Board Thread:Wiki/Forum Technical Support/@comment-33763020-20181106150040

I am thinking of creating my custom-made maps of the mod for others if there is interest. More complex storylines and quests than the regular mini-quest type of achievement routine (collect this, kill that, go there, etc.), for those who look toward a more intellectual challenge that could take many hours or days to complete. The stories would contain notes and letters hidden as a kind of treasure hunt, bosses fought along the way that drop clues or items, buildings and caves entered only after previous achievements, etc. I have zero knowledge of the technical possibilities, so am kindly asking for the experts among you on what is feasible, with the following aspects coming to mind at first go:

1. My storylines involve quests with vast travels, objects and messages placed/hidden across Middle-earth. If I create these and place them in survival mode (or creative, for that matter), I would still have had to visit these places to place the objects, build the structure, etc., hence my character will have built up some alignment during self-defense or to allow for use of crafting-tables, trading, smithies, changed blocks, etc. How can I create a "Save" without player alignment? In Creative mode perhaps? Or via cheat mode? Can I then save the game in a way that it is opened again in survival mode? Can I also create a save without chunks already loaded in (and therefore creating a save file size that can still easily be downloaded to play with), but still by having objects placed?

2. How does sharing of maps work? I currently make backups easily via copies of the "Save" files, which contain all data of progress in a given mod. As I progress in ME however, the files get larger and larger through the region files where chunks are saved and at some point we talk about Gigabytes size files, not that easy to download for some. Simply post Google Drive links?

3. Is there a way to "unlock" certain steps in a story? For example, instead of just hiding objects and messages throughout the game, is it possible that certain things only appear once previous steps have been performed? Similarly to alignment: until a certain alignment, traders do not talk to you, no troops can be hired, no crafting table used, etc. I would like to create achievements that enable complex mechanics as well, for example a cave or building whose gate cannot be opened (due to banner protection) until a certain achievement has been made in advance, not just the alignment of a faction to be achieved.

4. It would have to be a fixed seed to make sure that everything is placed where it should be. Is it possible that I open a random seed and once saved, everyone playing the game will be able to use that one seed, so that all terrain and placed objects are in the same place?

5. Is it possible to spawn NPC's only once, through a spawner, so they do not respawn? Similar to the Troll chieftain or the Ent boss? This would create the possibility for single boss-fights and achievements. Can said bosses drop SPECIFIC items upon death instead of the "odds" of items, like a set of armour and weapons? What about self-made books, can these be placed in their inventory to be dropped upon slaying them?

There are probably many more questions that will pop up, for now these are my major headaches in making a map for others. Any help is welcome and of course I am looking forward to where I can find already created ones! 