Silent Hunter III Mission Design FAQ and Tips

[Drebbel]

[FAQ] Naming the mission+folder, and media.cfg


Naming your mission:

Remember that the mission and the mission folder must have the SAME names !

I.E.:

The mission name is "testmission.mis"
The folder name is "...\Program Files\Ubisoft\SilentHunterIII\data\SingleMissions\ English\testmission\"


The Media.cfg file:

The media.cfg file, which is located in every stock mission folder, is not really needed ---->

It ain't needed... it just sets what loading screen to display - and the path of the loading bar...

[edpet23]

[FAQ] Add ships to piers in harbors...in three steps!!


:cool: :arrgh!:
This is how I've added docked ships to harbor piers, it can be done for single missions and for the campaign_SCR, the steps are the same for both, {This is written assuming you know how to use the mission editor}.

Step 1:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Open or create a mission, choose a harbor and zoom into it with mouse wheel. Then once you zoom in simply select a ship and place it between the piers of the harbor, zoom as close as you can and place the ship dead center between the piers. "Remember your icon represents where the center of the ship will dock on the pier". Once the ship is added, then add ONE waypoint, 700-800m. distance should be sufficient. However make sure the waypoint goes in the heading as the dock.


Step 2:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Right click the ship icon and select properties and set the speed to 5km or above, "I find 9km best". But do make sure it's above 5km. setting any lower will make it more difficult to be precise with the ship's alignment on the pier. Close properties and then right click the ship icon and select "Head to waypoint". This will make the ship face in the correct direction, next open properties again and once again reset the speed to zero "0" km. check "docked ship" and uncheck "Delete on last waypoint " and close properties.

NOTE:
Be sure the "Docked ship" is checked and "Delete on last waypoint" is un-checked!!



Step 3:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now select the single waypoint you added and select "Delete", now all you have is the ship's icon with no waypoint. Now "Validate" the mission but disregard anything it might say regarding waypoints or of ships being to close and stuff, click "close". Now select "File" and "Save", then then select "Save mission".

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That's it!
Now you can put U-boats in pens and have C-3 cargo ships under those lage cranes, heck Ive added a FW200 and 2 Me109's flying a search patrol as my U-boat sails out to sea. If you like you can add say a fishing ship leaving the piers and then stopping to fish in a area off to the side or have a patrol or "Schnellboot" patrol the entrance to the harbor and be there upon your arrival.

Those are just a few of the things I've done to both single missions and Campaign_SCR {1.4} with no problems. :arrgh!: :rock:

[Gizzmoe]

[FAQ] Spanish Mission Editor tutorial


By Beltza:
http://www.24flotilla.com/tutoriales/tutorial-editmis.htm

[Neal Stevens]

[FAQ] Editor hotkeys


Zoom in = Numpad + (or Mousewheel)
Zoom out = Numpad - (or Mousewheel)
Pan view on/off = Space
Radius Ruler on/off = r
Show minefield distribution = m
Render accurate shoreline = o
Center view on selected unit = x
Center view on mouse pointer position = x (only when no unit is selected)
Cycle through fields = Tab
Select "Accept" button = Enter
Delete unit or group = Del
Copy unit = Ctrl-c
Paste unit = Ctrl-v
Open mission = Ctrl-o
Save mission = Ctrl-s
New mission = Ctrl-n
---------------------------
Please let me know if I forgot something...
Gizzmoe

[Neal Stevens]

[FAQ] How to create minefields


To place a minefield:
Open the Mission Editor and click on the 'Ordnance' tab. Choose a Country and click on 'MN Minefield'.

Drag the Minefield and place it on the map. The icon will look like double triangles. This is NOT where your minefield will be located. You must first place at least one waypoint. Do that now and drag it about 2000 meters from the Minefield icon.

Left-click on the WP and then right-click to bring up the Properties. Place a 1 (one) in the 'Radius(KM)' box. This will be your minefield. *The minefield will be located INSIDE the circle. Click on Accept.
Now, click on the Minefield icon and bring up the Properties. Enter a number in the Density(UNITS/SQ.KM) box. Try 100, for now. THis will give you 100 mines per square km.

You will have to experiment with the 'Min height(M)' and 'Max height(M)' boxes. The default values will place the mines just under the waterline. Click on Accept.

Now, click on the Minefield icon and then press 'm' on your keyboard and you should see your minefield. You can place more WP's and string them out, if you want.

To check out your mines, open the mission and dive to periscope depth. Raise your periscope just a little bit, so it is beneath the surface. Or, go to external view and direct the camera beneath the surface. Enjoy!

Aviar

[Neal Stevens]

[FAQ] Edited missions failing to launch (http://www.subsim.com/phpBB_archive1/viewtopic.php?t=37484&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=)


Having created a test mission in the mission editor, I decided to try it out in SHIII.

It appears in the list of missions available within SHIII but when I click on start, nothing happens.

I therefore took a stock mission and put it into a new directory after editing it, and the same thing - clicking start does nothing.

It works fine on the stock missions, but anything edited it fails on.

Anyone any idea what I'm doing that is now wrong, when previous stuff I have done worked OK?

MLF

___________________________________

When you edit a stock mission or create a scratch one in the
mission editor, you have to follow a simple procedure. After
loading the stock mission, make all your changes. Be sure to
set-up the missions drop down menu correctly. Then save it
under a different name. Exit the editor and go to the stock
mission folder under single missions. In the folder, you will
see both mission files ending in .mis. Make a new folder and
name it exactly like the revised mission you just created. Place
the new mission from the stock folder into the new folder just created. Also place in there the duplicate file included in all
the single mission folders. Then when you run the game, you should see the mission just created and it should start normally like the others....


JIM
_____________________________________

Feedback. I did as Jim said and all works now. :D

There is a media.cfg file in all the stock missions folders which I copied into my folder.
I had not named the folder the same as the mission :oops: . So I renamed it to reflect the mission name, et voila.

Thanks again, Jim.

MLF

[Drebbel]

[FAQ] Where do I find the mission editor manual ?



...... ( \Ubisoft\SilentHunterIII\ ) documentation\SH3_MISSION_EDITOR_EN.pdf

or

......( \Ubisoft\SilentHunterIII\ ) documentation\SH3_MISSION_EDITOR_DE.pdf

[Drebbel]

[FAQ] How to spawn a Random Generated Group


How to spawn a Random Generated Group (RGG):

I won't go into every little setting. Most of them are simple to understand. However, there are a few points that are critical.

1.Place your Naval RGG.

2.Assign two waypoints at about 50km apart. (This is just an example. There are no restrictions on waypoints.)

3.Make sure your sub is at least 20km from the RGG. If it's too close, the RGG will not spawn. *(For an Air RGG, use 25km as the minimum distance.)

4.Right-click on the RGG icon and choose 'Define Group Contents'.

5.Choose the ship(s) for the group. You must have a minimum of one ship. You can get very creative here. Each ship can be given an individual spawn probability. *(The 'group leader' ship will always spawn.) For instance, you can add 3 separate destroyers at a spawn percentage of 50% each. So, each time this group spawns, you may get 1,2,3 or no destroyers. Same goes for merchants, warships, etc. The other settings are pretty much self-explanatory.

6.Right-click on the RGG icon and choose 'Group Properties'. This is where it gets a little tricky.

7.Look at the 'Repeat Interval(Hours)' setting. This number tells you how often (in hours) this RGG will spawn a group. If you were creative with your spawn percentage probabilities, each group will look a little (or a lot) different than the next.

For this example, we will set the
'Repeat Interval' to 1. A new random group will now spawn every hour.

8.Go to the toolbar and click on 'Mission'. Choose 'Parameters'.

9.The date of your mission is very important. For this example, we will set it to January 1, 1941. Time will be Hours:12 Minutes:0.

10.Go back to 'Group Properties' and look at 'Entry Date'. It should be set to exactly the same as your mission date except for one IMPORTANT setting. Depending on your earlier 'Repeat Interval' setting, you need to minus that amount of time from the 'Entry Date'. Remember, we set the 'Repeat Interval' to 1(hour). So, change the "Entry Date' hour from 12(noon) to 11(11am).

**This is only if you want to spawn a RGG right at the start of the mission. If you leave the 'Entry Date' hour at 12, the RGG will start spawning at 13(1pm). If the 'Repeat Interval' was 24, the first spawn would occur 24 hours after the mission started, unless you changed the 'Entry Date' back 24 hours.

Ok, do you want to see everything in action without going into the game itself? Go to the 'Time Filter Start' on the toolbar and set the year to '1941' and the month to '1' (the 'day' setting will adjust automatically). This is the start time for our mission...remember? You will see the time displayed on the far right.

Now, move to the right on the toolbar and click once on the start icon (black triangle). The time acceleration will now be 1x and the clock is now ticking in your mission.

Click on the pause icon (2 black lines). Look at your RGG icon. There should be a green circle covering the icon. This is your group that has just spawned. Unpause the time and click on the red clock icon twice to speed up the time to 16x. You should see your spawned group moving to it's next WP.

Speed up the time a little and at 1pm you should see another group spawn. This is because we set the 'Repeat Interval' setting to 1, remember?

Ok, let's get more creative here. Click on stop (black square) and go back to 'Group Properties'. Set the Random Area Radius to 20km . You will see a white circle around your RGG. You will now get a random spawning within this circle. Let's try it. Click on the start icon. The green circle should be spawning within the white circle. If you keep clicking stop and start, you will see the RGG spawn in random locations within the 40km circle. (Radius is measured from the center to the edge, so the circle is actually 40km in diameter.)

Now you have random groups spawning in random locations. Pretty cool. But we can do more. *(If you use a Random Area Radius for your RGG and\or the Player's sub, make sure you measure the minimum 20km distance [from step #3] from the outer edge of the circle(s). Example: Both your sub and the RGG have a Random Area Radius of 5km. The distance between the OUTER EDGES of the two area circles will need to be at least 20km. This would place the actual sub and RGG at least 30 km apart. Obviously, this needs to be done because the unit(s) can spawn anywhere within the Random Area Radius and so the 'minimum 20km rule' needs to be observed.)

Right-click on the first WP and choose 'Properties'. Set the 'Radius(KM)' to 20. Each generated group will now choose a random location within this 40km circle as it's first WP. Try the time acceleration and see all the different paths your groups are taking. Of course, you can use values other than 20.

Now, go back to 'Group Properties' and look at 'Group Spawn Probability(%)'. This setting is for the RGG group itself. If you set this to 50%, the RGG will only spawn a group 50% of the time. Try it and use the time acceleration to see how it works.

Well, that's about enough for now. Enjoy!

Aviar

[STEED]

[FAQ] Where do I find the mission editor manual ?

I found this one to be useful for a beginner.

http://hometown.aol.co.uk/dominicobaggio/Missioncreation1.html

The page may take a little time to open.

[Ducimus]

Being able to see Harbor/docks in the SCR layer to allow placement of harbor traffic:


Nobody ever told me this, and i dont think ive ever seen it listed anywhere.


How i got this to work was to have a double SH3 install with the same campaign mods. Use the editor on the 2nd SH3 installation, and do your SCR/LND editing on that 2nd copy.

[Mush Martin]

I normally frequent the mods forum could someone pm me the location of the tutorial or steps to add an airgroup to a carrier or at least the carrier group
If I make a carrier into a land unit could it spawn aircraft????

MM:hmm:


(answered already)

[jimmie]

[FAQ] Working in high res

Using high-resolution game setting will not allow to select units and thus mission editor unusable. To fix this, temporary disable d3d9.dll by renamaming it to something else when using mission editor, then re-rename it when playing.

A convenient way is to create a batch file like:

ren d3d9.dll d3d9.tmp
sh3missioneditor
ren d3d9.tmp d3d9.dll

name it mission_editor_launch.bat or whatever and double click it to start mission editor.

[Rebel]

i think of you drebble each time i put my kick stand up or down on my HARLEY :salute:

[CTU_Clay]

Is there a "rule of thumb" for the size maximun for a SH3 v1.4, multiplayer .mis file that will play on UBI servers with 8 players without CTD problems.

[wolf_288]

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh59/SE-JEK/Namnls.jpg

[wolf_288]

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh59/SE-JEK/harbourproblem-1.jpg

[lpgautogas]

Nice post...Thank you very much!!......http://greenrent.de/smileyhappy.ico

[Prine]

thanks