hi DC99,

I already sent PM with email.

I have 1 additional question:

Is it possible to increase the number of waypoints in CG mission editor
above the limit of 10 ?

ufolev

That's a good question. Waypoint data is stored in the .MIS file and the .JIM file. I believe the .JIM file contains waypoint data for the briefing map, but the .MIS file contains data for the in-game mission. I was able to add waypoints manually in the .MIS file, but I couldn't get beyond ten.

If you're looking to use them as regular waypoints, it doesn't seem possible (yet, anyway). If you are looking to use them as triggers for when the player gets near to them, you can use NPC waypoints as triggers for the player, I believe, but I haven't tested it.

Creating a Radio Conversation:

Our goal will be to implement a number of triggers that will result in what sounds like a conversation between multiple parties at the start of a mission. Flyboy has lamented that the Editor doesn't allow for this feature. While it's true that the Editor doesn't explicitly allow it, it is entirely possible to add manually.

What you'll need:

• A simple custom map exported to MRF format. It can even be empty for this example, except for the player.
• An understanding of how to pack and unpack a .PFF/MRF file. A .PFF/MRF viewer such as FwO Raven's pff utility is recommended if you don't have a preferred one.

Instructions:

1. Extract USER.MIS from you MRF file and open it with a text editor.
2. Find the following line. After it marks where triggers begin:
   
   Code:

   <<	;wp end

3. Find the following lines. Prior to them is where triggers end:
   
   Code:

   <
   ;---------> Data ENDS <----------

4. Make the following changes so your file looks something like this:
   
   Code:

   <<	;wp end
   if
   time, 2
   then
   pend, 2BAS002.wav, 0
   
   if
   time, 2
   then
   pend, CPLT722.wav, 2
   
   if
   time, 2
   then
   pend, CPLT569.wav, 0
   
   if
   time, 2
   then
   pend, WING003.wav, 1
   
   if
   time, 2
   then
   pend, WING506.wav, 0
   <
   ;---------> Data ENDS <----------

5. Place USER.MIS back into your MRF file.
6. Load the mission normally and verify that when the mission starts up, after a few seconds, you'll hear what sounds like dynamic radio chatter for that mission. If it didn't work, go back over each step.

Explanation and Conclusion:

• pend means to place a sound file in a queue and play it when it is able.
• The first argument given to pend is the sound file.
• The second argument appears to be a delay. This delay would serve to make conversations sound more natural, depending on how calm or frantic the speaker is, etc. etc..
• When the conditions are the same in two triggers that want to pend sound files, sounds appear to be queued in order of appearance of their triggers in the MIS file. In other words, the trigger that appears first gets its sound file added first.

Other possibilities

• Some interesting conversations could be played based on this by using the right order of sounds.
• Of note, sound files need not be stock files. They can be custom wav files.

Jeez, DavidC99 - for a newcomer you have certainly a lot to offer for the Comanche Gold community - as small as it is. It looks like you've made more breakthroughs in the last week or so than has been made by anyone in the past 10 years. It's a shame though, that so much research and work has had to be done JUST to make missions on par with the original game ones, due to the editor leaving out certain important feature implementation.

Well done, sir!

Thank you, sir.

Incidentally, if you guys are any good with art, you might be able to make new maps -- not missions, but maps. The map formats are in a number of .pcx files (old school picture format), but I haven't been able to open them, yet, with any viewers. The idea is that you provide picture representations of a color map, an elevation map, etc. etc.. The type of representation and the color tell the game what you want done. When you're finished with all of the pictures, you have your map. (Yes, it's more complicated than this, but it might be entirely possible.)

I have started work on expanding my Bunker Bashout mission to a seven mission campaign, complete with each mission being full of triggers and new features. Some features, I suspect, will not have been implemented this way in any campaign or mission for CG to date. I hope to complete this in record time.

With your new custom campaign with such high quality Comanche Gold
have no choice except to become Comanche Platinum !

:-)

As Kid Rock would say, "We're goin' Plat'num!"

I would say we're heading toward 24kt gold.

Platinum would have to be a number of new campaigns, resolutions, better gameplay, details, an entire scripting language behind it, etc. etc.. Essentially what Comanche 4 should have been.

Hmm, I examined melee maps, and it looks like we might be able to make our own with some effort -- maybe even with some triggers to make it interesting.

• Imagine fighting over an area with stingers and SAMs scattered all over the place taking shots at us.
• Maybe instead of fighting to the death, we could compete against each other to destroy a target or group of targets first. (Then again, isn't this what Comanche Gold calls coop? )
• We could even do a race map. First one to make it over the SAM field to a specific waypoint wins.

Yeah, I know. Crazy stuff, but it looks like it might be possible.

It's amazing how many features they left out of the editor. In fact, I'm working on the second map of my campaign, and while some may appreciate the triggers, the third one should introduce a very simple but new feature not used before if all goes well.

It's funny you should bring this up, only the other night I had the idea of perhaps being able to put AI units into melee maps to make it more 'interesting'. Imagine having to keep a eye out for human players AND AI units? Also, would it be possible to add AI-controlled Comanche's? That would really confuse players!

Comanche Racing has previously been tried, and is documented at this site here:
http://www.monsta.cc/Comanche/cockpit.htm#cr