Missions… Missions...

[FuryFreelancer]

Edit - Let me start again, lol

Came back to doing missions again today after a little break… and here is the deal.

I substituted the new factions for existing ones as per your suggestion Dwn. I made my base belong to liberty police and did the necessary in mbases to allow them to offer missions. I made a fresh lawful pool in the form of a new ambient pop (background) zone, full of a ton of vanilla criminals (corsairs, outcasts, mollys etc). I confirmed these first by flying around and noitcing they were indeed spawning in space as they should.

Then I went to the mission vendor in game and a couple of NPCs and they offered missions like they should. It seems to be pretty much only outcasts and corsairs though for some reason… I’m guessing this is because of the level of missions i’ve actually specified in mbases?!.. anyway that’s not critical. The point is this approach works… lawful missions against unlawful with vanilla factions.

Now I switched back to my original idea. My new order faction (lawful) as the base owners and only base faction, offering missions., and setting up an ambient pop zone that only contains my new nomad faction (unlawful). Nothing ever appears this way either at the mvendor or the bar NPCs. I decided to try it the other way… ie. Nomad owned base offering missions against my new order factions with their pimped out Anubis ships… and… this actually worked!!! Yes, I am indeed editing my char to be friendly and hostile accordingly with this. I’ve tried my characters each time too, to eliminate possible corruptions/conflicts and the like.

So that’s where I am at. I initially thought it was maybe a ship architecture or loadouts issue, but they all fly around and work properly outside of missions. Therefore, i’m asking again What would cause new factions (just my new nomad one now) to not show up for missions, but work every other way. I am truly at a loss… please help… I will upload ini’s if I have to… that will be tomorrow now. The only thing my new nomad group has that is different to all other factions is they have the wierd “nomad= true” line in their ships entry (which I’ve never understood, but tried with and without with no noticeable difference… perhaps this is story/script-related?!), and they don’t speak… they have no voice etc… could this be why? Help.

Cheers

[mknote]

No, that isn’t the problem, as my Nomad faction also has Nomad = true and no voices. Could you post the code for your Nomads?

MK

[FuryFreelancer]

I suspected so

Yes, here are the appropriate elements:

System .ini (Ew05) - Zone & Vignettes (yes I declared the encounter at the top):

[Zone]
nickname = Zone_Ew05_pop_ambient_01
pos = -178, 0, 178
rotate = 0, 0, 0
shape = SPHERE
size = 44707
comment = Ambient Pop
sort = 51
toughness = 4
density = 15
repop_time = 25
max_battle_size = 8
pop_type = Background
relief_time = 35
population_additive = false
faction_weight = new_n_grp, 20
encounter = area_nomads, 19, 1.000000
faction = new_n_grp, 1.000000

[Zone]
nickname = Zone_Ew05_destroy_vignette_01
pos = 23425, 0, -7867
shape = SPHERE
size = 10000
sort = 99.500000
vignette_type = open

[Zone]
nickname = Zone_Ew05_destroy_vignette_02
pos = 23425, 0, 19492
shape = SPHERE
size = 10000
sort = 99.500000
vignette_type = open

[Zone]
nickname = Zone_Ew05_destroy_vignette_03
pos = 15020, 0, -22173
shape = SPHERE
size = 10000
sort = 99.500000
vignette_type = open

[Zone]
nickname = Zone_Ew05_destroy_vignette_04
pos = 1073, 0, 19492
shape = SPHERE
size = 10000
sort = 99.500000
vignette_type = open

[Zone]
nickname = Zone_Ew05_destroy_vignette_05
pos = 178, 0, -17703
shape = SPHERE
size = 10000
sort = 99.500000
vignette_type = open

mBases.ini (for base giving the missions):

[MBase]
nickname = Ew05_01_Base
local_faction = nm_or_grp
diff = 17
msg_id_prefix = ignore

[MVendor]
num_offers = 3, 5

[BaseFaction]
faction = nm_or_grp
weight = 100
offers_missions = true
mission_type = DestroyMission, 38.983860, 73.051361, 100
npc = ew0501_001_m
npc = ew0501_006_m

[GF_NPC]
nickname = ew0501_006_m
body = pi_orillion_body
head = pi_pirate2_head
lefthand = benchmark_male_hand_left
righthand = benchmark_male_hand_right
individual_name = 524299
affiliation = nm_or_grp
voice = rvp131
misn = DestroyMission, 38.983860, 73.051361
room = bar

[GF_NPC]
nickname = ew0501_fix_bartender
body = pl_male1_peasant_body
head = pi_pirate1_head
lefthand = benchmark_male_hand_left
righthand = benchmark_male_hand_right
individual_name = 524298
affiliation = nm_or_grp
voice = rvp101

[GF_NPC]
nickname = ew0501_fix_ship
body = pl_male1_peasant_body
head = li_rockford_head
lefthand = benchmark_male_hand_left
righthand = benchmark_male_hand_right
individual_name = 524297
affiliation = nm_or_grp
voice = rvp101

[GF_NPC]
nickname = ew0501_fix_trader
body = pl_male1_peasant_body
head = br_brighton_head
lefthand = benchmark_male_hand_left
righthand = benchmark_male_hand_right
individual_name = 524296
affiliation = nm_or_grp
voice = rvp106

[GF_NPC]
nickname = ew0501_fix_weaponsdealer
body = pl_male1_peasant_body
head = ge_male3_head
lefthand = benchmark_male_hand_left
righthand = benchmark_male_hand_right
individual_name = 524295
affiliation = nm_or_grp
voice = rvp101

[GF_NPC]
nickname = ew0501_001_m
body = pi_orillion_body
head = ge_male1_head
lefthand = benchmark_male_hand_left
righthand = benchmark_male_hand_right
individual_name = 524294
affiliation = nm_or_grp
voice = rvp106
misn = DestroyMission, 38.983860, 73.051361
room = bar

[MRoom]
nickname = bar
character_density = 4
fixture = ew0501_fix_bartender, Zs/NPC/Bartender/01/A/Stand, scripts\vendors\li_host_fidget.thn, bartender

[MRoom]
nickname = Deck
character_density = 2
fixture = ew0501_fix_trader, Zs/NPC/Trader/01/A/Stand, scripts\vendors\li_commtrader_fidget.thn, trader
fixture = ew0501_fix_weaponsdealer, Zs/NPC/Equipment/01/A/Stand, scripts\vendors\li_equipdealer_fidget.thn, Equipment

[MRoom]
nickname = ShipDealer
character_density = 2
fixture = ew0501_fix_ship, Zs/NPC/Shipdealer/01/A/Stand, scripts\vendors\li_shipdealer_fidget.thn, ShipDealer

``` _**area_nomads.ini**_

[EncounterFormation]
ship_by_class = 1, 1, fighters ;spawn 1 ship for leader
pilot_job = nomad_leader_job ;this is present and ok
make_class = wanderer
ship_by_class = 3, 5, fighters, -2 ;and 3-5 for fighters at 2 levels under leader
pilot_job = nomad_fighter_job ;this is present and ok
make_class = wanderer
formation_by_class = fighters
behavior = wander
arrival = all
allow_simultaneous_creation = yes
zone_creation_distance = 0
times_to_create = infinite

[Creation]
permutation = 0, 7

_**faction_prop.ini:**_

[FactionProps] ;new nomad faction
affiliation = new_n_grp
legality = unlawful
nickname_plurality = plural
msg_id_prefix = ignore
jump_preference = any
npc_ship = Nomad_Gunboat ;all these npc ships are present
npc_ship = no_fighter_new_d19 ;narrowed ships to 1 for testing purposes
npc_ship = Nomad_Battleship
mc_costume = mc_fc
firstname_male = 458827, 458827
firstname_female = 458827, 458827
lastname = 458828, 458828
rank_desig = 459097, 459097, 459097, 10, 15
large_ship_desig = 459097
large_ship_names = 459097, 459097
formation_desig = 197808, 197820
formation = fighters, fighter_guild
formation = gunboats, gunboat_wall
formation = battleships, battleship_wall

_**Pilots_Population.ini:**_

[Pilot]
nickname = nomad_fighter_ace
gun_id = gun_fighter_ace_style_a
missile_id = missile_fighter_ace
evade_dodge_id = evade_dodge_fighter_chaos_hard
evade_break_id = evade_break_fighter_style_e
buzz_head_toward_id = buzz_head_toward_fighter_chaos
buzz_pass_by_id = buzz_pass_by_fighter_style_c
trail_id = trail_fighter_style_a
strafe_id = strafe_fighter_style_a
engine_kill_id = engine_kill_fighter_style_a
mine_id = mine_light_fighter_a
countermeasure_id = countermeasure_handicap_1
damage_reaction_id = damage_reaction_fighter_style_a
missile_reaction_id = missile_reaction_fighter_style_a
formation_id = formation_fighter_style_d
repair_id = repair_fighter_ace
job_id = defend_leader_job

_**npcships.ini:**_

[NPCShipArch]
nickname = no_fighter_new_d19
loadout = no_fighter_new ;this loadout is below (present)
level = d19 ;level 19 in encounters unless overridden by mission parameter
ship_archetype = no_fighter ;default game archetype
pilot = nomad_fighter_ace ;this is present and ok
state_graph = FIGHTER
npc_class = unlawful, FIGHTER, d13, d14, d15, d16, d17, d18, d19 ;I’ve tried these different ways… no luck

_**loadouts.ini (ship loadout):**_

[Loadout]
nickname = no_fighter_new
archetype = no_fighter ;standard vanilla ship
equip = nomad_engine ;all these equipment pieces are present and ok
equip = nomad_power
equip = nomad_scanner
equip = nomad_tractor
equip = nomad_thruster, HpThruster01
equip = new_nomad_laser01, HpWeapon01
equip = new_nomad_laser02, HpWeapon02
equip = new_nomad_laser03, HpWeapon03
equip = nomad_cmd_1, HpCM01
equip = nomad_mine_1, HpMine01
equip = nomad_cd_1, HpTorpedo01
equip = LargeWhiteSpecial, HpHeadlight01
equip = nomad_armour
cargo = ge_s_repair_01, 25

My weaponry is all present and correct in my weapon equip & good files for the above. I tested them all years ago :P Besides they appear ok in encounter zones outside of missions, so that must all be ok no?!

I think that's all the necessary files… but shout up if you need any more. All factions work... just not my nomad one, so I can't get lawful order missions against nomads working...grrr! ;D

[Bejaymac]

ROFLMFAO ::)

Your faction (new_n_grp) is trying to give missions against themselves ::), you need to add a faction thier hostile with to the zone.

EDIT

Just spotted this as well -

[BaseFaction]
faction = nm_or_grp
weight = 100
offers_missions = true
mission_type = DestroyMission, 38.983860, 73.051361, 100
npc = ew0501_001_m
npc = ew0501_006_m

[GF_NPC]
nickname = ew0501_006_m
body = pi_orillion_body
head = pi_pirate2_head
lefthand = benchmark_male_hand_left
righthand = benchmark_male_hand_right
individual_name = 524299
affiliation = new_n_grp
voice = rvp131
misn = DestroyMission, 38.983860, 73.051361
room = bar

Those 2 green bits need to match.

[FuryFreelancer]

Yeh, that ISN’T the problem. That’s just a typo I made this morning. The problem still stands with that how it should be.

So ROFLMAO somewhere else unless you’re going to be helpful.

[Worfeh]

Keep it nice peeps.

[cheeseontoast]

@FuryFreelancer:

Yeh, that ISN’T the problem. That’s just a typo I made this morning. The problem still stands with that how it should be.

So ROFLMAO somewhere else unless you’re going to be helpful.

In fairness, how was bj supposed to know that it was a typo you made this morning and you fixed it? were not all psychic

Now play nice or i will get teh uber 31337 hAxzorz engeen out. ^^

[FuryFreelancer]

He wasn’t… but if I was in his position, I wouldn’t have put ROFLMAO… that’s what isn’t fair, not my response (which wasn’t even intended to be offensive in any way)… any help with the matter at hand much appreciated
My bad guys

[mknote]

Hmmm… I just remembered another problem I had with getting Nomads specifically to have missions flown against them. Let’s see if you have it… Yep ;D

[NPCShipArch]
nickname = no_fighter_new_d19
loadout = no_fighter_new
level = d19
ship_archetype = no_fighter
pilot = nomad_fighter_ace
state_graph = FIGHTER
npc_class = unlawful, FIGHTER, d13, d14, d15, d16, d17, d18, d19

Every single other fighter in npcships.ini has class_fighter instead of FIGHTER here. I know that it says in Vanilla too, but then again, you never fly random missions against Nomads in Vanilla. It took me nearly an hour to figure this one out when I was first making Nomad missions. Try fixing it and report back.

MK

[cheeseontoast]

@FuryFreelancer:

He wasn’t… but if I was in his position, I wouldn’t have put ROFLMAO… that’s what isn’t fair, not my response (which wasn’t even intended to be offensive in any way)… any help with the matter at hand much appreciated
My bad guys

no worries mate ^^

[FuryFreelancer]

Hmm that is indeed interesting. I’ll give it a go. Not sure whether I tinkered with that before or not. We’ll see

EDIT - Although surely, this would mean that my nomads wouldn’t be showing up at all, which they are… just not in mvendor/characters…

[mknote]

Yes, they do show up in the system, but not for missions, if I recall correctly. Don’t ask why, I don’t know.

Actually, it may be because the “class_fighter” line is specifically for random missions, while the state_graph defines it for non-missions. I don’t know.

MK

[FuryFreelancer]

Well i’ll defo give this another shot mate. Thanks for that. All this input is very much appreciated (<- i’m gonna need a new word soon, that last one is starting to lose all meaning, lol ;D)

[FuryFreelancer]

Hmm… I updated my config with those changes, but still no difference. They show up in space, but not in the missions. Just out of curiosity, when you added the nomad faction in your mod, did you give them voices, ships (meaning different ships to the default no_fighter-type ones) etc? I know many mods have missions against the nomads, but I noticed all of them (at least all those I’ve seen) use different ships and they have voices. They are the only two differences I can see between what mine is doing and other mods. I’ve try a new ship setup and loadout later and see if that works to confirm this, and i’ve also update the above so I don’t get LOL’ed at again

[DwnUndr]

Yes, if they don’t have ships the missions won’t show. The easy way to test is to copy ‘ALL’ of the bounty hunter ships to the nomads section. I notice your faction_prop only has one fighter available, _d19. I’m pretty sure that would be an error too. You should have them listed from _d1 to _d19. When it works you will generally see _d19 leaders and _d18 escorts. This is probably what has killed the missions, no _d18 is available. Also note that missions are different from encounters, a dice gets thrown for the level, so it could very well be trying to display _d12 ships.

[FuryFreelancer]

That’s not what I meant. I know it won’t show at all without any ships That’s kinda obvious. I will do the substitution of other ships though. I’m sure the fighter naming is fine. After all, that’s all it is, a name.

In my faction prop file, I now have it set for various levels, not just 18 & 19, or whatever I have displayed above. And they will only be used in higher level missions anyway, which is set via mbases and the diff-to-money entries, so i’m sure i’ll be covered in that respect. As I understand it, encounters are set via the actual zone entries, while missions are set in mbases, either at the MVendor or a base faction NPC line. So even if I didn’t have a certain Dxx number defined (many mods just have the one difficulty of ship right?) and so it would just pick the closest match and alter the difficulty regardless of the assigned number.

In my encounters file, I have updated the fighter line(s) to be -1 behind the leader. That makes sense. So whatever difficulty he comes in at, they will be slightly less; For what little difference that may make at high levels anyway

I’m getting there. I think i’m really starting to understand the workings of these, and what lines actually seem to have no effect whatsoever. Nothing like superfluity to confuse your day huh! ;D Thanks for the input bud.

[Forsaken]

Mknote’s fix is essential for missions to work.

npc_class = unlawful, FIGHTER, d17, d18, d19 <–- Bad

npc_class = unlawful, class_fighter, d17, d18, d19 <–- Good

Also you need to have an encounter zone or overlapping zones consisting of opposing factions. I looked at your code you posted and didn’t see this (you might not have included it). Here is a suggested replacement for testing purposes

[Zone]
nickname = Zone_Ew05_pop_ambient_01
pos = -178, 0, 178
rotate = 0, 0, 0
shape = SPHERE
size = 44707
comment = Ambient Pop
sort = 51
toughness = 19
density = 15
repop_time = 25
max_battle_size = 8
pop_type = Background
relief_time = 35
population_additive = false
faction_weight = new_n_grp, 20
faction_weight = nm_or_grp, 13
encounter = area_nomads, 19, 0.600000
faction = new_n_grp, 1.000000
encounter = area_defend, 19, 0.400000
faction = nm_or_grp, 1.000000

Ive highlighted all changes or additions in red, for viewing purposes.

If you are not getting mission offerings. You need to look at the distance your mission vignettes are from the base. IIRC mission vignettes can only be 40k away from the nearest, jump gate, jump hole, trade lane, path, or base. If you have met all of those requirements I am a bit stumped (unless its one of those brain fart things where you forgot to make them enemies in the initialworld/empathy files). If you did something like that… dont worry about it… it happens to the best of us. ;D

I hope you find your fix. Please post your results when you get a chance to test them out.

[FuryFreelancer]

The class_fighter fixed it straight away.

I only have the one encounter… the nomads/enemy. I don’t have any order ships in space, so obviously that isn’t needed despite what you are saying there (and other tuts). That’s handy to know If you read my initial snippets above, you would have also seen I had the toughness set in the encounter zone, but that is pointless because it gets overridden by the mission difficulty

Just before I got mknotes suggestion, a friend (Psy) typed me out the most lengthy FL tut I have ever read and sent it to me, lol. Covering all bases I guess, as it ranges from doing a new faction to this mission stuff. I’ll post it later after reading through it fully

Thanks a lot for the response Forsaken ;D

[Bejaymac]

Forsaken is quite correct in that you DO need both factions in the zone.
You’ve done what most noobs do, and that’s why I ROFLMFAO in my other post.
Read a mission description and you wll see that most of the time the mission sends backup NPCs to help out, but if that faction is missing from the zones the vignettes feed from, then your backup will never appear.

[FuryFreelancer]

The missions do work. Stop trying ways to cover up what has been said. He said missions won’t work without another allied faction, and they do. And I just tried it. Whether they have an entry or not backup does appear… although it tends to only be the one or two ships and not a full ‘wing’ No doubt that is wrong, and so I will indeed a proper encounter in for them. But it does work none-the-less. And I never said he was wrong. You haven’t given one ounce of decent, useful input here BJ, whereas the others have, and that’s all that matters. Your user title says it quite well.

I thought the whole point of forums like this (or at least certain sections) are there to assist people like me, who admitedlly, aren’t as knowledgeable as a lot of you. That’s why I come here. All the help so far has been great. I don’t expect to be bashed, and I shouldn’t have to and won’t put up with that. All you give me is attitude. You didn’t help me before after I started this thread, throwing out offense, and then you do it again ‘after’ I have found the solution at the end of this thread. If you know so much as you claim why didn’t you suggest what Mknote and Psy did? That sorted me out. If some of you think I simply ‘shrug’ off help, that is simply not the case. I do test out theories of my own as well as test what people ask me to do. And if I find something to work (or not) in practice I will say so. And I sure as hell won’t be penalized for it.