Help with Encounters in general

Go find “trying to understand encounters” pdf by buck danny(should be in the downloads).
It has some mistakes but not crucial unless you are going hex edit patrols etc.

A very useful thing. Almost all the answers you’ll find there.

In Missions/Encounters, what does each line mean? (Taken from the battleships encounters mod)

[EncounterFormation]
ship_by_class = 1, 1, sc_destroyers ;<– adds 1 to 1 ships (=1) of the class sc_destroyers to the formation, see **
pilot_job = assault_leader_job ;<– job the destroyer gets
make_class = wanderer ;<-- behavior = wander encounters usually have this
ship_by_class = 2, 2, sc_gunboats
pilot_job = assault_job
make_class = wanderer
ship_by_class = 2, 2, sc_fighters
pilot_job = assault_job
make_class = wanderer
formation = destroyer_gunboat_fighter ;<-- the used formation from formations.ini, usually ‘formation_by_class = …’ is used, then the specific formation from faction_prop.ini is used, see *
behavior = wander ;<– the fomation will wander around in the zone it is assigned to, there are also ‘trade’ and ‘patrol’
arrival = cruise ;<-- formation will arrive in cruise, there are also things like ‘all’ or ‘object_jump_gate’
longevity = 50 ;<-- time until they dock/cruise away/… I think
allow_simultaneous_creation = false ;<-- if the encounter may be created more then once in the same time interval
zone_creation_distance = 0
times_to_create = infinite ;<-- maximum number of times the encounter may be created I think, never tried…
[Creation]
permutation = 0, 3 ;<– theres always one Creation block for every EnconterFormation block in the ini. In this case it means: the encounter is created every third time interval with zero intervals delay

In faction_prop.ini, where do these lines link to?

npc_ship = Bretonia_Gunboat ;<– reference to a npcship in npcships.ini
npc_ship = Bretonia_Destroyer
npc_ship = Bretonia_Battleship
formation = gunboats, gunboat_wall ;<–* reference to a formation in formation.ini, this one will be used by all encounters of this faction that use ‘formation_by_class = gunboats’
formation = destroyers, destroyer_wall
formation = battleships, battleship_wall

In Formations.ini, what does this mean? Positions of ships compared to the center point? Is the number of lines the number of ships in the ‘fleet’?

Exactly, they are the positions of the ships measured from the leader (the first ship in a encounter.ini).
‘pl_pos’ is the player position when you join the formation

Why is there battleship_wall and not cruiser_wall or gunboat_wall?

no idea - write them yourself if you need them…

NPC_Ships.ini, what does each line mean?

[NPCShipArch]
nickname = Bretonia_Gunboat ;<– the nickname used in faction_prop.ini
loadout = Bretonia_Gunboat_Loadout ;<-- the equipment the npc has, defined in ships\loadouts.ini
level = d19 ;<-- the level shown in the game, should be inside the npc_class range
ship_archetype = br_gunboat ;<-- the ship that is used, from shiparch.ini
pilot = gunboat_default ;<-- the pilot, from pilots_population.ini
state_graph = GUNBOAT ;<-- behavior from state_graph.db, leave it…
npc_class = lawful, class_gunboat, d19 ;<-- is lawful, is a gunboat (see **), is difficulty 19

shipclasses.ini, what do these mean?

[ShipClass]
nickname = sc_destroyers ;<– **this is called in the encounter inis if you want to have a destroyer in it, then…
member = class_destroyer ;<-- …npcships with ‘class_destroyer’ in ther npc_class are used

Which bits are re-usable for other patrols? Do I need a brand new INI file in Missions/Encounters for each new patrol?

You need a new encounter file for every new type of formation you want to have. As example: 5-members-fighter-squads would need a new file…

Quarks wrote:
permutation = 0, 3 ;<– theres always one Creation block for every EnconterFormation block in the ini. In this case it means: the encounter is created every third time interval with zero intervals delay

No.

This is a probability of the encounter formation to occur.

[EncounterFormation]
ship_by_class = 1, 1, sc_fighters_capitals
pilot_job = assault_leader_job
make_class = wanderer
ship_by_class = 2, 3, sc_fighters, -1
pilot_job = assault_job
make_class = wanderer
formation_by_class = fighters
behavior = wander
arrival = all, -object_jump_gate, -tradelane
allow_simultaneous_creation = yes
zone_creation_distance = 0
times_to_create = infinite

[EncounterFormation]
ship_by_class = 1, 1, sc_fighters_capitals
pilot_job = assault_leader_job
make_class = wanderer
ship_by_class = 2, 3, sc_fighters, -1
pilot_job = assault_job
make_class = wanderer
formation_by_class = fighters
behavior = wander
arrival = all, -object_jump_gate, -tradelane
allow_simultaneous_creation = yes
zone_creation_distance = 0
times_to_create = infinite

[Creation]
permutation = 0, 3
permutation = 1, 1

In this case 1 formation will occur in 3/(1+3) = 75%, second formation in 1/(1+3) = 25%

Any numbers(second numbers) can be used in permutation.

You got the idea

Get yourself the pdf I wrote about, there is a nice table.

I think this tut is meaning.
understand encounters