Disgaea 1/Map editor

This article documents how to use the built-in map editor.

Emulator settings

To enable the map-editor, you need to activate debug mode. If you use the PCSX2 emulator, you could accomplish this by creating a file called 4D2CAC9D.pnach with the following content:

patch=1,EE,20147078,word,00000000
patch=1,EE,20100440,word,8F8485AC
patch=1,EE,20100444,word,34840002
patch=1,EE,20100448,word,1000000B
patch=1,EE,2010044C,word,AF8485AC

Put the file in the PCSX2/cheats/ directory, and make sure to start the game with the 'Boot CDVD (fast)' option.

Import/export maps

In order to export maps from the game, you need to enable Host File System in PCSX2. You then need to make sure that the directory PCSX2/host/map/mpXXX exists, where XXX is the first three digits of the map you want to save. After that, exporting to HDD should work, and write the map file to your actual host filesystem.

Camera controls

• / on P1's controller rotates the camera.
• All other camera controls require a second controller plugged in
  • / on P2's controller zooms the camera; / does the same at a different speed.
  • or Left Stick pans the camera.

Editor modes

The editor could be put into several different modes, adjusted via / in the topmost menu entry. Each mode is documented separately.

Cursor

• Default selection. Allows you to casually browse the map.
  • If you hold down and push a direction on , you can shift the entire map in that direction, one tile at a time.

Vertex

• This option allows you to manipulate the existing terrain of the map.
  • If you wish to create new Vertex tiles, see the "Texture" section later for more details.
• brings up the Vertex Tools menu.
  • Highlight "Y Inc. and Dec." and toggle through your desired selection with and .
  • This will set the amount of incremental force that will be applied when using the vertex editor tool.
• The "Precinct Vertex" option determines whether your modifications impact the surrounding tiles or not.
  • If set to "Off" you will only modify the positioning of the current vertex only. However if set to "On" any changes you make to the current vertex will adjust surrounding tiles as well. This can be particularly useful to toggle between when attempting to create realistic slopes, or when attempting to make very precise edits without altering the surrounding environment.
• There is an "Invisible" third option also present in this menu.
  • It acts the same as the "Area" option in the main editor window, and allows you to toggle between individual chunks.
• To modify a vertex, simply hover your cursor over the desired tile, hold , and press or .
  • You can toggle between vertex face selection with and . This allows for precise modification of the terrain from every angle.

Texture

The Texture mode allows you to change the textures of the five faces of a map tile.

• / switches between the faces S, E, N, W, Top.
• draws the currently selected texture to the selected face of the selected tile.
• brings up the texture slice picker.
  • moves between the settings on the right-hand side, and the texture slice picker in the tileset to the left.
  • / switches between the different textures currently loaded.
  • Option #1 controls rotation of the texture slice (0, 90, 180, 270)
  • Option #2 controls mirroring of the texture slice(?) (None, X, Y, XY)
  • Option #3 sets the blending mode of the texture (Normal, Translucent, Addition, Subtraction)
  • Option #4 (??? TBD) (Right-Up Vertex, Left-Down Vertex, Right-Down Vertex)
  • Option #5 is used for drawing several textures (Mono Face, Sequence Face)
  • Option #6 controls what operation to perform (Put Face, Delete Face, Delete Box)
  • Option #7 (??? TBD) (Ground, Put Shadow)

Put Character

• This option allows you to place actors on the map, and adjust their settings accordingly.
• To setup an actor, simply hover your cursor over the desired tile and press .
  • A large list of options will present itself as follows.
  • The first option determines the actor type. Press or to toggle between options, of additional note the Actor ID of the selected actor will be displayed to the left of this option (when applicable). Alternatively you can press instead, this will present you with a sub-menu that allows you to easily scroll through all available units and their classes.
  • The "Lv0001" option should be fairly self explanatory in nature. Simply press or to increase or decrease the level of your actor.
  • The "Enemy1" option determines enemy behavior in battle. "Enemy1" behaves as normal, the unit will be hostile to you and other threats. "Enemy2" however will set the unit to "Neutral" status, here they will not attack the player unprovoked, and instead will focus on the "Enemy1" type actors. "Enemy3" will only attack the player, ignoring all other threats on the map in favor of eliminating the player character.
  • The "Direction" option allows you to set the direction the actor is facing at the start of battle. Simply press or until you find the desired position, then press to apply your changes.
  • The next option allows you to modify enemy AI behavior. Press or to toggle between options. "Rush" seems to be default enemy behavior, where they will recklessly rush in with all their bravado. "Fixed Cannon" will force the actor to remain stationary, but it will attack if an appropriate target is in its immediate range. "Do nothing" is pretty self explanatory, the actor will not do anything under any circumstance. "Intercept" prioritizes the protection of its allied units above all else, acting to stop the player or other hostile actor that may pose a threat.
  • The "Equip" option will open open a small sub-menu if selected with . Here you can use or to set the desired item to an equipment slot, or press and to toggle between the slots themselves. If you wish to clear an item from a slot, simply highlight it and press .
  • The following option is a Stats modifier for the current actor. Press or to toggle between the eight available options. "Common" uses stats derived from the actor database in CHAR.DAT, whereas "BossLv.1" and higher adds some kind of modifier to all stats - increasing their power considerably with each increment.
  • The "Move" option is self explanatory. Simply press and then move your cursor to the new desired location of the unit, where again you press to place it.
  • The "Delete" option will delete the actor from the map forever. Beware, for this no way to undo this!
  • The "Appear" option determines if an actor is always present on a map or not. "Appear Normal" ensures they are always present. "Absent 2nd" ensures that the actor will not appear if the map is replayed a second time, useful for maps with one-time boss encounters. "Appear 2nd" ensures the actor is not there the first time you visit the map, but will be present every revisit afterward!
  • The "Geo" option allows you to modify what kind of Geo Effect property the current actor has. Press or to toggle between options, and press and to switch between Geo Symbol colors for the effect. While normally this is only ever used on Geo Symbols, this property can be set on any actor!

Put Object

• This option only works when an individual area is selected for the current map.
  • If your map view is set to "All Area" the controls for this function will be disabled.
• brings up the Object Select menu.
  • Highlight "N000" and toggle through your desired selection with and .
  • Press to select and place the desired object. A series of additional options will now display.
• Y modifies the Y Axis of the object. Negative values are higher in height, positive are lower.
• RX, RY, and RZ modify the rotation of the object on the X, Y, and Z axis respectively.
• SX, SY, and SZ modify the scale of the object on the X, Y, and Z axis respectively.
• FlowU and FlowV control horizontal and vertical movement of animated textures. (Where applicable.)

Put Event

• This option only works when an individual area is selected for the current map.
  • If your map view is set to "All Area" the controls for this function will be disabled.
• button brings up the Event Select menu.
  • Two options should be visible from this menu, both seemingly identical looking, but serving an individual purpose.
  • The first "No0000" option is the event tile you're modifying, whereas the second "No0000" option is the actual event you're setting it to.
  • As such, you may only have up to 16 event tiles per map, including the base panel event, effectively leaving you with 15 additional event tiles.
  • The editor is unfortunately not very descriptive regarding which event you have currently selected, so it may be a good idea to keep notes while editing!
• Currently Known Events:
  • 0000 - Null (Clears Event Tile)
  • 0001 - Base Panel
  • 0002 - Victory Tile (map is won when a unit walks onto it)

Limit Moving

• This option allows you to create or remove certain types of collision on the map.
• You can toggle between Collision options with .
  • Once your selection is made, simply hover over the tile of your choice and press .
• The top option represents your current selection, whereas the bottom option represents the collision type on the current tile.
  • Unlimited - No Restriction.
  • Flying Only - Only units capable of Flight may pass.
  • All Disable - Impassable by any means.

Item Realm Only

TBD

Geo Effect

• This option allows you to place Geo Effect panels on the map.
• You can toggle between Geo Panel colors with and .
  • Once your selection is made, simply hover over the tile of your choice and press .
  • To remove a Geo Effect tile, simply toggle through the colors until your selection is "Null" and then overwrite the existing tile with "Null" to clear it.

Unite MAP

TBD