You need Supreme Commander for making maps, Map Editor will not work with just Forged Alliance installed.
- Download Map Editing Tools.rar. This file contains everything you need for making maps.
- Open the downloaded .rar file using WinRar or 7-Zip.
- Copy files from the binfolder in the .rar file to your Supreme Commander (NOT Forged Alliance!)bin folder, usually:
C:\Program Files (x86)\THQ\Gas Powered Games\Supreme Commander\bin
- Copy files from the gamedatafolder in the .rar file to your Supreme Commandergamedata folder, usually:
C:\Program Files (x86)\THQ\Gas Powered Games\Supreme Commander\gamedata
- These files are just for the editor, they don't affect your game installation:
- cutbrushes.scd - new custom elevation brushes
- editor.scd - default brushes
- Z_lua.scd - expanded Markers to make editor able open Forged Alliance custom maps
- Z_units.scd - support Factories and T3 Mobile AA
- The .exe file for the map editor is tucked away in the bin folder, make a shortcut to your desktop and open the Map Editor from there.
- The Other Tools folder in the .rar file can be placed anywhere.
- Make sure you have patched Supreme Commander to the latest version (1.1.3280) (1.1.0 for Steam version). The patch is available in the .rar file: supcom_patch_1.0.3189_to_1.1.3280.exe.
- To able to use units and textures from Forged Alliance, copy the following files from your Forged Alliance gamedatafolder to your Supreme Commandergamedata folder. Make a backup copy before overwriting any files as explained below.
- env.scd
- textures.scd
- units.scd
C:\Program Files (x86)\THQ\Gas Powered Games\Supreme Commander - Forged Alliance\gamedata
BEFORE YOU DO THIS!!!
Make a backup copy of these files from your Supreme Commander gamedata folder. Rewriting these files will make Map Editor fully functional but it will damage the Supreme Commander game.
You can edit the script files using any text editor. Notepad is ok, but you'll be better off with Notepad++ or Sublime Editor as it features syntax highlighting.
An image manipulation program, to edit/mirror your height maps and texture layers, e.g. Adobe Photoshop or Corel Paint Shop Pro. Photoshop is recommended since it's the easiest to edit height maps in it.
A new editor for creating maps is currently being developed by ozonex. Once finished it will have all features the original map editor has + everything else to make the map editing easier. It's designed for Forged Alliance so will not need the original Supreme Commander game to create new maps.
- You can download the latest version from here.