Mission: Make Missions

I have officially started a new Mission - Make Missions! This thread used to turn into asking for help to make missions (which a nice person named Genny Kiles gave me a tutorial) into a new thread which will detail me making missions.

Currently, I only have the tutorial mission done. I added three new stages (aka objectives)  to the mission, but I plan to add more to the mission. prntscr.com/82j4gx

I will post a download link once I have at least a few missions done. I consider its current version to be 0.0.1.

BTW, could somebody move this to the right forum, since this is no longer in the right place?

I'm currently making my own episodic mod and these are some very good ideas you've got there don't let them go to waste. You should learn how to mod your own missions once you know how to do it it's fun.

You should learn how to mod your own missions once you know how to do it it's fun.

That's what I was tryin' to do... <3

I'd recommend just grabbing Notepad++, and then setting up a mod folder. The easiest way to do that is to navigate to C:\Users\UserName\Documents\My Games\Lucas' Simpsons Hit & Run Mod Launcher\Mods, and create a mod folder there. Granted, you can create the mod folder anywhere and just add it to your list of folders in the Launcher settings, but this way is the easiest since the Launcher automatically adds any mods in here. 

Once you've created a mod folder, open it up, and create a Meta.ini file with Notepad++. Based on what you said in your first post, I assume you've read Loren's tutorial and you're a bit confused by it. Not to worry though. If your main focus is on editing missions and having some Custom Text to support your missions, this is all you would need to put in it:

[Miscellaneous]
Title=Gibstack's Grand Adventure
InternalName=Gibstack
Version=1.0

RequiredHack=CustomFiles

RequiredLauncher=1.11

The RequiredHack now allows you to add edited missions. Create a new folder inside your mod folder named "CustomFiles". Then create a scripts folder inside of that, then create a missions folder inside of that, then create a level01 folder inside of that. The full directory should now look like this:

CustomFiles\scripts\missions\level01

Now that you have that out of the way, let's go to the base game's files. Assuming the game is installed in it's base directory, it should look something like this:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Vivendi Universal Games\The Simpsons Hit & Run\scripts\missions\level01

You should see a bunch of mfk files in there. Open them up with Notepad++. Then go to "Save As...". Go ahead and place them into this directory we mentioned earlier:

CustomFiles\scripts\missions\level01

Once you've done that, you can edit them however you want.

As a reference point, mxi.mfk files (the "x" you replace with a mission number) are the meat of each mission, in that they tell the game what your objectives are and what conditions you have to pass to clear them. mxl.mfk files load P3D files the mission needs, and this can range from HUD Icons (such as Marge's icon), to mission P3Ds that contain the locators, to AI cars, to items that you collect/cars dump. 

mxsdi.mfk and mxsdl.mfk work the exact same way. However, the difference in these is that these contain information about the pre-missions. We'll ignore these for now and just focus on the mxi.mfk files.

Now, this is where the "experimenting" phase comes in. You can start by editing small things in the main mxi.mfk script (such as the timers or the conditions in each stage) and see what happens. Once you've gotten comfortable with editing objectives, you can start adding things to the mxl.mfk scripts for the script to load and use instead. Once you get comfortable with that, you can download P3D Editor, and begin editing the mx.p3d files to add new locators for cars and items to spawn at.

If you also want to change the mission messages, add this to your Meta.ini:

RequiredHack=CustomText

Then create a .ini file in your mod folder named CustomText.ini. In that, you can place this:

[CustomTextL1M1]
MISSION_OBJECTIVE_01=DO THINGS BEFORE TIME RUNS OUT.

You can put more Mission Objective text messages underneath that with a different number, then look for SetStageMessageIndex in a mission and edit what number you want it to use. Assuming there's mission text in CustomText.ini, then it'll use that instead of whatever is in the game's Text Bible.

In short, I believe the best way to begin modifying the game is to just set up an incredibly basic mod that supports CustomFiles (which is all you need if you just want to edit missions), then look at the mxi.mfk files and start tinkering with them. This is basically how I started SHAR modding: Just editing the main mission scripts, and then slowly started experimenting with more complex things.

Once you've gotten comfortable, I'd recommend looking at legomariofanatic's tutorial on the mission functions and how they work, then grab P3D Editor to make some new locators for items and cars. 

It all sounds pretty complex at first, but as long as you can set up a basic CustomFiles hack, and slowly start editing each one of the mxi.mfk scripts, you'll slowly pick up the ropes and be ready to tackle completely custom missions!

All I did to start was make a meta.ini with exactly what you have in it, and the CustomFiles folder with all the level01 missions, again, exactly as you said. It crashes once it gets to the living room thing (the black screen before it). I tried using the console but it doesn't give any info when I use it. prntscr.com/82e4hm is my directory and Meta.ini.

Aside from that, if I want to add a timer to get to the Kwik-E-Mart in L1M0, do I just add the SetStageTime like it is in other missions?

Could I add you (or someone) on skype so that I can IM for help? Messaging like this on forums is both slow and kinda spammy.

Thank you for the simplified tutorial though on what I need in Meta.ini. When I read loren's tutorial I got lost on what I need and what I didn't need.

Yep. I'll be more than happy to add you on Skype. I believe you can find me on Skype by searching for "daluigi208". Send me a contact request, and I'll be more than happy to add you and discuss matters there.

I Need The Mod Please Is It A Mod Or Not?