User Guide
63
RAMPING DIFFICULTY
The Active In settings are the primary mechanisms for ramping difficulty in your maps. When building maps
with variable difficulties, you should begin by creating all scripts on the either the hardest or easiest difficulty
setting.
When you have completed the map to your satisfaction for the defined difficulty level, adjust the Active In
settings of your scripts to test them under other difficulty settings.
EA TIP: When you create a team under Brutal difficulty setting, break it up into multiple
teams. Then, you can reduce the number of teams for easier difficulty settings. For Hard and
Brutal settings, you can set the Attack checkbox under Behavior to make units more
aggressive.
As a final resort, you can write new scripts for the other difficulty levels. The Copy feature works well if you
need scripts that are identical except for a few small changes.
ORGANIZING YOUR SCRIPTS
In the Scripts window, you can organize your scripts to simplify their development and editing. By creating
and moving folders, you can keep track of the location of your scripts.
❍
To toggle the active state of a script or folder, right-click on the folder. Select the menu item to toggle
the state. All scripts inside an inactive folder are not available, which is useful for debugging purposes.
NOTE: You cannot delete or disable the base folders for players that have been created.
✯
If a script has a red question mark over its icon in the Scripts directory, some element of the script has
not been defined.
SCRIPT FOLDERS
The Scripts window organizes scripts like the files in a directory. Scripts should be placed in the same folder
if they refer to each other, apply to a set piece event in the mission, or link together through another
grouping mechanism.
❍
To create a new folder, click NEW FOLDER. In the window, enter a name for the folder. Select whether
the folder is full of subroutine scripts and whether the folder scripts are active at startup.
Some folder creation tips:
✯
Put scripts that apply to all players in the Neutral folder. These scripts include map initializations, win
conditions, and loss conditions.
✯
Scripts that apply a player should be placed in the player’s folder.
✯
Inside a player’s folder, you can organize scripts by geographic area, stage of the game (Begin, Middle,
or End), or another logical convention.
COPYING AND DELETING SCRIPTS
After scripts are created, you can use them as templates to build other scripts. You can also move them to
other folders.
❍
To copy a script, select it and click COPY. The copied script is placed in the same directory as the source
and given a name with a “C” at the end.
❍
To move a script, click and drag it to a different folder.
❍
To delete a script, select it and click DELETE.
❍
To cancel your edits in the scripting window, click CANCEL. All unsaved changes are discarded.










