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Scenario Editor
CMP Sound Compressor

Scenario/Campaign Editor Tool

The SWAT3 Scenario Editor is an easy-to-use tool that allows you to modify existing missions by creating scenarios: collections of characters and objectives, and careers (campaigns): linked missions with specific prioritized objectives that determine the sequence of missions to be played. With the Scenario Editor, you can create and manage multiple scenarios for all of the missions in SWAT3, and campaigns that link them together.

There are three screens in the Scenario Editor:

 

Getting Started

Start the SWAT3 Scenario Editor by browsing to the SWAT3\Tools folder in your Start Menu and clicking the Scenario Editor icon.

The program starts in the Mission screen.

 

Mission Screen

In this screen, you can scroll through the available SWAT3 missions, and find one you wish to create or edit a scenario for. You can review and edit the names and objectives for each of the scenarios that are available.

Mission.gif (89200 bytes)

Selecting A Mission

In the upper-left corner of the screen is a picture representing the currently selected mission. The name of the currently selected mission is located to the right of the picture, along with two arrows. These arrows are used to scroll through the available missions. Click these arrows to change the currently selected mission.

Selecting A Scenario

For each mission, there may be one or more scenarios. The available scenarios are shown in a list to the right of the mission name. If there are more scenarios for the current mission than can be displayed on the screen, you may use the scroll bars to display more scenarios. Click on the arrows to scroll the list.

Select a scenario to edit by clicking on the name of the scenario in the list.

If you wish to create a new scenario for the currently selected mission, click the New button located at the bottom of the screen. You will then be prompted to name your new scenario. Type in the name you wish to give your scenario and then click the O.K. button.

Once a scenario is selected, details about the scenario will appear:

The number of characters, divided between suspects, hostages, and civilians, will appear in the three windows in the lower-left hand corner of the screen.

The mission objectives, based off of the number of civilians, hostages, and suspects, and their status, will appear in the large window in the lower-right hand corner of the screen. If there is more data in this window than can be displayed on screen, you may use the scroll arrows located to the right of the window to scroll the windows' contents.

Finally, the detailed briefing for the mission will appear in the large window to the right of the mission picture. If you wish to edit this briefing, you can click on the window and type in your briefing.

If you've changed the currently selected scenario and wish to save your changes, click the Save button in the lower-right hand corner of the screen.

If you have created or selected a scenario and wish to edit the characters in this mission, click the Entities button in the lower-left hand side of the screen to proceed to the Entities screen.

 

Entities Screen

The Entities Screen is where you can set up characters to inhabit the current scenario. You can set up their weapons, ammunition, behavior, health, and locations, as well as determining SWAT start points for the scenario.

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Selecting Characters

On the left hand side of the Entities Screen is a list which is used to hold characters that will be used in the current scenario. Each list entry contains two fields: a type, either Suspect, Hostage, or None, which determines how they will behave and their corresponding mission objective, and a name, which will determine what the character looks, sounds, and behaves like in the game.

The Gallery

Near the center of the screen is a vertical list that contains a variety of small pictures of characters, both suspects and hostages. This is the gallery; clicking on a character picture will change the currently selected character to the character represented by the picture. There are more characters in this list than can be displayed at one time on the screen, so you can use the scroll arrows near the lower-right hand corner of the list, to scroll the contents of the gallery.

Adding A Character

To add a character to your scenario by type and name, first click the small check box to the right of the Type and Name fields. Click the boxes under the Type column of the character list, and select either Hostage or Suspect. Then, click the Name box directly across from the Type box, and select one of the characters.

Removing A Character

To remove a character from your scenario, click on the Type box next to their character name in the character list, and select None.

Editing Character Data

Once you have at least one entry in the character list on the left hand side of the Entities Screen, you may edit the behavior and data for characters you have added. First, select a character by clicking on the box below the large picture. A list will drop down and display all of the characters that currently occupy the character list on the left hand side of the screen. Upon selecting the name of the character that you want to edit, their larger picture will appear above the box, and their data will appear.

Editing Character Health

To edit the character's health, drag the slider bar to the left of the colored bar marked "Health" up to raise the amount of health the character has, or down to lower the amount of health the character has. The lower the character's health, the less damage he or she can take before being neutralized.

Editing Character Objectives

Directly below the Character's portrait, in the center of the screen there are a series of radio buttons. For suspects, they are marked Primary and Suspect. For hostages, they are marked Primary, Hostage, and Civilian. This refers to the mission objective associated with this character.

If the character is a suspect, clicking the Primary button means that the character will be referenced by name in the mission goals display. If Suspect is clicked, the mission goals screen will display him or her as a suspect, and he or she, along with any other suspects that are not "Primaries" will only be referenced as a suspect, i.e. "Arrest 3 Suspects".

If the character is a hostage, clicking the Primary button means that they will be referenced by name in the mission goals display. If Hostage is clicked, they will be shown only as one of the hostages in the mission goals display. Hostages must be rescued and evacuated from the mission area to consider the mission a success. Clicking Civilian will cause the mission goals screen to display this character as one of the civilians. Civilians are not necessary to mission success, but they do impact officer rating and can jeopardize the mission success if neutralized.

Editing Character Weapons

If your character is a suspect, he or she can be armed with a primary and secondary weapon. Directly under the Arrest and Neutralize buttons is the box containing the character's primary weapon. Click on this box to drop down a list of available primary weapons. Select the weapon you would like this character to have. You may also select None from the list if you wish this character to be without a primary weapon. Below this box is a second, smaller box, which represents the percentage of ammunition this weapon has. Click this box to drop down a list of available amounts. If you wish this weapon to be fully loaded, select 100 from the list.

Below the primary weapon ammo box is the secondary weapon box. Click on this box to drop down a list of available secondary weapons. Select the secondary weapon you would like this character to have. You may also select None from the list if you wish this character to be without a secondary weapon. Below this box is a second, smaller box, which represents the percentage of ammunition this weapon has. Click this box to drop down a list of available amounts. If you wish this weapon to be fully loaded, select 100 from the list.

Editing Character Behavior

Below the secondary ammo box are several buttons which represent character traits and behavior. These buttons can be turned on or off by clicking on them.

Immune to CS

CS Gas does not cause this character to become immobilized and distressed.

Don't Draw Gun

This character will not draw their gun.

Flee

This character will start the mission in flee mode, running and trying to stay away from noises and movement.

Stay

This character will start the mission in stay mode, not moving from their position.

Guard

This character will start the mission in guarding mode, guarding the area they inhabit and patrolling the immediate area.

Wander

This character will start the mission in wander mode, wandering about the map.

Hunt

This character will start the mission in hunt mode, following noises and movement.

Attack

This character will start the mission in attack mode, shooting at noises and movement.

Editing Character Start Locations

Shown to the right of the gallery is a list of locations within the mission. If there are more locations than can be displayed on the screen at one time, you may use the scroll arrows to display more locations. Click the scroll arrows to scroll the contents of the list.

To the left of each of the location names is a button. This is the character start button. If this button is on, the character that is currently selected may start the game at this location. If more than one character start location button is on, then the character that is currently selected will randomly start at one of the locations. The buttons marked All or None at the lower-right hand of the screen are used to either turn all of the character start locations on, or off, respectively.

Editing SWAT/Terrorist Start Locations

To the right of each of the location names in the location list are two button lists, marked "SWT" and "TER". These buttons behave in the same manner as the character start buttons to the left of the location list; however, this list is for acceptable SWAT and Terrorist start positions within the mission. The left button list will be used to determine SWAT start points in Co-Op and mission mode, and the right button list will be used to determine terrorist entry points in a Deathmatch game.

All of the SWAT/Terrorist start position buttons that are turned on will be available as entry points for the player to choose from in the Map screen in Multiplayer Operations. SWAT start points will be available in Co-Operative mode and when the player is on the Good Guy team in Team Deathmatch. Terrorist start points will be available when the player is on the Bad Guy team in Team Deathmatch.

The All or None buttons at the lower-right hand corner of the screen do not apply to the SWAT/Terrorist start buttons.

 

Saving Your Work

In the Entities Screen, there is no Save button; all of your entity data is saved internally. To save your completed scenario, return to the Mission screen and press the Save button in the lower-right hand corner of the screen.

 

Campaign Screen

The campaign screen allows you to string missions together and branch them into other missions based on success or failure of mission parameters. The campaigns you create will be available for you to play in SWAT3 through the Career screen.

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Selecting a Campaign

In the center of the screen you will find a list of available campaigns. To edit a campaign in the list, click on the name of the campaign in the list, and then click the Edit button located below the list. If you wish to delete a campaign, select the campaign by clicking on it and then click the Delete button. If you accidentally entered Edit mode by clicking the Edit button, you may click the Cancel button to undo your action. If you wish to create a new campaign, click the New button at the bottom-right hand corner of the screen. You will be prompted for a campaign name and will be taken to Edit mode.

Mission One

The first mission of a selected campaign is displayed below the campaign list. The three elements to a campaign mission are shown here, and are standard throughout the campaign editor. They are the mission name, the scenario name, and the forward arrow. By clicking on the mission box, a drop down list will be displayed with all of the available SWAT3 missions. Select the mission you want to come first in the career from this list. Below the mission box is a second drop down list which contains all of the saved scenarios for the selected mission. Select a scenario from the list.

To continue the campaign definitions, click on the forward arrow located to the right of the mission box.

Linking Missions

Linking missions together is the heart of a campaign, and with the scenario editor, you have the ability to branch missions based on the success or failure of mission objectives. To begin linking missions, complete your specifications for the first mission, and then click the forward arrow located to the right of the mission box. This will take you to the next "link" in the series of campaign missions.

CampBranch.gif (32288 bytes)

In the linking screen, the current mission that is being linked is shown in the box at the top of the screen, along with a back arrow, which you can click to take you backward one "link" in the series of campaign missions.

You will also be presented with a series of boxes, each representing a mission objective and related outcome: either success of that objective, or failure. These are the methods to determine which mission/scenario combination goes next in the campaign.

Mission Objectives

The list of mission objectives is automatically generated from your entries in the Entities screen. The objectives will consist of interactions with suspects, hostages, and civilians. For each objective, there are two large boxes, one for success of that mission objective and one for failure of that objective.

Inside each large box are the mission box, scenario box, and the forward arrow. These represent the next mission/scenario combination that will be queued when this mission objective is met.

At the top of the screen, there are always two large boxes that represent the general mission status. They will be triggered if the entire scenario is considered a failure or a success.

To activate a mission objective so that it influences the campaign, the small check box on the far left of each large box must be checked. The two general mission status boxes cannot be deactivated.

Priority

The last factor in deciding campaign branching is the priority level of each of the activated objectives. In deciding which mission to branch off to next in the campaign, SWAT3 will check each of your activated objectives in their priority order, from smallest number to largest, and will stop at the first activated objective which is true, and branch from there. If it finds that the objective result is not true, it will continue to the next objective in the priority order. Priority order is important to insure that special objectives are "caught" by SWAT3 before general objectives; so be sure to set your special objectives to a lower priority number (and therefore higher priority) than your general objectives.

Branching Out

By clicking the forward arrow to the right of any of the mission/scenario boxes that correspond to an objective, you will be taken to that mission/scenario combination's linking screen. You can continue in this fashion as long as branches lead to other missions. When you are ready to end a campaign, you may select the "Campaign--Success" or "Campaign--Failure" selections from the mission box to terminate the career at a particular objective. At that point, you may not go any farther by clicking the forward arrow.

Be aware of where you are in the structure. Branches can become complicated, and it can be easy to lose track. You may occasionally want to go back, by clicking the "back" arrow near the top of the screen to check your relative position in the "tree". 

 

Saving Your Campaign

Saving your campaign is as easy as clicking the Save box in the lower-right hand corner of the main campaign screen. If you are in the linking phase and need to return to the main screen, click the Campaign Main button at the lower-right hand corner of the screen.

 

Playing a Saved Scenario

To play a scenario created with the scenario editor, start SWAT3 and begin a multiplayer session or a custom mission. Create a game, and choose the mission for which your scenario was created.

On the right hand side of the Operations screen is shown the mission objectives window. At the top of this window is a drop-down box. Click on this box, and you should see the name of your scenario in the list that drops down. Click on the name of your scenario. When you enter the mission, your scenario will load.

If you would like to host a custom scenario on a multi-player mission, note that only you as the host must have the scenario; it is not necessary for the clients to have the scenario in order to play it. However, both host and clients must have the mission on which the scenario is played.

 

Playing a Saved Career

To play a career created with the scenario editor, start SWAT3 and begin either a new career, by clicking on the Career tab and then the New tab that displays, or by entering the multiplayer call-up screen and selecting the Career tab and then the New tab that displays. You will see the new career displayed in the list of available careers to choose from. Select your career from the list.

If you would like to host a custom career in a multi-player session, note that only you as the host must have the career and corresponding scenarios; it is not necessary for the clients to have the career or scenarios in order to play. However, both client and host must have any custom missions that are used in the career.

 

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