Mission builder learning curve

[Muff_Huggar]

I can't stop thinking that it would be interesting to do some mission creation, particularly for Flying Circus where there are none yet. I loaded up the default mission for FC in the editor and saw there are already lots of potential targets--bridges, airfields, etc.--that you can attack in the free fly missions. But I'm curious about the learning curve for doing mission building. Can it be done casually, or is it a dark demon that will clutch your soul and drag you into some Mountain Dew and Cheetos hell from which you only surface periodically to empty the convenience  bag? If I go down this path, am I going to spend more time mission building and testing and fine-tuning than I am flying?

[Thad]

It cannot be done casually. ?

 

But the process can be eased and sped up by going through Pranksters' Mission Building Guide step by step. One must learn by doing.

 

Mission building is rewarding once the basics are grasped.

 

Pranksters Mission Building Guide

Edited September 18, 2018 by Thad
Added Link

[Sketch]

14 minutes ago, Muff_Huggar said:

 Can it be done casually, or is it a dark demon that will clutch your soul and drag you into some Mountain Dew and Cheetos hell from which you only surface periodically to empty the convenience  bag?

Depends on how much you enjoy creating missions. I really don't make missions anymore because of the level of the ai's skill and because of the lack of players wanting something other than WoL. Making a really good mission takes time, effort, and bit of experience. Don't expect your first mission to be as good as some of the official scripted campaign missions, but over time you'll get better and better at making missions. I'd say about 2-3 months of studying and making missions daily for an hour or two will get you up to speed with most of us mission designers. And eventually, you'll be able to make something better than the official stuff, but even those types of missions take time.

 

Quote

If I go down this path, am I going to spend more time mission building and testing and fine-tuning than I am flying?

Yes. So much yes... but when you do play your missions with your friends, it's so rewarding.

Edited September 18, 2018 by [TWB]Sketch
answers

[TP_Fritz]

Prangster's guide is essential as a starting point, absolutely.  Also, don't forget JimTM's much more detailed manual that goes into the specifics of each object and command:

 

JimTM's Mission Editor Manual

 

As Sketch responds, yes - you WILL spend a lot more time working in the ME than you do flying.  And again it depends upon how much you enjoy doing it.  My response here is based upon that aspect.  I have yet to actually finish a completed mission (working on one I hope to post here in a week or two finally), and I started messing around with the ME several months ago.  Start small - create simple missions with simple setups, using Prangster's guide and the examples in JimTM's manual, and work up from there.  It can be extremely rewarding to finally get something to work correctly after fumbling with it a bit.

 

As a newer mission designer, another thing I can recommend is to use the MCU Subtitle function - a LOT.  Use it to create pop up messages on the screen when certain events happen, so you know when that event triggered and can expect it.  This helps immensely in troubleshooting issues.

Edited September 21, 2018 by cerebus06
changed "Script" to "Subtitle" for correct function

[unreasonable]

I have only created missions for film and testing purposes, so these are a simpler than most of the complete scripted missions, which I happily leave to the experts. It is satisfying to be able to use the ME: but you really need to want to do it!

 

My advice is to start small. I mean very small.

 

Place an aeroplane on the map and learn how to get it to fly from A to B: make it the player plane so that you can test your mission in the game. That will give you enough to understand how the properties menus work and how to choose a map, weather etc; how to set up an object, how to specify the simplest MCUs and get the mission to start, how to save the files etc. Plus the need to save often. I just use JimTM's manual, since it has a good contents list with handy headings.  

 

There is a lot to learn initially even for this "mission" but if you want to experiment I advise taking baby steps, otherwise it can be very difficult to see where you are going wrong. 

[NETSCAPE]

On 9/18/2018 at 12:44 PM, Muff_Huggar said:

or is it a dark demon that will clutch your soul

 

 

Yes it is. Luckily I am going to Liturgy today.