Ghost Recon

Basic Igor Guide (Sections 1 – 5)

V1.0

Matthias Dohmen
10/23/2002

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Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 4
1: Mission Conception ........................................................................................................ 5
2: Basic Igor Interface ......................................................................................................... 6
Overview Map................................................................................................................. 7
2d Command Map........................................................................................................... 8
Placed Elements List ....................................................................................................... 9
Available Elements List ................................................................................................ 10
3d Environment View ................................................................................................... 11
Element Properties ........................................................................................................ 12
The Menu Bar............................................................................................................ 12
3: Basic Mission Setup...................................................................................................... 13
Element Definitions....................................................................................................... 14
Actors, Teams, Platoons, and Companies ................................................................. 14
Vehicles..................................................................................................................... 14
Design Notes ............................................................................................................. 14
Effects........................................................................................................................ 15
Plans .......................................................................................................................... 15
Sounds ....................................................................................................................... 15
Stations ...................................................................................................................... 15
Waypoints.................................................................................................................. 15
Fixed Weapons.......................................................................................................... 15
Zones ......................................................................................................................... 15
Element Placement........................................................................................................ 16
Element Deleting....................................................................................................... 16
Element Movement ................................................................................................... 16
Element Naming........................................................................................................ 16
Creating Companies, Platoons, and Teams............................................................... 16
Placing Actors ........................................................................................................... 17
Placing Vehicles........................................................................................................ 17
Placing Zones ............................................................................................................ 18
Assigning Plans ......................................................................................................... 18
Basic Mission Setup Tutorial Checklist .................................................................... 20
4: Basic Single Player Scripting........................................................................................ 22
Intermediate Planning ................................................................................................... 23
Plans vs. Trigger Plans .............................................................................................. 23
Plan Steps .................................................................................................................. 23
Plan Step List ............................................................................................................ 24
Special Case Plans..................................................................................................... 27
Basic Objectives............................................................................................................ 29
Briefing Information ..................................................................................................... 30
Default Platoon Setup.................................................................................................... 32
Mission Properties..................................................................................................... 32
Basic Trigger Plans ....................................................................................................... 33
The Script Editing Window....................................................................................... 33

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 Basic Trigger Events ................................................................................................. 35
Basic Responses ........................................................................................................ 38
Basic Single Player Scripting Tutorial Checklist...................................................... 41
5: Basic Multiplayer Scripting .......................................................................................... 42
Game Mode Zone Requirements................................................................................... 42

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Introduction
If you are reading this document, it’s because you want to make missions for
Ghost Recon. This document is a tutorial that will show you, step-by-step, how to use
Igor and the basic mission functionality.
The first section will touch on the methodology behind mission design, which
presents questions you should answer before you even run Igor. The second section will
introduce you to the basic elements of Igor’s interface and what purpose those elements
serve. The third section will cover the most basic elements of single-player mission
scripting, placing elements in a map and making them do something. The fourth section
will cover the basics of the scripting language Igor uses and how to set it up so you can
have a mission that can be completed using objectives. The fifth section shows how to
make any map work with existing multiplayer game types.
Throughout the document, there will be entries in italics that are hands-on
examples of the concepts presented in appropriate section.

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1: Mission Conception
Before you open Igor for the first time, you should have some idea of what you
want to do with it. If you are making your own map, you should have a good idea of
what you want in terms of environment for the mission you’re thinking about, and you
should know what you want to have happen in the mission. If you’re not making your
own map, you should take a moment to look through all the maps that are included with
Ghost Recon, Desert Siege, and Island Thunder. Any map, even if it’s multiplayer-only
in Ghost Recon, can be used to make a single-player mission.
When you find a map you want to make a mission for, take a moment to ask
yourself what specifically in the map you like and why. If there’s a ridge that provides a
nice view of the area, maybe you are thinking that the player could put a sniper there and
effectively cover the vista in front of him, or likewise that it’d be a challenge to eliminate
an enemy sniper that holds that position. Maybe you like the kind of combat an area
provides, or maybe you just like the look and feel of a particular area. Keep in mind that
weather effects, including rain and fog, are controlled in the script. Also note that the sky
in a given mission in Ghost Recon can also be changed to a different skybox using Igor,
so if a you find a map you like but it’s raining and the sky is cloudy, you can change it to
not rain and find a sky you like from a different map to use for your mission. We’ll cover
how to do all this later in the document, but for now you should make sure you jot down
all the ideas you have for a mission and its environment before you begin scripting. This
will make things easier down the road, and it’ll also help you figure out what went wrong
or right with a mission you made when you revise that mission or start on another
mission.
In summary, when you find a map you like, if you made it or not, write down the
ideas you have for your mission, and don’t be afraid to put down specific events or
encounters you’d like to see in a mission. Come up with what kind of objective or
objectives you want in your mission, and what kind of enemies you want the player to
encounter, keeping in mind enemy skill level, weapons, and appearance. Put it all down
on paper now, because even the coolest idea can be forgotten once something else comes
up.
Don’t worry if something you’ve written down won’t work the way you want in a
mission or doesn’t turn out to be what you thought it would. Part of making a mission is
revision, and you have to be able to come up with workable solutions to any dilemmas
you encounter while making a mission. Remember, sometimes drastic changes to some
part of a mission, even if you liked that part of a mission a lot, may work out better than
what you originally intended.

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2: Basic Igor Interface

1
Overview
Map 2 3
Placed
2d Command
Elements
Map
List

4
Available
Elements
List 5 6
Element
3d Environment
Properties
View

This is Igor. Igor is made up of a number of windows that work together to

present the user with information about every element of a mission and the means by
which the user can change those elements.
The windows include an Overview Map window in the upper left corner [1], a 2d
Command Map window in the upper center [2], a Placed Elements List in the upper right
corner [3], an Available Elements List window in the lower left corner [4], a 3d
Environment View window in the bottom center [5], and an Element Properties window
in the lower right corner [6]. Note that all these windows can have their size changed by
the user. Just click and drag on the bar surrounding a window to enlarge or shrink it.

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Overview Map

The Overview Map window is a small

overhead map of the collision walls of
whatever map is loaded into Igor. The
collision walls are the impassible walls that the
player and the enemies cannot cross if they are
in a ground-based vehicle or on foot and are
the blue outlines you see in this window and
the 2d Command Map window.
You can also see a yellow angle and a
red box in addition to the collision walls. The
yellow angle is the 2d representation of the 3d
viewpoint of the user in the 3d Environment
View. The red box shows the amount the user
can see in the 2d Command Map window.
How to change these are presented in the sections covering those windows.
The Overview Map’s primary use is to let the user become oriented at a
glance so they know what part of the map they are looking at in the 3d Environment
View and the 2d Command Map, and for quick map navigation.
Clicking inside the Overview Map will send the player’s view in the 2d
Command Map and the 3d Environment View to wherever the user clicked. The camera
view in the 3d Environment View will be in the center of the area.

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2d Command Map

The 2d Command Map window shows the placements of all placed elements in a
mission. The currently selected element is highlighted by a yellow box or the entire
element will turn yellow, depending on the type of elements. Actors, Vehicles, Effects,
Notes, Sounds, Waypoints, and Weapons will all display the yellow box, while different
parts of Plans, Zones, and other elements are turned yellow. When something is selected
in this view, it is also selected in the Placed Elements List, and its properties will appear
in the Element Properties window.
Also displayed in this window is the current Level the user is planning to (for
areas that may have rooms on top of rooms), the command map as presented in the actual
game, collision walls, trees, the camera position in the 3d Environment View, map labels
of map objects, room labels, and a variety of debug information. All these will be
covered in the section dealing with the View Menu later in the document, as will how to
show or hide these things from view in this window.
Using the cursor keys or by holding down the right mouse button and dragging,
you can move your view of the 2d Command Map around. Use either the mouse wheel
or the page up/page down keys to zoom your view in or out. Your view of this area
cannot be rotated. Moving the view around and adjusting the zoom in this window will
be reflected in the Overview Map by the red box moving or having its size change.
Pressing “+” or “-“ on the number pad will change the planning level.
This window is here as your best representation of the starting position of many
elements in a mission. This is the window where you place and move elements, adjust
the size of zones, change paths, etc. How the user places, moves, and adjusts elements
will be covered in the Basic Mission Setup section of this document.

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Placed Elements List
The Placed Elements List shows everything
that has been placed or created by the user for use
in the specific mission currently loaded into Igor.
The Map Name and the Mission Name are
displayed at the top of the list, and below it are
alphabetically arranged categories of Elements
with other lists of Elements nested within them.
The user can select any Element in this list
by left clicking on it, which will cause the Element
to be highlighted in the 2d Command Map window
as if the user had clicked on it in that window, and
its properties will appear in the Element Properties
window.
In addition to simply being selected, the
user can change the Element’s place in the
organization of the list. For example, if the user
wanted to move one Actor from one Team to
another, he’d drag the Actor from his current
location on the list to the new team the user wants
him to be on elsewhere on the list. The Actor
would now be associated with the new Team as if
he’d been created in that Team from the start.
This window is the quickest way to find a
specific Element within a mission. If the user has
created a logical naming convention for his Elements (which is covered in the Basic
Mission Setup section) it should be a simple matter to find that element in this list.
The basic list organization is as follows:
Companies
- Platoons within that Company
- Teams within that Platoon
- Actors within that Team
- Plans assigned to that Team
Command Waypoints
Defense Stations
Design Notes
Fixed Weapons
Map Rooms
Sound Emitters
Special Effects
Trigger Plans
Zones
If the user creates more than one Company, those Companies appear
alphabetically before it will list Command Waypoints. If the player creates multiple
Platoons within the same Company, it will display those Platoons alphabetically inside

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that Company, pushing the rest of the information down as the list branches and expands.
The same holds true for Teams, Actors, and all the other Elements in the list. Note that
Vehicles are considered Platoons in terms of the organization, but are displayed after
Platoons in the Placed Elements List.
When the user creates a new Element and places it in the 2d Command Map
window, it will automatically be selected in this window, and will start in its appropriate
location within the list organization. Creating new Elements will be covered in the Basic
Mission Setup section.

Available Elements List

The Available Elements List shows the user
what elements are available for placing in a mission.
These elements are separated into categories, and
these categories appear as tabs across the top of the
window. Clicking on a tab will make the window
display an alphabetical list of all the available
elements in that category. The available Elements
are determined by the Ghost Recon mods that are
currently active. For example, if Desert Siege is
installed but not an active mod, only the normal
Ghost Recon Elements will be shown. If Desert
Siege is active, its elements will be shown along with
the elements from Ghost Recon.
Clicking on an Element within one of these
lists will ready that Element to be placed within a
mission. Placing readied Elements will be covered in
the Basic Mission Setup section.
The Actors category shows all available actor
files that can be placed in a mission.
The Misc category is a catch-all category for
Elements that don’t fit anywhere else. It includes
Companies, Effects, Design Notes, Plans, Platoons,
Stations, Teams, Waypoints, specific Fixed
Weapons, and Zones.
The Plans category covers all the different
plan steps that may be assigned to a team or a
vehicle. These will be covered in the Basic Mission
Setup section.
The Sounds section is a list of all available
sounds that can be placed in a mission. Determining
what .wav files show up on this list is a function of
the Sound Volume Editor.
The Vehicles category covers all vehicles that
area available to place in a mission.

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3d Environment View

The 3d Environment View shows the actual map geometry from the user’s point
of view, represented as the yellow-bar camera in the Overview Map and the 2d
Command Map. Any selected Element that is highlighted in the 2d Command Map
window as a square will show up here as a yellow ring at its 3d location in the mission.
The actual appearance of the placed Element will not appear in the 3d Environment
View, it will just appear as a yellow ring.
To move in this view, the W, S, A, & D keys are used to move forward,
backward, to the left, and to the right, respectively. Clicking and dragging the mouse in
this view will point the camera in a different direction, with forward and backward being
relative to this direction, giving the user a flying view of whatever they want to look at in
the environment. Also, the Q and E keys can be used to move up and down, respectively.
The user’s movement is not hindered by gravity or collision walls in the 3d Environment
View.
This window is most useful to determine the exact starting location of any
Element. If an Element is inside the map geometry, the yellow ring will turn to yellow
dashes instead of a solid circle. The user can only see the highlighted Element in this
view, and thus can only see the position of one Element at a time. A path with more than
one point will show all the points along the path, as will placed linear sounds (covered in
Basic Mission Setup).

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Element Properties
The Element Properties window shows the
properties for the currently selected Element.
These properties change according to what
category the Element falls into, and sometimes
what specific Element is selected.
Selecting an Element in either the 2d
Command Map or the Placed Elements List will
bring its properties up in the Element Properties
window. Changing the basic properties of an
Element will be covered in the Basic Mission
Setup section.
You may want to adjust the size of this
window so its top line meets the line between the
2d Command Map window and the 3d
Environment View window. If you do not re-size
the window, even though it has a scroll-bar, it may
be easy to miss important information displayed in
the Element Properties if you are checking the
properties for a number of Elements rapidly.

The Menu Bar

The Menu Bar has some standard items in it, like file open, file save, save as, etc.,
but also contains a number of Igor-specific items. The different functions of these menu
items will be covered where appropriate throughout the document.

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3: Basic Mission Setup
After familiarizing yourself with Igor’s interface, and now that you have at least
some idea of what you want in a mission, it’s time to actually use Igor to make something
happen. This section of the document will detail how to use the basic functions of Igor to
place different elements of a mission, organize them logically, and make them do basic
actions from the mission start. Once you are done with this section, you should not only
have a playable mission that you can interact with, but you will also have a good
understanding of how and why you had to do things the way you did.
The first part of this section will define the different elements of basic scripting in
Igor, such as Actors, Vehicles, Plans, etc, and will also go into detail about the properties
of the elements you’ll be using during this section. The second part of this section will
go into the mechanics of placing objects and making them do what you want.

To open an existing mission file, click on File, then Open. It will show you a list
of Mission Files in the default directory for the currently active mod. Double-click on
one of the files to make Igor open it. For the next step, close Igor.
To start a new mission, start up Igor but don’t open an existing mission file. Click
on Edit, then on Map. This will open the Map Properties window. Click on the button
next to Environment, and you will be presented with a window showing the map folders
in the map directory of the currently active mod. Go into the folder of the map you want
(for this tutorial, we’ll use C01_Plantation from Island Thunder), and then double-click
the .env file to make Igor load this map. Click on File, then click Save As to save a blank
mission file using this .env file. For purposes of this Tutorial, name the file
“igortutorial01.mis”. Make sure you save the mission in the “missions” folder. You
may need to navigate up one or two directories before you find it. Note that it will
default to the missions folder for the default mod for Igor.

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Element Definitions
A number of different elements make up what the user can and cannot change
using Igor. These elements include Actors, Teams, Platoons, Companies, Effects, Design
Notes, Plans, Sounds, Stations, Vehicles, Waypoints, Weapons, and Zones.

Actors, Teams, Platoons, and Companies

When a player plays a mission, all the enemy and friendly units on a map during a
mission are Actors. Actors are placed within Teams, which are nested in Platoons, which
are in turn nested within Companies. Each level of this organization is governed by
different AI routines depending on what is going on in the game. Actor AI governs an
individual actor’s actions, including how their skills translate into in-game actions, how
fast they should move, etc. Team AI governs how a small unit (Teams can have no more
than 6 Actors) team will behave together during the game and how they respond to
stimuli. Platoon AI assumes that Teams have radio communication between them.
Platoon AI governs how Teams work with other Teams within the same Platoon. Platoon
AI is what produces, among other behaviors, the flanking behavior seen so often in Ghost
Recon. Company level AI tells Actors what can and cannot be considered a threat
(everyone outside their Company is a threat), and also moves Actors out of the way of
Vehicles on the same Company.
The organization of these different elements can affect gameplay drastically. The
act of moving more teams onto one platoon makes the flanking behavior happen more
often, as having more actors on one team makes that team more lethal. Also, Plans can
only be assigned to Teams and Vehicles. However, the only Elements out of these four
that the user actually places in a physical space within the environment are Actors.
The Actor’s appearance, name, armor, and statistics are contained in an Actor File
(files with the “atr” extension). Actor files are separate files created before mission
scripting and usually edited after initial scripting has been completed. Created actor files
appear in the Available Elements List under the “Actors” tab, and the only actor files
shown are the ones in active mods. For now, the Actors that appear in the Actors tab that
came with Ghost Recon or any of its mission packs will suffice.

Vehicles
Vehicles are handled in the same way as Actors, except that they do not go into
Teams or Platoons. Instead, Vehicles are like Platoons, as they appear within a
Company, but they may be assigned plans like a Team. A Vehicle’s appearance, type,
and other attributes are contained in a Vehicle file, the same way that Actors have Actor
Files.

Design Notes
If you want to place a message for the user that can only be seen in Igor, then you
place a Design Note (or just “Note”). When a Note is placed, it can have a message
attached to it that appears in the 2d Command Map window. They have no impact on
gameplay.

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Effects
Effects are markers that can be referenced in Igor’s scripting language and are the
special effects such as debris and explosions from scripted events.

Plans
Plans are the fundamental actions that Vehicles or Actors can perform. They can
be given to a Vehicle or Actor at the start of a mission or triggered by the scripting
language. Plans will be gone over in detail in the second part of this section.

Sounds
Sounds are placed elements, like Actors, and are always .wav files. They should
be 22 kHz or less. For them to show up in the Available Elements window, they have to
have been Reconciled by the Sound Volume Editor.

Stations
Stations (or “Defense Stations”) are used by specific plan steps to produce
specific actions for Actors. For example, a sniper that the user doesn’t want to have
move around needs a Station. Uses of Stations will be covered in the second part of this
section.

Waypoints
Waypoints are used to mark locations on the in-game command map or on the
briefing screen. Waypoints will be covered in the second part of this section.

Fixed Weapons
Stationary weapons, like the .50 cal machine gun or the automatic grenade
launcher are much like vehicles, except they cannot be assigned a plan. Their use will be
covered in the second part of this section.

Zones
Zones are used to define areas for triggers in the scripting language, defining the
insertion area for a mission, or for multiplayer game types. The second section will cover
using Zones for the insertion area, and the other Zone uses will be covered in the various
Scripting sections.

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Element Placement
The basic method for placing elements is to ctrl-click on the 2d Command Map
window after an element has been selected in the Available Elements window. The basic
method for changing the initial facing of Vehicles, Fixed Weapons, Zones, and Actors is
to select the appropriate element, and then shift-click in the 2d Command Map window in
the direction the user wants them to face. Some elements are placed differently, but
placement of all Elements necessary for basic scripting will be detailed below.

Element Deleting
Deleting an Element is simple. Have the Element selected, either in the 2d
Command Map window or the Placed Elements List, and press the delete key. If the
Element has been referenced in the script, it will prompt to make sure the Element isn’t
accidentally deleted, as that could cause the script to cease functioning correctly.

Element Movement
Most Elements can be moved by selecting them on the 2d Command Map
window, then dragging and dropping them in the desired location. To move a non-placed
Element, such as a Platoon, select it in the Placed Elements List, then drag and drop it to
the desired location in the Placed Elements List.

Element Naming
Name placed objects logically, so it will be easy to find them later on in the
scripting process and identify them in the scripting language. To change the name of any
placed element, select that element in the Placed Elements window, and then look in the
Element Properties window.
Most elements will have at least one section of
their properties that look like this, where the user can
change the element’s name. To change an element’s
name, click on the button next to “Name” and type in what
you want the new name to be in the “Set Name” window
that pops up, and then click “ok”. The new name will take
effect immediately.

Creating Companies, Platoons, and Teams

To create a Company, Platoon, or Team, double-click on either “Company”,
“Platoon”, or “Team” under the Misc tab of the Available Elements window. This will
create the appropriate element in the Placed Elements window, and its name will be the
type of element it is followed by a number. The name should be changed to a logical
name that fits with the rest of the naming format used in the mission.

Before we start, make sure that you have an empty mission selected. After it has
loaded, click on Edit in the Menu Bar, and then click on Mission. This will bring up the
Mission Properties window. This window will be described in detail later, but for now
make sure there’s a check next to “Single Player”, and enter a Mission Name – For this
tutorial, use the name “Igor Tutorial 01”. Click “Ok” when you’re done, and then click

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Edit on the Menu Bar, and then click on Map. This will open the Map Properties
window. Just make sure that “Available to Custom Game Types” has a check next to it,
and click “Ok”.
After you have a blank mission opened, go ahead and create a Company. Double
click on “Company” under the Misc tab in the Available Elements window. Now, you’ll
see that it has been created in the Placed Elements List and that its properties are in the
Element Properties window. Go ahead and change its name to “Enemies”.
After that, make sure the Company is still selected in the Placed Elements List.
Then, double click on “Platoon” under the Misc tab in the Available Elements window.
Name this Platoon “Platoon – Main Force”.
After the Platoon is created, create a Team under that Platoon and name it
“Team – Main Force 1”. When they’re all created, make sure they’re all nested properly
in the Placed Elements List – the Team should appear under the Platoon, and the Platoon
should appear under the Company. There should only be 1 of each.

Placing Actors
To place an Actor, select an actor from the Actors tab in the Available Elements
window. Then, ctrl-click on the location the Actor should start at on the 2d Command
Map window. The Actor will appear on the 2d Command Map window and in the Placed
Elements List, and the Actor’s properties will be displayed in the Element Properties
window. If there was no team previously selected in the Placed Elements List, Igor will
ask if a default team should be created. If a team is created in this way, the entire
supporting structure for the team (platoon and company) will be created if they don’t
already exist in the Placed Elements List. Remember that if the Actor is in a different
Team than what was intended, the Actor can be dragged and dropped into the appropriate
Team. The Actor will be facing to the right until its facing is changed by the user.

Before you can place Actors, you should know where you can and cannot place
them. Click on “View” in the Menu Bar, and then click on “Debug Info”, and then click
on “Floors”. Areas in the 2d Command Map window should now turn blue. You can
only place Actors on the blue space. The same is true for Vehicles and most other
Elements, except for Effects and Sounds.
After you can see the floors, place 6 guys into Team – Main Force 1 by selecting
an Actor (it doesn’t matter which one) from under the Actors tab in the Available
Elements window, and ctrl-clicking six times on the 2d Command Map window. Keep
them all in the same general area.
After they’re all placed, select them one at a time in the Placed Elements List and
name them in order from “Main Force 1A” to “Main Force 1F”. You can also change
their facing if you want. Don’t worry about their other properties yet – we’ll get to those
later.

Placing Vehicles
To place a Vehicle, select a vehicle from the Vehicles tab in the Available
Elements window. Then, just like placing an Actor, ctrl-click on the location the Vehicle
should start at on the 2d Command Map window. The Vehicle will appear on the 2d
Command Map window and in the Placed Elements List, and the Vehicle’s properties

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will be displayed in the Element Properties window. The Vehicle will be facing to the
right until its facing is changed by the user.

Place a Jeep near the 6-man team you just placed. Go to the Vehicles tab in the
Available Elements window and select “jeep.vcl”. Ctrl-click on the 2d Command Map
window somewhere near Team – Main Force 1 and then name the Jeep “Jeep -Main
Force 1”. Notice the pattern in the naming convention? This will help out in the long
run.

Placing Zones
Placing Zones is like placing an Effect, Actor, or Vehicle, except that after it is
placed, its size can be changed by selecting it and dragging one of the highlighted corners
until it is the desired size. It will initially face to the right. If anything uses that Zone as
an Insertion Zone, the facing will determine which way the Element appearing in that
Zone will initially face.

Place a zone somewhere on the map that is kind of far away from Team – Main
Force 1. After this zone is placed, name it “Insertion”, and in the Element Properties
window make sure “Insertion” has a check in the box next to it. Make sure that you have
enlarged the Zone Properties window by dragging the top bar up or make sure that you
scroll all of the way to the bottom of the window – that’s where the “Insertion” and
“Extraction” check boxes are located. Change the facing of it so it points toward Team
– Main Force 1, and make sure all the corners are on a Floor, and that none of the sides
of the Zone intersect collision walls.

Assigning Plans
To assign a Plan to a Team or a Vehicle, have the Team or Vehicle selected in the
Placed Elements List, and then double click on Plan under the Misc tab of the Available
Elements window. Then, make sure the Plan is selected in the Placed Elements List, and
click the Plans tab in the Available Elements window. Any of these plan steps can be
double clicked on to be added to the selected Plan. The different plan steps will be
covered in detail in the Basic Single Player Scripting section.

Assign a plan called “Plan – Main Force 1” to “Team – Main Force 1”. For this
plan, we’re just going to use one plan step – “Path”. Select “Path” from the Plans tab
in the Available Elements window, and then ctrl-click in the 2d Command Map window
where you want the Path to start. Now, shift-click near (but not too near) Jeep – Main
Force 1 to place the next part of the path, and do this a few times until you have circled
the jeep once. No need to match up the first and last part of the path; instead, in the
Element Properties window, make sure there’s a dot in the circle next to “Loop”. Now,
the Team AI will tell every actor in that team to follow that path over and over again in a
loop until they have to react to other stimuli.

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 The 2d Command Map window and the Placed Elements List should look
something like this.
Now, click on File and then Save to save the mission and run Ghost Recon. Go to
Quick Mission, and you should see your mission somewhere on the mission list. Go
ahead and load the mission (don’t worry about the empty Briefing screen) – you should
insert at the Insertion Zone you created, facing the direction you told them to face, and if
you run forward a little you should see the enemy team you created. If they don’t notice
you, they should be walking around the jeep you placed. If they don’t, you’ll have to play
with their Path until they do, because sometimes they’re picky. And right now that team
has defaulted to “bored”, which means they’ll move slower and pause on their Path
more often, so you may need to watch them for a while before you see them move, but no
more than thirty seconds.
Congratulations! You’ve taken your first major step toward scripting a Ghost
Recon mission! Refer to the Basic Single Player Scripting section for information on how
to add objectives, sounds, vehicle plans, and other important Elements into a mission.

Basic Igor Guide V1.0 19

Basic Mission Setup Tutorial Checklist
- Started with a blank mission
- Entered Mission Properties
o Checked next to “Single Player”
o Entered a Mission Name
- Entered Map Properties
o Checked next to “Available to Custom Game Types”
- Created Company named “Enemies”
- Created Platoon named “Platoon – Main Force”
- Created Team named “Team – Main Force 1”
- Created six Actors named “Main Force 1A” through “Main Force 1F”
- Created a jeep named “Jeep – Main Force 1”
- Created Insertion Zone.
o Checked next to “Insertion” in Zone Properties
o Changed facing to point to Team – Main Force 1
- Assigned “Plan – Main Force 1” to Team – Main Force 1
o Put the “Path” Plan Step into Plan – Main Force 1

Placed a circle of waypoints around Jeep – Main Force 1

Checked next to “Loop” in Path Step Properties
- Saved mission file

Basic Igor Guide V1.0 20

Basic Igor Guide V1.0 21
4: Basic Single Player Scripting
Now that you’ve learned the basics of placing Elements and basic plan
assignment, it’s time to delve further into what Igor can do. In this section, you’ll learn
how to set up Objectives and how to trigger their completion, how to figure out when a
mission should be ended (in victory or defeat), and how to use all of the Placed and
Available Elements.
The first part of this section will delve into Plans and how they are used from the
beginning of a mission, some ways to trigger Plans based on events that occur during the
mission, and will include how to set up a Defend Zone, Snipers, Fixed Weapons, and
Vehicle Plans, which are Special Case Plans.
The second part of this section will look at the Briefing, Default Platoon Setup,
Weather, Time, Location, and Objectives. It will show you what setting these does in
relation to what you see in the Briefing and Platoon Setup screen in Ghost Recon, and
rules of thumb when creating them.
The last part of this section will cover basic aspects of the Scripting Language,
including how to set up and trigger a Script Block, and a few of the Triggers and
Responses that are necessary for nearly every mission ever created for Ghost Recon and
the mission packs.

If you’re following the tutorial from the Basic Mission Setup section, you should
load the mission you created in that section into Igor, but now save it as
“Igortutorial02.mis” and change the Mission Name to “Igor Tutorial 02”, as we will be
building on the information presented last section but changing minor elements of what
was done there. You should keep “Igortutorial01.mis” as a reference for earlier
material.

Basic Igor Guide V1.0 22

Intermediate Planning
Plans make up the core of what makes a mission a mission in Ghost Recon. Plans
define what the user wants the enemies or other Elements to do when the player is
playing Ghost Recon, and they give the Scripter control over the gameplay vision of the
mission.
Although some parts of planning were covered in the previous section, this
section will cover Plans and Planning in-depth, and cover those parts from the last section
in greater detail.

Plans vs. Trigger Plans

Depending on where the user creates a Plan, either under a Team, Vehicle, or the
Triggered Plans section of the Placed Elements List, the plan will either happen at the
start of a mission or it will have to be triggered in the Scripting Language. Basically, if a
Plan is assigned to a Team or Vehicle, that Team or Vehicle will start the Plan as soon as
the mission begins. If a Plan appears under the Triggered Plan section, it will have to be
triggered by the Scripting Language. Triggering Plans through the Scripting Language
will be covered later in this section. Regardless of when a Plan begins, Plans and
Triggered Plans are created the same way. Creating a Plan was covered in the Assigning
Plans part of the Basic Mission Setup section.

Plan Steps
Once a Plan has been created and
appears in the Placed Elements List, the user can
start adding Plan Steps to the Plan. Plan Steps
are parts of a Plan that are activated in order,
from top to bottom, when a Plan starts.
Sometimes, there are specific Plan Steps that
can be put into a Plan to trigger specific AI
behaviors. These Special-Case Plans will be
covered later in this section.
Many Plan Steps give the user the ability
to Set, Lock, or Unlock Elements to different
Parameters. If they’re Set, the AI can change
that Parameter when responding to stimuli
within a mission. If they’re Locked, the AI
cannot change it, and Unlocking is basically like
Set.
What follows is a list of all the different
Plan Steps, what they do, and an example of
their use.

Basic Igor Guide V1.0 23

Plan Step List
Add Zone - This step adds a Zone that is placed like a normal Zone in the
Available Elements window. However, this zone can only be used
with the Patrol Zone and Defend Zone Plan Steps, and cannot be
used in multiplayer, as a Trigger Zone, Insertion Zone, etc. It can
only be used as a Patrol Zone or a Defend Zone.
Alertness - This step changes the AI Alertness Level to either Bored, where
the enemies will do nothing, Alert, which means the AI is
actively looking for threats, Combat, which means the AI
is aware of, looking for, and reacting to threats, and
Panicked, which makes the AI surrender.

Animation - This Step makes Actors play an Animation File. Note that this
will only play the Animation File once, and is thus no substitute
for individual Actors being assigned an Idle Animation.
Combat ROE - This step changes the Combat Rules of Engagement for a Team’s
Actors much in the same way a player can change his Platoon’s
Combat ROE in Ghost Recon. There are three ROE’s – Recon,
which makes the AI actively seek cover and only fire when they
think it won’t draw enemy attention, Assault, which is the default
Combat ROE which makes Actors engage in combat normally and
seek cover normally, and Suppress, which makes AI shoot
anywhere they think there might be a threat.
Cover - The Cover Plan Step is placed like other Elements placed in the 2d
Command Map window. First, select Cover from the
Available Elements window, and then ctrl-click on the 2d
Command Map. This will create a Cover Arc. There are two
points on the cover arc that can be moved. They start on top
of each other, but when dragging from the center on a newly
placed Cover Arc the point that moves is the point that
determines the arc from the anchor, which is the arrow. The
second point is the arrow itself. This Step will cause Actors to
use this arc as the limitations for their search for threats. It
should only be used by Teams of one Actor, or else other
Actors will all try to cover from the same anchor which looks
very bad. Also, a time can be assigned to this Plan Step,
which means that Actors will cover the Cover Arc for that specific
amount of time. The default is forever.
Defend Zone - This step is used immediately after the Add Zone step. This tells
the Actors in a Team to use the Stations (covered in the Special

Basic Igor Guide V1.0 24

 Case Plans part of this section) within the zone created with the
Add Zone step as random Cover arcs. Actors will go from one
Station randomly to another, and will not leave the specified Zone.
Note that as with all Plan Steps that do not have a designated end
no Steps will activate after this step because it never ends.
Destroy Target - This Step tells an Actor (with a rocket launcher) or a
Vehicle (specifically, a Tank) to destroy a specific target. The
target can be a Map Object or another Vehicle. Actors and other
Elements cannot be targeted with this Plan Step.
Disengage - This Step tells Actors in a Team to cease combat. It is useful if the
user wants a group of enemies to break off from an engagement to
give them a Trigger Plan. Actors can be Set, Locked, or Unlocked
from disengaging, and can be set to Flee, which causes the
Surrender behavior.
Enter Vehicle - This Step tells Actors to enter the specified Vehicle. The Actors
can be anywhere on the map when this Step is used, as they will
Teleport to the vehicle. Note that this Plan Step will cause the
Actors to cease executing their current plan and make them just
stand there if the Team it is assigned to has more than the
maximum number of Actors that the specified Vehicle can hold.
There is no animation for Actors entering a Vehicle.
Also, this Plan Step has a check box next to “Driver”. A Vehicle
should only have 1 Driver. Therefore, the Driver needs to be on a
separate Team so that Actor is the only one who is assigned the
Driver plan. To set someone as a Driver, the box next to “Driver”
needs to be checked. Different Vehicles can hold different
numbers of Actors.
Exit Vehicle - This Step tell Actors to exit whatever Vehicle they happen to be in
at the moment. If they are not in a Vehicle, this Plan Step will
have no effect. Note that there is no animation for exiting a
Vehicle using this Plan Step.
Follow - This Step tells Actors to follow a specific Element and trail that
element by a specified number of meters. Note that this causes a
“rubber band” effect between the Actors and what they’re
following, as they usually run to catch up to it and then stop until it
moves far away again.
Formation - This Step allows the user to set, lock, or unlock the formation for a
Team. The different formations are Wedge, Single-File, and
Scattered.
Grenades - This Step tells Actors if they are allowed to use the grenades that
they may have as part of their Kit. By default, without this Plan
Step, Actors will use grenades, but only if the AI thinks it would
be a good idea.
Movement ROE - This Step changes the movement Rules of Engagement for
a Team much in the same way the player can set his Platoon’s
Movement ROE in the game. Hold means that the Actors will

Basic Igor Guide V1.0 25

 seek cover, crouch, and try to engage from the cover they have.
Advance is the default setting which makes Actors move and seek
cover normally. At All Costs means that Actors will rarely stop to
engage enemies or seek cover.
Orientation - This Step is placed in the 2d Command Map window like an
Actor, and is used to change the facing of an Element as part of a
Plan Step, forcing that Element to face the specified direction.
Pace - This Step lets the user Set, Lock, or Unlock Actors from a
movement speed. The movement speeds are Shuffle, Walk, and
Run. This Plan Step can only be used for Actors.
Path - Paths determine the general line a Team will follow. They are
placed initially like Actors, but afterwards Path waypoints can be
added by having the Path selected and shift-clicking where the
waypoint should go. These Path waypoints can be removed by
holding down shift and clicking on the red minus square over
them, or they can be added in the middle of a Path by holding
down shift and clicking on the green plus square that appears.
These Path waypoints can also be moved by dragging them to new
locations. Note that these waypoints are not Command Waypoints,
which will be covered later.
Patrol - This Step makes Actors randomly patrol a Zone added with the
Add Zone Plan Step, and it must come directly after Add Zone.
Restart - This Step makes the Team begin the Plan they are currently
assigned over again from the first Plan Step. It will loop the Plan
forever, and start the Plan over every time the Restart Plan Step is
reached. Because of this, any Step that comes after Restart will
never be executed.
Speed - This Step determines the speed at which Vehicles will move, in
meters per second. This Plan Step must come before any Path for
a Vehicle. The default Speed is 0. This Plan Step can only be
used for Vehicles.
Stance - This Step lets the user set, lock, or unlock Actors from a particular
stance. The stances are Upright, Crouched, and Prone – the same
stances the player has access to in the game. Another stance is
sitting, which forces an Actor into a sitting posture, even if there is
no appropriate geometry for them to sit on. Making an Actor sit in
a chair properly is a matter of trial and error.
Toggle AI - This Step turns on or off the AI for Actors in a Team. The default
is on, and it is not necessary to include this Plan Step for Actors to
use AI. Actors with AI turned off will simply stand in place and
not react to events during the game, except that they will die if they
are shot.
Unload Vehicle - This Step is used only for Boats and Helicopters.
Voice - Although it seems this Plan Step would cause a specified .wav file
to be played when this Step is executed, it actually was never

Basic Igor Guide V1.0 26

 implemented as it was never necessary to use it in Ghost Recon or
any of the mission packs.
Wait - This Step causes the Actors to wait for a specific amount of time
before continuing to the next Plan Step.
Weapon Select - This Step sets, locks, or unlocks Actors to use only their
Primary Weapon, Secondary Weapons, or to not use any weapons
at all.

Special Case Plans

Certain AI behaviors can only happen when specific types of Plans are given to
Teams. What follows is a list of Special Case Plans, what they do, and how to create
them.

Snipe - To make an Actor take up a sniping position, they must have a plan
that consists of the following steps:
- Movement ROE set to All Costs
- Alertness Locked into Combat
- Stance Locked into Upright (optional)
- Combat ROE locked into Suppress
- Cover for infinite duration (must be final plan step)
Also, a Station must be created and closely match the Cover Arc in
the plan. All together, this causes an Actor to stay in place and
keenly observe the area defined by his Cover Arc and Station, and
he will shoot as soon as he has identified a threat.
Use Fixed Weapon - To make an Actor use a Fixed Weapon, set up a Snipe plan
where the Cover Arc and Station are anchored at the location
where the Fixed Weapon has been created. Make sure the Cover
Arc and Station to not exceed 180 degrees, or else the Actor will
try to engage threats that the weapon cannot be turned to face.
Defend Zone - To make a Defend Zone, use Add Zone to create a zone in
the area that is to be defended, and then use the Defend Zone Plan
Step immediately afterward. This Zone does not need to avoid
collision walls nor does it need to be over a floor. It does,
however, need Stations placed within it, at least one Station per
Actor on the Team the Plan is assigned to, and usually more. Do
not change the properties of the Stations that are created for
Defend Zones.
Vehicle Paths - Vehicles are special case not only because they need to use
the Speed Plan Step instead of Pace, but because Vehicles require
great care and trial-and-error to script correctly. The Speed of a
Vehicle will affect how the Vehicle follows the path that it is on,
and the Vehicle rarely follows a path exactly. If a Vehicle runs
into any collision wall or non-Actor element, it will stop and never
start its plan again. Fast moving Vehicles take care and time to
make move correctly, and very fast moving Vehicles may affect
multiplayer performance.

Basic Igor Guide V1.0 27

 Also, Trucks and Jeeps require Drivers in order to move.
See the description of “Enter Vehicle” above for more information.

Move “Jeep – Main Force 1” to the road south of where it currently sits. Create
a Plan called “Plan – Jeep Main Force 1”. The plan should consist of a Speed of 3, and
a straight path moving from East to West along the road. Make sure the path is set to
“Once”. Make sure the Jeep is facing West (left) and that the Plan appears underneath
the Jeep in the Placed Elements List.
Now, create a Zone called “Zone – Jeep Main Force Moves” far to the East of
Team – Main Force 1. Make it long North to South, but relatively thin East to West. It’s
okay if this Zone intersects Collision Walls. Move the Actors in Team – Main Force 1
West, but not so far West that they’ll be on the North – South road. Move their Plan
(“Plan – Main Force 1” to the Trigger Plan section of the Placed Elements List, and
change the plan so they move toward Zone – Main Force Jeep Moves.
Finally, make a Team under Platoon – Main Force called “Team – Jeep Main
Force Driver”, and put one Actor into it (it doesn’t matter where – the upcoming Plan
Step will teleport him into the vehicle). Name the Actor “Jeep Main Force Driver”, and
make a Plan under that Team called “Plan – Jeep Main Force Driver”, and put in the
Enter Vehicle Plan Step. Specify Jeep – Main Force 1 as the Vehicle and make sure the
box next to
“Driver” is
checked.
When you save
this mission
and load GR,
the jeep
should now
move across
the road from
the mission
start. After
you have
checked to
make sure it’s
path is right,
move it’s Plan
to the Trigger
Plans section
of the Placed
Elements List

Basic Igor Guide V1.0 28

Basic Objectives
Objectives are how the user can affect the flow of gameplay in a mission and
determine when a mission should be completed successfully or unsuccessfully. In Ghost
Recon, every mission except for the final mission of Island Thunder has 4 Objectives.
Also, every Briefing Screen has a map of the area with 4 Waypoints, 1 for each
Objective, and every Briefing touches on these Objectives and usually contains hints on
how to complete them.
To create an Objective, click on Script on the Menu Bar, and then click on
Objectives. This will bring up the Objectives Window.

The Objectives Window is initially blank. To add an Objective, click on the New
button. This will create a default Objective, with default Objective Text. The button next
to “Tag” determines what name the Objective will use for reference in the Scripting
Language, and the Text box determines what text will appear in Ghost Recon, either
when the player is in the Briefing Screen or when the player brings up the in-game menu.
“Add before game begins” is the only way to make Objectives appear in the Briefing
Screen, and is checked by default. Objectives will show up in the Briefing Screen in the
order that they appear in the Objective List, and the position of the Objective within the
Objective List can be changed by selecting the Objective and then clicking on the up
arrow or the down arrow. Note that Objectives can be added and removed during a
mission, even though this was never used in Ghost Recon. Completing or Failing
Objectives will be covered later in this Section.

Create an Objective named “Eliminate Enemy Team”. Make its Objective Text
read “1. Eliminate Enemy Team”.

Basic Igor Guide V1.0 29

Briefing Information
The information that appears in the Briefing Screen and during the Loading
Screen is mainly entered in the Briefing Properties window. Click on “Edit”, then
“Briefing” in the Menu Bar to bring up the Briefing Properties window.

The Briefing Properties window consists of the following sections:

Image - Determines what image will be shown in the briefing screen,

which is a map of the area where all missions take place in Ghost
Recon and all the mission packs.
Cycle Image - Determines what pictures will be shown at the Objective
Waypoints in the Briefing Screen.
Coordinates - Determines where the blinking dot in the Briefing Screen
appears on the image indicated by the Image button.
Weather - Determines what the Briefing Screen says the weather will be
during the mission.
Location - The location where the mission takes place.
Date - The date when the mission takes place.
Time - The Time when the mission takes place.
Mission Requirements - There are four check boxes in this section that
determine if the mission has required equipment.

Basic Igor Guide V1.0 30

 If either of the “Recommended” boxes is checked, a pop up window will appear
in the Platoon Setup screen in Ghost Recon if the recommended equipment hasn’t been
given to any of the Ghosts informing the player of the recommendation. If either of the
“Required” boxes is checked, a pop up window will appear in the Platoon Setup screen
preventing the player from continuing the game unless they assign a Ghost the required
equipment.
Briefing .wav - Selects what .wav file will be played on the Briefing Screen.
Briefing Text - The text briefing that shows up on the Briefing Screen. It will
appear verbatim in the Briefing Screen as it is entered here, except
that paragraph breaks must be marked with “{p}” instead of
pressing enter.

After entering all appropriate information, clicking “Ok” will save all new
information, and clicking “Cancel” will discard all new information.

Enter in briefing text that corresponds with the objective. Enter the date, time,
and location you want, and set the weather to “sunny”. Don’t worry about the Image,
Cycle Image, or Briefing .wav.

Basic Igor Guide V1.0 31

Default Platoon Setup
When a player presses “Auto Assign” in the Platoon Setup screen in Ghost Recon,
the game fills out the player’s platoon with troops classes specified in the Mission
Properties window in Igor.

Mission Properties
The Default Team section
determines what classes of troops will
be assigned to the player’s platoon in
the Platoon Setup screen. The column
on the left determines Alpha, the first
two menus on the right column
determine Bravo, and the last menu on
the right column determines Charlie.
If the “Requires Unlocking”
box is checked, the mission will first
have to be successfully completed as
part of a Campaign before it is
available in Quick Mission. “Combat
Points” refers to the number of
Combat Points available when this
Mission is selected in Quick Mission.
This does not give extra points for a
mission in a Campaign. “Unlocked
Hero File” refers to the .xml file used
by the Campaign to determine what
hero is unlocked if the UnlockHero
response is used in the Scripting
Language of this mission. At the
bottom is the Actor Count, which
keeps track of how many Actors and
Vehicles appear in the mission across
all difficulty levels.

Set up the mission to use two Riflemen and one Support on Alpha, on Demolitions
and one Support on Bravo, and one Sniper on Charlie. Set the number of Combat Points
to “5”. Make sure the only box under “Supported Modes” that has a check in it is
“Single Player”.

Basic Igor Guide V1.0 32

Basic Trigger Plans
Trigger Plans must be triggered through the Scripting Language. The Scripting
Language is the most powerful part of Igor, and is also the most complex, which means
this section will only introduce a few basic functions of it here.
Using Igor’s scripting language requires no knowledge of code, nor does it
require any knowledge of programming whatsoever – It has a menu-driver interface.
That being said, it helps to be able to think logically about the organization used for some
programming elements, such as if/then statements and loops.
The Scripting Language is comprised of a series of Script Blocks. Each Block is
triggered by one certain event (the “Trigger Event”), and has a series of actions that
happen after the Trigger Event occurs (called “Responses”). Each block is also a
member of a Group, the default called, oddly enough, “<Default>”. Each block also has
a place where user comments can go – these comments should be descriptions of what
the Block is supposed to do. Blocks can have any number of Responses in them, and the
Responses within any given Block are like a Plan Step – they are triggered in order, from
top to bottom. For now, we will ignore Groups. They’re mainly used for organizational
purposes.

The Script Editing Window

The Script Editing Window is accessed by clicking on Script, then Edit on the
Menu Bar. The Script Editing Window will then appear.

The Script Editing Window is separated into a list of Script Blocks with Group,
Trigger, and Comment sections (the Script Block List), and buttons that are either used

Basic Igor Guide V1.0 33

with Script Blocks (New, Edit, and Delete) and buttons that are used to change how some
Elements are identified (Constants and Tags) or that present a text summary of the entire
Script. Note that it doesn’t matter where a Block appears in the Script Block List,
because Blocks execute when they’re triggered and not in order from top to bottom, like
Plan Steps or Responses.
Clicking on Group, Trigger, or Comment in the Script Block List will organize
the way the Blocks are listed. By default, they appear in the order they were created in,
with the latest block on the top of the list, sorted by Group.
Clicking the “New” button, selecting a Script Block and clicking the “Edit”
button, or double-clicking
a Script Block will open a
Block Editing Window.
This window will initially
have no information in it
except for the Group
being set to <Default>.
After a Block has a
Trigger and Responses,
click Ok to save the
Block in the Script Block
List. Clicking Cancel
will discard the Block and
not save it to the list. An
already-existing Block
will only have a “Close”
button, which will
immediately close the
Block and save all new
changes to it.
The Block Editing Window is separated into different parts. The top part is where
the Block’s Group is identified. The Comment Line below is where a user can enter a
comment about what the Block should do. Comments have no effect on what a Script
Block actually does; it’s for informational purposes only. Under that is the Trigger Event
section, where the Trigger Event is identified. Below that is the Responses List.
Clicking “Edit” Beside Group or Trigger Event will take the user to another window
where the user can select the appropriate Group (or create one) or to a window where the
user can select the appropriate Trigger Event. This section will only cover the most basic
use of a few Trigger Events to assign Trigger Plans to Teams and Vehicles.

Basic Igor Guide V1.0 34

Basic Trigger Events
Some Trigger Events are used more often than others. These Trigger Events are
the Proximity triggers, Rout triggers, and Startup triggers. An Element can be checked
for its proximity to other elements, checked to see if it has been routed or not, and the
mission can have Trigger Events activate at the start of a mission. All this information
and more can be used to trigger Script Blocks. Also, checking to see if Actors, Teams,
Platoons, or Companies are Routed is used very frequently.
When in the Block Editing Window, clicking on “Edit” in the Trigger Event
section will open the Trigger Selection Window. This window consists of a pull down
list of Triggers, and a Trigger Parameters section.

Immediately beneath the list of Triggers is a summary of what Events make up

the Trigger, using the current information in the Trigger Properties section. The List of
Triggers is alphabetically arranged. This section will cover the Startup,
ProximityPlatoon, and RoutTeam Triggers.
To select a Trigger from the Trigger List, click on the arrow next to the list, and
then click on the appropriate Trigger. To enter information into the Parameters section,
click on the appropriate Parameter tab and then identify what Element will be used for
that Parameter from the pull-down list in the Parameter section. After all needed
information has been entered about a Trigger, then click Ok to save the Trigger in the
Script Block.

Basic Igor Guide V1.0 35

Startup - This Trigger Event will be activated when a Mission enters
the Action Phase.
That is, when a
Mission allows the
player to start
playing Ghost Recon
in the 3d. It has no
Parameters.

Create a Script Block with the comment “Starts Team – Main

Force 1 toward Jeep Zone”. Make the trigger “Startup”. Click
Ok when you are done.

ProximityPlatoon - This Trigger Event checks to see how close a Platoon is to

another Element. If
they are close enough
together, this Trigger
Event will activate its
Block’s Responses.
This Event has 3
Parameters – platoon,
which determines
what Platoon it is
checking distance
from, location, which
determines what it’s
checking distance to,
and range, which
determines what the
distance between the
platoon and location
must be equal to or
lesser than to activate

Basic Igor Guide V1.0 36

 the Trigger Event. It will activate when at least one member of
that Platoon comes within the specified range of the specified
location.

Create a Script Block with the Comment “Team Main Force 1

triggers Jeep Plan”. Make the trigger ProximityPlatoon, and the
Platoon should be “Platoon – Main Force”. Make the location
“Zone – Jeep Main Force 1”. Leave the range at 10. When all of
that is done, click Ok.

RoutTeam - This Trigger Event checks to see if a Team is either all dead or all
routed (which
includes the “dead”
state and the
“surrendered” state).
This Trigger is used
more often than
DeathTeam in case
anyone on that Team
happened to
Surrender. The only
Parameter of this
Trigger Event is
team, which
determines what
Team the game is
checking to see if it
has been routed.
After that Team has
been routed, this
Trigger Event will
activate.

Create a Block with the Comment “Checks if Team – Main Force 1

is Routed for Objective”. Make the Trigger Rout Team, and make
the Team “Team – Main Force 1”. Click Ok when you are done.

Basic Igor Guide V1.0 37

Basic Responses
The Responses listed here are commonly used in most Missions. These responses
are ExecutePlanTeam, ExecutePlanVehicle, ObjectiveComplete, and
DeclareMissionComplete. All Responses have Parameters, much in the same way
Trigger Events have Parameters.

The Response Selection window is organized in the same way as the Trigger
Selection window. There is a pull-down list of Responses arranged in alphabetical order,
a summary of how the Response is currently set up to work, Parameter tabs, and the Ok
and Cancel buttons. Selecting what Elements are used in different Parameters is the same
as selecting Elements for Parameters in the Trigger Selection window.

ExecutePlanTeam - This Response assigns a Plan to a Team.

The Parameters are “Plan”, which identifies what Plan will be assigned, and “Team”,
which identifies what Team will be assigned the Plan.

Open the Script Block that was triggered on Startup. In the Responses section,
click on the Add button, then select the “ExecutePlanTeam” Response. Select “Plan –
Main Force 1” for the “Plan” Parameter. Select “Team – Main Force 1” for the
“Team” Parameter. Click “Ok” when you are done, and then close the Script Block.

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ExecutrePlanVehicle - This Response assigns a Trigger Plan to a Vehicle in the
same way
ExecutePlanTeam
assigns a Trigger Plan
to a Team. The
Parameters are “Plan”,
which identifies the
Plan that will be
assigned, and
“Vehicle”, which
identifies what Vehicle
will be assigned the
Trigger Plan.

Open the Script Block

that was triggered by
ProximityPlatoon. In
the Responses section
click on the Add button,
then select the
“ExecutePlanVehicle” Response. Select “Plan – Jeep Main Force 1” for the “Plan”
Parameter, and select “Jeep - Main Force 1” for the “Vehicle” Parameter. Click “Ok”
when you are done, and close the Script Block.

ObjectiveComplete - This Response changes the condition of an Objective from

“Incomplete” to
“Completed” anywhere
the Objective is
displayed. To select
what Objective is
changed to “Complete”,
select the Objective from
the pull-down menu in
the Responses section.

Open the Script

Block triggered by
RoutTeam. Add this
Response, and select
Eliminate Enemy Team
as the Objective. Click
“Ok” when you are
done.

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DeclareMissionComplete
- This Response ends the Mission in victory and
displays a message
to the player.
Whatever message is
typed into the
“Literal” line will be
displayed for three
seconds before the
mission fades to
black and is over.

In the same Script

Block that the
Objective was
changed to
Complete, add this
Response. Make the
text simply “Mission
Complete”. Make
sure this Response
comes after the
ObjectiveComplete Response.

Now, you should have a mission that has most of the briefing elements, one
objective that completes when you eliminate Team – Main Force 1, a Jeep that moves if
Team – Main Force 1 reaches their zone, a default team loadout, and the entire mission
is now playable in single player Quick Mission. Congratulations!
The next sections will fill in all the gaps about the Elements discussed in this
section, but you should have a good enough idea of what’s going on to experiment with
Igor and see what you can come up with.

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Basic Single Player Scripting Tutorial Checklist
- Saved a new version of the old mission file with the new name.
- Made changes to the starting location of the Jeep and the Team.
- Moved Plan – Main Force 1 to the Trigger Plans section of the Placed
Elements List
- Setup a script block triggered by startup that assigns Team – Main Force 1
Plan – Main Force 1.
- Setup a script block triggered by ProximityTeam that assigns the Jeep its plan
- Setup a script block that completes the one objective in the mission when
Team – Main Force 1 has been routed, and completes the mission successfully
when this happens.

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5: Basic Multiplayer Scripting
Every single player mission made for Ghost Recon and both expansion packs is
playable in single player and in multiplayer. In multiplayer and in Quick Mission, there
are a number of different game modes which can be played on each map. These game
modes are created through Igor’s Scripting Language and each mission has a number of
Elements that determine if and how these game modes can be played.
This section will cover what Elements a mission, regardless of if it is single-
player or multiplayer, needs to be used for different game types.

Game Mode Zone Requirements

Each Ghost Recon mission can be played under a number of different game
modes. Each game mode uses a set of Zones in each Mission File created specifically for
these game types. Some game types reuse Zones used in other game types in a different
ways. Looking at the Zone Properties (in the Element Properties window when a Zone is
selected), the user can see a number of different parameters for every placed Zone. The
parameters that affect multiplayer are located under the section labeled “Map”.

Point - These Zones, labeled from 0 to 35, define the

36 areas where a player might start from in adversarial games.
They are also used as random path points by Actors during
Recon and Firefight. They should be placed near cover, and
should not be able to see any other Points within 360 degrees.
Note that it’s not always possible to place all of them in that
way in all maps, but it’s not technically required.

Base - These Zones, labeled from 0-3 and then from

tr0a to tr3c, are the Team Bases where teams spawn in team-
based game modes when labeled 0-3. They should be in the
four corners of the map, and equidistant from the map center,
if possible. When they are marked as tr0a to tr3c in the Zone
Properties window, they are Team Respawn Zones, and
determine where players will respawn in team game types.
Team Respawn Zones should go behind Team Bases and near
cover; that is, they should be further from the map center.
There need to be 4 Team Bases and 3 Team Respawn Zones
per Team Base, and Base 0 should be diagonally opposite
Base 1, and Base 2 should be diagonally opposite Base 3.

SP/Coop Base - Only 1 Team Base should have this checked. It will make
that Team Base the Defend Base in the Defend game type.

Central Area - The Central Area should be located near the center of the map.
None if its corners can intersect geometry, since the hostages in the Search and Rescue
game type appear at the corners. There can only be 1 Central Area.

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Recon Insertion - This Zone determines the Insertion Zone for the Recon
game type. It does not need to be the same zone as the Insertion Zone for the Mission
game type. There can only be 1 Recon Insertion.

Recon Extraction - This Zone determines the Extraction Zone for the Recon
game type. Like Recon Insertion, it does not need to be the Extraction Zone for the
Mission game type. There can only be 1 Recon Extraction.

Assault Platoon - These Zones define the areas where the enemies will start
in the Defend game type. The numbers underneath it indicate what Platoon those
enemies will be on so they can benefit from the Platoon-level AI. There should be 12
Zones, and it doesn’t matter how many Platoons are selected. In Ghost Recon, all
Mission Files that supported this game type used 4 Zones for Platoons 0, 1, and 2, and
didn’t use Platoon 3.

Make sure Igortutorial02.mis is open, and make sure Floors are viewable. Place
36 Spawn Points and label them “Point 00” to “Point 35”. Try to make sure that each is
near cover, and none of them can see any other ones within 360 degrees of itself. After
that, Place a Team Base, labeled “Base 00” in the upper left-hand corner, “Base 01” in
the lower right-hand corner, “Base 02” in the lower left-hand corner, and “Base 02” in
the upper right-hand corner.
Now, behind each Team Base put three smaller Zones, and mark them as tr0a,
tr0b, tr0c, tr1a, etc… until each Team Base has 3. Make sure they are near cover and
about the same distance away from their Team Base. After that, put a Central Area,
labeled “Central Area” equidistant, or as close to it as you can get, from each Team
Base.
Pick a spot that
looks good for an
insertion and put
down a Recon
Insertion Zone.
Find a good
extraction spot and
put down a Recon
Extraction Zone.
Make sure that
they’re not the same
as similar zones for
the single-player
mission. Pick one
of your Team Bases
that has a lot of
cover around it, and
make it the Sp/Coop
Base. Place the 12
Assault Platoon

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Zones on the map in places that aren’t too close to the Sp/Coop Base, but so they aren’t
too close to other Assault Platoon Zones Mark the Assault Platoon Zones as using only
Platoons 0, 1, and 2, just to be safe. Now, save the mission and you’ll be able to play it
with other game modes in Quick Mission, and it should be playable in Multiplayer as
well. Congratulations!

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