Everything You Need To Know About Creating And Playing Custom Maps In Meccha Chameleon

Mod support has become one of the best ways for a game to build a community, and Meccha Chameleon is jumping into the fun with tools that let players create and share their own custom maps. If you've spent any time tinkering in Unreal Engine, this is your chance to turn a cool idea into something other players can actually explore, survive, and get hopelessly lost in.

The process is a little more involved than simply building a level and hitting publish. Custom maps need to be created inside the mod kit, packaged correctly, and prepared for Steam Workshop before they can be shared with the world.

This is not a beginner-friendly process. The mod kit is built around Unreal Engine workflows, and you'll be working with plugins, packaging settings, file directories, and SteamCMD. If you've never touched Unreal Engine before, this may not be for you.

How To Create And Upload A Custom Map

Creating a custom map in Meccha Chameleon is a fairly straightforward process once you understand the workflow. You'll first create your map inside a custom plugin, package the project correctly through Unreal Engine, and then upload the finished files to Steam Workshop.

This guide walks through every step of the process, but the developers also provide their own official instructions. While I've completed the process myself and included additional tips and troubleshooting advice along the way, it may be helpful to keep their step-by-step guide handy as a reference as well.

Open The Mod Kit And Create A Plugin

Before getting started, make sure you are using Unreal Engine 5.6.1, as the Meccha Chameleon mod kit was built for that version. Open the plugin you downloaded, linked above. Once the project is open, create a new content-only plugin by navigating to Edit > Plugins > Add > Content Only Plugin. Give the plugin a unique name, as you will need it later during the packaging process.

If you cannot see the plugin in the Content Browser, click the gear icon and enable Plugin Content. This will allow you to access the folders inside your newly created plugin.

Create Your Custom Map

Inside your plugin folder, create a folder called Maps and then create a new level inside it. This level will be the map loaded by the game when players use your mod.

Your map must use World Partition, and Enable Streaming should be disabled in the World Settings menu. These settings are required for the map to function correctly when packaged.

Go to file > New Level > Basic to start with an easy grid to work off of. You can use the Fab plugin to find objects and buildings to use.

When designing the level, keep in mind that players spawn at X=0, Y=0, and Z=100. If you are building a larger environment, it is a good idea to expand outward from this location. To prevent camera issues, walls and other solid surfaces should use the CameraBlockWall collision profile, so the camera cannot pass through them.

Package The Mod

Once your map is finished, open the Legacy Project Launcher (found on the Platforms button at the top). Here, you will need to create two packaging profiles:

• FullGame
• MyMod

The FullGame profile should match these settings:

• Cook > By the Book > Cooked Platforms: Windows (also check 'Create a release version of the game for distribution' and name 1.0).
• Package > Package & store locally > Check 'Is this build for distribution to the public' > Check 'Use container files for optimized loading (I/O Store).
• Deploy > Do not deploy

For the MyMod profile, enter the name of the plugin you created in the Name of the DLC to Build field. This tells the project which content should be packaged as a mod.

• Cook > By the Book > Cooked Platforms: Windows (also check 'Create a release version of the game for distribution' and name 1.0).
• Package > Package & store locally > Check 'Is this build for distribution to the public' > Check 'Use container files for optimized loading (I/O Store).
• Deploy > Do not deploy

When everything is configured, package FullGame first and then package MyMod by clicking 'Launch this profile'. Avoid changing any project settings between these two builds, as doing so can cause packaging errors.

Prepare The Workshop Files

After the packaging is complete, create a folder where you will store the files that will be uploaded to Steam Workshop.

Navigate to your plugin's packaged output and copy the .pak, .ucas, and .utoc files generated during the build process. You will also need to copy AssetRegistry.bin from the Cooked folder. Finally, create a thumbnail image named Preview.png and place it in the same folder.

By the end of this step, your upload folder should contain the packaged mod files, AssetRegistry.bin, and Preview.png. These are the files Steam Workshop needs in order to distribute your map.

Set Up SteamCMD

Meccha Chameleon uses SteamCMD for Workshop uploads. Download SteamCMD, extract the files, and launch steamcmd.exe. Once it opens, log in with your Steam account credentials (Steam> login Username Password).

The mod kit includes a Sample.vdf file that serves as the upload configuration. Make a copy of this file and edit the required fields. You'll need to specify the location of your upload folder, the location of Preview.png, the title of your mod, and its description.

Leave the appid unchanged, and do not edit publishedfileid when creating a new upload.

Upload The Mod To Steam Workshop

With your VDF file configured, return to SteamCMD and run the workshop_build_item command, pointing it toward the VDF file you just created. SteamCMD will package the information and upload it to Steam Workshop.

If the upload completes successfully, your mod will appear on Steam Workshop and can be subscribed to like any other Workshop item. If the upload fails, double-check that all required files are present.

Once the upload is successful, your custom Meccha Chameleon map is ready for players to download and enjoy.

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How To Play A Custom Map

Fortunately, downloading custom maps is much easier than creating them. From the main menu, click Maps in the bottom-left corner of the screen. This will open Meccha Chameleon's Steam Workshop page, where you'll find all available community-made maps.

Browse through the selection and find one that catches your eye, then click Subscribe on its Workshop page. Steam will automatically download the map in the background. Once the download is complete, create a server as normal in-game, and the new map should be available to select.

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