PART FIVE - APPENDICES

[v1.6 Edited by Dylov - 10-05-00]

[Based mainly around the work written and compiled by:
Shin, Hellhawk666, TAKER, Obithrawn and BPLlama]



Appendix I Relic's Listing of all Objects

Determining what Resource Types and Derelicts to load
Determining what Ship Types to load
Songnumber listing from the Homeworld.big file.

See seperate txt files available in; Objects-Resources.txt, Objects-Ships.txt, Objects-Derelicts.txt and Objects-Songnumber.txt



Appendix II Help and Troubleshooting

Homeworld Mapmaking Help and FAQ v2.0a  (Written By Obithrawn)

 This is the second version of my help file, and it is more of a FAQ than the previous version. Anyway, first, go to Jason's site (http://www.strategyplanet.com/HWMaps/) and go to the editing section, then print out all the editing files there. I mention them a lot, and they helped me (I should explain a lot of things in those, but its nice to have them anyway). Also, I would like to thank Jason (BPLlama), TAKER, Hellhawk666, Skywalker, Jacelor, and anyone on the Relic board I didn't mention (especially the makers of all those kick-ass Homeworld web sites out there). And I would like to thank my parents, and my cats, Zoe and Stanly, and KoRn, and RatM, and pr0n, and potatoes...oh, and the guy who first decided to squeeze cow utters, and drink what came out of them. Especially him. All these questions fit into the category "How do I make a map?" which is the most FAQ of all! To the questions, batman! And this time, don't forget my pants! 
 
1 - What do I need to make my own maps? 
To make/edit maps, you need either MissionMan, or Notepad (which, I think, comes with Windows). Actually any text editor will do, just remember save it your files in plain text format, not one of those "fancy-pantsie" formats. Another alternative to MissionMan and Notepad is Excel. Homeworld map files can be loaded and saved with Excel if you use the "Comma Separated" or "CSV" spreadsheet format, and it really lines those columns of numbers up nicely. Once again Excel isn't a must, any spreadsheet or database program that supports CSV should work fine. 

2 - Where can I get MissionMan? 
It comes with Homeworld, in the installation menu (when you put the cd in, the installation menu should pop up). But, personally, I think using Notepad is much easier (will be covered later). 

3 - Are there any other mapmaking programs?
Not as of Christmas '99. There are several tools, including the Random Derelict Placer, the Ringmaker, and the JUICY .dist file creator, that might help you out. They're available on the editing section of Jason's site. [There are a few more out now, as the man says, see BPLlamas site for details! - Dylov]

4 - What does MissionMan do? 
MissionMan creates a bunch of text files when you generate missions, and they all can be opened using notepad. How to open using notepad: 
	1. Open a map, like Iron Curtin. 
	2. When the window that say 'what do you want to use to open this' pops up, select notepad. It should then open in notepad, and you should be able to see all the text. This is how most people edit maps, straight form notepad. (I know it looks confusing at first, but we'll cover it all)

5 - How do I make distribution files, and what do they do? 
You have to have at least one .dist file for every type of resource you have on your map. (EX-one for all the asteroids, one for the dustclouds) What they do is tell Homeworld how many of each size of asteroid/dustcloud/nebulea to put in. For example, say this was testmap2. When you opened it up, it looked like this: Asteroid0 0 Asteroid1 1 Asteroid2 2 Asteroid3 4 Asteroid4 0 What that means is that there will be twice as many asteroid2's as asteroid1's. And there will be twice as many Asteroid3's as Asteroid2's. Asteroid0's are the tiny, unharvestable dust particles, while Asteroid4's are missile destroyer size. Also, it is all relative, so Asteroid0 0 Asteroid1 10 Asteroid2 20 Asteroid3 40 Asteroid4 0 would have the exact same distribution. 

6 - Why are there more than one directory for every map? 
Homeworld won't just let you create a single file for a 2-4 player map, you have to create on directory for 2 players, 3 players, and 4 players. Each one will have the according number of Mothership_X.missphere files (same number as the folder) 

7 - Why do the directories end in a number? 
The number at the end is the version for that many players (IronCurtin2 is the 2 player version) 

8 - What does the Desiption.txt do? 
The description file just has the information that goes in the menu, font, colour of writing, the description. For all the details, look at the stuff I referred you to earlier 

9 - What does the ResourceSphere_X.missphere do? 
The ResourceSphere just has all the resources, and any derelicts or ships. When ships are placed in the ResourceSphere they go under AI hold, even when playing with no computer players. This is also where the .dist files are linked to. To see all the details, look at the stuff I asked you to print out earlier 

10 - What Does The Mothership_X.missphere do? 
The Mothership files are the ships each player starts out with, and where they are. Guess what? Look at the stuff to find out all the details. 

11 - Do I need one Resource Sphere file? 
Yes, you need one, even if your map doesn't have resources. Well, actually you can have more than one, but usually there is no point in having more than one, unless your ResourceSphere_X.missphere file is bigger than 64K (See the final question in this FAQ) 

12 - Do I have to have the Mothership Missionsphere files in every directory? 
Yep, you have to have one for each player on that map. "No more, no less" 

13 - Why should I exclude things from my map? 
	1. To go along with the story line, or just to create an interesting map (my map, The Strike, for example, only lets you build strike craft) 
	2. To reduce loading time, if you exclude all the races beside R1 and R2, the loading time will be significantly less. 
	3. If you don't load something, the RAM will go to using something else, and this will reduce lag. 
	4. If you include too much stuff some of Homeworld's graphics start getting screwy... 

14 - Do I have to exclude things individually? 
No, you can exclude an entire race by putting: ExcludeShips Race (P1, P2, P3, Traders), ALL 

15 - How can I exclude most things, but not all? 
Yes, you can put: ExcludeShips P1, ALL Then below it put: IncludeShips P1, P1MissileCorvette This will exclude all P1 ships, except for the Missile Corvette 

16 - Do I have to include the comment lines on my map? 
No, but they help so things are grouped, and easier to edit. 

17 - I've made all my files, where do I put them? 
You put them in a set of subdirectories inside the Multiplayer directory in The Homeworld Folder. See question 6. 

18 - Why doesn't my map show up in the game menu? 
Probably because you don't have the folder name, and the name in the .level file the same (remember to put the number at the end) 

19 - How/where do I put in the description for my map? 
The description goes in the description.txt file. Where it says Description about 5 times vertically (it has to be within those decription lines) 

20 - I can select my map, but when I try to load it, it goes back to Windows, what's wrong? 
There are many reasons. Remember the stuff you printed? Read over the HW_Errors.txt written by Taker. (See below)

21 - When a map crashes, will it screw up Homeworld? 
Luckily, no (my computer wouldn't work if maps screwed up your game by crashing :-) 

22 - Where else can I find help? 
Relic's forums are good (http://www.relic.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi) 

23 - For practice, can I edit other people's maps? 
Sure, thats what I did for a loooooong time. Try testing different variables one at a time to see what they all do. 

24 - How do I put together the files to post to a site? 
Download either WinRAR, or WinZip. For these programs all you have to do is put all the files (the folders and a readme usually) into 1 folder, then tell the program to zip everything in that folder. 

25 - How do I make sure my map will work? 
Test it, play on WON, play against the computer with every possible number of players. If you can't play over WON, send it to some other people, and have them tell you what to change. I didn't do this for my first map, and as a result I had to keep re-releasing it to fix a number of problems. 

26 - When I try to play my map over WON, when it tries to download, it crashes. What is wrong? 
WON has a size limitation of 64k, if your map has any files larger than 64k it won't auto-download over WON. If you can't split up the big files (see question 11) then just have each player download the map regularily (from your website, over ICQ, or whatever). 






Hellhawk's Checklist for Advanced Map-Builders  (Written by Hellhawk666)

This file is not a FAQ for people creating their first map, nor is it an instruction manual for map creation.  If you need these tools look for them in the Homeworld Editing Files section of the Homeworld Map Archive.  It is intended for use by experienced map builders, most probably using a text editor to create their map files.

The file is a checklist of all the files necessary for your map to work, the necessary parameters you should have in these files, and the required inter-relationships between files.

It does not contain detailed explanations of how the files work, because it is expected that you will either know this already or can refer to other documentation to find the answers.

I created this file for my own use so I could be sure I had checked all the common problem areas before testing my maps, and to help in finding errors in maps which crashed during testing.

Hellhawk666
January 3, 2000

1. Directory Structure
	a) Are the required numbers of directories present?
	b) Have they been numbered correctly?
	c) Are there any spelling mistakes in the directory names?

2. Directory Content
	a) Is the "Description.txt" file present in every directory?
	b) Is the "XXXn.level" file present in every directory?
	c) Is each "XXXn.level" file correctly spelt and numbered?
	d) Is each "XXXn.level" file named the same as the directory in which it resides?
	e) Is the "ResourceSphere_1.missphere" file present in every directory (Did I set up for more than 1 resource sphere in this map? If so; are the ResourceSphere_n.missphere" files present in every directory?) Did I spell ".missphere" correctly?
	f) Are the required .dist files present in every directory? (XXX.dist, YYY.dist, etc.)
	g) Are the required "Mothership_n.missphere" files present in each directory? (DIRECTORYp includes "p" instances of Mothership_n.missphere)
	h) Are the "Mothership_n.missphere" files sequentially numbered?

3. Basic File Content

3.1 "Description.txt"
	a) Are all the "Description.txt" files identical?
	b) Are the game settings correctly formatted?

3.2 "XXXn.level" files
	a) Does every file have the required comment lines and game information present, eg:

 --------
 ; MissionMan script, Tuesday, Aug 24 1999, 5:25:46 PM
 ; Copyright (c) 1998-99, Relic Entertainment Inc.
 ; Multiplayer Level: Haldane4
 ; Info: Haldane (2-4)
 
 [Haldane (2-4)]
 --------

	b) Is the "Multiplayer Level:" data identical to the directory name where the file resides?
	c) Under these lines, does every file have a reference line for each Resource sphere and Mothership sphere file in the directory in which it resides, eg (for Haldane4):

 --------
 MissionSphere    -1,?,ResourceSphere,0.0,0.0,0.0,30000.0,0.0,ResourceSphere_1.missphere,?
 MissionSphere    0,R1,Mothership,-50000.0,0.0,50000.0,30000.0,0.0,Mothership_0.missphere,0
 MissionSphere    1,R2,Mothership,50000.0,0.0,-50000.0,30000.0,0.0,Mothership_1.missphere,0
 MissionSphere    2,R1,Mothership,-50000.0,0.0,-50000.0,30000.0,0.0,Mothership_2.missphere,0
 MissionSphere    3,R2,Mothership,50000.0,0.0,50000.0,30000.0,0.0,Mothership_3.missphere,0
 --------

	d) Is everything below these lines identical in each "XXXn.level" file?

3.3 "ResourceSphere_1.missphere"
	a) Are all the "ResourceSphere_1.missphere" files identical?
	b) If present, are the "ResourceSphere_2.missphere" files etc. identical.

3.4 "XXX.dist", "YYY.dist", etc.
	a) Are all the "XXX.dist" files identical?
	b) Are all the "YYY.dist" files identical? etc.

3.5 "Mothership_n.missphere" files
	a) Are the "Mothership_n.missphere" files which are present in more than 1 directory all identical?

4. Detailed Inter-File Content

4.1 "Description.txt"
	a) no inter-file settings
 
4.2 "XXX.level" files
	a) Are the references to the resource sphere and mothership sphere files numbered correctly, eg (for Haldane4):

 --------
 
 MissionSphere    -1,?,ResourceSphere,0.0,0.0,0.0,30000.0,0.0,ResourceSphere_1.missphere,?
 MissionSphere    0,R1,Mothership,-50000.0,0.0,50000.0,30000.0,0.0,Mothership_0.missphere,0
 MissionSphere    1,R2,Mothership,50000.0,0.0,-50000.0,30000.0,0.0,Mothership_1.missphere,0
 MissionSphere    2,R1,Mothership,-50000.0,0.0,-50000.0,30000.0,0.0,Mothership_2.missphere,0
 MissionSphere    3,R2,Mothership,50000.0,0.0,50000.0,30000.0,0.0,Mothership_3.missphere,0
 --------
 
	b) Are the Lighting, Background and SongNumber parameters valid and correctly formatted?
	c) Are the Exclude and Include parameters valid and correctly formatted?

4.3 "ResourceShpere_1.missphere"
	a) Are the resource references correctly formatted, eg:

 --------
Resources     DustCloud,-350000.0,250000.0,0.0,Cylinder,dustcloud1.dist,10,5000.0,100000.0,0.0,-50.0,2048,7
Derelict      AngelMoon_clean,0.0,500000.0,0.0,0.0,-90.0,0
Derelict      Crate, 60000.0,0.0,0.0,-75.3, 163.7,4096
Ships         ,-179194.4,9334.6,-43982.5,0.0,Traders,Junk_LGun,1,NULL_FORMATION|?|?,4096,?
 --------

	b) Pay attention to spelling errors, particularly:	resource types
								resource.dist file names
								resource shape types

	c) Check that there are no derelicts or ships specified which are also excluded in the "XXXn.level" file
	d) Are the correct resource.dist files associated with each resource type?
	e) Is the file larger than 64KB in size.  If so it must be cut into two files.
	f) Check that GasClouds have not been used.

4.4 "XXX.dist" files, etc.
	a) Are the correct resource types present within each type of  resource.dist file? eg:

Asteroid .dist files - 	Asteroid0
			Asteroid1
			Asteroid2
			Asteroid3
			Asteroid4

DustCloud.dist files - 	DustCloud0
			DustCloud1
			DustCloud2
			DustCloud3
			DustCloud4

Nebula .dist files - 	Nebula0
			Nebula1
			Nebula2
			Nebula3
			Nebula4

	b) Is there a space between the resource type label and the value columns? eg:

Asteroid3   1   2  etc.

4.5 "Mothership_n.missphere" files
	a) Are the ship resources for each player formatted correctly? eg:
 
 --------
 Ships     ,-68732.6,-3678.0,0.0,0.0,R1,Mothership,1,NULL_FORMATION|?|?,0,?
 Ships     ,-66922.6,-5659.0,-104.0,0.0,R1,ResourceCollector,2,PARADE_FORMATION|?|?,0,?
 --------
 
	b) Check that no ship is specified which is excluded for that race by the "XXXn.level" file.
	c) Check for spelling errors, particularly in the names of ship types and formations.

5. Testing
	a) Test vs. CPU for every combination of players.  Test saving the game and recording the game. Test loading from a cold start.
	b) Test vs. human opponents online.






TAKER's Exception Errors Demystified (Written by TAKER, aka James Tooman)
[Edited ever so slightly by Dylov]: So you are just making your first map, eh? Well, I just did and there was nothing more frustrating than having it crash out on me with an exception error in module Homeworld.exe. At first I had NO IDEA what was causing it but after days of frustration I noticed a few patterns. The key to figuring out why your map won't load right is often right in front of you!

I put together this list of common exception error causes and what to check. The way this works is to very closely watch for when EXACTLY the error occurs. 

A. If the error occurs BEFORE the load indicator bar even comes on the screen:

	1. Your problem is most likely in the level file
	2. Check to make sure you have two lines at the beginning of the file that says:

; MissionMan script
; Copyright (c) 1998-99, Relic Entertainment Inc.

	3. Make sure that your Mission Sphere lines are all there, there need to be at least three (one for resource sphere and two for ships)
	4. Make sure that there are no remark lines missing their ';' in front of them
	5. If you have an alternate background and/or lighting, check that the *.btg and/or *.hsf file are not missing from the folder

B. If the error occurs just after the load indicator bar comes up (one inch on my 19" monitor):

	1. Your problem is most likely in one of the Mothership_#.missphere files
	2. You may not have enough arguments per line, check yours with one that you know works
	3. There may be a missing ';' in front of a remark line
	4. You may have accidentally put a return in the middle of one, especially if you used notepad to edit with
	5. Check for typos for the shiptype names

C. If the error occurs after the load bar has gone a few inches, but not quite half way:

	1. Your problem is likely with the ResourceSphere_#.missphere file (or files if you have more than one)
	2. The most common problem is a mismatched distribution file to the resource type you specified e.g. the first argument is "Resource DustCloud" and the distribution file you specified is "Asteroid.dist" [Yup, tell me about this one! This is a good point to take note of.]
	3. Again, not enough arguments such as only two co-ordinates or no distribution file specified at all! [Another favourite, be careful of the commas and full stops.]
	4. Check for carriage returns splitting lines in half
	5. Check for typos in the distribution file names
	6. Make sure the distribution file name that you specified is actually IN the folder you are using
	7. Make sure the distribution file specified is using the matching resources to the type you said would be there

These should help the novice map builder avoid a LOT of the frustration that I went through. If any of you experts would like to add some others, feel free to and I will edit this list. Maybe after a few days we can put it up on the web sites.







Appendix III Bibliography

Part One - Texts

1. An introduction to Map Building (Written by TAKER, aka James Tooman)
2. TAKER's Exception Errors Demystified (Written by TAKER, aka James Tooman)
3. Hellhawk's Checklist for Advanced Map-Builders (Written by Hellhawk666)
4. Homeworld Mapmaking Help and FAQ v2.0a (Written by Obithrawn (with help))
5. Relic Mission Editing Text (Written by Relic Entertainment Inc.) 
6. Relic's Object List (Written by Relic Entertainment Inc.)
7. Relic's Properties List (Written by Relic Entertainment Inc.)
8. For .level files - (Written by Gary Shaw)
9. Colors - (Written by Luke Moloney)
10. Nebula stuff:  (Written by Keith Hentschel)
11. Roon's Mission Man editing steps (Written by Roons)
12. Relic Board Postings (Collated by BPLlama)
13. Roons' Step by Step for dummies (Written by Roons)
14. How to: Make a resource cloud (Written by LupusUmbrus)
15. How to: Make a resource cluster regenerate (Written by LupusUmbrus)
16. Map Editing Info (Written by Led Mirage)
17. HeadShotAsteroid notes (Written by Anolis)
18. Additional Notes (by Spittledung, Demon-Dog) 

All these files available in the editing section of BPLlamas superb site: The Homeworld Map Archive.
http://www.strategyplanet.com/hwmaps/editing.html

19. Base RU level is 400 (Written by Hellhawk666) 
20. How to create regrowable resources (Written by DrakeBird)
21. Numerous other postings (Written by Hellhawk666, Shin, TAKER, BPLlama, Obithrawn, et al.)
http://www.relic.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi


Part Two - Utilities

Dylov's Homeworld MSExcel Mapper (Includes TAKER's 'Tilting' Ring Maker Utility)
http://dl.fileplanet.com/dl/dl.asp?StrategyPlanet/hwmaps/edit/HW_ExMap.zip

TAKER's MSExcel Ring Maker utility
http://dl.fileplanet.com/dl/dl.asp?StrategyPlanet/hwmaps/edit/RingMaker.zip

BPLlama's Random Derelict Placer
http://dl.fileplanet.com/dl/dl.asp?StrategyPlanet/hwmaps/edit/Derelizer.zip

BPLlama's Random Resource Placer
http://dl.fileplanet.com/dl/dl.asp?StrategyPlanet/hwmaps/edit/RandomResource.zip

Jacelor's JUICY Distribution Maker
http://dl.fileplanet.com/dl/dl.asp?StrategyPlanet/hwmaps/edit/juicyV1.exe

Taleisin's big file viewer/extractor
ftp://ftp.relicnews.com/pub/relicnews/big/BigViewer.zip

The Background Tool of the Geeks (Relic Entertainment Inc.)
http://dl.fileplanet.com/dl/dl.asp?StrategyPlanet/hwmaps/edit/BTG.zip

TextPad v4.1.05 (Helios Software Solutions)
http://www.textpad.com/


Part Three - Websites

The Relic Homeworld Editing Forum
http://www.relic.com/cgi-bin/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=Editing&number=7&DaysPrune=

StrategyPlanet Map Editing Forum
http://www.strategyplanet.com/homeworld/forums/forum.asp?

Sierra Studios Homeworld Message Board
http://garrick.sierra.com/cgi-bin/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=Homeworld&number=1

BPLlama's HomeWorld Map Archive; for all your Maply needs.
http://www.strategyplanet.com/hwmaps/index.html

The Modder's Homeworld Editing Centre
http://www.infinite-mass.com/bob/

Relic News
http://www.relicnews.com/

The Math and Physics Help Home Page 
http://www2.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/kenny/home.html 

The Maths Index
http://www.ping.be/~ping1339/mathindex.htm

Kenneth Boyd's Trigonometry Crash Review
http://www.zaimoni.com/Trig.htm
