Getting Started

Setting up the Project

To start making Pavlov Maps, you'll need to register an account for Epic Games and Mod.io (for UE5.1.1). For the Mod.io account, you'll need to verify your email (or else you can't make your maps!).

Epic Games Launcher:

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/download

Mod.io:

https://mod.io/g/pavlov

You'll also need to install Epic Games Launcher (if you don't have it already). Next, open the Unreal Engine tab in the launcher and install the one you want to mod with (shown below).


Shack & PC Engine	Legacy PC Engine
Unreal Engine 5.1.1	Unreal Engine 4.21.x

NOTE: When installing UE5.1.1, select the following to install along with UE5.1.1:

Starter Content
Engine Source
Android (needed for shack)
Linux

Lastly, you need to install the Pavlov VR modkit corresponding to your Engine Version (once on github click "code" then "download zip").

PC Modkit (UE 5.1.1):

https://github.com/vankruptgames/PavlovVR-ModKit/tree/5.1.1

Shack Modkit (UE 5.1.1):

https://github.com/vankruptgames/PavlovVR-ModKit/tree/Pavlov-Shack

UE4.21.x Modkit:

https://github.com/vankruptgames/PavlovVR-ModKit

Extract the modkit, and open the project. When loading the project, the modkit will stay at 45% while it compiles shaders. Once it finishes compiling, click window, open Pavlov Workshop then log in to your Mod.io Account (UE5.1.1 only).

UE5.1.1 Login Steps:

Agree with the Mod.io TOS.
Enter your Email Address.
Open your Email and paste the code from the Email to the Editor (request another if you need it).
You're signed in!

To create a mod in UE5.1.1, you need to open the "Create Mod" tab and enter your map name and description. Logo image isn't required when making a map. Once putting in all of the information, press "Create Mod". This will create a UGCxxxxxxx folder, giving your mod a unique code (shown as the x's) that'll be used to figure out what map is currently being played in a server and if it'll need to be downloaded locally.

NOTE: ALL assets used in your map MUST be in your UGCxxxxxxx folder.

Creating your Map

To create your map, you need to enter your UGCxxxxxxx folder (easier to do this) and press CTRL+S (CMD+S on Mac). This saves your map (currently filled with nothing). You can add objects into your map using the "Place Actors" window. You should also add BP_Sky_Sphere (located in the Engine folder), a Directional Light (search for it in the "Place Actors" window), and a Sky Light (search for it in the "Place Actors" window) if you're on UE5.1.1.

In order for your map to function properly in Pavlov, you need to link your map to the "definition" file in your UGCxxxxxxx folder. In the definition file, you're able to see:

Definition File Contents
Name	Description	Example
Unique Id (do not change)	Published id if this is a workshop map, otherwise user-generated.	UGC1234567
Label	User friendly label, ie "My Map".	My Map
Version	Version # for this mod/map.	2
Thumbnail	Thumbnail 512x512.
Map	The actual umap (level) to load.	MyMap (level)
Quest Map	Quest Map.	MyMapShack (level)
Hidden	Should this map be shown in the map combo boxes?	Unchecked
Compatibility	This is a filter for the map browser by game mode.	Custom \| Deathmatch \| Team Deathmatch
Custom Game Mode	Forces the server to load a bare bone game mode, everything else should be implemented by the GameLogic.	Checked
Custom Game Mode Label	For display purposes only in the server browser.	MyGameMode

You should change your "Label" to the name you want your map to have. Version should only be changed if you made changes to an already existing map you've made.

Link your Map or Quest Map to the level you saved earlier which should be called "NewMap" if you haven't changed the name yet. Compatibility should be changed later on (depending on how you make your map) but can be changed now if wanted.

Pavlov Game Logic

Before publishing your map, in order for your map to work, you need to add a Pavlov Game Logic. You can find it by searching it up in the "Place Actors" window. Once placed in the map, change its settings under the Pavlov tab inside of the Game Logic. Set "Definition" to the definition file inside of your UGCxxxxxxx folder. You'll also need to set:


Global Info Class	to	Pavlov_GlobalInfo
Player Info Class	to	Pavlov_PlayerInfo
Player Proxy Class	to	Pavlov_PlayerProxy

You can set these to your own custom info or proxies but these are the ones you should set if you aren't customizing anything.

Spawns

In order to properly spawn in your map, you need Pavlov Spawns in your map (search for Pavlov_Spawn in "Place Actors"). The settings to the Spawns are:


Spawnflags
TeamID	-1 = Any Team 0 = Blue Team (Defenders) (Allied in WW2 TDM) 1 = Red Team (Attackers) (Wehrmacht in WW2 TDM)
Dynamic	Tick this for Deathmatch. This prevents spawning inside another person who occupies the spawn area
Only Team	Use this Together with the TeamID parameter to only allow for a certain team to spawn. Search & Destroy (S&D) spawns needs this. Uncheck for random Deathmatch spawns.
Special	Tick this for marking the Spawn to be used for Search & Destroy gamemodes. Use ONLY ONE spawn per Team. Teams will spawn together at one spawn. Use together with TeamID.

When enabling Special, this allows 5-10 people to spawn from just one Pavlov_Spawn.

Migrate maps to Modkit

To migrate maps from Unreal Engine projects to the modkit, open the project with the map, select the level file. Right click the file and select migrate. A folder tree with all the referenced files of the map will show up. Press "OK." A file explorer will open after and you'll need to find the UGCxxxxxxx folder directory to import the map to the modkit. After, right click the Content root folder and select "Fix up re-directors". This will fix all the asset references.

Mandatory Entities

These entities are things that should be in your map before publishing to Mod.io or the Steam Workshop.

Lights

All lights must be set to Static as Pavlov doesn't support Stationary or Movable.

This includes the Directional Light and Sky Light. Spot Lights and Point Lights are the most commonly used in Pavlov maps. There is no limit to the amount of lights that can be inside of your map.

For a more realistic look and better clarity in VR set the "Indirect Lightning Intensity" on the Sky Light and Directional Light to a value between 2-6.

The lighting you see inside of the editor before building is inaccurate. To see how it'll really look like in game, click the "Build" tab and click either "Build All Levels" or "Build Lighting Only".

Reflection Captures

Reflection Captures are needed to have realistic reflections on all surfaces that are inside the reflection volume. They're useful whenever using materials with normal textures.

Sphere and Box Reflection Captures are used to get these realistic reflections. Reflection captures prevent weapons from appearing black when playing.

You can them by searching for it in the "Place Actors" window.

Bomb Plants

Bomb Plants are needed for the SND game mode to function properly and at least one bomb site is needed to function.

You can have 2 bomb sites (A & B) but you can have as many bomb plants as you wish.

By default the Bombspots will be treated as bombspot "A". To change it, simply tick the checkbox "Is B".

The bomb will be placed at the root of the red arrow facing the direction of the arrow.

Leave some space between the wall and the arrow, otherwise the Bomb will clip into the wall. (About 5 Units)

KOTH

The blueprint actors can be found in the CustomMapTools Content folder -> Blueprints (please make sure "show plugin content" is enabled in your view options for your content browser

To place a KOTH point, drag BP_KOTHObjectiveProxy onto your map where you want hill points to show up, similar to placing CTF flag points.

If you want to edit the score to win or limited ammo, then you place a BP_KOTHSettingsProxy into the level and adjust the settings accordingly.

Materials & Physical Materials

Materials are needed in your map in order for it to have textures like brick walls, concrete floors, and more.

Physical Materials are used inside of materials and determine the properties your Material has. There is a default and thin variant of the Physical Materials.

The thin variant of the Physical Materials allows bullets to pass through them.

You can get textures from these websites:

https://ambientcg.com/
https://polyhaven.com/textures
https://www.textures.com/free (barely any free textures)

Material Instances are not required to be used on Pavlov VR & Pavlov Shack but they are recommended.

For Pavlov Shack, textures should be 512x512 as they'll get down-scaled at any other texture size higher than it.

Keep your UV's inside 0 to 1 coordinates. Every UV bigger as 1 or smaller than 0 will result in pixelated textures on the quest.

Bot Navigation

In order for bots to walk around your map, a Nav Mesh Bounds Volume is needed for the bots to walk around your map. You can find it by searching for it in the "Place Actors" window.

The Nav Volume has to cover ALL of the walk-able space on your map.

If there are areas that don't connect to each other but are wide enough to fit a player, you can use a "Nav Link Proxy" to fill in those spaces. You can find it by searching for it in the "Place Actors" window.

Press "P" to see the Nav Bounds and the connection indicator.

NOTE: DO NOT change the details of the Nav Mesh Bounds Volume or else it won't work!

Blocking & Kill Volumes

Sometimes on a map, you'd want to use an "Invisible Wall" for blocking access to a certain area of the map. This can be done by using a Blocking Volume. You can find it by searching for it in the "Place Actors" window.

The Geometry Editing Tool can also be used on this volume to easily adjust it to your Level Geometry.

Use Blocking Volumes as a ramp over stairs to prevent the VR camera from aggressively hopping when walking up stairs.

You can also use them for smoothing out narrow and busy areas to prevent getting stuck and assure smooth gameplay.

Put a "Pavlov Kill Volume" about 1000 - 2000 units under your map, that is a bit bigger than your play space. This will kill players that somehow fell out of the map or glitched out of it.

You can also use the Kill Volumes for hazardous environments in that the Player should die when touching the Volume. (e.g. the front of a moving train or a pool of lava/deep water)

Ladders

Overcoming walk-able angle restrictions is possible by using Pavlov Ladder Volumes.

The player will only stick to player-collidable surfaces contained inside the Pavlov Ladder Volume.

Avoid overlapping Pavlov Ladder Volumes as this can cause the player to glitch between them.

The Volumes only come as rectangular prisms.

To match the shape of a surface that isn't rectangular/square, use many smaller Volumes without overlapping them.

Uploading & Testing your Map

BEFORE UPLOADING:

Be sure to save your map and bake the lighting in your map by pressing "Build", then "Build All Levels". Rendering the lights & Reflection Captures will take a while so do other things while you wait.

Once fully rendered, save your completed map by pressing CTRL+S on your keyboard (CMD+S on Mac). Your map is now ready to be published.

UE5.1.1

Once you've completed your map, open the "Pavlov Workshop" window and open the "Upload Mod" tab. Next, you'll need to select your mod's UGC. After, select the version of Pavlov you want your map to e playable on.

Version
Windows	Android
Pavlov VR	Pavlov Shack

Building your mod will take a while so just do other things while you wait.

Once it's finished building, go to Mod.io and open "My Teams" on the sidebar (shown as a folder). Look for your mod. Once you've found it, click "Edit".

Here, you can change your mod name, summary, and mod "logo".

NOTE: The map logo is separate from the one that appears in the map boxes.

Once your map is ready to be published, you can hit "Go Live", and now your map is published!

UE4.21.x

Once you've completed your map, open the "Pavlov Workshop" window and open the "Deployment Tab". Press Submit. Building your map will take a while so just do other things while you wait.

Open steamcommunity.com.

Login to your account and click on your profile. Open workshop items and find your map. When you're ready, set your map's visibility to public.

Your map is now uploaded.

Troubleshooting

This may be outdated as this was written for the UE 4.21 modkit.

FAQ
The "Create New" Button is missing.	Steam needs to be open and the used Account needs to have Pavlov purchased. Also check your firewall settings if it blocks any UE4 application.
The map does not update ingame or on the Workshop page.	Restart Steam, close the Editor and go to your Project folder, delete the "Intermidiate", "Saved" and "Build" folder. Restart the Editor and try updating again.
The map was updated on the Workshop page but Steam won't download it.	If Pavlov is open, close it. Be sure you are subscribed to it. Try restarting Steam. If it still won't download, unsubscribe from it and then resubscribe to it.
Loading the map ingame leads back to the Lobby.	Check the Definition file if the map is linked properly.
Error "Definition not found".	Check if your UGC ID matches the UGC ID in the Definitions file. The definitions file needs to be directly inside of the "UGCXXXXX" folder. This error also tends to appear in some cases where the project has multiple "UGC" folders, so make sure only the primary UGC folder is present when staging.
Map not loading ingame.	Check if you have added a Pavlov Game Logic and assigned the definition file to it.
Textures or Models are not showing in-game and/or in the editor.	Use "Fix up redirectors" and delete the "Build", "Saved" and "Intermediate" folder inside the Project folder. Also make sure ALL Assets are inside the UGCXXXXX Folder. Additionally, if having moved files between folders in the project, make sure to move the files in smaller groups and use "Fix up redirectors" after each move of a batch of files. (Right-click the "Content" folder, and choose "Fix up redirectors").
I lost my definition file.	First make sure it's really gone, if it is, add a new Data Asset in the UGCXXXXX folder. Right click in the UGC folder, Miscellaneous > Data Asset > Choose Pavlov_Map > Name it definition (all lowercase). Fill in your Unique Id which is your UGC foldername ie. UGC123456789.
Nothing happens after I Stage or Deploy.	Look at the Output Logs window for errors. Window > Developer Tools > Output Logs
I get an error saying "Pavlov installation not found", even though I'm building a Shack map.	You can work around this by creating a dummy Pavlov executable in your Steam. Open up any Steam library in Windows Explorer, create a "steamapps\common\PavlovVR" folder, and put a blank file in this folder named "Pavlov.exe". Restart Unreal Engine and the Pavlov Workshop should tell you it's found a Pavlov installation.
I've done everything correctly but my Shack map isn't showing up in-game.	Try deleting the map completely from your Quest, open and close Shack, then re-upload the map. Simply overwriting the map with a new copy is not always enough!

If you need further support, check the pinned messages in the workshop channels at discord.gg/Pavlov-VR.

There's also an Unofficial Pavlov Map Making Guide which will get more into depth but is more outdated.

ty for reading!