Make Your Quota!

[ajcross]

Description:
Mine as quickly and efficeintly as possible.

Author:
Andy Cross

History:
5/13/2004 Many Many Fixes - see Version History
4/29/2004 Stupid mistake on End Game Condition
4/29/2004 All elements coded. Some bugs.
4/23/2004 Posted semi-working mission. Two main story elements blocked by problem with triggers controlling Bullpups.
4/16/2004 33% Done

[knelson]

Quickest mission I ever finished. After reading the ecom's I immediately get mission accomplished. I never even get to play. Check your end mission trigger.

[Donw35]

finshed level in under 1 second...

[ajcross]

I posted a working copy. Two major mission themes seem to have hit a coding wall so are not included. So I polished it off and posted it.

Andy Cross

[joshlerman]

Hey, this still isn't working.....it ends before it begins!

[ajcross]

New update.
Please post any problems.

[knelson]

Besides a little more information, I get the same results as before. The mission is over before it begins.

[Donw35]

I guess the real question is, are you testing this on a PDA or on a emulator ?

[ajcross]

Heh, I rewrote my end game conditions without doing a quick test.

Stupid really.

Andy

[joshlerman]

Perhaps I am completely missing the point of this mission, but other than being able to use "Andy," I am unable to gain control any of the RED troops or buildings, or start mining operations.

I am able to attack the green and gray troops, but if I attack too many of them, the mission ends abruptly and I am right back where I began.

Perhaps this level should begin with at least one corporate raider, or with a certain number of enemy kills some friendly troops could be spawned, but at least for the time being I cannot understand how the objectives of the mission can be satisfied.

Other than that, I do love the layout -- the maze-like terrain makes for a very interesting look.

[ajcross]

Did you go to the security tower that was defogged at the beginning of the mission?

I had thought of adding a trigger to say 'Stop wasting time. Report to Olstrom at the secuirty tower.'

This is a puzzle mission, not a combat mission.

Andy

[knelson]

I agree, this is a puzzle mission and has to be figured out. It took me serveral attempts to figure out how to add units.

[joshlerman]

OK, now I understand the tricks involved here.....

I have managed to establish mining operations, build storage containers and get power, as well as add guards to my arsenal.

I have mined all there is to mine, I have spoken with the ranger, I think I have played this one out in the right way, but I cannot figure out how to bring the mission to completion.

Any further tips?

[ajcross]

The mission is supposed to end in 30 minutes. Andy should be alive, you need a 50,000 credit balance, and side 3 or side 4 should not be slaughtered.

I had to mine the whole map to raise enough credits. There are some other tricks out there.

Andy Cross

[joshlerman]

Hmmm....I've mined 50,000+ credits, and have played for more than 30 minutes, and have not instigated any battles, and it still didn't end.....

[BSlickOH]

After about 400 tries, I finally managed to win. I didn't think it was possible.

For one, the game cheats. I don't know if this is a deliberate behavior, or a bug, but the processing plants will quit working. I'll have 5 or 6 bulpups clustered around one, but no matter what I do, they can't/won't enter it. I was guessing this was deliberate for the 1st processor, since it seems to shut down in the final 10 minutes or so. But one time, when I had $49,600 with time quickly running out, I had bulpups that had mined absolutely everything running for the 2nd processor. They got there in time, but were not able/willing to enter. So I wound up losing, even though I would have won had the processor been working correctly.

For another, there is just barely enough Galaxite on the map to succeed. There is very little room (i.e. NONE) for error. After you pay for 9 storage buildings, 3 electrics, and 2 processors, you have an extremely slim budget for what you do with what is left. If you don't build enough bulpups, you can't mine fast enough. If you build too many, you run out of galaxite before hitting $50,000. If a loaded bulpup gets destroyed, you might as well start over. I'm also pretty sure that if you pay off the park ranger, you won't be able to make it to $50,000.

Other quirks/bugs:
The people at the base will quit talking to you after a while, possibly in the last 10 minutes. So if you don't have enough storage facilities built up, you're hosed. Same thing with the electric guy when the 2nd processor forces you into the red zone.

The storage guy and the electric guy will far-too-often say "ok, I'm on my way," run half way up, then turn around and run back home. I don't know if they are being less-than-stellar employees, or if this is a bug, but it is annoying either way. I'll have Andy halfway to some other destination before I realize that the builder came back home too soon.

The Bulpups-take-a-break thing is clever, but they do it too much in the final 10 minutes. I can mine for almost 20 minutes without interruption, then in the final 10 minutes they decide to take a break at least twice.

When the Bulpups enter the base, they are considered intruders. Excuse me? The base built the suckers. They shouldn't be considered intruders. And when the base has intruders, suddenly Andy becomes a target, and will also start shooting. Hey, we're all on the same side, aren't we?

Ok, I'm taking a deep breath now. Pardon my frustruation, but I have been *so close* to winning so many times. On to positive stuff...

Brilliant concept! I'd like to see more missions like this. Keeping Andy running all over the map to make sure different tasks get accomplished is certainly a clever break from the kill-em-all mode of most other missions.

The map sucks! ..in a good way. Very challenging. You really have to stay on top of things. You can't simply click a destination and wait for the guys to get there. Things can happen along the way, sometimes expensive things, so you have to micromanage a lot more. Certainly keeps the player involved.

I can't say enough good things about how clever the use of the various characters is. It's disconcerting when you are using color schemes of "enemies" in most normal maps, but once you figure out what the deal is, it's not so bad.

Some tips/spoilers for those who are having trouble:
I won without buying any soliders
I won without paying off the park ranger
$$$$$Just$$$$because$$$$you$$$$can't$$$kill$$$$all$$$of$$$
$$$$$the$$$protestors$$$$$doesn't$$$$$mean$$$$you$$$$
$$$$$can't$$$$$kill$$$$$some$$$$of$$$$$$them.$$$$$$$

Excellent job! I hope you'll make some more missions like this.

[ajcross]

BSlickOH wrote:

After about 400 tries, I finally managed to win. I didn't think it was possible.

Someone actually completed my first mission!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!! And, you found most of the bugs that I had trouble getting around. BTW, I must have played it at least 200 times trying to figure out my logic.

BSlickOH wrote:

For one, the game cheats. I don't know if this is a deliberate behavior, or a bug, but the processing plants will quit working. I'll have 5 or 6 bulpups clustered around one, but no matter what I do, they can't/won't enter it. I was guessing this was deliberate for the 1st processor, since it seems to shut down in the final 10 minutes or so. But one time, when I had $49,600 with time quickly running out, I had bulpups that had mined absolutely everything running for the 2nd processor. They got there in time, but were not able/willing to enter. So I wound up losing, even though I would have won had the processor been working correctly.

I reported this in: Bullpups won't enter Galaxite Processor
http://www.handmark.com/warfare/forum/viewtopic.php?t=884
For some reason my "Move Side1 Bullpup from 'NorthArea' to 'BarAreaA'" yanked the Bullpup that was IN the processor! About the only way around this is to stop the Bullpup's from entering the Processors every 5 minutes.

BSlickOH wrote:

For another, there is just barely enough Galaxite on the map to succeed. There is very little room (i.e. NONE) for error. After you pay for 9 storage buildings, 3 electrics, and 2 processors, you have an extremely slim budget for what you do with what is left. If you don't build enough bulpups, you can't mine fast enough. If you build too many, you run out of galaxite before hitting $50,000. If a loaded bulpup gets destroyed, you might as well start over. I'm also pretty sure that if you pay off the park ranger, you won't be able to make it to $50,000.

Heh, this ain't yo' mama's newbie mining mission!

To test winning, I actually had to sell off my Galaxite Processor's and Power Generators. I had thought of putting about $100,000+ of galaxite on the map and mission time to give higher ranks. But when I saw how close I was, I left it at $50,000.

BSlickOH wrote:

Other quirks/bugs:
The people at the base will quit talking to you after a while, possibly in the last 10 minutes. So if you don't have enough storage facilities built up, you're hosed. Same thing with the electric guy when the 2nd processor forces you into the red zone.

I know. I found no consistent reason for why those triggers stop working.

BSlickOH wrote:

The storage guy and the electric guy will far-too-often say "ok, I'm on my way," run half way up, then turn around and run back home. I don't know if they are being less-than-stellar employees, or if this is a bug, but it is annoying either way. I'll have Andy halfway to some other destination before I realize that the builder came back home too soon.

Sorry, this was a kludge. Andy and the person had to be by the building so you wouldn't get messages when they were up by the base. But, moving troops around the ACME base "pushed" the guy out of his area. So, I made these guys return to their area every 60/90 seconds.

BSlickOH wrote:

The Bulpups-take-a-break thing is clever, but they do it too much in the final 10 minutes. I can mine for almost 20 minutes without interruption, then in the final 10 minutes they decide to take a break at least twice.

Every five minutes in the North and every five minutes in the south, *separately* . Also, you missed that they don't even take their FIRST break at 5 minutes . I don't know why Move to Area triggers don't fire when they do later. Andy doesn't have to be the one to say 'Get back to work!'

BSlickOH wrote:

When the Bulpups enter the base, they are considered intruders. Excuse me? The base built the suckers. They shouldn't be considered intruders. And when the base has intruders, suddenly Andy becomes a target, and will also start shooting. Hey, we're all on the same side, aren't we?

Uh, they are not OMNI/ACME employees. The idea is that the Security Chief is true blue OMNI. He does not trust anyone outside of OMNI. I'll update my text.

BSlickOH wrote:

Ok, I'm taking a deep breath now. Pardon my frustruation, but I have been *so close* to winning so many times. On to positive stuff...

Brilliant concept! I'd like to see more missions like this. Keeping Andy running all over the map to make sure different tasks get accomplished is certainly a clever break from the kill-em-all mode of most other missions.

I was hoping for someone to win this one before, I abused anyone further.

BSlickOH wrote:

The map sucks! ..in a good way. Very challenging. You really have to stay on top of things. You can't simply click a destination and wait for the guys to get there. Things can happen along the way, sometimes expensive things, so you have to micromanage a lot more. Certainly keeps the player involved.

I can't say enough good things about how clever the use of the various characters is. It's disconcerting when you are using color schemes of "enemies" in most normal maps, but once you figure out what the deal is, it's not so bad.

Some tips/spoilers for those who are having trouble:
I won without buying any soliders
I won without paying off the park ranger
$$$$$Just$$$$because$$$$you$$$$can't$$$kill$$$$all$$$of$$$
$$$$$the$$$protestors$$$$$doesn't$$$$$mean$$$$you$$$$
$$$$$can't$$$$$kill$$$$$some$$$$of$$$$$$them.$$$$$$$

Why are you so MEAN?!?

BSlickOH wrote:

Excellent job! I hope you'll make some more missions like this.

Thank you,

[BSlickOH]

ajcross wrote:

To test winning, I actually had to sell off my Galaxite Processor's and Power Generators.

I....I never thought of doing that. I'm so disappointed in myself.

ajcross wrote:

BSlickOH wrote:

Other quirks/bugs:
The people at the base will quit talking to you after a while, possibly in the last 10 minutes. So if you don't have enough storage facilities built up, you're hosed. Same thing with the electric guy when the 2nd processor forces you into the red zone.

I know. I found no consistent reason for why those triggers stop working.

I'm pretty sure it was only happening in the final 10 minutes. Maybe you flipped some variable or something when doing the final countdown.

ajcross wrote:

Sorry, this was a kludge. Andy and the person had to be by the building so you wouldn't get messages when they were up by the base. But, moving troops around the ACME base "pushed" the guy out of his area. So, I made these guys return to their area every 60/90 seconds.

I assume that is every 60 seconds of real time, not necessarily 60 seconds after they wander off. Maybe change the logic on them where if they get pushed off their home spot, start the clock for like 15 or 20 seconds so they go back. Then if Andy triggers them, change the logic so that they wait at the Dominion for 60/90 (or whatever) seconds before returning.

ajcross wrote:

Every five minutes in the North and every five minutes in the south, *separately* .

And let me guess, those breaks don't occur at the same time. That probably explains what I was seeing.

ajcross wrote:

Also, you missed that they don't even take their FIRST break at 5 minutes . I don't know why Move to Area triggers don't fire when they do later.

Oh, this does remind me of a bug, though. The first "Hey guys, it's break time" message seems to occur after 5 minutes in the mission....whether or not you've gone to the command tower right away. So if Andy is exploring around before going to the base, this message appears for no obvious reason.

ajcross wrote:

Andy doesn't have to be the one to say 'Get back to work!'

I hoped this was true, and sent some soldiers to the break time positions. But basically the dialogs indicated that the drivers weren't going to listen to the soldiers (oh yeah, you and what army? {nice touch, btw}).

ajcross wrote:

Uh, they are not OMNI/ACME employees. The idea is that the Security Chief is true blue OMNI. He does not trust anyone outside of OMNI. I'll update my text.

Ok, I'll buy that. But why do they start shooting at Andy, and why does he start shooting back? Are they worried about sabotage or something? Or maybe I'm asking the wrong question...why DO they shoot at Andy, but NOT shoot at the bulpups?

[ajcross]

BSlickOH wrote:

ajcross wrote:

I know. I found no consistent reason for why those triggers stop working.

I'm pretty sure it was only happening in the final 10 minutes. Maybe you flipped some variable or something when doing the final countdown.

My debug trigger shows that everything is ok. It may be the Countdown timer or my "Every NN" conditions. I'll try it out.

BSlickOH wrote:

ajcross wrote:

Sorry, this was a kludge. Andy and the person had to be by the building so you wouldn't get messages when they were up by the base. But, moving troops around the ACME base "pushed" the guy out of his area. So, I made these guys return to their area every 60/90 seconds.

I assume that is every 60 seconds of real time, not necessarily 60 seconds after they wander off. Maybe change the logic on them where if they get pushed off their home spot, start the clock for like 15 or 20 seconds so they go back. Then if Andy triggers them, change the logic so that they wait at the Dominion for 60/90 (or whatever) seconds before returning.

Maybe this needs some variables or switches, but switches are at a premium.

BSlickOH wrote:

ajcross wrote:

Also, you missed that they don't even take their FIRST break at 5 minutes . I don't know why Move to Area triggers don't fire when they do later.

Oh, this does remind me of a bug, though. The first "Hey guys, it's break time" message seems to occur after 5 minutes in the mission....whether or not you've gone to the command tower right away. So if Andy is exploring around before going to the base, this message appears for no obvious reason.

Yuck. I know it needs a rewrite, but the logic still eludes me.

BSlickOH wrote:

ajcross wrote:

Andy doesn't have to be the one to say 'Get back to work!'

I hoped this was true, and sent some soldiers to the break time positions. But basically the dialogs indicated that the drivers weren't going to listen to the soldiers (oh yeah, you and what army? {nice touch, btw}).

Did you send enough?

BSlickOH wrote:

Ok, I'll buy that. But why do they start shooting at Andy, and why does he start shooting back? Are they worried about sabotage or something? Or maybe I'm asking the wrong question...why DO they shoot at Andy, but NOT shoot at the bulpups?

I don't know how to do attack triggers very well yet.

[BSlickOH]

ajcross wrote:

BSlickOH wrote:

Oh, this does remind me of a bug, though. The first "Hey guys, it's break time" message seems to occur after 5 minutes in the mission....whether or not you've gone to the command tower right away. So if Andy is exploring around before going to the base, this message appears for no obvious reason.

Yuck. I know it needs a rewrite, but the logic still eludes me.

I have absolutely no idea how the mission editor works, and I'm certainly no programmer so forgive me if I say anything that you've already thought of. I can do logic, just not so good at coding.

Seems to me that virtually nothing time-based (your existing location-based triggers are fine) should be happening until Andy goes to the command tower. It appears that right now, you have a Take A Break message occuring at OverallMissionTime == 5:00 (forgive the syntax). You probably already have some kind of a ChallengeTime variable that starts counting when Andy gets to the tower (the 30-minute timer). Just change the trigger for the Take A Break message to be ChallengeTime == 5:00. Basically, do the same thing that you did for the "10 minutes have passed" message.

For as well thought out as this level is, I'm assuming you already think along these lines, in which case I'm sorry for repeating the obvious. If not, then I hope this helps.

ajcross wrote:

BSlickOH wrote:

ajcross wrote:

Andy doesn't have to be the one to say 'Get back to work!'

I hoped this was true, and sent some soldiers to the break time positions. But basically the dialogs indicated that the drivers weren't going to listen to the soldiers (oh yeah, you and what army? {nice touch, btw}).

Did you send enough?

I think I had two of them, maybe only one. I got the message, and I interpreted it to mean that the drivers would only listen to Andy. Didn't occur to me to try sending an army. Heh.

ajcross wrote:

BSlickOH wrote:

Ok, I'll buy that. But why do they start shooting at Andy, and why does he start shooting back? Are they worried about sabotage or something? Or maybe I'm asking the wrong question...why DO they shoot at Andy, but NOT shoot at the bulpups?

I don't know how to do attack triggers very well yet.

You seem to have all of the basic elements in place, just need to work out the timing. Whatever variable that designates Andy as a "friend" is getting flipped to "foe" whenever there are intruders on the base.

Oh, one interesting behavior I noticed is that Storage Guy and Power Guy don't shoot anyone under any conditions. But they do become targets, either by a now-unfriendly Andy or by the protestors. You've obviously planned for this, since a new Power Guy is instantly spawned when he gets killed.

Speaking of which, this reminds me of another love/hate aspect of this mission. I'm not sure how you managed to do it, or if you just get lucky, but darned if the base's defense forces aren't ALWAYS in Andy's way when I'm trying to get him somewhere. It's a nice touch, almost like a mini-puzzle that has to be solved several times. But boy is it frustrating!

[ajcross]

BSlickOH wrote:

Seems to me that virtually nothing time-based (your existing location-based triggers are fine) should be happening until Andy goes to the command tower. It appears that right now, you have a Take A Break message occuring at OverallMissionTime == 5:00 (forgive the syntax). You probably already have some kind of a ChallengeTime variable that starts counting when Andy gets to the tower (the 30-minute timer). Just change the trigger for the Take A Break message to be ChallengeTime == 5:00. Basically, do the same thing that you did for the "10 minutes have passed" message.

Hmm, that idea would work. Using that trigger, wait 5 minutes turn break on, wait 5 minutes turn break on, and keep repeating for the 30 minutes. Thanks. I have it working in a similar but different way for a more random timing.

BSlickOH wrote:

You seem to have all of the basic elements in place, just need to work out the timing. Whatever variable that designates Andy as a "friend" is getting flipped to "foe" whenever there are intruders on the base.

Yep. Looks like I need another text message.

BSlickOH wrote:

Speaking of which, this reminds me of another love/hate aspect of this mission. I'm not sure how you managed to do it, or if you just get lucky, but darned if the base's defense forces aren't ALWAYS in Andy's way when I'm trying to get him somewhere. It's a nice touch, almost like a mini-puzzle that has to be solved several times. But boy is it frustrating!

It's a bonus!

[ajcross]

Posted Version 1.2 on 5/13/2004
Please notify me of any bugs.