Game had a Hard Crash now Editor is FUBAR'd....

[-Corax-]

Well this is the error message I got when I try to start up the editor (after a hard crash while playing GRAW online)... I'm able to start up the game and play the game the map editor on the other hand... well I guess I will need to reinstall...

Crash in application version: grpcrc1.35

Error in archive settings\editor.xml

SCRIPT STACK

data\lib\utils\dev\tools\editor.dsf(0)

data\lib\utils\dev\toolbox.dsf(0)

data\lib\setups\setup.dsf(0)

data\levels\editor\editor.dsf(0)

[RavenousNC]

Be very careful with the use of prop brushes. Too many and you’ll lag the game. They look great when you are building, and can lag the editor too. But when in game it can be worse.

When I’m building a map I’ll make a render in draft with 1 pass so I can walk thru and have a look at things. After so many maps you get the hang of how some things will look. When I am satisfied with the layout I then do a 3, 4 or 5 pass medium. This is considered my final render as long as I don’t add any statics or props. Every time I add from either one I have to re-render. That’s always been my experience. Especially to get the shadows right.

I don’t add AI or Vehicles/Dynamics until this render is complete. From this point on I can un-bundle what was rendered and script when ready. I use the editor to place my AI, Dynamics and Vehicles, then I simply copy the world_##.xml file and paste it over my world.xml file of the un-bundled version. This allows me to re-bundle and play the map right away. Like I said, I only need a re-render if I change/add a static or prop.

I also use other tools to expedite the process.

Dreamweaver (DW) – I edit using DW, and sometimes I do my copy and pasting thru it.

Notepad – This takes up less memory when copying and pasting, so I generally use it just for that purpose.

Excel – Because I use DW I have some great find and replace tools at my disposal. Using that I can create some useful info and put it into Excel.

Here is an example of how I use them Excel.

First, I use Excel to log all my areas, enemy name, and number of enemies and if the enemy is spawned from a death of one or more AI. There is also a location column for noting the X/Y co ordinance for where I want a vehicle to go to. (F12)

I use DW for all editing of script/world files. But the real power is the find & replace function and snippets. Because GRAW has a tendency to not end when playing in Firefight mode, it is because some lone gunman is still on the loose, I created a way to keep from having to look all around for that one gunman.

In DW I do a search of the un-bundled world.xml file for “mex_. (The quote is included in my search) At the bottom of DW there is a results window of the findings, and a save button for saving the findings. I save that file, and then use the editor to do some finding and replacing of certain text in that file. I am a web programmer by trade, so I use what are called “expressions†to take out large chunks. In the end I have to things on my page; the name of the enemy type and the group_id that I gave it. Looks something like this:

mex_special_forces_patrol4 alcove1_patrol4

mex_special_forces_patrol4 alcove1_patrol5

mex_special_forces_sniper_heavy alcove1_sniper1

You will notice that a space separates the two. I save the file as a text file, and then I open Excel to access it. Excel will ask me how I want to separate the columns, so I tell it to do it by space. Now I have two columns in Excel with the info I need. (Remember to save this file as an Excel file)

With this file I can do several things. Two of which are very handy.

One – I create another column after the enemy type called “No. AIâ€. What I can do here is put a number in that field that corresponds to the amount shown at the end of the AI type. Those without a number equal one. (i.e. a sniper) . Also, vehicles that require a crew and passenger I mark as one. Not each, just one. Why? Because in GRAW if you blowup a panhard with it’s occupants you generally get only one kill to your tally. If they get out of the vehicle you get a kill per individual. Dumb, huh?

Anyway, I create another field that is the tally of all that is in the No. AI column. You will need how to do a formula to do it, and I’m not going to go into that. Check the help. It will show you how.

Remember how I said I created a way to keep from having to look all around for that one gunman? First I spawn one of my snipers that would normally be spawned in the last area. It’s just one guy, and he’s far away. Sometimes GRAW ends a game when there is no AI. So I add this guy so GRAW always see the game is still playable.

The second thing I do to keep from looking for that rouge gunman is remove all groups and vehicles that are previous to the last or second to last area of the game. If I remove them, then they can’t be in the game, and that means all that are left to kill were just spawned in the final areas.

TIP: If you preface the group_id with the area name they are in, then you will not only know where to find them, but which ones you want to keep for the list of AI to remove.

For example: alcove1 is the name of my area, and the group_id I use is alcove1_patrol1

Because I have my list I created I can now copy the entire column of group and vehicle IDs, remove the IDs of what are in the last area or two, and create the element tags. That is where the snippets come in handy.

Here is a sample from my removal code:

[size=1]<element type="RemoveVehicle" vehicle_id="park_pan2" start_time="10"/>

<element type="RemoveGroup" group_id="plaza_exit_troop1" start_time="11"/>[/size]

You can pre define several snippets in DW to remove groups and vehicles. If you are so inclined to get risky you can even use the find and replace function to do a bunch in one swoop, which is how I normally do it.

More than you asked, I know, but I hope it was some helpful insight on how to expedite some of the mapping experience.

Rav

Edited February 26, 2007 by RavenousNC

[-Corax-]

Most of the editing I do is done on XMLSpy (Altova)... it's a bit more robust when working on XML compared to Dreamweaver... plus I tend to make syntax errors when typing manually. But those are all helpful hints thanks for the heads up.