Custom locations.txt

custom_locations.txt determines the sites of custom battles. The file consists of entries of this type:

custom_location		British Grassland
{
	location		123	96		
	image			data/menu/grass1.tga
	sett_locked		no
	summer			no
}

• custom_location is the internal name referenced in menu_english.txt; in the above example the game would look for an entry like this:

{UI_LOCATION_BRITISH_GRASSLAND}	This is the name shown in the menu

If no entry corresponding to the internal name is found, the game displays the internal name.

• location is the place on the map which is used for the battle. It is always on the map in the /world/maps/base folder, and uses the same system as (for example) descr_strat.txt
• image is the pic shown in the menu. The game uses a section of scaled-down screenshots, 256x152, uncompressed .tga; I do not know how transparency or different sizes are handled, use the standard values and no transparency to play it safe. The path is relative to the game's executable.
• sett_locked determines if a settlement can be placed on this battlemap. Settlements or ports in map_regions.tga are completely ignored. If it is set to yes then it is impossible to place a settlement, and the "crossed-swords"-symbol is placed next to the name in the list. This is recommended for rivers, very hilly terrain, beaches and the like. Setting it to no enables the placement of settlements.
• summer overrides the selected season to summer if set to yes and leaves it as it is when set to no (?) - might need further testing

Valid Coordinates

• Basically, all passable squares are valid coordinates.
• Fords (cyan on map_features.tga) result in battles on a ford. This is always on a ford, no matter what roads are placed in the province.
• Rivers (blue on map_features.tga) result in battles on a bridge. The game automatically creates a stone bridge and paved roads in the middle of the map. The road immediately ends after leaving the battlemap, which can look somewhat strange.
• Cliffs (yellow on map_features.tga) are completely ignored.
• On Water (blue on map_heights.tga or red on map_ground_types.tga) the units are placed at the ocean floor and immediately die.
• Shores may create an errorless CTD if there's still land on the battlemap, but not enough room to create the placement zones for each team.
• Impassable Forest (dark green on map_ground_types.tga) is perfectly valid and usually creates dense forest on the battlemap (if the climate allows it)
• Not tested are:
  • River Sources (white on map_features.tga)
  • Volcanos (red on map_features.tga)
  • High Mountains (grey on map_ground_types.tga)

Additional Notes

• All structures placed in descr_strat.txt (settlements, roads, bridges, ports, watchtowers, forts, farms, wonders, ...) are completely ignored.
• The Player (Team 1) is usually placed in the north, the AI (Team 2) in the south. This only changes on squares which are divided by a vertical river. (Might need further testing as to what happens with more than 2 players)

M2TW only

In M2TW there is an additional parameter of the type

	climate			highland

This probably overrides the climate set in map_climates.tga for some or all functions (weather, heat, vegetation, ground textures) Needs additional testing!