Lua Scripting

To access Lua for your mission you first have to place a script object on the game world.

1. Create a new Mission file
2. Insert a USMC Rifleman on to the Map
3. Set the USMC Rifleman as Player controlled
4. Click on the Systems tab, expand the Scripting folder and select the Level script entity.
5. Click on the map to place the Level Script entity. You can move the Level script entity away from the map area.

There are two ways to access the script, firstly you will see that it has added an extra tab on top of the Map object, or by clicking on the Level script entity on the map and then in the Lua Script properties click on the Edit Script button as shown below the Map Editor tabs.

Lua scripts are organised in to sections called functions, which reference a particular event in the game. You can write functions that can cover a wide range of gameplay mechanics, for instance defining what happens when the player has destroyed a target, or entered a particular zone.

Functions can be called before the start of the mission, using a timer, on the press of a button or in a number of other ways.

A typical function and its format can be seen in the Figure below.

The function destroys a specific vehicle, which in this case is a vehicle called “destlav00”. This will cause the vehicle to be totally destroyed in the same way as if it had been hit by heavy munitions such as artillery. It will also cause damage to those who are nearby. This function is called when the mission is first started (onMissionStart).