Hellhawk's Checklist for Advanced Map-Builders ---------------------------------------------- This file is not a FAQ for people creating their first map, nor is it an instruction manual for map creation. If you need these tools look for them in the Homeworld Editing Files section of the Homeworld Map Archive. It is intended for use by experienced map builders, most probably using a text editor to create their map files. The file is a checklist of all the files necessary for your map to work, the necessary parameters you should have in these files, and the required inter-relationships between files. It does not contain detailed explanations of how the files work, because it is expected that you will either know this already or can refer to other documentation to find the answers. I created this file for my own use so I could be sure I had checked all the common problem areas before testing my maps, and to help in finding errors in maps which crashed during testing. Hellhawk666 January 3, 2000 ---------------------------------------------- 1. Directory Structure ---------------------- a) Are the required number of directories present? b) Have they been numbered correctly? c) Are there any spelling mistakes in the directory names? 2. Directory Content -------------------- a) Is the "Description.txt" file present in every directory? b) Is the "XXXn.level" file present in every directory? c) Is each "XXXn.level" file correctly spelt and numbered? d) Is each "XXXn.level" file named the same as the directory in which it resides? d) Is the "ResourceSphere_1.missphere" file present in every directory (Did I set up for more than 1 resource sphere in this map? If so are the ResourceSphere_n.missphere" files present in every directory?) Did I spell ".missphere" correctly? e) Are the required .dist files present in every directory? (XXX.dist, YYY.dist, etc.) f) Are the required "Mothership_n.missphere" files present in each directory? (DIRECTORYp includes "p" instances of Mothership_n.missphere) Are the "Mothership_n.missphere" files sequentially numbered? 3. Basic File Content --------------------- 3.1 "Description.txt" a) Are all the "Description.txt" files identical? b) Are the game settings correctly formatted? 3.2 "XXXn.level" files a) Does every file have the required comment lines and game information present, eg: -------- ; MissionMan script, Tuesday, Aug 24 1999, 5:25:46 PM ; Copyright (c) 1998-99, Relic Entertainment Inc. ; Multiplayer Level: Haldane4 ; Info: Haldane (2-4) [Haldane (2-4)] -------- b) Is the "Multiplayer Level:" data identical to the directory name where the file resides? c) Under these lines, does every file have a reference line for each Resource sphere and Mothership sphere file in the directory in which it resides, eg (for Haldane4): -------- MissionSphere -1,?,ResourceSphere,0.0,0.0,0.0,30000.0,0.0,ResourceSphere_1.missphere,? MissionSphere 0,R1,Mothership,-50000.0,0.0,50000.0,30000.0,0.0,Mothership_0.missphere,0 MissionSphere 1,R2,Mothership,50000.0,0.0,-50000.0,30000.0,0.0,Mothership_1.missphere,0 MissionSphere 2,R1,Mothership,-50000.0,0.0,-50000.0,30000.0,0.0,Mothership_2.missphere,0 MissionSphere 3,R2,Mothership,50000.0,0.0,50000.0,30000.0,0.0,Mothership_3.missphere,0 -------- d) Is everything below these lines identical in each "XXXn.level" file? 3.3 "ResourceSphere_1.missphere" a) Are all the "ResourceSphere_1.missphere" files identical? b) If present, are the "ResourceSphere_2.missphere" files etc. identical. 3.4 "XXX.dist", "YYY.dist", etc. a) Are all the "XXX.dist" files identical? Are all the "YYY.dist" files identical? etc. 3.5 "Mothership_n.missphere" files a) Are the "Mothership_n.missphere" files which are present in more than 1 directory all identical? 4. Detailed Inter-File Content ------------------------------ 4.1 "Description.txt" a) no inter-file settings 4.2 "XXX.level" files a) Are the references to the resource sphere and mothership sphere files numbered correctly, eg (for Haldane4): -------- MissionSphere -1,?,ResourceSphere,0.0,0.0,0.0,30000.0,0.0,ResourceSphere_1.missphere,? MissionSphere 0,R1,Mothership,-50000.0,0.0,50000.0,30000.0,0.0,Mothership_0.missphere,0 MissionSphere 1,R2,Mothership,50000.0,0.0,-50000.0,30000.0,0.0,Mothership_1.missphere,0 MissionSphere 2,R1,Mothership,-50000.0,0.0,-50000.0,30000.0,0.0,Mothership_2.missphere,0 MissionSphere 3,R2,Mothership,50000.0,0.0,50000.0,30000.0,0.0,Mothership_3.missphere,0 -------- b) Are the Lighting, Background and SongNumber parameters valid and correctly formatted? c) Are the Exclude and Include parameters valid and correctly formatted? 4.3 "ResourceShpere_1.missphere" a) Are the resource references correctly formatted, eg: -------- Resources DustCloud,-350000.0,250000.0,0.0,Cylinder,dustcloud1.dist,10,5000.0,100000.0,0.0,-50.0,2048,7 Derelict AngelMoon_clean,0.0,500000.0,0.0,0.0,-90.0,0 Derelict Crate, 60000.0,0.0,0.0,-75.3, 163.7,4096 Ships ,-179194.4,9334.6,-43982.5,0.0,Traders,Junk_LGun,1,NULL_FORMATION|?|?,4096,? -------- b) Pay attention to spelling errors, particularly: resource types resource.dist file names resource shape types c) Check that there are no derelicts or ships specified which are also excluded in the "XXXn.level" file d) Are the correct resource.dist files associated with each resource type? e) Is the file larger than 64KB in size. If so it must be cut into two files. f) Check that GasClouds have not been used. 4.4 "XXX.dist" files, etc. a) Are the correct resource types present within each type of resource.dist file? eg: asteroid .dist files - Asteroid0 Asteroid1 Asteroid2 Asteroid3 Asteroid4 dustcloud.dist files - DustCloud0 DustCloud1 DustCloud2 DustCloud3 DustCloud4 nebula .dist files - Nebula0 Nebula1 Nebula2 Nebula3 Nebula4 b) Is there a space between the resource type label and the value columns? eg: Asteroid3 1 2 etc. 4.5 "Mothership_n.missphere" files a) Are the ship resources for each player formatted correctly? eg: -------- Ships ,-68732.6,-3678.0,0.0,0.0,R1,Mothership,1,NULL_FORMATION|?|?,0,? Ships ,-66922.6,-5659.0,-104.0,0.0,R1,ResourceCollector,2,PARADE_FORMATION|?|?,0,? -------- b) Check that no ship is specified which is excluded for that race by the "XXXn.level" file. c) Check for spelling errors, particularly in the names of ship types and formations. 5. Testing ---------- a) Test vs. CPU for every combination of players. Test saving the game and recording the game. Test loading from a cold start. b) Test vs. human opponents online. ----------------------------------------------