Say what you want about Far Cry 2′s single-player experience.  From exciting advances in AI to the open ended story line, there is certainly a lot to talk about.  For me, none of that is as important as the multiplayer map editor that has quietly put Ubisoft at the forefront of user-created content, at least in my opinion.

Earlier versions of Far Cry had map editors included in them, so it wasn’t surprising that Ubi continued this tradition.  What WAS surprising to me, was the amount of control they built in to the console version of the game.  If you were on the fence as to whether your 360 was really a computer rocking console controllers, a trip into the Map Community of Far Cry 2 should erase all doubt.  If you can imagine it, you can make it.

While a lot of mappers like me have spent a ton of time perfecting their early creations, the biggest drawback to the editor, and I am guessing the biggest turn-off to many FC2 players, is the huge group of people that don’t.  Many times you’ll jump into a random user-created map only to get stuck in a mistake, or bombarded visuals that look like something you played on your Commodore 64.  People without the attention span to create good maps can have a really adverse effect on the audience for good user-created content.

I’ve uploaded about 7 maps to the Ubisoft server so far.  Some, I’ve spent up to 8 hours terraformng, texturing, planting, revising, arranging and balancing the maps.  Then I invite a bunch of people in to test the maps, get some feedback, and revise based on issues that arise from that.  In my opinion its the only way to map.

Don’t have 8 hours worth of time or ADD medication to dedicate to making the perfect battle ground?  Don’t fret.  I’ve learned a bunch of stuff from fiddling with the editor, and I’ve got some shortcuts and tips to make whatever you make the best it can be.

Tip #1:  Scale it down

The map editor in Far Cry 2 gives you an enormous amount of space to create your wonder, and it’s human nature to try and use it all when creating your masterpiece.  Resist that.  Especially when you’re just starting out.  Huge expansive maps that take an eternity to cross get boring really fast.

For  one, you only get to place six vehicles into the battle, which means that unless people are really working together, you’re going to have a lot of people running marathons across your maps.

Another reason to keep the size in check is the very reason people PLAY Far Cry 2 online.  Battles.  With vast space between the combatants, the chances of them encountering each other get slimmer.  While there are plenty of things you can do to use the environment to channel people into common areas, the smaller your map is, the more exciting the map is going to be.

Tip #2:  Choke Points

You can do a lot of stuff in a map if you are careful to FORCE players to fight over a specific piece of real estate.  On capture the diamond maps, that doesn’t have to be the diamonds themselves.  Yesterday, I created a map where one team has an island and another is on shore, and despite huge expanses of jungle and water, at some point in any capture, the players HAVE to come ashore at “Death Beach” and thus the entire game is about trying to control that area to allow team members to pass through on their way to and from the diamonds.

You can also use vehicles and ammo incentives for the same effect.

More tips on the next page.

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