THE TRAINING COURSE EDITOR

To open the training course editor press the "Editor" button on The pirate trainer window.

This editor can be used to create and modify training courses for use in the pirate trainer. Training courses can be made about any aspect of the game. They are self-contained packages that can easily be distributed over the Internet.

This section is a step-by-step guide on how to create a new course.

Before attempting to make a new course it would be best to first gain an understanding of what a completed course looks like by trying out an existing one in the pirate trainer.

When you are ready to begin working on your new course, open the Pirate Trainer window and click the "Editor" button.

Creating a new training course

Basic settings

When you open the editor, it displays the "Main Info" tab ready to begin a new course. You must enter all information on this page before continuing.

Course Title

This will appear on the course list of the Pirate Trainer once your course has been installed.

Author Name

Enter your name and ocean if you wish to record it. This will be displayed in the course description section of the Pirate Trainer.

File Name

The name of the disk file your course will be stored in. You may only use letters and numbers in this name.

Character Set

There are several "trainer" character portraits that come with QM. Choose one of them to use in your course.

Description

Enter a short description of the topic your course covers. It will be displayed in the description section of the Pirate Trainer.

Once you have filled in all these fields the editor will allow you move on to creating the individual steps of your course.

Loading and saving your work

Courses can be saved or loaded into the editor at any stage by using the buttons at the bottom of the window. Editor files are saved to QuarterMaster\PirateTrainer\SavedFile under your selected file name and the extension PTS. The default installation of QuarterMaster includes with the editor file for the included officer training course. It is a good example of what a finished course looks like in the editor phase.

Training course steps

A course "step" refers to a single page that the the trainee will see when moving through the training course. Each step in the course step should contain at least

  • a sub-title
  • a trainer portrait
  • the speech text of the trainer

To help the trainee understand what is being taught in the current step, you can also choose to include

  • a task for the trainee to complete
  • images
  • a sound file
  • a video file
  • Internet links

You can add, remove, and navigate the steps in your course by using the controls up the top of the window. There is also a "Preview" button to check out what your course looks like in the trainer, and a "Compile" button to package your course ready for distribution once you are satisfied with it.

To create a course step, work through the tabs (A) Speech Text, (B) Tasks and (C) Media.

Tab (A) - Speech Text

In most cases you will want to use all the settings on this tab for every step in your course.

Sub-Title

This is the title for the current step. It will appear at the top of the Pirate Trainer next to the trainer portrait.

Portrait

Select a facial expression for your pirate trainer character.

Speech Text

This is the text that will appear in the main white part of the training window. It should normally be written from the point of view of the trainer speaking to the trainee.

Tab (B) Tasks

In this section you can specify tasks the trainee will undertake on the current step.

Text for Trainee

This text describes the task and will appear in the black area of the Pirate Trainer. It should outline as clearly as possible what the trainee needs to do, and any requirements for continuing the course.

Task Checking

QuarterMaster can check the trainee's game statistics for the task requirements, and prevent them from moving to the next step until those requirements have been satisfied. Ticking the boxes beside the check type will enable the different checks. You can set the level requirements from the drop down lists. Multiple checks can be used in the same task. If the task is not of the type that can be checked by QM, or if you do not wish to use task completion checks, then click the "No Checks" option.

Response for Failure

If you are using task requirements in this course step, you need to set up a response for failure. This response will be shown if the trainee tries to continue the course without passing the check. There is a box to enter some speech text for your character to say, and a drop-down menu to choose a facial expression.

Tab (C) Media

In this tab you can set up various media files to be used in the current step.

Image files

Supported formats are JPG, JPEG, PNG, BMP, ICO, EMF, and WMF. The display window is 140x140 pixels and will stretch images to fit this size.

Sound files

Only WAV format is supported.

Video files

Files should be in AVI format. Bear in mind that some computers may not be able to display all types of AVI files. The display window is 400x300 pixels and will stretch videos to fit.

Internet links

Links should include both the visible label text and the URL address to be linked to. They will be loaded into the default browser when clicked.

Compiling your completed course

Once you are satisfied that your new course is ready for distribution, press the "Compile" button in the top right. A compilation status window will pop up - press the "Begin" button to start the process. If any errors occur the process will abort and give you a message describing the problem encountered.

If your course is successfully compiled, a single course package file will be saved to your QuarterMaster\PirateTrainer\Packages folder under the file name you chose on the main info tab.

The package file is in ZIP format, containing the course file and all the related media files. These ZIP files can be placed on the Internet for downloading, or circulated via email.