Step-by-Step Tutorial for Creating a Simple Campaign

The Planet Editor and Campaign Editor are used together to create your own Space Colony missions. First create a map in the Planet Editor and then use the Campaign Editor to script the action that will take place on that map.

This tutorial is designed to print and follow step by step. All the different options and settings are covered in the sections on the Planet Editor and Campaign Editor.

Before we can create a campaign, we need a map where the action will take place.

1. To access the Planet Editor, click the Editors button in the game's Main Menu. Then click the Planet Editor button.
2. Click New to start a new map.
3. Select your map size from the list. For this practice map, click 200x200.
4. Enter the name for your map in the blank—for this map enter the name "Practice"—and click the green arrow at the bottom right of the screen to continue.

(IMPORTANT: When naming your map, do not use special characters, such as : ; " ' / \ * ? < >, etc. This can create problems loading and saving it later. Use only regular upper- and lower-case letters, numbers and spaces.)

5. Use the mouse or arrow keys to scroll to about the center of the map.
6. Click the Buildings button in the list to the left of the map. Click the Extra button and then click on the Shuttle Pad. Click on the map to place the Shuttle Pad. Now click Buildings > Extra > Bridge and then click on the map to place the Bridge nearby. Right-click anywhere on the map to de-select the current building or, if you make a mistake, click the Delete button and then click on a structure to delete it.
7. Add a couple of medium bio domes, connecting corridors and an airlock using the Buildings > Engineering buttons.
8. Again, using the Buildings > Engineering buttons, place a few lights, an oxygen plant and about 10 solar power plants outside the base.
9. Click the Vegetation button and then click Hydromorphus. Click here and there outside your base to place about a dozen hydromorphus plants.
10. Click the Resources button and then click Silicon. Click here and there outside your base to place some silicon deposits.
11. Use the mouse or arrow keys to scroll to any map edge. Click the Aliens button and then click Invasion Marker. Click on the map to place an invasion marker near the map edge. Scroll to a different edge and place a second invasion marker there. Note how the markers are numbered in the order you place them, here numbers 1 and 2.
12. If you're feeling ambitious, you can add additional features from the Landscape and Vegetation menus, but don't bother with too much detail for now and don't add any weeds or dangerous aliens. We want the practice mission to be simple.
13. Use the mouse or arrow keys to center the view on the bridge and shuttle pad. Then click the Exit button. You will be asked to save the map or discard it before exiting. The map name, Practice, should already appear in the text box. You could change it now if you wanted to, but for now, just click the Save button.

Now we can use the Campaign Editor to add some action to the static map.

14. Now click the Campaign Editor button, which is just below the Planet Editor button. (Click the Editors button in the game's Main Menu to get to both.)
15. On the Campaign Editor screen click the Add Map button. In the list of available maps, click the name of the map you just made: "Practice". Then click the Select button.
    
    Once you have added a map to your campaign, it will appear on the list at the top of the Campaign Editor screen. Here, you'll see "1 Practice (-> Victory)".
16. Click the Type button repeatedly to select the kind of mission you are creating: Military, Tourist, Economic or Free Build. At this point, it doesn't really matter which one you choose, since you can have goals of any type within a given mission.
17. Now click the Save Campaign button. This brings you to a save screen where you can type a name for your campaign and then click Save. You can call the campaign whatever you like, but for now just type in "Practice" and click Save.

(NOTE: Saving automatically dumps you back out to the menu, so you will need to reload your campaign by clicking Editors > Campaign Editor > Load Campaign. Choose the "Practice" campaign from the list and then click Load.)

18. Click on the line of text that says "1 Practice (-> Victory)". This brings up a screen titled Map 1. Ignore the Next Map, Map and Victory buttons for now. They are not used in the first mission of a campaign.
19. Click the Briefing button. Type in some text to introduce the campaign. It can be nonsense text for now. You can edit it later if you want. This is the text that the player sees at the start of the mission. Click the green arrow to return to the Map 1 screen.

(NOTE: If you make a mistake and decide you want to scrap a mission, you can click the Delete button on the Map 1 screen. The Back button returns you to the Campaign Editor screen.)

20. Still on the Map 1 screen, click the Edit Scenario button. This takes you to a different screen titled Map 1. To avoid confusion, we'll call this second screen the Mission Plotting screen (my own name for it).
    
    You'll see two conditions already listed: "Bridge Destroyed" and "Out of Personnel", both with the Lose action, meaning that if at any time during this mission the bridge is destroyed or all personnel die, the player will lose the game. These are basic conditions for all missions.

We'll add new goals in a moment. First, we'll set some parameters for the mission using the buttons below the list of conditions.

21. Click the Training Availability button and then set both Mining and Nutrient Extraction to On. Click OK to return to the Mission Plotting screen.
22. Click the People Availability button and then to set Tami, Slim, Dean, Nikolai, Hoshi and Kita to At Start. Click OK to return to the Mission Plotting screen.
23. Click the Trading Resources button and set both Base Nutrients and Silicon at No Buy and No Sell. Click OK to return to the Mission Plotting screen.
24. Click the Options button and set the number of Training Programs at 5. Leave the other settings alone for now. Click OK to return to the Mission Plotting screen.

Now let's plot out our mission by adding specific conditions and actions.

25. First, we'll add a win condition:
1. On the Mission Plotting screen click the New button to add a goal. This brings you to a screen with the Day and Hour at the top and lists labeled Conditions and Actions.
2. Under Conditions, click one of the lines that says "Acquire Resources". This brings up a new screen with buttons for the different resource types.
3. Click the Base Nutrients button and use the up/down arrows below to set the number at 5. Then click OK. This brings you back to the previous screen, where you now see the condition "Acquire Resources: Base Nutrients 5".
4. To specify what happens when the player acquires those 5 units of base nutrients, click Win under Actions. Then click OK.

This brings you back to the Mission Plotting screen, where you now see the line: "Day 0, 0:00, Win, Acquire Resources: Base Nutrients 5". This means the player will beat the mission when he stockpiles 5 units of nutrients.

(NOTE: If you make a mistake, just click on the incorrect line on the Mission Plotting screen. Then on the screen with the Conditions and Actions lists, click the Delete button to delete that particular entry.)

26. Let's make things a little more complicated by adding a second win condition:
1. Still on the Mission Plotting screen, click the line you just added: "Day 0, 0:00, Win, Acquire Resources: Base Nutrients 5". This brings up the screen with the Conditions and Actions lists.
2. Click one of the lines that says "Acquire Resources" (below the one that already specifies acquiring 5 base nutrients).
3. Click the Silicon button and use the up/down arrows to set the number at 10. Then click OK. Click OK again.

Again, this brings you back to the Mission Plotting screen, but now the Win line shows an ellipsis (....) Move your cursor over the ellipsis to reveal a box that now contains two goals for winning the mission: "Acquire Resources: Base Nutrients 5" and "Acquire Resources: Silicon 10". Now the player needs to collect both resources to win.

27. Now we will set a 1-week time limit:
1. On the Mission Plotting screen, click New.
2. At the top of the screen with the Conditions and Actions lists, use the up/down arrows to set the Day at 7.
3. Under conditions click Auto.
4. Under Actions click Lose. Click OK.

This brings you back to the Mission Plotting screen, where you now see the line: "Day 7, 0:00, Lose". This means the player will lose unless he meets the other goals within the 7-day time limit.

28. Now we'll create an alien invasion just to spice things up:
1. On the Mission Plotting screen, click New.
2. At the top of the screen with the Conditions and Actions lists, use the up/down arrows to set the Day at 2 and the Hour at 12.
3. Under conditions click Auto and under Actions click Invasion. This brings up the Edit Invasions screen.
4. Use the slider to the right of the entry for Rodent YC5 to set the number of rodents at 10.
5. Then, at the bottom of the screen, set the Invasion Marker slider at 1. Click OK to return to the previous screen. Then click OK again.

This brings you back to the Mission Plotting screen, where you now see the line: "Day 2, 12:00, Invasion 1 Rodent YC5 (10)". This means that on Day 2 at noon, a group of 10 rodents will appear on the map at the point where you placed invasion marker 1.

29. Repeat the process for a second invasion:
1. On the Mission Plotting screen, click New.
2. Set Day 4 and Hour 3:00.
3. Under conditions click Auto and under Actions click Invasion.
4. Use the sliders to set 12 mutant bees at invasion marker 2. Click OK to return to the previous screen. Then click OK again.

This should add another new line to your Mission Plotting screen: "Day 4, 3:00, Invasion 2 Mutant Bee (12)". This means that on Day 4 at 3:00, a group of 12 mutant bees will appear on the map where you set invasion marker 2.

30. Before we finish, let's add one more parameter, rodent disease:
1. On the Mission Plotting screen, click New.
2. Under conditions click Auto.
3. Under Actions scroll down and click Rodent Disease. Click Mild then click OK. Click OK again to return to the previous screen.

This adds another new line to your Mission Plotting screen: "Day 0, 0:00, Rodent Disease Mild". This means that from the start of the mission (Day 0, hour 0:00) any exposure to rodents results in the mild version of the rodent disease.

31. Now we need to save the mission. Saving is a little tricky until you get used to it.
1. On the Mission Plotting screen, click Exit to get to the Map 1 screen.
2. Click Back to get to the Campaign Editor screen.
3. Click Save Campaign. Type the name of your campaign in the box (use "Practice" for this mission) and click Save. This saves your work and dumps you back at the main menu.

At this point, you can test your mission by clicking Play in the main menu, then Play User Created Games, then "Practice" in the list of missions.

To create more complex missions, use the same basic process and reference the Planet Editor and Campaign Editor pages on this site to see how each tool and setting works.

Text and site design copyright © 2004- Stellalune. Game art, screenshots, Space Colony name and logo copyright © 2003- Firefly Studios and Gathering of Developers. All rights reserved. See the main page for copyright guidelines.