Missions are the crown jewel of the EV datafile, as well as the largest and most complex resources in the game. Each misn resource corresponds to a single mission that the player can undertake, with the name of the mission (which the player sees in the mission list) being the name of the associated misn resource. The first six fields in a misn resource help EV determine where and when the mission is available:
AvailStel Which stellar objects (i.e. planets) the mission is available at
-1 Any inhabited stellar
128-1627 ID number of a specific stellar
5000-5999 Stellar in a system adjacent to specific system
9999-10127 Specific govt's stellar
15000-15127 Specific govt's ally's stellar
20000-20127 Stellar of anybody but this specific govt
25000-25127 Specific govt's enemy's stellar
AvailBitSet Which one of the mission flag bits, (see below) if any, must be set for this mission to become available
-1 ignored
0-255 this mission bit must be set
1000-1255 this mission bit must be clear (functions similarly to AvailBitClear, described below)
AvailLoc Where on a planet this mission is available
0 From the mission computer
1 In the bar
2 Both
AvailRecord What your legal record in this system must be for this mission to become available
0 ignored
positive value record must be at least this high
negative value record must be at least this low
-32000 when the player has dominated the stellar in question
-32001 when the player has dominated at least one stellar
AvailRating What your combat rating must be for this mission to be available
-1 ignored
0+ rating must be at least this high
AvailRandom A randomization factor, to ensure that some missions aren't available all the time. Mission randomizing values are recalculated each time you warp into a system.
100 always available
1-99 available this % of the time
A quick word on mission bits: EV stores 256 flags that can be set by your missions when they fail or succeed. The mission bits can then be checked to see whether a mission is allowed to be available. There are three uses for this:
The next two fields in the misn resource define where the player needs to go to complete the mission:
TravelStel Which stellar object the player must go to during the mission
-1 No specific stellar destination
-2 A random inhabited stellar
-3 A random uninhabited planet
128-1627 ID number of a specific stellar
9999-10127 Random stellar of a specific govt
15000-15127 Random stellar of a specific govt's ally
20000-20127 Random stellar of anybody but this specific govt
25000-25127 Random stellar of specific govt's enemy
ReturnStel Where the player must return to in order to complete the mission and receive payment
-1 No specific stellar destination
-2 A random inhabited stellar
-3 A random uninhabited stellar
-4 The initial stellar, where the mission was accepted
128-1627 ID number of a specific stellar
10000-10127 Random stellar of a specific govt
15000-15127 Random stellar of a specific govt's ally
20000-20127 Random stellar of anybody but this specific govt
25000-25127 Random stellar of specific govt's enemy
The next five fields tell EV about any special cargo associated with a mission:
CargoType What type of cargo must be carried
-1 No special cargo for this mission
0-63 Specific cargo type
1000 Random cargo of types 0-5 (the standard types)
CargoQty What amount of cargo must be carried
-1 Ignored (no cargo)
0 and up This many tons of cargo
-2 and below abs(CargoQty) tons, ± 50%
PickupMode Where the cargo is to be picked up
-1 Ignored
0 Pick up at mission start
1 Pick up at TravelStel
2 Pick up when boarding special ship
DropOffMode Where the cargo is to be dropped off [Note: don't set your cargo to be picked up and dropped off at the same place, as it may cause EV to behave strangely]
-1 Ignored
0 Drop off at TravelStel
1 Drop off at mission end (ReturnStel)
ScanGovt Which government considers your cargo illegal
-1 Ignored
128-255 ID number of a government that considers this cargo illegal. If you're scanned by a ship of this government, or any government that's not its enemy (important!) you'll get that government's SmugglePenalty added to your record.
FailIfScanned Sets whether the mission fails if you're detected carrying the cargo
0 Mission doesn't fail if scanned
Nonzero Mission fails if you're scanned
The next field tells EV what to give you if you're successful in your mission:
PayVal What you get if you're successful and you return to ReturnStel
0 No pay, just the satisfaction of a job well done
1 and up This number of credits
-10128 to -10255 Clean legal record with the govt with this ID
-20128 to -20255 Give the player an item with this ID
-30128 to -30255 Give the player an item with this ID at the start of the mission
The next six fields contain information on the special ships associated with this mission, if any:
ShipCount The number of special ships for this mission
-1 Ignored (no special ships)
0-31 This number of special ships
ShipSyst Which system the special ships will appear in
-1 The initial system where the mission is begun
-2 Any random system
-3 TravelStel's system
-4 ReturnStel's system
-5 System adjacent to initial system
-6 Whatever system the player is in (i.e. follow him around)
128-1127 ID number of a specific system
9999-10127 Specific govt's system
15000-15127 Specific govt's ally's system
20000-20127 System of any govt but this specific one
25000-25127 Specific govt's enemy's system
ShipDude What dude resource to use to determine the special ship's types and characteristics
-1 Ignored (no special ships)
128-255 ID number of a specific dude class
ShipGoal The mission goal associated with the special ships
-1 Ignored (no specific goal for the special ships)
0 Destroy all the ships
1 Disable but don't destroy them
2 Board them
3 Escort them (keep them from getting killed)
4 Observe them (you just have to be in the same system with them)
5 Rescue them (they start out disabled, and you must board them)
6 Chase them off (either kill them or scare them into jumping out of the system)
ShipBehav Defines any special actions you want the ships to take
-1 Ignored (they use their standard AI routines)
0 Special ships will always attack the player
1 Special ships will protect the player
9 Special ships will hyper in all together after a short delay
10 Special ships will hyper in and attack the player
11 Special ships will hyper in and protect the player
ShipNameID Tells EV how to name the special ships
-1 Ignored (special ships have normal names)
128 and up Pick a name from this STR# resource
The next three fields determine what will happen when you successfully complete the mission:
CompBitSet Which mission bit will be set on completion
-1 Ignored
0-255 Set this mission bit
1000-1255 Clear this mission bit
CompGovt Which government to use in determining how your record changes on completing this mission
-1 Ignored (no reward other than pay)
0-127 Increase record with this govt
CompReward How much to increase your record with CompGovt
(any value) Increase record by this much
(note: if you have a CompGovt and reward defined and you fail the mission, that govt will take it personally and decrease your record by 1/2 the amount specified in CompReward. This is useful for making missions whose success is considered vital by a certain party.)
The next field determines what happens when you fail the mission:
FailBitSet Which mission bit to set upon failure
-1 Ignored
0-255 Set this mission bit on failure
1000-1255 Clear this mission bit on failure
The next seven fields tell EV which desc resources to display at various times during the mission: (see below for more info on mission descriptions)
BriefText The desc to show in the dialog that comes up when you accept a mission. (formats are the same for all seven fields)
-1 No special mission briefing
128 and up ID number of the desc resource to use (ID numbers of 5000 and up are usually the safest)
QuickBrief The desc to show when the user hits the "Mission Briefing" (I) key.
LoadCargText The desc to show when special mission cargo is loaded from a planet
DumpCargoText The desc to show when special mission cargo is offloaded (not jettisoned into space as the name would suggest!)
CompText The desc to show when you go to ReturnStel and the mission has been successful.
FailText The desc to show when you go to ReturnStel and the mission has been a failure
The next field tells EV how long you have to complete the mission:
TimeLimit Like it says
-1 Ignored (no time limit)
1 and up This number of days
The next field tells EV whether or not the mission can be aborted.
CanAbort
0 Mission can't aborted, you must go to ReturnStel in order for it to "go away" and become inactive
Nonzero Mission can be aborted at any time, by simply selecting another mission. Also, the mission "goes away" and becomes inactive at the moment it fails (e.g. you're scanned when you aren't supposed to be, etc.).
The next field is unused, and the next field after that is another piece of info on how and when EV should offer the mission. (sorry, I had to add this field to the template after many of the missions were already done)
AvailBitClr
-1 Ignored
0-255 Mission is available only if this mission bit is not set.
The next few fields tell EV about any auxiliary ships you want to be placed in the universe for this mission. Auxiliary ships cannot be given specific instructions, and no goals can be set for them; they simply are "normal" ships that are placed into the universe for the purpose of adding atmosphere to a mission.
AuxShipCount How many aux ships, if any, to activate for this mission:
-1 No aux ships
1-31 Place this many aux ships in the universe
AuxShipDude ID number of the specific dude resource to use to set up the aux ships
AuxShipSyst What systems to place the aux ships in:
-1 Any system the player is in
-2 TravelStel's system
-3 ReturnStel's system
128-1127 ID number of a specific system
5000-5999 In this system, or any systems adjacent to it
9999-10127 Any system belonging to this govt
15000-15127 Any system belonging to this govt or its allies
20000-20127 Any system not belonging to this govt
25000-25127 Any system belonging to enemies of this govt
Then there are some more fields we had to append to the end because we didn't think of them until later:
CompBitSet2 Another completion bit field, which performs identically to the other one.
Flags Some misc. flag bits
0x0001 Marks the mission as an auto-aborting mission, which will automatically abort itself after it is accepted. (sometimes useful to create special ships) Any mission bits pointed to by the mission's CompBitSet fields will be automatically set when the mission aborts
0x0002 Don't show the red destination arrows on the map
0x0004 Can't refuse the mission
0x0010 Infinite auxShips
0x0020 Remove pre-paid outfit item on mission failure or abort
0x0040 Apply -5x CompReward reversal on abort
0x0080 Global penalty when jettisoning mission cargo in space (currently ignored)
0x0100 Show green arrow on map in initial briefing
0x1000 Critical mission (will be offered before all others in the bar)
Whenever EV displays a desc resource related to a mission, such as the initial mission description (desc ID 4000-4255) or one of the special mission briefings (e.g. CompText and QuickBrief) it performs one other special operation on the text. It searches through the text and replaces a few special "wildcard" symbols with pertinent mission information. This is extremely useful in setting up mission briefings that include random information that wouldn't be known when the description is written. These special symbols and their expansions are:
<DSY> The name of the destination system
<DST> The name of the destination stellar
<RSY> The name of the return system
<RST> The name of the return stellar
<CT> The name of the type of cargo to be carried
<CQ> The quantity of cargo to be carried
<DL> The date of the mission deadline, if any
<PN> The player's name
<PSN> The player's ship's name
<OSN> The offering ship name (only works when offering a mission from a ship)
<SN> Special ship name (Note: EV will screw up if you use this in the initial mission description, as it doesn't pick the special ship names until you actually accept the mission.)