Introduction #

Zoning is the process of defining the start, end, checkpoint, and stage areas of tracks on a map. This is required for all maps that are submitted to Momentum Mod. Zoning can be done in-game or in Hammer, both methods are described in this guide.

General Guidelines #

• If a zone region’s location has a map teleport destination entity, we highly prefer that it is used (rather than a custom arbitrary region destination coordinate) so the spot corresponds to a map teleport destination.
• Make sure each region teleport destination is inside the region.
• Avoid overlapping or touching regions for the same zone which could just be one region.
• Make sure points are placed precisely and aligned well with geometry.
• Fill stage/bonus teleport hub areas with a cancel zone for safety.
• Checkpoints should be placed where they can be hit consistently for better split comparisons. This means placing them in the middle of hallways rather than after a turn where the player can hit the checkpoint sooner or later depending on how much they cut the corner.
• Stages and bonuses should be given names if it helps make them more identifiable (either use the mapper’s name or the stage’s name if it has one).

In-Game Zoning #

In order to use the in-game zoning tools, sv_cheats must be enabled. When cheats are enabled, a button on the tab menu will be displayed that lets you edit the zones. The mom_zone_edit 1 command can also be used to display the zone editor menu:

Create a start zone by clicking the “+ Start Zone” text in the zone editor. Use left click to set the start corning, end corner, and height of the zone:

Set a teleport destination by clicking the dropdown in the zone properties editor. You can also specify a custom location by using the “Specify New” option and then setting the “Position” and “Yaw” properties:

You can add stages/courses by clicking the “+ Segment” text. Segments also have their own properties:

You can set map-wide properties by clicking on any of the tracks in the list:

When you are done zoning your map, you can save your changes by clicking the blue “Save Zones” button. Zones will be saved into your maps/zones/local folder.

For more advanced zoning options, please see our Advanced In-Game Zoning Guide. TODO: Add link

Hammer Zoning #

If you would rather zone maps in Hammer, follow this guide instead.

Map Decompilation #

If you are zoning your own vmf, you can skip this step.

In order to start zoning an existing map in Hammer, you must start by decompiling the BSP file with a tool like bspsrc, or our custom version of bspsrc (Strata) for newer BSP files. Simply add the BSP file to the list and click “Decompile”.

Hammer Zone Entities #

Open the vmf file for the map that you want to zone and go to the start area. Place a zone_timer_start trigger in the area where you want the start zone to be and set the “Restart Destination” field to the destination where you want the player to start.

If you are zoning a staged map, use zone_timer_stage triggers for the stage start zones (starting at stage 2). For linear maps, use zone_timer_checkpoint to add checkpoints throughout the map. Use zone_timer_end for the map end zone.

Bonus Tracks #

Bonuses can be created by using a zone_timer_start trigger and setting the “Track Number” property to the bonus number. Bonuses cannot have stages, but they can have checkpoints. The zone_timer_checkpoint and zone_timer_end triggers also need to have their “Track Number” set to the bonus number.

Generating Zones with ZoneMaker #

After all of your zones are set up, you can generate the zones by running zonemaker.exe on the vmf. Strata Hammer will have this tool included in the compile options:

If there is a problem with how your zones are set up, ZoneMaker will fail and display an error in the compile log:

Advanced Zoning Concepts #

Safe Height #

You can prevent players from climbing in start zones by modifying the “Safe Height” property. When the player is standing on a surface above the safe height, their timer will not prime and they will not be able to start a run. This is currently only used on surf maps.

Limit Ground Speed #

You can allow the player to keep speed while bhopping in stage start zones by disabling the “Limit ground speed” property. This is useful on maps with intentional stage telehops such as surf_lt_omnific. Keep in mind that players who bhop through these start zones will not record their individual stage runs because they do not meet the max ground speed prime condition.

Allow Bhop Zones #

In surf maps, players are only allowed to bhop if they are jumping on a large enough surface. The minimum surface area can be visualized with the console command mom_bhop_area_debug 1. This restriction prevents the player from bhopping on ramp spines, but in some cases the mapper may want to allow that. Mappers can override this behavior by using zone_allowbhop to allow the player to bhop on a surface that is otherwise too small. Bhop can also be enabled globally by setting “Force Enable Bhop” to “Yes” in zone_timer_start.

Stage End Zones #

Typically stages are considered complete when the player enters the start zone of the next stage. In rocket/sticky jump maps, this does not work well since stages (AKA courses) are often split up by hub areas. Instead of requiring the player to touch the next stage start zone, the mapper can set the “Stage End Zones” property in zone_timer_start to “Last Checkpoint” to use the last checkpoint in a course as the stage end zone.