comms

since 1.5

Comm Editing 

by Ed Benowitz

Introduction

Each character provides audio and video communications with captions.  All of this information is provided in a pilotname.comms.xml file.  For example, this file might be named maniac.comms.xml.  When you select the "maniac" comm in the mission editor,  all communications will reference values within the maniac.commsxml file.  
Let's look at the basic structure of a comms.xml


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<comms defaultvideo="helmet.avi"  xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="comms.xsd" >
  <comm key="dead" caption="Almost clear, I think I can make it... AAAH!" sound="maniac_dead.wav" video="helmet_dead.avi" />
</comms>

Ignore the first line.

The default video is an option.  If no videos are specified later, this one is used.
	defaultvideo="helmet.avi"

Next is the comm.  A comm is any line a character speaks.  Comms are sent automatically by the game engine.  The engine looks up a specific comm by its key.  For example, when a ship is destroyed, the engine automatically plays a comm.  As you can see above, the engine will look for the 
	<comm key="dead"

and will then play the associated sounds, video, and caption.  Multiple comm lines should be added.

Don't forget, you can add more than one comm with the same key.  For example, you could add more than one insult comm, and the game will randomly choose which one to play, for more variety.


Roles

The particular keys that should be provided in a file depend upon the role of the character.  The keys required for a wingman are different from those required from an enemy only.  Here, I list the keys required, depending on the role


Player Character:
Wingman:
A friendly or neutral ship that is not a wingman
Carrier that you can land on
Enemy