.MAP How To Swap Maps On The Main Menu

[BlackJax96 20]

This was written 100% by me!

I haven't been able to add maps, only swap them, so choose a map you hate incredibly to swap! Rename it with a "-old" at the end, like this: "isolation-old.map" Make sure you add a "-old" to the end of the .mapinfo and BLFs too.

Also, if you don't know how to do something in this tutorial, use Google!

Before I start this tutorial, here are some requirements/recommendations:

1. You need Container Edits V4 (Uploaded by me, I've only found it bundled in an AIO)

2. A transfer cable and Xport

3. A photo editor, capable of at least cropping images

4. And obviously Alteration and a jtag/dev as well

5. You should create a new offline account so you can take up to 100 pictures and easily find your screenshots in Xport.

Ok so start up your jtag and go to forge. Load the modded map you wish to add and start the game.

1. Do whatever you want for now; you can pose for the camera if you want to be in the image or steer clear of the main parts of the map.

2. End the game and go to theater. The game you just played should already be loaded, so press start film.

3. Fast forward until you find a good screenshot. Try to take a reasonably far away screenshot, because you will be cropping it by about half later.

4. Take a screenshot; autoname and save. (You should already know how to do this) You can take as many screenshots as you want for now if you can't decide what looks best.

5. Turn off your jtag and connect your Official HDD to your computer via transfer cable. Open up Xport and navigate into the folder for the profile you saved your sceenshots in. The directory is Partition 3 - Content - (Your profile) - 4D5307E6 - 00000001 - screenshot############.

6. Open up the Halo 3 folder and open the sub-folder. Assuming you made a new offline account, you should only have one screenshot file with a bunch of numbers following it (The date should say the day you took the screenshot, but sometimes it says something random, like 9/9/2005). Drag this onto your desktop. (You must disable UAC to do this)

7. Minimize Xport for now and open up Container Edits V4. Click the big xbox logo and click "open." Locate your screenshot file and open it.

8. Click the logo again and click "preview." If the image is not the right one, go back to Xport and extract another.

9. Make sure "Halo 3 Image" is checked, and NOT "Container Icon." Press extract and specify the desktop as the location; keep the name as "image."

10. Close Container Edits V4 and open up your photo editor. Open up your extracted image.

11. Crop the image to 463 x 152 exactly (Alteration won't take it if it isn't exact). Keep the main subject of the image in the cropped area (obviously). Now save your image in PNG format (EXTREMELY IMPORTANT) and quit your photo editor.

Final Image:

12. (Credit to deadcanadian for telling me how to change the map id) Open up Alteration. Open up the map you hate. Go to the "scnr" tag and open it in the meta editor. At the very top it should have a textbox with the label "Map Id." Select this number and click "CTRL + C" to copy it.

Close that map and open up your modded map. Go to "scnr" in the meta editor again and paste the number you copied into the map id textbox ("CTRL + V"). Click save and close the map.

13. Go to "Edit - Maps and Package - Create Map Package." This will open a window. Accept the terms to continue.

14. The first selection is for your modded .map you took a screenshot of. Locate the .map and open it. (Make sure your .map has the same name as the map you hate)

15. The second is for the screenshot you just recently took, extracted and cropped. Open it.

16. Click "next" and name your map and description. If you are only setting the English language, make sure you press the "set all languages" button at the bottom. If you want to set only a few other languages (not all of them), then you'll have to manually edit every other language. Then continue.

17. Set the temporary save location for now and click "save."

You should now have 6 new files: A .mapinfo and some .BLFs.

18. Open up your usb drive and navigate to your maps directory. Open up the info folder and drop your .mapinfo file into it. Go back a directory and go into the images folder. Drop all the .BLFs into there. Also drop your modded .map into the root of your maps folder (if it isn't there already).

Congratulations, you've just traded maps on the main menu!

(I forgot I was using a temporary profile )

I haven't been able to add more maps. If anyone knows how, please tell me!

[Thunder 468]

I remember you were talking about this. Glad to see you made a tutorial!

[BlackJax96 20]

Thanks man!

[Ericam 4]

awesome!!!

[Ericam 4]

wait i cant play the map HELP!!!!

[BlackJax96 20]

That's strange, I read your post and loaded up Snowhalla and it gave me the dirty disk error when it worked before... I've seen dead do this, I'll ask him

[deadcanadian 271]

when i went and did that i did pretty much everything that you did, however i had my lastresort named what i wanted it. then when i made the thing i made sure the map id was differant than the other maps in the list. giving me completely new mpainfo and blf files instead of having them named the same as another. the only problem is i cant get the map to load in forge. also in the lobby i forces me on a certain team and i cant change. if i load the game in forge it automaticle ends. however customs lobby still works

[BlackJax96 20]

Oh, so how did you change the map id? Edit: found it, adding to tut.

Edited May 23, 2010 by BlackJax96

[Darkreaper7 1]

when i went and did that i did pretty much everything that you did, however i had my lastresort named what i wanted it. then when i made the thing i made sure the map id was differant than the other maps in the list. giving me completely new mpainfo and blf files instead of having them named the same as another. the only problem is i cant get the map to load in forge. also in the lobby i forces me on a certain team and i cant change. if i load the game in forge it automaticle ends. however customs lobby still works

Me too did u find out y?

Well i actually made a map i downloaded docks (longshore) from the following site: https://access.win-serv.net/xbox-files/web/Default.aspx?act=category&id=39 i claim nothing for this site my friend on kai gave me it and its cool,

anyways i didnt recieve any .blf and any .mapinfo files with the download so i remembered this tutorial and it worked, only problem is that i cant start forge, the game doesnt display it just says GAME OVER and goes back to menu, if uu found out y this happens plz tell me

[Darkreaper7 1]

I found out how to do this thing to the added maps but dont wanna make a tutorial,

im too lazy ....

anyways can u plz help me my custom map that i made (not custom its original i downloaded the map but got no .bls's files)

ill tell u later on how to do the maps that arent original to the halo 3 disc but can u plz help me to get forge working?

Edit: i found out the problem there is a problem in alteration in v.0.00525

i tried v.0.0052 and it worked perfectly!

just 1 problem......

i cant get the pic to show must b cause i dont have the halo 3 crap encodement in it idk.

ANYWAYS ill pm u how to edit the added maps (eg the map packs)

[BlackJax96 20]

I found out how to do this thing to the added maps but dont wanna make a tutorial,

im too lazy ....

anyways can u plz help me my custom map that i made (not custom its original i downloaded the map but got no .bls's files)

ill tell u later on how to do the maps that arent original to the halo 3 disc but can u plz help me to get forge working?

Edit: i found out the problem there is a problem in alteration in v.0.00525

i tried v.0.0052 and it worked perfectly!

just 1 problem......

i cant get the pic to show must b cause i dont have the halo 3 crap encodement in it idk.

ANYWAYS ill pm u how to edit the added maps (eg the map packs)

Oh I know how to edit the dlc maps, I don't know how to add MORE maps.

[Darkreaper7 1]

Oh I know how to edit the dlc maps, I don't know how to add MORE maps.

Just found out how to add MORE maps. When i was in bed one day i thought to myself y now RENAME the map itself so the next day i modded ghost town so everything was gold (including assault rifle and mongoose and spartan grenades.) I renamed the map from ghost town to Gold Town. i did not just rename the map in the create package I renamed it BEFORE i created the package so it made blfs and mapinfo for gold town eg. the mapinfo was GoldTown.mapinfo and the blf was GoldTown.blf and i put it all in the game and waddya know i had a clean map of ghost town AND i had gold town. thing is it didnt show up at first so i thought tha id failed but today bout 3 days after (it doesnt have to be maybe just took some time to sink in god knows what lol) IT WAS THERE! GOLD TOWN WAS THERE!

the only problem is that i didnt do the .blf files good so the pic doesnt show....

can u let me do the honors and make a tutorial this time or do u wanna make it? ill let u choose i dont give much care towards credit but id like to see peoples comments on something that i made for once ....

Basically Ghosttown.map -> Rename -> GoldTown.map -> alteration create map package -> Do all the crap png image whatever -> GoldTown.blf files and GoldTown.mapinfo -> xexmenu everything into respected folders -> U HAVE JUST MADE UR OWN MAP XD

[BlackJax96 20]

Just found out how to add MORE maps.

I've tried that idea, but I didn't change the map id... I'll make a tutorial right now I guess, but let me try it now.

[OPX 1]

I got the replacements to work perfect no forge errors no nothing starts up fine and team changing fine! Even the images are there perfectly! But now I just have to find out how to add the maps because they dont show up. So when I get them to show up I can get them to work perfect like I did with replacement.

[Nate the Great 560]

You don't need X-SATA if you are able to use FTP.

Edited December 31, 2011 by XeChristmas Tree

[OPX 1]

You don't need X-SATA is you are able to use FTP.

What?

[Nate the Great 560]

What?

You can access the contents of the hard drive using FTP, thus defeating the purpose of wasting time using a transfer cable.

[OPX 1]

I know but the thing is I have my Halo 3 on my 7TB External so either way it does not matter. I use Filezilla when I want to put things on my main hdd but if its my external I will just plug it into my computer.

[OPX 1]

And what I meant by the maps wont load like the custom .maps wont appear on the main menu but I can replace them fine with another .map like how this tut shows.

[ZenithRaptor 44]

I know but the thing is I have my Halo 3 on my 7TB External so either way it does not matter. I use Filezilla when I want to put things on my main hdd but if its my external I will just plug it into my computer.

You can use FTP for anything plugged into your JTAG can't you?

I dont have a normal Xbox HDD just a external USB HDD I use FTP to move stuff around.

[OPX 1]

You can use FTP for anything plugged into your JTAG can't you?

I dont have a normal Xbox HDD just a external USB HDD I use FTP to move stuff around.

I know that you can use FTP for anything on the JTAG I was just saying how I did it but this is off topic. What I meant was I can replace the .maps just fine like this tutorial says like I could even get forge to work perfect and the images. But I just have a problem adding them. Like what I mean by that is how Dead made is Dead Resort map if you renamed last resort it would show on the main menu as Dead Resort. Like I cant add the .maps but I can replace them with other .maps like this tutorial says. I even tried reswapping the map id but still does not work. Theres a reason why the custom .map is not showing. Edited December 31, 2011 by OPX

[misterbanshee 51]

yea ive always wondered how to do that too also i saw he had in his main menu a banshee next to the moniter in stead of a warthog