Scripting

[peanuckle_00]

I think that scripting in ofp should be simplified like Microsoft Windows simplifies DOS. "POINT AND CLICK INTERFACE." There should be a point and click interface that covers all the scripting in the game without the player having to memorize anything. A 5 year old should be able to script an entire cutscene, a helicopter landing and pickup sequence, enemies dropping their weapons when you arrive, music played in an object, all without having to manipulate files or download tutorials, and all compliments of an easy to use point and click interface. I'm talking paradropping extra equipment, calling in bombings, calling in evacs, calling in mortar support, kinda like that one addon. I'm talking everything that can be done in the game should require no typing whatsoever. It should all be simple point and click. Focus on "point and click interface" and everything should work out fine.

[uiox]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Romolus @ 06 May 2003,00:37)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Simplify MP scripting.

It shouldn&#39;t depend where you use commands if they are working or not. The need for some commands to be executed where an object is local is making MP scripting verry complicated, especially with the actual system how and where actions and eventhandlers can be used.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Simplify? In OFP1 you can&#39;t really script MP.

Why? Cause with triggers and WP you can solve and script VERY GOOD MP MISSIONS.

A lot of awesome MP missions are done without script.

We want more, and BI ear, and understand what we want.

BUT if you want more, ***you are in the scripter domain, so learn yourself.

Ask to our masters how many hours for understanding a little part of OFP.
It&#39;s a choice of BI, don&#39;t forget OFP is a game, not an operating system.

First we buy, play with it, after we script (for a very little part of us).

I&#39;m a gamer, for me OFP is a very good game, if in OFP2 I will have pleasure of playing : win for BI.

PS: MP scripting does not exist in OFP1, it&#39;s an invention of our scripting gurus.

PS2; I agree with you if you say : create mp scripting

[Romolus]

It&#39;s not the MP mission scripting I&#39;m concerned about it&#39;s the scripts that are included in addons for advanced features.

In addon scripting you can&#39;t use triggers and such editor depending things, you only can use the scripting language. There are many advanced features possible in the game that work perfect in SP but are in the easiest case a real pain to get them working properly in MP and in some cases simply impossible to do.

The whole addon install issue is made even worse when the mission designer has to place gamelogics or fill in some scripting code in the init field of some units just to make the advanced features work.
So simplifying the MP scripting should also be part of the enhancements for addon handling, not just easy installing.

Allmost every higher quality addon that&#39;s been released in the past had some sort of advanced scripted features and the tendency to include more scripted features is still growing.
Nothing is won when the addons install really easy and the mission designer has quite a hard time to get the addon to work in the mission just because of the way scripts in addons have to be done for multiplayer.

[bn880]

[*]One thing most of us at the CoC also would like to suggest is that the init EH in addons actually fires on all machines.

If not all the EH&#39;s, since it is easier to say : ?(not local (_this select 0)): exit;
than have to create a network communication solution.
[*]Please support the same comment syntax /* */ and // in loadFile as in preProcessFile. Sorry to say I lost a bit of time wondering what the heck was going wrong when converting some NS code to an addon.
[*]Please add that access to system time/date both in SP and MP mission. Perhaps setDateTime function is possible?

[Rune]

I&#39;d like a simple command to save a variable used in multiplayer for the next game with same mission(and maybe same server).

If there was a command to save a boolean value to indicate if the mission was played before, difficulty could be higher the second time around. Or it would be possible to make one mission into a sort of a campaign by saving the numbers of units left for the next time. It could even be extended to singleplayer and/or campaigns to allow some sort of replaying a mission without &#39;starting over&#39; for improving realism. - &#39;take out the tanks&#39; ...play mission... &#39;go back and finish the job&#39;... play mission again.

The possibilities are endless, and it would be possible to make missions with even higher replayability than now.

[raedor]

it would be great if in ofp2 are new scripting commands like
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE">unitName getStatus == standing/lying
e.g.&#58;
if &#40;getStatus player == standing&#41; then {player playMove &#34;CombatToPutDown&#34;} else {player playMove &#34;PutDownLyingToLying&#34;}[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
or if it would be possible to set trigger options like
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE">triggerName setAxis &#91;axis, number&#93;
e.g.&#58;
trigger1 setAxis &#91;a,50&#93;
or
triggerName setActivation &#91;side, class&#93;
e.g.&#58;
trigger1 setActivation &#91;&#34;west&#34;,&#34;tank&#34;&#93;[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>

[Rune]

It would be a great improvement in scripting freedom if a command like setAccTime would work in multiplayer. I realize that there are problems, but the benefits would be great both in making big/long missions and in enabling group &#39;Max Payne&#39; shootouts.

For everyone to change at the same time, the machine calling setAccTime could negotiate the correct timing with the highest ping machine in the game and then broadcast it to everyone, so nothing gets out of sync - or will it anyway?

Don&#39;t leave it out just because you don&#39;t think anyone would want it or because it is very easy to make crap missions with it.

[uiox]

Have the possibilty to create a variable with the ID of object.

Call format ["upDateList%1 = [] ",self(object)]

You can&#39;t build a global variable for each of object of a same addon.

Or global variable relates to an object.

[Cannon Fodder]

A cut and paste &#39;Script Board&#39; that you could simply take a piece of code out of a reference book and paste it into your mission might be a good idea. Therefore you wouldn&#39;t require an encyclopedic knowledge of scripting commands, encourage inexperienced mission authors into using more complex mission structures and also improve the general quality of missions aailable to download&#33;

Even better was an idea suggested by Peaknuckle a little earlier about a &#39;Point and Click&#39; interface, although perhaps a brief explanation of what each piece of code does and the order in which it should appear (syntax) would be needed (perhaps in a tool-tip style when you hover the mouse over it?)?

[raedor]

no, i dont think that a "point and click" interface is a good idea... only if it would be possible to make scripts like now.

u wont have so much possibilities to script with a "point and click" interface, but it may be easier for beginners...