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2.0
Introduction to the Description File
The
Description.txt file is where all of the default flags plus
the level descriptions are stored. Open up the description.txt
file in the HWC 'Tutorial Map Files' Folder (included with this
primer), and take a wee look at it. What this file essentially
does, is deal with the options that are available within the
Cataclysm game itself, in the Multiplayer/Skirmish Vs CPU settings
screen. You can use this file to set up all the options as your
map settings, but this will not stop players from changing them
themselves if they (and they invariably do) should wish.
There
are three major parts to this file 'The Map Description' 'The
Map Settings' and 'RU Injections'.
2.1
The Map Description
Open
up the Tutorial Map Files Folder (or indeed, any other map folder
in the Cataclysm/multiplayer folder), and find the file called
description.txt. Open up
this file then, and let's take a look around.
Ok,
check out the first 5 lines that begin with the word 'Description'
followed by a <tab> spacer. Here's where you add your
description that the world will see when they click on your
map as listed in the Multiplayer/Skirmish Vs CPU/Select Scenario.
While
the various aspects to the description file (i.e. the flags
you can switch on and off) pertain directly to the "Multiplayer/setup
Game" screen in Homeworld. The text description you can
give on the first five lines proceeded by "Description"
will appear in the description at the "Select Scenario"
Game Info screen when you are choosing which map to load.
Description
The HWC Tutorial Map (2-8 Players)
Description
Your Map description goes here.
Description
Settings: Crates off.
Description
AUTHOR : Dylov (dylov@ntlworld.com)
Description
VERSION : 1.0 (December 22 2000)
You
can change anything after the description<tab> part of
each line. You can add more Description<tab> lines if
you with or just let your text description wrap (as I do). I
read somewhere once that the 5 lines was important, but maybe
I just made it up as I have never found it again... If you add
too big a description then the bottom lines will not be seen
as you cant scroll up and down on the description screen in
homeworld itself.
A
point of note about these lines: If you add an '&' in front
of a letter it will make that letter bold. But take note:
the '&' symbol is still recognised as part of the line (even
though it wont show up in the description box in the game) and
it will wrap your emboldened text onto the next line if its
too long.
The
Next three lines give the settings for the font and colour in
the description box, they are;
Font
Arial_b12.hff
Color
0, 180, 40
DropShadow
Yes
Don't
change the font, or it will crash HW:C. Don't change 'Dropshadow'
either, I have no idea what it does, and you can set it to "No"
but I have never noticed any difference and its probably best
left well alone. You can change the text colour, and it's probably
best I leave you to play around with it a bit yourself, until
you come up with a colour you like, just change the R/G/B values,
(min=0, max=255), remember don't touch the format, just the
actual values.
2.2
Default Settings
The
Second part of the description.txt file is the DEFAULT SETTINGS
as it says in those big happy capital letters. This bit pertains
directly to the settings in the Homeworld game itself, in the
Multiplayer/Skirmish Vs CPU/Advanced Options and Multiplayer/Skirmish
Vs CPU/Resource Options screens.
Now,
did you notice that the line I mentioned saying DEFAULT SETTINGS
actually begins with a semicolon? As in "; DEFAULT SETTINGS"?
You did? Well nobody likes a smart-arse! Anyway, the point here
is that when you run homeworld and load up your map, the game
will ignore all lines of text proceeded by a semicolon. However;
while this is true throughout, the format of this file is important,
don't change it by adding more lines in with semicolons. (The
only file you can really fool about with format and get away
with it is the ResourceSphere file, but we will get to them
later).
The
first lot of settings are written the same way, lets look at
the lines:
type.flag BIT12
; crates
type.flagNeeded BIT12
; FLAG: crates
Here
we see the flag that controls the crates
option, also available via the Multiplayer/Skirmish Vs CPU/Advanced
Options screen in the game itself. However, you can set these
as a default setting (i.e. when you load up your map, this flag
will be automatically set how you have set it via this file,
as I mentioned before there is nothing stopping the player from
changing it in the Advanced Options screen).
Now,
looking at these lines, they tell us that the crates have a
flag of "BIT12", and the line below tell the type
of flag needed for crates to be On
(Default). So, you could add a semicolon in front of the first
line to give you this;
;type.flag BIT12
; crates
type.flagNeeded BIT12
; FLAG: crates
And
now, when you load your map up, because the game has ignored
the first line there, it has not assigned "BIT12"
and crates will be Off. Its that
simple. Again, this can be basically summarised by saying:
If
you want an option off, place a semicolon at the start of each
"type.flag" line, not the "type.flgNeeded"
line. If you want the option on, then remove the semicolon from
in front of it.
2.3
RU Injections
The
next four lines after the settings subsection are:
type.numComputers
0
type.startingFleet 1
type.bountySize
2 ; turn
off bounties (3 = off)
type.startingResources
2
Here
you can set default number of computer players (max 7 remember,
+ you = 8), the type of starting fleet, (which I have never
noticed any difference when changed and so have no idea what
it does, your probably best leaving this well alone). Bounty
size, (where; 0=Small, 1=Medium, 2=Large and 3=Off). And starting
resources (where; 0=Small, 1=Medium and 2=Large).
The
final lines in the Description.txt File, from our Tutorial map
Files are:
;type.resourceInjectionInterval
14400
;type.resourceInjectionsAmount
2000
;type.resourceLumpSumTime
19200
;type.resourceLumpSumAmount
2000
If
you have the injections on (and these are flagged in the BIT6
and BIT7 lines above) in the description.txt
file, you'll have already noted they are flagged 'off' by default.
Well, you can control the amounts from here as well, and the
time between injections (or 'Until' in the case of the Lump
Sum). In the Game the maximum injection you can do is 9999 RU's,
and 9999 Mins until injection, but in the Description.txt file
there is no limit!
To
illustrate what you can do; I once set up a map where you start
with 4000RU's (type.startingResources
2) and have a Lump Sum injection of 196000RU's
(;type.resourceLumpSumAmount
196000) right at the very start of the game by
setting the LumpSumTime to a stultifying low amount, like '3'
(this pans out as a couple seconds in the game I think this
number means 'frames', but who knows?). The end result is an
initial amount of 200,000 RU's available to each player! This
was further modified (all via the Description.txt file) where
I switched off injections, harvesting and bounties, giving each
player 200,000RU's to play with and no possibility of acquiring
more. Admittedly 200,000RU's is a HUGE number, but the point
is valid. Aren't I just brilliant...
One
last point about RU's; you can switch off (via this file) all
possible sources of cash and have no money available on your
map, useful if you are making a Battle Map. (This is where all
the ships are already on the board so to speak, a sort of 'Enders
Game' scenario. See 'Planetary Wars' and 'First Battle at Hancock
Station' which are available for Homeworld only, sadly not
for HW:C). By doing this the cash flow reverts to a default
of increment injections of 25RU's up to 400RU's max, allowing
building of a modest amount of ships to keep the supply line
ticking over.
2.4
Last Word
And
that's your description.txt file. The game actually pretty much
ignores the Description.txt file in all but the lowest player
number version of your map, but its required so you can actually
see the description you gave for the in-game description screen.
So
we have finished (For the time being) with the actual game settings
for your map, let's move on to the map itself, we'll begin with
the Most important file; the *.level
file.
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