Ok, we just finished our story line and it should be about 50-75 missions/ major government along with run off storylines for the smaller governments and if you can't guess our plugin is STEV/O. (check sig.) (5 Major Governments)

Now I need your help. No matter how I try to interpret the bible, things like MissionControl or EVEdit, mission bits screw me up and they are the foundation for mission building.

(Recruitment Mission)
How do I start it off that there is only one available specific mission that will never reappear again if you accept/decline it?

This is what the bible says about MissionBits™

A quick word on mission bits: Override stores 256 flags that can be set by your missions when they fail or succeed. The mission bits can then be checked to see whether a mission is allowed to be available. There are three uses for this:

1. Ensuring that a mission is only available once.
2. Creating branching plotlines, in which the types of missions offered depend
on your past successes and failuires.
3. Creating a number of missions that are available at the same time, but which
are mutually exclusive. (e.g. you wouldn't want the player to go on more
that one of a set of three missions) These missions could be made
unavailable if bit 37 was set, for example, and then would set bit 37 on
completion.

My understanding is that you have to accept a mission first to set a missionbit so I can't have the AvailBitSet set to anything as it is what decides the "rarity" of the mission. Is this correct?

What I'm looking for I guess is to have a missionBit set off the start of the game that the mission requires, and is cleared after you accept/decline this mission so it never reappears.

Help?

------------------
"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is to try to please everyone."
-Bill Cosby
Star Trek Escape Velocity
(url="http://"http://homepage.mac.com/startrekev/")http://homepage.mac.com/startrekev/(/url)

Ok, for a recruitment mission...
Available bit set: -1
Completion Bit Set: x
Available Bit Clear: x

x, of course, must be the same number. This makes it so the mission bit is set after you beat
the mission, and then it clears it. The mission, after you beat it, won't reappear.
After that here are two kinds of missions you could use:
1.For your next mission (in the string) that you don't want to reappear:
Availbitset: x
Compbitset: y
Availbit clear: y
2.For your next mission that you want to reappear:
Availbitset:x
Compbitset: -1
Availbitclear: -1

I hope that helps.

------------------
Now don't you fall in the trap, Democrats are full of crap.~My Fellow Americans
~Nick

Quote

Originally posted by nwa728:
**(snip)
**

Somebody give this man some Karma!

------------------
"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is to try to please everyone."
-Bill Cosby
Star Trek Escape Velocity
(url="http://"http://homepage.mac.com/startrekev/")http://homepage.mac.com/startrekev/(/url)

Quote

Originally posted by nwa728:
**Compbitset: y
Availbit clear: y
2.For your next mission that you want to reappear:
Availbitset:x
Compbitset: -1
Availbitclear: -1

**

Excuse me, but I think it is y in the third, instead of x (if the missions are in straight line).

With -1 the mission bit is ignored (it doesn't ask one or set one).
To make things more complex, use the second CompBitSet (and the 3rd and 4th if the plug is for EVO).
The thing to remember is that mission bits are 256 (or 512 if you use EVO) "flags" that could be set or not, and that "stays" with you (I mean, that is permanently stored in your pilot file), unless changed. It is the only way for a mission to "know" if another one has been made or not. They are VERY important if you want to do missions. If you want all I know about these thingies, E-mail me.

------------------
M'enfin!
Y'a personne qui parle français ici?

That was following the first mission, not the second.

------------------
Now don't you fall in the trap, Democrats are full of crap.~My Fellow Americans
~Nick

Quote

Originally posted by: Zachro Pedro
**...
If you want all I know about these thingies, E-mail me.
**

I think I'd prefer to keep everything in this thread as it makes future people searching for the same answers I'm looking for much easier to find.

Now for branches...

Okay, I want another recruitment mission for a government that is split into 6 different governments, each vying for control and conflicting with each other. My plan is to unite each part one by one either through force, espionage, or diplomacy. How do I set the MissionBits that if you choose to work for one government you cannot work for the other 5...

Thanks again.

------------------
"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is to try to please everyone."
-Bill Cosby
Star Trek Escape Velocity
(url="http://"http://homepage.mac.com/startrekev/")http://homepage.mac.com/startrekev/(/url)

Assuming that you have 6 intro missions at the beginning, 1 for each gov't, then it's pretty simple. When I refer to an 'intro mission' I mean the first mission the player does for a gov't, it doesn't mattar the nature of the mission. For each mission you would set the AvailBitSet to the same value (lets use the designation a ) which would have been set from a previous mission (or you could leave it set to -1). From here there are 2 different methods (there are more than 2 but these are probably the easiest) that you can use.

Method A
Each mission would have their StartBitSet to b and their AvailBitClr set to b. In plain english this means that the player can get any of the 6 missions but as soon as they accepted 1 it would set the bit b , each mission says that this bit must be clear to be available to the player so therefore the player can't accept any of the other intro missions. The one problem with this is that if the player fails in the mission they can't get any of the gov't missions and the storyline stops, which can be a good thing too. Having said that, you could use one of the FailBitSet fields to clear b , thus letting the player accept any of the 6 missions again.

Method B
Each mission would have one of their CompBitSet to b and their AvailBitClr set to b so that once the player accomplishes one of the missions they can't get it again or one from any other gov't. In plain english this means that the player can accept any of the 6 intro missions until they complete any one of these missions, at which time bit b would be set and since each mission wants that bit to be cleared to be available, the player couldn't accept any more intro missions. There are drawbacks using this method though, the player can accept more than 1 intro mission at any given time (until they complete one) which creates some problems since they could accept all 6 and then complete them one by one.

For both of these methods, the mission that the player does do would utilize the CompBitSet fields to continue on with that govt's mission branch and since the player didn't do any other govt's intro mission then they won't be able to do those branches. You can also use the RefuseBitSet, FailBitSet(s) and AvailShipType fields to create some interesting mission twists. Personally, I would use Method A since the player wouldn't be able to accept more than one gov't intro mission. If the player did then he could possibly do 2 mission branches (or more) at once which could potentially mess up your whole storyline, although there are ways to setup safegaurds in case he/she did somehow accept more than 1 mission. Method A is an easier and simplier way to get the same results.

Phoenix

------------------
"Who is more foolish? The fool or the fool who follows him."
(url="http://"http://commonwealth.cjb.net")Commonwealth Software - Nemesis(/url)

(This message has been edited by Phoenix (edited 01-30-2001).)

Quote

Originally posted by Phoenix:
**Assuming that you have 6 intro missions at the beginning, 1 for each gov't, then it's pretty simple. When I refer to an 'intro mission' I mean the first mission the player does for a gov't, it doesn't mattar the nature of the mission. For each mission you would set the Avail...

(snip)

...to the player so therefore the player can't accept any of the other intro missions. The one problem with this is that if the player fails in the mission they can't get any of the gov't missions and the storyline stops, which can be a good thing too. Having said that, you could use one of the FailBitSet fields to clear b , thus letting the player accept any of the 6 missions again.
**

I'm going to use your method "A" as that is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you immensly.

------------------
"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is to try to please everyone."
-Bill Cosby
Star Trek Escape Velocity
(url="http://"http://homepage.mac.com/startrekev/")http://homepage.mac.com/startrekev/(/url)

Quote

Originally posted by nwa728:
**That was following the first mission, not the second.

**

Please excuse me, then

Quote

Originally posted by Metzen:
**I think I'd prefer to keep everything in this thread as it makes future people searching for the same answers I'm looking for much easier to find.

**

This is very intelligent. I didn't think to it.

Try to have a sheet of paper with which, when you write the missions, you can check what MisBit are assumed to be set or not. If the plotlines are huge, you'll need it.

------------------
M'enfin!
Y'a personne qui parle français ici?

Mission regarding search and destroy ships...

Ok here is my dilemma, the ship that your susposed to destroy does not show up :frown:

Here is how I have everything worked out:

Availability: Available in any bar of x government in the bar: so far so good.
Cargo: No cargo thus no everything is -1
Ships:
Ship Count: 1
Ship System: Random system of enemy government (y)
Ship Dude: set to 51 (which is "weak" enemy government ships)
Ship Goal: Destroy All Ships
Ship Behavior: Hyper in after a delay
Ship Name ID: 10000 (works in mission briefing)
AuxShipCount: 4
AuxShipDude: 52 (which is "weak" enemy government ships)
AuxShipSystem: Same as Destination

I have infiniteAuxShips set. Am I doing something wrong here?

------------------
"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is to try to please everyone."
-Bill Cosby
Star Trek Escape Velocity
(url="http://"http://homepage.mac.com/startrekev/")http://homepage.mac.com/startrekev/(/url)

Quote

Originally posted by Metzen:
**Mission regarding search and destroy ships...

Ok here is my dilemma, the ship that your susposed to destroy does not show up :frown:

Here is how I have everything worked out:

Availability: Available in any bar of x government in the bar: so far so good.
Cargo: No cargo thus no everything is -1
Ships:
Ship Count: 1
Ship System: Random system of enemy government (y)
Ship Dude: set to 51 (which is "weak" enemy government ships)
Ship Goal: Destroy All Ships
Ship Behavior: Hyper in after a delay
Ship Name ID: 10000 (works in mission briefing)
AuxShipCount: 4
AuxShipDude: 52 (which is "weak" enemy government ships)
AuxShipSystem: Same as Destination

I have infiniteAuxShips set. Am I doing something wrong here?

**

There are a few problems with this mission - first of all, if you are trying to get the player to destroy basically a standard enemy in any enemy system, this causes a lot of confusion. To provide a concrete example: Your mission: Go into rebel space and destroy a manta. Not just any manta, but this specific one. Oh - I won't tell you which one it is, or where it shows up! (-: To aleviate this problem, you could create a përs resource that is the name of the ship you are supposed to destroy. As soon as the player sees (insert ship name here) on their target scanner, they know that's the one they're supposed to destroy. Hence, the mission can be completed.

------------------
Gage Stryker
----------------------
Commited to Christ.
Commited to Change.

Quote

Originally posted by Gage_Stryker:
**There are a few problems with this mission - first of all, if you are trying to get the player to destroy basically a standard enemy in any enemy system, this causes a lot of confusion. To provide a concrete example: Your mission: Go into rebel space and destroy a manta. Not just any manta, but this specific one. Oh - I won't tell you which one it is, or where it shows up! (-: To aleviate this problem, you could create a përs resource that is the name of the ship you are supposed to destroy. As soon as the player sees (insert ship name here) on their target scanner, they know that's the one they're supposed to destroy. Hence, the mission can be completed.
**

I didn't think that the mďsn resource allows you to specify përs. Does it? My <SN> tag works though that could be irrelevant? Could anyone else provide specific details?

Another problem I have is all my ships are under one particular gövt. This gövt has been broken into 6 factions vying for power. Now I've made düdes with the ships that are under each one of the 6 gövt's and the düdes resource gövt settings are set to one of those 6 factional govt's. I have 12 dudes in total, 2 of each split between the 6 governments with the ships in each (set through the shďp resource) to the "used to be coalition" government.

The problem is they don't show up in any of the stellars that they are specified to be. Could it be this government problem?

The coalition government dudes do work when in their specified stellars.

------------------
"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is to try to please everyone."
-Bill Cosby
Star Trek Escape Velocity
(url="http://"http://homepage.mac.com/startrekev/")http://homepage.mac.com/startrekev/(/url)

Quote

Originally posted by Metzen:
**I have 12 dudes in total, 2 of each split between the 6 governments with the ships in each (set through the shďp resource) to the "used to be coalition" government.

The problem is they don't show up in any of the stellars that they are specified to be.
**

Have you checked the MissionBit Fields in the Dude resource? These fields get set to "0" by the templates when opening an earlier version of EV/O. Unfortunately, "0" is a valid MissionBit, so the dudes will not appear until bit 0 is set.

To eliminate the problem, set the MissionBit fields to "-1".

It shouldn't be a Govt. problem since the Dudes are defined by the Syst. resource, not the Govt.

------------------
Jon Potter
Thank you for your cooperation. Good night.

Quote

Originally posted by Jon Potter:
**Have you checked the MissionBit Fields in the Dude resource? These fields get set to "0" by the templates when opening an earlier version of EV/O. Unfortunately, "0" is a valid MissionBit, so the dudes will not appear until bit 0 is set.

To eliminate the problem, set the MissionBit fields to "-1".

It shouldn't be a Govt. problem since the Dudes are defined by the Syst. resource, not the Govt.

**

Thanks Jon, that was indeed the problem. Now if I could only figure out how to do the "search and destroy" mission I'm set for a bit.

------------------
"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is to try to please everyone."
-Bill Cosby
Star Trek Escape Velocity
(url="http://"http://homepage.mac.com/startrekev/")http://homepage.mac.com/startrekev/(/url)

Hmmmm... you said that there were a bunch of different govt resources that basicly represent the same one? (I'm not sure I understand) Could it be that the ship you're looking for is set to be in a system of a government that technically doesn't have any systems?

Example: You have a government Dogs. You want a bunch of dudes that will have different properties than those of normal Dogs, but are still called Dogs(maybe these will be particularly agressive, or have a new enemy, or something). So, you make a new government Dogs, which you assign the new properties, and make the new dudes have that new government. An error could happen when you tell the mission that the target will show up in a system of the newer Dog government, but in reality the "new" dog government doesn't have any systems!

This happened a lot in my plug. I have about three govt resources for each tangible government.

That's all I can think of. I'll sleep on it.

~Thursday

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EV Haiku- by Matt Burch
Three in the morning
Obstinate bug still won't die
Pass the coffee, please

On paper, your mission settings certainly appear to be sound...

Are you sure that you entered the correct govt ID # in your ShipSyst field (is it indeed the number corresponding to enemy govt 'y')? I thought that you might perhaps have entered -2 (for any random system) by mistake.

You might try changing the location where the ship is to be appear just as a test. Make it a specific system, to take the guesswork out of it, and see if the ship arrives. If not, then your problem lies elsewhere.

------------------
PlanetPhil
not drowning, waving

(This message has been edited by PlanetPhil (edited 02-11-2001).)