WBC3 Editor
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WBC3 Editor Help
May 2004
WARLORDS BATTLECRY III – EDITOR HELP CONTENTS CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................................ 1 BASIC TUTORIAL................................................................................................................................... 1 GUIDELINES FOR CREATING SCENARIOS........................................................................................ 2 TERRAIN................................................................................................................................................. 3 ARMIES................................................................................................................................................... 4 BUILDINGS............................................................................................................................................. 4 FEATURES ............................................................................................................................................. 4 EFFECTS ................................................................................................................................................ 4 OPTIONS ................................................................................................................................................ 5 SIDES...................................................................................................................................................... 5 START LOCATIONS............................................................................................................................... 5 MENU...................................................................................................................................................... 6 EVENTS .................................................................................................................................................. 6 Description........................................................................................................................................... 6 Modifying the Condition: ...................................................................................................................... 7 Modifying Effects: ................................................................................................................................ 8 Event Creation..................................................................................................................................... 9 List of Events ..................................................................................................................................... 10 Event Conditions ............................................................................................................................... 14 Event Flags........................................................................................................................................ 18 Event Technical Specs ...................................................................................................................... 19
BASIC TUTORIAL 1. From the Main Menu screen of Warlords Battlecry III, select the "Editor" button. 2. Select the "New Scenario" button, and type in a name for your scenario. • Select the size of the map - Small (64x64), Medium (128x128), Large (192x192), or Extra Large (256x256). • (Optional) Type in a description of the scenario. • Select the "Create" button. 3. Terrain is the first thing you want to place, so select the "Terrain" button. • You have a choice of Grass, Dirt, Sand, Snow, Marsh, Water, Paths, Roads, Bulwarks, and Specials. Scroll through and look at the tiles, by expanding and collapsing the tree structure by clicking on "+" and "-". • Place whatever terrain you want. A 1x1 tile fills one grid square, and a 2x2 tile fills four grid squares. • Most terrain tiles in "Buildings" under "Specials", are made up of multiple tiles, placed on the map in the correct way. • If you want to change the basic terrain type of the whole map to say "Dirt", select Tile #1 under Dirt - Dirt Plains, and click on the words "Fill Map". Be warned though, this deletes any previously placed terrain tiles. 4. Features are usually placed next, so select the "Features" button. • You have a choice of Trees, Rocks, Structures, and Miscellaneous. Scroll through and look at the features. • Place whatever features you want with the "New" button selected. • To delete a feature, select the "Delete" button, and click on the feature on the map. • To move a feature, select the "Move" button, left-click on the feature on the map, then right-click on the new location on the map (it cannot be too close to the initial position).
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5. Buildings need to be placed next, so select the "Buildings" button. • Resource buildings need to be placed on all maps, except maybe a specific Pitched Battle map. Place lots of resource points, usually one of each sort, at level 2 or 3, near starting locations. • Usually 2 or 3 side-specific towers are placed near each starting location to provide some protection. • Optionally, Quest buildings and Temples can be placed on any map. • Leave buildings "Neutral" (gray), unless you specifically want a side to own them. To change the owner, select the "Select" button, and click on the building on the map. In the window that pops up, click through the sides until you find the desired one, then click "Done". • To delete a building, select the "Delete" button, and click on the building on the map. That's really all you have to place on a map, but you need to set up some options and sides for the game. 6. Select the "Options" button. The best settings for scenarios are "Hidden Map" with "Fog of War". 7. Select the "Sides" button. Decide how many sides you want in the game, and turn off any extra sides from the end of the list. Change the race of selected sides by clicking through the races. Similarly, change the color of the side. 8. Select the "Start Loc's" button. For the sides that are used, a location where the hero will start, must be set. Click on a side in the list, then click on the desired location on the map. To move the marker, just click on another location on the map. 9. Select the "Menu" button, and click "Save". The scenario will always save, but if you get the message "Not all start locations are defined", you will need to go back to the "Start Loc's" button, and set them all before the scenario can be played. It is a good idea to save occasionally while you are creating a map. Congratulations! You have finished creating a scenario. If you exit out of the editor, and go into the game through either Skirmish or Multi-player, you can select the name of your scenario from the list, and have a look at it. At any time, you can go back into the Editor, load your scenario, alter anything you want, then re-save.
GUIDELINES FOR CREATING SCENARIOS 1. Do not place buildings or units too near the edges of the map (within half a terrain grid square), as they may not fully appear in the game screen. 2. Place lots of resource points, usually one of each sort at level 2 or 3, near starting locations. In hidden maps it can be very difficult to find resources if they are spread out. 3. Leave lots of open spaces for building a base, especially near starting locations. 4. Try not to litter rocks around in a checker board pattern. 5. If using high plateau terrain, make sure there are ample ways up and down. 6. Use forests to give a clump of trees, instead of lots of single trees, as this will speed up graphics processing. 7. If you want animals on the map, they must be placed in the editor. 8. Most maps do not need any units or buildings put on them, just start locations and resources. The player can build their own buildings. 9. Quest buildings and temples must be placed in the editor. 10. Items cannot be placed - they are randomly generated by the game for each battle. 11. Default all map Options to "Hidden" with "Fog of War". This will give the human players a more challenging time versus the AI. 12. If you are creating a map for "Pitched Battle", you do not need to place buildings, units, or resources - just start locations. In the Options, set it to "No Building", and slide the Army Points up to 50. 13. Place Features sensibly - that is, no trees on bridges, in the ocean, etc.. 14. All resource points and temples are usually placed down as neutral. It is up to the player to then convert whichever they want.
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15. Don't place start locations too close together, as the heroes and units that appear will kill each other before the game has gotten underway! 16. Leave all sides defaulted to "Average" resources, unless you specifically want to change it. 17. Recommended number of sides for different map sizes: 2 sides for 64x64; 3 or 4 sides for 128x128; 4 or 5 sides for 192x192; 5 or 6 sides for 256x256. Minimum of 2 sides, maximum of 6. 18. The description you write under the scenario name in the editor, appears down the bottom of the game selection screen when that map is chosen. You cannot edit this text after the map has been created without doing a "Save As" on the map.
TERRAIN There is a wide choice of various terrains at different height levels, and all available combinations are listed in the table below. If two terrains are on different levels, they will have a cliff joining them. Lowest level – Desert, Rock, Caverns, Lava, Water Medium level – Grass, Dirt, Snow, Jungle, Ruins, Marsh Highest level – High Grass, High Dirt You can scroll through and look at the tiles, by expanding and collapsing the tree structure by clicking on "+" and "-". There are two sizes of tiles - a 1x1 tile fills one grid square, and a 2x2 tile fills four grid squares (starting from the top left corner). When you create a map, the default terrain type is Grass. If you want to change the basic terrain type of the whole map to Dirt, select Plains #1 under Dirt - Basic, and click on the button "Fill Map". After a moment, the whole map will change to Dirt. Be warned though, this deletes any previously placed terrain tiles. TERRAIN Grass
Grass Dirt Desert Rock Snow Lava Jungle Ruins Caverns Marsh Water Roads Walls • √ √ √ √ √ √ √
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High Grass High Dirt
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Lava Jungle
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WBC3 Editor Help
May 2004
ARMIES • • • • •
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There is a choice of units for the sixteen sides, siege weapons, fliers, titans, elementals, allies, and animals. You can scroll through the list of units, and with the "New" button selected, can place any unit on the map. If you try to place units on illegal squares, the unit appears faded out, and will not be placed on the map. To delete a unit, select the "Delete" button, and click on the unit on the map. To move a unit, select the "Select" button, left-click on the unit on the map, then right-click on the new location on the map (it cannot be too close to the initial position). To change the details of one unit on the map, select the "Select" button, and click on the unit on the map. This brings up a panel, allowing you to change the side owner of the unit. For advanced use, use the "Character" and "Edit Stats" buttons to create a named character and change the statistics of the unit. You can also change the global statistics of a specific type of unit or building. This is accessed by the "Stats" button on the main army panel. This allows players to modify all statistics, production time and costs, and the name of units or buildings that are to be produced in the game. For example, you can create a specific Human army set which has all Pikemen really cheap to produce, and all Squires named "Royal Squires". On most maps, no units need to be placed. Animals can be placed if wanted.
BUILDINGS • • • • •
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There is a choice of Resources, Race specific buildings, Quests, Temples, Walls & Towers, Lairs & Shops, and Miscellaneous. You can scroll through the list of names, and with the "New" button selected, can place any building on the map. If you try to place buildings on illegal squares, the building appears faded out, and will not be placed on the map. To delete a building, select the "Delete" button, and click on the building on the map. To move a building, select the "Select" button, left-click on the building on the map, then rightclick on the new location on the map (it cannot be too close to the initial position). To change the details of a building on the map, select the "Select" button, and click on the building on the map. This brings up a panel, allowing you to change the side owner of the building. For advanced use, this panel also allows the name and statistics of the building to be altered through the "Character" and "Edit Stats" buttons. On most maps, the only buildings that need to be placed are lots of resource points, which are usually left "Neutral" (gray). Some Towers can also be placed, but these are owned by a specific side. Quest buildings, Temples, Lairs and Shops are optional.
FEATURES • • • •
There is a choice of Miscellaneous and Trees for various terrain types, which includes rocks, walls, buildings, plants, etc.. You can scroll through the list of names, and with the "New" button selected, can place any feature on the map. If you try to place features on illegal squares, the feature appears faded out, and will not be placed on the map. To delete a feature, select the "Delete" button, and click on the feature on the map. To move a feature, select the "Move" button, left-click on the feature on the map, then rightclick on the new location on the map (it cannot be too close to the initial position).
EFFECTS • • • •
These are special effects that are added to the map after all other terrain, buildings, features, etc. have been placed. There are only three effects – 2 for the volcano, and 1 evil brew.. To delete an effect, select the "Delete" button, and click on the effect on the map. To move a effect, select the "Select" button, left-click on the effect on the map, then right-click on the new location on the map (it cannot be too close to the initial position).
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OPTIONS •
• • • • •
The options you set here will appear as the default options on the Side Selection screen when you play a game of Warlords Battlecry III. Unless you have "locked" the options down (by pressing the adjacent padlock icon), the player is free to change any of these when they select a scenario. The best settings for scenarios are "Hidden Map" with "Fog of War". If you design a scenario for the "Pitched Battle" victory condition, you need to set "No Building", and Army Points to 50. This gives a map where the units you take into the battle just slug it out, and you cannot build. You can change the other options as you want - Handicapping on or off, Quests on or off, and Building level. You can set Army Points to any number from 1 to 50 if you want the player to be able to take in retinue and regular units. There is also a "Rules" button, which is the same as appears on the Side Selection screen. You are able to set and lock any of these options - No Dragons, No Eyries, No Titans, Tough Towers, No Towers, No Walls, No Heroes.
SIDES •
• • • • •
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The number of sides in a scenario is decided in the Editor. The sides you set here will appear as the default sides on the Side Selection screen when you play a game of Warlords Battlecry III. Unless you have "locked" the sides down (by pressing the adjacent padlock icon), the player is free to change any of these when they select a scenario. Decide how many sides (2 to 6) you want in the scenario, and turn off any unwanted sides from the end of the list. If you want to change the color of a side, just click on the colored button multiple times. If you want to change the race of a side, click on the race name, and a panel appears. You can now click through the races to select the one you want. Also on this panel you can change the default Resources, the team for alliances, the default computer AI level, and if a custom AI is used. Usually there is no need to change these from "Average", blank, "Lord", and "None". The AI has 6 levels for sides, going from easier to harder -"Squire", "Knight", "Lord", "Prince", "Warlord", and "Emperor". There are also 2 other settings - "Rampant" and "Passive", which you can set an AI side to, used in conjunction with other normal sides. "Rampant" AIs do not build, but run straight out and attack enemies. You set this if you want a rush to happen at the start of the game. "Passive" AIs do not build or move their units around, only defending if enemies come near. You set this if you want units to guard an area on the map. A custom AI is a slight modification to the way an AI plays. Different files have been supplied for each race, with the name usually indicating what behaviour the side will favor. For example, the :Goblin King" AI for Orcs tends to produce mainly Goblins, Goblin Shamen, and Gobshooters. These custom AIs cannot be changed or created, but new ones may become available on the Infinite Interactive website www.infinite-interactive.com. If you want the side to be used all the time, say in case you have special events dependant on it, mark the button "Must be Used". If you want the side to be played by a human, not AI player, because you may have a special setup, mark the button "Must be Human".
START LOCATIONS Start locations need to be set for all sides that are used in a scenario. They are where the hero, and the retinue if any, will appear. If they are not set, the scenario will not load in Warlords Battlecry III. To set a start location, select any side in the list, then click on the desired location on the map. A colored marker appears. To move the marker, just click on another location on the map. When you are saving a scenario, if you get the message "Not all start locations are defined", you need to go back to the "Start Loc's" button, and set locations for all the used sides. The scenario will be saved with this message, but it will not be playable.
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MENU The "New Scenario" button allows you to create scenarios. You must type in a name for your scenario; select the size of the map - Small (64x64), Medium (128x128), Large (192x192), or Extra Large (256x256); optionally type in a description of the scenario; then select the "Create" button. The "Load Scenario" button allows you to load an existing scenario from the list of names that appears. The "Save" button saves your scenario. If you get the message "Not all start locations are defined", you need to go back to the "Start Loc's" button, and set locations for all the used sides. The scenario will be saved with this message, but it will not be playable. The "Save As" button allows you to save the current scenario with a different name and description. This is useful for modifying existing scenarios, and necessary if you want to change the name or description of a scenario. To delete a scenario, have the scenario name highlighted in the Load Scenario list, then press the "Delete" key. A confirmation message will appear. The "Exit" button allows you to exit from the "Editor" back to the Main Menu screen. A confirmation message appears. When you have this Menu panel up, there are some special hidden options available to you: 1. Press "v" to turn the Standard Victory condition OFF. To turn it ON (default) press "Shift-v". If you turn standard victory off, you must set a Victory Event so the scenario will end. 2. Press "x" to hide the mini map displayed for the scenario in the list on the Side Selection. To show it (default) press "Shift-x". Some map makers may want to hide the map display so players do not see the map layout at all. 3. Press "h" to turn heroes OFF. To turn heroes ON (default) press "Shift-h". This is the same as setting the rule "No Heroes".
EVENTS
Description One advanced feature of the editor is the ability to set events on the map to trigger at certain times or given certain conditions. You can add custom sounds, aid or hinder a side, set exciting victory conditions - basically change the way a map plays using events. Say you wanted to give someone 10 knights when they reached a certain location, or give 1000 gold at 10 minutes into the game - these are made possible through events. An event consists of two main parts - the condition at which the event is triggered, and the effect the event has. Warlords Battlecry III comes complete with many events, all with pre-defined effects, but variable conditions. You cannot create new events, but you can fully modify existing ones. You can have up to 128 events in a single scenario.
To add events to a scenario, click the "Events" button, and you will be presented with the following panel:
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The list box on the left shows all possible events, and the list box on the right shows all events currently in the scenario. To add an event, you can either double-click on one in the left list, or highlight it and press the right arrow button. You can add an event to a scenario more than once. To remove an event from the scenario, you can either double-click it in the right list, or highlight it and press the left arrow. Once you are done adding events to a scenario you must modify them to suit your needs. To do so, select an event from the events list and click the "Modify" button. You will be presented with the following panel:
Modifying the Condition: This is the first thing to do. Every event has two conditions - the condition from the scrollable list, and the flag requirements. You do have to choose a condition from the list for the event to trigger, but you do not have to use flags. The following will describe how to set the condition from the list. For details on how to set flags, see the Flags section in this document. There are two types of conditions associated with events - ones that require a condition area (shown on the map), and ones that do not. An example of one that does require a condition area is the "Move a unit(s) to a square(s)" condition, while a timer condition is an example of one that does not. By default, each event's condition area is located at the point 0, 0 (top left corner of the map). To move a condition area, have the event selected in the events panel, or be modifying it in the event condition panel, then simply click on a location on the map where you want the event to trigger. The new co-ordinates of the condition area are displayed on the events panel. When you select that event again, the screen will center on that condition area. To set the actual condition, click the "Condition" button and you are presented with the following panel:
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In this example, the condition is "Move a unit(s) to a square(s)". The owner is Side Two, the number of units is 3, and the unit is Dark Infantry. This means that only 3 Dark Infantry units from side two can trigger this event. The data must be set for each condition for the event to trigger. The panel changes text with each condition, however the format is exactly the same: To change conditions, click on the condition name (in this example, the Move a unit(s) to a square(s) text). This allows you to cycle through all conditions. The owner can be set to a specific side or "Any Side" by cycling through. It does not matter if the owner side is human or AI. If you select an event that requires a condition area (as in the above example) you will need to set the condition area on the map. You place this on the map by clicking, and a black shaded square with a blue question mark appears. You can change the size of this area by modifying the Radius, but the new size is not reflected on the map until you click "Done". The radius can range from 1x1 to 10x10 grids on the map.
If you select "No Condition (timer)", the square is not required and can be placed anywhere on the map (if it does not disappear altogether). Timer conditions are triggered when the game has been running for a set period of time (in seconds), specified in "Condition Time" in the events panel while the event is selected. This is the only event that requires you to enter data outside of the condition screen. All conditions can loop. To make a condition loop do the following: • In the modify condition panel, set the condition to "No Condition (timer)". • Enter 0 for the loop data, and click "Done". • Make sure the event is selected and click "Modify" again. • Click "Condition", and change the condition to the one you want, and modify it's data. For more information about conditions, see the list of conditions later in this document. It describes each condition, outlines the data required for each, and explains how each condition can loop.
Modifying Effects: Once the condition is set, you must set up the event effects. As you can see from the Modify panel an event can have up to 4 effects. These effects are pre-defined, and cannot be deleted or the number added to. If an event only has 2 effects, the other 2 buttons are not active. Once you click on an effect to modify it, you are presented with the following modify effect panel:
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In this example the effect is "Give Some Units". The number of units is 5, the type of unit is Dark Infantry, and they will appear around position 23,49 on the map. Each effect requires different data, and the panel changes text with each effect, however the format is exactly the same as above. If an effect requires a position (as is with "Give Some Units"), you will need to set a point on the map. You place this on the map by clicking, and a shaded red cross appears. The change is reflected immediately in the "Effect Position" co-ordinates on the panel. By default, the effect is located at the point 0, 0 (top left corner of the map), but can be placed anywhere on the map, even on top of the condition area if you want. Once you click "Done", this cross disappears, but reappears any time you modify the effect. The Owner of each effect will vary, and can be set to various options listed below. In the above example, the owner is set to side one, so it means the 5 units will be given to side one. Effect Owner Everyone Side 1-6 Not Side 1-6 Condition Owner Not Condition Owner
Result Effect happens to everyone Effect only happens for the specified side Effect happens for all sides except the specified side Effect happens for the side that triggered the event Effect happens for all sides except the one that triggered the event
For more information on effects see the list of effects later in this document. It describes each effect, outlines the data required for each and describes the effect the owner has. An example of setting up each effect is also given.
Event Creation One of the most common problems when creating events, both for conditions and effects, is the owner data. Many map-makers forget to set it correctly or at all. The condition and effect sections of this document outline the correct usage of the owner data. Another common problem is that the effect doesn't happen where the player anticipated. They may want 10 units to appear in the middle of the map, instead they appear elsewhere. When setting up event effects that require a position on the map, make sure you see the red cross at the position you want the effect to happen. Of course, remember the cross will only appear when you are modifying the effect. The position of the condition is often confused with the position of the effect. They are totally different things and both must be set in order for the event to work properly. The following is an example of how to add an event that gives side one 10 Squires when their Knight walks into an area in the middle of the map: 1. Click the "Events" radio button to bring up the events panel, then click "Events" again. 2. Select the "Give Some Armies" event from the list on the left and add it to the list of events in the scenario (either by double-clicking on it or using the right arrow). 3. Click "Done", then make sure the event is highlighted in the events panel. 4. Click roughly in the middle of the map to position the event. 5. Click "Modify", then "Condition". 6. Cycle through the conditions until you find the "Move Unit(s) to square(s)" condition. 7. Set the Owner data to Side One; the number of units to 1; select Knight from the list box of units; set the radius to 7; and click "Done". 8. Click 'Effect One", and set the Owner data to Side One; the number of units to 10; and select Squire from the list box of units. 9. Set the Effect Position on top of the condition area is by clicking in the middle of the condition area (which should be roughly in the middle of the map). 10. Click "Done", then "Done" again to return to the editor. Congratulations! You have just added and modified an event to a scenario.
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List of Events The following table describes each event and the effects available in Warlords Battlecry III. It outlines the data required and gives an example of each. Event
Add Character
Description Places a named level 1 character unit on the map. Data: Effect 1
Name of character. Type of unit. Position to add character (via Click on map).
Owner Data
Defines which side the character will belong to.
Example
Add Lord Mick, a Dwarf Lord in the middle of the map. The condition could be a unit must move into the area before Lord Mick will appear.
Event
Add and Move to Character
Description Places a named level 1 character unit on the map. The map will center on the new character uncovering an area specified. Data: Effect 1
Name of character. Type of unit. Position to add character (use Click on map).
Data: Effect 2
Radius of area to uncover if hidden. Position to move map to (use Click on map)
Owner Data
Defines which side the character will belong to.
Example
Add Lord Mick, A Dwarf Lord to the top left of the map, centering the screen at his arrival. The condition could be a timer condition to trigger at 10 minutes (600 seconds) into the game.
Event
Add and Uncover Character
Description Places a named level 1 character unit on the map. The map will not center on the new unit, however an area around the unit will be uncovered. Data: Effect 1
Name of character. Type of unit. Position to add character (use Click on map).
Data: Effect 2
Radius of area to uncover if hidden. Position of area to uncover.
Owner Data
Defines which side the character will belong to and the map will be uncovered for.
Example
Add Lord Mick, a Dwarf Lord to the middle of the map, uncovering the position he is added to. The condition could be kill 5 skeletons from side two.
Event
Remove Character
Description Removes a named character unit from the game. Data: Effect 1
Name of character.
Owner Data
Not Applicable. If two sides have the same named character unit (ie. side one and side two both have "Lord Mick" on the map), then the first numerical side (side one in this case) has it's character removed.
Example
Remove Lord Mick, a Dwarf Lord from side one. Condition could be when side three is defeated.
Event
Lose Character Defeat
Description Gives a side defeat if they lose a named character. Data:
Name of character.
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Effect 1 Owner Data
Defines which side is defeated when the named character is lost.
Example
When side one loses Lord Mick, a Dwarf Lord they suffer defeat.
Event
Change AI
Description Changes the AI level of a computer opponent. Will not work if the specified side is a human player. Data: Effect 1
Side to change. New AI level.
Owner Data
Not Applicable.
Example
Change side two to be a Prince AI from a Knight AI. The condition could be when side two builds a level 5 keep.
Event
Change to Day
Description Changes the time of day to daytime, with a graphical effect. Data: Effect 1
Change to Day. Time in seconds to change.
Data: Effect 2
Type of graphic. Position on map.
Owner Data
Not Applicable.
Example
Change it to day. The condition could be a looping timer condition that triggers every 5 minutes (300 seconds).
Event
Change to Night
Description Changes the time of day to night, with a graphical effect. Data: Effect 1
Change to Night. Time in seconds to change.
Data: Effect 2
Type of graphic. Position on map.
Owner Data
Not Applicable.
Example
Change it to night. The condition could be a looping timer condition that triggers every 5 minutes (300 seconds).
Event
Give some Armies
Description Gives a side a specified number and type of units. Data: Effect 1
Number of units. Type of unit. Position to give them (via Click on map).
Owner Data
Defines which side the units are given to. If more than one side is specified (ie. "Everyone"), then each of those sides get the specified units.
Example
Give all sides 1 Imp in the middle of the map. Condition could be when any side has built 10 buildings.
Event
Give Resources
Description Gives a side a specified number and type of resource. Data: Effect 1
Amount of resource. Type of resource.
Owner Data
Defines which side the resource is given to.
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Example
Give 1000 gold to side three. Condition could be side three must accumulate 2000 crystal first.
Event
Damage and Uncover Map
Description Does damage of a specified type in a specified radius, and uncovers part of the map. Plays a sound and shows a graphical effect. Data: Effect 1
Amount of damage. Type of damage. Radius and position on map.
Data: Effect 2
Sound file name. Positional or Non Positional.
Data: Effect 3
Explosion Type. Position on map.
Data: Effect 4
Radius to uncover. Position on map to uncover.
Owner Data
Defines which side is affected by the damage.
Example
Cause 300 points of damage to an area 10 x 10 grids in the middle of the map affecting everyone. Make it fire damage and show a Ring of Fire, with an appropriate fire sound. Uncover the area of the map where the damage occurs. The condition could be side one (a human) must build a level 5 keep.
Event
Uncover Hidden Map
Description Uncovers a specified area of the map. Data: Effect 1
Radius to uncover. Position to uncover.
Owner Data
Defines which side the map is uncovered for.
Example
Uncover the bottom left of the map at the beginning of the game. The condition could be timer set to 0 seconds.
Event
Uncover and Move Map
Description Uncovers and centers on a specified area of the map. Data: Effect 1
Radius to uncover. Position to uncover.
Data: Effect 2
Position to center on. Slide or Jump to position.
Owner Data
Defines which side the map is uncovered for.
Example
Uncover the bottom left of the map and center the screen there. The condition could be the side starting there has to build a level 3 keep.
Event
Play Sound
Description Plays a wav file. Data: Effect 1
Sound file name. Positional or Non Positional.
Owner Data
Not Applicable.
Example
Play a wolf yelping sound. Condition could be when side one kills a Wolfrider.
Event
Text Dialog Flag
Description Displays a dialog of text from a file and sets a system flag upon closing. Data: Effect 1
File name. Flag Number. Flag on or off.
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Owner Data
Not Applicable.
Example
Display a congratulation message when the side achieves victory, and set flag 0 upon closing the dialog. You could have another event that is a victory event whose condition of flag 0 must be on. So when the dialog closes, the side gets victory. The condition could be kill 90 Skeletons - this would be the victory condition.
Event
Text Dialog
Description Displays a dialog of text from a file, and has the option to play a "bing" sound when opened. Data: Effect 1
File name. No notification or "bing".
Owner Data
Not Applicable.
Example
Display a short summary about the history of the map with a "bing" sound. Condition could be a timer condition set to go off at the start of the game (0 seconds).
Event
Defeat
Description Gives a side defeat. Data: Effect 1
Not Applicable.
Owner Data
Defines which side is defeated.
Example
Give side two defeat. The condition could be side two has to kill any unit from side one.
Event
Victory
Description Gives a side victory, and all other sides defeat. Data: Effect 1
Not Applicable.
Owner Data
Defines which side gets victory. Should never be set to more then one side.
Example
Give side one victory. Condition could be flag 0 must be ON.
Event
Set Flag
Description Sets one of the 16 event system flags. Data: Effect 1
Flag Number. On or Off.
Owner Data
Not Applicable.
Example
Set flag 2 to be ON. The condition could be a timer condition set to 5 minutes (300 seconds) into the game.
Event
Inc. Counter (loop)
Description This event will fire multiple times. It will increment an active counter by a certain value (it defaults to 1). Data: Effect 1
Amount to increment the counter by.
Owner Data
Not Applicable.
Example
For each and every Giant the player kills after the first one, increment his counter by 1.
Event
Inc. Counter
Description This event will fire once only. It will increment an active counter by a certain value (it defaults to 1).
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Data: Effect 1
Amount to increment the counter by.
Owner Data
Not Applicable.
Example
When the player kills his first Giant, increment his counter by 5. Do not increment it if he kills any more Giants.
Event
Clock Countdown
Description Opens a clock on the screen that starts counting down. Data: Effect 1
Time (in seconds) to start with on the clock. When this reaches zero, nothing will actually happen as a result of this event, except that the clock will be removed. You will need to implement a separate Timer condition/event pair to cause an effect in the game.
Owner Data
Not Applicable.
Example
Give players a 15 minute count before the AI gets 6 Dragons. Don't forget to set a Timer for the 15 minute mark (900 seconds) to give the AI his Dragons.
Event
Counter Off
Description Removes an active counter from the screen - the counter must have first been activated with a "Counter On" event. Data: Effect 1
Not Applicable.
Owner Data
Not Applicable.
Example
Turn a counter off, after the player has reached a certain predetermined value and triggered an event (see the "Counter >=" condition to do this).
Event
Counter On
Description Activates a counter which prints out a tally of "something" on the right hand edge of the screen. Exactly what that "something" is can be specified in the "Inc Counter" events. Data: Effect 1
Not Applicable.
Owner Data
Not Applicable.
Example
Turn the counter on to start tallying how many Goblins a player kills. You will need to increment the counter, with an "Inc Counter" event, whenever the player kills a Goblin.
Event
Set Counter
Description Sets an active counter to have a certain value - the counter must have first been activated with a "Counter On" event. Data: Effect 1
Value to set the counter to.
Owner Data
Not Applicable.
Example
Set a counter to 0 when turning on a new counter, since it may have been used to count something before.
Event Conditions The following table describes each event condition available in Warlords Battlecry III. It outlines the data required and explains how each condition can loop.
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Condition
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No condition (timer)
Description Triggers the event after a certain period of time. Measured in seconds, and specified in the selected event screen, not the condition screen. Data
Loop. 0 = infinite.
Owner Data
Not Applicable. The timer is specific to the game, not a side.
Looping
When a timer event triggers, the specified condition time is added to the current time to become the new trigger time for the event.
Condition
Move Unit(s) to a square(s)
Description Triggers the event when a specified number and type of units move over a designated area on the map. Data
Number of units. Type of unit. Radius of area. Position of area.
Owner Data
Defines which side the unit(s) must belong to to trigger the event. If set to side one, only unit(s) from side one can trigger the event. If set to Everyone, any unit(s) satisfying the condition data can trigger the event.
Looping
Any time the event conditions are satisfied, the event will trigger. However any units in the condition area when the event is triggered, must move out of the area and back into it to trigger it again.
Condition
Move Hero to a square(s)
Description Triggers the event when a Hero of a specified side moves over a designated area on the map. Data
Hero side. Radius of area. Position of area.
Owner Data
Defines which side the hero must belong to to trigger the event. If set to side one, only the hero from side one can trigger the event. If set to Everyone, any hero can trigger the event.
Looping
Any time a hero of the specified side moves into the condition area, the event triggers. However any heroes in the condition area when the event is triggered, must move out of the area and back into it to trigger it again.
Condition
Build Building(s)
Description Triggers the event when a side has built a specified number and type of buildings. Data
Number of buildings. Type of buildings.
Owner Data
Defines which side must build the buildings.
Looping
To trigger this event again, the side must build the specified number and type of buildings again. Buildings on the map at the time the event is triggered are not taken into account for the next trigger, only buildings built after the previous trigger.
Condition
Produce Unit(s)
Description Triggers the event when a side has produced a specified number and type of units. Data
Number of units. Type of units.
Owner Data
Defines which side must produce the units.
Looping
To trigger this event again, the side must produce the specified number and type of units again. Units on the map at the time the event is triggered are not taken into account for the next trigger, only units produced after the previous trigger.
Condition
Kill Unit(s)
Description Triggers the event when a side has killed a specified number and type of units. Data
Number of units. Type of units.
Owner
Defines which side must kill the units.
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Data Looping
Not Applicable.
Condition
Kill Someone's Unit(s)
Description Triggers the event when a specified side has killed a specified number of units. Data
Number of units. Side.
Owner Data
Defines which side must kill the units.
Looping
Not Applicable.
Condition
Obtain an Item
Description NOT USED. Condition
Raze Building(s)
Description Triggers the event when a specified side has razed a specified number and type of buildings. Data
Number of buildings. Type of buildings.
Owner Data
Defines which side must raze the buildings.
Looping
Not Applicable.
Condition
Raze Someone's Building(s)
Description Triggers the event when a specified side has razed a specified number of buildings. Data
Number of buildings.
Owner Data
Defines which side must raze the buildings.
Looping
Not Applicable.
Condition
Defeat by loss of Character
Description Gives a side defeat if they lose a named character. Data
Character name (set in Effect One).
Owner Data
Defines which side must lose the character.
Looping
Not Applicable. Once you are defeated you are out of the game.
Condition
Select Unit(s)
Description Triggers the event when a side has selected a specified number of units. This event is used only in tutorials. Data
Number of units.
Owner Data
Not Applicable. Only works for a human player.
Looping
To trigger this event again, the side must select the specified number of units again.
Condition
Select Building(s)
Description Triggers the event when a side has selected a specified number of buildings. This event is used only in tutorials. Data
Number of buildings.
Owner Data
Not Applicable. Only works for a human player.
Looping
To trigger this event again, the side must select the specified number of buildings again.
Condition
Conversion Started
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Description Triggers the event when a specified side has started to convert a specified number of buildings. Data
Number of buildings.
Owner Data
Defines which side must convert the buildings.
Looping
Not Applicable.
Condition
Building Converted
Description Triggers the event when a specified side has converted a specified number of buildings. Data
Number of buildings.
Owner Data
Defines which side must convert the buildings.
Looping
Not Applicable.
Condition
Skill Learned
Description Triggers the event when a specified side has learnt a specified number of skills. Data
Number of skills.
Owner Data
Defines which side must learn the skills.
Looping
Not Applicable.
Condition
Resources
Description Triggers the event when a specified side has accumulated a specified amount of resources. Data
Amount of resources. Type of resource.
Owner Data
Defines which side must accumulate the resources.
Looping
Not Applicable.
Condition
Move Character
Description Triggers the event when a specified side moves a named character over a designated area on the map. Data
Character name (set in Effect One). Radius of area.
Owner Data
Defines which side must own the character.
Looping
Any time the named character from the specified side moves into the condition area, the event triggers. However any characters in the condition area when the event is triggered, must move out of the area and back into it to trigger it again.
Condition
Button Pressed
Description Triggers the event when a specified key on the keyboard is pressed. Data
Key.
Owner Data
Not Applicable. Only works for a human player on an individual machine.
Looping
Any time the key is pressed on the keyboard, the event triggers.
Condition
Side Defeated
Description Triggers the event when a specified side is defeated. Data
Side to be defeated.
Owner Data
Not Applicable.
Looping
Not Applicable. A side can only be defeated once.
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Condition
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Counter >=
Description Checks an Active Counter in the game (see the Counter On event) Data
Value to check the counter against (e.g. if Counter >= 5, then do event)
Owner Data
Not Applicable. The counters are specific to the game, not a side.
Looping
None - fires once only.
Condition
Dead Hero
Description Triggers the event when a specified side loses their hero. Data
Side of hero.
Owner Data
Not Applicable.
Looping
Not Applicable. A hero can only die once.
Event Flags Flags are the most difficult things to understand about events. However understanding them can help you to create exciting event conditions for your scenarios that aren't possible with just one condition. A flag is basically a switch that is either on or off. The event system has 16 of them, named flag 0 flag 15. At any one time, each flag can be set to on or off in the event condition, or by the event "Set Flag". This event is used in conjunction with one or more other events as an extra condition. Every event has two conditions - the condition from the scrollable list, and the flag requirements. If you want an event to have more conditions, you can set up to 16 flags. There is only one flag displayed on the event condition panel at a time, but you can scroll through and set each one on or off individually to create multiple flag requirements. The default setting for flags is "Off", which means the game ignores them. If you set the flag to "On", you must have another "Set Flag" event in the scenario that turns the specified flag on, or the event will never trigger. For example: Event 1 gives 1000 gold to side one at 5 minutes (300 seconds) into the game, if flag 1 is on. Event 2 sets flag 1 on if side one kills 20 units. So once 5 minutes have elapsed, if side one has killed 20 units, they get the 1000 gold. If they have not killed 20 units, they do not get the gold. If the timer event was set to loop, side one will get another chance at the gold at the 10 minute mark. The following is an example of how to add events to a scenario that give side one 10 Knights when their hero moves to an area on the map, but only if the game has been running for 5 minutes: 1. Choose Event 1 - "Give some Armies". 2. Set Condition to "Move Hero to square(s)", and set Flag 0 "On". 3. Set the Owner data to side one, the area radius to 7, and click on the desired place on the map. 4. Set Effect 1 to "Give some Units", the number of units to10, and the type of unit from the list to Knight. 5. Set the Owner data to side one, and the position of the units by clicking on the map. 6. Choose Event 2 - "Set Flag". 7. Set Condition to "No condition (timer)" - for 300 seconds. No Flag requirements 8. Set Effect 1 to have Flag 0 "On". With these two events set up, when side one's Hero moves to the specified area, Event 1 will attempt to trigger. If the game has been running for 5 minutes, Event 2 will have triggered and set Flag 0 to "On", and side one will receive their 10 Knights. If the game has been running for less than 5 minutes, Event 2 will not have triggered, and side one will not receive anything. Obviously if the Hero never moves to the specified area, side one not receive anything, regardless of how long the game has been running.
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Event Technical Specs This section of the document is not necessary reading. It will not tell you how to setup events or encounters. It describes exactly how the Warlords Battlecry III Events System works. It goes into detail about how the code is written and what happens in what order. This may give you a better understanding of how to use events in a manner that gets the best results. When you add an event to a scenario in the editor, it saves the data for the event in the .SCN file (the scenario file). When you start a game using a scenario with events in it, these events are read in and loaded into the event systems memory. This is all done before the game begins. When loading an event in to the system the following happens: 1. The condition is identified. 2. If the condition uses a condition area to trigger, the event system tells the map system which squares are in the condition area for this event. 3. The event is then stored in memory. They are stored in memory in the order they are read from the file. They are read from the file in the order they appear in the list box in the editor. This becomes important later on. Once the event system has read in all the events and set up the appropriate data, the system is ready. The event system must regularly check to see if events need to be triggered. This is done every 2 seconds. Not all events are checked during this time. The ones that are have one of the following conditions: • Defeat Character Lost. • Select Units • Select Buildings • Conversion Started • Learned Skill • Side Defeated • Dead Hero • Counter • Resource • No Condition (Timer) These conditions are not triggered externally (from another system such as the map, input system or statistics system). As these conditions are only tested once every 2 seconds, some variance in time may occur. If the event condition is satisfied (example if the side has 3 units selected and the condition is to select 3 units), the system checks to see if any flags have been set for the condition. If all flag requirements are met then the condition has been satisfied and the effects are activated. To understand flags more, see the section about flags in this document. Each effect is activated in order from effect 1 to effect 4. All effects are triggered for the event, you cannot specifically tell one effect to trigger and another not too. If the event condition does not loop, the event is marked as done and plays no further part in the game. However if the event condition does loop, the event is not set to done and the event can be triggered again. If data needs to be reset or adjusted for looping purposes, it is done at this point. To see how different conditions are affected by looping read the list of conditions. Let's say an event effect is to set a flag, lets say flag 2 to be on. If an event preceding this event in memory requires flag 2 to be on, and flag 2 was off until this event was triggered, it means that when it was checked this cycle, it did not activate. This event must wait until the next cycle to activate. However if this event came after the set flag event in memory, the event will be triggered this cycle. This means the event, depending on order, can be triggered at slightly different times (up to 2 seconds different). This is where order of events comes in handy, and sometimes is very important to the success of events in a scenario. If a timer event condition is satisfied, but it's flag requirements are not, the system will keep checking the event every 2 seconds and assume that the conditions are met. When the flag requirements are met, the event will trigger. The system then moves on to process the next event.
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All other event conditions are triggered elsewhere: • Events that have a condition area are triggered by the map system. That is when a unit/hero/character moves onto a square, the map system checks to see if that square has an event on it. If it does, it sends the unit's information to the event system which checks to see if the event conditions are satisfied. • Events that have the key-press condition are triggered by the input system. Whenever the user presses a key, the event system is called to check all events with the key-press condition. • Events that have the produce or kill units, build or raze building conditions are triggered by the statistics system. Whenever a building is built/razed or a unit is produced/killed, the event system is called to check all events with the appropriate condition. These events are triggered as soon as the conditions are satisfied. However if an event condition is satisfied and the flag requirements have not been met, the event will not trigger. The conditions may become unsatisfied before the flag is set (example, the unit might move out of the condition area). In that case the event will be triggered when the conditions are satisfied and the flag requirements are met. The event system described above is only run on the Host machine. Every side sets up the event system and loads the events into memory, however only the host triggers events. When data for an event changes (it triggers, looping data is changed etc) this information is passed along to the other machines and they update their data. So every machine is synchronized. If the host migrates, the new host will have an up-to-date event system and will be able to take over the roll as host of the event system.
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