This can be frustrating if you follow the “official” guide “DODS/Creating the Mini-Map”. There is also another guide "Level Overviews" that I found OK.. but could also be improved.

The guides are OK but they omit a few items, those items are critical items in the steps and I will fill that in.In this guide I will copy what is there but insert where things need further explanation.

The overview, or minimap, displays on the screen via 3 files, a VTF and VMT for the image and a text file to match coordinates of the image so objective icons, players, markers can locate on the minimap image.

Index

Tools used.

The guide does not stipulate what software to use when editing and making the VTF image.

We will use the free Paint.NET program as it has a handy easy to use plugin for VTF creation.

The VTF plugin is mentioned on this page. The mirrored download from GitHub is here.

Read the readme in the download on how to install that VTF Plug-In but basically if you are on Windows 11 and have a normal install, after you install Paint.NET you need to copy three files…
VTFLib.x86.dll  -  VTFLib.x64.dll  - VtfFileType.dll
...to this folder… C:\Program Files\paint.net\FileTypes

That is all you need in tools, apart for a text editor (I recommend NotePad++ https://notepad-plus-plus.org/ ) but plain old notepad is fine.

Creating the overview image

We first have to make a special screenshot and also gather some coordinates for a text file. From now on they will have steps.

Step 1. Start the game using 1280x1024 Video settings on Normal.

Note: it is OK to use a windowed mode on modem displays. I would advise opening the game, adjust and shut down. The reason is after the 18th Feb 2025 dods update, sometimes the display only works correctly after a game restart.
Restart after adjustment is best.

Step 2. A step we may want to skip. 

In the official guide they have this in its "Step 2" … "Make sure the Far Z Clip Plane is disabled in the env_fog_controller."

So what is it? It looks like a special step to make another temporary version of your map to cancel out fog.

You may find as I have many times that this is not required and I don't see it in other guides.

I only put that step in my guide as it may make a difference to certain mappers.... you can likely skip this step but just know it is mentioned in the official guide. The author of that guide does not expand on what that step is for.

https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Fog_tutorial#Fog_basics

In my case (dod_oslo) I had a copy of dod_colmar and that setting was set at “4000” and it worked fine, so this may be important in your map… “It is recommended to keep this number higher than your Fog End value.”

So, in my case I didn’t adjust anything for this guide and I would say this step may have been important in the past but no longer is.

Step 3. Load your map and type in console... sv_cheats 1

Step 4. The guide says “Join a team” but that didn’t work for me. Join Spectator is best and position yourself above the map center just to where the map parts start to fade out.

Step 5. Disable any fog with fog_override 1

Step 6. Switch to the overhead view with cl_leveloverview X, where X is the scale factor you wish to use.

Note: I found in most cases for day of Defeat Source, a value of “6-8” is fine for most maps. (we can adjust that later)

Step 7. The "Red line" function 

This must be understood now so you use it to help in the next steps.

"cl_leveloverviewmarker"  is a command that displays a "red line" (before a screenshot) that helps see your map boundaries in your completed image. This command has a value depending on the screen resolution width in this case "1024".

The "red line" overlays onto the 1280X1024 rectangular image in game/and screenshot and shows you the boundaries of what the final image of a square 1024X1024 image will contain.

That is, the right hand part of the 1280X1024 image will not be used see the image below...

Step 7. The "Red Line" after the command cl_leveloverviewmarker 1024 was used.

What it does is place a red line before you take a screen shot in Step 11.

Next in Step 8 and 9 you may adjust the position and scale of the image and by showing you a red line you can position what part of the map overview you need. 

It is important to understand that the red line is a guide to show you that the ingame 1280X1024 resolution, there are parts that will not be used in the final 1024X1024 image, that is the right side of the red line will be cut off.

For now do this....

• Turn on the "1024 marker" (the red line) by using cl_leveloverviewmarker 1024, to place a red marker on the right.

Note: There is a problem some come across, the red line is not there.

• This red line if  cl_drawhud 0 is used (later on) it will disappear, that is required in the final screenshot to remove all HUD images.
• The "Red Line" just shows what part of the 1280X1024 image we will use in the final ... 1024X1024 image.
• There may be a issue where no matter what you do the red line doesn't come back with cl_drawhud 1, just start the steps again.

Step 8. Walk around (use WASD keys) to toggle the image around, keeping what you want in your final image inside the red maker and the left side.

Press each key to see what direction they are.

Note: It seems to have some modes and it is buggy.
D is down and left or straight down, S is up but can also go , W goes left, and A goes right…sometimes.
Just fool around with them as when I start this movement D does go down but later on after using other keys they move diagonally!
I found pressing D and S then it goes (sort of) straight down.

Point is… yes it is buggy and too much movement it will start to disappear, that could be the fog settings. You may have to restart the game and try some steps again.

Again Note:... The red line shows you the area to the left of it that will be in the final image. Keep inside that area.

Step 9. You can change the scale factor scale factor to “zoom in or out” if the map looks too far away, in my case I had areas on the bottom, right and left that are not in the playable zone.

I adjusted my “scale factor” to “5.5” (cl_leveloverview 5.5) and then used the WASD keys to ensure the borders (keep within the red line area) were OK.

• Don’t move anything with the WASD keys after this point and... 
• Note your console last line… we will need these later in a text file for the coordinates! You will see that if you have been moving around and adjusting the scale the console has been reporting updates on every change you made.
• Write down or use “condump” to record those coordinates on the last line of the console only.

In my case the last line in the console (after my last movement adjustment) was…
“Overview: scale 5.50, pos_x -3328, pos_y 3429”

Step 10. Hide the game interface with cl_drawhud 0 and also ensure “net_graph 0” is used to get rid of the netgraph.

Step 11. Take a screenshot

Ideally in TGA format and that means using the default “F5” key or use the "screenshot" command in console.

Your screenshots are stored in dod\screenshots.

Optional for other graphics editors take another screen shot with the red line and HUD: Re-enable the hud… cl_drawhud 1 and take another screen shot for the red line position.

This optional step above is not really necessary for the Paint.NET method, this is just in case we screw up the image in the next steps or you are using another graphics program, we have the coordinates from the console and where that red line was.

It is important to use the TGA format as a .JPG type (normally “F12”) has a lot less detail.

We are done with the game now, close it.

Editing the image.

Step 12.  Before we start we should make some folders for the images and files.

Make a new folder on your desktop, e.g.: "dod_oslo minimap".

Go to your dod\screenshots folder grab the two images you made and put them in your folder.

Step 13. Open the screen shot in Paint.NET that didn’t have the red line and hud stuff.

Leave that alone until Step 14-17.

For now a further explanation on the "Red Line" and why you may need that second screenshot with it in it.

Now in my image "Step 13" below I have the other (optional) screenshot in a layer and I have put that red line in my clear image to show what we need and what we don’t in this 1280X1024 image.

This "red line" is not required in this guide for Paint.net.

It is really only mentioned here as other editors/methods may "fit" or "squash" the wider 1280X1024 image into a 1024X1024 image after a paste. In that case at least you know why the "red line" may be important.

Looking at the image "Step 13 (a)" below you can see if that unused part of the 1280X1024 rectangle went into a 1024X1024 square image, then the overview image will not be correct and flag icons will not be at the correct place on the image.

We need a 1024X1024 image from our 1280X1024 screenshot image and that means ONLY the parts from the LEFT side of the RED LINE.

Step 13. Layers in Paint.NET, and the red line explained.	Step 13 (a). The Red Line of the 1280X1024 image when pasted into a 1024X1024 new image... the parts we don't want are cut off in Paint.net in the next steps.

You can see why this red line is important (for other image editors), it cuts off the right width of the rectangle 1280 X 1024 screen shot to a square 1024 X 1024.

 Lets continue, you have your screenshot (without the red line) in Paint.NET.

Step 14. Make a new image in paint.net, File – New and make it Width: 1024 and Height: 1024.

The new image panel in Paint.NET

Step 15. Go back to your screenshot, (selecting it at the top of Paint.NET) and go to “Edit” and “Select All”.

Step 16. Then “Edit” and “Copy”

Step 17. Now go back to your new image and use “Edit” and “Paste” 

The “Paste” window will popup, you need to select “Keep canvas size” option.

Note that the image extends over to the right, this is OK, that "snips off" the parts where the Red line was that we don’t need.

Don't move anything!

Press once on the “Rectangle Select” tool (upper left in the tool bar) then again with your mouse OUTSIDE the image to cancel out any more move selections.

Step 17. The image automatically sits in the correct place - don't move it! Let that unused part that the red line showed you be "cut off".

Step 18. Saving the image as a .PDN (the default paint.net type) may be important if you want more than just this base image to add other items like a map name or locations.

Use “File” – “Save As”. Navigate to your folder.

Give it your map name and “Save as type:” select “Paint.NET (*.pdn)"
Press the Save button.

Step 19. Now that is saved we can save the image in the VTF format.

Go to “File” “Save As:” again, this time in “Save as type:” select “VTF (*.vtf)”

On saving a “Save Configuration” panel will come up.

• If you used a transparent background you need to select the DXT5 in “Image Format:”.
• If you didn’t use transparency then DXT1 will be OK.
  Then press OK.

Step 19. The Save Configuration and the correct VTF format.

Step 20. Now that image is made we can close down Paint.Net. Next is making a matching VMT file format.

Making the VMT and a text file.

Step 21. Make some correct folders first. 

Make a folder called “materials”, inside that make another called “overviews”
Go back to your main folder.

Make another folder called “resource” and inside that make a folder called “overviews”

These are the default folders that need to go inside the “dod” game folder.

Note: Put the <mapname>.vtf file you made in Paint.NET in materials\overviews now.

Step 21 making more folders.

Step 22. First we will make the text file in dod\resource that helps the minimap overlay items to land on the correct place in the image. 

This is a plain text file and assists the VMF image in displaying in game.

You would remember in Step 9 we grabbed some information in the console, in my case it was…

“Overview: scale 5.50, pos_x -3328, pos_y 3429”

We now need that information to put in a simple text file.
Make a new text file in your “resource\overviews” and name that file the same as your map name.

For my map it was dod_old_oslo_b2.txt

Now based on the information we copied down on “scale” “pos_x” and "pos_y” in console we can make the file.

You can see where those three settings go in the file and what each line in the .VMT file helps locate and display the image.…

"dod_old_oslo_b2"
{
"material" "overviews/dod_old_oslo_b2" // texture file
"pos_x" "-3328"
"pos_y" "3429"
"scale" "5.5"
"rotate" "0"
"zoom" "1"
}

Save that file (as a normal .txt file) after you have edited your map name the pos_x, pos_y, and scale
The other stuff you can leave alone.

Step 23. The VMT file. Another text file but in a VMT format.

Go to your “materials\overviews” folder, make a new text file.
In that file copy this and insert your map name where marked…

"UnlitGeneric"
{

	"$basetexture" "overviews/dod_old_oslo_b2"
	"$vertexcolor" "1"
	"$vertexalpha" "1"
	"$no_fullbright" "1"
	"$ignorez" "1"
}

Note: ONLY if you used a transparent background (we will cover that later in Step 28) but you need another line for a DTX5 VTF in this VMT file ... "$translucent" 1 

Now save the file.
In the “File name:” Put in your map name with a .vmt extension (eg: dod_old_oslo_b2.vmt)
In the “Save as type:” select “All files (*.*)”

Press Save.
Delete any other txt docs like “New Text Documents.txt” that windows may have made.

Step 24. We can now place the folders/files into the dod folder, you can just make a folder with your map name, put the materials and resource folders you made and place them under dod\custom\mapname and they will work fine.

Testing the files.

Step 25.

Open the map, press “m” and make sure the files display, if you see a pink and black image it’s because of a mistake in your file addresses.
Walk around the capture zones and make sure they line up with where you are on the map.

If so, the minimap coordinates and the image are lining up with the map.

As you can see here, I am correctly positioned in Allied spawn and the flags do line up with my capture zones…

Step 25. Testing of dod_oslo. It's ok...but could be better.

In my case I was not happy with my image. I wanted to make it transparent and also the capture zone on the right side was over the edge of the image. So I re-did all the steps from 1-25 and started again with a different zoom and image.

Changing the image.

Step 26. In the guide on the Valve Wiki it says not to use transparency...well that's bullshit.

Also, you may want to return to Paint.NET and edit a few things but... for a basic minimap it may be OK like it is.

We can revisit that image and do some advanced editing next. The advantages of that is you may make another version and placed a map name, at least we have all the files to edit and we can alter them if needed.

Before we start keep a back up of the VTF you made. Make a new folder and name it version 1, copy that in there.

We can alter the VTF image directly in Paint.NET to get rid of some of the background around your map edges.

Step 27. Adding titles and a transparent background.

(a). Using the “Magic Wand” tool we can set its “Tolerance” to something low, 5-10%.

Step 27 (a). Making a new layer to add some text (so you don't ruin the base image)

Select an area, then press your delete (DEL) key.
Clean up any places the Magic wand didn’t get with the Eraser tool.

(b). Let’s make a new layer to add some text and location names, in the “Layers” window select the + icon in the Layer window (bottom).

Step 27 (b)

(c). Give the image a Map title with the Text tool.

Step 27 (c)

NOTE: Save this as a .PDN (give it another name) and also as a .VTF as we did before keeping in mind now it’s a transparent background that the “Image Format:” type will be DXT5  not... DXT1.

Step 28. We must now edit the VMT text file as we made a change to the transparency of the image.
Add this line … "$translucent" 1
So now it looks like this…

"UnlitGeneric"
{

	"$basetexture" "overviews/dod_old_oslo_b2"
	"$vertexcolor" "1"
	"$vertexalpha" "1"
	"$no_fullbright" "1"
	"$ignorez" "1"
	"$translucent" 1	
}

Step 29. After testing it I found I had to move some things around so I edited the .PDN image again to ensure the overlaid objective icons were away from the text locations, and this is the final result…

The final result.

Minimap commands

I have a page dedicated to that topic, you should read it as most people I talk to don't know just how adjustable the minimap is!

I hope this helped take the pain out of overview (minimap) creation.

INsane - Webmaster dodbits.com