Mission Editor – Arma 2
EARLY WORK IN PROGRESS - FOR NOW REFER TO ArmA:_Mission_Editor
Introduction
This article will take you on a tour of the ArmA 2 mission editor, explaining the functions of the many menu options and dialogues. The focus of this article is explaining the function and effect of each option, rather than recommending which option should be used to create a desired outcome. Many options create different effects depending on different circumstances. The shear amount of information presented may seem daunting at first, but remember ArmA 2 is more complex than many other games, and there is always more than one way to create the desired effect.
The mission editor is divided into two sections. On the left is the Map Section, which is where units and other entities are placed and manipulated. On the right are the Control Menus, which are used to control the current mission editing mode, mission parameters and file management.
The basics of the mission editor are easy to grasp, allowing beginners to create "instant action" style missions in a matter of minutes. Other mission editing options are far more complex and cryptic, and some are even redundant. Creating a complex mission can take weeks of editing, and will require knowledge of scripting and creation of some supporting text files outside of the game. Multiplayer missions create further complexities that will need to be considered, e.g. locality. It is recommended that the user becomes familiar with creating single player missions and scripts before attempting to create a multiplayer mission.
Definitions
For the purposes of this article only, the following terms use are used:
- Unit - A controlled object. This includes soldiers and game logics, but not vehicles.
- Vehicle - A literal vehicle or a vehicle class object. For example, a car, tank or static machine gun is a vehicle. Note any crew or passengers are referred to as units, and are not considered to be an integral part of the vehicle.
- Object - Any object that appears in the mission. This includes terrain defined objects (trees, buildings) and mission editor placed units and objects.
- Entity - Anything on the mission map that is not the terrain. This includes terrain defined objects, mission editor placed objects, triggers, waypoints and markers.