2 things
1) test repeatedly
2) accept reality and don't include text that displays improperly, don't require a spawn that appears in a specific place, etc.
The key is not planning a mission and then trying to force MA to do it. But to find out what you can do in MA and then build your missions and arcs around it.
Testing the heck out of the maps is a huge benefit to creating missions. Some maps are a bit less than perfect in how they handle spawns but once you know the limitations of each you will be better able to create for that specific map.
The text dialogue display bit is aggravating but can be worked around on some maps. I can see how upgrades to the system in the future could address this and the other problems but for now the best thing is to build around your limitations, not against them.
Don't get me wrong, I've definitely done plenty of testing. I've gotten to the point where I test after every change, even something minor like correcting a typo - it seems like the only way to catch those random things when they pop up.
I suppose I could try playing with different maps, my first mission I've been pretty dead set on trying to get it to work with one particular map - but I may have to give up and try something else.
The thing that bothers me most right now is NPC placement. Other missions that I've played seemed to have no problem spawning a boss in the back consistently, or putting an ally up front. When I try to get placement working, however, there's no telling where the little punks are going to end up.
Is it more a matter of luck or do some maps maintain spawn positions more effectively than others?
Don't use unique maps our outdoor ones if you need goals to appear in specific order. Many of the uniques, even ones based on existing office / warehouse / etc. templates, have screwy spawn placement.
If you use one of the stock map types you should get very accurate spawning. You can refine it more by picking a specific map instead of "random medium" and the like; there are some good and VERY linear maps in the lineup that should do nicely when you need precision.
Global @Twoflower / MA Creator & Pro Indie Game Developer.
Mission Architect Works: DIY Laser Moonbase (Dev Choice!), An Internship in the Fine Art of Revenge (2009 MA Award Winner!) and many more! Plus Brand New Arcs for Issue 21!
I apologize if there is a topic about this already, but I've looked all over the boards and I'm surprised to see that this isn't being talked about.
I recently reactivated to try out the I14 Architect content, mainly because the game had been feeling stale to me and I figured that creating/playing user-made content would be a great way to get more fun out of the game.
However, there's a problem: the massive amount of bugs in the editor. I'm completely baffled as to how people can make some of the great missions that they do when there are such serious bugs in the system. Some of the issues that have given me problems are: allies/bosses not spawning in correct/consistent places, NPC dialogue not displaying at the correct times, NPC dialogue not displaying at all, mission goals randomly not showing up, deleted characters mysteriously making their way back into the level (fixed this by deleting the critter file), and other little quirks. All of these issues have hindered my progress to the point where I'm considering just putting it on hold until all of this is fixed.
My question to experienced MA users is how do you avoid/fix the above bugs? I've played several arcs now that seem to work flawlessly. How does one get the mission into such a state that it works, if not correctly, consistently? As it is right now, when I hit that "test" button it's pretty much a crap-shoot as to what is going to happen.