///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// / / / X-wing Mission Design Kit / / / / by Henry Chang / / v1.1 / ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// With this program, you can design and construct X-wing missions. All aspects of the mission are included: ships, space objects, and the mission briefing. Now this excellent game is no longer confined and with a little creativity, a little effort, and a little trading, we will all have many missions to enjoy. This manual will describe the options and tools of mission design and give some helpful guidelines. ---------- ---Getting started First of all, it is highly recommended that you copy all the original files in the \XWING\MISSION directory to a backup directory or disk. Then either place the program, xdk.exe, in the \XWING\MISSION directory or place it anywhere on your dos path. Go to the mission directory and type xdk. xdk will run the program and load that mission immediately. xdk will run the program and list the files available for selection and then prompt you for the missionname. (do not use the file extension if loading by filename) ---------- ---Main Menu Use the arrow keys to highlight the option you desire and hit return to select it. The display shows the first 16 ship and 17 space object groups. 100 space object groups are allowed, however, and can be view from the Space Object editor. Not shown on the display are the following clipboard commands: c copies a specified ship group to the clipboard v copies the contents of the clipboard to a ship group This advanced feature allows you to gather together ships groups that were designed for other missions with minimal effort. (remember to save before loading a different file or the changes that you have made will be lost!) D adds or removes DEATH STAR s unconditional save l load a mission Hitting at the Main Menu allows you to Save&Quit. ---------- ---Ship-Group Editor The display shows nearly all aspects of the ship group. It also displays the direction and distance of a particular ship from the first ship group (which is the player). To make changes or view options, move the cursor with the up-down arrows and hit return when it is on the desired option. The program will then ask you for the new setting or numbers for that selection. If you hit return without entering anything else, the program will automatically choose the default. The default for most options is to keep them the same with no changes. Exceptions are as follows: -Designation, Cargo, and Special names will default to . -# of Waves will default to 0. -Locations and destinations will default to 0 for X,Y,Z. -Arrival time will default to initial. -Mothership will default to none. ---------- The Target Bearing gives the direction of the current ship relative to the first ship. It is confined to the X-Y plane. The range takes into account all three distance vectors. Designation, Cargo, and Special can have names up to 15 characters. When you use special, only the ship number you indicate will carry that special name. (Example of use in TOD1-8) Ships: Can be any amount up to 16. The number in parenthesis is the player's ship position within that wing. Side: The Default category places the group in its normal side. ie. TIE's are Imperial, X-wings are Alliance. Alliance and Imperial ships will not fire on Freelance ships unless ordered to via command. Type: Ship type selection. This selection will also ask you if you wish to limit the missiles or disable the shields. Waves: When all the ships in the group are destroyed, they will reappear this many times. It can be used to generate a steady supply of new ships. Use this feature amoung many small groups to prevent players from cheating. ---------- Level: Ace and Top Ace pilots maneuver wildly and have better aim. Location and Desination are specified in kilometers. It is a standard X-Y axis. Z resembles altitude. When the Death Star is present, +Z will be the height of the craft above its surface. Arrival time: When the craft appears in minutes and seconds. If you want it less than a minute, hit return when prompted for minutes or enter 0 as a response; then enter the seconds. It will round off to six second intervals. The rounding is always down. Arrive: Allows you to set a condition for when the ship will arrive. When the specified ship meets those conditions, this ship group will appear. (After the time set in Arrival Time) Mothership: The ship that is host for this ship group. If you specify no mothership, setting the arrival or departure to by-mothership means that the ship will arrive or depart conventionally and not by hyperspace. Markings: Set the color and Initial speed of this group. ---------- Command: The orders given to this ship group. Many also require a ship target for the order. Commands such as Patrol for Enemy and Patrol for Craft do not require a target; the group will attack all targets. But, you can specify one or two specific targets if you desire. Use of the commands and the targets can change the difficulty of the mission dramatically. If you are unsure of a command's usage, look for an example within the orignal missions. On a patrol and hold, the ship will go to its destination(s) and then hold around that position. On a patrol and leave, the ship will depart for the mothership or hyperspace when it reaches its destination. When you want one ship to transfer cargo with another, only one ship should carry the board/transfer/give command. The other should be set to rendezvous (with a close destination), be inactive, or be disabled. The hold steady command and those after it are for large starships. Mission: The mission requirement. The requirement specified must be completed to finish the mission successfully. ---------- To BROWSE through the ships, use the left and right arrow keys. The cursor stays in the same position, so you can quickly alter all the names, locations, and other selections with ease. The space object editor works in an identical fashion. To leave the editors and return to the Main Menu, hit ---General Parameters and Briefing Editor Select from the Main Menu to edit all the text for the mission. 1. Mission name. It is a set length and exceeding the limit will cause the excess to be truncated. 2. Mission length. The number of minutes the player will have to complete the mission. 3. Escape pod's rescue or capture. ---------- 4. Mission flight instructions. Hitting return without entering any flight instructions will skip that particular instruction. You can thus edit the ones you wish and leave the others alone. The ruler shown is the length allocated for that line. 5. Mission background pages. Hit ONLY when you are finished entering for that page. The background pages and the flight instructions may not be order. If the order is important for your mission and you cannot determine the proper order from reading the existing instructions, run X-wing and view the briefing to determine the proper order. Some pages may also be allocated, but not used in the briefing. Run the briefing to double-check. 6. Mission complete messages. These consist of three lines of 64 characters each and are displayed on the ship message window when the mission is completed. Two briefings, RESCUE1.BRF and INTCEP1.BRF, can not be read by XDK. Do not use them, instead, copy a different briefing over it; thus replacing it with a compatible briefing ---------- ---Design Guidelines & Hints -There is a 16 ship limit per side at any one time. Any groups that attempt to exceed that limit will not appear. -Browse through the TOD's to see how the ships interact and to get an idea of the many possibilities. There are many ship commands and mission parameters; and browsing will show some of their uses. -Large capital ships should be given the starship commands or the hold steady command. -It's best to use a new group for each large craft. -Adding detailed mission backgrounds and flight instructions greatly adds to the game. If you need more space, copy one of the larger briefing files over the one you are using. XDK will modify it automatically for your use. HALLEY.XWI has four pages of background text available. Also, shop around if you wish a zoom or panning effect. ---------- -If you already have a mine field, asteroid field, or many ships set up in another mission that you wish to use again in a new mission, copy that mission file over the new one. This can save lots of time when you need to place many ships that were already made -Leftover name characters may appear in some name fields. For example _ARTH VADER shows up quite often. If there is a blank in the first character (it is a NULL), then that name will not be used. They are leftovers from the original mission design. -When you do not wish the player to see the enemy on the briefing map, set their locations so that they are off the map. If the map you are using is too large, copy a different .brf file over it to get one with a smaller map. (note: your background pages and flight instructions will also be copied over. You should decide on which briefing style you like before entering the text for the mission) -The destination of the craft also determines which direction the the ship is initially facing. ---------- ---Registration This program is shareware. You will receive free updates by registering this program. Further advanced features, ships, and land missions will be added to the program as they become available and the latest version will be sent to all registered users. You will also receive any good Tours of Duties that I collect. To register, send $7 to: Henry Chang 497 Little Path Rd. Des Plaines, IL 60016 Don't forget to include a return address where I can send the updates. If there is sufficient interest, I may be running a TOD design contest to inspire quality designed missions. The best Tour would, of course, earn the author a nice donation. ---------- I hope you enjoy the Mission Design Kit. If you have any questions or comments, please write or e-mail to PBDN43C on Prodigy or H.CHANG2 on Genie. Thanks to Marcus, Greg, Jon, Keith, Jake, and the rest of the X-wing Group for their assistance and encouragement.