. Right click an empty tile to create a new node.
Yes.
. Select one of the Link1 through Link5 options
. Assign "Dest" to the number of another existing Node.
...or you can just right-click a differnt node when the first one is active, the editor will automatically create a link.
Make sure to have the "link forward and back" button active, so you don't have to do this manually both ways.
@kevL: After making hundreds, or perhaps thousands of maps, I can't recall a single case where "link forward and back" should be off. Even if it ever happened, it's super rare. Can we please make the "link forward and back" button pressed by default? It would be one click less for me every session.
. Assign "Unit" to the type (Or any if all aliens) are able to move from the selected node to that "Dest" node.
Like KevL said, make sure a large unit can fit and get there (no small doors etc.). If yes, "Any" is fine; if not, set it to "Small".
Flying unit options should be obvious.
. In the "Node data" settings assign it a "Patrol Priority" of at least 1 so that the alien has a chance of wanting to vist that node from other nodes.
You don't have to set patrol routes, they're only for priority. So 0 is fine too. I usually set non-0 patrol values on choke points, to make sure that units go there at least sometimes, but it's a design choice.
. Aliens may now choose to move from the selected node, configuration is complete and up to 4 (5 total) other nodes can be linked from the selected node.
To clarify: AFAIK all this only matters for the patrol mode. Once the enemy spots your soldiers, it switches to combat mode and stops caring about nodes.
And to make the Node a spawn point for an alien unit:
. Select an existing node.
. In "Node data" select "Node Rank" and assign it the value of the rank of alien to be spawned from the alienRaces: .rul file.
. So long as "Spawn Weight" is set to greater than 0 that tile 'could' be used to place one of the aliens of that type.
All correct, but in most cases "Civilian/Scout" is enough. Such nodes have lower spawn priority, but can spawn any non-X-Com unit. Most of the time I only bother with ranks for obvious places, like engine rooms (Engineers) or bridges (Leaders/Commanders), or sometimes choke/vantage points (Soldiers). It's quite situational, so mostly a matter of practice. When in doubt, leave it as "Civilian/Scout".
Do I need to make sure each node links to another node without going through walls or solid objects, or will aliens automatically path around everything to get to the other linked node?
Yes, they will path around obstacles.
To make sure I'm understanding this correctly as an example I've altered UFO_GT0006-1.RMP from this:
(...)
With this new node between the two alien crafts aliens can choose to move to from node 1 or node 6 to node 49.
Yes, I should have made this connection myself, but I forgot, sorry.
You did it correctly, although patrol priority 1 is not required (but still perfectly okay, if you want the aliens to go to this point in particular more often than most other notes).
The "&" "*" method looks very useful. I was only aware of using refNode: to do something like this:
items:
- &STR_EXAMPLE_ITEM
type: STR_EXAMPLE_ITEM
- type: STR_DUPLICATED_SECOND_EXAMPLE_ITEM
refNode: STR_EXAMPLE_ITEM
As far as I can say, it's a different feature.
If I understand correctly the contents of the "terrains:" list is the only thing being duplicated when "terrains: *Urban" is written elsewhere in the code. It isn't also duplicating these lines:
category: Urban
group: UFO - Terrain
An anchor only repeats a single line, and any sublines it might have. For example:
armors:
- type: STR_MEGAWORM_ARMOR
[blah blah blah armour data]
psiDefence: &StandardDynamicPsiDefence
psiStrength: 1.0
psiSkill: 0.4
moraleCurrent: 0.33
bravery: 0.2
[blah blah blah more armour data]
- type: STR_SWARMIDS_LARGE_ARMOR
[blah blah blah armour data]
psiDefence: *StandardDynamicPsiDefence
[blah blah blah more armour data]
In this case, instad of repeating the same psi defense formula on moany armours which use it, I only type it once and then refer to it with the anchor.
Can I use this in any YAML .rul file wherever a list was going to be?
Yes, your example looks good.