Play Custom Map - Remastered
I made a map in the editor for CnC Remastered. I cannot figure out how to play the damn thing. I have the game via the EA games app, so I can't publish it to Steam and get it that way (though I tried...
Forum Discussion
@DocileBear Are you talking about playing it in an online match, or just locally as skirmish? Or is it a singleplayer scenario?
Sadly, the non-Steam version can't upload things to the Workshop, and the map pool used for online play comes from the Steam Workshop, so you can't use them online. To play the map in Skirmish, or as custom mission, you just need to put it in your Documents folder, under "CnCRemastered\Local_Custom_Maps", inside the folder for the correct game ("Tiberian_Dawn" or "Red_Alert").
As far as I can see, the lack of Steam upload for the EA App version isn't an artificial limitation, either; Steam doesn't allow uploading things for a game you don't own on their platform, and the Steam version of the Remaster contains a specific Steam library for its DRM that the editor also uses to connect to Steam and do the workshop upload.
Note that I created a vastly upgraded version of the map editor, with added features such as drag-placing map tiles, flood fill, a more complete undo/redo system, drag & drop file loading, menu shortcuts, no freezing during save operations, and a lot more. If you're interested in making maps, you might want to check that out:
https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/discussions/18446744073709551615/3412056228828174003/?appid=1213210
Thanks @Nyerguds - you've already provided a lot of information to me over on Reddit, so I came here to avoid you feeling obligated to continue helping me - yet here you are! I've sent you a DM on Reddit; just seems easier than messaging you across multiple forums. Thanks so much for all your help these last few days! And for anyone else who stumbles in here, that map editor of yours is a major step up from the one the game comes with!
- @DocileBear Ah, no worries. As you can see, I have Hero status here, so I'm here to help out people. In general though, as my signature here says, I do prefer keeping such conversations public, just so other people can also find them and benefit from the knowledge in them 🙂
- @Nyerguds Ah yes, that makes sense! I'll C&P it here then :-)
In answer to your reply, I literally just want to play it in a single player skirmish. Hell, at this point, for all the time that's been invested in figuring this out, it's probably more than I'd actually spend playing the damn map, but it's honestly just bugging me why something that was such a simple process 15 years ago has turned into a giant ball ache today!
I have tried putting the map in C:\Users\[name]\Documents\CncRemastered\Local_Custom_Maps\Red_Alert, using file types .MPR, .INI, .JSON and .TGA. I've restarted the laptop, too - no dice. Another helpful respondent on the Steam support page (you've also replied to me there, too - you really do get about, helping folk!) also pointed out the file may have been set to 'single player' but once I understood they meant within the editor, not the game, I checked, and it wasn't. Regardless, I tried setting it to single player (in case they got their advice reversed) and again, tried all 4 file types. So, set to single player or not, the map isn't there. They also suggested I delete the line "official = yes" under Basic (when viewing the .mpr in text doc) and that hasn't worked either.
There are two anomalies I've noted with your map editor that may provide some insight. Firstly, I notice the official editor can no longer open a map made in your editor (I tried .INI and .MPR, IIRC). It says it cannot read the specified file. The other thing is, when I first open your editor it says "select C&C Remastered Installation Path". When I try to do so (I go to C:\Program Files\EA Games\CnCRemastered and select ClientG.exe) nothing happens. So I've been running it by selecting "run with classic graphics" - could that be the issue?
In map settings I've named it 'Diamonds'.
Anyway, as I said, I've invested way more time in trying to get this to work than is warranted, and that's not including all the help you've given me on three different forums now (!) so I totally get it if you want to call time on it, it might be the kick I need to go back to just playing! But it is a puzzle, and it's a needlessly complicated one, given the map editing back in the day was a simple drag and drop. Thanks again! I am in awe of your devotion to C&C and its fan base :-)
@DocileBear wrote:
In answer to your reply, I literally just want to play it in a single player skirmish.So you mean, it's a multiplayer map, but you want to play it against AIs, correct? Make sure you press the "Custom" button on the Skirmish screen - not "User Maps". "Custom" are local ones, "User Maps" is the workshop.
@DocileBear wrote:
There are two anomalies I've noted with your map editor that may provide some insight. Firstly, I notice the official editor can no longer open a map made in your editor (I tried .INI and .MPR, IIRC). It says it cannot read the specified file.The first part is normal - the original editor has problems with a lot of things in the original map format, and saves some things incorrectly. It's not even able to open original game maps. One of the specific errors is that it expects "true/false" on one of the options on Houses that is normally saved as "yes/no":
I won't change this, since it is an error in the original editor, and my editor can do a whole lot more things that the old one can't handle (like the randomisable tiles in RA Interior theater).
The other thing is, when I first open your editor it says "select C&C Remastered Installation Path". When I try to do so (I go to C:\Program Files\EA Games\CnCRemastered and select ClientG.exe) nothing happens. So I've been running it by selecting "run with classic graphics" - could that be the issue?I'm not sure what you mean with "nothing happens". Couldn't you press "OK" after selecting the path?
Anyway, It shouldn't be an issue, no. The map format of the original game is identical to the one from the remaster. The only difference is that the Remaster always uses .mpr as extension, even for singleplayer maps, and needs a json and thumbnail file to tell it where the starting points are for the game setup (though the map works without that; you just won't get a thumbnail or the ability to specifically select the start points). And even in classic mode the editor generates these extra files, unless you enable the option in the settings file to specifically disable that ("ClassicProducesNoMetaFiles").
