[brinlong]

I've run into a few small things I can't seem to dig out of the Fred tutorials. These're for a simple convoy mission I'm working on:

1. How do you set the asteroid field editor to bracket asteroids that're about to hit convoy ships as hostile?

2.  How do you display squadron status, escort ship status, and objective status on your HUD?

I'm sure these're written down somewhere, as they're rather simple, but I can't seem to find them. Anyone help me out?

[WMCoolmon]

1) Make it an active asteroid field, IIRC. You may have to add the ships to the escort list too.

2) There should be a SEXP to add escort ships. Look on this list, it was generated using a newer build but the SEXP should be the same.

Squadron status, it has to be one of a few wings, although newer builds support wings other than Alpha, Beta, Delta etc.

Objective status, check the mission objectives dialog screen and the mission objectives SEXPs.

Don't be afraid to use VPView, QuickVP, VPMage, or VPCS2 to extract missions from a VP and see how people did things in them.

Also, look at karajorma's FAQ - the link is in his sig. I don't FRED much so I don't know if your specific questions are answered in there, but it's a good resource for mission creation/modding in general.

[ShadowWolf_IH]

If i may...if the ship is to be an escort ship as soon as it appears, open the ship editor to that ship and hit misc.  escort is in there.  Once you have that button checked, the ship will automatically appear on the hud as an escort ship.  If you want it to suddenly have escort status after a given event, use the sexp in the event editor.

I am going to take it that by objectives you mean the directives box on the left side of the hud.   In the events editor Set up a sexp that says "when gemini (for example) wing is destroyed, do nothing.  then at ther bottom of the events editor, type where it says "Directive text"  Destroy Gemini.  Now "DEstroy Gemini will appear on the hud when gemini wing enters, along with a countdown to tell you how many members of the wing are left.  The directive will stay active until all of the waves in that wing have been destroyed.

Directives have always been a pain in the ass for me, so i have found a way to cheat, anyway...once you get the basics of it....you can find your way around.

Also...WMC was right on with making the asteroid field "active".

Hope this helps...and welcome to HLP

[brinlong]

much obliged. I'm managing to get a great deal of things by simple trial and error, but the strangest glitches keep popping up. Last one I've seen (on this mission at least ) is that the ships in the convoy keep speeding up. I set their initial velocities (25 for all 3 of them), but they immediately accelearte to maximum speed, and then start crashing into each other because they have different rates of accelearation and max velocities. Is there anyway to limit their velocity for the entire mission?

[CP5670]

The initial velocities only really determine the speeds at the very beginning. Use the cap-waypoint-speed sexp operator instead.

[karajorma]

For future reference FRED questions really belong in the campaigns forum. FRED is considered it's own seperate modding field

[Roanoke]

There's also a glitch (of sorts) if you put large escort ships into wings. Keep 'em as seperate ships.

I'm wondering if it's worth hosting the original FRED walkthrough tut  so people can be directed to it ?

[karajorma]

The FRED2 walkthrough? You can find it here. My FAQ has a download of it too. Just slap it in your FS2\Data folder and all of a sudden the help menu option works again

[ShadowWolf_IH]

meet our local God of help....Kara.  lol