DFBHD Basic Vehicle Tutorial not using Events

For DFBarracks.com

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1. Introduction.

There are a number of ways to setup a vehicle to move around a map. All of them use waypoints. Some of them use events to set up stop points and speed. Some use area triggers to set of the event.

This tutorial covers setting up a vehicle to move when the game starts. The vehicle will follow the assigned waypoints, at the default speed. If the waypoints loop, the vehicle will loop on until the game stops. If the waypoints do not loop, the vehicle will stop when it reaches the last waypoint.

First of all, make sure you have downloaded and installed the unlocked version of the med 2.05c, or use the Med from Terranova EXP which is an unlocked 2.05b, but make a new shortcut, This will enable all the features that where hidden by Novalogic.

There are some faults with these Meds, but they will do until Nova releases a new Version. The old H, and I unlocked meds, may crash in 3d mode on your system.

2. About the author.

Howdy, my nickname is Eagle Eye. The name was given to me by my LAN group, because I always found them!

I live in Adelaide, South Australia. At the time of writing this tutorial I am 45 years old.

I have been playing Delta force since DF1 first hit the shelves and progressed through all the incarnations. A group of us, including Iceman, LAN game on a regular basis, we both have a home LAN setup.

I started mapping with DF3 Land Warrior.

I now map mainly for DFBHD, and have been appointed as ADmin at DFBarracks.com, where I share my knowledge with the other members.

3. Opening the Editor.

Once you have installed the new Med, make a shortcut somewhere on your desktop or start menu. Click on the shortcut, and you will be presented with the screen below.

4. Setting up your maps General Information.

a. Under the pull down menu, go to Edit/General Information. You will be presented with the screen below.

b. Now you need to setup your mission name. This is the name that appears in the game and may be different than the actual file name. It is always a good idea to keep them the same to avoid confusion.

c. Mission Designer is optional; I always put in my email address.

d. Mission Terrain must be set, choose one from the drop down menu.

e. Map Types sets up the type of game, for the purpose of this tutorial; I’m using Team Deathmatch (TDM).

When you are finished, it should look something like the screenshot below.

f. Click OK to close the General Information Window.

5. Inserting Items.

OK, now it’s time to insert the items we will need to map the map work. We will need: -

a. A player start marker.

b. A set of waypoints

c. A vehicle to have move around the mission.

Start by doing a right mouse click, anywhere on the terrain area and you will see a pop up menu.

Left click on the insert Mode to enable it. You will see insert mode appear up in the top right hand corner, also tick Collision Models on the left hand side under Show:

Your view should now look like the screenshot below.

Now we will change to the Height map by clicking the H up the top left hand side. You will see C H D buttons, it will be easier to see our items under this view.

Your view should now look like the screenshot below.

OK, your in the insert mode, lets place our start marker, click the left mouse button right in the middle of the map and the pop up window will appear to place an item.

Choose markers, and scroll down until you find “Team Blue Start Marker” click on it and then OK, it will be placed where you had the curser. See the below screenshot.

OK, now we put in the waypoints that the vehicle will follow. Click on the terrain where you want the first marker, not to far from the player start. Choose markers and scroll down until you find Waypoint, click on it, then click on OK. You now have 1 waypoint. Repeat the process, I made 7 waypoints altogether. See the below screenshots. You can use the + key to zoom in closer.

6. Setting up the Waypoints

OK, we have a player start and waypoints, now we need to link the waypoints together as a list. To do this, select Edit/Waypoints from the drop down menu at the top of the screen.

Click in the Description box, and type in truck (1). You can change the colour if you want (2). Do not tick “Waypoint does NOT loop” (3). Click ok. We have now named Waypoint list 1 as “Truck”.

If you want the vehicle to just follow a set of waypoints then stop, you can tick the “Waypoint does NOT loop”. Then the vehicle will start , follow the list, then stop at the last one. Remember, you can have a max of 32 waypoints per list.

We can now set our waypoints to list 1.

If they are not already selected, select the 7 waypoints you have placed. If you select an item, it will turn yellow and the number of items will appear in the info box on the left hand side. See the below screenshot.

Now, left click in the info window to bring up the item attributes , or right click on the terrain, and select item attributes. See the screenshot below.

Next, use the pull down by the Waypoints list, and select “truck”. See screenshot below. Then press ok.

You will presented with a Med that looks something like the screenshot below.

The med will automatically give the waypoints their own number, starting with the one you placed first, then second etc. The first waypoint will be 1,0. This means waypoint list number 1, waypoint number 1. So the second waypoint will be 1,1. The first waypoint is always 0. The directional arrows show you the way they are numbered.

7. Placing and Setting up the Vehicle

OK, now we can place a vehicle.

Unselect all items. Use the “Unselect All”. Right click on the terrain and select insert mode. Point to somewhere just below your first waypoint and left click, the insert item window will appear, select Vehicles, then choose a vehicle, I choose the first one in the list. See screenshot below.

Press OK. Now we need to rotate the vehicle so it’s in line with the first waypoint.

Exit the Insert Mode. Now click on the vehicle, it will turn yellow, now right click and select Group Rotate. See screenshot below.

Rotate the vehicle using the << < > >> keys, line it up with the lines that join the waypoints together. Then click on OK.

Now we need to assign the vehicle to the waypoint list we have created. Select the vehicle, then go to item attributes. See screenshot below.

Next, use the pull down by the Waypoints list, and select “truck”. Then click OK.

OK, this map is completed. We just need to save our map.

8. Saving and Playing.

Select “Save and Export” from the edit menu, type Test mission in the file name box and click on OK. Any future saves will save the mission over the old one. You only have to enter a file name the first time you select “Save and Export”.

See screenshot below

OK, done, open Black Hawk Down, host a LAN game go to Team Deathmatch and scroll down until you see “Test mission” select it and watch your vehicle go around your waypoint list.

All Done.

Note: This not the only way to set vehicles. It is not meant to be the "Bible" and should not be taken as such. I take no responsibility for errors or things just not working properly. Follow this tutorial at your own risk.