All this might seem very confusing, but no panic! It's
very easy and takes no more than five minutes!
To run custom
missions, you'll have to download the Deslabber Kit (also known as Mission
DevKit Alpha) from the official Independence War Website. Click the link below. Don't worry, it's just a 85 K
download.
http://www.independencewar.com/downloadsandsupport/IWAR/mission_devkit_alpha.htm
In case the
webmaster has changed the location of the DevKit, go directly to the official
Independence War Website and look for it:
http://www.independencewar.com
2. Preparations
Once you've
downloaded the DevKit, unzip the file called "Deslab.exe" into the
following directory:
{{Your I-War Directory}} stands for the directory in which you have
installed I-War. This can be something like "C:\program files\i-war",
or "C:\particle systems\independence war", etc.
Now open a DOS-window and go to the directory you've just placed the Deslab.exe
into.
Type the following commands:
DESLAB scripts.slb
DESLAB text.slb
DESLAB shapes.slb
Here we go! You're prepared to install and run any custom I-War
missions:
3. Installing a mission
Usually, if the creator of the custom mission wasn't too lazy ;-), he
included a README-file with instructions what to do now. If not, this section
will help you:
Once you've downloaded a custom I-War mission, you will find files with
these extensions (not necessarily all of them): ".scr " ".txt"
".shp" ".pix" ".lwo"
3.1. Put all ".scr"-files
(this is the only file type that EVERY custom mission must include, otherwise
you can't play it) into the folder
{{Your I-War Directory}}\psg\resource\scripts\missions
An .scr-files is the mission
script itself. Usually, only one .scr-file comes with each custom mission.
3.2. For the textfiles (".txt"-extension),
you'll have to create a new folder in the existing directory
{{Your I-War Directory}}\psg\resource\text
Usually, the new folder will
have the same name as the .scr-file mentioned above, unless the mission
creator's README-file tells you something different. This means you'll have to
put all .txt-files here:
{{Your I-War Directory}}\psg\resource\text\{{new
folder}}
txt.-files in I-War are used
for dialogues and objectives.
3.3. Some custom mission
contain ".shp"-files. Put them all here:
{{Your I-War Directory}}\psg\resource\scripts\ships
.shp-files are new ship
scripts detailing a ship's in-game performance.
3.4. Some missions contain ".pix"-files.
Unless the README-file of the mission tells you something different, put them
here:
{{Your I-War Directory}}\psg\resource\art\textures\indieships
.pix-files are new ship textures
(usually Indie paint jobs)
3.5. Some missions contain
".lwo"-files. Put them all here:
{{Your I-War Directory}}\psg\resource\shapes
.lwo-files are new ship
models.
Okay, now you can go and play the custom I-War mission:
4. Running the custom mission
Alright, now this is the last step: Create a shortcut to your I-War
executable. (usually "IWar.exe" ore something like
"Independencewar.exe") If you don't know how to create a shortcut in
windows: Right click your IWar.exe and drag it to somewhere. Then a menu will
pop up. Select "Create shortcut".
Edit the target line like this (by right-clicking on the shortcut and
selecting "properties")
{{Your I-War directory}}\IWar.exe -nologos -noslab {{Your I-War
directory again}}\psg\resource\scripts\missions\{{name of the scr-file that
came with the mission}}
Then run the shortcut. Enjoy!
5. An Example…
Okay, now let's assume your custom mission contains a file called
"Custom1.scr" and text files called "t10.txt" and
"t20.txt". Let's assume your I-War executable is "C:\particle
systems\i-war\iwar.exe"…
Put "Custom1.scr" here: C:\particle system\i-war\psg\resource\scripts\missions
Then create this new folder and put all the t10.txt and t20.txt into
it: C:\particle system\i-war\psg\resource\text\Custom1
To run the mission, your shortcut would look like this:
C:\particle systems\i-war\iwar.exe -nologos -noslab C:\particle system\i-war\psg\resource\scripts\missions\Custom1.scr
If you still have problems installing a custom missions, just feel free to email me at: [email protected]
And if you're looking for some custom missions to play and other nice I-War stuff, please visit Cormorant's Place: http://www.geocities.com/icormorant
peace
cormorant