- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Let me give you an example of how normal people start threads in these forums:
Subject: I Need Some Help Getting Custom Maps to Run on Halo CE
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Hey guys, I've been having some trouble getting custom maps to run on Halo CE. I don't really understand how they work, but I really want to play them. Could soemone please explain to me step-by-step how to get custom maps running on Halo CE?
Thanks,
the wise prophet
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If you were kind, intelligent, and patient enough to make a post such as the one above, then you might recieve a reply like this:
Re: I Need Some Help Getting Custom Maps to Run on Halo CE
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Installing Custom Maps on Halo CE - A Do It Yourself Guide
Let me give you a brief overview of how you get custom maps to work on Halo CE. To get a custom map, you first have to download it. Then you have to place the map in your Halo CE maps folder. It sounds simple, but there are a few things that can make the process complicated. So, here is a list of what we need to do:
#1 - Find the map and download it.
#2 - Unzip (Decompress) the map.
#3 - Make sure the map is where it is supposed to be.
Section 1 - Finding and Downloading Maps
Maps can generally be found at a number of different websites. A Google search generally works fine, but here are a couple of good sites from which you can download maps:
http://www.halofiles.com
http://www.haloimpulse.com
I have personally obtained most of my maps from HaloImpulse. I am not very familiar with HaloFiles, but I'm told it works fairly well. Now, you can browse the sites and find the map you want. When you download, make sure you save it someplace where you can find it easily.
I'd also like to add that if you're looking to download a lot of maps, you might consider downloading a map pack. These are very large files that contain a large number of custom maps. HaloImpulse has a map pack with well over 200 maps! The file, however is more than 1 GB, so you might want to download this overnight.
Section 2 - Unzipping or Decompressing Map Files
This is where things tend to get a little nasty. Maps are usually compressed using either Winzip or WinRAR to make the download a smaller size. What you will need to do before you can play with the maps is decopress the file. Single maps and map packs differ at this point, so I'll go ahead and cover how to Unzip a single map.
Single Maps
Find the file you downloaded. It will most likely be name mapname.zip or mapname.rar - If it is .zip, you will need to download Winzip, you can get an evaluation version here:
http://www.winzip.com/downwz.htm
However, if it is a .rar file, you will need to download WinRAR, which you can get here:
http://www.rarlab.com/download.htm
Make sure you scroll down - I recommend downloading WinRAR 3.42 under the heading English WinRAR and RAR Release.
Install whichever program you need. I'd personally recommend installing both of them if you're looking to be downloading multiple custom maps or a map pack. Now, open your mapfile using whichever program it uses. When you do this, you should see a file in the window called mapname.map - Highlight this file and then choose to Extract it. Extract should be a button at the top of your program. Now, we need to pick where to extract the file. To do this, you need to find the directory you installed Halo CE to and then go to the maps directory. The usual path for this dircetory is:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Halo Custom Edition\maps
However, each computer is different. If you can't find your Halo CE directory, then run a search from the Start Button on Windows to find it. Now navigate to this directory in the program and click OK to extract the file here. Now you're done with this step.
Map Packs
Map Packs are slightly different. Map Packs are generally made by compressing a lot of compressed files into a single archive. This means that when you extract the files in the map pack, you'll have to extract each map individually from its own archive. The godo news is that most map packs are made using WinRAR, so you'll be able to open multiple (like 100) windows at a time to extract these. Now that you know what we're dealing with, let's get started.
First, open the map pack using whatever program corresponds to it (See Single Map Section above). Now, create a New Folder on your desktop. Name it whatever you like. Next, select all the files in the map pack (there is usually a Select All feature) and Extract them to your New Folder. Go grab a snack - this will probably take a few minutes.
Now, close the program and open the New Folder. You will now have to Open each of these files with the corresponding program (Again, see Single Map Section above) and extract the mapname.map file to your Halo CE maps directory (See Single Map Section above). This will take awhile. I recommend selecting about 20 at a time and opening them all. The windows of the program should cascade all over your screen. Now, simply begin selecting the mapname.map file and Extracting it to your Halo CE maps directory. Do this until you're done. I'm pretty sure that WinRAR remembers your last Extraction path, so that should make life a lot easier. When you finish, you'll be done with this section.
Section 3 - Double-Checking
If you did everything right, this section should be a peice of cake. Open your Halo CE maps folder. Make sure the file you Extracted is in there. It should be mapname.map -
Any other extension (such as .zip or .rar) will not work!! This means that you have not properly extracted the file. Go back to Section 2!
If you have both a mapname.map and a mapname.zip or mapname.rar be sure to delete the .zip or .rar file. Once you've made sure the .map file is in you're map directory, you're good to go. One small warning, though:
Do Not Ever Change The Filename Of A Map File!!!
You will only screw things up.
That's it! Have fun playing on your new map! You may have trouble joining a game with custom maps, but you should be able to start your own. Have fun!!!
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Yes sir. You are welcome.
-->Inspire