The Scenario Editor
An Overview
The Warlords III Game Editor will allow you to do the following things.
Create new scenario maps.
Edit existing maps.
Place heroes and armies
Place, name and assign production to cities.
Place and name ruins and sites.
Place roads.
Edit side names, shields and army sets.
Create and place items.
Define sides
Diplomatic relationships

(Note: all figures that are referenced in this document are available in the Word 6.0 document "Game Editor Instructions.doc" located in the same folder as this file.)

Users of Warlords II or the Warlords II Deluxe Game Editor will note that it is not possible to create or edit any graphics in the Warlords III Scenario Editor. This is because of the increased complexity of graphics in Warlords III compared to previous versions of Warlords. In Warlords II, each army required a single 32 x 32 pixel graphic. In Warlords III there are 32 graphics, each 48 x 48 pixels for each army, which results in the graphics system being complex.

Tutorial
This simple tutorial will take you through the principles of building a new Warlords III scenario.

Starting Up
Launch the Darklords Rising Scenario Editor from the Windows Start Menu -> Programs -> Red Orb Entertainment -> Warlords III - Darklords Rising -> Darklords Rising Scenario Editor. The opening screen has several buttons. We want to create a new scenario so click the New Scenario button.

Before we start work on our new scenario we must give it a name and define how large a map and what sort of terrain it will use.

Click in the Code field. The code is the file name that will identify the scenario. It can be up to eight letters long. We are going to create a scenario based in the exciting world of Twodimensia so type in the code Twodimen. Now click in the Name field. Type in Twodimensia. This is the name that will appear in the scenario list at the start of the game. If you want everyone to know who created this wonderful scenario, enter your name in the Author field.

Now you need to choose what terrain set you wish to use. By clicking on the appropriate button you can select the Grassland, Dungeon, Cavern, Outlands, Citadel, or Plains terrain sets. We'll use the default Grassland terrain for this scenario.

The final option is the size of the map. Think carefully because there is no way to come back and change this once you've exited this screen. Move the slider across to the left to select the smallest map size, 32x40. Now click OK to move to the next screen.

Creating the Map
Each feature of the scenario can be edited in any order. We will start by creating our map. Click on the Edit Map button. The screen layout is similar to Warlords III with the tactical map on the left and the strategic map on the top right. Below the strategic map is the terrain palette. Left-clicking on a terrain button from the terrain palette selects that terrain. A description of the selected terrain appears above the terrain palette and a generic terrain tile of that variety appears below the terrain palette. Also below the terrain palette are six buttons showing different brush sizes and shapes that can be used in painting the map. The default selection is one terrain tile. Select the mountains button (top row, fifth from the left) and click in the top left hand corner of the tactical map. A square of mountains will appear. We want to paint a mountain range that extends from the top left of the map to the bottom right (see figure 1). Experiment with different brush sizes. To move about the map either drag the mouse in the direction you wish to move or click on the appropriate point on the strategic map to reposition the tactical map.

Clicking on the generic terrain tile brings up a selection of terrain tiles for that terrain type. Although the computer will automatically try to select a tile that gives a smooth appearance, it will not always give the exact appearance you were after. Individual tiles can be selected and placed by the scenario creator. To return control to the computer simply click on the highlighted terrain button in the terrain palette.

If you wish to remove any terrain tiles that you have placed simply select a new terrain and paint over the area. When you have completed painting your mountain range, click on the remap button. After a few seconds the computer will paint a new strategic map, complete with your mountain range (figure 2). Click the save button to save your work.

We now want to add in some forests to the top right section of our map. Click on the forest button, select a brush size and paint away. Figure 2 shows the map after the addition of two forests. Now place some marshes in the bottom left corner of the map. After clicking the remap button your screen should look something like figure 3. Save again.

Up until now we have been in 'new terrain' mode. Below the remap and save buttons are nine buttons. Click on each one in turn. Erase Features allows you to remove any feature overlaying a terrain tile, roads, cities, ruins, armies etc. Edit Data allows you to edit the data for a city, hero, ruin, site, item or army. The other buttons respectively allow you to place armies, heroes, items, cities, ruins and sites.

Click on the Place Cities button. We wish to place four cities on the map. Note that the computer will not allow you to place cities too close to the map edge. Place a couple of ruins and a couple of sites, so that your map looks like the one shown in figure 4. The cities, ruins and sites will be generic until we edit them in a little while. We won't place any armies, heroes or items yet.

It's now time to place some roads. Click on New Terrain mode and select the road overlay button from the terrain palette (bottom row, extreme right). Place a road over the mountains (figure 5). If you wish to remove any of the roads you have placed, select the Erase Features mode and click on the square containing the road you wish to remove.

Editing the Sides
Before we start assigning cities we need to edit the sides. Click on the Commands button at the bottom right of the screen. Select Save and Exit. From the Scenario Menu select Edit Sides. We only want to use two sides, white and black. In the text field for the white side type Goodies and for black type Baddies (hey, it is called Twodimensia!). Click in the used checkbox for every side except white and black. You should have a green tick in the box for white and black.

You can edit the shields for each side by clicking on the shield and selecting your heraldic designs from the ones available. The Edit Side button allows you to select army types, hero types, mana and other features of a side in exactly the same way as you design a custom army set in Warlords III. There is no points limit so you can make some sides more powerful than others. You can also select whether the side is to be controlled by a human player, a Knight, a Lord or a Warlord level computer player. A player can override this if the scenario is being played as a stand-alone game but not if it is being played as part of a campaign. The neutral armies can also be customized to give a particular flavour to a scenario. Once you have finished editing the sides the screen should look like figure 6. Return to the Scenario Menu by clicking Okay.


Diplomacy and Introduction
We will ignore the Edit Items and Edit Data buttons for the time being. Click on the Diplomacy button. Click anywhere on the screen. Select Goodies from the Side 1 column, Baddies from the Side 2 column and Bias: To the Death! from the Standing/Bias column. Now click Okay. The diplomatic stance you just typed in will be listed in the number 1 slot. To change it click on it again. To add more diplomacy, click in the number 2 slot etc. With all eight sides there can be up to 28 different diplomatic interactions (figure 7).

Click on the Edit Intro button. You can type in up to four paragraphs of introductory text describing the scenario (figure 8).

Back to the map for the finishing touches
Select the Edit Data mode. Click on the top left hand city. You can select up to four armies which the city will be able to produce, the type of city graphic used, the level of the city and its gold and mana production (figure 9). Don't name the city, we'll do that automatically a bit later. Now select the other city north of the mountains. This will be the Goodies' capitol city. Click on the grey shield in the bottom left hand corner of the Edit Cities screen. This will take you to the City Owners screen. Click on Goodies to assign the city to the white player and click in the Capital checkbox to make this city the Goodies' Capital. Select which armies the city will produce. Now repeat this process with the two cities south of the mountains, making one the Baddies' capitol city.

Click on the ruin nearest the Goodies' capital. This brings up the Edit Ruins screen. The ruin can be named, described, a graphic selected, a monster and a reward chosen. If you select multiple rewards the computer will randomly select one of the selected rewards. Now do the same for the ruin near the Baddies' capital.

Click on the site next to the Baddies' capital. This will bring up the Edit Sites screen. The site can be named, described and the type of site chosen.

Just to round things out we'll place some armies, a hero and an item. Select the Place Armies mode. Click in the Baddies' capital. This will bring up the Add Armies screen. Select the side you wish the armies to belong to from the list on the left hand side of the screen; in this case, the Baddies. Select an Undead Beast (in the bottom left hand corner of the Baddies' army palette). Move the slider along to 2 and click OK. Two undead beasts will now appear in the Baddies' capital.

Now select the Place Heroes mode. Click in the Goodies' capital. This will bring up the Place Heroes screen. A hero can be selected from among the four types available to the Goodies. Select a General. Type a name for your general into the Name field. I called my general Bonaparte. At the right hand side of the screen, click twice on the Level slider to increase Bonaparte's level to 3. Click in the Move-Bonus checkbox to give Bonaparte a bonus for moving through rough terrain. Now click in the first slot under abilities. Scroll down the list until you get to Engineer +3. Click on it. Engineer +3 ability will now appear in the first slot. Click in the second slot. Select Leadership +3 from the list. Under statistics increase Bonaparte's strength to 6 and his movement to 20. Click in the first Item slot. From the list of items, select the Axe of Slaying. Give it a 100% chance of appearing.

Select the Place Items mode. Click on the road half way between the two capitals. This will bring up the Place Items screen. Select the Hunter's Bow and click Okay. The Hunters bow will now appear on the ground just waiting for a hero to come and pick it up.

We now need to name all the places that are currently unnamed. Any unnamed city, ruin or site will not appear when you play the scenario. From the Command menu select Randomize. The default setting is for the computer to randomize the names of unnamed cities, ruins and sites and to also randomize city data if this has not been entered for any city. Simply hit OK and the computer will name the two neutral cities, the two ruins and the two sites.

Finally we should smooth the map on the off chance that the 'smooth as you go' routines haven't done their job perfectly. Select Smooth All from the Command Menu. This will smooth out any irregularities in the map. Now select Smooth Roads, which will straighten out any wiggly roads on the map.

Go back to the Command menu and select Save and Exit. Click on the Main Menu button and then click Quit.

Congratulations you have just created your very first scenario. Easy, wasn't it? You can now start up Warlords III: Darklords Rising and watch the Goodies and the Baddies fight to the bitter end in a mammoth struggle for the world of Twodimensia.

Explanation of Other Game Editor Functions
The opening screen for the Warlords II Game Editor is shown in figure 10. There are seven buttons. New Scenario allows you to create a new scenario. Load Scenario allows you to select from a list of existing scenarios. The selected scenario is then loaded and becomes available to be edited. Pack Scenario enables you to select a scenario and pack it into a single file suitable for transfer between computers or posting on the net. Clicking on the Item Editor button opens the Item Editor screen. To create a new item, click the New button. To modify an existing item click the Load button and select the item to be modified. Each new item requires a code, which can be up to eight characters long. The item's name, appearance, abilities, value and description can all be modified. Clicking on the Credits button brings up a list of the credits for Warlords III: Darklords Rising. Unpack Scenario enables you to select a scenario pack file and unpack it so that it can be played.

Selecting either New Scenario or Load Scenario will lead you to the Scenario Menu (figure 11). Most of the functions on this screen have been described in the tutorial. The Edit Items button opens the Scenario Items screen. This lists the items currently in the scenario. Items can be either Compulsory, in which case they are present in the scenario, or Optional, in which case they have only a percentage chance (which you can change with the slider in the bottom right of the screen) of them being present. Being present does not necessarily mean that the item will start the game on the map. If there are more items in the list than on the map (for instance, if you have twenty items and only five ruins) then unused items will be available for sale by merchants or as rewards for quests. Unplaced items can not start the game on the map but are available for sale by merchants and as rewards for quests. If you want to alter the items used in a scenario, click in a slot and click on a new item. The new item will replace the old one.

Clicking on the Edit Data button in the Scenario Menu opens the Miscellaneous Data screen. In the top left are the names and strengths of the monsters, which inhabit the ruins in the game, both of which can be edited. In the bottom left is the scenario description, which appears when you select the scenario in the Scenario Select screen at the start of the game. To the right of the Scenario Description is the world that the scenario exists in. Warlords III: Darklords Rising contains scenarios set in a number of distinct fantasy worlds, the main one being Etheria. On the right hand side of the screen are the ruins, special sites and cities, which are used in the game. Each scenario can use up to eight different types of ruin, eight different types of site and four different styles of city. Clicking in any slot brings up a list of possible ruins, sites or cities which you can choose to replace the one in the selected slot.

The Command Menu in the Map Editor contains three more commands: Import Map, Edit Whole Map and Clear Map. Import Map allows you to import a .pcx file to use as the map. The file must use the same palette as Warlords III. Edit Whole Map opens a screen which allows you to paint straight onto a simplified version of the strategic map. It is particularly useful for doing broad brush editing when you first start painting a scenario map. Clear Map paints over the entire map with a single terrain. As well as erasing mistakes it is useful for scenarios where the main terrain is something other than grassland. For instance if you create an island scenario you can start by selecting Clear Map and repainting the entire map with sea tiles.

Campaign Editor
The Campaign Editor in Warlords III: Darklords Rising allows scenario designers to link their scenarios into a multi episode campaign similar to those which already come with the game. The first step in creating a campaign is to create the required scenarios using the Scenario Editor.

Tutorial and Description of Function

Launch the Darklords Rising Campaign Editor from the Windows Start Menu -> Programs -> Red Orb Entertainment -> Warlords III - Darklords Rising -> Darklords Rising Campaign Editor. We want to make a new campaign so click the New Campaign button. You are required to enter the campaign name and a code of up to eight letters. Enter the word 'Test' in each field.

We have now created a campaign called Test. It currently contains no episodes. As this would be a little boring we will add our first episode by clicking the Add Episode button. Select 'The Forest of Night' scenario as our first episode. By clicking the Options button we are able to set the scenario options for The Forest of Night scenario when it is played as part of the Test campaign. We will leave the options as they are.

Click the Rules button. The Rules screen allows you to enhance each side. As players keep their most powerful heroes from episode to episode this is an important means of balancing later scenarios. Select the Dark Ones side and type a 2 in the strength box to increase the strength of their units by 2. Note the Level field. It is currently set to Default. This means that the computer will use the default setting given for that side in the scenario, in this case Warlord. When you design a scenario for use in a campaign you should always set one player under human control (in this case dark blue) and the rest under computer control. However, if you fail to do this you can always reset the control in this screen.

Click on the Rewards button. This screen allows you to set the rewards that the human player gets upon successfully completing this episode. Possible rewards are +1 strength, hits or view, +2 movement and -1 turn production time. For instance placing a 2 in the Strength box means that two separate unit types can be rewarded with a +1 strength bonus. Place a 1 in the Strength box, the Hits box and the Time box.

Click on the Start Text button. Enter the text which you wish to appear at the start of the scenario in the text field. For instance you might enter "This is the first scenario in the campaign." Clicking on the Loss Text button allows you to enter the text that appears if you lose the scenario and the Ending Text button allows you to enter the text that appears if you win the scenario. Clicking on the Resign Text button allows you to modify the text that appears if you resign. Clicking on the Add button adds this episode to the campaign. If at any time you wish to change the scenario details in any way you can do so by clicking on the Edit Episode button and selecting the episode you wish to edit.

To add a second episode, simply click Add Episode and repeat the above process. You can remove an episode by (predictably) clicking on the Remove Episode button. If you wish to transfer a campaign to another computer, or for instance, post it on a website you should click on the Pack Campaign button. This will pack all the scenarios and all campaign data into a single file. Campaigns can be unpacked by clicking the Unpack Campaign button in the opening screen. This file can be found at the same level as the executables in the Warlords III: Darklords Rising folder.

The final button on the Campaign Editor screen is the Intro Text Button. This allows you to enter text which appears at the start of the campaign. The World field allows you to place your campaign in one of the Warlords III worlds, such as Etheria. Campaigns from different worlds appear in separate lists at the start of Warlords III: Darklords Rising.