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dude5432 wrote:
For one, you may rekon i don't know anything but the 'mission bit' is that like the number of the mission like the code number, or is it like experience which adds up everytime you do a mission?
Just so you know, mission bits are 'flags' that can be set by missions to make things either appear or disappear in the game. For example, imagine that a mission sets the mission bit '1' on completion. If that mission requires misnbit '1' to be clear, that misn will never be made available again (unless a later misn clears misnbit '1'). Similarly, a mission that is only available whenbit '1' is set would become available upon the completion of the first mission. If this second misn sets bit '2' and requires '2' to be clear, then it will be made available only once, and will only be available after the first misn is completed (this is how to create a single storyline). Creating branching storylines is more difficult (if you want more info on this, email me and I'll send a diagram out to you of how to do it).
Then you have recurring misns which do not set another misn bit on completion. For example, if you wanted a particular type of 'ferry passenger' misn to only become available after you have done another misn (say you only want the player to be allowed to ferry passengers around one particular govt's systs after the player has done some particular good deed for that govt), then you set this recurring misn to be available after a certain misnbit is set, but do not require any misnbits be clear for it to be available. That way this misn will always be available for as long as a misn bit is set. Of course, the misn is then subject to the other variables for availability like your combat rating, legal status and the 'AvailRandom' setting.
I hope that helps you with misnbits. As for the rest of it, I agree with Martin Turner, have at least a fairly good idea about what you want to do before you really get into it, and I would suggest that you basically know pretty much everything about the universe and the plug you will be making. Of course it will all change significantly as you slowly build up your plug, but if you have no idea where you are going from the start, you are probably going to get lost somewhere along the way.
Other than that beta-test, beta-test, beta-test. I cannot stress how important this is. I sometimes wish a few more of the Nova beta-testers were a little more rigorous in their approach to testing our game. Still they have pointed out a number of things that we would have missed completely without them.
Good luck with your project, I hope it does come to fruition.
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