can not repack campaign blunting the spear

[FG ODIN]

can me here anyone give a tipp for creating campagne.

have the campaign unpack (with CM fr mad mike) in extra folder and modified maps (bigger)

but when i go to button create new campaign and go in my folder see i my text dat. with little notice and click to this come error message

"Incorrekty Syntax im Kampagnescript linie 1", i have not modified the KI or plans and i can not find the error ?, in readme is text that for campaign need a extra "core unit file" i that a extra dat. ?? what i must create, for my understanding is that all in editor when i save the map incl the core troops... can me here anyone help.....

thx...

[Skwabie]

FG ODIN from what I understand you're trying to pack a campaign without the core units file which is not possible... That one file is not included in the unpacked scenarios by Mad Mike's tool and needs to be made by oneself. In the case of Blunting the Spear it is quite a task.:eek: But... I'll save my poor explanation skills and just paste the campaign section from the CMSF manual.... hope it helps you figure it out!

Making Campaigns

New Campaigns for Combat Mission are technically quite easy to

make, however since they require many custom made battles

it can be somewhat time consuming to put together because

each battle takes a fair amount of effort to make.

A Campaign is a semi-dynamic string of individual battles linked

together. Each battle for a Campaign is just like every other

scenario made in the Editor, save one major feature; a common

pool of units imported from a central “core units” file.

This allows Combat Mission to track individual units from battle

to battle, which in turn allows the results of a previous battle

to have a direct effect on those that come later.

At the heart of a Campaign are two sorts of battles; primary and

branches. Primary battles are those that represent the optimal

path from start to finish. If a player wins each battle these

are the only ones that are played. Branches are those battles

that the player is diverted to after failing to win the previous

battle. There is a great deal of flexibility as to how these features

are used, enabling campaign designers to customize the

structure of a Campaign to conform to a particular “plot”. In

fact, the campaign doesn’t have to branch at all if that is what

the designer wishes to do.

Note: in theory you can create loops in the branching structure, by

directing the player to a scenario he played previously, e.g. after

a loss. While this is possible, please keep in mind that any

damages and changes to the map from the previous fight are not

saved. This means destroyed buildings from the first time through

are magically rebuilt, craters filled in, burning vehicles removed,

etc. Therefore it might be a good idea to avoid such loops for the

most part.

It is possible to have units tracked from battle to battle on both

sides. However, this is not recommended in general since it

means the same two forces face each other battle after battle.

That’s not very interesting! Plus, with the high casualty rate

for the Syrian side, it is unlikely that a significant portion of the

Core Units would survive more than a few battles. Still, it’s a

feature and players are welcome to experiment with it if they

want.

144 Combat Mission

It is also possible to have a Campaign played from the Red player’s

perspective. Again, there is a problem with high casualty rates,

even for good troops, and the lack of realism since it is likely

that once engaged a Syrian unit would be hit where it was until

destroyed. In other words, Blue forces make excellent subjects

for a realistic Campaign, Red forces much less so. Again,

the tool is there to be used as the player sees fit. There is no

rule that says a Campaign has to be realistic, after all!

Core Units File

This is a scenario file, just like any other, that does nothing more

than provide a common pool of units to draw from and certain

elements needed to present the Campaign to the player. It’s

as simple as purchasing some units and setting up the mission

information (briefings, title, etc.). Combat Mission ignores

everything else so don’t worry about the map, unit placement,

etc.

Battles within a Campaign can use units that are not in the Core

Units File, therefore it is only important to put units in here

that are central to the story. For example, if the Campaign

revolves around a single Rifle Company and a Tank Platoon,

you don’t need to put in an Engineer Platoon or a Scout Platoon

that are only used once. Such auxiliary units which don’t

make an appearance in more than one battle can be added

into any scenario normally using the Unit Editor as one would

for a stand alone battle.

One very important thing to keep in mind is how CM tracks units

from battle to battle. When a formation is put into the Activated

Units column of the Unit Editor (i.e. purchased) unique

identification numbers are assigned to all the units within it.

This allows CM to know that Tank 1234 in Battle #1 is the

same Tank 1234 in Battle #2. After a units appear in the

Activated Units column it can be manipulated, such as having

a unit’s Experience changed or deleting a formation so it isn’t

available, just like in a normal scenario. These changes can be

undone or redone as often as desired. However, these changes

are not automatically incorporated into existing battles for the

Campaign. To have such changes registered each existing scenario

file must be “synchronized” with the Core Units File in

order to bring those changes into existing battles (see below).

Shock Force 145

Scenarios (Battles)

There is nothing inherently different between scenarios made for

a Campaign and those made for stand alone use. Maps, AIs,

Mission Parameters, etc. all have to be created just like any

other stand alone battle. The only significant difference is that

some (or all) of the units from one (or both) sides can be

imported into a scenario so that they carry through from battle

to battle. Also, it isn’t necessary to make the small 170x170

picture that represents the scenario in the Battle selection dialog

because it is ignored.

Importing units is quite easy. Create a new scenario in the Editor,

choose the Units Editor, and then select the “Import Campaign

Units” option. An open dialog appears so the Core Units File

can be located and selected. Once confirmed all the units in

the Core Units File are imported into the current scenario file.

The next step is to whittle down the Core Units to those needed

for the current battle only. Often this is a small subset of the

total units found in the Core Units File. Select the Purchase

Units option and look in the Activated Units column. All Core

Units are there with a notation that they are, indeed, Core

Units. To remove unwanted units simply do what is done for

any other scenario; select the unit, or formation, and select

the Delete button in the lower left corner. This toggles the unit

“off” so it won’t appear in the battle at all. It can be toggled

back “on” at any time, like a normal scenario, by repeating

these steps. Additional, non-core, units can be purchases at

any time as in any other scenario.

From time to time changes may be made to the Core Units File

that require synchronization with existing Campaign battles.

This is generally an extremely easy and painless thing to do.

Just open up the scenario file and Import Campaign Units again.

Core Units already in the scenario retain almost all of their

customization, such as placement, Group assignments, Orders,

etc. Therefore, synchronizing with the Core Units File does not

wipe out hard work! What it does do is remove units no longer

in the Core Units File, imports newly added units, and updates

attributes (such as names, experience, etc.). The latter is

probably the only potential drawback of synchronizing since

customized settings like that must be redone.

Note: any formations completely removed from the Activated Troops list

in the scenario will reappear and must be deleted again (if that is

146 Combat Mission

still desired). This is to make sure deleted formations can be

brought back in if the designer changes his mind after removing

them. It’s very important to know this since reintroduced

formations appear in default positions in the 3D environment

automatically, which can create a rather interesting game

experience until it is fixed in the Editor.

Campaign Script File

A group of completed scenarios are just that until you use the

Compile Campaign feature. In order to do that, though, a

Campaign Script File must exist. This is a TXT file which Combat

Mission uses to understand which battles are fought when,

what the conditions are for going to the next one, and how

much the units should be refreshed between battles.

The script is quite simple. The first part is the Campaign Header

to help CM set up the Campaign as a whole. The first variable

specifies which side the Campaign is played from (Blue or Red),

if a Human Opponent is allowed (No or Yes), the text shown to

the Blue player after the last battle (Victory and Defeat), and

the text shown to the Red player after the last battle (Victory

and Defeat).

What follows are a variable number of Battle Entries, one for each

Battle in the Campaign. Within the first section of the Battle

Entry is the scenario file name, the minimum victory level

needed to win, the scenario file name to go to after a win

(blank signals end of Campaign), and the scenario file name to

go to after a loss (blank signals end of Campaign). The next

section in the Battle Entry percentage chance an individual

unit has of being completely replaced if lost, repaired if damaged

(vehicle only), topped off with full ammo, and brought

back to a fully rested sate. If the Campaign contains no Core

Units for a particular side, there is no need to fill in that side’s

variables.

Note: the very beginning of a Campaign starts out with a special one

time Campaign Briefing. This is identical to a normal battle’s

briefing, complete with Operational Order (OPORD) and maps.

CM looks for this information in the Core Units File, which should

be loaded when the Campaign is compiled (see next section).

Here is a sample of a two battle Campaign Script with dummy

values inserted:

Shock Force 147

/*

Note the characters before and after this text. They allow designer to put in comments,

or notes, such as why something was done a certain way. Anything between these

characters is ignored by Combat Mission. Otherwise an error will occur when the

Campaign is compiled.

*/

// Alternatively two back slashes can be entered to create a comment. There’s no

functional difference between this method and the previous mentioned method.

/* Campaign Header*/

[PLAYER FORCE] blue // options are: blue/red

[HUMAN OPPONENT ALLOWED] no // no/yes

[bLUE VICTORY TEXT] You won!

[bLUE DEFEAT TEXT] You lost!

[RED VICTORY TEXT] You won!

[RED DEFEAT TEXT] You lost!

/*Battle #1*/

[bATTLE NAME] My First Little Battle // note, do not include “.btt”, just the

file name

[WIN THRESHOLD] tactical victory // total defeat, major defeat, tactical

defeat, minor defeat, draw, minor victory,

tactical victory, major victory, total

victory

[NEXT BATTLE IF WIN] My Second Little Battle

[NEXT BATTLE IF LOSE] // a blank signals an end of the campaign

[bLUE REFIT %] 20 //always express this a number between

0 and 100

[bLUE REPAIR VEHICLE %] 40

[bLUE RESUPPLY %] 70

[bLUE REST %] 80

[RED REFIT %] 10

[RED REPAIR VEHICLE %] 10

[RED RESUPPLY %] 50

[RED REST %] 60

/*Battle #2*/

[bATTLE NAME] My Second Little Battle

[WIN THRESHOLD] minor defeat

[NEXT BATTLE IF WIN] // end campaign

[NEXT BATTLE IF LOSE] // end campaign

[bLUE REFIT %] 20

[bLUE REPAIR VEHICLE %] 40

[bLUE RESUPPLY %] 70

[bLUE REST %] 80

[RED REFIT %] 10

[RED REPAIR VEHICLE %] 10

[RED RESUPPLY %] 50

[RED REST %] 60

148 Combat Mission

Compiling a Campaign

Unlike some games, a Combat Mission Campaign consists of a

single file (with the extension .CAM) that contains all the information

the game needs to play a Campaign from start to finish.

The single file format ensures that it can be transported from

person to person without missing pieces. It also ensures that

players can’t cheat by opening up individual battles in the Editor

to peek or alter elements to make it easier to win. This

means the person making the Campaign must keep the individual

battles or forever lose the ability to make changes to

the Campaign.

Compiling a Campaign is technically quite easy, however mistakes

made in the Script File are easy to make and that probably

means a couple of failed attempts are likely. Not to worry,

though, since Combat Mission gives useful feedback about what

the mistake is that is preventing a compile from happening.

Before starting, put all the files for the Campaign into a single

directory. The Core Units File doesn’t have to be in the same

directory, though it does help keep things tidy. Once this is

done, do the following things in this order:

1. Enter the Editor

2. Load the Core Units File

3. Click on the Editor selection popup menu and choose “Make

Campaign”, which is the last option

4. A dialog comes up that gives some reminders of what is about

to happen.

5. When you click on Make Campaign an Open Dialog comes up

and asks for the Campaign Script File

6. Select the Campaign Script File and click “Open”.

7. If the Script File contains no errors a new file, with the .CAM,

extension appears in the Campaigns directory. The file name

is taken from the currently open scenario, which should be the

Core Units File.

Note: if there are errors a dialog pops up and says what the problem is.

Simply make the correction needed and repeat the steps above.

Since CM stops and reports the very first error it detects, each

error requires a fix and another compile attempt.

Shock Force 149

Once a Campaign is successfully compiled it must be located in

the Campaign directory, in the Game Files folder, in order for

Combat Mission to offer it as a choice in the Campaign option

within the game. Campaign files received from other people

also need to go into the Campaign directory in order to be

available for play. The size of a Campaign file is directly related

to the size of the combined scenario files that are compiled.

Therefore, Campaigns tend to be several megabytes in size.

[FG ODIN]

ok thx for the info, i hope i can create a new campaign

[JonS]

There's something wrong with your campaign script on line 1. Post it here and the Hive Mind might be able to debug it for you.

I assume you're altering one of the stock campaigns? You must be ... the original campaign will still be on your machine, so there's no need to 're-pack' anything unless you've made some change.

[Skwabie]

ok thx for the info, i hope i can create a new campaign

Actually no need to as biting my own tongue I've finished editing blunting the spear battle one with a new core file. It is meticulous but with fraps taking screenshots, turns out it's possible. Redfor using core units is quite interesting because, the losses inflicted on enemy in current battle will have direct influence on later ones!

[Oddball_E8]

Wait... how do you unpack campaigns???

(I really want that firing range from the tutorial as a single map)

[JonS]

ScAnCaDe or sumfink. It's on the Repository I think.

Edit: here http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=114618

[Oddball_E8]

Awesome!

Time to get some shooting-range setups on that map

[FG ODIN]

the original campaign exist in my folder, my goal was after unpack with the tool from madmike (CM2 ScAn_Cade) the maps make bigger to 4 x 4 km and update troops fr 4.Pz. Div. to 100 % + full Stug. Brig. + Hflakabt272 + Tiger Abt. 507, and full strength update sowj. III.Pz.Korps ,but i have tonight study the description what Skwabie friendly posted;) , and have again same error "incorrekty syntax ....... " is frustrating for me, scenario make is no problem for me but a campaign create is for me a mysterium at moment i see create core units no problem is in my pool but i can not create this f... core unit dat...

[blow56]

Start by creating a New battle in Scenario Editor. No map, just use it to make the Core units you want for Blunting The Spear. Name it as you please (call it X for the sake of clarity here). Place it in the Folder where all the other BTS battles have been unpacked and which you will use to reconstitute the campaign, complete with Campaign briefing, designer notes on the campaign in general etc etc.

Call up the first BTS Battle you wish to redo and Import the units from X. Repeat. Create your Campaign txt script and place it in the same Folder as everything else.

Make Campaign from X

Bingo.