Games PC DELTA FORCE 4 User Manual

MISSION EDITOR MANUAL

CONSUMER VERSION

This Mission Editor tool is a proprietary tool designed specifically to create missions for
NovaLogic’s action games. Since each game has different requirements and variables, the
Mission Editor is constantly undergoing changes to best fit the current project. This manual
covers the mission editor for Delta Force: Task Force Dagger. We will walk you through the
process of setting up a mission, populating it with objects and enemies, and setting complex
trigger statements and dialogue.

It is highly recommended that you walk through this manual in the order that it is written. Many
functions will work only if the proper groundwork has been properly laid.

The Mission Editor Tool requires a minimum screen resolution of 800x600. For best results, we
recommend that you set your resolution to at least 1024x768. It is also recommended that you
have at least 160 megs of memory free when using the tool.

DISCLAIMER: The Delta Force: Task Force Dagger Mission Editor Tool is provided to the consumer “AS IS”.
NovaLogic technical support will not be able to answer any questions about this product or any issues related to its use.

Delta Force Task Force Dagger - Mission Editor Manual - 06/11/02

Page 1

Table of Contents

Section 1: Navigating the Tool....................................................... 3

Section 2: Creating a New Mission................................................ 6

Section 3: Editing General Information.......................................... 7

Section 4: Groups and Layers ...................................................... 10

Section 5: Inserting Items ............................................................ 11

Section 6: Waypoints................................................................... 18

Section 7: Events and Area Triggers............................................ 20

Section 8: Exporting and Playing Missions.................................. 22

Section 9: Sound Markers............................................................ 23

Section 10: Design Guidelines..................................................... 24

Appendix A: Terrain Types ......................................................... 27

Appendix B: Trigger List............................................................. 30

Appendix C: Sample Mission ...................................................... 32

Appendix D: Key Commands...................................................... 34

Delta Force Task Force Dagger - Mission Editor Manual - 06/11/02

Page 2

Section 1: Navigating the Tool

There are a number of keyboard controls and toolbar buttons that will help you work more
efficiently. Many functions are mirrored in the pull down menus, but learning the key commands
will prove to be more useful.

If you want to try out some of these commands, open the sample mission by clicking File then
Open and select “Sample.mis”. This will bring up a map and some objects already laid out for
you.

Mouse Commands:

Left Mouse – Selects or unselects an item in Select Mode or inserts a new item when in Insert
Mode. You can left click on the Unselect All button or you can hit the U key to unselect
everything. You can select more than one item at a time by moving the mouse near another target
and clicking on it. Items turn yellow when selected.

The attributes of the most recently selected item will appear in the window in the lower
left side of the screen. While an item is selected you can left click on the Selected Information
Box in the left corner to pull up the Item Attributes window.

Left Mouse with SHIFT held down – Selects everything within the box you create.
Left Mouse with CONTROL held down – Unselects everything within the box you create.
Right Mouse – If you have an item selected, this will bring up a menu for copying, pasting,

selecting and entering the Item Attribute window. If no items are selected, a menu for Insert
Mode, pasting, and viewing options will appear.
Right Mouse with SHIFT held down – Quickly zooms in and out of the map. Click and hold the
mouse button then move the mouse right or left to quickly zoom in and out of the map.
Right Mouse with CONTROL held down – Centers the map on the point you clicked.

Keyboard Commands:

Keypad 2,4,6,8 (with Numlock ON) - Scrolls map down, left, right and up respectively.
Page Up, Keypad 9, or Keypad Plus - Zooms map in.
Page Down, Keypad 3, or Keypad Minus - Zooms map out.
INSERT - Toggles between Insert Mode and Select Mode.
DELETE - Deletes selected items.
ALT – Hold to use hotkey listed in the toolbar menu. For example, pressing ALT + E pulls down
the Edit Menu. After that, pressing ALT + I will open the General Information window.
ARROW KEYS - Move the objects you currently have selected in small increments.
ARROW KEYS with CONTROL - Moves objects in much larger increments.
U - Unselects all selected items

Delta Force Task Force Dagger - Mission Editor Manual - 06/11/02

Page 3

The main editing screen.

Delta Force Task Force Dagger - Mission Editor Manual - 06/11/02

Page 4

Screen Buttons:

C – Character Map – Press this button or the F1 key to show a full color representation of the
terrain.
H – Height Map – This button or the F2 key will bring up a topographical view of the terrain.
The lighter the color on the map, the higher that part of the terrain. Solid dark areas are usually
low, flat spots, which are good for bases or airfields.
D – Depth Map – This view simply shows the contour map of the terrain. The closer the lines are
to each other, the steeper the grade. Solid black represents perfectly flat areas. You can also use
the F3 key to see this map.
P1 – Page 1 – The Delta Force: Task Force Dagger Mission Tool allows you to have two
different missions open simultaneously. This feature is good for comparing missions or for
copying/pasting elements out of one mission into another.
P2 – Page 2 – Press this button to display the second mission that you opened. You must be on
this page when you open the second mission or it will replace your page 1 mission.
XY Coordinates – This gives you the grid location measured from the center of your screen.
Click on this to type in new coordinates and the screen will center on them. The first box is full
meters. The second box is increments of a meter divided by 256 (about .4cm). So, to move
something half a meter you would input the number 128 into the second box.
Layers – This option brings up a box that allows you to select which layers you would like to see
and which ones are hidden. See Section 4 for more information on Layers.

Unselect All – This button (or the U key) will automatically unselect all items.

Grid – Items that you insert while the Snap box is checked will

move to the nearest grid intersection. This is particularly useful when
you want to line items up precisely. The View box will toggle the
grid overlay on and off. Use the Plus and Minus symbols to increase
and decrease the grid resolution (size).

Show – By checking the appropriate boxes you can choose which
items you currently see and which are hidden from view. This is
useful for finding specific things in a map filled with multiple kinds
of items.

Selected Information Box – When you select an item, its most
important statistics appear in the lower left corner of the screen.
Click anywhere in this area to bring up the Item Attributes window.
Once you learn how to insert items, this box will become more
useful.

Delta Force Task Force Dagger - Mission Editor Manual - 06/11/02

Page 5

Section 2: Creating a New Mission

This section outlines the basic steps required to start making a mission for Delta Force: Task

Force Dagger. The following pages detail the more advanced instructions, but for now we will go
through the basic steps to familiarize you with the process since some of the later steps are
dependent on the previous ones being set up correctly. Refer to Appendix C to see an example of
a simple mission.

Step 1: Start the DFTFDMED.exe program. If you already have the program running and have
opened a mission, please press Clear located under the File menu to start a new map from
scratch.

Step 2: Select General Information from the Edit menu at the top of the screen.
Step 3: Enter a mission name and your own name into the appropriate fields. The mission name

will appear in the mission select screen once the mission is exported.
Step 4: Select a Mission Terrain and Map Type from the list. If you are making a single player
game, you do not have to make a selection. Now click “OK” to close the window and load the
new terrain. It may take a while for the new terrain to load.
Step 5: Select Edit from the menu bar and then choose Briefing. When the window opens, enter
a brief description of the map. When the mission is exported, this briefing will appear in the
mission select screen. Mission briefings are limited to 256 characters, so be concise.
Step 6: You should now see a pulled back view of your map with a grid on it as well as a green
and red box. These boxes simply frame the “center” of the map (X=0, y=0). The Mission Editor
will not allow objects outside the red box. Anything outside this box will get pushed into the
border when the mission is exported.
Step 7: In the Grid section, make sure View is enabled and set to 128 meters. Now zoom into the
map until you see only four grid squares.
Step 8: Press the Insert key to enter Insert Mode, decide on a location for the player to start and
left click the mouse to bring up the Insert Item window.
Step 9: In the Insert Item window, select “Markers” in the left hand column, then “Start, Player”
in the right hand column, then click OK. This sets the point where the player will start the game.
If you don’t place this marker, you won’t be able to get into the mission!
Step 10: Press the Insert key again to change back to Select Mode and use the left mouse button
to select the icon that you just placed. Now click anywhere in the Selection Information Box on
the lower left of the screen. This will bring up the Item Attributes window for that object.
Step 11: Change the Team to “Good (Blue)” then click OK. This sets the “team” that the item
belongs to. Now set the group to Group 1 (The player must be group one, or “None” to work
properly).

Step 12: Go to the File menu and select Save to save your mission.
Step 13: Although you could export and play your mission at this point, it probably wouldn’t be

very interesting. You are now ready to begin placing enemies, setting mission events and
determining mission goals. As you place them, refer to the appropriate section of this manual for
more details.

Don’t forget to save your work often. Mission Designers will typically keep several back-ups
of the files just in case they make mistakes on their current file.

Delta Force Task Force Dagger - Mission Editor Manual - 06/11/02

Page 6

Section 3: Editing General Information

Under Edit in the Tool Bar, select General Information to set the basic mission details. You will
see the General Information window shown below.

Mission Name – The name entered here will appear in the mission select screen once it is
exported.

Mission Designer – Put your name here.
Mission Terrain – This pull down menu contains all of the terrains you can use to build a

mission. Consult Appendix A for a list of all available terrains and select the one that best fits the
location of your mission.
Item Colors: Many of the assets in Delta Force: Task Force Dagger use one of three different
camouflage styles: Green for grassy terrain, Brown for desert, or white for snowy terrain. (Alpha
is no longer used). All items with multiple camo settings will use the one selected here when you
export the mission.

Delta Force Task Force Dagger - Mission Editor Manual - 06/11/02

Page 7

Dialog File (*.dbf) – Not used in this version of the MED.
Mission File (*.rc) – Not used in this version of the MED.
Default Equipment – You can choose the gear that the player is recommended to carry for your

mission. If the player makes no changes to their gear, the item selected for each inventory slot
will be loaded as the default.
Primary Teammate – This is the character that will accompany the player on this mission (if
you add them)
Secondary Teammate – If the player decides to play the character that you chose to be the
primary teammate, this character will take on the role of teammate.
Map Types – Select what type of mission you are making. For single player missions do not
select anything.
Terrain Overrides (Water)– You can raise and lower the water level in your mission (measured
in 1/2 meters) to drastically alter the terrain. We recommend that you do not go over 130 for most
maps or the entire mission may take place underwater.
Terrain Overrides (Fog)–If you want fog in the mission, select it here. The fog level value
represents the distance you are able to see before the fog completely thickens and blocks all
vision. A setting of 0 puts the fog at its furthest range for a clear day; 1024 meters (a little under
a kilometer). Each value up from zero brings the fog closer by half. For example, a fog value of 1
will allow the player to see 512m (half of 1024 meters), but not any further. Valid ranges are
from 0-10, though you will not be able to see much at values over 5 (32meters!). You can also
alter the color of the fog by manually setting the Red, Green and Blue settings, though it is best
when Gray (50,50,50).

Other examples of fog colors:

Bright Red = 255,0,0

Yellow = 0,100,100

Medium Green = 0,120,0

Black = 0,0,0

Dark Blue = 0,0,25

White = 255,255,255

Be sure to click the box next to each selection to enable it!

No Voxels – Turns off the terrain, which is made of voxels. If you have a mission that takes place
entirely indoors, you can turn off the terrain. This helps save a lot of memory in the game. If
voxels are off, you must make sure the player does not go outside or there will be no ground!
No Shadows - Turns off shadows in the game. Many objects in the game have built in shadows.
Certain buildings, in fact, have a shadow that only shows up properly if the building is situated at
0, 90, 180, or 270 degrees. Any other angle and the shadow will be incorrect. If you need to put
the building at any other angle, you should turn off shadows.
Sky Settings – With these settings, you can add weather effects such as rain or snow, set the
position and brightness of the sun or create a night mission.

Weather - You must check the Weather box to enable anything other than a clear
afternoon day. You can choose between a nice day, rain or snow.

Sun – Use the pull down menu to select the sky and sun (or moon) settings. Also be sure
to check the Night box when choosing a night sky. This will properly adjust certain art elements
to nighttime settings.
Fire Mission Available - The number in this box determines the number of air strikes available
in the mission.
Win and Lose Conditions – Win and Lose conditions are also known as “Sub goals”. You can
set up to four win and four lose conditions in this area. These selections are for goal information

Delta Force Task Force Dagger - Mission Editor Manual - 06/11/02

Page 8

text only. The actual win and lose conditions are set up through the events (see the section on

Events and Area Triggers) which display the specified text on screen.
Wind Settings – If you want wind to play a part in your mission, set the wind speed and direction

here. This can affect sniping severely.
Light Wind = 25 kph, Heavy Wind = 50 kph, Hurricane Wind = 90 kph
Visible Campaign Variables – A long name for something no longer used in this game.

Delta Force Task Force Dagger - Mission Editor Manual - 06/11/02

Page 9

Section 4: Groups and Layers

The most important part of building a good mission is organization. Planning your groups and
layers is a major part of that organization. You can quickly get lost in a sea of meaningless
numbers and objects unless you take the time to properly label everything. A little work in the
beginning saves a lot of headaches later on.

Groups

Groups are used to classify related items, such as a squad of enemy helicopters, and set an
identity for Events and Waypoints (explained later). If you want an asset to trigger an event, be
triggered by an event, follow waypoints, or just about anything else, it has to belong to a group
(even if there is only one unit in that group). By assigning multiple units to a single group, you
can give them group commands or have a single event tied to the fate of every unit in that group.

Group names are specified by clicking Edit then Group. This brings up the Groups window.
Highlight a slot and in the description area, type the name of the group such as “Player”, “Enemy
buildings”, or “Enemy Reinforcements”. Keep your names simple and understandable. Once you
have twenty or thirty groups, you may forget what a term was supposed to mean.

NOTE: When you place the “Start, Player” marker, it MUST be designated to group “1” and have
its team set to “Blue, good” to properly set off area triggers.

The more groups you have, the more detailed your triggering can be. It is often better to give each
unit its own group, and therefore its own orders, so that it doesn’t interfere with other units.
However, placing multiple units in a group will save you time when setting up the mission. You
can automatically select all units within a group from the Group window by pressing the Select
Members button.

You are able to save and print your Groups list as a text file. Click Save As to save the list to a
text file. Print out this file for easy reference. You’ll be glad you did.

Layers

A layer is simply a user assigned collection of groups and items that can be easily hidden from
view. It is much like using the “show” field. By assigning similar elements to a layer, such as
“foliage” or “vehicles”, you can quickly find exactly what you are looking for (or hide the things
you aren’t seeking. You can create up to 32 individual layers for this purpose and assign an
unlimited number of objects to a layer.

Under the Edit menu, you can change the Layer Names to whatever has meaning to you.
Some examples of names are “Enemy Base”, “Friendly Waypoints”, and “Reinforcements”.
When you just want to see a certain layer of items, hit the Layers button on the main screen and
check the ones you want to see.

Delta Force Task Force Dagger - Mission Editor Manual - 06/11/02

Page 10

Section 5: Inserting Items

Items represent everything that exists on the map from enemy vehicles and buildings to
waypoints and event triggers to scenery such as trees and water towers.

To add an item press the INSERT key to enter Insert Mode and left click to set a new object
down. This will bring up the Insert Item window where you can select the type and sub-type of
item that you want to place. Note that the Markers selection includes Player/team start positions,
waypoints, and King of the Hill (KOTH) multiplayer areas.

For now we will place a soldier. Click the circle next to People and then select “Apfl
(Russian)” and press OK. After placing the soldier, or any item, you can left click to insert
another item. For now we will focus on our soldier.

Switch back to Select Mode by pressing the INSERT key and left click on the green
semi-circle that represents the soldier and his field of view. The symbol will turn yellow and its
basic statistics will come up in the Info box. Click on this area to open up the Item Attributes
window. While in the Item Attributes window you can only alter attributes that pertain to the
unit(s) selected. You will not necessarily need to fill in every field available. Some fields will be
grayed out, indicating that that option is not available for the current item. Note that any attribute

Delta Force Task Force Dagger - Mission Editor Manual - 06/11/02

Page 11