Levels

The following components need to be added to a Level in order for it to be functional in-game. For this Tutorial page we assume that you've already got a Level provided by a map designer, and as such we won't go into details for all the components that a level consists of, like lighting etc.

RTSVisionVolume

This Volume is required for Fog of War to function. The Brush Settings and Location need to be set up in a way that the Volume broadly exceeds the level landscape. This to ensure the Fog of War will work correctly.

RTSFogOfWarActor

This actor is what holds the functionality for the Fog of War and its material. After adding the actor to the level, you can add the material by clicking on the actor in the World Outliner of the level (top right) and going into the Details panel.

Under the section RTSFog Of War Actor, add the "M_RTSFogOfWar_Final_Inst" as the material. You can search for it or manually find it in Content/UI/Ingame/Material. Be sure to use the _Inst version!

Now, under Fog Of War Volume, add the PostProcessVolume. It should be the only option available, as long as the PostProcessVolume is present in the level.

The NavMeshBoundsVolume, as the name suggests, will dictate the bounds of a map. Only within the bounds can units move. Ordering units outside the bounds does not work, so keep this in mind with where you place the bounds and map design (if applicable). The best is for borders to truly be at the edge of the landscape, to avoid order issues.

The size of the NavMeshBoundsVolume should be set via the Brush Settings (X,Y,Z) in the Details panel. Along with the Location of the volume, that should be all that you need to set up for it.

PostProcessVolume

Generally this volume is already added by the level design artist. As such, we won't go into details here. What you need to know is that this volume does not need to be sized or positioned. It has no bounds, as long as the option Infinite Extent (Unbound) is checked in the Details panel under Post Process Volume Settings.

BP_Player

In order to possess a player in-game, we need to add them to the level. We do this by searching for BP_Player in the Content folder. You will see that we have 4 of them, named BP_Player_X. At the very least, you should add BP_Player_1 to the level. Drag and drop it onto the location that the player should spawn with its initial building.

To set the initial building, we then go into the World Outliner of the level, click on BP_Player_1 and head over to the Details panel. Under the section BFME you'll see the option Initial Actor, this is where you set the building to start with.

You can also tweak the Initial Spell Points and Initial Resource Points in this section, but later in development these will be dictated by the map settings that a player has set from the menu.

BP_BattleGM

Now we need to add the game logic to the level via a Game Mode. Without this, the level will simply crash. To add it, go into the World Settings of the level (next to the Details panel). Under Game Mode and then GameMode Override you need to add BP_BattleGM. Along with this comes a preset of settings, no need to tweak them. Fog of War is enabled/disabled in this class, via the bHasFogOfWar flag.