Let’s say you want your hack out pronto. You don’t care about making fun maps or anything, you just want your hack to give you your fill of Internet points. Not something you relate to…? Fine, let’s just say you have a creator’s block but you just gotta make a map.
Let me tell you, neither of these cases is a big deal-- just leave everything to a randomized grid that knows nothing of good map design; http://minesweeperonline.com/#! We’ll also need https://www.random.org/, the one true randomizer, for uh, random stuff! Lemme tell you how we’ll do it!
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First, randomize the width (in FEBuilder’s map editor, it’s the number before the x. As in, if a map has an area of 15x10, 15 is the width). You use Random.org for this. The minimum possible width is 15, and the maximum is 103.
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Next, randomize the height; the number after the x. Use Random.org again. The minimum possible width is 10, and the maximum is 90. Jot down both numbers.
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Make sure the map’s area is actually possible in-engine. Rule of thumb: the map generally shouldn’t exceed an area of 1350 tiles, but the maximum possible area is undefined. If the map is too wide/long, FEBuilder should be able to provide a new height/width through its error message.
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Optional: Make sure the minimap works. Make sure that when you press select, you don’t get a glitchy-looking mess. Totally optional, I’m not forcing you to do it or anything.
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Enter the width and height you ended up with into Minesweeper Online. Click on “Game”, then “Custom”, enter the width and height, enter a random number of mines (use a randomizer like, again, random.org. I recommend making the minimum a quarter of the total area, and the maximum half of the total area.) Immediately lose the game to see what the map is like. The areas with mines are walls; the areas without mines are transversable ground.
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Add some touches. Is the map indoors or outdoors? What about the enemy placement? Does it have chests? (please don’t make an outdoor map with chests) Extra details? Reinforcements? Does the layout actually make for a playable and clearable map? As all of you should know, a map is much more than its layout and size.
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Once you’re done with the layout (steps 1-5), make sure to post a screenshot of it in this thread. You can edit the post later with the map’s final version. For the sake of practicality, I recommend making a screenshot of the layout first, copying it to FEBuilder, and then finishing the map.
If you have any doubts, make sure to inform me and I’ll do my best to answer. And now, post your results below!
Disclaimer just in case: I don’t own Minesweeper or its online version. I’d also like to mention that any possible offense to anyone in this post is completely unintentional; please notify me if the post has any part that breaks the rules.