User:Fleeting Whisper/Help Menu/Architect - Creating Stories

Hero (help.txt)

Mission Architect

Overview
Mission Architect allows you to create your own adventures and share those adventures with every other hero or villain in Paragon City and the Rogue Isles. While others play your adventure, they gain knowledge, experience and rewards equivalent to outside of the virtual world of Architect Entertainment. We do try and keep things here as realistic as possible after all. Once the players are through with your story, they have the opportunity to rate the experience from 1 - 5 stars. The higher your story is rated by other players, the more rewards you'll earn as well. So, try to come up with the best stories possible.

Creating Stories
You can create stories or arcs as we call them at any of the Mission Architect Computers located in the Main Studio or in the no powers Studio B. There are two types of stories, those you have Locally and those you've Published.

Local Stories
Local Stories are stories you're currently working on or that you don't want to share with the world at large. You can have as many local stories as you want.

Publishing Stories
You can publish up to three stories and share them with others. Each story can have up to five missions. Each mission having up to 25 goals. When an arc is published others are able to see your arc, play it and rate it. The better rated your arc becomes the more tickets you'll earn.

Testing Stories
While working on your story, you can test it as if you were actually playing the missions. You can even have a team of up to eight other heroes and villains accompany you. While testing no one gains experience, earns tickets or any other type or reward except for 'Testing Specific' badges.

- Story Settings

Story Settings
Stories in Architect are broken up into three logical parts, Story Settings, Mission Settings and Mission Goals. Stories are a series of chapters or missions that follow one after the next. You can have up to five missions in a single story in Mission Architect.

Story Title & Description
The first step is to come up with a name for your story and a short description. When you publish your story, this information will be what other players see. It will also be one of the factors players use to determine if they want to play your story or not, so make it good.

Story Contact
A Story Contact is the person or object who tells the story to the players. You need a name for the contact and you need to determine the type of contact. Your options are Default, Standard Contacts, Enemy Groups, Objects and Custom.

Contact Types:
- Default: The blank hologram contact.
- Standard Contacts: Any existing Story Contact already in our database.
- Enemy Groups: Every individual in our database from Paragon City and the Rogue Isles.
- Objects: Inanimate objects that can also be used as Story Contacts.
- Custom: A Story Contact who you create yourself using our custom character creator.

If you're not sure what to put for the Story Contact, don't worry you can always come back later or even leave it blank.

Story Parameters
Story Parameters are optional settings not required for the story to be playable. Currently, the only setting is the Suggested Alignment. Suggested Alignment is the recommended alignment of the story. Note: this setting doesn't restrict players from playing the story. It only suggests that the player be of a specific alignment or at least of that mind set when going in to play your story.

Souvenir Clue
Souvenir Clues are pieces of information the players take with them once they're through with the adventure. These clues are keepsakes to remind the player of your adventure.

Souvenir Clue Options:
- Souvenir Name: The name or title of the clue.
- Souvenir Description: The body of text for the clue.

- Mission Settings

Mission Settings
Now that you've named your Story, picked your Story Contact and filled out any of the optional story settings, you can begin working on your first mission. In Mission Settings you define all the high level aspects of your mission. Where does the first mission take place and who are enemies that populate it?

Enemy Group
Here you pick the type of enemy you want to populate the mission. These enemies can be Standard, existing enemies already in our database or Custom, enemy groups created by you. Note that Standard enemy groups are restrictive by security level. You can see their level range next to their name in parentheses: Clockwork (1 - 20).

Map Type
Once you've chosen the enemies you want in the mission, you need to select the location or the map for the mission. Each Map Type is made up of multiple individual maps, broken down by length.

Map Length
The over all size of the map. Common options are Tiny, Small, Medium and Large.

Map
The final option for setting the location is choosing the specific map. You can leave the map as Random by default, or you can choose from one of the individual maps in the list.

When you select a specific map, you will see important information about that map displayed on the right hand side of the Mission Architect window.

Map Information:
- Map Image: This is the overhead image of the map. If the map has multiple floors there will be an arrow to the right of the image that allows you to cycle through the different floors.
- Map Details: Each map can only hold a finite amount of mission goals (see Mission Goals). In the Map Details section you see how many of each type of Mission Goal are allowed.

Mission Parameters
Here you can chose optional settings for this specific mission. Currently, your choices are as follows:

Mission Parameters:
- Mission Pacing: This controls the level range progression of enemies on the map.
- Time to Complete: This sets the amount of time the players have to complete the mission in minutes. Be aware that setting a timer creates a potential for the players to fail the mission.

Mission Complete Clue
This gives the players a clue, or a piece of information once they've completed the mission. A clue usually reveals some deeper aspect of the story to the players.

Mission Complete Clue
- Clue Name: The name or title of the clue.
- Clue Description: The text of the clue given when the player completes the mission.

- Write Text

Write Text
There are five required text fields for a single mission, six if it's possible for the mission to be failed. Let's go over each one below.

Mission Introduction Dialog
The first dialog the players read regarding the mission. It's spoken by the Story Contact to the players.

Example: 'I really need your help with something. There's this guy... and, uh, he's doing something really bad.'

Mission Send Off Dialog
The dialog the players read after they accept the mission from the Story Contact.

Example: 'Thank you so much for helping me. This guy hangs out in this old office building. His name's Frostfire; he's a member of the Outcasts.'

Compass Active Task Text
This is a short description displayed in the navigation or compass window while the players are on the mission.

Example: 'Defeat Frostfire'

Still Busy Dialog
The dialog given by the Story Contact if the players returns to them but haven't yet completed the mission.

Example: 'Have you taken out Frostfire yet? It's really important for you to go into that old office building and have a talk with him, preferably with your fists.'

Return Success Dialog
The dialog given by the Story Contact when the players returns after successfully completing the mission.

Example: 'You did it! I can't believe you took out Frostfire. Did he happen to mention anything about my sister? That's why I wanted you to talk to him. Did I forget to mention that?'

Additional Text
These are text options that are not required for the mission to be playable, but help add depth and personality to your story.

Mission Title
The title of the mission, displayed in all the Story Contact dialog windows.

Example: 'Face Off Against Frostfire'

Mission Subtitle
The subtitle of the mission, displayed directly underneath the Mission Title.

Example: 'Part One' or 'Mission One' or 'Prologue'

Mission Accept Text
The text the players click when they agree to take the mission from the Story Contact. By default this text is Accept.

Example: 'Agree to take out Frostfire'

Mission Entry Text
You can have a window popup when the players first enter the mission map.

Example: 'You were sent in here to take down Frostfire, but something tells you there's more going on than meets the eye.'

Mission Success Text
You can also have a popup window appear when the players exit a mission they've successfully completed.

Example: 'You've taken down Frostfire. Now return to your contact and find out what's really going on.'

Mission Fail Text
Finally, you can have a popup window appear when the players exit a mission they've failed to complete.

Example: 'You didn't manage to take down Frostfire. He got away.'

Return Fail Dialog
Dialog spoken by the Story Contact when the player returns having failed the mission. This only shows up if the mission can be failed. Failing a mission does not stop the story from progressing.

Example: 'What? He got away? But what about my sister? He was supposed to know where she was. What am I going to do?'

- Basic Mission Goals

Basic Mission Goals
Mission Goals are achievable objectives placed in your mission. These goals range from having the players defeat a specific boss to collecting information from a computer. Normally, Mission Goals must be achieved in order for the mission to be considered completed. However, you also have the option to turn this on or off.

Now, let's look at each specific Basic Mission Goal. You'll be able to get more detailed information about each of these later.

Fight a Boss
A boss is a powerful enemy that the players will face as they play through the mission. This could be the climatic fight at the end of the mission or just a cool encounter along the way.

Example: The Boss, Frostfire, must be defeated in order for the players to successfully complete their mission.

Collect an Object
An Object is an inanimate piece that appears on the mission map that the players can interact with. This object emits a sound and a glow to alert the players to its whereabouts. Many Architects refer to these objects as 'glowies' because of this. Objects are useful for finding clues, planting false evidence, or even a prized items to be stolen or retrieved.

Example: Break into that office and steal the credit card data off of their computers.

Defeat All Enemies
This makes it so the players must defeat every enemy in the mission in order for it to be completed. Note, Defeat All Enemies ensures that players stays in your map, however, forcing them to run around and track down the last (and oftentimes elusive) enemy can be a potentially frustrating experience.

Release a Captive
Captives are harmless individuals in the mission for the players to rescue. Once freed, the Captive immediately flees to the nearest door for safety.

Example: Enter the abandoned warehouse and rescue Jane Marie.

- Advanced Mission Goals

Advanced Mission Goals
Advanced Mission Goals are just like Basic Mission goals except they have a higher level of complexity to them. These goals range from having the players rescue an ally that fights with them throughout the mission to defending an object from being destroyed. As with Basic Mission Goals, many Advanced Mission Goals have the option to not be required for complete. However, Patrols and Ambushes can never be required for Mission Complete. They are always not required mission goals.

Now, let's look at each specific Advanced Mission Goal. You'll be able to get more detailed information about each of these later.

Add an Ally
An Ally is a 'friendly' person in the mission who will follow the players around and help them fight.

Example: Positron is surrounded by Malta. Once they're defeated, Positron stands up and says, 'Thanks, now let's shut this place down.' The player can then go through the rest of the mission with Positron by his side.

An Ambush
An ambush is a wave of critters who will chase after the players once a Mission Goal has been completed. Ambushes don't just happen. They need to be triggered by another Mission Goal like the player defeating a Boss, clicking an Objective, or Rescuing a Captive.

Example: 'Once the final hostage has been rescued, a wave of Arachnos soldiers storm the mission map.'

Add An Escort
An Escort is a 'friendly' person who the players must rescue and then led to safety (exit). Escorts are dangerous because there's a chance the person can be defeated before the players can get them to the exit. This causes the mission to automatically fail. Escort missions can also be set up as kidnappings, depending on the flavor text and animations you use.

Example: 'Arachnos needs you to break into a tech lab and kidnap a Crey scientist.'

Add a Patrol
Patrols are enemies that wander the map. This Mission Goal is good for making your map feel more alive as well as fleshing out the story of your mission.

Example: As the players enter the map, they notice two guards walking around. One guard says, 'So, you think the boss is actually going through with it?' The other guard says, 'Between you and me, I hope not.'

Add a Battle
This lets you add two Enemy Groups to your mission that duke it out!

Example: 'Arachnos is invading a Longbow base and there are skirmishes between the two groups throughout the mission.'

Add a Destructible Object
This lets you add a Destructible Object and guards surrounding the object to your mission. You get to choose the Object, and the enemy guarding it.

Example: Somewhere in this warehouse is a cursed relic that will doom the world if it's not destroyed.

Add a Defendable Object
This lets you add an immobile Object to the mission that the players must defend against a wave of attackers.

Example: You need to protect the altar from the Circle of Thorns until the ritual is complete. If they destroy it, all the world is doomed!

Villain (v_help.txt)

Villain help is identical to Hero help