Tribes Editing 101

Pokey, I already know the basics, just take me to your forcefield tutorial!

-Getting Started

Here are my goals that I want to accomplish with this tutorial:

1. Getting into that editor....

2. Understand the difference between server side and client side maps.

3. Know the basic key commands (I will describe each one I use, which isn't many!)

4. Understand the proper structure of groups within the editor.

5. Object placement and rotation.

6. Add objectives and spawn points.

7. Complete a working capture the flag map.

These are in no particular order. I will do my best to keep this tutorial as organized and flowing as

possible. Alright, before we even fire up that editor (if you don't know how, I will explain later), we must

do a few things to get you prepared. First off, you will want to make a backup of your missions

directory unless you enjoy reinstalling Tribes and searching for all those patches, mods, maps, scripts,

reticles, huds, etc. that you need to add back on. The missions directory houses all your maps. It is

necessary to make a backup because for some reason unknown to man your original map files will get

messed up (specifically the .ted files). I just copied the missions folder over to the temp directory

Tribes had already set up.

Each original map that came with the game has four files:

1. .mis file-This file is the one that makes each map unique. It is the one that is read when loading a map

to see what objects will be present in the "world". There may be a few times where we have to open

this file with notepad to edit a few lines. Don't worry! Cut and paste type of stuff. If I can do it, anyone

can.

2. .dsc file-This file is responsible for map information when you press <esc>. It tells you what type of

game (ctf, c&h, dm, f&r, d&d) the map plays, and other information such as planet, time of day,

weather, number of teams, briefing, blah, blah, etc.

3. .vol file-I believe this one contains the objects that the map will be allowed to have in it.

4. .ted file-This is the file that will get messed up at times. I will explain in further detail later on. It is the

file responsible for the terrain each map uses.

Alright, let's get this rolling! To make a map that is not required to be downloaded by everyone

(server-side map), you must use the .ted and .vol files of an original map. So this is what I want you to

do.... go into Tribes, browse all the maps and pick a map which has the terrain you like. It can be any

of them. You want to note that it will be easier to start off with a map that doesn't have any

underground bases as you will have to plug the holes up in the terrain. Also, you can change sky

color and still keep it a server side map. So if there is a map that has the terrain you like, but it is

day-time and you want it to be night-time, don't worry, we can change that later. Ok now, let's say you

chose the broadside map. Good choice, cause that's what I chose too! (We just want to keep a

constant here...) We want to use the terrain of broadside, but have completely new bases and make it a

night-time map. This is what we must first do: go into your missions folder or your missions backup

folder that you created earlier and copy the broadside.mis and broadside.dsc files into a temp

directory. You now need to rename them to whatever you want your map to be called. I chose

tutorial.mis and tutorial.dsc, but they can be whatever you want! And if you don't quite have a name

decided now, you can change it anytime. The name just needs to be different than broadside or any

other map name that is already in your missions directory. Once you get it renamed you can then put it

back into your original missions directory. Ok Pokey, now what? Start up Tribes, change your video

settings to windowed mode (must be in windowed mode to use the editor), host a multiplayer game,

look for your map that you just renamed, select it, and host the game! But Pokey, it looks like

broadside, what's up? That's because it IS broadside, just with a different name.... How about we fire

up that editor now?

-Getting Into That Editor

1. Read above paragraph if you haven't already.

2. Once you are in the game, bring down the console by hitting the tilde key ( ` ), above the tab key.

3. Now type in:

exec(editor);

4. The editor will now load up, and you may then hit the tilde key again to remove the console.

It will look like this (note: I am using version 1.1312 of Tribes)

-Basic Key Commands

move forward

move backward

move left

move right

move up

move down

options

1-0

moving speed (1 being slowest, 0 being fastest)

left mouse

selects object

ctrl-left mouse

moves object vertically

shift-left mouse

rotates object around Z axis

alt-left mouse

rotates object around Y axis

right mouse

hold button down & move to rotate view

ctrl-delete

deletes object selected

ctrl-z

undo

"inspector" mode

"creator" mode

"terrain" mode ( I do not discuss the terrain editor )

"walkthrough" mode

We are now in the editor and know the basic key commands, let's do some damage! We are going to

start off by deleting the objects that are already present in the map. In F2 mode you will see three

windows: the left large window is where you will actually see the map. It may be black right now, but

that is only because the editor sometimes starts you off below the terrain (just hit 5, & hold e down

until you rise above the ground). The top right window is a "tree" structure which shows how objects

are grouped together. And lastly, still in F2 mode, the bottom right window will show specific

properties of an object that is selected.

I will add more to this tutorial when I get a chance, I just have a BIG project to work on at the moment.

Basically, you want to delete the objects that are presently in the map, and then add what you like. I

will update this as soon as possible to make it complete! Good luck, and email me if you have specific

questions.

Forcefields

First off, you will need to create a group for your forcefield. Name it anything you

want.....door, forcefield, etc. If you want it to be powered by the main generator make

sure the new forcefield group is under the group where the generator is located. If not,

you won't see the forcefield because it needs the power - of course!

If you want the forcefield to run strictly off its own power like I have done with

"WoohooWalkAbout", create the new forcefield group directly under the team* group.

You will then have to add another generator, solar panel, or portable generator directly

under your new forcefield group. Confused.....sounds confusing to me!

Ok, once you get your new forcefield group created you will have to add another group

under it called "Path1". Not for sure if has to include the "one" or not, but might as well

since it works this way. You'll notice if you've looked at other maps in the editor that this

"Path1" group says "SimPath" following it instead of "SimGroup". Don't worry about this

quite yet as yours will say "SimGroup". We will go into the .mis file and manually change

this after we establish the markers.

Now under the "Path1" group you will need to place two markers (not pathmarkers) from

the mission group in <F3> mode. These two markers are extremely tricky! You probably

have noticed there are three colored arrows on them (green, blue, and red).

Green arrow - to have your forcefield placed vertically, this arrow must point upwards

(vertically). To have your forcefield placed horizontally, rotate the marker until this arrow

faces horizontally, etc...

Blue arrow - the forcefield runs along this arrow and shows the movement of the

forcefield.

Red arrow - nothing particular about this arrow, just helps when rotating the marker.

In the above example picture you see that I've placed two markers. The left marker is the

one that I created secondly under the "Path1" group. It is the one where the forcefield will

show up when it is closed. It is very important that you use the correct one. In the

highlighted part of the picture it is the one right above "DoorForceField". This marker is

the only one you really need to mess with in the editor as you will make changes to the

other marker in the .mis file. For the first marker under the "Path1" group just place it in

the general area where you want your forcefield to move to when it opens. You don't

even need to bother rotating it because you can do that in the .mis file. Just use the second

"main" marker as an example. In the example picture above my forcefield will move from

the position that it is in now to the right where the first marker is located. Basically, it just

slides right over. You have to be careful with forcefields that you do not create them to

slide outside the base or into another room. I will talk more about this shortly in greater

detail. You probably have also noticed that I didn't place the left marker by the edge of

the opening. I did the first time around and had my forcefield sticking out the side of the

base....oops! If the walls are thick where you are placing the forcefield you really don't

need to worry about this situation too much.

I chose to place the right (first) marker over to the right instead of into the middle of the

flag base near the flag because it caused problems when it was near the flag. The

forcefield would show up when I played, and would close, but it wouldn't reappear. It's

as though it got hung up on the flag and flag stand. So make sure there are no inventory

stations, generators, and other added objects near either of your two markers. If an

added object was near your second (main) marker, chances are the forcefield won't even

show up. If I were to have placed the first marker (directly under "Path1") below the main

marker in the room below, the forcefield would have acted like an elevator......Now with

all this in mind, let's move on to the next screenshot. It will show the rotation of the

markers.

Alright, here you see that the blue arrow runs to the left towards us. The other marker has

the same rotation. I am not for sure if it has to run this way.....let's say we rotate BOTH of

these markers around so the blue arrows face directly the other way. Will it work? I don't

know. I always make the first marker of the group face towards the main marker (the

second one right above "DoorForceField"). It's just a pattern that I use. Now if I wanted

this forcefield to run veritcally, I would have rotated the green arrow to where the red one

is placed, and still keep the blue arrow facing the direction that it is in now. Of course I

would also have to move both markers closer to the opening (just inside it). If I didn't, the

forcefield would appear outside the wall the whole time, even when it opens up! Ok, that

is enough with messing with markers in the editor, let's move on to placing that forcefield!

In <F3> go to the Doors group and select which forcefield you want to use ("ForceField"

through "ForceField5x5"). Click on the main Forcefield Simgroup (mine is called

"FlagDoor" above) and go down to select which forcefield you want to use. Even though

the editor doesn't show it, it says "DoorForceField1", I chose "ForceField5x5" because

of the small area I was working with. You will see in the .mis file that it says

"ForceField5x5". Once you selected the forcefield you want to use, all you will see is a

green dot. NO FORCEFIELD! Arghh, I'm ticked now........ it's ok, that is how it works.

Stupid? Yes, most definitely. So now you have this green dot just sitting there doing

nothing. Leave it alone, don't worry about moving it at all, you will take care of it in the

.mis file. Remember, the main marker (second one listed under "Path1") is the only thing

you need to mess with except for moving the other marker in the genreral area where you

want the forcefield to move to. Now make sure you have some type of power running the

forcefield. Either you have placed this "ForceField" Group under a group where there is

already a generator or you have added a power source under the "ForceField" Group. In

the picture above you can see that I have added two solar panels under my "Doors"

Group. My main generator is under the "Stations/Turrets" Group powering everything in

that group. Once you have your power set, save it and close down tribes.

Now we need to open up your .mis file. Here is a cut of of mine that shows my forcefield

group:

instant SimGroup "Doors" { Notes:

instant SimGroup "FlagDoor" {

instant SimPath "Path1" { <------Change to "SimPath" from

"SimGroup"

isLooping = "False"; <------Add this line

isCompressed = "False"; <------Add this line

instant Marker "Marker1" {

dataBlock = "PathMarker";

name = "";

position = "-202.394 72.9237 216.582"; <------2 numbers will be the same.

*note below

rotation = "1.55989 0.874879 2.27585"; <------Same as second marker

below.

locked = "1";

};

instant Marker "Marker1" { <------This is your main marker. DO

NOT mess

dataBlock = "PathMarker"; with these settings first time

around.

name = ""; Adjust only after you go into

the game

position = "-207.929 72.9237 216.582"; and see that your forcefield

needs

rotation = "1.55989 0.874879 2.27585"; adjustments. You will use these

settings

locked = "1"; to modify the first marker and

the forcefield

};

instant Moveable "DoorForceField1" {

dataBlock = "DoorForceField5x5";

name = "";

position = "-207.929 72.9237 216.582"; <------Copy from the second

(main) marker.

rotation = "1.55989 0.874879 2.27585"; <------Copy from the second

(main) marker.

destroyable = "True";

deleteOnDestroy = "False";

fadeTime = "0"; <------Add this line

center = "1"; <------Add this line

Status = "close"; <------Add this line

closeTime = "1"; <------Add this line

locked = "1";

};

*Note:

Two numbers will end up being the same. When you moved the first marker in the

general direction, make sure it is a noticeable distance and line it up with the first marker

as close as possible. When going back into the .mis file after placing your markers and

forcefield, you should notice that two numbers from the first marker are relatively close to

that of the second marker. With that discovered, then change the two numbers from the

first marker to match those of the second marker - exactly.

Now with the two numbers that seem to be noticeably different, it's hit and miss. There

will be a lot of testing. With the "DoorForceField5x5" try to set the difference around 5 or

so. This is the only map that I used the 5x5 forcefield, I mostly use the plain-old

"ForceField" from the doors group in <F3> mode. With that forcefield try to begin with a

difference of 10 or so, then adjust if necessary. The only adjustments that need to be

made with this situation is when you are placing the forcefield in a tight spot. If you have

your forcefield moving down into the terrain or into a thick part of a base, don't worry

about this too much. Just set your difference to 10 and you probably won't have to deal

with it again.

Alright, woohoo! Once you finish copying these numbers and lines and whatnot, save it

and reopen Tribes. Go into the map you are working with (don't worry about going into

the editor quite yet)and find the spot where you hopefully should have a forcefield waiting

for you. If it's there, fantastic, double woohoo! If not, go back into the .mis file and make

sure you have added the lines specified. Also check to see if your position and rotation

numbers have been updated correctly. If you are still having problems seeing the

forcefield make sure it has power and there are no objects in the way of its movement or

placement. I would first create a forcefield in the middle of nowhere, out in the field

somewhere. Just make sure you place a generator near it.

Now maybe you went into the game and found that the forcefield is there but not in

quite the place you want it to be. This is where things get a little sticky.... You will find that

going back into the editor you just cannot move things around. First, the damn forcefield

won't budge, and the freakin' markers won't move either. Sorry about the explicit

language, but it pisses me off! You have to delete the forcefield. Now go under into your

"Path1" group (in the editor of course) and add yet another two markers for a total of

four. Go down to the last one of the group, select it, and move it around in relation to the

main marker you set before. Move it so the forcefield will appear correctly the next time

around. Now move the third marker in the general direction of the first marker. You will

remember this one doesn't have to be exact (changes made in the .mis file). Once that is

done, delete the first two markers, add the forcefield (again), save it, shut down tribes,

and edit the .mis file (again). This may seem like a lot of work, but once you get that baby

working it is well worth it! I think that about covers the jist of things.....good luck!

Also.....I'm not going to write much of anything about doors since they work exactly the

same. If you can get the forcefield to work, then the doors won't be much of a problem.

In the doors group there a few doors listed as left and right or top and bottom. Just look

at my .mis file for "WoohooWalkAbout" to see what lines you need to add and how to

relate the numbers of position and rotation. It is basically the same. Just a note for doors

though: let's say you want a left and right door like the one in "WoohooWalkAbout", just

make sure that ALL four markers are rotating the same way. It seems odd I know, but

that is how it works. Plus two of the markers (the second one of each "Path1" group) will

have exactly the same position and rotation. BTW, since there are two doors there will be

two "Path1" groups. Anyway, with enough said, the best of luck to you. I know you will

figure it out, just takes a little time. Don't hesitate with emailing me, even if you have a

hundred questions. I want you to get the hang of it.