Beginning Campaign Development

Discussion and development of scenarios and campaigns for the game.

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IVSTINIAN
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Joined: January 5th, 2005, 1:36 am

Beginning Campaign Development

Post by IVSTINIAN »

Greetings.

I am not new to Wesnoth, but I am new to the idea of campaign development. I would like to develop campaigns and scenarios (possibly for use by others) but lack any knowledge of where to start or what to do. I would be most pleased if someone could direct me to where I could find some sort of instruction in coding campaigns, or give me the information needed to create campaigns.

Thank you for your consideration in this issue.
aelius
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Post by aelius »

The campaigns are all just plain text files. Open one up and look at it! It's the best way to learn.

The second best way to learn is to click on the "Wiki" link about three inches above this text.

- b.
scott
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Post by scott »

Here is how I wrote Liberty.

1. Write a rough story and plot
2. Decide how many scenarios you want to have
3. Divide the story between the scenarios so you can decide what will happen in each scenario
- where are you?
- who are you fighting and why?
- what do you have to do in this scenario?
- where does the hero want to go next?
4. Decide on the "hook" for each scenario. There are a lot of different possible setups for scenarios, and if you want to avoid the boring repetition of "Kill the 2 enemy leaders" you can listing out interesting combinations of enemies, allies, shroud/fog, day/night effects, recruiting and terrain situations, etc. and pick a good mix to keep the combat interesting and fun.

All of this has happened without doing any WML, but now you have enough to start coding.

5. Copy the file structure from another campaign and start editing it. This is especially helpful for the main campaign.cfg. Remember, the name you give your campaign.cfg file and folder is how it will look on the server, so don't pick DLFSK; make it a name.

For each scenario...

6. Make the map first. I used the old (0.8.2) editor which is map only. The new one has a lot of scenario-building tools, but I thought these were daunting for a new scenario designer. When you make the map first, you can play out the scenario in your head on the blank map. It makes the rest easier.

7. Do scenario WML. This is pretty straightforward. Do your story, sides, start event, prestart event (I ended up putting things in prestart as I thought of them), special events, victory/loss event, and death events.

As you write the scenario, you will probably want to make some macros. You can put them in a utils.cfg or in the campaign.cfg file. As you think of devious WML tricks you can play on the player, you will need to become familiar with http://wesnoth.slack.it/?ReferenceWML -- your new best friend. The forum people are very helpful with WML also.

Good luck.
Hope springs eternal.
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MadMax
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Post by MadMax »

scott wrote:5. Copy the file structure from another campaign and start editing it.
I would suggest using South Guard or any other small campaign's directory structure for your own. Flight to Freedom, Liberty, and Saving Elensefar are IMO too complex to make a good framework.
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ollobrains
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Joined: January 26th, 2005, 10:29 am

Post by ollobrains »

Trade missions, assaination, getting 3 enemies to go to war with each other, inflicting moderate damage is another option. But try to be creative with the availaable options when creating sceniros and campaings

As stated use others and try to improve on it or diversify it ? add objects for completing certain tasks along the way.
scott
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Post by scott »

I would like to see a brainstormed list of scenario objectives that differ from "Defeat the 2 enemy leaders". There are a lot of innovative goals that have already been implemented. Ollo's are decent. You could make an idea bank out of them as an aid to campaign designers. Contribution opportunity here...
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aelius
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Post by aelius »

I'll add one that I may sneak into South Guard or the next campaign I do when it's done: Protection.

You must protect peasants as they move across a map. The enemy tries to kill them. You don't have control of the peasants, they belong to an a.i. side. If you let any of the enemy units through your line, you're toast. This should encourage players to develop a good understanding of zones of control.

- b.
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turin
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Post by turin »

scott wrote:I would like to see a brainstormed list of scenario objectives that differ from "Defeat the 2 enemy leaders". There are a lot of innovative goals that have already been implemented. Ollo's are decent. You could make an idea bank out of them as an aid to campaign designers. Contribution opportunity here...
Defeat (X) number of enemy leaders. (most scenarios)
Reach a point on the map. (many scenarios)
Hold out for a certain number of turns. (many scenarios)
Hold out, then reach a certain point. (the outpost)
Reach a certain point, then hold out. (home of the north elves)
Kill a specific enemy unit. (test of the clans)
Elements from RPGs (captured)
Defend an ally. (i haven't seen one of these)
On a FFA map, make one enemy kill another (never seen this either)
Freaky, Wesbowl like stuff

A combination of these.
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Mkgego
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Post by Mkgego »

turin wrote: Defend an ally. (i haven't seen one of these)

In a few weeks you will see one :D :wink:
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scott
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Post by scott »

turin wrote:
Defeat (X) number of enemy leaders. (most scenarios)
Reach a point on the map. (many scenarios)
Hold out for a certain number of turns. (many scenarios)
Hold out, then reach a certain point. (the outpost)
Reach a certain point, then hold out. (home of the north elves)
Kill a specific enemy unit. (test of the clans)
Elements from RPGs (captured)
Defend an ally. (i haven't seen one of these)
On a FFA map, make one enemy kill another (never seen this either)
Freaky, Wesbowl like stuff

A combination of these.
(some basics)
2 allied sides, you control both leaders
2 allied sides, the AI controls 1 leader
1 vs 2
1 in good defensive position vs 2 or 3 strong enemies
2 vs 2, 2 vs 3, 2 vs 1 in good defensive position
stealth mission
Hope springs eternal.
Wesnoth acronym guide.
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