Stronghold 2 Map Editor Overview

By Lord_Chris

The Stronghold 2 editor not unlike previous game editors is very easy to use. However, new features have been added in the editor which do make it different from previous editors in the series. This editor is also reused in Stronghold Legends with minor changes, a list of which are available here. After arriving in the editor from the main menu, you see this screen:



This is the main menu of the editor and all actions you perform on all maps are linked in one way to this page. At the top you have the different scenario types of the game which you can change to a type for the current map you are making, whilst towards the bottom of the screen you can set the starting date of your map. To change the starting date of your map, hover over it and scroll with the mouse wheel. In the preview box, one of two things will be shown. You will either see the terrain of the map, or the number of villages and estates present on the map. You can toggle this by selecting the red flag icon.

From this menu, you can also set whether or not your map is balanced by toggling the option balanced at the top left of the screen. On the right side of the screen you can add missions to your map if it is available for the scenario type you have set for the map above. You can read more information on setting missions on your map on this page. You can edit the landscaping of your map by pressing the edit button on the bottom right of the screen where you will be shown this screen:



The navigation bar on the bottom of the screen provides additional tools to use when creating your map. The menu to the far left of the preview minimap allows you to return to the main map editor menu above and add sounds to your map. The sounds menu is as follows:



From left to right, the sounds are as follows:

• Sea
• Waves crashing on a beach
• Brook, or small stream
• Larger river
• Waterfall
• Wind
• Lighter wind
• Large amount of various bird sounds
• Smaller amount of various bird sounds
• Various insect sounds
• Swamp
• Town or Village Centre

You can view more information on how to add sounds to your map on this tutorial. Meanwhile the flag icon underneath allows you to filter the minimap by colour of each estate, highlighting which player owns a specific estate, and will toggle between on and off when used. The zoom tool will zoom in and out of the preview map.

On the far right side of the menu, you will see the following icons:



This icon is responsible for choosing whether you are viewing the Castle Buildings menu or editing the terrain of the map. By default, the Castle Buildings section is selected. Underneath this menu is the pallete which is used to select the size of the brush you are using when editing terrain. In the Castle Buildings menu you will have the additional option of using the eraser to remove buildings or units which have been placed. In both menu sections, the grid icon will show a grid on the map for you to work with, which is useful for helping with straight lines.

For each menu section in the editor, we have a page. Click on a link below for help on a specific section of the editor.

It takes a lot of practice to become a good landscaper, but after time you can create some marvellous scenery for use on scenarios. Take a look at the following screenshots that have been created by some of our members- they truly are the result of how landscaping transforms your map.