I wish to learn editing by reverse engineering. How does one get the part of a file

[Rex Ursus 10]

That is needed into the mission editor so that one may examine it and modify it and learn in that manner.

I have learned to edit at least twenty computer games this way and so far this Arma2 has proven to be the most challenging. If one wishes to create a certain kind of mission then is seems only reasonable to me to start with missions that one likes and not the majority of missions that one does not like.

I need to know which files, specifly ( and by the way, how do you work the damned spell check on this thing?) that need to be taken out of a ready made scenario, and where exactly to put it so that when one starts the editor it is there.

I down loaded the entire 335 page arma 1 editor guide and printed it. But It is written for an old game so I have no idea what is pertainent to this latest edition of arma. I have watched many videos too.

I am only interested in capture the island type scenarios. i.e. higher command level scenarios and this is why I wish to dismantle a few of the ones available for inspection.

Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Regards.

[jw custom 56]

What is you wanna do?

You wanna edit the editor :confused:

You wanna edit or look in other peoples missions?

If it is the last then you should take a look here:

http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/ArmA:_Community_Tools

[Rex Ursus 10]

What it is that I wish to do is,.. "I wish to learn editing by reverse engineering."

In order to do so I must first identify that part of an already made scenario which can be copied and then put into that part of the hard drive which contains the editor for Arma 2.

Once that has been accomplished I wish to know how to do this in such a way that when I open the mission editor it is there and ready to be worked with.

I have looked at and downloaded many of the tools available but this does not answer the questions, where and how.

[jw custom 56]

What it is that I wish to do is,.. "I wish to learn editing by reverse engineering."

In order to do so I must first identify that part of an already made scenario which can be copied and then put into that part of the hard drive which contains the editor for Arma 2.

Once that has been accomplished I wish to know how to do this in such a way that when I open the mission editor it is there and ready to be worked with.

I have looked at and downloaded many of the tools available but this does not answer the questions, where and how.

So you wanna open other peoples missions up in the editor. Well use the link i provided and download unPbo. Now unPbo the mission you wanna look at and open it in the editor!

[Rex Ursus 10]

I have downloaded ArmaUnPbo. I can select a PBO file and un PBO it. When I open my editor it is not there.

[tcp 10]

This is the same way I learn(ed).

Get a PBO tool as mentioned.

Either download a mission from Armaholic or look under the hidden directory:

C:\Documents and Settings\profilename\Local Settings\Application Data\ArmA 2\MPMissionsCache for XP

C:\Users\profilename\AppData\ArmA 2\MPMissionsCache for Vista

Extract the PBO and put the created folder in:

(My )Documents\ArmA 2 Other Profiles\gamename\MPMissions

You won't have the MPMissions folder until you host a game for the first time and select New Editor. You can use the single player editor, but previewing it from there won't run scripts as intended for MP missions.

Get notepad++ with ArmA Script recoded or some other editor with syntax plugin.

Create a keyword search for the BIKI

Other links:

http://www.ofpec.com/COMREF/

http://www.arma2.com/comref/comref.html

http://dev-heaven.net/wiki/cmb

Look at Xeno's Domination and Bon Inf's Hunt Waldo 2. They do similar things but in different ways so its easy to compare and contrast.

After learning scripting and making some missions, you'll end up getting getting BItools and sorting through the configs. Then you might try modeling or mapping and pretty soon you will have no life. Good luck.

[gnarly_rider 0]

Either download a mission from Armaholic or look under the hidden directory:

C:\Documents and Settings\profilename\Local Settings\Application Data\ArmA 2\MPMissionsCache for XP

C:\Users\profilename\AppData\ArmA 2\MPMissionsCache for Vista

Awesome, been trying to work out where the downloaded cache was!!

...pretty soon you will have no life.

Amen to that...

[Flightster 10]

- Download a mission (.pbo)

- Un-pbo it to: documents / arma 2 other profiles / username / missions

- Open the editor, click load and select the mission you just un-pbo'ed

- Go nuts

[lonck 0]

can we do that with default campaign missions/non-campaign missions?

[tcp 10]

Look for missions.pbo in your main Addons folder.

[keimosabe 10]

HOLY CRAP MAN!!!! This tool is a godsend to Noob mapmakers like myself. I'm so glad you posted this and you guys with the UNPBO links. Anyone's missions that I take a look at to figure something out I promise to give you props in my mission but HOLY COW! Looking at a couple of my favorites now that I know where things happen in game and can take a look at yer PBO file helps TREMENDOUSLY in figuring things out.

Thanks guys.

[.kju 3245]

For beginners Mr Murray's editing bible is pretty good:

http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=2434

[Rex Ursus 10]

Wow guys. Thanks a lot!

[Rex Ursus 10]

I have un PBOed the files and have learned that the actual information that is placed on the editing map is a .sqm file. but unless I have made the map myself the imported files don't show up in the directory when I press the load Key. It is like they don't exist.

I am talking about the Documents\Arma2\missions folder. I wish to find out why. I even turned off the read only option to no avail.

To clarify. I can open the .sqm file in text format but not in the map form. Is there something I am missing??

Edited July 31, 2010 by Rex Ursus
To clarify.

[Jack_Ryan_ 10]

Once you unpbo the mission into your C:\Users\owner\Documents\ArmA 2 Other Profiles\yourname\MPMissions folder, the map will show in your editor. If you open that folder, there's a bunch of files, many .sqm.

These you can open in notepad. If you modify any of them, and save them, save as type: "all files", not .txt extension. After reading about a detail, you will see how much fun it is to change the values, and preview, and adjust missions. Then by changing the flavour, and a bit of your own spices, you can get some nice personalized missions, bon appetite :)

ps: I edit in mp editor, then i can mp or sp.

[[asa]oden 0]

What Jack says but also, if you do not see the mission from "Open" in the editor verify what map the mission was built for denoted by the last part of the mission folder name such as Utes, Chernarus, Zargabad, Takistan, Celle, FDF_Isle_1a etc. and if it is not one of the first four you probably need an addon.

[Rex Ursus 10]

Once you unpbo the mission into your C:\Users\owner\Documents\ArmA 2 Other Profiles\yourname\MPMissions folder, the map will show in your editor. If you open that folder, there's a bunch of files, many .sqm.

These you can open in notepad. If you modify any of them, and save them, save as type: "all files", not .txt extension. After reading about a detail, you will see how much fun it is to change the values, and preview, and adjust missions. Then by changing the flavor, and a bit of your own spices, you can get some nice personalized missions, bon appetite :)

ps: I edit in mp editor, then i can mp or sp.

Well that may be a problem as I don't have a 'other profiles' file. What shall I do? Need I say I am using Vista? Also, I was doing it in the single player editor, then tried it just now in the mp missions, importing the files there. Alas, to no avail. They are unpbo'd but I can still not look at them on the editor map.

I also created another profile just in case but I can't find that folder either.

And yes, they are all .Chernorus

Edited July 31, 2010 by Rex Ursus

[shuko 59]

The path it uses depends on what profile you use. For default it's:

My Documents\Arma 2

And if you create your own, it's:

My Documents\Arma 2 Other Profiles

Single player missions are here:

My Documents\Arma 2 Other Profiles\profileName\missions

Multiplayer missions:

My Documents\Arma 2 Other Profiles\profileName\mpmissions

A mission folder would have a path like this:

My Documents\Arma 2 Other Profiles\profileName\missions\myMission.IslandName

where the actual files would be:

My Documents\Arma 2 Other Profiles\profileName\missions\myMission.Takistan\myMission.sqm

Missions in SP folder show up in Single Player > Editor, while stuff in mpmissions can be edited through Multiplayer > New >

[Rex Ursus 10]

Thanks guys.