Should maps from FE be placed under FE addon/missions/multiplayer/mapfolder?

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

When I use FE maps to make custom dm's for bzone.exe and other mission maps for bzone.exe it seems some things don't appear from the original FE maps and assets. Would I make another mapfolder like the one for bzone.exe and place them under the multiplayer folder of feaddon? Is this because the bzone.cfg file does not look/add the fedata.pak when bz2 searches for map related stuff?

The dunes dm map that I made uses some FE/ZTV assets, i.e., the cvtalon.odf and the ivsgull.odf. Two other dm maps that I'm developing use FE maps and I'm wondering if those maps should be played using febz.exe rather then bzone.exe and moved to the feaddon\missions\multiplayer and create a new folder there called mapfolder like I did for battlezone II\addon\missions\multiplayer\mapfolder?

Sorry, but I get lost when trying to mix assets from different mods and try to adapt them for custom map development.

Oh, one other question about selecting the /nobodyhome thingy; does that remove everything including stuff like edge_path, other pathing points and other stuff normally viewed in shift f9 view? I see it removes stuff like props, but was wondering if it removes just about everything sort of like a clean slate? Tanks BNG. 

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

No one has a clue? Or was this just a stupid question?

[General BlackDragon]

Yes, maps specific to FE go under FEaddon/missions/multiplayer

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

I was just wondering as FE dm maps I stored under addon/misions/multiplayer/mapfolder had missing stuff due to FE assets not under addon. Stuff from Toon Explosion like the textures were missing when I ran the map under bzone.exe. But when I made a another folder under feaddon/missions/multiplayer/mapfolder and copied the dm maps; the textures and other stuff loaded fine under the FE install. I did this as the stock bz2 maps are pretty limited as far as dm maps are concerned.

FE, has an incredible variety of maps to choose from and I've already made several air dm maps that run pretty well under FE. The one quirk using MM5 to edit Fe maps is it's tendency to rename stuff to like addonmulti.bak renaming the stock BZ2 multiplayer folder and moving all of the FE multiplayer maps under the stock BZ2 addon/missions/multiplayer folder.

Haven't really done much with 1.3 and above, but I have installed it to both of my pc's for future use. As far as I know FE was never adapted for 1.3 and above right? If I dump the FE assets under 1.3 addon can I use the assets without getting bad assets running under 1.3? tanks, BNG.

[General BlackDragon]

Not particularly. And plain old FE for 1.2 simply wont work in 1.3. RD is working on a version of FE for 1.3.

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

In reference to addonMult.bak the game itself seems to do the renaming and moving of folders. Originally, I was under the impression that MM5 caused this oddity, but when I made a few air dm maps based on FE maps and try to run them under FE multiplayer the game itself renames and moves folders around. The result seems to mess up things as no multiplayer maps appear when trying to load a game. I tried manually renaming and moving stuff back to their original places, but the game keeps moving stuff back to the wrong places and renames the multiplayer addonmult.bak and/or datamult.bak.

What am I doing wrong? And how can I prevent this oddity when trying to make some custom air dm maps? I mean if it does it with multiplayer dm maps won't it do the same thing with other map types like mpi strategy, KOTH, Race, loot, etc.... I'm really just confused and a bit frustrated at this point. Never really imagined that making custom maps is such a pain in the behind. BNG.

Update: I also noticed that the FE instant action maps get moved under data\missions\instant really odd and I hope that this was fixed in in 1.3 and above otherwise how can anyone ever make custom maps without wanting to just give up on the endevour?

Question: Can the folders be made like read only to prevent the renaming thing?

PS: This post references the issue somewhat so I'm posting it to see if any feedback could be provided if any at all.

 Problem:
After restarting FE I only see stock BZ2 maps and can't play FE. Nothing seems to help except uninstalling everything and reinstalling.

Solution:
1. Make a copy of your FE short-cut and rename it so you know this icon is for "repairing" FE.

2. Right click on the new short-cut and choose "Properties"

3. On the line labeled "Target" add the /restore command line switch so that it looks like this:
"C:/Program Files/Battlezone II/FeBz.exe" /restore
Note that the /restore option is outside of the quotes.

4. Click OK to save the changes.

5. Double click this new short-cut to launch FE.

6. Quit FE when you get to the pilot log-in screen.

7. Open Windows Explorer and go to:  "C:/Program Files/Battlezone II" and find the folder named "addonMult.bak"

8. Rename the folder "addonMult.bak" to "Multiplayer"

9. Move the folder you just renamed "Multiplayer" to the folder "C:/Program Files/Battlezone II/addon/missions/"

10. Then launch FE or BZ2 normally and everything will be fine.

Note: url provided for reference asa well http://www.valler.com/bz2/files/How%20to%20repair%20FE.txt

[Red Devil]

Do yourself a favor:

http://www.bzuniverse.com/forum/index.php/topic,7636.0.html

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

Awesome RD. Sounds like 1.2 is totally plagued by all sorts of issues. I'll do a seperate install to PB3 so I can play FE under 1.3. What kills me is that the 1.2 issue with FE maps is wreaking havoc with my base installation what with renaming folders and moving stuff where it doesn't belong. I hope that this is not an issue with 1.3 and above as it's totally frustrating having to move stuff back around manually. Was this issue ever a major problem with other map makers?

Up until recently I was perfectly happy with just playing ready made maps, but now that I've been bitten by the map making bug; just playing the game with custom maps has become somewhat of a frustrating experience. Modifying existing maps is fairly simple to do, but keeping everything in it's proper place is a whole nother story.

[Nielk1]

What kills me is that the 1.2 issue with FE maps is wreaking havoc with my base installation what with renaming folders and moving stuff where it doesn't belong.

That is caused by users doing incorrect things in the files. The mod will not break in that fashion is used normally.

[Red Devil]

Using the FE startup config in your shortcut eliminates any cross-pollination, renaming, etc.  Very simple install and structure, too.

I'm still working on the (now) PB5 version of FE, but it's on hold while I finish up Natty's G66 2.0.

[BNG Da BZ Fool]

N1, some of this stuff just isn't really documented well and map maker's do things wrong as a result of incomplete information. A good example of this is posted information that conflicts with another post. The BZ community took a friggin heavy hit when the server change ocurred quite some time back. As a result a new data base has to be reposted all over again on issues previously answered, but no longer available anymore.

I sincerely hope the next time a server move is required that the current information is somehow backed up as a common sense measure. I've adopted a personal habit of storing relevent posts on my own system as text files, etc. I have quite a large hard drive for this purpose, but downloading an entire web site on a dialup would take forever. Still, I may attempt it for the maps and mods forum as I mostly use the forum for 90% of my modding needs. So  when you say users screwup things it's more out of ignorance then intention.