Maps

Homeworld 2 maps, like many space games on the PC, depict outer space as some gloriously lurid galactic sunset or a vividly saturated tableau of Technicolour clouds and exotic planets. The maps themselves are simply large volumes of empty space, populated with clumps of asteroids, space dust, some wreckage, and the odd nebula. They're not big 3D models or colossal bitmaps as you'd find in a ground based strategy game or a FPS: these maps are big empty volumes of space, with a shopping list of pre-defined objects arranged throughout.

Homeworld 2 maps come in their own .level file format. .level files are basically just text files, so you can edit them with a text editor like Notepad or Textpad. However, you won't find any readable files if you browse your Homeworld 2 install on your hard drive, unless you've downloaded some custom files or maps. All the default maps, campaign and other data files are all embedded within the game's main data files in the .big file format. You can read up more on .big files in the HW2 Custom Mods page. Anyone keen to try their hand at producing their own maps or editing the game will need to head over to the Relic Relic Developers' Network (RDN), register as a custom modder, and download the tools to do so.

The Relic Developers' Network has released some official map and modding tools. Interested parties may also want to peruse this mapping tutorial thread at Relic News' Forums. You may also want to check out these sources: Homeworld Spreadsheets - a page full of downloadable Excel spreadsheets and resources for map making in Homeworld 1 and 2. While Relic appears keen to share data and encourage custom modding, its not a free for all.

Resources are grouped in discrete pockets around Homeworld 2 skirmish maps. Like many regular RTS games, securing expansions and holding them are critical to success. There's invariably a starting patch and a series of expansions to annex and control. Your Resource Collectors will empty out a patch and then stop work, requiring fresh orders to proceed from you. There's no roaming harvesters in Homeworld 2 like there was in the first game: you never have to worry where your Resource Collectors have wandered off to.

If you want to peruse some homemade multiplayer maps you'll need to create a small directory structure inside your Homeworld 2/Data folder called Leveldata\multiplayer\deathmatch. When you download and save these map files, make sure they have .level for a suffix and not .level.txt. Some browsers append the .txt suffix when they save out anything written in text format.

Homeworld Game Modifications: A fantastic little page with a collection of all kinds of modifications, the Map Collection v1.4 (fifteen maps in a 350Kb package), the Multiplayer Map Thumbnail Replacement v1.3, resources, tools, tutorials and other nifty odds and ends for both Homeworld 1 and 2. This page also contains the Homeworld Classic and Special Fleets game type mods for HW2. A great all round modding and mapping page, for both developers are players!

A brand new, smartly laid out homepage for the TFL Homeworld 2 clan. It hosts a selection of multiplayer Deathmatch maps, and its own two TFL Map Packs. The packs are all playable, designed and refined through the rigours of online gaming, and are highly recommended for any keen Homeworlder. All of them start with six starting positions, but the map sizes range from very big to very small, so you can go for epic team battles or simple 1v1 skirmishes without any problems. Current version: 6.

The latest news about the TFL Map Packs and the site can be found at its RelicNews forum thread.

A RelicNews forum post on how to produce your own Homeworld 2 custom map just by using a text editor. It also contains a nice downloadable tutorial as well. To round this all off properly, here's two other relevant and related topics:

Basic Shapes: how to produce shaped clouds and other floating items using scripts and a bit of programming nouse; and

Mapping Functions: generating your own spherical and cylindrical shapes in your map.