New mission question

[Abyssinian]

Hey everyone,

I'm still somewhat new to SH4 and I thought I'd go ahead and play around with the mission editor a little. I'm currently making a mission (one of many if people like it) where two large fleets will eventually engage each other. Are there any things I should know before I continue? And most importantly, are people interrested in a new mission/campaign?

Oh and also, on validating the mission it says: "Warning: AI unit Emergency Naval Base West has no waypoints attached." Do I need to give the naval base a waypoint?

When I did a testrun in the editor some planes and Battleships stayed at their positions instead of following the waypoints and others when reaching their final waypoint did not stop. Will this change in the game?

Ciao,
Abyssinian

everything needs a waypoint because thats how the game decides the direction to point it (well normallly anyway because you can change that) but without a waypoint the game isnt allowed to fill in any gapsin data so you get the error dode.

not all errors are going to interfere with the mission working ok but you should eliminate all errors as a rule. sometimes like in ports you might have errors of ships too close together and such but as long as they dont spawn close enough to collide you are usually ok.

one problem i remember many complaining about is trouble getting ships to engage each other, sometimes they do and sometimes they dont.

you cant get carriers to launch aircraft, they just wont do it so forget any ideas in that area.


you should read this: http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums?a=t...846#5681008846

[Abyssinian]

Thanks that was very informative One more question though, that I didn't find the anwser to there; how do I remove the standard naval and air bases?

[peabody]

Originally Posted by Abyssinian

Hey everyone,

I'm still somewhat new to SH4 and I thought I'd go ahead and play around with the mission editor a little. I'm currently making a mission (one of many if people like it) where two large fleets will eventually engage each other. Are there any things I should know before I continue? And most importantly, are people interrested in a new mission/campaign?

Oh and also, on validating the mission it says: "Warning: AI unit Emergency Naval Base West has no waypoints attached." Do I need to give the naval base a waypoint?

When I did a testrun in the editor some planes and Battleships stayed at their positions instead of following the waypoints and others when reaching their final waypoint did not stop. Will this change in the game?

Ciao,
Abyssinian

I agree with what Webster stated, to take it a step further:
Warnings SHOULD be fixed. But like he stated some are not a problem like docked ships too close together.
ERRORS MUST be fixed. The game will not save if you have an error. It will save with a 'warning', but you must fix 'errors'.

As for ships staying at their position. Check the speed. The mission editor defaults to 5 knots, if you test without time compression it will look like they are not moving. If you already have the waypoints in place when you change the speed it only changes the speed at the first waypoint, so hit "update waypoints" to change them all. (If that is what you want) Each waypoint can have it's own speed setting.
Next check the "entry date" for the ships and compare it with the entry in the mission/parameters menu start date. For example the mission may start on Jan 1942 but the ship start date may be July 1942 so it isn't there until July so it can't 'move' until July because it isn't there.

Next see if "docked ship" is checked. If it is, the ship will not move. So if you want to place ships at a dock but still want them to move don't set them as 'docked ships'. Zoom in close until you can see the shape of the ship, go to the View menu and select "Render accurate shorelines" and place you ship at the dock but do not set it to docked ship. Set your first waypoint accurately so the ship will head out of the dock without hitting it and make sure to right click on the ship and select "Head to Waypoint' so it is pointing in the direction of the waypoint.

Next is not stopping. You either have to set the last waypoint to 0 for speed and the ships will stop but stay there.(click in a blank area of the map to make sure you don't have all the waypoint selected and then right click on the last waypoint and set speed to zero, do not go back to ships properties and 'update the waypoints' in this case, if you do it will set all waypoints back to the speed on the first waypoint.)

OR you must checkmark "delete on last waypoint". And they will disappear when they reach the last waypoint.

Another point to keep in mind. Ships will not appear or disappear within 20 miles of your sub unless it is right at the start of the mission. Once the mission has started no more ships can appear within 20 miles. This is so that ships don't appear and disappear within sight of your sub.

If that does not solve the problem let us know.

Peabody

click on something you want to delete then hit delete on your keyboard

[Abyssinian]

I can't. The base at Midway isn't selectable so I can't delete the base there. And thanks for the long anwser Peabody.

i think its the loc file (i cant remember) but im sure peabody does he's like one of the smartest guys around

but theres a file you load that will make all the in game bases show up so you see them on the map when you make your missions. i dont think you can delete anything that already in the game. its only stuff you add that can be edited because the other stuff is automatic to spawn including the base traffic.

you can add ships to any port but the game will still ad its normal amount of ships there too so you will see more than just what you put there.

[peabody]

Originally Posted by Abyssinian

I can't. The base at Midway isn't selectable so I can't delete the base there. And thanks for the long anwser Peabody.

First of all @ Webster, thanks for the comment but I know very little about this modding, but I am learning a bit at a time.

Now to Abyssinian, to start with I didn't welcome you, so Welcome.

If you are making a new mission, none of the bases should show on your screen. Webster was close, the "Campaign.LOC" contains the docks for all the harbors as well as the trees and houses etc. If you want to have them show, select the File/Merge then go to your SH4 folder/data/Campaigns/campaign and find "Campaign.LOC". Leave the box unchecked that says "merge as savable" so if you mess up, it will not overwrite the Campaign.LOC. The best thing would be to copy it somewhere and work from the backup copy and don't use the original at all.

Now you will have the docks, but you will not have a Naval Base. Adding a Naval base does not add docks and adding docks does not make it a Naval base. The Naval Base is considered a "Land Unit" and they are all saved in a file as a "Land Units Layer". In the case of the US bases it is a file called "USNavalBases.mis". (What a clever filename.) That file will have all the US Naval Bases in it. You can also merge that one if you want.

Now as for deleting Midway. In case you did not know, ALL the Campaign files (ships, convoys, Naval bases, docks, and so on) are loaded when you run a single mission. So, unless you delete Midway from the original "USNavalBases.mis" it will still be there when your mission starts. So the best way to do something like that would be to make your mission as a MOD. Then you could have the MOD change the USNavalBases.mis and put the mission into the Single mission folder all at the same time.

But my suggestion, since you are just learning the mission editor, would be to leave them alone for now. If you start changing things that are already in the game, you may cause some conflicts and your mission will not work and you won't know why. Just a suggestion until you get more familiar with the mission editor.

My suggestion would be to consentrate on making a good, challenging mission, and learn how the single ships, groups, random groups, and planes work. How to change speeds at waypoints and make the ships be where you want them at the right time.

You have to remember since all the traffic in the game gets loaded into your mission, it may not turn out the way you want it to. You may sit and wait for a Convoy only to find out they were sunk by planes and shore batteries or maybe a Task Force that you didn't put in, before they got to you.

Now if you want to add your "Emergency" base you can add that into your single mission and it will save along with the mission and you don't need to change the stock files. Just drag and drop a Naval Base onto the map and put it where you want it. If you want docks that is a little more complicated. You need to go to to the menu "Tools/Map Location Edit mode" and select it. Now you can right click on the map and add map location and add a Large,Medium or Small Pacific Harbor. You need to add a 3DLocation and a 2DMapData and there is a dropdown to select which one you are adding and two boxes below that to add the info, just select the object from the list. If you are adding a Large Pacific Harbor, you should have the same one in both boxes. Check the box "Scale on Zoom".
The easiest way to learn this is to merge the "Campaign.LOC" copy as mentioned above (do not check "merge as savable"), find some docks and right click on the the square icon that is used to move them (not the docks themselves but a little square icon) and write down some of the settings like zoom start, zoom end, scale and use these numbers when you add your own dock until you learn how these numbers affect the docks.

Now when you add your own docks from "Edit Map Location" make sure the "Is Saveable" box is checked for the object you added, so it will be saved when you save the mission.

If you have trouble adding the docks, you don't need them to reload torpedos or get fuel at a Naval Base. Also remember in Single Mission there is no 'home port' so you can refuel, reload torpedos and ammo and repair some damage, but you can NOT repair Hull damage.


Hope some of that makes sense.

Peabody

[Abyssinian]

Thanks again to both of you. This has been a huge help. And thank you for welcoming me.

One more (hopefully final) question; how would I make a MOD like Peabody said? For this mission its important that only the bases I made show up. I've already made the mission exactly how I want it. Plus could I also delete the random convoys and whatnot?

[peabody]

Originally Posted by Abyssinian

Thanks again to both of you. This has been a huge help. And thank you for welcoming me.

One more (hopefully final) question; how would I make a MOD like Peabody said? For this mission its important that only the bases I made show up. I've already made the mission exactly how I want it. Plus could I also delete the random convoys and whatnot?

To make a mod you must set up your folders and files EXACTLY the same way they are in the game. Just in case I make a mistake explaining it make sure it is the same as your game is.

1. If you don't have it, get JSGME and put it into your Silent Hunter Wolves of the Pacific folder. Mine is C:\Program files\Ubisoft\Silent Hunter Wolves of the Pacific.
2. Run it once to create a MODs folder, then click on the "Tasks" and "Make a snapshot of the game files"


Now you make the MOD to put into the MODs folder. Don't make it in the MODs folder, make it somewhere else and copy it to the MODs folder.

1. Make a folder "My super deluxe Mission" (Name it whatever you want)
2. Inside that folder make a folder called "Data". MUST be the first folder in your mod just like it is in the game!!!!!
3. Inside the Data folder make two folders. "SingleMissions" and "Campaigns" NOTE: there is an 's' on the end of these folder names.
4. Open Campaigns folder and make a folder called "Campaign" (no 's' on the end)
5. Go to the Data/Campaigns/Campaign folder in your game and copy the "Campaign.cfg". file into your MODs "Campaign" folder. You will 'fix' that later. (actually you will 'break' it not fix it.)
5. Go Back up to the SingleMissions folder and open that. Inside there made a folder with the name of your mission. "Emergency Mission". Save your mission to this folder with the exact same name as the folder you just made: "Emergency Mission" (the folder name and the mission name must be the same.

Now the 'fixing". With Notepad: Open the "Campaign.cfg" file (your copy in your MOD folder not the original.) Leave [Section 1] which is Campaign.NMS and [Section 2] which is Campaign.LOC. The campaign.nms is all the names of ocean, seas, islands, countries etc. The campaign.loc is docks and towns and such, it may have docks where you want to put your base, so I left it in, but it does not include any bases.

Create your mission or finish it up and include the Naval bases you want so you won't have to include the USNavalBases.mis. By placing your bases in the actual mission you do not need a separate "Land Units Layer"

In your mission editor, make sure you go to "Mission/Language Localization and highlight the "mission title" and in the bottom box delete 'mission title" and put in a name for your mission. That is the name that will show when you try to playthe mission. Then select "Mission Briefing" and in the bottom box, give a description of what is going on and what needs to be done.

Once your mission is complete, save it to the "Emergency Mission" folder (or whatever you named it. Make sure when you save it you save as an American mission, check the dropdown box for 'type' in the save window and make sure it is American mission mis and NOT German mission misge.

Double check the folder layout and then copy the Main MOD folder to the Mods folder in Silent Hunter Wolves of the Pacific. In this case "My super deluxe Mission" Once you have it in the MODs folder, Select the MOD on the left and move it to the right using the arrow. Go test it out.

Note: this may cause problems with other MODs that are installed since you are changing game files, not just creating a mission. So to test, disable all other MODs and see if it works.

If you need to make changes to the mission DO NOT make the changes in the MOD folder, do them in the folders you set up then recopy to the MODs folder and let it overwrite the one you have there.

Peabody