Atlas Map Forge 0.4.22

Pre-release. Atlas Map Forge makes complete, playable Zero-K maps from templates: pick a template, adjust the settings, look at the preview and press Build. The map lands in your Zero-K maps folder, ready to play.

Download

AtlasMapForge.exe below: one file for Windows, no installation and no Python needed.

The program is not code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen will say "Windows protected your PC". Click More info, then Run anyway. Every exe is built and tested automatically on GitHub from the public source code in this repository.

On first start, open Settings and enter your author name (needed to build maps). The Zero-K folder is found automatically; you can also choose it by hand.

What it can do

• 25 templates: land, sea, chokepoint, river, free-for-all (3 to 8 players), co-op chicken defence, volcano with eruptions, an asteroid in space, procedural highlands, dunes, canyons and more. Search and filter by 1v1, teams, FFA, co-op, land and sea.
• Settings for every map (each with an explanation): size, biome, time of day, sky, number of metal spots, metal per spot, geothermal vents, wind, tidal strength, trees, grass, rocks, wrecks, erosion, plus each template's own options. Advanced mode removes the safe limits (with a warning).
• 12 biomes: temperate, autumn, desert, arctic, jungle, swamp, industrial, alien, moon, volcanic, ashland, asteroid. Each map has its own painted sky, and grass where the biome has it.
• Fair maps: terrain, metal and start boxes are mirrored or rotated so every side gets exactly the same. A check report tells you whether tanks, bots, hovers, amphibians and ships can reach the enemy and every metal spot.
• Editor (new): move, add and delete metal spots, geothermal vents and start points in the preview, and move or resize start boxes. Symmetry is kept automatically, problems are shown right away, undo/redo works, and projects are saved as .forge.json files you can open again.
• Every map carries a hidden watermark, so atlasforge verify (or Settings > Check a map file) can tell whether a map was made with Atlas Map Forge.

Good to know

• Maps are named Forge <title> v<version>. When you change a map, raise the version number before you share it.
• Uploaded maps are "unsupported" on zero-k.info until the Zero-K team approves them; until then they can be played in passworded rooms.
• This is a pre-release: please report problems and ideas in the issues.
• Terrain brushes and painting in the editor are being worked on and are not in this version yet.

Full list of changes: CHANGELOG.md

If you enjoy Atlas Map Forge, you can support the development on Ko-fi.

Linux browser edition (experimental)

Download AtlasMapForge-linux-x86_64.tar.gz, extract it and run ./AtlasMapForge from a terminal in the extracted folder. The graphical interface opens in your existing browser. Python, GTK and Qt do not need to be installed.

Keep the terminal open while using the app. Press Ctrl+C there to stop it. If no browser tab opens, paste the full local address printed in the terminal into your browser. Enter your author name in Settings before building a map.

Targets x86_64 Linux with glibc 2.35+ (Ubuntu 22.04 or newer, or a compatible distribution). The actual download was tested on Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04, including browser preview and full map generation. Other distributions still need testing; ARM and Alpine/musl are not covered.

The archive includes instructions, licenses and the source commit; a SHA-256 checksum is attached separately. The map-generator source matches v0.4.22. Linux packaging source and detailed instructions: #1