Darkwind
Player-created narrative missions

*sam*


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 12:31 pm
As you may have noticed, a new option appeared recently in the "Events" menu on the website. This is the "Create Narrative Missions" option.

I have just finished editing and testing the first version of this system. It has a long way to go and is quite 'bare bones' right now, but it's usable.

Here's the deal:
- Subscribers can create story-driven (narrative) missions from this option. They can have one mission in development at a time. (I don't want hundreds of half-finished ones cluttering up the system and confusing things)
- The missions currently involve straight-forward stages of various types (courier, taxi, assassination, simple narrative text) as well as branch decisions (where the player gets 2-4 options from which they pick, and this defines which stage number comes next). Each stage may have various prizes attached to it (cash, weapons, special training, repuation, local hero status)
- When you are happy that your work is ready to go live, you click the button labelled 'Finished - pass mission to Editors'. It remains editable by you, but is now also editable by the Narrative Mission Editing Team (TM)
- The editing team make sure that the mission is set up correctly, is properly balanced (e.g. doesn't give you a million bucks for a simple courier mission) and that the writing is of a good enough quality before they pass it to me.
- I give it a final once-over and then it goes live
- At this stage, you will be able to start creating another mission

The editing team may contact you during this process to discuss your mission. Please don't be insulted if they're telling you that the ideas aren't solid enough to go live -- as you'll appreciate, we need to make sure these things are high quality  B)

The Editing Team is (currently): sam, karz master, simonmaxhill,
bwgunner, valiance, ishouldcoco. Please contact me if you're interested in joining this team - especially players who have shown themselves to be active in the roleplay forums. But just as important as being an editor, is to be a writer - and you're all invited to try your hand at that.

Like the previously created narrative missions (Racing for the Mob, etc.) these missions spawn once every few days. This is to make sure that multiple players aren't doing the same mission at the same time (would to me would seem a bit daft).

Where did this all come from? I have to say I have been constantly astounded by the level of skills in the Darkwind player base: musicians, artists, writers... and I have also come to realise that many people want to contribute to something creative. It's the same reason I started writing DW myself. So it's a win-win really, to put a system in place that allows players to add to the game content.

I'm sure some of the details of how this works will need further explanation. There's a lot more to do on this, but it's a start..
FireFly


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 12:36 pm
This certainly deserves...
http://xhsrobotics.net/member/images/fbfiles/images/seal_1.gif
*sam*


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 12:39 pm
Thanks FF. I also should have acknowledged where this idea originally came from: Karz Master. Thanks Karz! ;)

BTW: you'll see multple 'Update' buttons in the editing sections. Each button updates the stuff beside it.. and you will lose changes that haven't been updated elsewhere on the page. It's a bit annoying until you get used to working that way, but it was the handiest way to create it. (Basically, each page is dynamically built as a series of separate HTML forms, depending on what parts the mission has in it.) Once you get used to the process of edit-update-edit-update you'll be fine.
FireFly


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 12:40 pm
I see one slight problem, its the local fame numbers, with how the system works now, its hard to tell what numbers are what...

Think its possible to have the numbers for each step visible, as in, Renowned 100, Famous 400, Legendary 1000 and so on, otherwise its slightly confusing ;)

Or better yet, just set it so instead of numbers it uses the "Renowned" system we have now...
*sam*


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 12:42 pm
Yeah, that had occurred to me as a problem.. I'll create a table of appropriate values, maybe.
*Wolfsbane*


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 1:00 pm
Right now all the missions are viewable by anyone (or by me, at least). Is that deliberate?
*sam*


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 1:01 pm
Erm, no. I'll fix that..
*Tinker*


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 1:10 pm
Is it possible to have a trigger requirements based on how someone finished a previous narrative mission (or story line split)?

could make some great epic mission threads!

Edit: haven't dived deep into it yet but does one have a chance at one point of the construction to set up a map and place vehicles, animals and such?

edit: is it possible to have multiple weapon gifts? like 10 riffles, ammo, fuel cans etc?
*sam*


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 1:23 pm
Tinker: yes, new trigger requirements such as that would be possible.. as I said, it's very basic right now. Many improvements can be made..

RE setting up specific maps etc. - not possible now, and I'm not sure, I'd have to think about this one. Certainly it would be good to be able to specify specific enemies and their vehicles etc, but I'm not sure about going as far as setting up the actual spawn locations.

RE multiple prizes: yes, you can add multiple prizes of any type to a stage. Ammo and bulk goods not (yet) possible.
FireFly


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 1:28 pm
So, currently the only stages possible are assassinations, couriers and escorts?

Is it possible to make it more... well, discrete, like, for the mission I have in mind, I simply want the player to "Search" the desert between elms and SS, not hunt for anything specific...
*sam*


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 1:31 pm
FireFly said:
So, currently the only stages possible are assassinations, couriers and escorts?


Yes, and branch-decisions and taxis.


FireFly said:
Is it possible to make it more... well, discrete, like, for the mission I have in mind, I simply want the player to "Search" the desert between elms and SS, not hunt for anything specific...


Not sure what you mean by discrete.. but yes, specific types 'events' that would happen during a stage need to be created. Such as a specific courier item turning up in pirate loot (which is what you're referring to maybe?)
FireFly


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 1:32 pm
No, I simply mean the objectives themselves, you see, I want the person to "look" for something in the desert, or rather, scout, but a special one.

Doesn't have to be much different from a regular scout, but its without the intention to find a target, if possible even, a scout roll to see if you can find your objective without having to fight anyone, and then, before you can return to town, you have to make a "Choice".

In this case, it's a missing truck, see what I mean?

If anything, a separate scouting option would be useful, "Look for "Mission" Target", be it assassination or just a search.
*sam*


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 1:35 pm
Sure, yes. I'd need specifics on how this would happen. A particular truck would turn up during a scout versus pirates? And getting this truck off them is the objective?
FireFly


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 1:36 pm
No... Maybe I'm explaining it wrong...
It doesn't have to be a fight, your simply "Searching" for the mission target.

By the way, "Searching" would be scout skill based and take longer than regular scouting.

Ah, I might have not made it clear, but the "Thing" your searching for isn't an enemy, it's like a rescue mission...
FireFly


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 2:35 pm
Oh, also, can we have escort missions added to the list?
*sam*


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 2:57 pm
FireFly said:
No... Maybe I'm explaining it wrong...
It doesn't have to be a fight, your simply "Searching" for the mission target.

By the way, "Searching" would be scout skill based and take longer than regular scouting.

Ah, I might have not made it clear, but the "Thing" your searching for isn't an enemy, it's like a rescue mission...


OK, so not an active thing that you actually do in game, but more of a passive skill-check?
FireFly


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 3:07 pm
Yeah, think of it like "Exploring"...
You hit the button, and then the scout rolls to see how long it takes for you to find your target, and if you get an encounter or not.
*Tango*


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 3:54 pm
Live Missions written by you:
"Victory Lap"

Does this mean it passed and was approved?
*sam*


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 4:08 pm
Yes, I used Victory Lap as a nice simple one for testing - thanks Tango! (I have slightly reservations about its political correctness after having tested it, so it might be edited a bit later).
FireFly


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 4:11 pm
Political... Correctness... Now that's not the apocalypse...?
:(
*sam*


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 4:22 pm
I won't get carried away with PC, don't worry! Just some minor editing perhaps..
*Tango*


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 4:45 pm
woohoo thanks, now all I gotta do is get Hero status in SS so I can test it. thanks!
Karz Master


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 5:14 pm
*sam* said:
Thanks FF. I also should have acknowledged where this idea originally came from: Karz Master. Thanks Karz!  ;)


/hug
*Tango*


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 6:09 pm
*sam* said:
I won't get carried away with PC, don't worry! Just some minor editing perhaps..


I was pretty tame, i didn't mention the stench of rotting flesh, the incessant buzz of a thousand flies fighting for a taste of the gore dripping from the bag of heads or anything like that! :)
Groove Champion


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 6:38 pm
Firstly: great update! I've been toying around with the editor since yesterday and my first narrative mission is coing along nicely.

I am a bit confused about the 'Building' drop-down menu from the Stage options. Is this the start building or the end building? For example, if I want to create a taxi or courier stage, I need to select a start town and a destination town, but I also have to choose a 'building': would I choose the building where the stage's text would be read or would I choose the building where the stage should lead a player doing the mission?
*sam*


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 6:49 pm
Groove Champion said:
Firstly: great update! I've been toying around with the editor since yesterday and my first narrative mission is coing along nicely.

I am a bit confused about the 'Building' drop-down menu from the Stage options. Is this the start building or the end building? For example, if I want to create a taxi or courier stage, I need to select a start town and a destination town, but I also have to choose a 'building': would I choose the building where the stage's text would be read or would I choose the building where the stage should lead a player doing the mission?


I noticed some people getting this wrong.
You need to choose the building where the stage's text would be read. So if it's a courier mission going from SS to Elms, you'd want to pick one of the buildings in SS - whichever is most appropriate to your story.
*Tinker*


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 6:54 pm
would be nice to have more options, i.e, what gangs you will see while performing missions...

when this was announced i imagined placing things on a map kinda like DWT, placing engineless cars on the road for you to fix, building road blocks, controlling what the npc can say in the events...

*slaps himself*

p.s. what are these people in towns that give out missions, are they anything more then just a a name?

p.p.s. is it possible to have a delete button next to the prizes? i got tons that are permanent and it makes a mess, i guess a work-around is to set all the values to 0 to cancel them?
*sam*


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 8:02 pm
Tinker said:
would be nice to have more options, i.e, what gangs you will see while performing missions...


Yes, as I said:

Sam said:
It has a long way to go and is quite 'bare bones' right now, but it's usable.

Tinker said:

p.s. what are these people in towns that give out missions, are they anything more then just a a name?


Just a name. Although some of them have definite personalities as they have turned up before in the roleplaying forums. More will have as we go along..

Tinker said:
p.p.s. is it possible to have a delete button next to the prizes? i got tons that are permanent and it makes a mess, i guess a work-around is to set all the values to 0 to cancel them?


Setting them to zero deletes them

Tinker said:
when this was announced i imagined placing things on a map kinda like DWT, placing engineless cars on the road for you to fix, building road blocks, controlling what the npc can say in the events...


That'd be nice... I'll have a think about it.
You're actually quite right though, I put a lot of effort in DW:T and it's not used much, it would surely fit in here nicely with a little bit of thought..
FireFly


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 8:25 pm
To be honest, D:TW feels more like an unfinished scenario building tool than something you do to have a good time, its still to much effort to setup something barely anyone joins ;)

But to use them to create custom scenarios is a good idea... hell, you could take it further, if you would enable it for people to place building, wrecks, railings... etc etc inside it, would that be possible?

If we could do that, you could go in and create 10 slightly different versions of the scouting maps, you know, with some having wrecks or rocks along the roads?
Groove Champion


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 8:32 pm
I've just submitted a mission (Baby Steps). Please let me know if there are any major problems with the way I've set up the values. I have to admit I set the reputation requirements and boosts quite randomly... I have no sense of whether they are too high or too low.

The mission is meant as an introduction to courier and taxi missions for new players but I don't know if the required rep is set correctly so that the mission becomes available relatively early on in a player's career.
Groove Champion


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 8:42 pm
On a sidenote, I need to point out the enormous risk of exploitation involved with these narrative missions. Allowing players to set up lasers and tank guns as mission prizes is a bit much...

I have no doubt the submitted missions will be reviewed before being released, but an oversight might cause considerable balance issues!
Valiance


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 10:43 pm
I am so excited about these missions - I encouraged Sam to set up the original ones (along with several other players, I can't remember who else was pushing it at the time, sorry), and I love this ability.

So go create cool stuff, guys, I'm looking forward to creating it.
*sam*


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 10:58 pm
Groove Champion said:
On a sidenote, I need to point out the enormous risk of exploitation involved with these narrative missions. Allowing players to set up lasers and tank guns as mission prizes is a bit much...

I have no doubt the submitted missions will be reviewed before being released, but an oversight might cause considerable balance issues!


They are edited/checked independently by an Editor and by me, and they're easily edited even after going live if an issue arises... doesn't seem like a big exploit risk to me.
*sam*


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 10:59 pm
Valiance said:
I am so excited about these missions - I encouraged Sam to set up the original ones (along with several other players, I can't remember who else was pushing it at the time, sorry), and I love this ability.

So go create cool stuff, guys, I'm looking forward to creating it.


Thanks Val! Yes, you've always been vocal about moving in this direction. It's not exactly like the type of thing you envisioned last year, but it's getting there.
Armisius


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 11:11 pm
Sam,

My heartfelt thanks. I'm very excited about this new option!

Yahoo!
*sam*


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 11:16 pm
Groove Champion said:
I've just submitted a mission (Baby Steps). Please let me know if there are any major problems with the way I've set up the values. I have to admit I set the reputation requirements and boosts quite randomly... I have no sense of whether they are too high or too low.

The mission is meant as an introduction to courier and taxi missions for new players but I don't know if the required rep is set correctly so that the mission becomes available relatively early on in a player's career.


Yeah, I think setting the trigger rep. to 100 is too high. I'll put together a list of values attached the the current descriptors, and link it from the 'Create Narrative Missions' page, as Community Comments.

Nice writing though..  :cyclops:
*sam*


Posted Jul 2, 2010, 11:22 pm
Armisius said:
Sam,

My heartfelt thanks. I'm very excited about this new option!

Yahoo!


Thanks! There's a lot of positive feedback going on, hopefully it will prove to be a great feature  :-)
Groove Champion


Posted Jul 3, 2010, 1:02 am
Wow... I'm having so much fun with this right now I don't know if I'll even play Darkwind tonight :p

Two things:

1. If the chosen passenger for the mission is killed somehow, will he be replaced by an NPC of the same name? If not, I need to change the story structure in my narrative.

2. It would be nice to have negative reputation as a consequence of different choices during the narrative, provided the supporting text is clear enough for the player to infer the likely consequences. (Ex.: Sparing a Merchant from slavery would increase your rep with merchants but decrease your rep with slavers)
d0dger


Posted Jul 3, 2010, 1:45 am
Groove Champion said:
It would be nice to have negative reputation as a consequence of different choices during the narrative, provided the supporting text is clear enough for the player to infer the likely consequences. (Ex.: Sparing a Merchant from slavery would increase your rep with merchants but decrease your rep with slavers)


This is exactly what I was hoping for with the one I'm writing. We can't enter a negative value?
Crazy AL


Posted Jul 3, 2010, 4:16 am
Yes, enjoying myself in creating my NM. I would like to be able to create a ped only encounter, please. My feeling is that this should be combined with DW:T so that we can place things like derelict cars, engines, weapons, buildings, animals and other peds onto the map and have specific set ups for tactically challenging missions as well. And negative values are important as I am allowing a choice of NOT taking a mission and choosing not to help or hurt should have consequences as well. I actually put a negative value in one of my rewards, not sure it will work though.
*sam*


Posted Jul 3, 2010, 10:24 am
Groove Champion said:
Wow... I'm having so much fun with this right now I don't know if I'll even play Darkwind tonight :p

Two things:

1. If the chosen passenger for the mission is killed somehow, will he be replaced by an NPC of the same name? If not, I need to change the story structure in my narrative.

2. It would be nice to have negative reputation as a consequence of different choices during the narrative, provided the supporting text is clear enough for the player to infer the likely consequences. (Ex.: Sparing a Merchant from slavery would increase your rep with merchants but decrease your rep with slavers)


1. You can't choose the passengers for a taxi mission, they're randomly selected. I *could* change this of course, but it's probably better left as-is, since it would be a bit silly to have a character killed repeatedly. The thing to do is to have named characters operate as agents/contacts, but don't have them leave town.

2. Rep 'prizes' can be negative, yes.
*sam*


Posted Jul 3, 2010, 10:25 am
Crazy AL said:
My feeling is that this should be combined with DW:T so that we can place things like derelict cars, engines, weapons, buildings, animals and other peds onto the map and have specific set ups for tactically challenging missions as well. .


I have been considering this, and the thing is: how can we define specific setups when we don't know what the vehicles will be in the player squad?
*Tinker*


Posted Jul 3, 2010, 10:46 am
*sam* said:
Crazy AL said:
My feeling is that this should be combined with DW:T so that we can place things like derelict cars, engines, weapons, buildings, animals and other peds onto the map and have specific set ups for tactically challenging missions as well. .


I have been considering this, and the thing is: how can we define specific setups when we don't know what the vehicles will be in the player squad?


Have the choice to limit the player's CR? i.e we need you to be discreet? or have a set squad and vehicles already fixed for the mission?
Crazy AL


Posted Jul 3, 2010, 3:19 pm
*sam* said:
Crazy AL said:
My feeling is that this should be combined with DW:T so that we can place things like derelict cars, engines, weapons, buildings, animals and other peds onto the map and have specific set ups for tactically challenging missions as well. .


I have been considering this, and the thing is: how can we define specific setups when we don't know what the vehicles will be in the player squad?


For the most part, DW:T would be used to add window dressing in my mind. If I were to write a mission that required a certain CR, I would hint at it in the mission like this: "Come alone or she's dead" or "Bring an SUV. If we see any other cars, the deal's off!"

If the player brought extra, the mission would probably be pretty easy but who does that end up hurting? I don't intend on including enormous rewards for most of my missions. It's more about the story.
Groove Champion


Posted Jul 5, 2010, 7:35 pm
Is it only possible to have one narrative mission to my name? :( I suppose you want to avoid a flood of half-finished missions washing over the server?
Crazy AL


Posted Jul 5, 2010, 8:08 pm
Groove Champion said:
Is it only possible to have one narrative mission to my name? :( I suppose you want to avoid a flood of half-finished missions washing over the server?


That's exactly what Sam mentioned about only having 1 in the queue at a time.
*Rezeak*
reecestensel@hotmail.co.uk

Posted Jul 5, 2010, 8:08 pm
Only one at a time I think groove, Once your original one has been given the all clear by sam and the editors, I'm pretty sure you can make another one, I'll ge right onto checking yours out, looks good from what I've seen of it, bloody complex though ;)
Groove Champion


Posted Jul 5, 2010, 8:11 pm
Oh my... complex? And I hadn't really thought of the ramifications of mission branching at the time I wrote this one up.

I'll give you a real challenge with my next one! ;)
*Rezeak*
reecestensel@hotmail.co.uk

Posted Jul 5, 2010, 8:24 pm
By complex I meant long, You're actually making me read something! Darn you Groove! ;)
Groove Champion


Posted Jul 5, 2010, 8:55 pm
Well if Sam got off his lazy arse and gave us more narrative mission options, I wouldn't have to rely so heavily on long text to flesh ou&!?!&$*# *** WARNING THIS ACCOUNT HAS BEEN DELETED BY ADMIN. ALL HARDWARE AND GANGERS DONATED TO THE FIRELIGHT MILITIA. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING YOUR PROGRAMMER ***

B)
*Rezeak*
reecestensel@hotmail.co.uk

Posted Jul 5, 2010, 8:59 pm
Just finished editing yours groove, passed it on to sam. He's in portugal right now though, so he won't give it the final go ahead for 2 weeks or so. :)
*Ayjona*


Posted Jul 9, 2010, 2:43 pm
Vendetta Online did this, by opening up their web-based mission editor to players, and creating a Player Contribution Corps. It might have been the single most important change in Vendetta Online's history, and the one that brought the most, both in terms of new levels of awesomeness, and of new levels of player-game content interactivity.

Not that I need that former experience to realize the extreme levels of cool player-created narrative missions represent. It just blows my mind with an additional few newtons, and makes me think that it is time to return to Evan...
*sam*


Posted Jul 10, 2010, 9:45 am
Yeah, sorry for the delay and bear with me.. it's hard work lying out in the sun all day you know! I'll see about signing-off any that are currently ready, but they should be considered 'under test' since I think there may be a bug with courier missions.
*viKKing*


Posted Jul 10, 2010, 4:58 pm
*sam* said:
Yeah, sorry for the delay and beer with me..

Yeah, beer, sex and sun...  ;)

Edit: wait... isn't it what Evan is supposed to look like?  :p
upgrayedd


Posted Jul 11, 2010, 8:26 am
*sam* said:
Yeah, sorry for the delay and bear with me.. it's hard work lying out in the sun all day you know! I'll see about signing-off any that are currently ready, but they should be considered 'under test' since I think there may be a bug with courier missions.


Completed the "Heart in the right place" mission, stage 1 and received $3250

I was able to complete the courier run. I did not see anything in Elms nor SS about stage 2 though. Is there one?
*sam*


Posted Jul 11, 2010, 5:12 pm
Actually no, it was a 1-stage mission. Should probably have a narrative text stage added to the end to conclude it better?
*Tinker*


Posted Jul 11, 2010, 7:55 pm
yeah
upgrayedd


Posted Jul 11, 2010, 9:42 pm
Ok thanks. I just wasn't sure since it said Stage 1 so I went looking to try and find stage 2. :p
*Dark Tempest*


Posted Jul 11, 2010, 9:48 pm
I'm doing Grooves and it told me to go to SS, but gave me nothing to take back to SS.

How is that possible?
*Dark Tempest*


Posted Jul 14, 2010, 12:01 pm
Ok, now finished Grooves. At the end I got a skill training reward, which automatically given to the 2 gangers I had in town with the highest skill in the 2 skills that Groove wished to reward.

No problems there, but my own mission is supposed to end similarly. I was hoping that the player got to chose which character got the training, as the reward in mine is lessons for multiple gangers in a skill. Is the possible to do or should I change how my mission reward works?
Groove Champion


Posted Jul 14, 2010, 12:06 pm
I was under the impression the points could be freely distributed when awarded. Barring that, I assumed they would go to any character participating in the mission.
Armisius


Posted Jul 14, 2010, 10:08 pm
By any chance could someone produce a "tutorial" for the "create narrative missions". I've got some ideas, but when I get in there I get a bit confused with what to do and how to structure the mission.

I'm not sure what the creator can do and can't do.

I'm feeling a bit intimidated by it, and I don't want to waste the editors time.

Or is there an example mission that could be posted -maybe on the wiki or somewhere like that?
something clever


Posted Jul 14, 2010, 10:50 pm
*sam* said:
Actually no, it was a 1-stage mission. Should probably have a narrative text stage added to the end to conclude it better?


Which leads me to ask.. is there some way I could edit my already approved mission? make a version 2 or something?

I'm tickled that someone played my mission and offered constructive feedback!

*Tango*


Posted Jul 14, 2010, 11:04 pm
*sam* said:
Yes, I used Victory Lap as a nice simple one for testing - thanks Tango! (I have slightly reservations about its political correctness after having tested it, so it might be edited a bit later).


It's been a couple weeks, any word if this was approved or rejected?  It's a pretty simple short one.
upgrayedd


Posted Jul 15, 2010, 5:45 am
something clever said:
*sam* said:
Actually no, it was a 1-stage mission. Should probably have a narrative text stage added to the end to conclude it better?


Which leads me to ask.. is there some way I could edit my already approved mission? make a version 2 or something?

I'm tickled that someone played my mission and offered constructive feedback!



Thanks I enjoyed. It I'd love to try more of them but they got snatched up pretty quick. :)
Zephyr


Posted Jul 15, 2010, 9:53 pm
This is the single most awesome feature I've ever seen in an MMO. :cyclops:

I'm working on my story / mission now. What's the word maximum you want?
*sam*


Posted Jul 16, 2010, 9:12 am
*Dark Tempest* said:
Ok, now finished Grooves. At the end I got a skill training reward, which automatically given to the 2 gangers I had in town with the highest skill in the 2 skills that Groove wished to reward.

No problems there, but my own mission is supposed to end similarly. I was hoping that the player got to chose which character got the training, as the reward in mine is lessons for multiple gangers in a skill. Is the possible to do or should I change how my mission reward works?


I'll need to do a bit of work to enable this (not hard, but simply not done yet)
*sam*


Posted Jul 16, 2010, 9:14 am
Armisius said:
By any chance could someone produce a "tutorial" for the "create narrative missions". I've got some ideas, but when I get in there I get a bit confused with what to do and how to structure the mission.

I'm not sure what the creator can do and can't do.

I'm feeling a bit intimidated by it, and I don't want to waste the editors time.

Or is there an example mission that could be posted -maybe on the wiki or somewhere like that?



This is definitely required, yes. Hopefully within the next week or so.. (I'll try to do it as soon as I'm home from Portugal)
*sam*


Posted Jul 16, 2010, 9:15 am
something clever said:
*sam* said:
Actually no, it was a 1-stage mission. Should probably have a narrative text stage added to the end to conclude it better?


Which leads me to ask.. is there some way I could edit my already approved mission? make a version 2 or something?

I'm tickled that someone played my mission and offered constructive feedback!



I have just dropped it back to being editable again..
*sam*


Posted Jul 16, 2010, 9:23 am
Tango said:
*sam* said:
Yes, I used Victory Lap as a nice simple one for testing - thanks Tango! (I have slightly reservations about its political correctness after having tested it, so it might be edited a bit later).


It's been a couple weeks, any word if this was approved or rejected?  It's a pretty simple short one.


yeah, sorry for delay.. I just did a few more edits and made it live again.. I fixed the problem with courier missions (the main thing that a lot of people are missing in fact is a description of the characters doing the talking/giving the instructions.. we don't want disembodied conversations).
*sam*


Posted Jul 16, 2010, 9:25 am
Zephyr said:
This is the single most awesome feature I've ever seen in an MMO.    :cyclops:

I'm working on my story / mission now.  What's the word maximum you want? 


I'm not sure if there is a maximum... I guess if there's more than 1000 words in a mission stage it could put some players off though. But generally, the more detailed the better.
Groove Champion


Posted Jul 16, 2010, 1:28 pm
Don't take on "Baby Steps" if you don't like reading flavor text! (Probably well over 1000 words at every stage!)
*Tango*


Posted Jul 17, 2010, 12:36 am
*sam* said:
Tango said:
*sam* said:
Yes, I used Victory Lap as a nice simple one for testing - thanks Tango! (I have slightly reservations about its political correctness after having tested it, so it might be edited a bit later).


It's been a couple weeks, any word if this was approved or rejected?  It's a pretty simple short one.


yeah, sorry for delay.. I just did a few more edits and made it live again.. I fixed the problem with courier missions (the main thing that a lot of people are missing in fact is a description of the characters doing the talking/giving the instructions.. we don't want disembodied conversations).


Just got it and I think there's a bit of a problem.  It doesn't tell you that you have to go to Jakes to load the package, so unless you knew to do that you might not understand and drive to elms without it.  I'd edit it myself but can't.
something clever


Posted Jul 17, 2010, 12:58 am
*sam* said:
something clever said:
*sam* said:
Actually no, it was a 1-stage mission. Should probably have a narrative text stage added to the end to conclude it better?


Which leads me to ask.. is there some way I could edit my already approved mission? make a version 2 or something?

I'm tickled that someone played my mission and offered constructive feedback!



I have just dropped it back to being editable again..


Thanks a bunch, Sam! I added a wrap up and moved the cash reward to the final node. Also, thanks to upgrayedd for constructive feedback!
*sam*


Posted Jul 23, 2010, 5:39 pm
I have added a 'Feedback' feature, so if you have passed your mission to the editors they will be able to enter comments for you to review and make changes before contacting them directly about your changes.

I have also added GUIDELINES ON WRITING NARRATIVE MISSIONS at the top of the narrative missions page.
Groove Champion


Posted Jul 23, 2010, 6:05 pm
I'm a bit confused as to who gives feedback? Are players giving feedback to you once they have completed the narrative mission - or are the narrative mission moderators giving feedback to the mission author?
*sam*


Posted Jul 23, 2010, 6:25 pm
Groove Champion said:
I'm a bit confused as to who gives feedback? Are players giving feedback to you once they have completed the narrative mission - or are the narrative mission moderators giving feedback to the mission author?


The latter.
Armisius


Posted Jul 30, 2010, 1:25 am
I have a question. I'd like to know how to qualify for some of the Narrative missions. For instance, I know that the creator can set various conditions that will trigger a mission to be played. But I'd like a list of which triggers I would need to do to trigger various missions. For instance, if there were a bunch of missions that required a high reputation with the merchants then I'd try to raise my rep with them in order to unlock the missions. Has anyone got a list or could one be provided?

Also, I noticed that a mission was available to me a week ago-Angel of Mercy- and now it is not there. How do I access it again?

Also, I noticed a typo- just a minor misspelling- who should I report typo's to? I'm not the king of grammar or anything, but I thought it would be easy to make a quick edit and correct it.
*Ninesticks*


Posted Jul 30, 2010, 2:11 am
I think finding the missions is part of the fun and a list would just turn it in to a do list.

Each mission can only be in play by one player at a time. Someone else may have taken that mission in the meantime, it will become available again for you (providing you continue to meet the trigger criteria).

Typos to Sam I guess.
*Bastille*


Posted Jul 30, 2010, 2:39 am
Quote:
I think finding the missions is part of the fun and a list would just turn it in to a do list.


I agree. It also makes it great role play.

Knowing would be like taking the Good and Evil branches in D&D quests (just as an example).
Armisius


Posted Jul 31, 2010, 1:58 am
Twist my arm, twist my arm. Yes, yes I agree with you about the fun and so forth, but I'm VERY eager to play some of these narrative missions and apparently I don't qualify for any or my rep isn't high enough. Or I didn't grab one fast enough to do, so my patience is thin. :)

Ha! I'll wait and bide my time, after all this game rewards patience.
FireFly


Posted Jul 31, 2010, 2:12 am
Might I mention, that under certain circumstanced missions become impossible?

When doing a narrative mission, I got assigned to kill the leader of Tusk, problem is, they ain't targetable, and I'm really well liked by mutants, so the chance of me encountering them randomly is Nill...

In other words, I cant complete the mission :/
Joel Autobaun


Posted Aug 19, 2010, 3:34 am
Just failed Rez's package mission - no idea why : got the package to shanty on time.
d0dger


Posted Aug 19, 2010, 3:44 am
FireFly said:
Might I mention, that under certain circumstanced missions become impossible?

When doing a narrative mission, I got assigned to kill the leader of Tusk, problem is, they ain't targetable, and I'm really well liked by mutants, so the chance of me encountering them randomly is Nill...

In other words, I cant complete the mission :/


You probably could have turned off auto truce friendly factions and rolled against weak pirates of the mutant faction. If you got tusk with no leader or NMA, you could just truce, and only fight if you got Tusk with the leader.
FireFly


Posted Aug 19, 2010, 9:41 am
No dodger, you see, its almost impossible to even find random allied factions, since the game will make me avoid them...
thepez


Posted Sep 1, 2010, 5:17 am
I for the life of me can't figure out how to change the mission type for stage 1 now that I've created it. (I did create it when narratives 1st came out so that could be the issue)
I submitted it as "DELETE ME" so I can start over.
Lord Foul


Posted Sep 2, 2010, 5:35 am
Completed 2 of the new missions this week.

"Baby steps"


"Heart in the right place"


Baby steps is very good but Heart in the right place needs a looking at. Even though Heart in the right place is a minor mission, the reward would make even a new player lol and should be adjusted.

From the first part of Heart in the right place, the below sentence runs on to long and should be corrected.

It was supposed to go straight there from Gateway, but the driver got shot up pretty bad and ended up losing his bearings and ended up here.`


From the last part of heart in the right place,

Waiting outside Elmsfield General is tall slender man with a white lab coat and a clip board.

Should read "is a tall slender man

Also from the last part of the mission

`Thank you for your prompt delivery. That will be all for now.` He tosses a small bundle of cash into your vehicle. He turns quickly and disappears into the emergency entrance of the hospital.

While understandable, the sentence structure looks odd with periods all over the place. You may want to adjust this one too.


For all those that do create missions, please try and add a rep bonus or rep hit for the actions completed by the player. If you do a goody goody thing for a town, give a rep bonus for the towns primary faction.

Thanks for the time and effort.  ;)
thepez


Posted Sep 7, 2010, 12:33 am
Issue with "Unearthing Arcana" stage 3 reward.
[Gang Member] received special training from the 'Unearthing Arcana' mission

I completed the mission stage in Somerset but it issued the training to a ganger in Gateway Truckstop. If its a random ganger from the whole gang that seems fine but is the mission always issuing the training in Gateway? What if I had no gangers there? Also I copied all the text for mission in case I needed to reference it and there is no reference to the training reward - so its hard to know what it even was? (Yes I know I can check the character but he's a cargo driver so he has gains in driving, scouting and his training skill as well) I'm guessing it was +5 scout but it would just be nice to see that somewhere! (either in the Activities tab or along with the red text)
thepez


Posted Sep 7, 2010, 12:43 am
Also just a note - could there be some guidance to include hints on what the mission chain is going to entail in the first narrative text.
I hate getting mission that start off easy and quickly jump to intensely difficult.

Specifically stuff like - "Hey can you drive this tiny cargo from Elmsfield to Somerset" - In Somerset - "Hey can you go kill a gang leader out in the South?"
Err wow that's a jump...
I'm not saying spell out the whole thing up front - but a little heads up on what I am getting into - if its significantly different than the up-front mission.
thepez


Posted Sep 10, 2010, 6:25 am
OMG - Please for all that is right in the world - remove assassination missions as a narrative choice - or at least give the player like 2 weeks.
Everyone is going to think its a good idea to have one and they are impossible to complete. (Since the leader are always injured and won't come out)

PLEASE
-Pez
*sam*


Posted Sep 10, 2010, 10:58 am
Sorry... have been flat-out at the 'day job' this week.. will have some DW time next week so I'll prioritise this!

-- I'm going to make it so any gangs you have an assassination mission on will be huntable, regardless of fame.
d0dger


Posted Sep 10, 2010, 12:09 pm
*sam* said:
Sorry... have been flat-out at the 'day job' this week.. will have some DW time next week so I'll prioritise this!

-- I'm going to make it so any gangs you have an assassination mission on will be huntable, regardless of fame.


I think that will help a lot. You might also want to consider setting a standard for more days allowed to complete an assassination mission step, instead of just 1, 2, maybe even 3. If you get to these steps during the week, have a day job, and only a few hours to play each night, it can be very difficult to complete these in just a small number of days.
*Wolfsbane*


Posted Sep 10, 2010, 1:07 pm
There's also the bug (maybe feature? I dunno) that the gang leader will never turn up in-game if he's injured or in a coma (which they often are). Or was that fixed already?
*sam*


Posted Sep 10, 2010, 1:31 pm
*Wolfsbane* said:
There's also the bug (maybe feature?  I dunno) that the gang leader will never turn up in-game if he's injured or in a coma (which they often are).  Or was that fixed already?


In this case, the assassination is targeted at whoever is the gang leader for the purposes of that event. (At least, as far as I remember). You should see a message at the start of the event telling you who the target is..
*Longo*


Posted Sep 10, 2010, 1:45 pm
*sam* said:
*Wolfsbane* said:
There's also the bug (maybe feature?  I dunno) that the gang leader will never turn up in-game if he's injured or in a coma (which they often are).  Or was that fixed already?


In this case, the assassination is targeted at whoever is the gang leader for the purposes of that event. (At least, as far as I remember). You should see a message at the start of the event telling you who the target is..


This is correct Sam... :) But it doesnt always work from what I recall.
thepez


Posted Sep 11, 2010, 1:02 am
BTW none of my frustration is directed at you Sam. I do appreciate all the work you do for us. Its just maddening to be a younger gang like me and put it all on the line to see where a narrative mission goes and through minimal fault of my own (only thing I could do is more and larger scouts) have no chance to complete.
For the "Where`d My Rifles Go?! (Stage 6)" mission. (Assassination branch - Yes should have never tried but I thought it'd be fun)

S252347 Scout-GodSaveTheQueen Vs Hammerstein 2010-09-10 01:12:59 - Leader no show
S252329 Scout-Spitfires Vs Hammerstein 2010-09-10 00:03:58 - Leader no show
S252106 Scout-Spitfires Vs Hammerstein 2010-09-09 07:01:00 - Leader no show
S252065 Scout-Spitfires Vs Hammerstein 2010-09-09 04:42:58 - Leader no show
S251972 Cargo109-104 Vs Hammerstein 2010-09-09 00:19:22 - Leader no show (not that I had weapons anyway but it still counts)
S251690 Scout-NeighborhoodWatch Vs Hammerstein 2010-09-08 04:06:53 - Leader no show
S251673 Scout-Spitfires Vs Superheat 2010-09-08 03:06:55 - only 1 non-hammerstein scout from Elmsfield - though it was odd that we got a gang that didn't belong in the area - This was the only one that I set to Hammerstein and Raiders (to double my chances) the rest of the scouts I just did Hammerstein and I got them 100% of the time after this.

Also as a note I got all excited once because I got an assassination mission in Somerset once on a weekend where I had nothing planned. 15+ scouts with no leader - he did finally show once but it was against a unarmed cargo courier (and they intercepted a number of travels without him showing as well)

Basically what it boils do to is this. Nearly always the gang leader is shot up and recovering so there are only two ways I can see to get the leader to show - you get the first encounter after the daily healing and he recovers enough to come out or you draw a new set of gangers and one of them is recruited at a higher leadership+courage and therefore becomes the gang leader. (And possibly a third way if gangs fire out-of-action gangers - cause ganger turn-over until the leader is fired)

So unless you can time your scouts for right after daily healing the only other way to churn through enough enemy gangers that finally you find one that is freshly hired with high enough stats to take over the gang.

Part of my push is I heard the "Arizona`s Antique" mission requires an assassination as well so its just sitting there taunting me.

BTW its not the event gang leader its the gang gang leader. Ohhh if its just needs to be the event gang leader these get WAY easier like almost too easy??? (not that I'd complain!!!)

*Bastille*


Posted Sep 11, 2010, 2:30 pm
Quote:
This is correct Sam... :) But it doesnt always work from what I recall.


Yup, pretty sure this has worked for me a few times. If no pop up, check the gang page.

          #_____________________________________#

Currently doing a narrative mission - Fresh Cadavers, completed the first stage and it has jumped straight to stage 4. Seeing my Role Play position I am choosing not to complete the mission, so can't really add much more than that. Just seemed a bit odd. Maybe I completed more than 1 stage at the same time?

Armisius


Posted Sep 13, 2010, 12:42 am
Yes, I've tried to do some assassination missions as well, and I guess I just don't know what I'm doing. I've gone out on few scouts and killed several gangers but I guess I never got the leader because I never tripped the next stage of the narrative mission. I wish that there was an easier/more concrete way to know who you are supposed to kill, or when you've been successful. Especially when many of the narrative missions have this sort of mission involved in them for success.

It is frustrating to have unclear requirements and to be uncertain of how to accomplish what should be straightforward missions.
Armisius


Posted Sep 13, 2010, 12:50 am
thepez said:
OMG - Please for all that is right in the world - remove assassination missions as a narrative choice - or at least give the player like 2 weeks.
Everyone is going to think its a good idea to have one and they are impossible to complete. (Since the leader are always injured and won't come out)

PLEASE
-Pez


Assassination missions are 1 of only 3 types of missions available, I wouldn't want to cut mission types down to just "Taxi" or "courier". But perhaps the assassination missions could be made more straightforward.

As a mission creator i've wanted to be able to specify who to kill, or just specify kill anybody. But apparently assassination missions work specifically against a gang leader. --showing my ignorance.  I don't want to remove them, but i'd like to be able to make them more accomplishable-achievable, not necessarily easier, just able to be done. I know i've failed a few narrative missions because of this, and I couldn't figure out what to do.
thepez


Posted Sep 13, 2010, 5:03 am
When your event starts you get a text in the event box (where you see the list of chassis types you will be fighting)

It will say something like "The target of your assassination mission - (ganger name) is present"

Just to be safe I usually check the gang list and find the leader name and look at each car to see if they show up without being announced.

It is possible to encounter the leader in theory its just requires you to do a lot of very large scouts to generate a recruit that replaces the existing leader.
*Bastille*


Posted Sep 13, 2010, 6:37 am
I always thought it was like longo said above, "the leader of the gang for this event"


Edit, Sorry. I am getting confused as to where I read this, maybe in another thread.
thepez


Posted Sep 13, 2010, 7:21 am
While I had the narrative assassination mission for hammerstein I got "lucky" and saw the tavern had a town hammerstein assassination mission as well so I picked it up. (With a much longer completion time frame)

Since I lost the narrative mission I drove back to Somerset (but with the in-town assassination mission still active) and got a travel encounter with Hammerstein - with the leader in it (and in a fit of rage killed her despite being way outgunned)

Anyway the point here is - she was:
Lynn Rosol (Encountered event leader)
Leadership 30-60
Courage 90-120
http://www.dark-wind.com/character.php?id=563288

After her death the new leader became:
Todd Sprague
Leadership 30-60
Courage 90-120
http://www.dark-wind.com/character.php?id=559798

While I don't know the actual skill levels it is clear that Lynn could have been the whole gang leader at the time of her death. (I wished I'd check - like I said a fit of rage...)

Here's what I recommend a Marshall or someone that is a long-term vet take an assassination mission.
Before each scout screenshot the enemy gang page and see who the leader is. If the event issues the "target is in the encounter" message - check if they are the new gang leader (and had not been part of the gang previously).
(if the gang page doesn't update with new characters until after the encounter - then they shouldn't be killed so it can be verified)

-Pez
thepez


Posted Sep 13, 2010, 8:12 am
I think Sam did something - I've gotten gang leaders in my last two travel encounters (1 as above but now also the injured currently leader Todd)
*sam*


Posted Sep 13, 2010, 10:32 am
thepez said:
BTW none of my frustration is directed at you Sam. I do appreciate all the work you do for us. Its just maddening to be a younger gang like me and put it all on the line to see where a narrative mission goes and through minimal fault of my own


Not a problem, thepez: I fully understand that sometimes bugs or 'unintended features' can be annoying. I usually respond to stuff faster than this, but I have been too busy with other stuff.

Anyway... the following is now done:

* You can now directly hunt a gang that you have an open assassination mission on, regardless of their fame
* I reviewed the code that selects an 'alternative target' if the current leader is incapacitated, and made it more likely to kick in. I don't want it to *always* kick in, since it's intended that you may have to run more than one attack on the target gang before you get them
* Assassination stages in narrative missions can now specify a particular NPC gang. I'll send a PM to any authors of live missions asking them if they want to do an edit...
*Bastille*


Posted Sep 13, 2010, 12:08 pm
Ahh! So its not always, sweet.

I'm sure I've succeeded assassination missions several times before without getting the notice at event start of the target (by checking leader in gang page and hitting them) but... maybe I was just lucky.

There is some mumbling, sounds something like "Tried this tactic now and failed" But its sounds like its being spoken by someone with their foot in their mouth.

Is the ALWAYS target-able now in effect. Tried now and Tusk (the target of my assas. miss.) is not target able. This is solely for the purpose of feedback and Im doing this Mission out of character.

Tried a second time, still not targetable. So not sure if you got this going yet, but its definitely not working for me.
Lord Foul


Posted Sep 14, 2010, 2:00 am
Sam said:
Quote:
Assassination stages in narrative missions can now specify a particular NPC gang. I'll send a PM to any authors of live missions asking them if they want to do an edit...


This narrative mission should have this added as it requires you to kill a random gang/squad leader in less than 5 days. I failed this one a few days ago because no squad/gang leader showed up in any SS scout I did. I even made it a point to kill as many NPC characters in those scouts as I could.

Fresh Cadavers by Armisius
Joel Autobaun


Posted Sep 14, 2010, 3:09 am
I had the same thing with Fresh Cadavers, just never got a leader spawn ever.
*Bastille*


Posted Sep 14, 2010, 4:19 am
When you guys did Fresh Cadavers, did it jump straight from stage 1 to stage 4?

Still can't target the gang of my assassination For Fresh Cadavers. (Which is cool by me really as I believe that it should be possible to fail sometimes, but just want to clarify seeing that some changes were meant to be made, not sure)

I had one chance to target them, even thought hey had no fame, (Tusk - Mutants, was all it said in the scout list) but got no pop up at event start as per the target of the assassination, so I checked the gang page and killed the 4 top leaders in the event, but did not finish the contract. Mission stage still open, so I'll try some more today and let you know.
thepez


Posted Sep 14, 2010, 4:59 am
Cool - I think the change sounds great - I don't expect them to always show up (in fact I don't like that idea!) its just for a 2 day mission if I do 6-8 scouts I want to have a solid chance at finding the target.

The other thing is can someone ask the narrative mission committee to discuss that maybe assassination missions should have a minimum length. 2 days and the like is pretty rough. With real lives and the like its rough to not give a week for people that only scout on weekend?
*Bastille*


Posted Sep 14, 2010, 5:09 am
I like the tight time line sometimes, makes it a little more exciting, but yeh, if you have stuff to do it could make it really hard. Maybe a warning between stages that you will need to do this soon before you click {OK}, and time between stages being a little longer?

Seeing an NM can be run by only one person at a time, it does slow it up a bit, but with more and more NMs coming into play, it won't be so bad.


On another note, Ive had some ideas for NMs, Im just not good at making these interesting (like some of the other fantastic story lines here), hopefully get something together soon that will make peoples skin crawl like the ones I have played so far. Nice story Armisius! B)
johnny go


Posted Sep 15, 2010, 11:02 am
i am hunting for missions! whare's the best place top pick theas things up?
Stingray191


Posted Sep 21, 2010, 10:37 am
SPOLIERS!








Baby Steps.
More a mistake on my part than anything else but after I stuck the guy in my car boot in the narative, I thought he was in my car and headed back to SS - wasting valuable time.
Anyway to make it select what car you want him put in?
Armisius


Posted Sep 21, 2010, 11:29 pm
I wanted to speak up in here too. Hellrazors I actually had the same problem when I ran my own mission. I couldn't find a gang leader so I failed. =Lame. SORRY about that.

My original vision for the mission was to be kind of an easy intro to killing NPC's. I didn't intend for you to have to kill gang leaders, (any body could be a "fresh cadaver") but when I created the assassination stage of the mission I learned that that basically meant you would have to kill an actual gang leader ( so I edited my mission). Again I didn't realize how hard it would be to actually find a gang leader in the first place.

It was never my intention to make it too tricky. So, I'd be happy to make the missions take longer. So that you have more time to succeed. I've requested of Sam an easier way to identify the gang leaders in order to know who to kill in which car, and an easier way of hunting them.

BTW, thanks Bastiel for the nice comment. and I have no idea why it would skip you from stage 1 to stage 4.
Big Daddy


Posted Sep 21, 2010, 11:42 pm
I'm not sure there's anything wrong with the idea of assassination as a mission goal, it just seems unreasonably unlikely right now. I think I've done this for an earlier narrative mission, but for Fresh Cadavers, I just finished my 10th encounter with the right gang, but never a leader.

Failure is a healthy possibility, but this feels like success is not a possibility, which is no fun.
Armisius


Posted Sep 22, 2010, 12:12 am
Yeah, i totally agree with you Bid Daddy and that is no fun. lame. The mission was not intended to be a slog fest.
*Bastille*


Posted Sep 22, 2010, 3:20 am
*sam* said:


Anyway... the following is now done:

* You can now directly hunt a gang that you have an open assassination mission on, regardless of their fame
* I reviewed the code that selects an 'alternative target' if the current leader is incapacitated, and made it more likely to kick in. I don't want it to *always* kick in, since it's intended that you may have to run more than one attack on the target gang before you get them
* Assassination stages in narrative missions can now specify a particular NPC gang. I'll send a PM to any authors of live missions asking them if they want to do an edit...


My last two assassination missions have been a lot harder than any previous. I've only been able to hunt a gang once via the drop menu in roughly ten attempts. The second mission is against Butane so I see that they may not be targettable. Maybe its just luck, but it never seemed this hard to find my target before.
Stingray191


Posted Sep 22, 2010, 11:08 pm
I'm having the same problem in "Unearthed Arcanum"
Got to kill the leader of Tusk and can't target his gang.
EDIT: Hmm - with a new squad I was able to target them.
Big Daddy


Posted Sep 23, 2010, 1:53 am
I had Tusk too, and was able to target them. Successfully, every time. Just never had a leader in the encounter. I think I wound up with 11 in my mission window.

The narrative looked good, Armisius. I think these player-made missions are a fantastic feature, I hope Sam will be devoting a good chunk of his time to tweaking things like this and extending the mission options in new ways too.
---
Actually, now it looks like something is wrong with my Fresh Cadavers mission state. It shows as Active in Stage 4 (which I think I also jumped to from Stage 1). But I am sure the time expired earlier today - maybe The Hand of Sam extended all assassination mission times based on discussions here?
I suppose I'll give it another try, though I was really losing interest in finding the Tusk leader. But in My Missions, I no longer have the mission goal listed to assassinate their leader. So I'm not sure I'm really still doing the mission - I have another active NM now too. I figured those might be limited to one per player, in addition to one player per mission.
Stingray191


Posted Sep 23, 2010, 1:58 am
Smooshed that Tusk leader real good huuyuuck!
Yeah - loving the missions!
Given me a back my love for the little things.

You can have more than 1 NM at a time.
*Bastille*


Posted Sep 23, 2010, 1:59 am
Oh really?! So you changed the squad and were then able to target the gang?

I never thought to try change squads. Little buggers saw us coming!

Never found Butane. They've been hanging around SS for ages, I really do have great timing :rolleyes: might check this sorta stuff first before taking the Golden egg. Now my own Faction put a bounty out on me 'cus I failed even though I toasted 30 other FLMH.

:thinking: And now Butane rolls into town. :mad:
Stingray191


Posted Sep 23, 2010, 6:06 am
Yeah, tried with an old squad that I've had set up for ages and didn't get the option to hunt them so just went out after Mutant Scum.
Disapointed I set up another group of cars in a squad that was only a few days old and had the option to hunt them. They also had no fame number next to their name.
It <was> right at the bottom of the window of available targets so maybe I missed seeing them the first time as they were under traders and other stuff.
Zephyr


Posted Sep 23, 2010, 6:01 pm
Any plans to add "escort vehicles" as a potential stage for narrative missions? I've got one ready to go but unfortunately I can't get rid of an 'escort vehicle' stage to make the plot work.
Jaybird


Posted Sep 25, 2010, 1:00 am
I tried to work with the NM and started to write out and idea. i got as far as my branch before i ran into trouble. I still have yet to figure this out and actually wrote out the scenario. When I came back to work on it, I'm now on step 7. How can I scrap this and start over?
*Dark Tempest*


Posted Sep 25, 2010, 1:03 am
If you just want to start over from scratch just submit it as DELETE ME! and one of the mod's will do so for you.
Stingray191


Posted Sep 25, 2010, 4:31 am
On the cadaver mission now - and I've hunted Tusk about 6 times now and still no leader.
Sigh.
EDIT: okay - over ten times now and still no leader.
EDIT EDIT: 15 scouts now....
Stingray191


Posted Sep 25, 2010, 7:41 am
Okay - getting silly now.
20 scouts and no sign of the guy.
*sam*


Posted Sep 25, 2010, 8:46 am
Jaybird said:
I tried to work with the NM and started to write out and idea. i got as far as my branch before i ran into trouble. I still have yet to figure this out and actually wrote out the scenario. When I came back to work on it, I'm now on step 7. How can I scrap this and start over?


The actual step numbers don't matter - so going from step 1 to 7 is fine. There's no way to delete and start over, but also no need to  ;-)
*Bastille*


Posted Sep 25, 2010, 11:21 am
*sam* said:
The actual step numbers don't matter - so going from step 1 to 7 is fine. There's no way to delete and start over, but also no need to  ;-)


Now the 1 to 4 makes sense.

Stingray191 said:
Okay - getting silly now.
20 scouts and no sign of the guy.


Hmm, that can't be right, canit?
Stingray191


Posted Sep 26, 2010, 2:27 am
Phew - 1st scout today and he was in it.
Jaybird


Posted Sep 26, 2010, 2:00 pm
I just finished my mission and noticed a problem. Whenever I went back to a pervious stage, rverything I wrote was gone. This made it tough, but I think I got things right. Is that suposto happen?
*sam*


Posted Sep 27, 2010, 9:45 am
Jaybird said:
I just finished my mission and noticed a problem. Whenever I went back to a pervious stage, rverything I wrote was gone. This made it tough, but I think I got things right. Is that suposto happen?


Um.. no.. sorry  :(
You'll see there's lots of Update buttons.. you need to edit each piece and Update it before editing the next.. it looks like your narrative pieces are all blank; I'm guessing you hit the Update button beside the prizes rather than beside the narrative boxes.

Hopefully you have your writing saved somewhere?

I know this isn't a great system, but it was far easier to code that way..
*sam*


Posted Sep 27, 2010, 9:46 am
Stingray191 said:
Phew - 1st scout today and he was in it.


Sorry again! I'm checking into the problem again right now..

edit: OK I made another small code change which should sort it out.. you'd now expect to be given an alternative assassination target, if the gang leader is unavailable, at least 1 attempt out of 3.
Stingray191


Posted Sep 27, 2010, 10:52 am
NP Sam!
It just seemed odd as as the next day I got the 2 leaders in 2 scouts.
Poor 2nd leader was driving a Siren - I mean REALLY - the first thing I'd do as leader is never drive one of those again!
*Longo*


Posted Oct 7, 2010, 7:13 pm
I dont have a finished button! Help
*Longo*


Posted Oct 8, 2010, 3:48 pm
Longo said:
I dont have a finished button! Help


Help!
*sam*


Posted Oct 9, 2010, 5:49 pm
Longo.. are you referring to a mission you have written and are looking for feedback on?
*Longo*


Posted Oct 9, 2010, 6:08 pm
I think I submitted one a while back, but never heard anything on it. It had some problems with it, as I saw the rules tab AFTER I submitted it. I never heard back on that one. I did do a new one, which I made sure I followed the rules/guidelines with. I am done with it now, but there is no finish button....maybe because I already submitted one?
Karz Master


Posted Oct 9, 2010, 6:20 pm
Yours is still in the Finalised list, waiting for our fearless leader to sign off on B)
*Bastille*


Posted Oct 10, 2010, 3:15 am
Well.... has someone given him a pen damnit! :mad:


;) :cyclops:
*sam*


Posted Oct 10, 2010, 8:32 am
Karz Master said:
Yours is still in the Finalised list, waiting for our fearless leader to sign off on B)


How come I'm the only one from the narrative-editors who does any editing/feedback? grumble..

I have posted some feedback on your 1st mission in the mission editing page, Longo. Apologies for delay!
Karz Master


Posted Oct 13, 2010, 8:06 am
*sam* said:

How come I'm the only one from the narrative-editors who does any editing/feedback? grumble..


Don't look at me, I just edit the grammar and make sure that it is English a-ok. I bet my Cougar you won't find a single grammar or spelling error in there! B)

Maybe we should coordinate the team a bit better. I am no good with the mechanics of the game, so I usually just read through the grammar, and if it is okay, sign off on it and pass it through to the finalized list. I've never done a single mission before in the game, and I rarely time my travels, so I am not the authority to look for in this regard. Perhaps there can be an intermediate stage so that the other editors can look at the mission prizes and see if they're appropriate.
*Tinker*


Posted Oct 13, 2010, 9:52 am
How bout a list of story tellers/editors pined so the players can know who to ask and bug etc... :)
Karz Master


Posted Oct 13, 2010, 2:35 pm
I like to have people pine for me too :)
Dryfus


Posted Nov 7, 2010, 12:58 pm
I searched the forums, and cant seem to find an answer, but about how long does it take to have a mission looked at/approved(if it's good)

Also, how will I know if someone has looked at it??
*sam*


Posted Nov 7, 2010, 2:50 pm
The best bet is probably to PM me, Dryfus. I do check for new narrative missions looking for feedback, but not regularly as they're quite rare. I'm not sure if the other editors check at all.

You'll know that someone has looked because you'll see some comments provided by them.
*Grograt*
gary.r.horder@gmail.com

Posted Nov 7, 2010, 3:20 pm
I think johnny go needs to rite a mishon for you al to gramerise, mahbe that wil giv Karz somethink to chuw over.

I realy need to get my mission hat on, i have not tried one of these yet and i have a rig full of guitars and amps that need delivering
*Rev. V*


Posted Nov 7, 2010, 4:51 pm
"I think johnny go needs to rite a mishon for you al to gramerise, mahbe that wil giv Karz somethink to chuw over. "


Karz-
"Johnny Go's submission BROKE my ^%$&ing spell-check!!!"
*Bastille*


Posted Nov 7, 2010, 11:08 pm
lmao
johnny go


Posted Nov 8, 2010, 8:38 am
Rev. V said:
"I think johnny go needs to rite a mishon for you al to gramerise, mahbe that wil giv Karz somethink to chuw over. "


Karz-
"Johnny Go's submission  BROKE my ^%$&ing spell-check!!!"


hehehe

auther one bites the dust :-)
(stamps a litel scull on his keyboard under the growing row already there)
Juris


Posted Nov 8, 2010, 6:29 pm
Agree with Firefly, love this idea.

One thing - especially for multi-stage missions, please allow enough time to complete the mission for people that can't play every day. This is particularly important if you need to travel through several towns, since it can take up to 10 real time hours to get to the next town. I just had a cool mission 'Double Crossed' fail because I only had 3 days to go from SS to BL - and I was busy all weekend (mission failed in route to BL after all encounters processed - very annoying).
*Tinker*


Posted Nov 11, 2010, 12:24 pm
Melissa said:
Hello,
Right now all the missions are viewable by anyone (or by me, at least). Is that deliberate?


where do you see this? i checked all the buildings in ss and saw none
*Wolfsbane*


Posted Nov 11, 2010, 12:33 pm
That's a spambot copying my post from the first page tink. I'll go ask sam to ban it.
*Tinker*


Posted Nov 11, 2010, 1:05 pm
that's just creepy
*Grograt*
gary.r.horder@gmail.com

Posted Nov 11, 2010, 6:00 pm
hee hee
Lord Foul


Posted Nov 24, 2010, 12:45 am
Mission: Double crossed

A few things stuck out with this mission once I completed it.

The character in the mission is listed as a female with possible psi/drug issues.

Unfortunately the server randomly generates a taxi client that can be male with no psi/drug issues.(messes up the continuity of the story)


The payout for the end of this mission is too small. Escort mission payouts just to GW are triple the payout of this mission and this mission involves a multi town escort beyond GW, that's how small it is. For a mission that says it “pays well”, it has one of the lowest payouts that I can recall of all the missions except babysteps.
*Rev. V*


Posted Nov 24, 2010, 6:12 am
"The character in the mission is listed as a female with possible psi/drug issues."

Yep.
And people wanna bitch about "realism" in DW?
Date a stripper.
Seriously, f-ing DARE YA!!!!!!
Double DOG dare ya!
Blah, blah, blah, (your lame assed excuse for why you couldn't do this goes here) blah, blah.....

You'll PRAY for the escapism DW provides.

But, you WILL always have change for a $20.....
thepez


Posted Nov 24, 2010, 7:06 am
well I haven't done the mission but it wouldn't take much to work around something like that.
Write the passenger as gender neutral and pick a reason that isn't part of the character info.
Dryfus


Posted Nov 29, 2010, 12:17 pm
I was wondering if anyone had done any of mine, is there any way to find out??
*Tinker*


Posted Dec 1, 2010, 11:23 am
Lord Foul said:
Mission: Double crossed

A few things stuck out with this mission once I completed it.

The character in the mission is listed as a female with possible psi/drug issues.

Unfortunately the server randomly generates a taxi client that can be male with no psi/drug issues.(messes up the continuity of the story)


The payout for the end of this mission is too small.  Escort mission payouts just to GW are triple the payout of this mission and this mission involves a multi town escort beyond GW, that's how small it is. For a mission that says it “pays well”, it has one of the lowest payouts that I can recall of all the missions except babysteps.



Yup finished this today, decided to be a good guy and drooped her (him) off in BL, got paid but mission still listed as active (stage 7) and don't see any other things i can do around the shops there.

Would be nice if you got so much as an "thank you" for finishing missions
Zephyr


Posted Dec 1, 2010, 11:34 am
Can we add vehicle-escort stages to our custom missions yet?
Dreamthief


Posted Dec 1, 2010, 12:53 pm
Lord Foul said:
Mission: Double crossed

A few things stuck out with this mission once I completed it.

The character in the mission is listed as a female with possible psi/drug issues.

Unfortunately the server randomly generates a taxi client that can be male with no psi/drug issues.(messes up the continuity of the story)


The payout for the end of this mission is too small.  Escort mission payouts just to GW are triple the payout of this mission and this mission involves a multi town escort beyond GW, that's how small it is. For a mission that says it “pays well”, it has one of the lowest payouts that I can recall of all the missions except babysteps.


Yeah, the reward does need to be upped.

The psycher girl was a dude? Wow those psychers can really mess with your mind and make you see all sorts of things. I'm guessing that it must be some sort of protective chameleon cloaking device power :)

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