Mapraider Tools & Plugins

Here we've assembled a list of tools and plugins to help you with the site and tips to consider when publishing your own maps.

Publishing Tips

Over the years we've learned a lot about publishing and hosting maps for various game systems. Some common issues regularly come up and we've organized the following set of tips to help map authors prevent them as they prepare their own maps for publishing:

  • Use Incremental Version Numbers
    Always give your releases incremental version numbers (even if it's a final release) such as 1.0, 2.0, 2.1, 3.0, etc., so users can differentiate the versions and know which is newer.
  • Include Version In Filename
    Include the version number in the distribution archive's filename (ie. DM-MyMap1.0.zip) to avoid having two versions with the same filename, which can confuse some file hosting providers.
  • Avoid Filenames With Special Characters
    Only use letters, numbers, dashes and underscores in your distribution archive filename and avoid spaces. Not all file hosting providers can support non alpha-numeric characters and if you include these characters, your file may have to be renamed.
  • Create A Readme
    Include a readme text file in your archive that gives your contact information, copyright notice, general information about the map, redistribution rights, and a list of any required mods or packages.
  • Document Your Changes
    Note in the readme any changes you've made to the map since the last revision, if any.
  • Include Screenshots
    Include at least one screenshot in your distribution archive.
  • Make Sure It's All There
    Double check that you've included all of the necessary files for your map. It may be helpful to test your map with a fresh install of the game system to verify.

How To Take Screenshots

The method for taking screenshots depends on the game system. Click the name of the system below you are interested in to learn more. When taking your shots, be sure to position yourself so that you are taking a picture of main play areas and key features or characteristics of your map.

For screenshots you plan on uploading to Mapraider, do not modify them by adding text, borders, graphics, graphical treatments or logos as they will not be accepted. For best results, we recommend cropping your photos to 800x600 pixels before uploading.

  • Medal of Honor
    1. From the multiplayer menu, choose "Start Game". Choose objective mode if possible (so you don't get on-screen displays that can't be removed, eg. the follow player prompt), otherwise set the max players to "1" (this also hides the follow player prompt as long as you don't manually go into spectator mode), select the map and click the "Start Game" button
    2. If you have the Lag-O-Meter or FPS on, turn them off by bringing up the console by pressing the "`" key and entering the following console commands:
      • fps 0
      • cg_lagometer 0
    3. Turn off the hud by bringing up the console and typing the command "ui_hud 0"
    4. Use the directional keys and mouselook to move around, and the JUMP and CROUCH keys go up and down respectively
    5. Press the F12 key to take a screenshot. Make sure you wait for the screenshot confirmation message to fade away before taking the next one.
    6. Screenshots you've taken will show up in the screenshots folder located in your MOHAA folder, which may be in either your application folder or the application's support folder in your user folder, depending on your system.
  • Quake 3 Arena
    1. Bring up the console key by pressing the "`" key
    2. Type "/bind f9 screenshotjpeg"
    3. Type "/devmap <mapname>" where <mapname> is the name of the bsp map file within the pk3 file and without the file extension
    4. When the map has loaded, bring up the console again and type "/noclip" to allow you to move around freely
    5. Position your view for good composition and press the F9 key to save a screenshot. Make sure you wait for the screenshot confirmation message to fade away before taking the next one.
    6. Screenshots you've taken will show up in the screenshots folder located in your baseq3 folder, which may be in either your application folder or the application's support folder in your user folder, depending on your system.
  • Unreal Tournament 99
    1. Start the game and from the main menu, choose "Start Practice Session"
    2. Choose the gametype and map, set the total bots to zero and start the map
    3. Click your mouse to start the match
    4. Press the "-" key repeated until the HUD is hidden completely
    5. Press the Feign Death key (usually "F") to lie down and hide your weapon and crosshair
    6. Bring up the console key by pressing the "`" key
    7. Type "fly" and press the ENTER key to enter flying mode
    8. You can also type "ghost" to fly and move through walls
    9. Use the directional keys and mouse to move and position the screen for your shot
    10. Press F9 to save the screenshot. Make sure you wait for the "Precaching" message to disappear before taking the next one
    11. Screenshots you've taken will show up in the main UT folder, which is usually "\Unreal Tournament\"
  • Unreal Tournament 2003, 2004
    1. Start the game and from the main menu, choose "Instant Action"
    2. Choose the gametype and map, set the total bots to zero and start the map
    3. Press the TAB key to bring up the console
    4. Type "togglescreenshotmode" and press the ENTER key to turn the HUD off
    5. Type "fly" and press the ENTER key to enter flying mode
    6. You can also instead type "ghost" to fly and move through walls
    7. Use the directional keys and mouse to move and position the screen for your shot
    8. Press F9 to save the screenshot. Make sure you wait for the "Precaching" message to disappear before taking the next one
    9. Screenshots you've taken will show up in UT2003/2004's Screenshot folder, which is usually "\UT2004\Screenshots\", which may be in either your application folder or the application's support folder in your user folder, depending on your system.
  • Unreal Tournament 3
    1. Start the game and from the main menu, choose "Instant Action"
    2. Choose the gametype and map, set the total combatants to one and start the map
    3. Press the TAB key to bring up the console
    4. Type "togglescreenshotmode" and press the ENTER key to turn the HUD off
    5. Type "fly" and press the ENTER key to enter flying mode
    6. You can also instead type "ghost" to fly and move through walls
    7. Use the directional keys and mouse to move and position the screen for your shot
    8. Press F9 to save the screenshot. Make sure you wait for the "Precaching" message to disappear before taking the next one
    9. Screenshots you've taken will show up in the UT3 ScreenShots folder, located in "\Users\YOUR_USER_NAME\My Documents\My Games\Unreal Tournament 3\UTGame\ScreenShots\"