Script Advice/Critique

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ForestDragon
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Re: Script Advice/Critique

Post by ForestDragon »

you can type : then you will see a 'command' menu where you type 'debug' and you can do things like spawn units, kill units, or just use the command menu again and type 'n' for next level or 'cl' for choosing a different level
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beetlenaut
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Re: Script Advice/Critique

Post by beetlenaut »

kantus wrote:I'd thought of the possibility of temporarily changing the first mission of the campaign to mission 7, but I'm not sure if that would work
It does work, and I've done it before. However, keeping the beginning of scenario saves is usually a lot easier. If the game deleted your autosaved files, you can change the preferences so it doesn't. (I also constantly use the command menu that ForestDragon mentioned when I'm testing. Type :help to get a list of possible commands.)
Campaigns: Dead Water,
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and WML Guide
kantus
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Re: Script Advice/Critique

Post by kantus »

Hi all,

Again, sorry for the delay. Life (and Hearthstone) have been getting in the way again. I've not forgotten the campaign, though, and I'm grateful for your help so far. I do fear, however, that having already published a WiP version of the campaign may have somewhat taken the wind out of my sails; in the sense that it takes away part of the motivation I had for working on the campaign. Does anyone have any advice for counteracting this feeling?

Thanks

Kantus
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Dugi
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Re: Script Advice/Critique

Post by Dugi »

kantus wrote:I do fear, however, that having already published a WiP version of the campaign may have somewhat taken the wind out of my sails; in the sense that it takes away part of the motivation I had for working on the campaign.
I have told you not to publish a WiP because you'll never finish it then. But you've chosen to listen to bumbadadabum who has not even approached to finishing his campaign... and he's working on it for years. Now you see the consequences for your unwise decision.

Now come on, prove me I am wrong. Do it, I am waiting. I DARE you!
kantus wrote:Does anyone have any advice for counteracting this feeling?
You must feel bad if you make no progress some day (or half-day if you have a day with plenty of free time). Doesn't matter how much free time you have, you have to find a bit of time somewhere in the dead of night. Doesn't matter how many other games you play. If you're stuck on something, even learning a few bits about the problem is progress, the effort matters more than the result here. If you're terribly stuck on something, skip it or you'll lose motivation, the solution will come eventually. This is what I do and it works.
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skeptical_troll
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Re: Script Advice/Critique

Post by skeptical_troll »

What works for me is trying to identify the most urgent thing in the 'to-do' list. Ideally you should have a road-map for your campaign where you write down what is left to do. When I do this, I often realize I was wasting time thinking of secondary details or of scenarios which were too far away from the point I was at, or looking for ideas to add something 'new' to the campaign which wasn't actually necessary. Most times, the most urgent thing to do is to decide the precise objectives of a scenario, or doing the map of the next one, or clarify an aspect of the story which was left undetermined just because regarded as minor.

If you lost motivation it's likely that you'll need an effort to regain it, but in my opinion you shouldn't feel bad if you don't do something every day, at the end all this loses meaning if it's not fun!
kantus
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Re: Script Advice/Critique

Post by kantus »

Well, guys, I have to say thanks again. Especially Dugi - your verbal kick-in-the-pants did the trick, and I've already started work on the next mission (got the basics setup and the map done, just need to set up all the units, triggers, etc.

Here's hoping we make it to the end this time! :eng:
kantus
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Re: Script Advice/Critique

Post by kantus »

Hi everyone,

I've got a question that straddles the line between a writing problem and a gameplay problem. As part of Mission 9, Veoddry appears, revealing the fact that he is in fact responsible for many of the bad things that've been happening. This makes his brother Theoddry (who has been fervently denying that his brother could have anything to do with such villainy for three missions now) have something of a breakdown, and he teleports directly to Voeddry to confront him (heedless of the bodyguards surrounding him, so great is his distress). The way I've written it, he ends up getting captured, right before the battle against Veoddry begins in earnest. Where this runs into being a possile gameplay problem is this: Without Theoddry, the player won't be able to use his troops, which could make for an extremely unfair 'landmine' that punishes players for not having foreknowledge of the scenario. Is there a way to transfer a troop list to another character, and then return it to the original unit at a later point?

There's also the possible concern that losing a high-level Mage that you've invested much into could still be unfair even if you get to keep the rest of the troops. Thirdly, there's a problem because of how I've set up the scenario. In the previous scenario, you controlled six troops on a stealth mission, and won by getting to point X, which triggered the plot events. You then loaded immediately into the next mission, with no victory screen, into a map which was an expanded version of the previous map (this was an attempt to provide a real sense of continuity, like they were one big mission rather than two small missions). The trouble is this: Because of the way the previous scenario ended, the player starts with a small number of troops next to a pair of high-level units that they may not be able to defeat (these would be the bodyguards mentioned beforehand), *and* they won't have access to recruitment at the time. I also don't know how to record the precise units that the player had at the end of the previous mission, which I'd like to do in order to preserve continuity. I need to somehow find a way to carry over their troops from the previous mission, while providing them with a means of actually beating the bodyguards.

Does anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks
Kantus
Tad_Carlucci
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Re: Script Advice/Critique

Post by Tad_Carlucci »

See [role]

What I'd do is use [role] to mark the troops at the end of the first scene, so I could [recall] them at the start of the next.
Last edited by Tad_Carlucci on September 19th, 2016, 11:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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zookeeper
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Re: Script Advice/Critique

Post by zookeeper »

kantus wrote:Is there a way to transfer a troop list to another character, and then return it to the original unit at a later point?
Since you didn't specify, I'm assuming you want to move units from one side to another, in which case all you need is a [modify_unit].
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beetlenaut
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Re: Script Advice/Critique

Post by beetlenaut »

To carry units from one scenario to the next, you can use [store_unit] to create a list of them before exiting the first scenario, and then recall each one in the prestart event of the next scenario with a {FOREACH} loop. (Or the new [foreach] tag if you are using 1.13.)
Campaigns: Dead Water,
The Founding of Borstep,
Secrets of the Ancients,
and WML Guide
kantus
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Re: Script Advice/Critique

Post by kantus »

Thanks guys.

I might not have been clear enough in my last post. In Mission 9, there are no Keeps, so Theoddry cannot recall any of his troops (Side 2). In Mission 10, he is disabled and cannot recall his troops. I want to give all of Side 2's recall list to Side 1 for the duration of the mission, then transfer them back at the end of the mission (when he's returned). Would this pose a problem?
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James_The_Invisible
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Re: Script Advice/Critique

Post by James_The_Invisible »

It does not mean a problem at all. [store_unit] and [modify_unit] work for units on recall list by default.
Another possible solution (I used it in first chapter my campaign) is setting save_id for a side, killing the leader and replacing him with the new one. I set save_id for that side in all scenarios of that chapter but it might not be necessary. In your case will probably want to store the original leader before killing and unstore him after the scenario.
kantus
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Re: Script Advice/Critique

Post by kantus »

Hey guys,

I reckon most of you have probably figured this out by now, but I felt that I should make it official: I'm too busy with college right now to work on the mod. Furthermore, I feel that my plotline has gotten awfully bogged down by having a second plot essentially dumped on top of it in the middle of the campaign. When I have more time (Christmas/Summer Break) I plan on revising the campaign (perhaps making a new one altogether).

Thanks,
Kantus
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