This guide attempts to explain what the different triggers can do and how to set them up by way of explaining what should be input in the various fields associated with each trigger, condition and effect. It is presented in a step by step walk through of the
Trigger Editor.This is a work in progress. Please, if you can fill in any missing information, feel free to post and I will edit it in. Also feel free to offer corrections, but please, no guesses. Only correct what you know to be wrong and only fill in with information you are certain is correct. Anywhere you see (***please insert explanation here***) is obviously something which I have yet to define.Examples are always helpful, so if you would be willing to help with some it would be much appreciated
The following is an example of a fairly complete entry. This is what I am striving for as it puts every part of the condition or effect into perspective. Beyond that your imagination should suffice. This is for the effect Counter:Add Timer as it occurs in the guide:1Counter:Add Timer - 2When the conditions of the trigger are met, this effect will start a timer which, at it's end, will display an onscreen message and/or 'fire' a trigger. This allows you to time certain events within your scenario to occur on schedule. 3For example, you may wish to have an earthquake occur in the game, but rather than leaving it to chance or setting it off by an event that may or may not occur, you wish to have it go off exactly 5 minutes into the game, regardless of other circumstances.
4The 'Name' text box is where you give your counter a name. The default is 'countdown' but you may use any name you feel like. 5(Earthquake Timer)
The 'Start' text box must have a positive number for the number of seconds your timer will start at. (300 {60 seconds x 5 minutes = 300 seconds})
The 'Stop' text box must have a number > 0 but < 'Start' for the number of seconds your timer will stop at. (0)
The 'Message' text box is for the message you wish displayed (if any) once your timer reaches 'Stop'. (Hera is wroth with thee and thine! Feel Her anger, mortals!)
The 'Trigger' lookup table will allow you to select a trigger from your trigger list and will 'fire' that trigger when the timer reaches 'Stop'. (Earthquake Trigger)1 - The name of the condition or effect
2 - The definition of the condition or effect
3 - An example of how the condition or effect might be used
4 - The additional factors which configure the condition or effect
5 - Input examples to support the main exampleThroughout the work, as it progresses, a will appear every so often. These mark contributions added by other forumers and they are mentioned at the end of the work for their contributions.The first thing we see when we open the Trigger Editor is a lookup box labeled 'Group' with a default value of 'Ungrouped'.
This value is used for (***please insert explanation here***).Next are the 'Insert' and 'Delete' buttons. Insert generates a new blank trigger and places the name in the list box to the left. Delete removes the highlighted trigger from the list at the left.Below this are 3 radio buttons labeled 'Triggers', 'Condition:' and 'Effects'...Simply select the item you wish to create/edit at this time.Effects are just that...the desired effect of the trigger. i.e. a trade cart spawns an assassin...something you can't get the game to do under normal circumstances.Conditions are the conditions which must be met in order for the effect to take place. i.e. the aforementioned trade cart must be at a specific place; like say 2 spaces from the pharoah's favorite monkey.Triggers compare the conditions and if a match occurs sets off, or 'fires', the effect. i.e. our trade cart is 5 spaces away from the pharaohs favorite monkey so nothing happens, 4, nothing, 3 nothing, 2 spaces away and the assassin spawns (appears). To kill the monkey will require another trigger.------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------
On the 'Triggers window' (the right pane of the Trigger Editor when the Triggers radio button is selected) we see a text box labeled 'Name:'. When you insert or highlight a trigger, it's name goes here. The name will be Trigger_### unless you use this box to rename it. After renaming, press enter to accept the new name.Below this are 3 check boxes labeled 'Active', 'Loop', and 'Run Immediately'Active will tell your game to check regularly to see if the conditions of your trigger are met. If, so the trigger will fire, otherwise the game will continue to check. Once fired, the trigger is 'used up' for the remainder of the scenario. It will not fire again.Loop will tell your game to check regularly to see if the conditions of your trigger are met. If, so the trigger will fire, otherwise the game will continue to check. Once fired, the trigger is reset and the game will check again for conditions to be met and, if so, the trigger will fire again and so on.Run Immediately will (***please insert explanation here***)Below this is the Priority bar which sets the priority that the triggers are sorted and run by. High priority trigger will run before low priority ones of similar construct.To the right of these are two list boxes labeled 'Conditions' and 'Effects' these are the conditions and effects associated with this trigger. By default the condition listed is always and the effect listed is SetIdleProcessing.
On the 'Conditions window' (the right pane of the Trigger Editor when the Conditions radio button is selected) we see an unlabeled text box containing the name of the type of condition selected.Below this is a list box containing all the conditions set for this particular trigger.
The insert and delete boxes here are the same as before to generate new or delete selected conditions.
To the right of these we see a lookup box labeled 'Type'. The lookup table reveals a list of condition types, each of which may or may not reveal more choices for fine tuning the condition. We will go over these individually here.Abort Cinematic - When the cinematic is aborted for any reason (end of cinematic, escape button, etc...) this condition is met.
What it does is it detects when a player is trying to exit the cinematic mode by either pressing the ESC key or Space. Therefore, it is useful when a designer wants to create a trigger that would allow the player to exit cinematic modes. For example:TRIGGER
Condition: Abort Cinematic
Effect: CinematicMode OFF (takes off the black letterbox veils)
So whenever the player wants to exit a cinematic mode, he/she can press the ESC key or the Space.
however
When a camera track is being played, however, that's a different thing. In order to stop the camera track and change the camera view, do the following:
1) Create a different camera track with a length of 0.1 second
2) Set the view of that camera (this will be the view when the cinematic mode is aborted)
3) After that, use this track in your trigger as follow:
TRIGGER 1
Condition: Abort Cinematic
Effect: Cinematic Mode OFF
Effect: Camera Track (the 0.1 sec track)
All Buildings Dead - When all the buildings of a certain player (select 1-10 from the 'Player' lookup table) have been destroyed this condition is met.All Units And Buildings Dead - When all the buildings and all the units of a certain player (select 1-10 from the 'Player' lookup table) have been destroyed this condition is met.All Units Dead - When all the units of a certain player (select 1-10 from the 'Player' lookup table) have been destroyed this condition is met.Always - Always stands alone. This condition puts an effect into play right away regardless of other circumstances (granting/casting immediate god powers or setting starting lighting effects, etc...). Army Distance to Point - When a certain army (selected from the 'Army' lookup table) is at or near a set distance away from a given area this condition is met.
The 'Show' button will center the screen on the army selected from the 'Army' lookup table.
The 'Make' button will create an army from units you have selected (select units by holding down the Shift key and left-clicking on each unit you wish to add to this army) and give it a name like 'Plyr2Army11'. This will, in effect, 'group' this army under that name similar to the way you would group an army in-game as a number 1-9 and allow the game to access and control it as instructed in your trigger.
The 'Set Area' button allows you to determine exactly where a condition will be met or an effect will occur.
The 'Show Area' button center the screen on the area set.
The 'Operator' lookup table lets you select basic math operations to determine if this condition is met by the army's position in relation to the area.
'< ' closer to the area than the given distance.
'<=' closer to the area or at the given distance.
'==' at the given distance from the area.
'>=' at the given distance from the area or further.
'> ' further from the area than the given distance.
You must also specify the distance in squares in the 'Distance' text box. Note: This must be a number greater than 0.Army Distance to Unit - When a certain army (selected from the 'Army' lookup table) is at or near a set distance away from a given unit(s) this condition is met.
The 'Show' button will center the screen on the army selected from the 'Army' lookup table for this condition.
The 'Make' button will create an army from units you have selected (select units by holding down the Shift key and left-clicking on each unit you wish to add to this army) and give it a name like 'Plyr2Army11'. This will, in effect, 'group' this army under that name similar to the way you would group an army in-game as a number 1-9 and allow the game to access and control it as instructed in your trigger.
The 'Target Unit' button will make the unit you have selected, by left-clicking on the unit, the target for this condition.
The 'Show' button will center the screen on the 'Target Unit' selected for this condition.
The 'Operator' lookup table lets you select basic math operations to determine if this condition is met by the army's position in relation to the area.
'< ' closer to the unit(s) than the given distance.
'<=' closer to the unit(s) or at the given distance.
'==' at the given distance from the unit(s).
'>=' at the given distance from the unit(s) or further.
'> ' further from the unit(s) than the given distance.
You must also specify the distance in squares in the 'Distance' text box. Note: This must be a number greater than 0.Army in LOS -When a certain army (selected from the 'Army' lookup table) is in Line of Sight (LOS) of units of a certain player (select 1-10 from the 'Player' lookup table) this condition is met.
The 'Show' button will center the screen on the army selected from the 'Army' lookup table for this condition.
The 'Make' button will create an army from units you have selected (select units by holding down the Shift key and left-clicking on each unit you wish to add to this army) and give it a name like 'Plyr2Army11'. This will, in effect, 'group' this army under that name similar to the way you would group an army in-game as a number 1-9 and allow the game to access and control it as instructed in your trigger.Army Is Alive - As long as a certain army (selected from the 'Army' lookup table) remains alive this condition is met.
The 'Show' button will center the screen on the army selected from the 'Army' lookup table for this condition.
The 'Make' button will create an army from units you have selected (select units by holding down the Shift key and left-clicking on each unit you wish to add to this army) and give it a name like 'Plyr2Army11'. This will, in effect, 'group' this army under that name similar to the way you would group an army in-game as a number 1-9 and allow the game to access and control it as instructed in your trigger.Army Is Dead - If a certain army (selected from the 'Army' lookup table) is completely destroyed this condition is met.
The 'Show' button will center the screen on the army selected from the 'Army' lookup table for this condition.
The 'Make' button will create an army from units you have selected (select units by holding down the Shift key and left-clicking on each unit you wish to add to this army) and give it a name like 'Plyr2Army11'. This will, in effect, 'group' this army under that name similar to the way you would group an army in-game as a number 1-9 and allow the game to access and control it as instructed in your trigger. Army Owned - When a certain army (selected from the 'Army' lookup table) is owned by a certain player (select 1-10 from the 'Player' lookup table) this condition is met.
The 'Show' button will center the screen on the army selected from the 'Army' lookup table for this condition.
The 'Make' button will create an army from units you have selected (select units by holding down the Shift key and left-clicking on each unit you wish to add to this army) and give it a name like 'Plyr2Army11'. This will, in effect, 'group' this army under that name similar to the way you would group an army in-game as a number 1-9 and allow the game to access and control it as instructed in your trigger.Army Visible to Player - When a certain army (selected from the 'Army' lookup table) is visible to any player this condition is met.
The 'Show' button will center the screen on the army selected from the 'Army' lookup table for this condition.
The 'Make' button will create an army from units you have selected (select units by holding down the Shift key and left-clicking on each unit you wish to add to this army) and give it a name like 'Plyr2Army11'. This will, in effect, 'group' this army under that name similar to the way you would group an army in-game as a number 1-9 and allow the game to access and control it as instructed in your trigger. Difficulty Level - When a difficulty level is
'< ' lower than the given level.
'<=' lower than or equal to the given level.
'==' equal to the given level.
'>=' equal to or greater than the given level.
'> ' higher than the given level.
this condition is met.Diplomacy Change - When the diplomatic stance of a certain player (select 1-10 from the 'Player' lookup table) has been changed to a certain status (select Ally, Neutral or Enemy from the 'Status' lookup table) with a certain other player (select 1-10 from the 'Player' lookup table) this condition is met.Distance to Point - When a certain unit(s) is(are) at or near a set distance away from a given area this condition is met.
The 'Source Units' button will make the unit(s) you have selected (select units by holding down the Shift key and left-clicking on each unit you wish to add to this group) the unit(s) which will be used to determine if the condition is met.
The 'Show' button will center the screen on the unit(s) selected as 'source units' for this condition.
The 'Set Area' button will set the area you select, by left clicking the area, as the point from which the Source Unit(s)' distance will be measured.
The 'Show Area' button will center the screen on the area selected as 'Set Area' for this condition.
The 'Operator' lookup table lets you select basic math operations to determine if this condition is met by the unit(s) position in relation to the area.
'< ' closer to the area than the given distance.
'<=' closer to the area or at the given distance.
'==' at the given distance from the area.
'>=' at the given distance from the area or further.
'> ' further from the area than the given distance.
You must also specify the distance in squares in the 'Distance' text box. Note: This must be a number greater than 0.Distance to Unit - When a certain unit(s) is/are at or near a set distance away from a given unit(s) this condition is met.
The 'Source Units' button will make the unit(s) you have selected (select units by holding down the Shift key and left-clicking on each unit you wish to add to this group) the unit(s) which will be used to determine if the condition is met.
The first 'Show' button will center the screen on the unit(s) selected as 'source units' for this condition.
The 'Target Unit' button will make the unit you have selected, by left-clicking on the unit, the target for this condition.
The second 'Show' button will center the screen on the unit(s) selected as 'target unit(s)' for this condition.
The 'Operator' lookup table lets you select basic math operations to determine if this condition is met by the unit(s) position in relation to the area.
'< ' closer to the unit(s) than the given distance.
'<=' closer to the unit(s) or at the given distance.
'==' at the given distance from the unit(s).
'>=' at the given distance from the unit(s) or further.
'> ' further from the unit(s) than the given distance.
You must also specify the distance in squares in the 'Distance' text box. Note: This must be a number greater than 0.Gadget Visible - When a certain gadget (specified in the 'Gadget' text box) is visible to any player this condition is met.Is Alive - As long as a certain unit(s) remain alive this condition is met.
The 'Source Units' button will make the unit(s) you have selected (select units by holding down the Shift key and left-clicking on each unit you wish to add to this group) the unit(s) which will be used to determine if the condition is met.
The 'Show' button will center the screen on the unit(s) selected as 'source units' for this conditionIs Dead - If a certain unit(s) is completely destroyed this condition is met.
The 'Source Units' button will make the unit(s) you have selected (select units by holding down the Shift key and left-clicking on each unit you wish to add to this group) the unit(s) which will be used to determine if the condition is met.
The 'Show' button will center the screen on the unit(s) selected as 'source units' for this condition Percent Complete - When a certain percentage of something is completed this condition is met.
The 'Source Units' button will make the unit(s) you have selected (select units by holding down the Shift key and left-clicking on each unit you wish to add to this group) the unit(s) which will be used to determine if the condition is met.
The 'Show' button will center the screen on the unit(s) selected as 'source units' for this condition
The 'Operator' lookup table lets you select basic math operations to determine if this condition is met by the percentage completed in relation to the whole.
'< ' less than the given percentage.
'<=' less than or equal to the given percentage.
'==' equal to the given percentage.
'>=' greater than or equal to the given percentage.
'> ' greater than the given percentage.
You must also specify the percentage in the 'Percent' text box. Note: This must be a number from 0 to 100.Percent Damaged - When a certain percentage of something is damaged this condition is met.
The 'Source Units' button will make the unit(s) you have selected (select units by holding down the Shift key and left-clicking on each unit you wish to add to this group) the unit(s) which will be used to determine if the condition is met.
The 'Show' button will center the screen on the unit(s) selected as 'source units' for this condition
The 'Operator' lookup table lets you select basic math operations to determine if this condition is met by the percentage damaged in relation to the whole.
'< ' less than the given percentage.
'<=' less than or equal to the given percentage.
'==' equal to the given percentage.
'>=' greater than or equal to the given percentage.
'> ' greater than the given percentage.
You must also specify the percentage in the 'Percent' text box. Note: This must be a number from 0 to 100.Player Active - (***please insert explanation here***)Player At Pop Cap - When a certain player (select 1-10 from the 'Player' lookup table) has reached their maximum population level this condition is met.Player Defeated - When a certain player (select 1-10 from the 'Player' lookup table) has been defeated this condition is met.Player Is Building - When a certain player (select 1-10 from the 'Player' lookup table) is building a unit or building (selected from the 'Unit' lookup table) this condition is met.
The 'Operator' lookup table lets you select basic math operations to determine if this condition is met by the number of units built.
'< ' less than the given number.
'<=' less than or equal to the given number.
'==' equal to the given number.
'>=' greater than or equal to the given number.
'> ' greater than the given number.
You must also specify the number of objects built in the 'Number' text box. Note: This must be a number.Player Population - When a certain player's (select 1-10 from the 'Player' lookup table) population reaches a given number this condition is met.
The 'Operator' lookup table lets you select basic math operations to determine if this condition is met by the population present.
'< ' less than the given number.
'<=' less than or equal to the given number.
'==' equal to the given number.
'>=' greater than or equal to the given number.
'> ' greater than the given number.
You must also specify the population number in the 'Number' text box. Note: This must be a number.Player Resource Count - When a certain player's (select 1-10 from the 'Player' lookup table) resource (select Gold, Wood, Food or Favor from the '