Building a LOTR Multiplayer Map
Follow this 9-step process to make a LOTR Multiplayer Map. A few of the features are optional,
but in general these are the necessary steps for creating your multiplayer map.
STEP 1 - Create Your Map
Create your new map and choose all of its options. You can modify the map and texture it at this
point if you like.
STEP 2 - Add Skirmish Players
A. Select Edit and click on Edit Player List.
B. Click on Add Skirmish Players. This adds all players and scripts needed to run in Multiplayer.
Click OK.
STEP 3 - Make Player Start Positions for 1-8 Players
Place a waypoint for each of the player start positions needed for your map. You cannot place
more than 8 player start positions if you want the AI to recognize them. Give each of the
waypoints a corresponding name using the following naming convention.
Player_#_Start
Note: These names can also be found in the dropdown list for waypoints.
STEP 4 - Make Player Inherit Teams
Go to the Edit>Edit Teams>Team Builder and under PlyrCivilian create a numbered team for
each of the players your map can accommodate—use the following naming convention.
Player_#_Inherit
Note: All of these teams are created in PlyrCivilian.
STEP 5 - Place Flags for All the Player Starting Castles
Go to Place an Object and under ByNativeType>Civilian>Structure you will find the 4 different
CastleFlags (i.e., CastleFlagNE, CastleFlagNW, CastleFlagSE, andCastleFlagSW). Choose the
flags you want and place them—centering them on the Player Start Position waypoints.
STEP 6 - Name and Place CastleFlags for All
Corresponding Players and their Teams
Go to the Object Properties box and name each of the CastleFlags for its corresponding player.
Use the following naming convention, using uppercase as shown.
BASE_FLAG_#
Also, at this time, place the CastleFlag on the corresponding team you created earlier. For
example, you would place BASE_FLAG_1 on the team named Player_1_Inherit.
Note: You can pre-place any units or structures on a map that you want the player to be able to
use in a multiplayer game. Be sure that any pre-placed unit or structure is on one of the
Player_#_Inherit teams so that it will be inherited by that particular player when the game starts.
STEP 7 - Place Tactical Markers
Use Tactical Markers to designate a path or point for which the AI will move to attack a particular
player. You must place these tactical markers around each CastleFlag. The Tactical Markers can
be found in Objects>AI>Tactical Markers.
In most cases you should place 9 different Tactical Markers—3 each for a Backdoor path, a Flank
path, and a Center path. Though the AI will still work if you only place one Tactical Marker for
each path, using all 3 Tactical Markers per path adds more diversity to the AI attack options. The
following example shows the placement of 3 Tactical Markers for the Center path (you can follow
this example for the Flank and Backdoor paths as well).
To set three Tactical Markers for the Center Path, place the 3 Tactical Markers named Center1,
Center2, and Center3 in a manner that designates a path to a Player CastleFlag. Center1 must
be closest to the Player CastleFlag and Center 3 will normally be the furthest away from the
Player CastleFlag. If the AI chooses to attack using the Center Path, the attack would move to the
Center3 point first, then the Center2 point, and finally the Center1 point before attacking. After
you place all of the Tactical Markers, make sure they are assigned to the corresponding Team of
the CastleFlag they lead to (as demonstrated in the following screenshot).
Additional Tactical Markers
You can place markers for specific cases, such as for
Gates and GenericDefenseNodes.
The Tactical Markers for Forests, ChokePoints, and
HighGround must be placed on the PlyrCivilian team.
These are neutral markers that help the AI choose
where to defend, attack, or move on the map.
Important Note: The Tactical Markers “CombatArea”
(01-10) are required by the AI. It is highly recommended
that you include all 10 of these markers on your map,
even if some overlap. These markers are used for
general combative areas on your map, and should be
placed away from castles and camps.
For ChokePoints you can either place one Tactical
Marker at the center of the ChokePoint, or you can place
one at both ends of the ChokePoint. Placing one at both
ends probably provides the best results.
STEP 8 - Place Economy Plots
Place all the Multiplayer Economy Plots by going to Objects>ByNativeType>Structure and
selecting EconomyPlotFlagMultiplayer.
Note: For a multiplayer game, make sure to only place the EconomyPlotFlagMultiplayer marker.
Currently, you can only place 16 Economy Plots on a map. Assign all Economy Plots to the
PlyrCivilian team (as shown in the following screen).
When placing Economy Plots you must name them 1-16 (or however many you use) using the
following naming convention.
ECON_FLAG_#
Note: Make sure you use all caps.
STEP 9 - Place Expansion Camps (Optional)
If you want to have camps on the map that can be captured by the Player or by the AI, follow this
optional step. Place the ExpansionFlag and then assign it to the PlyrCivilian team. You can have
up to a total of 16 castles, camps, and expansion outpost style flags. You must then name them
using the following naming convention and making sure to use a number that is free (in other
words, in the case of a 6-player map, you would use 7 and 8, as in the following screen).
BASE_FLAG_#
Note: The AI will only expand to named CampFlags.