[memento]

Hi, I'm just refreshing my old Fred knowledge from FS2 times in order to make a small B5 campaign. There is just one thing bothering me, I could not find in any documentary:

How can I make mission objectives appear on the HUD (I mean that little window on the left side). I made the SEXP for the goals, I tried validate and un-validate goal, but it's just not there.

Please help.

[Fury]

Open fred2_open and then select Help and Help topics. You'll find both the original FRED guide and also one made by Lady Rose, also known here as Miburo.

[Prophet]

Yes, check the docs. But here's a hint that will point you in the right direction. The HUD text is directives, and have nothing to do with the objectives (aka mission goals). The mission directives are ofcourse created in the events editor.

[karajorma]

The objectives you're after are called Directives. 5 seconds with the events editor should be enough to figure out how to get them to work after that

If you're trying to get into practice again you could do a lot worse than taking a look at the FRED Academy. Not that I want to disuade you from making your own campaigns but the Academy is used as a selection process for people who work for the official team. Which means you get to work with the newest ships

[Primus]

The FA :thepimp: strikes again.

But memento, consider joining. FA has made me a better FREDder. (< sounds like a tv shop commercial).

And

[memento]

Wow, a lot of answers in such short time.

I indeed only looked in the objectives editor. But even while I worked a lot with the Events Menu I did not realize the two lines at the bottom. So I was just a little blind eyed. Thanks for your help.

Maybe I will really take a look at FRED Academy while I'm working on my little campaign. Right now I am planning to create five small campaigns each consisting of 5-9 missions; one campaign for each year of Babylon 5. It is telling the story of an EA pilot whose career is affected by the events of the show every year although he never participates in the battles we all know. So its not going to be a "play the show" campaing. Instead I will focus on background events and guest characters.

I have started right in the middle (my Season 3 campaign), because I was really eager to try using some Shadow ships which are involved in the many wars among the league worlds and of course the centauri expansion.

I will publish the first three or four missions for testing when I think they are good enough and when I translated them (have written all messages and Briefings in German)

[Primus]

Sounds good, Memento.

[karajorma]

I'd suggest doing the Academy first. The faster you learn the best ways of doing things the less it slows you down once you start FREDding your campaign.

A week's work now might save you weeks of head scratching and debugging


The campaign sounds great though

[Lt.Cannonfodder]

Let me add my voice to the chorus and urge you to join the FA. It will definately help you to improve your freding skills.

[Prophet]

BAH! *academy*

I was just joking. I really don't know anything about this FA. Just that everyone seems to be raving about it. See I was FREDding when FRED was only a infant that had just emerged from the depths of :v:s secret laboratory, during the golden age of master FS1. Thus nowdays I rather spend my time FREDding than learning FREDding.

I guess FA is a quick way to glory for a new FREDder... As for me, I wont be stepping in the ivory tower of the academy.

[memento]

Almost the same story for me as for Prophet. I don't know if I really need the Academy.

Except very little lacks of knowledge I already have a lot of experience with Fred from the times of both Freespace games. But maybe its a good adressee for any further detail questions. So thanks anyway.

And with your little hints I was able to finish a first mission for the campaign. Please tell me whether this is acceptable FREDing or not:

download mission

I hope I really translated every line so there is no German left. As I said this is going to be the 3rd or 4th mission in a campaign but the command briefing provides enough info about the story. I think it works pretty well. No must have highlight, but good enough for a first mission after years.

By the way, is there a list of the ani-files used in Raider Wars? Would be very cool to use some of them...

Oh, and will there be the appropriate graphic effect for Shadow ships jumping to/out of hyperspace in one of the next releases?

[Primus]

The ani list has been posted couple of times in this forum. One not too long ago.

Don't know if the Shadow jump in/out effect will be implemented, but until then use 'no warp effect' in Ships editor.

[karajorma]

Originally posted by Prophet
I was just joking. I really don't know anything about this FA. Just that everyone seems to be raving about it. See I was FREDding when FRED was only a infant that had just emerged from the depths of :v:s secret laboratory, during the golden age of master FS1. Thus nowdays I rather spend my time FREDding than learning FREDding.

I guess FA is a quick way to glory for a new FREDder... As for me, I wont be stepping in the ivory tower of the academy.

If you don't need to learn FRED then good for you. Why not test some missions and help the next generation of FREDders learn

As for not learning FRED. I'm constantly learning new things about that program. If you're using string variables, the new conditionals and in-game cutscenes constantly maybe you can claim to not have much left to learn but in my estimation there is always a lot more to learn

Besides on a basic level the Academy amounts to nothing more than a glorified playtesting scheme. The simple idea is to FRED a mission to the best of your ability and then have other FREDders spot your mistakes.

I'll admit that even there I've learned a few things Spotting other peoples mistakes makes it harder for me to make the same error myself

[memento]

Just found two briefing stages to be lost, and one having English and German text. Fixed it now:

Download Mission

Download seems to work only via right click!??

[Prophet]

Originally posted by karajorma
As for not learning FRED. I'm constantly learning new things about that program. If you're using string variables, the new conditionals and in-game cutscenes constantly maybe you can claim to not have much left to learn but in my estimation there is always a lot more to learn

:doh:
That goes without saying, now does it? But when you have certain amout of experience the quickest, and the best, way to learn those new things is to fiddle them yourself. Learning the technical stuff, thats what you can do easily. But to learn how to FRED a good mission, thats another thing.
In other words. To learn how to use FRED, and to learn how to use FRED to make a good working mission are two different things.

BTW. You really did overuse this smiley there

[Lt.Cannonfodder]

You seem to have partially missed the point of FA. It isn't all about learning how to use FRED. The biggest thing it can offer is to help you to make much more entertaining and, most important, working missions.

I too have used FRED quite a bit in the past, but I still wanted to join FA. Why? Because I felt that none of my missions were quite that much fun to play and lacked certain elements. FA is the way to go for me to come a bit better. (Yeah, I'm insanlely slow with freding and I'm currently a bit stuck with cutscene-sexps, but it's still fun).

[Prophet]

You seem to have partially missed the point of my post.

Originally posted by Lt.Cannonfodder
The biggest thing it can offer is to help you to make much more entertaining and, most important, working missions.

Thus learning to make good missions. Thats what I was talking about.
If a person knows all about the events editor and makes SEXPs while in sleep. It doesn't mean he can use that knowledge to make an entertaining and working mission. Thats the difference I was talking about. The difference between learning FRED, and learning FREDding.
Im cutting it mighty thin, aren't I?

[Lt.Cannonfodder]

I thought you were saying that FA only teaches people to use fred, but won't help them in making good missions. My bad

[karajorma]

The point of the Academy is to teach FREDding not just how to use FRED. If all I wanted to do was to teach how to FRED I'd just write a tutorial.  

It's rare that we get someone who knows the technical side but doesn't know how to fit it together to make a mission that is fun to play as both skills tend to develop side by side but I'd say that a large part of what I do when I review missions is explain how to change things to make the mission more fun to play.

There's no point in training FREDders who don't know how to make missions that are actually fun even if they are technically good afterall

Like I said if you already know FRED and how to make good missions why not playtest a B5 mission from the FA? Remember that the people who go through the academy now are the people who may end up as contributers to TBP's future campaigns so it's a chance for you to point out your ideas of what makes a mission fun while someone is new enough to FRED to not be set in their ways

[Prophet]

Originally posted by karajorma
Like I said if you already know FRED and how to make good missions why not playtest a B5 mission from the FA? Remember that the people who go through the academy now are the people who may end up as contributers to TBP's future campaigns so it's a chance for you to point out your ideas of what makes a mission fun while someone is new enough to FRED to not be set in their ways

I have thought about that. But I am struggling to get my MitM2 finished. It may look like I have lots of time in my hands. But I have written most of these posts at work.
And the little time I have at home with my computer goes to my own project. But I will be unemployed soon and MitM will be finished and I will have nothing to do so maybe then.