How many mission editors are out there?

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How many mission editors are out there?

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JaggedFel
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Post by JaggedFel » Sun Oct 07, 2012 3:46 am

People, not programs.

Recently the mission-related threads have been posted/populated by Victor and Keeper, and I know Fader's still around, but who else is out there working on creating or editing missions these days? Many of the communities have dwindled, died or just shifted away from editing, and while there are still many things I want for YOGEME and I'm (slowly) working on it, I've found myself not making missions at all lately.

Model are still being released, and it's amazing how much detail guys like the General can force/trick a 15 year old flight engine to handle, but to what extent are the models even being used for these days? Is there a high-quality mission repository that I've managed to miss? Is there a group out there that is still actively creating great missions?

I guess what I'm really asking is if there's really a point to be working on a mission editor anymore.
Ye Olde Galactic Empire Mission Editor v1.15.6
Current software WIPs: TIE Layout and Cutscene Editor, TIE/XvT Cockpit Editor
Libraries / Format specs: *.tie, *.plt, *.tfr, *.lfd , *.act, *.dat image files, *.fnt

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JeremyaFr
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Post by JeremyaFr » Sun Oct 07, 2012 11:35 am

Hello,
( Your links for YOGEME don't work.
- "http://www.empirereborn.net/subdomains/ ... age=yogeme leads" to "Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_STRING in /f5/er/public/subdomains/idmr/Utilities/yogeme.php on line 25"
- "https://github.com/downloads/MikeG621/YOGEME/YOGEME.zip" leads to 404 )

There are often people that want to make their own mission, but don't do it because they don't know how to do it, or find that it's difficult to create missions.

It would be great if someone writes a serie of tutorials on how to create and use missions.

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JaggedFel
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Post by JaggedFel » Sun Oct 07, 2012 1:06 pm

Oops, links fixed.

There's a couple sites that have decent tutorials, or at least some "tips & tricks", but I don't think I've ever seen one that walks you through creating a full-blown mission instead of "this is how you do this, and this is how you do that". I know I'm even guilty of that, as I intentionally left out mission-design commentary (mostly) in the help files for YOGEME and my *.tie DLL.
Ye Olde Galactic Empire Mission Editor v1.15.6
Current software WIPs: TIE Layout and Cutscene Editor, TIE/XvT Cockpit Editor
Libraries / Format specs: *.tie, *.plt, *.tfr, *.lfd , *.act, *.dat image files, *.fnt

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JeremyaFr
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Post by JeremyaFr » Sun Oct 07, 2012 1:36 pm

When I launch YOGEME.exe, it immediatly crashes.

My OS is:
Microsoft Windows 7 Pro
Service Pack 1
32 bits Operating System

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JaggedFel
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Post by JaggedFel » Sun Oct 07, 2012 4:24 pm

Dammit. Fix uploaded as v1.2.1, had to do with the Settings file not being initialized properly. Add that to the things I have to remember to check every time...
Ye Olde Galactic Empire Mission Editor v1.15.6
Current software WIPs: TIE Layout and Cutscene Editor, TIE/XvT Cockpit Editor
Libraries / Format specs: *.tie, *.plt, *.tfr, *.lfd , *.act, *.dat image files, *.fnt

Safe-Keeper
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Post by Safe-Keeper » Wed Oct 10, 2012 7:08 pm

It would be great if someone writes a serie of tutorials on how to create and use missions.
I have considered doing this. Then again, the AlliED manual has a tutorial, I believe, have you tried that ;) ?

Rhune
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Post by Rhune » Fri Oct 19, 2012 1:59 am

Safe-Keeper wrote:
It would be great if someone writes a serie of tutorials on how to create and use missions.
I have considered doing this. Then again, the AlliED manual has a tutorial, I believe, have you tried that ;) ?
The Tutorial is great, but I'm having trouble actually getting the mission to even show up ingame, and I'm having no luck troubleshooting it. Can anyone help?

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JaggedFel
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Post by JaggedFel » Fri Oct 19, 2012 11:03 am

When you try to run it, exactly what happens?
Ye Olde Galactic Empire Mission Editor v1.15.6
Current software WIPs: TIE Layout and Cutscene Editor, TIE/XvT Cockpit Editor
Libraries / Format specs: *.tie, *.plt, *.tfr, *.lfd , *.act, *.dat image files, *.fnt

Rhune
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Post by Rhune » Sun Oct 21, 2012 1:18 am

Either my mission doesn't show up in the mission list at all, or it shows up replacing something, then crashing the game. I'm just trying to load the mission the tutorial walks you through, but I can't figure out how to get it to actually work.

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JaggedFel
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Post by JaggedFel » Sun Oct 21, 2012 1:58 pm

Well there's a few things that would be enough to nuke it. If you want to send it to me, I can go over it and hunt the problem down. PM me for details.
Ye Olde Galactic Empire Mission Editor v1.15.6
Current software WIPs: TIE Layout and Cutscene Editor, TIE/XvT Cockpit Editor
Libraries / Format specs: *.tie, *.plt, *.tfr, *.lfd , *.act, *.dat image files, *.fnt

Rhune
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Post by Rhune » Sun Oct 21, 2012 8:37 pm

Thanks, PM sent.

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livefree75
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Post by livefree75 » Mon Nov 05, 2012 11:57 pm

I am pretty good at Allied, and I think I might be able to solve your problem. :wink:

For the mission to show up in-game, it has to be listed in the lst. files, not just a mission file. Here's how to do it:

1. While in Allied, go to the top left corner of the screen and click on the icon with a square with an exclamation point in it. You should see a list of battles and missions.

2. Is your mission going to be the first one in a battle? If so, go to the "New Battle Header" section. If not, skip to #3. Then, below the words "Battle Name:" delete everything in the box and type the name of your battle WITH A COLON after it. Then click "Add". Now your battle header should be at the bottom of the list.

3. Now, you will need to add your mission. Go to the "New Mission Entry" section and, right below the words "Mission Description", delete "My Mission 53" (or My Mission 54, or 55, or whatever) and type your mission name. (Don't worry about the other stuff unless you haven't saved your mission before. In that case, save it.) Then click "Add".

Now your mission file is saved as an actual mission. :D It should appear on the mission list in-game.

TROUBLESHOOTING :irre:

Problem: The game crashes a few seconds after you get into the mission.
Solution: Lessen the amount of backdrops and reduce the # of FGs to 96 or less. X-Wing Alliance can only handle 96 FGs and about 10 backdrops. Any more will overwhelm the engine and crash it.

Problem: The game crashes when you try to go to the hangar.
Solution: This is sort of trial-and-error. Some of the ships probably have orders, etc. that just don't make sense to the game. An example would be that the player is not assigned a mothership but the mission type is "Rebel (Calamari Cruiser)" The game would not know where to start. (This error usually appears in the "Error and Warning List" whenever you save it.)

Problem: When you finish the mission, your craft ends up way behind the hangar.
Solution: All you have to do is change the mothership to a Calamari Cruiser (any type). There is no way to solve this problem without changing the mothership to a Calamari Cruiser, sadly.

If you have any other questions\problems, just put up a post. I will try to figure them out.

Happy mission creating!

—Nick :D

P.S. I will also try put up a tutorial for how to create missions.

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JaggedFel
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Post by JaggedFel » Tue Nov 06, 2012 11:59 am

We had already fixed it up, was a problem with how his MISSION.LST was written, with an extra backdrop crash thrown in after that was working.

But those are all valid points. Nick :)
Ye Olde Galactic Empire Mission Editor v1.15.6
Current software WIPs: TIE Layout and Cutscene Editor, TIE/XvT Cockpit Editor
Libraries / Format specs: *.tie, *.plt, *.tfr, *.lfd , *.act, *.dat image files, *.fnt

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Fader
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Post by Fader » Thu Nov 22, 2012 12:48 pm

Hi there JaggedFel, i'm sorry but i'm no more a mission editor by now, it's about an year i'm no more working on my campaign :)
I'm sorry i could not use much YOGEME, it's a quite interesting software and i tried it a bit to apply some minor modifications to some missions created in Allied. Hope someday i'll get back to all of this :)
Work in progress: Clone Fighters, the Rise of the Empire campaign XWA mod
Status: ~60%; 6/13 missions; new music suite
Trailer on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BI8afj13sg
Download the pre-release: rev.0.6 at
http://www.maxgames.it/xwa

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tiepilottillard1701
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Post by tiepilottillard1701 » Fri Nov 23, 2012 10:57 am

I was working on converting the X-Wing classic missions to XWA format with some "artistic licence" upgrades, but got sidetracked by some other stuff, among them school and an upgrade from 32 bit Windows XP to 64 bit Windows 7...
Executor class Star Dreadnaught, 17.6km keel<BR>Superior class Star Battleship, 12.8km keel<BR>Nythes class Star Battlecruiser, 8km keel<BR>Allegence class Star Cruiser, 2.2km keel<BR>Imperator class Star Destroyer, 1.6km keel

Atruejedi
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Post by Atruejedi » Fri Apr 29, 2016 1:10 pm

After 15 years, I return. I am currently plotting out an "expansion" campaign for XWA and relearning everything I'd forgotten about AlliED. It might be a bit of time, but I am compelled to create a story and some missions to go with it to utilize these gorgeous models the community has worked so hard on.

Can anyone tell me what features YOGOME has over AlliED? I'm an old AlliED veteran and only JUST NOW discovered YOGOME and you know what they say about teaching an old dog new tricks... I'm interested especially in if YOGOME has discovered more unknowns, and specificially, WHAT those unknowns are... perhaps I could begin a mission in AlliED, tweak it in YOGOME, etc.

Dazzle me! Sell me on this YOGOME! :)

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JaggedFel
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Post by JaggedFel » Tue May 03, 2016 5:50 am

YOGEME does TIE, XvT and XWA and can save between all three (so a TIE mission can be saved in XWA and vice versa, within reason). The briefing editors are much closer to a pixel match of what you'd see in-game. Waypoint rotation angles are shown in degrees, not the raw values that have normally been used because I think that makes more sense.
Most of the discovered Unknown values are in TIE or XvT, but there's still a few for XWA. There's a couple more Orders listed that weren't in AlliED.

Global Cargo is something that kinda worked but not really in the New Horizons editor that I finished working out and I don't think AlliED uses at all, but there's also new triggers and target types that work with those.

In Messages, the Unk in the lower right in AlliED is the Originating Flight Group. Might just be bookkeeping and not have any in-game effects, but I've put in a FG drop-down anyway.

There's a "Test" function that can prepare the game to use the mission you're working on and launch the game with a testing pilot file (people making missions and not testing them was a huge pet peeve of mine). So for XWA, it'll run the Verify program (scans for typical mission errors), create a new test pilot and set it as "last pilot", backup MISSION.LST, set your mission as the next, launch XWA, and restore MISSION.LST when you're done.
--
Now, to be fair, AlliED does do some things better than YOGEME. I like the wireframe models in the map interface better than just icons in mine (I thought of trying to load the flight models for a 3D map, but never got there). The Goal Summary and how objectives are noted in the craft list is nice, too.

I can do everything I want in YOGEME, so I haven't used any of the other editors for any platform in years. Play with it, let me know what you think.
Ye Olde Galactic Empire Mission Editor v1.15.6
Current software WIPs: TIE Layout and Cutscene Editor, TIE/XvT Cockpit Editor
Libraries / Format specs: *.tie, *.plt, *.tfr, *.lfd , *.act, *.dat image files, *.fnt

Atruejedi
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Post by Atruejedi » Fri May 06, 2016 8:05 am

JaggedFel wrote:I can do everything I want in YOGEME, so I haven't used any of the other editors for any platform in years. Play with it, let me know what you think.
I like it! But my big complaint is a BIG complaint... what's up with the X-Y axis view on the map editor?

I realize you actually put the coordinates in a "real" coordinate plane where negative X is on the left, positive X is on the right, positive Y is on the top, and negative Y is on the bottom... but it doesn't represent the actual mission at all. It's bizarre. Compared to how it shows up in game, it's mirrored, top to bottom, and it's a huge headache to envision as you design a mission. This is a huge negative to me because I try to make battles as set pieces where I know exactly what it will look like (my latest mission is a masterpiece visually if I do say so myself... just having massive hypering-from-region-to-region-waypoint-issues). So I have to use AlliED for the layout of the mission map :/

Or am I just doing something wrong?

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JaggedFel
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Post by JaggedFel » Sun May 08, 2016 12:54 pm

It shouldn't be mirrored. I'll have to check that (and then compare behavior in TIE and XvT) but I don't remember them flipping on me.
Ye Olde Galactic Empire Mission Editor v1.15.6
Current software WIPs: TIE Layout and Cutscene Editor, TIE/XvT Cockpit Editor
Libraries / Format specs: *.tie, *.plt, *.tfr, *.lfd , *.act, *.dat image files, *.fnt

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JaggedFel
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Post by JaggedFel » Sun May 15, 2016 10:05 pm

Huh, I'm getting X and Z fine, but Y is flipped. I've also noticed that the Test function is broke now, but I think that has to do with Windows permissions and UAC (I originally wrote this on XP). Looks like I've got some fiddling to do...
Ye Olde Galactic Empire Mission Editor v1.15.6
Current software WIPs: TIE Layout and Cutscene Editor, TIE/XvT Cockpit Editor
Libraries / Format specs: *.tie, *.plt, *.tfr, *.lfd , *.act, *.dat image files, *.fnt

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Post by Kriegmacher » Tue May 31, 2016 6:22 am

Mission editing is something I would love to get into, but I can't make heads nor tails of any of the editors out there. Even after reading the Allied tutorial's helpme file, I just scratch my head and my eyes glaze over. I think there used to be a lot more detailed and instructional sites out there explaining how to make missions, but most of them are gone now. I think it's more a concern that I'll end up screwing up the games, which took a long time to get working on my computers in the first place. The best I can do is to create new skirmishes in-game, which is loads of fun, but also devoid of more robust features.

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JaggedFel
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Post by JaggedFel » Tue Jun 07, 2016 1:52 am

YOGEME's been updated, the map flipping is fixed and so is Steam process detection. UAC may still be getting in the way depending how strict it's running.
Ye Olde Galactic Empire Mission Editor v1.15.6
Current software WIPs: TIE Layout and Cutscene Editor, TIE/XvT Cockpit Editor
Libraries / Format specs: *.tie, *.plt, *.tfr, *.lfd , *.act, *.dat image files, *.fnt

Atruejedi
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Post by Atruejedi » Sun Jun 12, 2016 10:51 pm

JaggedFel wrote:YOGEME's been updated, the map flipping is fixed and so is Steam process detection.
Awesome! But I don't think anybody even played the fully voiced mission I released... :(

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keiranhalcyon7
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Post by keiranhalcyon7 » Fri Feb 09, 2018 9:04 am

JaggedFel wrote:In Messages, the Unk in the lower right in AlliED is the Originating Flight Group. Might just be bookkeeping and not have any in-game effects, but I've put in a FG drop-down anyway.
Based on some very light testing, it appears that the message is canceled if the specified FG has been destroyed (note: "not arrived yet" counts as "not destroyed"). So it's a way of avoiding transmissions from beyond the grave that's easier to configure than the cancellation conditions.
JaggedFel wrote:I can do everything I want in YOGEME, so I haven't used any of the other editors for any platform in years. Play with it, let me know what you think.
Props for including the neutral team affiliation, which ALLiED lacks. But in general I find ALLiED easier to use - the map's easier to read, and the orders/waypoints/skip correlation, although not perfect, is easier to work with. But my #1 ask would be for a scripting API front-end, to facilitate mass mission conversion from XW (if XW support is ever added)/TIE/XvT with the ability to script things like backdrop addition, AI tweaks, data mine for unknown field/value usage in original missions, etc.

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