------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MapEval - v1.00 (c) Copyright Marith 2003
  Map Evaluation Mutator
by Marith (Martin Smith)
http://www.marith.demon.co.uk
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Credits: Adequate_Andy (Andy Smith)
Kage (Nick Martin)
Songe
Trev (Trevor Brice)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Description:

This is a mutator which allows you to record your own personal evaluation of downloaded maps. This isn't a Map voting mutator like UT2Vote, but a mutator which allows you go through all the maps that you've downloaded and record your evaluation for each map.

If, like me, you download lots of custom maps, either for offline use or for running a server, or you evaluate maps for websites, magazines or contests, then you may find this mutator useful for keeping track of your opinion of these maps.

I thought of creating this mutator after having too many pieces of paper lying around (cluttering up my desk), containing names of downloaded maps I like or dislike. I decided it would be better (and quicker) to record what I think of the maps from within UT2003 instead.

You can use this mutator to store in a file lists of maps with different evaluations - i.e. Ownage, Good, Bad, etc

If you review maps for a website or magazine, you can select the "Advanced" evaluation mode where you can use sliders to give a score (based on a scale between 1 and 100) against different categories - e.g. Gameplay, Graphics, Item and Weapon Placement etc.

The captions or names of the evaluation categories in each mode - Standard and Advanced - and the description for both lists are customisable allowing you to create different files with alternate evaluation lists. The ability to have up to 10 different categories in each mode gives you the flexibility when evaluating.

Installation:

Install either by using the MapEval UT2Mod or by extracting the contents of this zip file (if you haven't already) into your UT2003 directory keeping the same directory structure within the zip file.

Note: The following three files will get created, the first time you run this mutator:
First Time Usage:

You will need to go into "Settings | Controls" within UT2003 and configure at least one key to bring up the MapEval "Main Menu". The other key bindings are optional. If you don't do this, MapEval will display a reminder message at the beginning of the game.

Note that the "Alternate Menu" brings up the "Advanced Evaluation Mode", if "Standard Mode" is your default and vice-versa.

Instructions for running in Instant Action:

Go into Instant Action, adding "Map Evaluation" as a Mutator, and then bring up the MapEval Main Menu by pressing the key you chose earlier. Change any options as required and you're ready to start evaluating maps.

Instructions for running in MultiPlayer:

MapEval is capable of running in Multiplayer ONLY if the Server administrator has set up the server to run MapEval. If you are the Server administrator, see the instructions below for setting up the server.

Instructions for running on a Server:
  1. Add "ServerPackages=MapEval" (without quotes) to UT2003.ini.
  2. Add "MapEval.MapEval" (without quotes) to the list of mutators on the command line when starting UT2003 (e.g. Mutator=MapEval.MapEval).
Options:

Advanced Evaluation (Default: Off):-
If you do evaluate maps for a website or magazine, you can select Advanced Evaluation to display sliders instead of evaluation buttons. These sliders allow you to choose a value for different categories. An average is calculated based on the different values.

Auto Sort (Default: On):-
If this option is selected, the evaluation Map lists are automatically kept sorted. If you have Auto Sort switched off and you decide later that you want the Map lists sorted, you can type "mutate MapEval Sort" on the console to sort the lists.

Close after Evaluating (Default: On):-
When this option is selected the Evaluation Menu is closed immediately after evaluating a Map.

Command Panel (Default: On):-
When selected the Evaluation Menu displays a command panel which has "Skip", "Restart", and "Options" buttons. If you find the Evaluation Menu too cluttered you can remove the panel with these buttons. To go into Options again without having the "Options" button visible, you can press 'O' whilst on the Evaluation Menu.

Map Info Panel (Default: On):-
When selected the Evaluation Menu displays an information panel showing the Map Name, and Map Author, etc. If you find the Evaluation Menu too cluttered you can remove this panel. If you remove the Map Info panel the advanced evaluation score is still displayed (but in a different location).

Message at Login (Default: On):-
When selected, you can display a message showing your evaluation of the current map before you start/join a game.

Message at Start (Default: Off):-
When selected, you can display a message showing your evaluation of the current map after you started/joined a game.

Pause Game (Default: Off):-
When selected, the game will pause when showing any one of the Evaluation, Option or Caption Menus. This is only available in Instant Action.

Pause Net Game (Default: Off):-
When selected, the game will pause when showing any one of the Evaluation, Option or Caption Menus. This is only available in Multiplayer and only if you're an Admin of the server you're playing (be careful you don't annoy anyone with this option).

Popup Evaluation at End (Default: On):-
When selected, the evaluation menu will popup at the end of the game, allowing you to evaluate the map (Note: see the information about the UT2Vote mutator).

Reset Map Number (Default: On):-
When selected, MapEval will reset the Map number in the UT2003 Map list to the map being played.

Search at Start (Default: On):-
When selected, MapEval will search the evaluation lists for the Map being played. If you have a slow PC and you have evaluated a lot of maps, and you are finding that MapEval is taking too long to find Maps, then you can deselect this option. Please note that the evaluation messages will not appear if you have switched this option off.

Skip Failed Maps (Default: On):-
When selected, you can skip Maps which fail to load (because of a missing texture file etc.).

Wait for Evaluation (Default: Off):-
When selected, MapEval will not go on to the next map until the Evaluation, Option and Caption menus have been closed. This is only available in Instant Action.

Use Decimal Points (Default: Off):-
When selected, use decimal points on the sliders in Advanced Evaluation mode, otherwise just use whole numbers.

Zero Evaluations Count (Default: Off):-
Normally, when a slider in Advanced Evaluation Mode is set to 0, that value is not taken into account when calculating the average. If this option is selected, then the 0 values are used in the average calculations.

Slider Scale (Default: 100):-
Allows you to change the scale of the sliders in Advanced Evaluation Mode.

Colors:-
Press this button to change some of the colors used within MapEval. This allows people who don't like the default colors, or are color blind, to change the colors to suit their needs.

Edit Captions:-
Press this button to edit the captions on the evaluation buttons. If Advanced Evaluation is selected, then pressing this button allows you to edit the captions of the sliders.

Map Manager:

The Map Manager within MapEval allows you to copy or move (depending on the type of list) maps between the different Map lists.  You are also able to sort Map lists which haven't been sorted by the AutoSort option.

The type of Map lists available within the Map Manager are:
The maps which are displayed in the "Not Evaluated" list depends on whether you are using the "Standard" or "Advanced" evaluated mode.  If you are using the "Standard" mode, then the maps which don't appear in the "Standard" evaluation lists will be displayed.  Alternatively if you are using the "Advanced" mode, then the maps which don't appear in the "Advanced" evaluation lists will be displayed.

You are not able to copy or move maps to the Advanced Map list as the entries in the Advanced Map list must have scores included with it. However, you are able to move or copy maps from the Advanced Map list.

Please note that if you make a mistake copying or moving a map between lists you may need to click on "Undo All" on both the left and right Map lists to undo the changes on both lists.

Advanced Evaluation Results and Spreadsheets:

The Advanced Evaluation Results are held as fractions of the scale. If you wish to take these results (held in MapEvalA.ini) into a spreadsheet, you will need to multiply these results by the scale you have chosen within the spreadsheet program to get the right values.

Map List Limits:

I have limited the number of maps in the evaluation Map lists to avoid any problems which may arise with very large lists.  The limits I have chosen are as follows:
If you find yourself with a full Map list, you may have to rename the existing list file (MapEvalS.ini or MapEvalA.ini) so that MapEval creates a new empty list. I plan to include a program (external to UT2003) in the future to manage different lists.

UT2Vote Mutator Compatibility:

I have written MapEval to coexist happily with the UT2Vote Mutator. If you are playing online and a server is configured to use the UT2Vote Mutator, or you are using the UT2Vote Mutator within "Instant Action, MapEval will not popup at the end of the game, if UT2Vote is enabled for game end popup. In other words I have decided that UT2Vote takes precedence over MapEval :-)

Known Issues:

Obviously not tested under UT2004 yet :-(

To-do:
Version History:
Credits:

Thanks to Adequate_Andy (Andy Smith), Kage (Nick Martin ), Songe and Trev (Trevor Brice) for suggestions and assisting in the testing of MapEval.

Thanks to Epic for making an excellent Games Engine with a great Scripting language.

Thanks to the UnrealWiki site and the 3dBuzz site for taking the time to put up documentation or tutorials on UnrealScript. Both sites have been invaluable in helping me learn UnrealScript.

Thanks also to the people in the Atari Unreal Scripting forum that have answered the odd question or two.