Different ABRIS data for opposing coaltions?

[ironstrike]

So I'm putting the finishing touches on adversarial mission for a group of friends and I was going to add ABRIS data: target zones, routes, points of interest, and so on.

 

However, when I launch the mission using Prepare Mission to program in my ABRIS data, it then shows up on the ABRIS display for both coalitions, even though I haven't even yet recorded any data from one of the coalitions!

 

Is there a process I'm missing, or does the file format simply not let me have two completely different sets of data? I'd prefer to have each team be able to clearly see where their ground units are for example, but give the enemy team vague box outlines using the drawing tool so they only have a general notion of the target area.

 

Any thoughts or suggestions would be muchly appreciated!

[STP Dragon]

... or does the file format simply not let me have two completely different sets of data?

Sadly yes.

It is not possible to create two different ABRIS data sets.

[ironstrike]

Drat.

 

Thanks anyway for the fast reply, Dragon. It was your fantastic mission pack that convinced my I should try creating some of my own sometime. I have a newfound respect for what you've done - that editor is a serious pain to work with. Sure it can do some complicated things, but the tools at our disposal are so incredibly primitive, my hat is off to anyone who manages to fight the thing into submission and make something coherent out of it!

[STP Dragon]

Thanks for the praises.

Go on with your work. You will find a workarround for your problem.

I have a Player vs. Player mission too. I only marked the border with yellow lines in the ABRIS. For known enemy positions you can UNcheck "hide on map" for the units.

 

Yes, many people say the editor is a pain. But if you know how to handle it it makes lot of fun.

Do you know Blindspots Editor Mod?

(See my signature)

[ironstrike]

Oh yes, I'm not giving up or anything. Indeed, the ABRIS was one of the last few things I needed to do, and I ended up taking a similar approach of just marking out a general line of battle in yellow. Briefing pictures for each team will have to do for showing areas of interest. And the mission editor mod was a boon: mine is complicated with three optional support missions for each team that can increase their chances of winning in addition to a direct attack. I can't imagine having done it without use of the "clone" function and the AND/OR switches.

 

 

A related question though, for you or anyone else who happens to be reading: If I edit the mission file directly inside the .miz, can I specify which route points are PVI waypoints? That would allow me to let pilots of each team know their defending zones precisely without limiting me to just 6 waypoints and blue route lines crossing all over the place.

 

What I have tried so far: in the editor, placing a basic route with a waypoint over each point of interest so that pilots will have the points in their PVI. I then tried setting up a complicated ABRIS route using Prepare Mission that is a sort of wheel hub-and-spoke design: the helipad is the starting waypoint, and each point of interest has a waypoint at its location then the next in the flight plan is back at the helipad. I named each point of interest appropriately to refence the actual PVI point used to store the point of interest's data. This keeps the route on the ABRIS looking clean by having lines just coming from the pad, at the minor cost of making pilots use the SUSP button frequently. Which is fine, because they're not routes exactly, but just map points they can cycle through for quick navigation information to an area they might need to return to.

 

Unfortunately, I can't seem to get the complicated ABRIS route to save. I'll program it in, then make it the active flight plan, then go to CTRL->DTB and save every type of data I can. Then I press escape to exit the mission and save using the editor. But when I next launch the mission, the waypointed route in the editor (the basic ugly route using only 6 points) is the only route data in the ABRIS. (I have been able to correctly add, save, and recall the Additional Info data, in this case just a yellow line of battle.)

 

Do I need to recheck my process for storing ABRIS data? Do I also need to save my route in the ABRIS as a named route that can be saved/loaded/deleted from the PLAN menu? Or is the route plotted in the editor overriding the custom route I created using Prepare Mission? If this is the case, I suppose I'll need to give the helicopters a spawn with no route, create and save their routes using Prepare Mission, but then I'll be without PVI data...

 

Damn this editor! There always seems to be a way to work around its quirks, but it is also guaranteed to be the most obtuse and convoluted way possible.

[STP Dragon]

Hi ironstrike,

 

To separate the ABRIS- and PVI-waypoints is a really good idea. But sadly I don't have any experience with entering a route to the ABRIS.

I only know how to enter lines to mark a area and save this in the DTB.

By the way: Your way to save it in the DTB is correct. I have no idea why the route woun't be saved.

I have to admit that I don't use the PVI. I only use the ABRIS to track my route by flight. My focus is to kill enemys, not the navigation.

[Isegrim]

Last time I tried to save the route and the lines in abriss it doesnt work. Later i noticed that i pressed FLY MISSION button in EDITOR . :smilewink:

[ironstrike]

Heh, I feel your pain Isegrim. That got me a few times as well!

 

And Dragon, I tend not to use the PVI much myself, but since it is there and I'm also teaching a few people how to fly, I figure I should have as many features work as I possible. This one though? You were absolutely correct when you said a little lateral thinking will come up with a solution for the problem. It won't be elegant, but it will work.

 

Target Points. :doh: You can assign them wherever you like, and when you assign them to a player-controlled craft, they're in the PVI immediately. And since I'm already naming my waypoints to tell people which PVI point to use for nav assistance as opposed to flying a connected route, I'll just put a target point over each point of interest. Ugly, but effective.

 

If anybody does know how to manually define PVI travel waypoints though, I'd love to hear it!