REDEYE_CVW-66 Posted November 27, 2014 Posted November 27, 2014 Hey all! In time, I would like to try and make a campaign based on my first simulator love; Electronic Arts US Navy Fighters. Making the campaign for the upcoming F/A-18 and switching the original Ukraine for Georgia should do the trick. However, in order to make it, I need access to the old games briefing files. I could always get the game and play though it, writing things down along the way- but that would take some serious time. Also, I cannot click "next" mission, because if you fail some 4-5 missions, the campaign ends. I do not own the game at the moment, but I think it is available as abandonware, so I will look into it. If any of you DO have it: are the mission briefing stored somewhere in txt format, so it can be copied into DCS? As the game is old, its file structure might be relatively open. Any thoughts? And: No need to come back asking for release dates obviously. This will be a LONG time project dependant on the F/A-18 module which is still ways off. If and when I do make, I'll glady share it in the forums:)
Harpoon Posted November 27, 2014 Posted November 27, 2014 (edited) Let me guess, Ukraine 2002? :D I have Fighters Anthology (usnf 97 and ATF gold bundle), but I'm not sure how to get into the briefing files in the first place. Campaigns and missions are usually stored in LIB files on my install, yet considering that it's made for Win 95 and not dos (yet still runs on 8.1) it might have a different file structure. However, there is a very interesting thing named "BRIEFING.TXT" in the root directory. I'll copy it for you. ----------------------------------------------------------------- How to create briefing/debriefing text for Fighters Anthology ----------------------------------------------------------------- This document explains how to create, for your own missions, the text that appears on the briefing and debriefing screens. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Filenames ----------------------------------------------------------------- All the briefing and debriefing text is contained in one file. This file also contains the mission description that appears when this mission is listed in the Fly Single Mission screen. This file is called the "mission text" file, or MT file. When you save a mission, you give it a filename (for example, GROUND). The MT file you create for this mission must have the same name, but with an extension of ".MT." For example, "GROUND.MT." Before you save your mission in the Pro Mission Creator, you should also bring up the "Set screens..." dialog (in the "World" menu), and toggle the "Briefing Paper Screen" option to "on." ----------------------------------------------------------------- Sample File ----------------------------------------------------------------- Here is a short example of an MT file. Its contents are explained below. This file is included on the Fighters Anthology CD as EXAMPLE.MT. .section 1 01 CARRIER STRIKE (FRANCE) Single Player Mission ATF .section 2 .center .underline .header CARRIER STRIKE ..underline .left .body BOURNEMOUTH AIRBASE DATE : May 12 LOCAL TIME : 1100 WEATHER : Cloudy .header MISSION OBJECTIVE ..underline .body A French Clemenceau aircraft carrier was the object of an earlier attack. Your mission is to finish off the aircraft carrier with anti-ship missiles. British AV-8B Harriers and Belgian F-16s will provide air cover. Expect heavy air opposition. .underline .header THREAT SUPPRESSION DATA ..underline .body GROUND OPPOSITION : SAMs from enemy Type 69 frigates AIR OPPOSITION : Possible Rafales, Mirage 2000s, Mirage F-1s .section 3 .center .underline .header DEBRIEF ..underline .left .body BOURNEMOUTH AIRBASE DATE : May 12 MISSION : Carrier Strike RESOLUTION : Success Congratulations, you successfully destroyed the Clemenceau. .section 4 .center .underline .header DEBRIEF ..underline .left .body BOURNEMOUTH AIRBASE DATE : May 12 MISSION : Carrier Strike RESOLUTION : Failure You failed to complete your objectives. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Formatting Commands ----------------------------------------------------------------- As you can see, this file contains actual text to be printed, and some other text that is NOT printed. The other text contains the formatting commands for the file. A formatting command is some word that starts with one or two periods (.). For example: .left .section 4 .bold ..underline These commands are explained individually below. Many commands have shorter forms for convenience, especially if they're used often. These forms are given in parentheses after the standard form. For example: .bold (^b) This means that ".bold" and "^b" are equivalent. Use whichever you prefer. For clarity, we usually put formatting commands on separate lines. However, you can put multiple formatting commands on the same line, or intersperse them with the printed text. However, formatting commands must be separated from other text, and from each other, by spaces or carriage returns. For example: .bold.underline This won't work, because the ".bold" and ".underline" commands run into each other. Separate them by a space: .bold .underline Another example: This is .underline IMPORTANT ..underline, so pay attention. In this case, the "..underline" needs to be separated from the comma that follows it, so insert a space there: This is .underline IMPORTANT ..underline , so pay attention. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Printed Text ----------------------------------------------------------------- Before we list all the formatting commands, here are a few notes about the rest of the text in the file. Word-wrapping is done automatically by Fighters Anthology, to fit the space the text is printed in. In other words, you should only insert a carriage return at the end of each PARAGRAPH, not at the end of each LINE. Use two carriage returns if the paragraph ends with ..bold or ..underline. An easy way to do this is to use a word processor to create the text, then save the file in "text only" or "DOS text" format. You can, of course, create the text using the DOS EDIT program, or any other text editor, but the text will probably run off the screen to the right, making it difficult to edit. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Section Command ----------------------------------------------------------------- This command consists of ".section" followed by a number. It divides the text into sections. Each section has a particular meaning to Fighters Anthology: .section 1 The title that's printed for this mission on the Fly Single Mission screen. NOTE: After you have given your mission a title, the Fly Single Mission screen will list your mission alphabetized by its TITLE, and not by its FILENAME, which is how a mission is listed when it has no title. For example, if your mission filename is FOO: - if it has no title, it'll be shown in the alphabetized list as "FOO." (i.e., listed under "F") - if you have created an MT file for it, and given it the title "My Mission," it'll be shown in the list as "My Mission." (i.e., listed under "M") .section 2 The "briefing text," which is shown to the player before he starts the mission. It explains the mission goals. .section 3 The "success debriefing text." It's shown to the player after the mission is over, if he achieved all of the mission's goals. .section 4 The "failure debriefing text." It's shown to the player after the mission is over, if he failed to achieve all of the mission's goals. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Text Size Commands ----------------------------------------------------------------- These commands set the text font: .header (^h) Large text. Used for the mission title, for example. .body (^y) Small text. Used for the mission description, etc. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Text Style Commands ----------------------------------------------------------------- These commands set the style of the text. .bold (^b) Turn on boldface. ..bold (^^b) Turn off boldface. This will also turn off .header .underline (^u) Turn on underline. ..underline (^^u) Turn off underline. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Paragraph formatting commands ----------------------------------------------------------------- .left Print text left-justified. .right Print text right-justified. .center Print text centered. .full Print text full-justified (i.e., flush with both the left and right margins). You must use .full on each line that you want full-justified. .indent_left Must be followed by a number (e.g., ".indent_left 15"). Sets the indent from the left margin, in pixels. .indent_right Must be followed by a number (e.g., ".indent_right 15"). Sets the indent from the right margin, in pixels. .indent_off Resets the left and right indents to zero, which means "no indent." ----------------------------------------------------------------- Other commands ----------------------------------------------------------------- .page Insert a page-break (i.e., end the current page here). .sound Must be followed by a filename (e.g., ".sound FOO"). This specifies a digitized sound file to be played when this text is displayed. This file is a "raw" sound file containing 8-bit values sampled at 5012 Hz. Seems slightly complex...haven't ever done any briefings so this is a new find for me. Edited November 27, 2014 by Harpoon If you want to talk to anyone about anything personal, send it to their PM box. Interpersonal drama and ad hominem rebuttal are things that do not belong on a thread viewed by the public. One thing i have to point out... naming a thread.. "OK, so" is as useful as tits on a bull.
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