[Darkstar]

Everytime you play a mission it's allmost the same with the exception of ship and weapons type for Alpha Beta Gamma and Delta wing. The entry points of hostiles can be random aswell but that's about it.
Untill now.

I added a variable to a mission telling it to randomly add 1 or two to the variable. In a hostile wing's arrival cue I specified that if the variable was 1 it should jump in and if the variable was 2 it wouldn't. I tested the mission and would you believe it it works. This was just a simple test you could also set it that if it was 2 a cruiser should jump in or another wing or any combination, This would add a bit to the mission because you would never know who you will be facing.

Has anyone else ever thought or tried it?

I also posted this at the fred forum but what can I say, "I like it when a plan comes together"


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It is said, that in every age there is one singular event that forever changes the world around us.

[kode]

Sounds quite cool.

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Evil is the root of all money, so where is my money?

[Snipes]

Sandwich should read this, if your stealth, this happens, and if your a bomber, this happens... cool

[QXMX]

Thats a good idea.  Instead, it'd make missions more exciting.  I'm wondering if   did that in Argonautica(sp?), cause I played it and bombers hammered the Aquataine, and then I played it again and there wasn't a peep from the Shivans  

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[Sandwich]

I'm here, don't worry!  

Actually, I've already used the random variable in the first mission of my campaign. You're supposed to "re-direct" an NTF convoy so they don't resupply a certain ship. Once their escort is blown away, the game chooses a random number that decides if this civilian convoy cooperates or resists.

Also, Snipes, I can't think of any way to get the RAND variable to help with a SEXP that only fires if the player chooses a certain ship - can you? Maybe I'm just missing something...

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"He who laughs last thinks slowest."
"Just becase you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you."
"To err is human; to really screw up you need a computer."
Creator of the Sandvich Bar

[Snipes]

oh, I dunno, I just thought this could help... I wanna play your first mission it sounds cool  

[Sushi]

I once played a really cool mission for Jane's F15 that used this principle extremely well. The idea was a routine patrol in bordering-hostile territory...and depending on what variables returned true, any number of different combinations of things could happen. This is the kind of thing where you could make a mission where five, ten, twenty, thirty different things could happen in any combination- some variables could spawn other random checks for other variables, some things might turn into a linear path that excluded everything else. At any rate, this could make for some of the most replayable and tense missions ever- you'll never know exactly what's going to happen until it already has.  

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[Setekh]

Can anyone say 'replayability'?  

[Shrike]

Can you say '***** to program'?  

Now it would be cool if there was some way (a super-SEXP?) to set up such branching progressions easier.

[Setekh]

Ummm... ahhhh....

 

[Arnav]

 

Originally posted by Shrike:
Can you say '***** to program'?    

Argh, I can see the long load times it would take my P2 to load up my test versions of that kind of mission.... *shudders violently*


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- Arnav Manchanda
ICQ: 6228797
Creator of Technological Superiority: http://www.3dap.com/hlp/hosted/techsup

[Kazan]

I can say easy to program and fast to load   on a PII 350mhz

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[Ace]

Sounds interesting, though I don't like pure randomness occuring, I could set up some missions in "The Babel Effect" which take certain player selections and give different combat sequences.

The cost would be my lowering selection of weapons and ships, but making missions more tailored to the player's choice. (i.e. if you're in a bombing strike with a bomber, more cap ships and less wings, if in a fighter you have to defend your wings more, if only in fighters it'll have cap-ship support arrive which you defend, etc.)

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Ace
Staff member FreeSpace Watch
 http://freespace.volitionwatch.com/

[Black Ace]

 

Originally posted by Arnav:
*shudders violently*

Violently? You might want to get that checked out dude...  



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[Sandwich]

 

Originally posted by Ace:
Sounds interesting, though I don't like pure randomness occuring...

It doesn't need to be purely random, though. Try this:
- "variable" = RAND 0-100
- IF "variable" < 75 do I_have_a_75%_chance_of_occurring
- IF "variable" > 75 do My_chances_are_25%

Basically you have a random number from 0 to 100, and you can choose the likelyhood of a certain action occurring.

 

Originally posted by Ace:
...I could set up some missions in "The Babel Effect" which take certain player selections and give different combat sequences.

The cost would be my lowering selection of weapons and ships, but making missions more tailored to the player's choice. (i.e. if you're in a bombing strike with a bomber, more cap ships and less wings, if in a fighter you have to defend your wings more, if only in fighters it'll have cap-ship support arrive which you defend, etc.)

I've been trying to figure out how to do something based on which ship the player picked, and it sounds like you've figured out how...? Have you?  


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"He who laughs last thinks slowest."
"Just becase you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you."
"To err is human; to really screw up you need a computer."
Creator of the Sandvich Bar