This tutorial assumes you've already looked up my previous guide to making custom models spawn naturally, and have taken a look in STUFF/TERRAFORM/CELLTYPES.txt. If you haven't yet looked at my guide to making custom models naturally spawn, here's the link: http://www.rockraidersunited.com/topic/6621-getting-custom-models-to-naturally-spawn/
In order to make a custom BIOME, you must first make a custom THEME. Go to STUFF/TERRAFORM/THEMES and pick a theme to use as a template. I just used CANDYTHEME for when I experimented. The file should generally look something like this:
DayTimeAmbienceTrack = 'Amb_Forest_Day'
NightTimeAmbienceTrack = 'Amb_Forest_Night'
Characters
{
AddCharacter = "Skeleton"
Weight = 1.0
EndCharacter
}
Props
{
Density = 0.01
StartProp = "Functional/TreasureChestSmall"
Weight = 0.005
EndProp
}
Not showing the TerrainLandscape bit as that was covered in my previous guide. This is where my previous tutorial comes in handy. Pick what characters and props you want to spawn and what models, and save it (in ALL CAPS). For this example, I named the file INFOTHEME.txt. Now, go to STUFF/TERRAFORM/THEMES/INDEX.txt and add it to the index.
InfoTheme.txt 40
Not exactly sure what the purpose of having a number by the filename is, but just to be safe, put a number beside it. Now, we have make the biome. Go to STUFF/TERRAFORM/BIOMES/DEFINITIONS and pick the biome to use as template. Again, I used CANDYLAND for the experiment. It generally looks something similar to this.
Reference the theme you made where it says: DefaultTheme "InfoTheme" 1.0
Lines like AddBrickType = #LegoBrick_Solid_BrightRed are where you define a material by its name in CELLTYPES.txt
Save your in the same way you did the theme, except with a different name. (such as INFOLAND.txt)
Add it into STUFF/TERRAFORM/BIOMES/DEFINITIONS/INDEX.txt. No numbers this time.
Then, go to STUFF/TERRAFORM/BIOMES/GROUPS/NORMAL.txt
Add in the following lines
AddBiome
{
Type = "InfoLand" //name of the biome
Weight = 0.9 //chance of biome spawning
}
Save it, and make a new world, find your biome, and you're done!
Here's an example of what it might look like in-game: