated characters and objects in a game. They are usually closer then the foreground so you don't need to worry about layer overlap. Turn off the camera scroll down code and get ready on the in game pause because the camera is going to race back to your position fast. When a sprite, like a banana, a monster, a barrel, or whatever appears on screen hit pause and take a screenshot. Keep this up until Squaks is back on screen then fly to the top and and use the scroll up code to make sure you didn't miss anything.
Now that you have a stack of screenshots lets move on to assembly.
Trop:
Once you have a bunch of screenshots putting them together is easy. But first you'll need some kind of image editor program. Anything from MS Paint to Photoshop will do. Since all image editors have a different style of operation pick the one you like the best. It may be a long process to experiment with different kinds but it's worth it.
Assembling your screenshots is usually called stitching because of how each screenshot acts as a piece to a whole to make a map. All you have to do is line up one part of a screenshot that overlaps another and keep doing that until you've formed a larger image. This is why landmarks are so important. A bush, a crack in the rock, or some other static object appearing in two screenshots can be used to line them up into one. If the same landmark appears twice while you are capturing screenshots then once your done just go back and count them to create a measurement. For example between the top of the screen and the first ledge in this level there are four little bushes. So even if you get confused as to where a screenshot in your stack was taken you can figure it out.
Sprites follow the same rule. You can re-scan the area you just shot to re-find them, and use landmarks around them to pinpoint their exact location. Some people like to use a standard set of sprites in their maps, for example always showing the little purple alligator in the same position wherever it appears on the map, but for this map I'm only going to record non moving sprites. This is entirely a personal choice and every mapper uses a different standard when it comes to how much detail to add to their map, so it's up to you.
So with your image editor of choice stitch your current handful of screenshots together and you'll have your first strip of map. Which also gives you the levels height.
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