A query of curiousity for the mission programmers
- Thread starter Iceblade
- Start date
PopsiclePete
Mission programmer
We use Thomas Bruckner's WCPPas version 24c (originally called Mission Builder 4). This program does almost everything needed to make a mod; it allows to build missions, edit already-existing IFF & string files. Missions, missiles, strings, ships, bullets, series, you name it.
Everything is text-based in WCPPas, for the better. No wizards or anything like this. You can learn how to use it and how to make a mod just by looking at all the files included in Unknown Enemy's source code package. There are also some basic tutorials on the site.
Everything is text-based in WCPPas, for the better. No wizards or anything like this. You can learn how to use it and how to make a mod just by looking at all the files included in Unknown Enemy's source code package. There are also some basic tutorials on the site.
Iceblade
Admiral
Yeah, I know about all of that, just I never liked having to fight the code to get all my navpoints to work. Actually, that is one of the biggest reasons I stwitched engines for RG: it only takes at most an hour to debug an error (and this is only if I add too much code at once where I have to find the problem).
Anyway. it's a nice wizard, at least for the casual SO modder who wants to make simple missions without objectives and stuff. I might scrap together a small sim campaign.
Anyway. it's a nice wizard, at least for the casual SO modder who wants to make simple missions without objectives and stuff. I might scrap together a small sim campaign.
Iceblade
Admiral
OMG, I can't believe I was so blind several years ago. There is a mission builder 5 extension built into the mission compiler and it looks like there is a bunch of other time-saving and user-friendly tools around that I just never saw. Jeez!
Oh well...boy it looks like SO really isn't that bad to modify now---well except for rooms of course
Man, it looks it wouldn't even take me a day to be coding WCPpas with the best of them (FYI, I have previous experience with WCPpas)...except I don't have that kind of time at the moment...I still might make a small campiagn in SO---later on in the spring, though.
As for that basic mission builder (2.0), I can't seem to get it to work. It asks for a compile.bat file, which is not in the zip. I just created and renamed a text file to get into the editor (it worked, but the program can't seem to copy the s0.mis into the mission directory).
@popsiclepete - you tried this wizard before?
Oh well...boy it looks like SO really isn't that bad to modify now---well except for rooms of course
Man, it looks it wouldn't even take me a day to be coding WCPpas with the best of them (FYI, I have previous experience with WCPpas)...except I don't have that kind of time at the moment...I still might make a small campiagn in SO---later on in the spring, though.
As for that basic mission builder (2.0), I can't seem to get it to work. It asks for a compile.bat file, which is not in the zip. I just created and renamed a text file to get into the editor (it worked, but the program can't seem to copy the s0.mis into the mission directory).
@popsiclepete - you tried this wizard before?
PopsiclePete
Mission programmer
Yes, but it was a looong time ago, so I don't remember. But really, using a wizard isn't that cool. Of course, when you code your first missions it's nice because it doesn't require you to know all the syntax etc.... but let's face it: you'll never make an interesting mission of a wizard; you'll have to edit the code by hand to have it behave as you want. After you coded a few missions it becomes much easier to simply copy-paste your basic mission structure and functions into your next mission and then edit it. I do that all the time, each time enhancing the way my functions work over the previous mission so the next takes me even less time to code.Iceblade said:
The only thing I hate doing manually is assigning cordinates to objects... that's the only thing I'd want as "advanced" functionality of a mission builder GUI: a simple "map" that shows where you actually put objects so it's easy to correct your coordinates before you actually playtest the mission. There is a plugin to WCPPas Thomas Bruckner has made, but it always crashed on my setup and I never took the time to find out why it does...