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gamemanual:installing_map

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Manually Installing Maps

You have downloaded a cool new map, but you do not know how to install it. Follow these instructions for manually installing maps into the game.



How It Works

Map files are folders. Inside these folders are all the files used for the map, including the MapFileForGame.xml file. The game looks for this file in each parent folder in the “Maps” folder.



Unpacking

Most likely you received the map in a compressed file format. Depending on the format, you may need third party software to decompress it. The following list includes names of software needed for each file extension:

The following programs are for Windows. We expect Linux and OSX users to know their software. :)

ExtensionProgram NameURL
.zip Windows None, built into windows.
.7z 7zip www.7-zip.org
.rar winRAR or 7zip www.rarlab.com/download.htm OR www.7-zip.org

Please note, we disabled external links because this wiki being viewable in-game. Copy and paste, or type the URL in your address bar to visit the websites.

The contents of the map should be in one folder with the same name as the map name.



Moving the Folder to Maps

Next, locate your Maps folder. This is in the game’s InstallPath/media/Maps folder. If you're using Steam, see Steam: How to Access Installation Folder to get to the InstallPath folder…

The picture on the right is an example of a Maps folder with maps installed.

Now, copy and paste the entire folder for the downloaded map into the InstallPath/media/Maps folder.

Loading Your Map

After decompressing the map files, and moving the resulting folder to the Maps folder, the game should be able to read it. Open GearCity, start a new game, and see if it's there!



Troubleshooting

Here is a list of common mistakes if something went wrong.

Map Does Not Show Up On List

There might be something wrong with the Map files, or you installed it incorrectly.

First, did you copy the folder containing the Map Files to the Maps folder? For example, if you downloaded “My Fun Map” did you copy the “My Fun Map” folder to the InstallPath/media/Maps?

The map’s name must be the same name as the folder’s name. You can find the name by opening the MapFileForGame.xml in Notepad and looking at what is in between the MapName tags. For example: <MapName>Base City Map</MapName> The name of the map is “Base City Map” so the folder containing all these files should be “Base City Map”.

Map Crashes When I Click It On the List

Most likely the map is missing the map picture logo file. If you properly installed the map, then the problem is with the map maker not including this file, naming the file incorrectly, or it's not in the correct file format.

Map Crashes As Soon As I Start A New Game

In most instances, this is an issue that the mapmaker has to fix.  Typically, it is missing .dds texture files. Anytime the game crashes, check the logs. Sometimes it will tell you why the game crashed. How to Read Log file.

gamemanual/installing_map.1579822184.txt.gz · Last modified: 2022/02/15 17:58 (external edit)