Frequently Asked Questions about Mission Design

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No. Ambushes take up spawn points, but you're capped at 3 ambushes and you're going to have more than 3 spawn points.

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And I can't set patrols to trigger off objectives? Dang!

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Many spawns do that hyperfast cycling, seems to be a general bug. The boss in question may not be able to do the animation you wanted, so reverted to "default"

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Well, this was a custom character using a player model doing an animation that I don't believe players have access to, but he was showing doing it just fine on the looping animation in the editor. Is there some kind of list I can see that shows what works on which player model?

Also: Thanks a bunch!

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Many spawns do that hyperfast cycling, seems to be a general bug. The boss in question may not be able to do the animation you wanted, so reverted to "default"

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Well, this was a custom character using a player model doing an animation that I don't believe players have access to, but he was showing doing it just fine on the looping animation in the editor. Is there some kind of list I can see that shows what works on which player model?

[/ QUOTE ]Trial and error, I think. I've only tried the animation you're talking about on Walter Daschle, and it worked fine.

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http://www.fimfiction.net/story/36641/My-Little-Exalt

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Many spawns do that hyperfast cycling, seems to be a general bug. The boss in question may not be able to do the animation you wanted, so reverted to "default"

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Well, this was a custom character using a player model doing an animation that I don't believe players have access to, but he was showing doing it just fine on the looping animation in the editor. Is there some kind of list I can see that shows what works on which player model?

[/ QUOTE ]Trial and error, I think. I've only tried the animation you're talking about on Walter Daschle, and it worked fine.

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That would be your own custom character? What model was he using? Also, to further describe, the animation for Extracting Soul is the character hunched over and sort of attempting to lift up a glowing red-pink ball (looks like an Energy Melee effect) for a while, lifts it up for a second, then it slips from his hands back down and the animation loops.

Also, it appears that you can indeed force patrols to spawn on a particular trigger. The next question, then, is how can I tell how many spawn points a mission has so that I can fill all of them but one with patrols? I saw Arcanaville discuss that, but I can't seem to find that information on my screen.

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Also, it appears that you can indeed force patrols to spawn on a particular trigger. The next question, then, is how can I tell how many spawn points a mission has so that I can fill all of them but one with patrols? I saw Arcanaville discuss that, but I can't seem to find that information on my screen.

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That number isn't specifically shown, but you can get a rough idea by looking at the map details on the screen where you select the mission map and add up all the critter-related detail points the map allows. The number of critter spawn points on a map is roughly the sum of all of those.

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Is there some kind of list I can see that shows what works on which player model?

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You'd be surprised how difficult it actually is to generate such a list by anyone.

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[Guide to Defense] [Scrapper Secondaries Comparison] [Archetype Popularity Analysis]

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Many spawns do that hyperfast cycling, seems to be a general bug. The boss in question may not be able to do the animation you wanted, so reverted to "default"

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Well, this was a custom character using a player model doing an animation that I don't believe players have access to, but he was showing doing it just fine on the looping animation in the editor. Is there some kind of list I can see that shows what works on which player model?

[/ QUOTE ]Trial and error, I think. I've only tried the animation you're talking about on Walter Daschle, and it worked fine.

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That would be your own custom character? What model was he using?

[/ QUOTE ]Walter Daschle

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http://www.fimfiction.net/story/36641/My-Little-Exalt

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Walter Daschle

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Oh, THAT guy! I haven't done the Croatoa stuff in, like, forever. All the big huge yellow outdoor maps crush my will to live

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Is there some kind of list I can see that shows what works on which player model?

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You'd be surprised how difficult it actually is to generate such a list by anyone.

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Ouch!

OK, how about this, then - if I enter a boss battle to act as a trigger, then add about 100 patrols to spawn off those, would that map even load? I'm assuming (hoping) that any patrols for which there are no spawn points will simply not spawn, and the boss, being higher up the list of objects, will reserve a spawn point for himself. Will that even work, though?

I'm at work right now, and although I COULD load up the game and check that out, I really shouldn't.

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Walter Daschle

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Oh, THAT guy! I haven't done the Croatoa stuff in, like, forever. All the big huge yellow outdoor maps crush my will to live

[/ QUOTE ]Half my arc is on Croatoa maps >.>

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http://www.fimfiction.net/story/36641/My-Little-Exalt

I don't necessarily dislike the Croatoa outdoor maps themselves, even if they are a bit... Random. But there's an arc in there that's literally one huge outdoor map after the other, and that sort of things is... Cumberosme. Kind of like Unai Kemen's To Save a Thousand World.

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Are maps customizable, say like building a base or able to remove sections to add newer depth, like removing some grates from a boat, so you can go one more lvl down into the skeleton of it?

JJ

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I delete more 50s, then you'll ever have.
http://www.pandora.com/people/jjdemon

Sorry, but I don't really have time to read this entire thread... and I went through the FAQ quickly but didn't find anything addressing my question. So if I have brought up something that's already been discussed, I apologize in advance.

Is there any way to add in 2 bosses fighting each other? I tried using the 'add a fight' feature but that added multiple instances of the same character I created. In an example, I have a mission in which a character I create (in AV form) would be fighting Babbage (in AV form). Can this be accomplished or am I just making things too complicated?

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Here are a couple of interesting questions:

Question: Can I make a mission arc end two different ways based on beaten or failed final mission like so many CoV arcs do, and if so, how?

Question: Is it possible to make an ally who fights alongside you until a trigger is activated and then leaves? If not, can a fighting ally be "rescued" and leave the map? Is is possible to have glowie that you need a fighting ally to activate?

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Are maps customizable, say like building a base or able to remove sections to add newer depth, like removing some grates from a boat, so you can go one more lvl down into the skeleton of it?

JJ

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No. There is no way to customize a map, or make custom maps, at this time. Part of the stated problem is spawn points.

The devs have already been having enough issues with their own maps and spawn points. Map construction doesn't seem to be at the point where a system could be created be allowed players to make custom maps with non-exploitable spawn point placement - not yet at least.

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Can I make a mission that doesn't spawn anything until you trigger some kind of event, like the trap for Nocturne in the Faultline Dam, and if so, how do I achieve that? I don't seem to have any control over regular spawns, other than saying what enemy group they are.


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There are two main spawn types in most missions. One is used for ambush, boss, patrol or destroy object details, the other is used for battle, rescue, escort, ally, or defend object details. (Some maps have additional spawntypes that are not overrideable by the MA).

Lets pretend you picked a map with 15 of the first type and 15 of the second type. If you wanted it to be empty until your trap is hatched, you could add a patrol detail with quantity 15 and and a battle detail with quantity 15. Next, add a collection detail and have both the patrol and battle trigger on completion of the collection.

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"We all lose in the end, that is the intention" --Emanuel Lasker

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Lets pretend you picked a map with 15 of the first type and 15 of the second type. If you wanted it to be empty until your trap is hatched, you could add a patrol detail with quantity 15 and and a battle detail with quantity 15. Next, add a collection detail and have both the patrol and battle trigger on completion of the collection.

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OK, but how do you make the map empty in the first place? You have to pick an enemy group to populate the map, right?

(I used to use the 'custom villain group with only an AV in it' trick, but I had thought that stopped working)

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Question: Can I make a mission arc end two different ways based on beaten or failed final mission like so many CoV arcs do, and if so, how?

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If you set the contact fail dialog you can get too different responses, but thats about it currently

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Is it possible to make an ally who fights alongside you until a trigger is activated and then leaves? Is is possible to have glowie that you need a fighting ally to activate?

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Nope

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If not, can a fighting ally be "rescued" and leave the map?

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Theorhetically yes, add an ally set Combat Abilites to "agressive" and Ally Behavior to "run to nearest door" they should take off to the door fighting anything they meet.

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"We all lose in the end, that is the intention" --Emanuel Lasker

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Lets pretend you picked a map with 15 of the first type and 15 of the second type. If you wanted it to be empty until your trap is hatched, you could add a patrol detail with quantity 15 and and a battle detail with quantity 15. Next, add a collection detail and have both the patrol and battle trigger on completion of the collection.

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OK, but how do you make the map empty in the first place? You have to pick an enemy group to populate the map, right?

(I used to use the 'custom villain group with only an AV in it' trick, but I had thought that stopped working)

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Doing what pohsyb said will make an empty map. The patrols and battles will use up the spawn points that the normally spawned enemies would use. There are only so many spawn points in a map, and if one is being used up by a patrol, a normal group won't appear there. So if you fill all spawn points with events that don't appear until something happens, the map will start out empty.

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Doing what pohsyb said will make an empty map. The patrols and battles will use up the spawn points that the normally spawned enemies would use.

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And NOW I get it. Thankyou both.

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Ok I created a seperate thread about this question, but after reading this I figured I should just ask here (edited from original post):

I created a thugs/MM as the mish's boss. I was set to vicous (challenge lvl 3) and he was set as an EB. When he summoned his Henchmen, they were 49-51. I went back, set him to extreme AV, set my challenge lvl to 5 (relentless) and now he's a 50 AV, but the henchman summoned are 48-50.

How do I make the AV's and henchmen lvls higher? I know "I'm doing it wrong", I just don't know why.

Gaheris

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"I know that will get glossed over and 6 months from now someone here on the forums will make a statement like "Remember back when walk was crashing the mapservers" and someone else will say "Oh yeah, I remember that" and I will drop my face into my palm and die a little bit more inside." - BABs

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I enter a boss battle to act as a trigger, then add about 100 patrols to spawn off those, would that map even load?

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If the map doesn't allow for 100 patrol objectives (each map lists its limits) then entering the number 100 for the quantity of patrol will immediately generate an error in the error window (the orange one in the upper right corner - clicking on the ! displays the errors) and the mission will be neither testable nor publishable. You'll have to reduce that number until your mission fits within the map limits.

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Ok I created a seperate thread about this question, but after reading this I figured I should just ask here (edited from original post):

I created a thugs/MM as the mish's boss. I was set to vicous (challenge lvl 3) and he was set as an EB. When he summoned his Henchmen, they were 49-51. I went back, set him to extreme AV, set my challenge lvl to 5 (relentless) and now he's a 50 AV, but the henchman summoned are 48-50.

How do I make the AV's and henchmen lvls higher? I know "I'm doing it wrong", I just don't know why.

Gaheris

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I think the question you're asking is "why did my Elite Boss spawn at level 51, but when I bumped him up to an AV he spawned at level 50?" And I think the answer to that question is that except for special case critters (and custom critters aren't) AVs will spawn at the player's level, not the level dictated by the difficulty scaler. I believe that is a spawn rule the MA inherited from the regular PvE game where AVs in instanced missions generally spawn at the player's level, not the level the mission is instancing spawns at.

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[Guide to Defense] [Scrapper Secondaries Comparison] [Archetype Popularity Analysis]

In one little corner of the universe, there's nothing more irritating than a misfile...
(Please support the best webcomic about a cosmic universal realignment by impaired angelic interference resulting in identity crisis angst. Or I release the pigmy water thieves.)

I know we can create souvenirs for our arcs, and I know it is possible to fail a mission. But I cannot see any way to give a different souvenir depending upon whether or not the final mission of an arc is failed. Did I overlook something, or is that beyond the ability of the MA?

And if it is beyond the ability of the MA, is it something that could be added within a Soon or two?

-D

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Darkonne: Pinnacle's (unofficially) mighty Dark Miasma/Radiation Blast enthusiast!

Be sure to check out this mighty Arc:
#161865 - Aeon's Nemesis

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Can I make a mission that doesn't spawn anything until you trigger some kind of event, like the trap for Nocturne in the Faultline Dam, and if so, how do I achieve that? I don't seem to have any control over regular spawns, other than saying what enemy group they are.


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There are two main spawn types in most missions. One is used for ambush, boss, patrol or destroy object details, the other is used for battle, rescue, escort, ally, or defend object details. (Some maps have additional spawntypes that are not overrideable by the MA).
Lets pretend you picked a map with 15 of the first type and 15 of the second type. If you wanted it to be empty until your trap is hatched, you could add a patrol detail with quantity 15 and and a battle detail with quantity 15. Next, add a collection detail and have both the patrol and battle trigger on completion of the collection.

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So, all spawning locations are divided into two kinds, then? So if I want all of my spawn locations to be empty until triggered, I will need to use both ambushes AND battles? Hmm... That might be problematic if the mission doesn't entail enemies battling each other or any allies to be had. I was really looking at an ambush mission like the Protect Lady Grey or Ambush Nocturne ones. Have to play around with it, I suppose.

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Theorhetically yes, add an ally set Combat Abilites to "agressive" and Ally Behavior to "run to nearest door" they should take off to the door fighting anything they meet.

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I more mean if it's possible to make something like Lady Jane - a combat ally NPC whom you rescue, they fight alongside you, but when you bring them to a specific, otherwise-untouchabe objec (like Lady Jane's chest) they activate it, THEN turn around and leave the map altogether. I haven't looked at allies closely enough to know, but if that's doable, I'll dance a polka.

Thank you kindly for your answers, pohsyb

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There are two main spawn types in most missions. One is used for ambush, boss, patrol or destroy object details, the other is used for battle, rescue, escort, ally, or defend object details. (Some maps have additional spawntypes that are not overrideable by the MA).

Lets pretend you picked a map with 15 of the first type and 15 of the second type. If you wanted it to be empty until your trap is hatched, you could add a patrol detail with quantity 15 and and a battle detail with quantity 15. Next, add a collection detail and have both the patrol and battle trigger on completion of the collection.

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Can I take this as an implicit thumbs up that this behavior is intended and not going away? If so, huzzah! I was afraid that empty maps would be frowned upon.

So... if this behavior is OK by you guys, why not just let us set the enemy group to "None" and avoid the hacky tricks? Not asking for it before release, just wondering if there's a reason you don't want to do it.

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