A Force More Powerful: The Game of Nonviolent Strategy – Windows Editor Guide – English

A Force More Powerful™

Editors Guide
Version 1.0.0.5

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 1

Table of Contents
1.
2.

INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................... 4
NATIONAL MAP EDITOR .................................................................................... 8
2.1 Creating a New Country (Lesson 1) ......................................................................... 8
2.1.1 Load a National Background Image .................................................................. 8
2.1.2 Name Your Country......................................................................................... 10
2.1.3 Save Your Work .............................................................................................. 10
2.2 Borders (Lesson 2).................................................................................................. 10
2.2.1 Draw a National Border ................................................................................... 11
2.2.2 Create Regions ................................................................................................. 12
2.2.3 Draw Regional Borders.................................................................................... 14
2.2.4 Tag the National Border................................................................................... 15
2.2.5 Tag Regions ..................................................................................................... 15
2.3 Interactive Map Features—(Lesson 3) ................................................................... 16
2.3.1 Placing Cities ................................................................................................... 17
2.3.2 Placing Other Interactive Map Features .......................................................... 19
2.4 Transportation Networks (Lesson 4) ...................................................................... 20
2.4.1 Creating Roads................................................................................................. 20
2.4.2 Creating Railroads ........................................................................................... 23
2.4.3 Creating Sea Lanes .......................................................................................... 24
2.4.4 Tips on Good Map Design............................................................................... 25
2.5 Advanced Map Creation ......................................................................................... 25
2.5.1 Foreground Images .......................................................................................... 25
2.5.2 Display-Only Regions...................................................................................... 25
2.5.3 Custom Interactive Map Features .................................................................... 26
3. CITY MAP EDITOR.............................................................................................. 27
3.1 Prepping the Editor ................................................................................................. 27
3.2 Making a City ......................................................................................................... 27
4. SCENARIO EDITOR............................................................................................. 35
4.1 Creating a New Scenario ........................................................................................ 35
4.2 Title, Dates & Description ...................................................................................... 36
4.3 National Map .......................................................................................................... 36
4.4 City Map(s) ............................................................................................................. 36
4.5 Inflation................................................................................................................... 37
4.6 Worklist / Warnings................................................................................................ 37
4.7 Background & Goals .............................................................................................. 37
4.8 Cultural Attitudes.................................................................................................... 38
4.9 Policies.................................................................................................................... 40
4.10 Demographics ....................................................................................................... 42

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4.11 Map Features......................................................................................................... 44
4.12 Alliances ............................................................................................................... 46
4.13 Regime Collapse ................................................................................................... 48
4.14 Groups................................................................................................................... 48
4.15 Characters ............................................................................................................. 54
4.16 Tactics................................................................................................................... 60
4.16.1 Objectives ...................................................................................................... 61
4.17 APPENDIX: Custom Character Portraits ............................................................. 63

IMPORTANT!!
Although A Force More Powerful aims to impart the values and techniques of strategic thinking for
individuals participating in (or leading) nonviolent Movements against oppressive opponents, it does
not guarantee real-world results. Life is very complicated and circumstances in the real world are
difficult (even in the best of times) to anticipate and can change rapidly. Thus, no training tool can
simulate these circumstances fully. Please keep this in mind when playing A Force More Powerful, and
know that the results you receive during play may not be the same results you receive if (and when) you
apply these methods to a “real” Movement.

IMPORTANT UNINSTALL NOTE!
When you uninstall the game, you will lose all files and folders except:
• The “Save” folder if it contains any saved-game files;
• Any new folder under the current “Scenarios” folder;
• Any new folder under the current “CityTiles” folder;
• All files in these (only) folders.
Files saved in any folder created when the game was installed will be lost.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT
For technical assistance with A Force More Powerful, please go to the technical support forum at
www.afmpgame.com.

© 2005-2006 BreakAway Ltd., International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, and
York Zimmerman Inc. All Rights Reserved.

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 3

1. INTRODUCTION
This portion of the Users’ Manual for A Force More Powerful explains how to use the
three editors that accompany the game. They are:
The National Map Editor: This chapter explains how to use the National Map Editor to create
national maps for scenarios.
The City Map Editor: This chapter explains how to use the City Map Editor to create city maps for
scenarios.
The Scenario Editor: This chapter explains how to use the Scenario Editor to create scenarios.

Before explaining how to use the editing tools, it’s important to first explain what files
are created, in which order they should be created, and where they should be stored once
they are created. As you create your files, follow the steps below:
STEP #1 – Create a Subfolder for your Files
Notice that in the game’s “Scenarios” folder, every scenario has its own subfolder. You
should create one of these subfolders first for your scenario files, and give the folder an
appropriate name such that you remember where the files belong. Typically, you should
give the folder the same name as the scenario itself. As you create the files specified
below, place them in this subfolder.
STEP #2 – Create ONE .LAY File for each City in the Scenario
These files are generated by the City Map Editor.
STEP #3 – OPTIONAL: Create ONE .BMP file for the National Map Background
You don’t need to create this file, but using one greatly improves the look of the national
map. The name for this file should contain the phrase “National Map Background.” This
naming scheme will help facilitate future file creation and help better organize your files.
To create a .BMP file for the Nation Map Background, see Section 2.1.1.
For the National Map Editor to be able to load this file, it must be in the scenario
directory or the same directory as the editor. For it to be visible during play, it must be in
the scenario subfolder (see Step #1 above).
STEP #4 – Create ONE .NTL File
This file is generated by the National Map Editor.
Important: Steps 3 and 4 can be ignored if you intend on creating a city-only scenario, like
Pain and Suffrage.

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STEP #5 – OPTIONAL: Create ONE TACTICS.CSV File
In general you do not need to include a TACTICS.CSV. There is a standard .CSV file in the
game which in most cases should suffice. The only time you need to create your own is if
you want to customize the messages that appear when Tactics are executed. To do this,
make a copy of the TACTICS.CSV (which is found in the main “Scenarios” folder of the
game) and put it in your scenario subfolder (see Step #1), then edit any columns that
have the words “Success” or “Failure” somewhere in the header. Don’t edit the other
columns, as that may cause strange behavior. Due to the particular requirements of the
game, when editing .CSV files we recommend a tool like CSVed (available at
http://home.hccnet.nl/s.j.francke/t2t/text2table.htm) instead of Microsoft Excel®.
Important: Steps 6-8 below deal with LUA scripting. It is possible for you to follow steps
6-8 without prior knowledge of LUA scripting (as the steps recommend that you copy over
existing scenario .LUA files and modify them accordingly). However, if you wish to create
entirely new .LUA files, you must have knowledge of LUA scripting. See the Scripting
Guide, available for download on the A Force More Powerful Web site
(www.afmpgame.com) for more details on advanced scripting for scenarios.

STEP #6 – Create ONE .SCN File
To make this file, you use the Scenario Editor to create an .SCN file containing the
scenario data. Any time you modify work completed in any of Steps 2-5, you will need to
reopen and resave the .SCN file.
STEP #7 – Create ONE AFMP.LUA File
You should start with the empty AFMP.LUA file that can be found in the “Editors” folder.
This file is for everyday events or scenario-specific events such as elections, weather,
Tactics bonuses at specific locations, and so forth. If you want these things to apply to
your scenario, the best thing to do is to find a scenario where these things do occur, then
copy everything from that scenario’s AFMP.LUA file between the part that says “function
LuaMain()” and “return err”, and paste it into the same place in your file. You should
then do the same for the StartGame() function. Each section of the part you copied will
have a comment explaining what the following script lines are for; if you don’t want that
part to be in your scenario, delete everything between that comment and the next
comment. For more details on how to build this file, see the A Force More Powerful
Scripting Guide, available on the Web at www.afmpgame.com. You can then copy
scripts for particular events into this file.
STEP #8 – Create ONE OR MORE OBJECTIVE.LUA Files
These files should be named OBJECTIVE1.LUA, OBJECTIVE2.LUA, and so forth. The best
way to get these working in your scenario is to find an existing scenario with a similar
type of Objective, copy its file over, and then change the names in the functions to match
the Characters, Groups, Alliances, buildings, etc., that are in your scenario. For example,
if you wanted an Objective like the one in Justice on the Waterfront, rewarding the player
for successfully bringing off a Strike, you would copy that file over and replace the
“Labor Alliance” with the Movement’s name in your scenario.

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 5

The existing scenario “objective” files have comments in them explaining what each
objective does.
STEP #9 – Create ONE OR MORE VICTORYCONDITION.LUA Files (the numbering
is the same as the Objective scripts)
The same approach applies as with Objectives in Step #8 above: simply copy over a
similar file and change the names to match the ones in your scenario. Once you
understand how the scripting system works, you can create your own, more detailed
Victory Conditions.
STEP #10 – Create ONE SCENARIOMESSAGES.CSV File
This is a standard .CSV file. You should copy another scenario’s version of it and empty
out everything except the headers (the text in the first line).
• The “Name” column is the name of the message; you use this in the script files
when you want the message to be displayed.
• The “Broadcast” column lets you specify the type of message: it must be
“PUBLIC,” “SECRET,” or “ADVISOR.” If you pick “PUBLIC,” you must also
put something in the “Headline” column, so the news article has a proper
headline. The character limit for this column is 25.
• The “MessageStub” column lets you specify what appears in the messaging
system’s left-hand side, as well as on the message history in the Info Screen.
• The “MessageText” column lets you specify the message’s text.
It is best to fill in this file’s data after you have created or copied over all your script files,
so you can make a list of the names of the messages you need in the Name column, and
write the messages all at once. Alternatively, you can fill in this data as you do the
previous two steps, creating each message as it is referenced in the LUA files.
STEP #11 – Create ONE Scenario PICTURE.BMP File
To make this file, find a photo you want. The creation method for the image file is up to
you (i.e., digital photo, scanned image, digitally painted image). Once you have generated
the image file, resize it using MS Paint® or Photoshop® to 256×256 pixels, keeping in
mind that the viewable area is the upper left 240×180 portion. The file must be named
“SCENARIO PICTURE.BMP.” As with the National Map background (see Step #3), it may
be useful to look at one of the built-in scenarios’ Scenario Picture files to see what goes
into the system such that it generates what you see on the Scenario Selection Screen.
STEP #12 – Create ONE NAMES.CSV File
Just copy and paste this from another scenario, then use a CSV editor such as CSVed to
change it to accommodate your scenario’s cultural setting. This file is used for random
Character generation only; meaning, when circumstances call for a Character to be
created in the game, a name is drawn from this file.

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 6

STEP #13 – Test your Scenario
Once you’ve placed your files in your scenario’s subfolder (within the main “Scenarios”
folder), launch the game and play. Your created scenario should appear on the Scenario
Selection Screen, and its name should be the same as the name of the .SCN file.

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 7

2. NATIONAL MAP EDITOR
The National Map Editor for A Force More Powerful is a powerful tool that can be used
along with the other tools to create your own scenarios for use in the game. The National
Map Editor’s focus is on creating 2D maps at the national level.
The National Map Editor is unlike map editors you may have used before in that it is not
tile-based. This allows you very fine control over the appearance and location of borders
and map features.
When you launch the National Map
Editor, a screen like this appears:
The high-level process for creating
a new national map is:
•
•
•
•

Create a new country
Define borders and regions
Place cities and other
interactive map features
Define a transportation
network

We’ll go over each of these steps in turn.

2.1 Creating a New Country (Lesson 1)
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to:
• Load a national background image
• Name your country
2.1.1 Load a National Background Image
This is an optional step. You do not have to create a background image for your national
map. If you wish to do so, however, follow the instructions below:
The first step when creating a new national map is to load a background image.
To load an image, choose Edit | Load Background Image from the menu bar. You can
also use the Load background image toolbar button:

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 8

For the purpose of this tutorial, choose NATIONAL_MAP_BACKGROUND02.BMP and click
Open.
Tip: The National Map Editor can load any image as your map background, as long as it
meets the following specifications:

•
•
•

24-bit Windows bitmap format (.BMP)
The map area must be exactly 800×600
pixels.
It must be located in the upper left
corner of a 1024×1024 image.

If this seems confusing, try opening one of the
sample images in a paint program like MS
Paint®.

Important:
To open in the editor, the background .BMP file must be located in the same folder as
VECTORMAPEDITOR.EXE.
To appear in the game, the background .BMP file must be copied to your scenario’s subfolder of A Force More Powerful Scenarios folder.

Creating A Background Image For A National Map
There are two simple procedures you can use to create a background image for a national
map:
1. Scan an image of your choice. Find a picture book, magazine, or map that contains an
image of the geographical area upon which you wish to base your national map. Scan that
image into your computer system, using the scanning software of your choice. Make sure
the image you have scanned is a maximum resolution of 800×490 pixels. Save that
image, into the designated A Force More Powerful background image directory, as a
standard bitmap (or .BMP) file. Your background image must be a .BMP file. You would
name such a file, for example, MYBACKGROUND.BMP. If you need to adjust the size of
your background image, it is recommended that you use any of the following free and
commercial image manipulation applications: Paint®, ACDSee®, GIMP®, Adobe
Photoshop®, Adobe ImageReady®, or Corel Draw®. Once you have completed this
procedure, you will be able to begin constructing a National Map using the background
image you created.
2. Take a photograph of an image of your choice. Find a picture book, magazine, or
map that contains an image of the geographical area upon which you wish to base your
national map. Take a photo of that image, using the digital camera of your choice.

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 9

Transfer the photo from your digital camera to your computer system. Save that photo,
into the designated A Force More Powerful background image directory, as a standard
.BMP file. Your photo, or “background image,” must be a .BMP file. You would name such
a file, for example, MYBACKGROUND.BMP. Make sure your image is a maximum
resolution of 800×490 pixels. If you need to adjust the size of your background image, it
is recommended that you use any of the following free and commercial image
manipulation applications: Paint®, ACDSee®, GIMP®, Adobe Photoshop®, Adobe
ImageReady®, or Corel Draw®. Once you have completed this procedure, and, once you
begin to play A Force More Powerful, you will be able to begin constructing a national
map using the background image you created.
2.1.2 Name Your Country
To name your country, pull down the Country menu and select Country Name. Type in a
name for your country (Example: Mylandia) and click OK.
Notice that the words “New Country” in the upper left corner of the map have changed to
“Mylandia.”
Tip: You can move the name of the country to any spot you want. Just click and drag the
country name.

2.1.3 Save Your Work
Now would be a good time to save your work.
Choose File | Save from the menu bar (or Ctrl-S). Type in a name for your new national
map (Example: Lesson01) and click Save. The correct file extension (.NTL) will be added
automatically.

2.2 Borders (Lesson 2)
At the end of Lesson One, your map should look something like this:
The next step is to define
borders for the country and for
the regions inside it. In this
lesson, you’ll learn how to:
•
•
•
•
•

Draw a National Border
Create Regions
Draw Regional Borders
Tag the National
Border
Tag Regions

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 10

2.2.1 Draw a National Border
To start drawing a national border, choose Borders | Add Border from the menu bar. You
can also use the Add Border Anchor button on the toolbar. This puts the National Map
Editor in Border Add mode.

Adding border points: In Border Add mode, simply
click on the map to start drawing a few border points
along the border of Mylandia.
Notice how the newest added point is always green. This
is the active border point. The National Map Editor will always connect a new border
point to the previously active point.
Moving border points: Click the arrow button on the toolbar to put the National Map
Editor into Select mode:

In this mode, clicking on a border point will select it. Try selecting the third border point.
You can drag the active point to move it around. The lines connecting it to its neighbors
will automatically stretch.
Removing border points: Select any border point and notice how the red X button on
the toolbar is now active.

Click it (or press the Delete key) to delete the active
border point. The border along Mylandia now has a
break in it. At this point, your map should look
something like this:
Inserting border points: As noted above, new
border points will always connect to the active border point. To repair the break in the
border, first put the National Map Editor in Border Add mode (Borders | Add Borders, or
). Any active border points will turn blue.

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 11

Now click one of the border points on the break to
make it Active. New border points will now connect
to this point. Click the map again to add a couple of
border points in the break. Then click the blue border
point on the other side of the break to close the gap.
Your map should now look something like this:

Now select the rightmost border
point, and continue adding
border points around the outside
border of Mylandia. Close the
border by clicking on the first
border point. At this point, your
map should look something like
this:

2.2.2 Create Regions
The country of Mylandia has three internal regions that will be important for gameplay:
East Mylandia, Central Mylandia, and West Mylandia.
To create these regions choose Regions | Regions... from the menu bar, or click the
Modify Regions toolbar button.

In the popup Regions window, click Add New Region. This adds an entry called “New
Region” in the list of regions.
Now select the New Region and type “East Mylandia” as the Region Name.

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Tip: You can type any RGB or alpha (transparency) value in the boxes. Or, you can click the
Color Region button to bring up a color picker. By default, regions will be given an alpha
value of 127. It isn’t a good idea to set this value much higher, or you won’t be able to see
your background image behind the region’s color shade.

Repeat these steps for Central Mylandia and West Mylandia. Now click OK to close the
Regions list.
At this point, your map should look something like this.

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 13

Tip: Notice how the region names are all stacked in the upper left corner of the screen?
Just like the country name, you can drag these to any location you want.

2.2.3 Draw Regional Borders
Now it’s time to define where these three regions are located on the map. To do this,
you’ll be connecting existing border points on the national border to new border points
inside the country.
Put the National Map Editor in Border Add mode (Borders | Add Borders, or

).

Click one of the national border points that also falls on a regional border. It will turn
green. Any new border points you add will be connected to this green border point. As
you draw new border points, your map should look something like this:

Wait! There’s no border point on the line segment where the regional border connects to
the national border.
No problem: just click on the black line segment itself, and a
new border point will be added in the middle of the line
segment.

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 14

2.2.4 Tag the National Border
To visually distinguish the national border from regional borders, choose Country | Tag
Country Border, or click the Tag Country Border button in the toolbar:

When the National Map Editor is in Tag Country Border mode, any black line segment
you click will be given a green highlight.
The green highlight actually has no function in the game and is for cosmetic purposes
only.
Important: It is not possible to un-highlight a line segment, only to clear an entire Country
Border with Country | Clear Country Border. So click carefully!

2.2.5 Tag Regions
Although you defined three regions and created borders for them, the game still does not
know where these regions are. To connect a region to an enclosed border, you must Tag
the regions.
To do this, open the Regions List, select West Mylandia in the list and click “Tag with
this Region.” Then close the Regions list by clicking OK.

Your next click on the map will tag the enclosed area as West Mylandia. Click inside the
westernmost region and it will change color

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 15

Important: Although the editor will let you tag more than one region as West Mylandia, the
game will not understand this and may crash. To tag two non-contiguous (not touching)
areas as the same region, you will have to define and tag them as different regions, although
you may use the same color so they will visually look the same.

To tag the next region, open the Regions list again, select the next region, click Tag With
This Region, and OK. Do this now for both Central Mylandia and East Mylandia.
Tip: If you make a mistake, you can clear a tagged region using Regions | Clear Tagged
Region on the menu, or the Clear Tagged Region toolbar button.

This completes Lesson Two. Don’t forget to save your work!

2.3 Interactive Map Features—(Lesson 3)
At the end of Lesson Two, your map should look something like this:

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to place Cities and other Interactive Map Features on your
new Country map. As stated in Section 3.4.11 of the Players’ Guide, Interactive Map
Features are icons on the National Map which, when selected, can be Targeted with
Tactics.
Important: NEVER give the same name to more than one Group, Character, Alliance, or
Map Feature. The game will behave strangely or crash if two game entities, such as a Group
and a Building or a Character and an Alliance, have the same name.

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 16

2.3.1 Placing Cities
To place the capital of Mylandia, choose Interactive Map Feature | Add City | Capital,
and click on a spot near the coast of East Mylandia. Name the city “Mylandia City.”

Leave “Does disrupting this map feature affect travel” checked for now. We’ll cover this
in Lesson Four.
For each city that has “Does this map feature have a 3D city map” checked, you will need
to create a city map using the City Editor tool.
Click OK. Notice your new capital city on the coast. It is green because it is the currently
selected (or Active) Interactive Map Feature. You can press the red X button or the
Delete key to delete it.
Try placing more cities:
• Place a small fishing village on the southern coast of East Mylandia (Interactive
Map Feature | Add City | Village), and
• Two medium cities (Interactive Map Feature | Add City | Medium City), one each
in Central and Western Mylandia.

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 17

Tip: You can move Interactive Map Features after placing them by clicking on them
(turning them green) and dragging them around the map. You can also double-click them to
edit their properties.
You can even change an icon from one type to another using the pull-down menu on the
property dialog box.

Advanced users can change the Interactive Map Feature’s icon on the map by typing in the
filename of a custom TARGA bitmap graphic (.TGA) to use for the Texture file name. To
show up in the editor, the .TGA file must be located in the same folder as
VectorMapEditor.exe. To show up in the game, the .TGA file must be copied to the
\GUI\Images\ folder of A Force More Powerful.

At this point, your map should look something like this:

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 18

2.3.2 Placing Other Interactive Map Features
Try experimenting by placing other types of Interactive Map Features. For Lesson Four,
you’ll need to place at least:
•
•
•
•

2 farms in Central Mylandia (Add Map Feature | Farms | Plowed)
A nuclear power plant in the wilds of West Mylandia (Add Map Feature | Power
Plants | Nuclear)
A mountain pass between Central Mylandia and West Mylandia (Add
Transportation Node | Mountain Pass)
A bridge over the river in Central Mylandia (Add Transportation Node | Bridge)
Tip: Interactive Map Features can’t be located between regions, or in more than one region.
In order for the Mountain Pass to show up correctly as a “disruptable” Interactive Map
Feature in your scenario, it must be located either in the Central Mylandia region or the West
Mylandia region. The Interactive Map Feature is located in the region that contains the
center point of the icon.

When you’re done, your map should look something like this:

This completes Lesson Three. Don’t forget to save your work!

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 19

2.4 Transportation Networks (Lesson 4)
In the last lesson, you placed a number of cities, bridges, and so on, in the country of
Mylandia. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to create a transportation network by
•
•
•

Creating Roads,
Creating Rail Roads, and
Creating Sea Lanes.

This lesson will finish up with a few tips on good map design.
2.4.1 Creating Roads
Adding Roads: To create a road, choose Transport Link | Add Primary Road (or Add
Secondary Road) from the menu, or click the Add Primary Road or Add Secondary Road
buttons on the toolbar:

The editor is now in Add Road mode. All roads in the National Map Editor must connect
two Interactive Map Features, so clicking any Interactive Map Feature will start building
a road from that location.
Tip: There’s actually no difference, in terms of gameplay, between a Primary Road and a
Secondary Road. Travel time is what counts. Your choice of one over the other should be
based on cosmetic reasons alone.

Click the capital city (Mylandia City) and then the medium city in Central Mylandia.
You’ve just completed a road! The Transport Path Dialog will appear:

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 20

You can rename the road if you wish (Example: I-95) or simply keep the default name.
Tip: Don’t forget to specify a travel time (in days) before you click OK.
Travel time doesn’t have to be a whole number. You can use decimals to specify partial
days, like 3.5 (for three and a half days) or 0.125 (for 3 hours).

Click OK to close the dialog.
Moving roads: Click the arrow button on the toolbar to put the National Map Editor into
Select mode:

In this mode, clicking on a road or Interactive Map Feature will select it.
Select Mylandia City and it will turn green to indicate it is selected. You can drag it
around and the road will automatically stretch to keep it connected to Mylandburg.
Deleting roads: Now click the actual line connecting the two cities. The road will turn
green to indicate it is selected. Notice how the red X button on the toolbar is now active.

Click it (or press the Delete key) to delete the road.
Creating curvy roads: The road connecting two Interactive Map Features doesn’t have
to be a straight line. Click the Add Road button to put the National Map Editor in Add
Road mode, and click the capital, Mylandia City, again. This time, click several spots of
open terrain before you click the city in Central Mylandia. Your map should look
something like this:

Keep adding road nodes until you’re happy with the road, then complete the road by
clicking the city in Central Mylandia. The Transport Path Dialog will pop up. Add a
travel time and click OK to complete road creation.
You can cancel road building at any time by pressing the Delete key.

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 21

Tip: After a road is created, you can drag individual road nodes to change the shape of the
road. You can’t delete road nodes or insert extra road nodes, though, without deleting the
whole road and starting over.
You can also change the name or travel time of the road by double-clicking the road itself.
This will bring up its Transport Path Dialog again.

Using Road Junctions: In the screenshot below, the map designer wants to connect two
roads to each other:
This is impossible. Remember that a road must
connect two Interactive Map Features; so in order
to join two roads, you should delete both roads
and use a Road Junction Interactive Map Feature.
(Interactive Map Feature | Add Transportation
Node | Road Junction).
Place a Road Junction and build three roads:
1) from Mylandia City to the Road Junction,
2) from the village to the Road Junction, and
3) from the Road Junction to the city in
Central Mylandia.
When you place the Road Junction, make sure the checkbox for “Does disrupting this
map feature affect travel?” is checked (the default), if you want players of your scenario
to be able to disrupt travel:

Finish connecting Interactive Map Features on the map with roads:
1) Between the city in Central Mylandia and the bridge over the river,
2) From the bridge to each farm in south central Mylandia,
3) Between the two farms,
4) From the city in Central Mylandia to the mountain pass,
5) From the mountain pass to the city in West Mylandia,
6) And from the mountain pass to the nuclear power plant.
When you’re all done, your map should look something like this:

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 22

2.4.2 Creating Railroads
Adding Railroads: The process for creating railroads is identical to creating roads.
To create a railroad, choose Transport Link | Add Railroad from the menu, or click the
Add Railroad button on the toolbar:

The editor is now in Add Railroad mode.
Follow the same steps described above in Creating Roads to create a railroad from the
easternmost farm to the village on the coast. When you’re done, your map should look
something like this:

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 23

Tip: There’s an Interactive Map Feature for a Road/Railroad Crossing that you can use if
you want players to be able to disrupt travel where a road crosses a railroad.

2.4.3 Creating Sea Lanes
Adding Sea Lanes: The process for creating sea lanes is identical to creating roads. The
only difference is cosmetic.
To create a sea lane, choose Transport Link | Add Sea Lane from the menu, or click the
Add Sea Lane button on the toolbar:

The editor is now in Add Sea Lane mode.
Important: Nothing in the editor prevents you from creating a sea lane that goes over land...
or, in fact, from creating a road that goes over water.

Follow the same steps described above in Creating Roads to create a Sea
Lane from the capital city to the village on the coast. When you’re done,
your map should show a Sea Lane between the two Interactive Map
Features.
Tip: Don’t forget to specify a travel time! If you do forget, you can
double click on the Sea Lane to bring up the Transport Path Dialog
again, just like you can for Roads and Railroads.

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 24

This completes Lesson Four. Don’t forget to save your work!
2.4.4 Tips on Good Map Design
Tip: Choke points in the transportation network create interesting opportunities for the game
player. Notice how the mountain pass (see above) is a choke point for both the city and the
power plant in west Mylandia. If this choke point is Disrupted, then “indirectly” the nuclear
power plant in the region is also cut off from the rest of the country.

2.5 Advanced Map Creation
2.5.1 Foreground Images
If you have access to an image-editing
program that can export a 32-bit
TARGA bitmap with an alpha channel,
you can have a Foreground image
overlay on your map. Use Edit | Load
Foreground Image to load the image.
(Incidentally, background images may
also be in TGA format, not just BMP
format.)
Important: Like the background images, to show up in the editor, the foreground .TGA file
must be located in the same folder as VectorMapEditor.exe.
To show up in the game, the foreground .TGA file must be copied to the \Scenario folder of A
Force More Powerful.

Foreground images are loaded above the Region colors but below the Interactive Map
Features and Roads, as shown in the diagram. If you load a Foreground Image that does
not have an alpha channel, you won’t be able to see your Region colors or background
image.

Tip: You might want to use a foreground image to show a national park that spans more than
one region but should not be colorized with either region’s color.

2.5.2 Display-Only Regions
You can create a colorized region on the map that is purely cosmetic and does not exist as
an entity in the game. For example, you might want to create a big lake in the center of a
region.
To do so, create the region normally, but check the “Display-only region” checkbox on
the regions list:

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 25

®

Tip: If you have access to an image-editing program (like Adobe Photoshop or Jasc Paint
®
Shop Pro ), it’s probably easier just to create the fill as part of the Background image.
However, this functionality is included for those without access to a good paint program.

2.5.3 Custom Interactive Map Features
You can create your own icons on the map for new types of Interactive Map Features.
To place a custom Interactive Map Feature, just choose Interactive Map Feature | Add
Custom IMF from the menu (or click the Interactive Map Features button on the
toolbar). Then click on the map to place your Interactive Map Feature.
The Interactive Map Feature Name dialog box will appear:

You will need to supply the name of a TGA bitmap (with or without an alpha channel)
for use as the Texture file name.
Try opening any of the icon TGAs in the National Map Editor’s folder to see how to
create your own Icons using an image-editing program.

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 26

3. CITY MAP EDITOR
Important:
Before you launch the city editor application:
1. Building the city maps in a scenario should be the last step. You should already
have a complete idea of exactly which Characters, Groups, cultural tags, and
victory conditions you want to include in the scenario. The contents of a city, its
neighborhood divisions, and the buildings included will be determined by these
things (e.g., if you have a factory workers’ Group, they will probably be tied to a
factory.)
2. Some buildings are prerequisites for certain Tactics; if you want the police to be
able to arrest anyone, for example, you will need a Prison somewhere in the
scenario, and if you want the Movement to be able to conduct a concert, you will
need one of the “public” buildings at which a concert can occur (e.g. public square,
park).
You are now ready to start creating a city map for A Force More Powerful. To continue,
simply launch the “City Map Editor” and follow the next steps.

3.1 Prepping the Editor
1. Define the Map Size. From the “File” menu, select Properties, and (if not
already selected) click on the Dimensions tab. In the Grid Size area, input the
desired dimensions. Press OK when done, and a blank grid for the just-defined
map size will be displayed in the main window. Note that the map size you define
will still be surrounded by a 3-tile-wide border made of non-enterable tiles. You
can still edit the terrain types of these tiles (water, building, etc.), but they cannot
be entered during play. Essentially, these non-enterable tiles serve to give your
map a realistic edge, or border.
2. Display Tile Lists. If the Base Tiles and/or Plug Tiles list are not currently
displayed along the left side of the interface, you will need to display them. From
the View drop-down menu, select Base Tile Window and Plug Tile Window.
You can also turn these displays on or off via these toggle
buttons shown here. Note that if you hold the mouse cursor over
any toolbar button, a “tool tip” title appears displaying the name
of that button. You will also want to make sure the Building Window is visible.

3.2 Making a City
1. Placement Mode. To place any building, you must be in “placement
mode.” Simply select (i.e., left click on) the Placement Mode button
in the tool bar. Buildings can be added to the city map only in Placement Mode.
2. Place Base Tiles. Select something from the list of tiles shown in the Base Tiles
list (along the left side of the interface).
Important Note about Base Tiles: The blank grid is just that—a blank grid.
It must first be populated with “base tiles” (from the Base Tiles list) before
any structures from the Plug Tiles list can be placed (essentially, buildings

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 27

from the Plug Tiles list can only be “plugged into” blank base tiles). Note that
most selections in the Base Tiles list actually are a Group of (two) tiles. Some
Base Tiles are large and irregular: for example, the large University is Tshaped, and the Stadium is a 2x2 tile area.
3. Positioning Base Tiles on the Grid. With a structure from the Base Tiles list
selected (and in Placement Mode), move the mouse cursor over the grid. The size,
shape and current location of the structure is shown by the green tiles (see
illustration below). Note that if the color of the Base Tile Group changes to red,
its current location is illegal, meaning it cannot be placed there. To rectify, simply
relocate or rotate (see below) the selection until it is again displayed in green.

4. Rotate the Selection. Use the right-mouse button to rotate the current selection
clockwise by 90 degrees. The Rotate Object tool bar button can also be used to
perform this function.
5. Place the Selection. Once you are satisfied with the location and rotation of the
selected structure, simply left-click on the map grid and the building is positioned
as desired, as illustrated below.

6. View Controls. You can quickly change your viewing perspective with the
following toolbar buttons:

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 28

•

Zoom Mode: Use this to quickly zoom in and out. With the mouse
cursor in the map area, hold down the left-mouse button and drag the cursor
back and forth. If your mouse has a wheel, that can also be used to zoom in
and out.

•

Rotate Mode: Use this to quickly “spin” your current view of the map.
With the mouse cursor in the map area, hold down the left-mouse button and
drag the cursor around (up, down and/or sideways) to change your angle of
view. Your keyboard’s up/down and right/left arrow keys can also be used to
tilt and rotate the perspective.

•

Translate Mode: Use this to shift the current view from side to side or
back and forth. With the mouse cursor in the map area, hold down the leftmouse button and drag the cursor around (up, down and/or sideways) to adjust
the area being viewed.
7. Selecting & Deleting an Item. During the course of your map editing you may
wish to delete a placed item. You must first select the item using the Selection
tool (Object Selection Mode button).
•

Object Selection Mode: Use this tool to select a placed object. Roam
the mouse cursor over the map area. When the tiles of desired object are
yellow-shaded simply left-click to select that object. A yellow outline
surrounds the base tile(s) of the selected object. Note that the name of the
selected object is displayed below the map in the Status Bar, which can be
toggled off or on by selecting Status Bar from the View drop-down menu.

•

Remove Object: Use this tool to delete the selected object. When the
object you want to remove is selected (i.e., outlined in yellow), select this
toolbar button (or press the Delete key) to remove that object.
8. IMPORTANT—Road Tiles. One type of Base Tile, called the “Road” tile, is
very important, because Plug Tiles (special models) can only be put in Road tiles.
Therefore, when building your city, make sure you put in enough Road tiles to
accommodate as many Plug Tiles as you want to put in. Since most Base Tiles are
composed of a Group of tiles, the more of these “macros” your map uses, the
more the grid-like nature of the map is broken up. Once you have placed as many
Base Tile objects as you desire, you will most likely still have completely blank
tiles still in need of a base tile. In the below illustration, such tiles are marked by
an X. You should use Road tiles to fill in these gaps as well.

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 29

Note: Some Base Tiles do not have sidewalks or roads on them. These tiles are
non-traversable; the people and vehicles in the game will avoid them and never
use them. Once all map tiles have a base tile, you can begin “plugging in” tiles
from the Plug Tile list. Additionally, every tile you place outside the Dimensions
you set in the Properties menu earlier is non-traversable (so the people and cars in
your city won’t leave!).
9. Plugging in a Plug Tile. Plug Tiles are used to “fill in” portions of the map still
containing blank Base Tiles. Each Plug Tile is a single tile, and can be “plugged
into” any empty base tile. Review the Plug Tile list and select the desired
structure. To place that building on the map, ensure you are in Placement Mode,
and roam the mouse cursor over the map. A green-shaded tile indicates a legal
placement location for that Plug Tile (see below illustration). Simply left-click on
the green-shaded tile to place that structure. NOTE: You should generally place
important buildings that will play a role in your scenario inside the city, rather
than on the edge.

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 30

Important: Some of the animated vignettes depicting crowd scenes in A
Force More Powerful are restricted to certain types of buildings. If you
want a city to be able to show these vignettes, it will need to include at least
one allowed venue for that particular Tactic’s vignette (and be labeled in
step 14 below). A chart listing these “allowed venues” appears below:

Tactic with Restricted Vignette
Mass Protest (Rally)
Mass Protest (Vigil)
Mass Execution
Organize Concert

Allowed Venue(s)
Courthouse, University (Base),
University (Plug), Embassy
Prison
Stadium (need not be labeled),
Town Square
Town Square

10. Rotating a Plug Tile. As before, you can rotate the structure (before it is placed)
using the right mouse button. Once placed, a structure cannot be rotated. Instead,
you have to select the placed object you wish to rotate (ensure it is outlined in
yellow), remove it (Remove Object tool or Delete key), re-select the object from
the Plug Tile list, right-click to rotate the object (or press Rotate Object button),
and then re “plug-in” the selected Plug Tile (must be in Placement Mode).
11. Fill in the Blanks. Continue to place Plug Tiles until each blank Base Tile has
been filled. While placing structures, don’t forget to consult your list of structures
needed by your scenario. Your finished map should have all empty Base Tiles
filled in, similar to the following illustration.

12. Toggle the Grid Display. Press the G hotkey to toggle the grid off or on.
Toggling the grid off shows a better representation of how the map will look
during play, but also prevents the selected tile(s) from being displayed with the
yellow outline. The grid lines can also be toggled via the Display tab (File |
Properties).
13. Designating Neighborhoods. Some scenarios may require a city map to be
sectioned into two or more “neighborhoods” (by default, a map is always a single
neighborhood). To define an additional neighborhood, you must:

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 31

•

•

Define Neighborhood Color: Open the Properties display (File |
Properties) and click on the Neighborhood tab. Press the Add button and an
additional neighborhood is added. Press the Choose Color button and then
select a new color, to define the color for that new neighborhood, and press
OK. You can give each neighborhood a unique name by selecting that
neighborhood, then retyping the name in the window to the left of the Add
button. Press the Properties OK button when finished.
Show Neighborhood Borders: Press the N hotkey and the map shows a
border around each neighborhood. By default a map has but one, red-outlined
neighborhood. If the map grid is on, you might want to turn it off by pressing
G, and also turn off the paths by pressing P. The neighborhood borders can
also be toggled via the Display tab (File | Properties).

•

Select Neighborhood to Define: Press the “down” arrow to the
left of the neighborhood “color swatch” to display the names of the defined
neighborhoods, then select the desired neighborhood. The color swatch
changes to show the color of the newly-selected neighborhood.

•

Neighborhood Mode: Select this toolbar button to define the selected
neighborhood, and then roam the mouse cursor over the portion of the map
you wish to redefine as the selected neighborhood. As the cursor moves over
the map, the program shades the current Base Tile. Simply left-click on the
shaded Base Tile(s) and its neighborhood changes to the selected one, and the
shade color changes to a color similar to that neighborhood’s color, as per
below illustration.

Continue to define portions of the map as different neighborhoods as
necessary. When finished, a map with three neighborhoods might look
something like this:

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 32

Important: In cities with no defined neighborhood, you must still have at least one
neighborhood named. In essence, the entire city is one big neighborhood. This so-called
“phantom” neighborhood must have a separate name from the city itself. This is necessary so
the editor can accurately record building placement and know where buildings are located on
the map.

Show Road Network: You can also view the road network in your city with the
Show Road Network menu choice in the View menu (hotkey: R). This will show
you where ambient vehicle traffic will appear in-game.
14. Labeling Important Structures: Each structure critical to play of a scenario (as
per your initial list of buildings) should be given a label so that the player can
easily locate the building during play.
•

•

•

Display Building List: First open the Building list by selecting the
Buildings Window button in the View menu (if you didn’t do this in step
one). With this depressed, the Building list is displayed to the right of the map
window.
Locate Building to Label: Clicking on any building in the Building list
highlights that building in light blue on the map. You can quickly move up
and down the list via the up/down arrow keys. Note: If you have multiple
instances of the same building model in a city, but only one is labeled and you
want to remove or change the placement of the buildings, scroll through the
Building list and look at the city map in the center. As you scroll, the building
models will be highlighted in blue. This will help you figure out which
buildings on the map correspond with which Building List entries. Also, when
new building models are added, they always appear at the end of the current
list.
Input Building Label: Once the desired building is highlighted, input the
building name in the Building list. Click once in the “Label” column (left of
the “Tile ID” column) and you will be able to type in a name for the selected
structure. Note that no two buildings can be given the same name, and that
only buildings with labels will be functional during play. Exception: The
stadium will still be used in the Mass Execution vignette even if left
unlabeled.

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 33

15. Save your File: As you design your city map, be sure to save and save often. The
file should be saved in your scenario’s sub-folder in the game’s “Scenario” folder
(see step-by-step instructions in Chapter 1 for details).

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 34

4. SCENARIO EDITOR
This editor allows you to create a new scenario or edit an existing one.
Important: Data entered in this editor is saved as part of the scenario file (i.e., is written to
your hard drive) only when you select Save in the menu bar or tool bar. Clicking on an OK
button does not save the data to the file.

4.1 Creating a New Scenario
Tips: When creating a new scenario, you should first build all the maps using the map
editors (see Chapters 2 and 3 above). It is not necessary to do this, but it simplifies the
process.

Once you’ve created a city and national map, select Start | Programs| A Force More
Powerful | Editors | Scenario Editor. When the editor opens, you will see this:

To create a new scenario, select File | New or click on the equivalent icon in the toolbar.

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 35

4.2 Title, Dates & Description
Enter the title you want to give the scenario, its start and end dates, and the description
that will appear when the scenario is selected in the Scenario Selection screen (see 3.2 in
the Players’ Guide). The description should be kept short and to the point, so that as
players scan the list of scenarios they can read the descriptions quickly to get an idea of
what each one is about.

4.3 National Map
If you wish to have a national map in the scenario, click on the “…” button and select the
desired file (it will be of the .NTL type). If the scenario will have no national map, click in
the “City-only” box instead to place a check mark in it.

4.4 City Map(s)
Once you have done either of the actions mentioned above, the City Maps button will
become enabled. Click on it, and this screen will appear:

Under City Name, enter the name of the city as you wish it to appear in the game.
Click on the enabled (white) “…” button to select each desired city-map file (it will be of
the .LAY type). Note that if the City-only box was checked, you will be able to select
only one city map. If you have selected a national map, the names of the cities in that
map will appear under City Name, and you will need to select the proper city file for
each one.
Use the Notes box to enter any miscellaneous text you may wish the player to see in the
Demographics section of the Strategic Estimate for this city.

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 36

Important: To have more than one city in a scenario, you need to have a national map.
Once a map file has been linked to a scenario by selecting it as explained above, it may still
be altered in the appropriate editor as long as neither its name nor the location of the file
itself is changed. The edited map will still be properly linked to the scenario, though the
edits may generate warning messages (see “Worklist / Warnings” below).

4.5 Inflation
Set this slider to the level of inflation that you wish the scenario to have. This level will
apply to the entire area depicted in the scenario, and will not change during play. High
inflation limits the Regime’s effectiveness, making its Tactics more expensive.

4.6 Worklist / Warnings
This box displays various messages that tell you about tasks you need to do before the
scenario can be considered complete. In many cases the scenario will not work properly
until these issues have been resolved. Double-clicking on a line in this box will open the
appropriate screen for this purpose.

4.7 Background & Goals
Clicking on this button displays the following screen:

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 37

Background: Here you enter the background story for the scenario. This should cover all
the intangibles as well as provide extra detail and color for the player—but most
importantly it should provide information that the player will find useful for planning
purposes. A check-off list on the left side provides topics that ought to be addressed in
the Background to the degree to which each is relevant to the scenario.
Goals: The goals should be a succinct list of what the player is ultimately aiming to
accomplish in the scenario. Clarity and simplicity are important. The player’s overall
strategy should seek to fulfill these goals.

4.8 Cultural Attitudes
Clicking on this button displays the following screen:

Here you may add the names of one or more religions and ethnicities, which will later be
assigned to Groups, Characters, neighborhoods and regions. Enter a name for a religion
and/or ethnicity, and click Apply; then repeat the procedure for each one you wish to
add. Each time you click Apply, the new name(s) will be added to the table where all
mutual attitudes will be set.
The genders “Male,” “Female,” and the age Groups “16-34,” “35-64” and “65+” are
always present.
There are also “Miscellaneous” fields that you may use for non- religious/ethnic names if
you wish.

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 38

Once all the names have been entered into the table, double-click on the dropdown where
a line and column meet to set the mutual cultural attitudes between the two. For example,
opening the dropdown where the line “Female” and the column “Male” intersect would
present you with this:

If you then select “Dislike | Respect,” in the game all Groups, Characters, neighborhoods
and regions tagged as Female will dislike all those tagged as Male, while all Male
Groups, Characters, neighborhoods and regions will respect those tagged as Female.
Note that all mutual attitudes default to “Accept | Accept,” so these need not be changed
if satisfactory for the scenario. (They also have a yellow background to indicate their
default status.)
The List button provides a handy display of all settings other than “Accept
| Accept,” for ease of reference:

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 39

4.9 Policies
Clicking on this button displays a screen with three tabs:
Active Policies: Here you choose the policies that will or will not be used in the scenario.
All those with a check mark will be used. Clicking in a box to remove the check mark
will omit that policy from the political calculations in the game. However, certain
Policies (Border Controls, Freedom of Expression, Due Process, Right to Privacy,
Strike Rights, Use of Torture, and Corruption) will still be “looked up” by the game
engine to determine what the Regime may and may not do, and other political and
economic effects the system requires. In other words, un-checking a box here only leaves
the Policy out of the political field, but not out of the entire game model (and you will
still need to set Status Quo values for those Policies, but not Policy Preferences for
Groups and Characters or Manifesto values for Alliances).

Custom Policies: Here you may create one or more policies that will appear only in this
scenario.

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 40

To create a custom policy, click in the box beneath Name, and type in the name you wish
your new policy to have. Then select its Category, and write a short piece of descriptive
text which will appear in the game as the Tooltip for this policy. Lastly, click on each of
the Labels and edit their names as desired, to show the player what each color (see
below: Maximum, Substantial, Moderate, Little, and None) will represent.

Important: The 0-10 labels must follow the best-to-worst order indicated by the default
terms, in order for the custom policy to function properly in the game

Status-Quo Policies: Here you set, in terms of policies, the realities of life at the start of
the scenario. There are seven policy categories, each with its own set of policies whose
values you must choose (or leave set to their defaults). Remember that these are the
settings that the game will look up when determining, for example, whether a particular
Tactic is illegal. See Section 4.3.4 in the Players’ Guide for more details on the Status
Quo as it is used in the game.

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 41

4.10 Demographics
Clicking on this button displays the following screen:

Here is where you enter the demographic data for the regions and neighborhoods in the
scenario. Start by selecting the name of one in the tree view box in the upper-left-hand
corner:

Tip: In the treeview, a checkbox can be selected only if it is next to a green square. A gray
square indicates that it cannot be selected.

Important: In the game, the demographics for a CITY equal the sum of all demographics
entered for the Neighborhoods in that City.
In the game, the demographics for a REGION equal the sum of all demographics entered for
that Region, excluding the demographics of all Cities in that Region.
In the game, the demographics for a NATION equal the sum of all demographics entered for
all Regions and Cities in that Nation.

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 42

After selecting a neighborhood or region:
• Enter the Name it will use in the game (or leave it as is);
• Set the values for its levels of Health, Fear, etc. (six sliders);
• Set its level of Legitimacy Support for each Alliance (if you have not yet created
a particular Alliance you will be reminded in the “Worklist / Warnings” box to
come back and set it once that Alliance exists);
• Select a Religion, Ethnicity, Age Group and/or Miscellaneous tag that comprises
a majority of its population (if you wish any of them to not be a majority, leave
“None” as its selection);
• Select the Gender that comprises at least 75% of its population (or leave “None”
as the selection);
• Set its percentage of the total population in the scenario.
• Add any Notes that you wish to provide to the player—you may type in anything
that you think he or she may find useful.
Important: The data entered for one region or neighborhood is saved to memory when you
select another region or neighborhood; however, it is not saved as part of the scenario file
until you click OK.

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 43

4.11 Map Features
Clicking on this button displays the following screen:

Important: Map feature names cannot be selected in other areas of the editor until these data
have been entered here.

One or more existing Groups may be associated with a map feature here by selecting the
Group, then clicking on the Æ button.
First select a map feature whose data you wish to add or edit.

Tip: In the treeview, a map feature can be selected only if it is next to a green square. A gray
square indicates that it cannot be selected.

Once you have selected a map feature, enter the following:
• The full Name of the map feature;
• A Short Name for the map feature (16 characters/spaces maximum, to be used
wherever the full name won’t fit);
• The Economic Significance of the map feature;
• The Category of the map feature
Important: The category of Map Features has an important effect on what Tactics can be done
there as well as enabling some Tactics in the first place. For example, if you want your Regime
to be able to carry out arrests and imprisonments, you will need Map Features somewhere in
the scenario with the “Courthouse” and “Prison” categories. Even if your city map has a Town
Square model in it, you will still need to label that map feature as “Public Square” in this
dialog. See below for a chart explaining the labels and what they are useful for.

A Force More Powerful™ Editors Guide / Page 44

•
•

•

The File Name of the image that will appear on the national map for the feature.
All of the game’s base images appear in the Game\GUI\Images folder in you’re a
Force More Powerful directory.
The Resilience of the map feature (which determines its ability to withstand
destruction due to violence—with a 10 meaning it cannot be destroyed). Note that
many buildings in Force More Powerful do not have destroyed-state models (e.g.,
the Embassy, Dockyard, and others). If you set Resilience for one of these
buildings to less than 10, the building will be able to be destroyed in the game, but
there will be no visual cue.
Any Notes that you wish to provide to the player—you may type in anything that
you think he or she may find useful.

GAME EFFECTS OF MAP FEATURE CATEGORIES
Map Feature
Media
University
Court
Government

Police

Jail
Public Square
Shop

Game Effect
Media buildings generate media coverage
and media ripple effects on their surrounding
areas, based on the Public Influence of the
Groups located there.
No special effects
The Regime needs at least one Court in the
scenario in order to make arrests.
The Regime needs at least one Governmentcategory building to change the status quo
Policy settings during the game.
The Regime needs at least one Police Station
in the scenario to make arrests and
detentions, and to respond to Movement
activities such as Protests.
The Regime needs at least one Jail-category
building to hold people in prison.
Concerts must be held in Public Squarecategory buildings.
No special effects

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4.12 Alliances
Clicking on this button displays the following screen:

Here you set the characteristics of each Alliance. (See Section 4.3.4 in the Players’
Guide for more details on the Alliance-related terms used here).
Important: NEVER give the same name to more than one Group, Character, Alliance, or
Map Feature. The game will behave strangely or crash if two game entities, such as a Group
and a Building or a Character and an Alliance, have the same name.
Groups and Characters join an Alliance based on their Support. As they are assigned Support
levels and join an Alliance, they will be shown in the Membership section of this screen for
your convenience.
No more than four Alliances are allowed per scenario.
The Alliance’s Attributes and Resources are determined by those of its member Groups. As
members are added to the Alliance, the current values will be shown in the Membership
section of this screen for your convenience.

Start by selecting the Alliance you want to enter data for. Once you have selected an
Alliance, enter the following under the Description tab:
• The full Name of the Alliance;
• A Short Name for the Alliance (16 characters/spaces maximum, to be used
wherever the full name won’t fit);
• An Acronym (6 characters/spaces maximum) for the Alliance;
• The Decision-Making Style of the Alliance. See the Resistopedia for more
information about the differences between the Decision-Making Styles;
• The Leader of the Alliance (one or more Groups with members must be in the
Alliance before this selection can be made). Keep in mind that the Regime leader
cannot change throughout the scenario;

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•
•
•

•
•

•

The levels of Communication Efficiency and Security for the Alliance;
A Symbol for the Alliance;
If this Alliance is the Regime, set its Collapse Threshold. At this point, any
number will do; you will want to set this number carefully once the Groups have
been created. This number is the minimum number of Base Points the Regime
must have in order to stay intact.
Any Notes that you wish to provide to the player—you may type in anything that
you think he or she may find useful;
If this Alliance is not the Regime, set the Regime’s initial Posture towards it. This
setting determines the nature of how the Regime will get this Alliance to stop
putting pressure on it, and ranges between Appeasement and Severely Repressive.
At Appeasement, the Regime will try to make conciliatory gestures and generally
give the Alliance what it wants in terms of the Status Quo being changed to reflect
the Alliance’s Manifesto, releasing imprisoned Alliance members, and so forth. At
the other end, the Regime will take a much firmer hand towards this Alliance.
If this Alliance is not the Regime, set the Regime’s initial Focus on it. This
reflects how often the Regime will take actions of the sort prescribed by its
Posture (above).

The Alliance’s Manifesto is also set at this time. Click on the Manifesto tab and the
following will appear:

Set all the policies as you wish them to be in the scenario. Make sure you set them in all
the tabs for the various categories.
Tip: Groups and Characters whose policy preferences are close to an Alliance’s manifesto
are more likely to join it during the game. If you find them changing Alliances at the very
start of play, you should adjust their policy preferences—especially the key ones—to more
closely match those of the Alliance.

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4.13 Regime Collapse
Important: Set the Regime’s Collapse Threshold only after all Groups have been added to
it.

The Regime’s Collapse Threshold must always be set to less than its Base Points (which
equal the sum of the Base Points of all its member Groups).
Important: In the game, the scenario ends whenever the Regime’s Base Points are less than
its Collapse Threshold number. (The Regime has collapsed.)

4.14 Groups
Clicking on the Groups button displays the following screen:

Here you create Groups and set their characteristics. Start by giving the new Group its
name. Then click the Add button, and enter the following under the Description tab:
• Its Category;
• An Acronym (6 characters/spaces maximum) for the Group;
• The Gender that comprises at least 75% of the Group (or leave it as “None”);
• The Religion that comprises at least 50% of the Group (or leave it as “None”);
• The Ethnicity that comprises at least 50% of the Group (or leave it as “None”);
• The Age Group that comprises at least 50% of the Group (or leave it as “None”);
• A Miscellaneous tag that applies to the Group (or leave it as “None”);
• The levels of Enthusiasm and Fear for the Group;
• The Money and People it contributes to the Alliance it is a member of;

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•
•
•
•

The Regime Base Points it contributes to the Regime (if it is a member of that
Alliance);
Any Notes that you wish to provide to the player—you may type in anything that
you think he or she may find useful
Also, if the Group is ‘foreign’ (i.e., not native to the country or city the scenario is
set in), click the Foreign checkbox.
If the Group is ‘foreign’ (not native to the country or city the scenario is set in),
click the Foreign checkbox and fill in an adjective describing the nationality (e.g.
“British”, “Russian”, etc.). Also, if you want this foreign Group to never change
its at-start Alliance membership, click the Lock Allegiance checkbox.

The Allegiance To box displays the name of the Alliance that this Group is currently a
member of.
Tip: If the Allegiance To box is empty when you click the Lock Allegiance checkbox, the
Group will remain unaligned for the duration of the scenario..

Important: NEVER give the same name to more than one Group, Character, Alliance, or
Map Feature. The game will behave strangely or crash if two game entities, such as a Group
and a Building or a Character and an Alliance, have the same name.
Important: Groups join an Alliance based on their Support for it.

The Group’s Affiliated Map Features are also set at this time. Click on that tab and the
following will appear:

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Choose one or more map features to associate with the selected Group by clicking to
place a checkmark next to their names. All map-feature names you select here will be
associated with the Group (and all Characters belonging to it) in the game.
Important: Map-feature names are disabled here until their data has been entered in the
Map Features screen

Tip: In the treeview, a checkbox can be selected only if it is next to a green square. A gray
square indicates that it cannot be selected.

The Group’s Attributes are also set at this time. Click on that tab and the following will
appear:

Set the desired level for each of these attributes.

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The Group’s Training levels are also set at this time. Click on the Training tab and the
following will appear:

Set the desired level for each.
The Group’s Policy Preferences are also set at this time. Click on the Policy Preferences
tab and the following will appear:

Set all the policies as you wish them to be in the scenario. Make sure you set them in all
the tabs for the various categories. Also remember to mark the Group’s key policies by
clicking in the appropriate boxes to put checkmarks in them. Policies that are grayed out
are either unused Custom policy slots or policies that have been shut off in the Policies
dialog.

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Tip: Although the scenario editor does not limit the number of key policies a Group can be
assigned, it’s recommended that you limit the number to a maximum of three.

Tip: Groups and Characters whose policy preferences are close to an Alliance’s manifesto
are more likely to join it during the game. If you find them changing Alliances at the very
start of play, you should adjust their policy preferences—especially the key ones—to more
closely match those of the Alliance you want them to be a member of.

The Group’s Support levels for the various Alliances are also set at this time. Click on
the Support tab and the following will appear:

Set the Group’s support levels for each existing Alliance as you desire.

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Tips: A Group or Character’s Support Levels determine which Alliance, if any, it joins.
Support Levels exist separately for each Alliance; therefore, if a scenario has two Alliances,
each Group and Character will have two sets of Support Levels.
A set of Support Levels consists of three different types: Legitimacy, Ideology, and
Financial Gain. The highest of the three is considered to be its Overall Support Level for that
Alliance. To join any Alliance other than the Regime, the Group or Character must have an
Overall Support Level for that Alliance which is “Substantial” or “Maximum”, and an
Overall Support Level for the Regime which is no higher than “Moderate”. To join the
Regime, a Group or Character must have an Overall Support Level for the Regime which is
“Moderate” or higher, and not have an Overall Support Level for any other Alliance which
is “Substantial” or higher. (Hence it is easier for the Regime to attract members.) If a Group
or Character does not have Support Levels that meet either of these conditions, it is
considered Unaligned.
Only Legitimacy and Financial Gain can be directly set in the editor. The third Support
Level type, Ideology, is calculated from the level of agreement between the Group or
Character’s preferred policies and the Manifestoes of the different Alliances (or the Status
Quo, when determining Ideology Support for the Regime). The greater the agreement, the
higher Ideology Support will be for a given Group or Character and a given Alliance. A
Group or Character’s Key Policies are especially important in generating its Ideology
Support levels, since those are the issues the Character or Group feels especially strongly
about.
If you want a Group or Character to start out as a member of the Movement, you should set
at least one of its Support Level types (Legitimacy or Financial Gain) for the Movement at
“Substantial” or “Maximum”, and make sure that none of its Support Level types for the
Regime exceed that one. You should also set its preferred policies in a way such that few, if
any, disagreements exist between it and the Movement (note that a policy disagreement
exists wherever the two preferences are different colors).
Similarly, if you want a Group or Character to start out as a member of the Regime, you
should set at least one of its Support Level types for the Regime at “Moderate” or higher,
and make sure that all of its Support Level types for other Alliances are lower than that
setting. You should also set its preferred policies such that it has few, if any, disagreements
with the Regime’s manifesto settings.
Finally, if you want a Group to remain Unaligned at the start of the game, you should set its
Support Level types at “Moderate” or lower for the Regime, and “Substantial” or lower for
all the other Alliances, and it should have policy disagreements with all of the Alliances to
some extent.

Tip: If you find Groups changing Alliances at the very start of play, you should adjust their
support levels as above to better favor the Alliance you want them to be a member of.

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4.15 Characters
Clicking on this button displays the following screen:

This is where you create Characters and assign them to Groups. Start by giving the new
Character its name. Then click the Add button, and enter the following under the
Description tab:
• Its Category;
• A Title (Police Chief, Minister of Defense, etc.) for the Character (or leave it
blank if desired);
• The Gender of the Character;
• The Religion of the Character (or leave it as “None”);
• The Ethnicity of the Character (or leave it as “None”);
• The Age Group of the Character;
• A Miscellaneous tag that applies to the Character (or leave it as “None”);
• A Leadership Style for the Character
• The Public Profile of the Character;
• The levels of Enthusiasm and Fear for the Character;
• The Portrait the game will use for the Character;
• Any Notes that you wish to provide to the player—you may type in anything that
you think he or she may find useful;
• If the Character is ‘foreign’ (not native to the country or city the scenario is set
in), click the Foreign checkbox. Also, if you want this foreign Character to never
change his/her at-start Alliance membership, click the Lock Allegiance
checkbox.

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The Allegiance To box displays the name of the Alliance that this Character is currently
a member of.
Tip: If the Allegiance To box is empty when you click the Lock Allegiance checkbox, the
Character will remain unaligned for the duration of the scenario..

Important: NEVER give the same name to more than one Group, Character, Alliance, or
Map Feature. The game will behave strangely or crash if two game entities, such as a Group
and a Building or a Character and an Alliance, have the same name.
Important: Characters join an Alliance based on their Support for it.

The Character’s Location & Membership are also set at this time. Click on that tab and
the following will appear:

Choose the selected Character’s starting location by first selecting his/her at-start status
(usually this will be Available). Then click to place a checkmark next to a map-feature
name.
If the Character will enter the game via a special event rather than at the start, click to
place a checkmark next to Appears only via an Event.
Every Character must start as a member of a Group, so click to place a checkmark next to
the name of the desired Group. If the Character is also to be that Group’s leader, click to
place a checkmark next to Chosen Group’s Leader as well.

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Important: Map-feature names are disabled here until their data has been entered in the
Map Features screen

Tip: In the treeview, a checkbox can be selected only if it is next to a green square. A gray
square indicates that it cannot be selected.

The Character’s Attributes are also set at this time. Click on the Attributes tab and the
following will appear:

Set the desired level for each of these attributes.

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The Character’s Competencies are also set at this time. Click on that tab and the
following will appear:

Select one or more (or no) desired competencies. See the Players’ Guide for a list of
which Tactics and other game effects are affected by which Competencies.
The Character’s Policy Preferences are also set at this time. Click on this tab and the
following will appear:

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Set all the policies as you wish them to be in the scenario. Make sure you set them in all
the tabs for the various categories. Also remember to mark the Character’s key policies
by clicking in the appropriate boxes to put checkmarks in them.

Tip: Groups and Characters whose policy preferences are close to an Alliance’s manifesto
are more likely to join it during the game. If you find them changing Alliances at the very
start of play, you should adjust their policy preferences—especially the key ones—to more
closely match those of the Alliance you want them to be a member of.

The Character’s Support levels for the various Alliances are also set at this time. Click
on this tab and the following will appear:

Set the Character’s support levels for each existing Alliance as you desire.
The Ideology display shows the unit’s Ideology support level based on its current policy
settings. (Changing the latter is the only way to change a Character’s Ideology support
for an Alliance; see below.)

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Tips: A Group or Character’s Support Levels determine which Alliance, if any, it joins.
Support Levels exist separately for each Alliance; therefore, if a scenario has two Alliances,
each Group and Character will have two sets of Support Levels.
A set of Support Levels consists of three different types: Legitimacy, Ideology, and
Financial Gain. The highest of the three is considered to be its Overall Support Level for that
Alliance. To join any Alliance other than the Regime, the Group or Character must have an
Overall Support Level for that Alliance which is “Substantial” or “Maximum”, and an
Overall Support Level for the Regime which is no higher than “Moderate”. To join the
Regime, a Group or Character must have an Overall Support Level for the Regime which is
“Moderate” or higher, and not have an Overall Support Level for any other Alliance which
is “Substantial” or higher. (Hence it is easier for the Regime to attract members.) If a Group
or Character does not have Support Levels that meet either of these conditions, it is
considered Unaligned.
Only Legitimacy and Financial Gain can be directly set in the editor. The third Support
Level type, Ideology, is calculated from the level of agreement between the Group or
Character’s preferred policies and the Manifestoes of the different Alliances (or the Status
Quo, when determining Ideology Support for the Regime). The greater the agreement, the
higher Ideology Support will be for a given Group or Character and a given Alliance. A
Group or Character’s Key Policies are especially important in generating its Ideology
Support levels, since those are the issues the Character or Group feels especially strongly
about.
If you want a Group or Character to start out as a member of the Movement, you should set
at least one of its Support Level types (Legitimacy or Financial Gain) for the Movement at
“Substantial” or “Maximum”, and make sure that none of its Support Level types for the
Regime exceed that one. You should also set its preferred policies in a way such that few, if
any, disagreements exist between it and the Movement (note that a policy disagreement
exists wherever the two preferences are different colors).
Similarly, if you want a Group or Character to start out as a member of the Regime, you
should set at least one of its Support Level types for the Regime at “Moderate” or higher,
and make sure that all of its Support Level types for other Alliances are lower than that
setting. You should also set its preferred policies such that it has few, if any, disagreements
with the Regime’s manifesto settings.
Finally, if you want a Group to remain Unaligned at the start of the game, you should set its
Support Level types at “Moderate” or lower for the Regime, and “Substantial” or lower for
all the other Alliances, and it should have policy disagreements with all of the Alliances to
some extent.

Tips: If you find Characters changing Alliances at the very start of play, you should adjust
their support levels (as above) to better favor the Alliance you want them to be a member of.

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4.16 Tactics
Clicking on this button displays the following screen:

Here you can ‘turn off’ Tactics that you do not want to be available in the scenario. To
make a Tactic unavailable, click to uncheck the box beside its name. Unchecked Tactics
will not even show up in the Tactics controls for the player, and will be unusable by the
A/I.

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4.16.1 Objectives
Clicking on this button displays the following screen:

Here you create the objectives (and victory conditions) that the player can use for
planning in the Strategic Estimate. You must create at least one objective; however, the
more you offer to the player, the wider his/her choices will be.

Important: Not all objectives need to be achievable in the scenario. Indeed, in order to make
the player examine the objectives more critically, you may add some that cannot be attained
in the available time.
Of the objectives you create, you must designate at least one as a Victory Condition.

First you should enter the name of the Objective in the “Objective Description” field.
Then, check (or don’t check) the “Objective is a Victory Condition” box. Do this for each
Objective you want in the scenario.
After that, for each Objective that is a Victory Condition, write the Success Text, Failure
Text, and Achievement Text.
Success Text: This appears in the Evaluation Screen if the Victory Condition has been
achieved at the end of the game.
Failure Text: This appears in the Evaluation Screen if the Victory Condition has not been
achieved at the end of the game.

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Achievement Text: This appears in the in-game message generated when the Victory
Condition is achieved.
You must then put the Victory Conditions in a priority order, showing how relatively
important you think they are. (You are allowed to designate Victory Conditions as “No
Priority.”) The player will get to put his/her own order in at the start of playing the
scenario; in the Evaluation Screen, the differences between the two priority sets will be
shown to the player.
Finally, each Objective (including the Victory Conditions) must be assigned a Lua script
file, containing the logic for evaluating their success and failure. See the Scripting Guide
(available on the Force More Powerful website) for more details about Lua and the
functions allowed by the Force More Powerful game engine. In general, a good way to
get started with this process is to copy over Lua files from the scenarios included with
Force More Powerful and change the names and numbers in them to match the ones in
your own scenarios. Force More Powerful contains a robust error-checking engine which
will alert you to Lua errors in the scripts for your scenarios.

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4.17 APPENDIX: Custom Character Portraits
AFMP supports custom character portraits. A custom character portrait must have the
following attributes:
• It must be exactly 64 by 64 pixels;
• It must be in Targa (.TGA) format;
• It must be in 32 bit color.
If any of these three attributes are missing or altered, the AFMP engine will not know
how to load and display the portrait.
Also, for the character portrait to function properly in the game, it requires an “alpha
channel” which can be created using Adobe Photoshop. The game features that colorcode the background region of a character portrait, based on support levels, will not work
if that portrait does not contain an alpha channel. Follow the instructions below to
properly create a custom character portrait.

1. Take a digital photo of the face you wish to use and import it, or scan a photo of
it, into your computer system.
2. Launch Adobe Photoshop, go to the File menu, and choose Open. Search for your
image file and open that file. Use the Canvas Size function (located under the
Image menu) to crop your image to a perfectly square size. The standard digital
photo size, for example, is at least 1024 pixels × 768 pixels. Such an image must
be cropped down to 768 pixels × 768 pixels.

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3. Use either of the freeform selection tools (Lasso or Polygonal Lasso) to create a
selection of the head. Note: the Lasso offers freehand control and the Polygonal
Lasso offers more refined way-point control.
4. Go to the Select menu and click on Save Selection. The Save Selection menu will
pop up, and you simply need to click OK. You have now saved your “alpha
channel”—where the black is treated as transparent and white is treated as
opaque.
5. Go to the Select menu and click on Inverse. Hit the Delete key on your keyboad
while your inversed alpha channel selection remains active, and now you have
removed the background details from your character portrait. This step is only
necessary if you wish to be certain that you have isolated your portrait on a blank
background. Note: If you wish to view your alpha channel, you must go to the
Window menu and click on Channels. You now see the “Channels Palette”
where your alpha channel is displayed as “Alpha 1” at the bottom of a vertical list
of images that read as “RGB, Red, Green, Blue, Alpha 1”. Click on “Alpha 1” and
your image file will change to display your black-and-white alpha channel.
6. Use Image Size, located under the Image menu, to reduce the size of your image
to 64 pixels × 64 pixels.
7. Your completed image file is now ready to rename and save. You will save it to
the directory “AFMP\GUI\Images” (e.g., based on a default installation the
complete path would be“C:\Program Files\AFMP\GUI\Images”). However,
before you save it, the file must be named correctly:
For the scenario editor to recognize the existence of a custom portrait, so that it appears
in the selection box and can be assigned to a Character, a portrait must observe the proper
naming convention—for example:
UI_CHP_JUDICIARY_M_YNG_05.TGA
Replace the word “JUDICIARY” with a category name, which will always be one of the
following (note that these are not quite the same as the category labels in the scenario
editor):
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

ACADEMIC
AGRICULTURE
BUSINESS
CRIMINAL
JUDICIARY
LABOR
LEGISLATIVE

•
•
•
•
•
•
•

MEDIA
MILITARY
NGO
PARAMILITARY
POLICE
POLITICAL
RELIGIOUS

Replace the letter “M” (for Male) with an “F” (for Female) if the portrait is of a woman,
or leave it as an “M” if it is of a man.

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Replace the letters “YNG” with “M-A” if the portrait is of a middle-aged person, “OLD”
if the portrait is of an older person, or leave them as “YNG” if the portrait is of a young
person.
To complete the name, replace the number “05” with a number one higher than the
highest number of a portrait whose name is otherwise the same as what you already have.
So, if after going through the above three steps to name your portrait, the name is
UI_CHP_MILITARY_M_M-A_05.TGA, you would change the 05 to 06, because there is
already a portrait with that name. You should leave the file extension (“.TGA”) alone.
Finally, save the image. Note that whenever you attempt to save a .TGA file, containing an
alpha channel, in Photoshop, you are always met with a Targa Options pop-up window
that displays a predetermined resolution of “32 bits/pixel”. This default setting is correct,
and you simply need to click OK.
Quit out of Photoshop. If you launch the Scenario Editor you should see it in the
scrollable display of portraits in the Character dialog.

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