This post is just for the brand new editor users, it's real basic stuff, just to get anyone interested started. If you've ever used the editor in AA, VBS1, or OFP, then you already know all this basic stuff and probably more.Again, this is just the basics, if you want to make good or even great missions, then learn the basics then practice, experiment, and learn triggers and scripts.I am also new at the editor, I have used the OFP and this editor to simply test new add-ons and stuff, but have never made a complete mission...yet. (So we learn together.)And yes, this information comes from the game manual, back few pages. Just edited for clarity and ease of use.and BTW... you just may be interested in learning the editor for other reasons, more on that later.Start your game, click on the play icon, then the editor icon."The in-game mission editor is an extremely powerful tool, allowing you to create your own scenarios for both single player and multiplayer game modes."
Select an island When you select editor from the play menu, you will first be asked for the island you would like to set your mission on. There is currently two maps to choose from Sahrani and Rahmadi. Simply select the island you want to use and hit OK. This will take you to the editor interface screen.
There are several tools that help you make and develop your mission, all accessed by the function keys or using the toolbox in the menu on the right side of the screen:
F1: Units
F2: Groups
F3: Triggers
F4: Waypoints
F5: Synchronize
F6: Markers
Placing units and groupsUnits are the primary elements of most missions and you can insert them by pressing F1 and double clicking somewhere on the map. In the pop-up window that appears, you can set a large number of properties for the unit you are about to insert, such as its side, type, health status and azimuth.
You can move units by pressing and holding on them with the left mouse and dragging them to the desired location. Rotating is done by holding your left shift key and moving the mouse until you reach the correct angle.
If you need to place a number of units, typically belonging together, at the same time, you can press F2 and insert a group in much the same way as you used for units. After you place a group you’ll notice that you in fact placed a collection of individual units which are linked together by blue links. You can manually create and remove such links in Group mode as well. This is best for inserting squads or teams of units.
Now realize that when placing units, you have an option to keep them AI controlled, by clicking "not playable", or where any human can pick that slot, mostly for MP games, by selecting "playable", or you can force the player into a role by selecting "player controlled".
Assigning units waypointsYour unit will be a completely sentient AI being within the game world and it will react to nearby events. Most likely however, you will want the units to move about. This can be achieved with waypoints.
The different types of waypoints are:Move-move to this location
Destroy-move to the target location and destroy whatever the waypoint is placed on.
Get in-try to board the vehicle this waypoint is attached to or, if synchronized with a vehicle’s waypoint, the vehicle will stop and wait to be boarded.
Seek and destroy- move to this location and start actively searching for enemies.
Join-synchronize this waypoint with another group’s waypoint to join the two.
Join and lead- same as above but now become the leader of the joined group.
Get out- get out of the vehicle.
Cycle- used to create a loop of waypoints.
Load- wait for others to board as cargo.
Unload- wait for everyone to exit the vehicle.
Transport unload-wait for passengers who are not in the same group to unload.
Hold- unit or group will stay at this hold position.
Sentry- hold position till an enemy is detected in the area.
Guard- find a guarded by trigger and protect this area.
Talk- speak a sentence from the effects waypoint.
Scripted- executes a sentence from the script file assigned to waypoint.
Support- wait for another unit to call for support.
Get in nearest- board into any vehicle nearest a waypoint.
Dismissed- units are roaming around this waypoint until enemies detected.
Waypoint synchronizationYou can synchronize the waypoints of two different groups by pressing F5 and dragging a link between two of the groups waypoints. Both groups will stop and wait till both waypoints are synchronized.
Creating a patrolling unitPatrols are very common in military operations, and therefore modeled in game. You can create a patrolling unit in Armed Assault with the cycle waypoint tool.
1. Place a move waypoint at a certain point, we will call A.
2. Place a cycle waypoint at the unit’s original position, which is his first real waypoint.
Simple Triggers:Triggers are used to set up game play and actions in a mission. Triggers detect what occurs in the game world then reacts in a set way on those occurrences.
Presence detectionA common thing to do with triggers is to detect the presence or absence of units. To do this first place a trigger at the position where you would like to detect a presence, adjust the size of the detection zone using the axis settings.
The activation combo box will let you select what side you want to detect/listen for. Pick a side, or pick anyone.
Next you choose whether you want to check for a presence or an absence. This is done with the option settings in the toolbox.
Mission endingAll missions need to end, the mission ending trigger lets you set that up. You do this by using the type property in the combo box, you can select one of seven endings included.
IntelTo tweak the mission name, description, time of day, and weather you can click on the Intel button in the top left corner of the editor. You’ll find four different types of weather sliders.
MarkersInsert markers to identify parts of the map, or staging areas for your units, these markers can appear on the players map in game.
Texture viewClick the texture button to view the terrain for more tactical unit placements.
Mission ManagementLoadingAfter you select your island, you can click load to load up any mission you have saved for that island.
MergingThis lets you merge two missions into one, use a different name and the original missions will not be affected.
SavingThere are four options to save your mission. Always save it as a user mission file so you can re-load and edit it later if you find a problem.
You can also export it as a completed single player mission and export it as a multiplayer mission.
Finally you can compress and e-mail it to your fans.
Playing the missionClick preview to test your mission, just make sure you are marked as one of the players first. Then change it back to playable, if there will be other options in the final.
The basics... feel free to add your comments and suggestions for your fellow editor wanna bes, like me.