Overview

The Sandbox Editor has a built in tool for creating minimaps. Note that Scaleform needs to be installed in order to use minimaps.

Preparing to Create a Minimap

When creating a minimap, there are certain console variables that are better left turned off. Specific adjustment of CVars for minimaps are controlled in the MapScreenshotSettings.xml file.

You can edit this file, located in the <root>\Editor\ folder, with a text editor. There is also a shortcut to the file built into the MiniMap Tool in the RollupBar.

A lot of the settings contained in the MapScreenShotSettings can be tweaked to create the most desirable results, but make sure to create a backup copy of the original MapscreenshotSettings.xml.

The standing settings are shown here:

<settings>
  <r_HDRRendering value="1"/>
  <r_PostProcessEffects value="1"/>
  <r_MotionBlur value="0"/>
  <e_ScreenShotQuality value="0"/>
  <e_ViewDistRatio value="100000000"/>
  <r_DisplayInfo value="0"/>
  <e_StreamCgfPoolSize value="128" />
  <e_VegetationSpritesDistanceRatio value="20"/>
  <e_ViewDistRatioVegetation value="100"/>
  <e_Lods value="0"/>
  <e_Vegetation value="0"/>
  <e_TerrainOcclusionCulling value="0"/>
  <e_OcclusionVolumes value="0"/>
</settings>

For higher quality, you can adjust the Camera Height and Resolution settings from the Mini Map tool itself. In addition, you can also change some of the lines in the .xml file, or add new CVar commands.

These settings will raise the quality and the amount of objects visible.

Here is an example of some higher quality settings:

<e_TerrainDetailMaterials value="100000">
<e_TerrainDetailMaterialsViewDistZ value="1000000">
<e_LodRatio value="0">
<e_ViewDistRatio value="100000">

Creating a Minimap

First, open the desired level in the Sandbox Editor.

Next, open the MiniMap function located in the RollupBar, on the Terrain panel.

After pressing the MiniMap button, a green bounding box, and a smaller blue "selection" box will appear on the terrain. It is helpful to zoom far away from the terrain in order to see the entire area.

If you cannot see the terrain after zooming out, try increasing the ViewDistance setting under the Environment tab.

To move the minimap bounding box, click on a different section of the terrain where you want to create your minimap.

The green bounding box shows the area that will be made into a minimap image, adjusting the camera height will therefore change the size of it. To change the Camera Height, put the preferred height into the input box.

Make sure that the minimap bounding box is actually bigger than the actual play area of your map. Failing to do so can lead to anomalies if the player stands on the border of your map.

Adjusting the Resolution in the minimap properties will increase the size of the minimap image that the Editor generates. For example, choosing a resolution of 2048 will give you a minimap image of 2048x2048 pixels.

After you have moved the box and set the Resolution and Camera Height, select the Output directory and one of both of the file formats (.dds and .tif). Now press Generate MiniMap.

A quick succession of images will flash in the upper left corner of the Editor, showing that your minimap is being created; this can take a few minutes depending on the Camera Height, Resolution and MapScreenshotSettings.xml.

After the editor has finished, your minimap will be placed in the same folder as the currently opened .cry file along with an .xml file.

All the associated files (*.tif, *.dds & *.xml) will adopt the level file name.

The .xml file provides the CryENGINE with the map coordinates so that the player position is correctly displayed on the minimap.

Example from Woodland level:

<MetaData>
 <MiniMap Filename="woodland.dds" startX="1122.5697" startY="327.42395" endX="1922.5697" endY="1127.424" width="2048" height="2048"/>
</MetaData>

Save & reload the editor to see the minimap active in the HUD.