Author Topic: [FA] Retail Mission 2  (Read 4216 times)

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Mission 2 - (ASSIGNED to ShadowFox) - Intel has received an anonymous tipoff about a smuggler filling an NTR contract for highly restricted materials (high level decoding and cryptography computers). It is believed they are trying to crack GTVA ciphers to gain a tactical advantage within the region. The computers use a unique powersource that can be detected through simple scanning, but the smuggler is moving as part of a huge convoy. Once detected, the vessel must be captured intact. NTR vessels do their best to prevent this should the freighter be discovered.


Alpha wing jumps in and is greated with a large convoy. Intel recommends the scanning of a freighter. Alpha scans and confirms it has the components. Alpha disables it. Transport comes in to steal.

Wing of Lokis jump and and claim to be mercs they are protecting their employer's ship. Transport crew confirms it is a decoy. Ship the mercs are protecting has broken off from the convoy.

Alpha is assigned to scan the ship quickly before it jumps. As they approach, the mercs go hostile and attack. Alpha dispatches them and disables the rebel ship.

Transport comes in and docks. Enemy jumps in and tries to stop it. Battle ensues. After a while, capture is complete and mission ends.

Comments, suggestions, complaints? I expect to start Fredding tomorrow.

 

Offline Black Wolf

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I've been extending the mission outlines. This is what I had.

Mission 2 – Intel has received an anonymous tip off about a smuggler filling an NTR contract for highly restricted materials (high level decoding and cryptography computers). It is believed they are trying to crack GTVA ciphers to gain a tactical advantage within the region. The computers use a unique power source that can be detected through simple scanning, but the smuggler is moving as part of a huge convoy. Once detected, the vessel must be captured intact. NTR vessels do their best to prevent this should the freighter be discovered.

OK. This mission can be done two ways. The simpler is to make it a purely linear mission. The second is more challenging but ultimately more interesting, and involves randomizing the ship that the smuggler is on. But that can be discussed later.

First, set up the convoy. Make it _big_. At least a dozen ships, of varying classes (Use both Terran and Vasudans to give it diversity). Then give them a destination – the simplest set up is a node. You’ll need to use multiple waypoints to ensure the ships don’t all collide when they get near the end and cap a few ships waypoint speeds to ensure the convoy stays together. Give them all random fresspacey cargoes (Stuff like munitions, fighter parts etc.) and Put a few merc wings in there. Then select your smugglers freighter/s.

OK. Multiple freighters. I want to stress this is optional, since it’s going to make the mission a lot more complex. Like most interesting things in FS2, it’s done with variables. Say you want to make the game randomly select between two freighters. First, create a variable (Again, with no spaces) with a default value of zero. Then create an event that assigns the variable a random value between 1 and 2 when 1 second of mission time has elapsed (This is important or it wont fire). The next step is to create an event that changes the IFF of freighter 1 to hostile when the variable is equal to 1, and the cargo is known on freighter 1. Create a duplicate event and change it to two and freighter two and bang, you’ve got randomized cargo ships. You’ll also need to remember to stipulate in each event that the other event has not yet happened (Simply by adding a not, is-event-true operator to your and sexp).

If you want the ships to have a specific cargo (eg. power sources, contraband material etc.) you’ll need to put this on one of the freighters (Freighter 1 for the purposes of explanation) and then use the transfer cargo sexp to change it to freighter two in the event that the variable equals two. You’ll also need to transfer cargo from another freighter into freighter 1 to cover the old contraband cargo.

Other notes: If you want your smuggler to send a message, set it as hostile and all other hostiles as neutral. They’ll read as hostile, do everything like a hostile, but you’ll be able to use the tag to send messages from the only officially hostile ship in the mission. Also, while the method could conceivably be extended to include every freighter in the convoy I definitely recommend capping it at three, or four if you’re feeling really, really keen, simply because it increases the number of sexps quite a bit. You can call the smuggler by his name rather than the name of his ship so you wont need to duplicate messages, but you will need to use Or- Is either event true for every event you want to fire after the smuggler has been found out, and probably need several duplicate AI orders. So yeah, it’s optional, but IMO, rather cool.

Anyway, once you do scan the freighter, it becomes obvious that it is the smuggler and things start going bad. All the Mercs should turn on you at that point – they have all been hired by the smuggler for just this kind of emergency. Once he’s been found out he’ll be more concerned about escape than delivering his cargo, so make sure the player knows he’s preparing to jump out, and has to be disabled. Once the Mercs have been dealt with, the GTVA should send a transport to recover the decoders, which comes under remnant attack. Defend the transport while it docks. If the mission is challenging enough it can be left there. If it isn’t, the Remnant should change tactics and start attacking the freighter. This will be challenging (since there’s no way to intercept missiles, and freighters aren’t that strong, so go easy on the player here.


If you don't like it though, your way will work too.
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Sounds good to me. As I said, I'll give it a go tomorrow.

 

Offline karajorma

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If you have any trouble with variables just post and I'll help.

Variables are often thought of as one of the trickiest parts of FREDding and there are lots of FREDders who barely touch them so I can understand if you want to stay away from them.

However once you try them they are actually pretty easy to use. And besides if we can turn you out of the Academy able to use variables then you'll be in high demand :)
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To be honest I have made about five missions and never used variables, but it sounds like fun, so I'll give it a go.

 

Offline karajorma

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There are people who've made and released entire campaigns and not used them :)
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Offline Lightspeed

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You don't need them, most of the times.
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Offline karajorma

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You don't need them but you can make things much more intersting if you do use them correctly :D I've found uses for them in my last 3 or 4 missions to do stuff I otherwise couldn't.

And that's without using the SCP's Persistant Variables. :D
« Last Edit: September 07, 2004, 01:30:12 pm by 340 »
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Offline Black Wolf

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Quote
Originally posted by Lightspeed
You don't need them, most of the times.


This is true enough, but when you do need them, or when you choose to use them it makes for a much more dynamic mission.
TWISTED INFINITIES · SECTORGAME· FRONTLINES
Rarely Updated P3D.
Burn the heretic who killed F2S! Burn him, burn him!!- GalEmp