Missions - Creation
How to create missions, a supplement to the SDK.
Overview
Creating a mission is a complex task involving a diverse use of tools & skills. Getting your first mission going, even following the SDK documentation, is likely to cause you some headaches.
Still here? Good. Once you do have that first one running, the sky's your limit. That basic set of rules and files that make up a mission are always the same so once you've got those sorted, it's just a case of coming up with an idea and writing it.
At it's simplest, a mission is just a scripted set of events that tell some kind of story. It may be dramatic - mountain rescue, failing aircraft, poor weather. It could just as easily be a simple flight from A to B with you pointing out areas of interest along the way, or a completely abstract challenge like finding out how many times you can touch-and-go in a 747 in five minutes.
Technically speaking, there are two main classes of 'things' in a mission; Actions and Triggers. An Action makes something happen, and a Trigger checks to see if something's happened and calls an Action if it has. By stringing together Actions and Triggers, you tell your story.
You'll also need to prepare some sound files for the mission speech, some images to appear in FSX and some HTML with the mission briefing. All of these apart from the speech can be 'borrowed' from the standard missions and edited so even if you're not an HTML whiz, it's certainly possible to do. And if you get really stuck you could always try asking in the forum.
The Basics
Plot - Have a purpose.
Instructions - Guide the user.
Out of bounds - Trap the user when they stray beyond your intended route.
FS Insider - Mission Building Tips
Structuring.
Coding.
Testing.
Pulling it all together.
Packaging.
Distributing.
Tools
See these pages for HowTos & Tools used in creating -
Categories
Categories - Assigning and creating categories.
Mission Coding
Mission Coding - Creating your mission, development process & tips.
Rewards
Rewards - Creation tips.
Sounds
Sounds - Creating dialogue, and sounds, for missions.
Artwork
Artwork - Creating artwork for mission briefings, rewards, etc.
Briefing
Briefing - Creating HTML for mission briefings.
To Sort
These bits probably need modifying and/or relocating to appropriate subsections.
SDK
Object Placement Tool - Installing, configuring, & general useage tips.
Tools placeholder text.
Compiling
Function Reference
Function Reference with example code.
Debugging
Currently there are no available tools to allow debugging of your mission.
However there is a basic form of error reporting built into FSX.
Add the following to your fsx.CFG
[Debug]
ReportLoadErrors=1
