Is there a foundry tutorial?

irishxp

Hi all!
As I've stated in other threads, I'm a new lifer: even though I don't play much (I have many obligations in real life), I like this game A LOT and I wanted to support it.
Obviously, this is not the point of the topic, I just tend to talk\write a lot

With buying LTS I got access to the foundry.
I know that it is temporarly locked but I can't wait to try out this editor
So, in the meanwhile, I thought I could spend some time trying to learn HOW TO.
As topic title, is there any tutorial on how to design missions and all that is of concern to foundry?

P.S. = I'm Italian, English is not my first language but I try to write as comprehensible as possible; pardon me, and if there is something that's not clear, let me know

stardestroyer001

Hello!

Well for starters, from personal experience, just playing around in the Foundry and getting used to the interface/functions is the number one way to learn how to use it. It's a shame the Foundry is currently offline, but once it goes back up, I highly recommend starting a sandbox map and learning how to create stuff.

That being said, there are some basics I can tell you about.

Once the Foundry is brought online, you will be able to create a Foundry character. I recommend naming this character "Mister Foundry" or something with "foundry" in the name, just so your friends don't get confused as to whether or not you're in the game. After creating your character, you will be granted 4 Foundry mission slots.

Start by creating a new mission (a sandbox mission, preferably). There should be a Create Mission button in the user interface (UI). Wait for the Foundry to load, then you will be brought to the Foundry Editor.

There's various tabs in the Foundry Editor that you can use to create your mission.

• Mission Info: You can name your mission, add the "In Progress" mission description, set as Starfleet/Klingon mission, and add personal notes.
• Story: You can add dialogues, maps, triggers, and zone changes here.
• Maps: You can create custom maps, or use a map made by Cryptic (example: DS9)
• Dialogue: You can edit the dialogue boxes in your mission, including adding texts of different colours, changing portraits, adding titles, naming buttons, etc.
• Costumes: You can create the look of your characters, both space and ground, in your mission. Very similar to the Costume Creator in the regular game - you can set all sorts of stuff for your ground costumes, and ship hull types and stuff in space costumes.

There are three buttons at the top right of the Map editor: a yellow circle, a grid, and a green angle. I would advise to leave these off at all times, and to disable it each time you load up a Foundry mission in the Foundry Editor.

This is only the tip of the iceberg - a whole wack of crazy mapmaking, dialogue editing, storymaking etc can be done in this Foundry editor. I suggest finding Nagorak and asking about his youtube videos, which give you a whole lot more info than I can using words. But most of all, your personal experience with the Foundry will be the most valuable information to yourself. Practice makes perfect.

Hope this helps a bit. (It should get easier once the Foundry is brought back online, and you can experiment with the Foundry.)

irishxp

Oh it sure is helpful!
Many thanks for these informations!
I'll look forward to play with the foundry!

thegreendragoon1

Greetings, Irishxp, and congrats on becoming a lifer. I picked mine up a couple years ago and haven't regretted it.

I'm not going to lie to you and say the Foundry is easy to get into. The art of mission making alone can be a challenge before you get to the complexity of the tools. Needless to say, it requires a great deal of patience and perseverance. That said, it can also be an incredibly rewarding experience.

To get you started off, I recommend hitting up the Tutorial Guide on StarbaseUGC.com and dive in to the wealth of knowledge there.

Beyond that I can offer a bit of general advice. As you plan out your mission you'll run into limitations of the Foundry. My recommendation is to not let these instances get you frustrated. Some limitations will require you to rewrite your story around it, but other may have workarounds or clever tricks to dance around them. This is where consulting your fellow foundry authors comes in handy. You can post your questions here on the forums, or you can head over to the StarbaseUGC chat channel (no installation or signup required) and ask your questions directly to your fellow authors. Most authors are more than happy to help you if they can, and even explain clever tricks they've figured out themselves.

Lastly, it's best when making a foundry mission, to make it for yourself. It's hard to get noticed in the Foundry and it's important that you don't set yourself up for disappointment when you first mission doesn't get a ton of plays. Write for yourself, always be looking to improve, don't be afraid to take criticism, and stick with it.

Welcome to the Foundry. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

P.S. Your English sounds fine to me.

irishxp

Wohohoho, that's TONS of infos over there!
A really big thank you!
It appears that there's much to learn: I don't see myself publishing anytime soon but rest assured you guys will appear in the special thank you section

kirksplat

irishxp wrote: »

Wohohoho, that's TONS of infos over there!
A really big thank you!
It appears that there's much to learn: I don't see myself publishing anytime soon but rest assured you guys will appear in the special thank you section

Please check out my "back to basics" tutorials, 1-8. Just those tutorials should help you get started.