Hellhawk's Checklist for Advanced Map-Builders
----------------------------------------------

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

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1. Directory Structure
----------------------

 a) Are the required number 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?
 d) 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?
 e) Are the required .dist files present in every directory?
     (XXX.dist, YYY.dist, etc.)
 f) Are the required "Mothership_n.missphere" files present in each
     directory?
     (DIRECTORYp includes "p" instances of Mothership_n.missphere)
     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?
    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.
 
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