Hellhawk's
Checklist for Advanced Map-Builders
(Written by Hellhawk666)
This
file is not a FAQ for people creating their first map, nor is
it an instruction manual for map creation.
If you need these tools look for them in the Homeworld
Editing Files section of the Homeworld Map Archive.
It is intended for use by experienced map builders, most
probably using a text editor to create their map files.
The
file is a checklist of all the files necessary for your map
to work, the necessary parameters you should have in these files,
and the required inter-relationships between files.
It
does not contain detailed explanations of how the files work,
because it is expected that you will either know this already
or can refer to other documentation to find the answers.
I
created this file for my own use so I could be sure I had checked
all the common problem areas before testing my maps, and to
help in finding errors in maps which crashed during testing.
Hellhawk666
January
3, 2000
a)
Are the required numbers of directories present?
b)
Have they been numbered correctly?
c)
Are there any spelling mistakes in the directory names?
a)
Is the "Description.txt" file present in every
directory?
b)
Is the "XXXn.level" file present in every directory?
c)
Is each "XXXn.level" file correctly spelt and
numbered?
d)
Is each "XXXn.level" file named the same as
the directory in which it resides?
e)
Is the "ResourceSphere_1.missphere" file present
in every directory (Did I set up for more than 1 resource sphere
in this map? If so; are the ResourceSphere_n.missphere"
files present in every directory?) Did I spell ".missphere"
correctly?
f)
Are the required .dist files present in every directory?
(XXX.dist, YYY.dist, etc.)
g)
Are the required "Mothership_n.missphere" files
present in each directory? (DIRECTORYp includes "p"
instances of Mothership_n.missphere)
h)
Are the "Mothership_n.missphere" files sequentially
numbered?
3.1
"Description.txt"
a)
Are all the "Description.txt" files identical?
b)
Are the game settings correctly formatted?
3.2
"XXXn.level" files
a)
Does every file have the required comment lines and game
information present,
eg:
;
MissionMan script, Tuesday, Aug 24 1999, 5:25:46 PM
;
Copyright (c) 1998-99, Relic Entertainment Inc.
;
Multiplayer Level: Haldane4
;
Info: Haldane (2-4)
[Haldane
(2-4)]
b)
Is the "Multiplayer Level:" data identical
to the directory name where the file resides?
c)
Under these lines, does every file have a reference line
for each Resource sphere and Mothership sphere file in the directory
in which it resides,
eg
(for Haldane4):
MissionSphere
-1,?,ResourceSphere,0.0,0.0,0.0,30000.0,0.0,ResourceSphere_1.missphere,?
MissionSphere
0,R1,Mothership,-50000.0,0.0,50000.0,30000.0,0.0,Mothership_0.missphere,0
MissionSphere
1,R2,Mothership,50000.0,0.0,-50000.0,30000.0,0.0,Mothership_1.missphere,0
MissionSphere
2,R1,Mothership,-50000.0,0.0,-50000.0,30000.0,0.0,Mothership_2.missphere,0
MissionSphere
3,R2,Mothership,50000.0,0.0,50000.0,30000.0,0.0,Mothership_3.missphere,0
d)
Is everything below these lines identical in each "XXXn.level"
file?
3.3
"ResourceSphere_1.missphere"
a)
Are all the "ResourceSphere_1.missphere" files
identical?
b)
If present, are the "ResourceSphere_2.missphere"
files etc. identical.
3.4
"XXX.dist", "YYY.dist", etc.
a)
Are all the "XXX.dist" files identical?
b)
Are all the "YYY.dist" files identical? etc.
3.5
"Mothership_n.missphere" files
a)
Are the "Mothership_n.missphere" files which
are present in more than 1 directory all identical?
4.
Detailed Inter-File Content
4.1
"Description.txt"
a)
no inter-file settings
4.2
"XXX.level" files
a)
Are the references to the resource sphere and mothership
sphere files numbered correctly, eg (for Haldane4):
MissionSphere
-1,?,ResourceSphere,0.0,0.0,0.0,30000.0,0.0,ResourceSphere_1.missphere,?
MissionSphere
0,R1,Mothership,-50000.0,0.0,50000.0,30000.0,0.0,Mothership_0.missphere,0
MissionSphere
1,R2,Mothership,50000.0,0.0,-50000.0,30000.0,0.0,Mothership_1.missphere,0
MissionSphere
2,R1,Mothership,-50000.0,0.0,-50000.0,30000.0,0.0,Mothership_2.missphere,0
MissionSphere
3,R2,Mothership,50000.0,0.0,50000.0,30000.0,0.0,Mothership_3.missphere,0
b)
Are the Lighting, Background and SongNumber parameters
valid and correctly formatted?
c)
Are the Exclude and Include parameters valid and correctly
formatted?
4.3
"ResourceShpere_1.missphere"
a)
Are the resource references correctly formatted, eg:
Resources
DustCloud,-350000.0,250000.0,0.0,Cylinder,dustcloud1.dist,10,5000.0,100000.0,0.0,-50.0,2048,7
Derelict
AngelMoon_clean,0.0,500000.0,0.0,0.0,-90.0,0
Derelict
Crate, 60000.0,0.0,0.0,-75.3, 163.7,4096
Ships
,-179194.4,9334.6,-43982.5,0.0,Traders,Junk_LGun,1,NULL_FORMATION|?|?,4096,?
b)
Pay attention to spelling errors, particularly:
resource
types
resource.dist file names
resource shape types
c)
Check that there are no derelicts or ships specified
which are also excluded in the "XXXn.level" file
d)
Are the correct resource.dist files associated with each
resource type?
e)
Is the file larger than 64KB in size.
If so it must be cut into two files.
f)
Check that GasClouds have not been used.
4.4
"XXX.dist" files, etc.
a)
Are the correct resource types present within each type
of resource.dist
file? eg:
Asteroid
.dist files -
Asteroid0
Asteroid1
Asteroid2
Asteroid3
Asteroid4
DustCloud.dist
files - DustCloud0
DustCloud1
DustCloud2
DustCloud3
DustCloud4
Nebula
.dist files -
Nebula0
Nebula1
Nebula2
Nebula3
Nebula4
b)
Is there a space between the resource type label and
the value columns? eg:
Asteroid3
1 2
etc.
4.5
"Mothership_n.missphere" files
a)
Are the ship resources for each player formatted correctly?
eg:
Ships
,-68732.6,-3678.0,0.0,0.0,R1,Mothership,1,NULL_FORMATION|?|?,0,?
Ships
,-66922.6,-5659.0,-104.0,0.0,R1,ResourceCollector,2,PARADE_FORMATION|?|?,0,?
b)
Check that no ship is specified which is excluded for
that race by the "XXXn.level" file.
c)
Check for spelling errors, particularly in the names
of ship types and formations.
5.
Testing
a)
Test vs. CPU for every combination of players.
b)
Test
loading from a cold start.
c) Test
saving the game and recording the game.
d)
Test vs. human opponents online.
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