Mission Object Reference

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Overview

This section reference information for mission designers, including the file structure to follow, and of all the properties that apply to each of the Mission Objects. For examples of the use of these objects, refer to Sample Missions.

Mission File Structure

The missions that you create should be placed under the Prepar3D\Missions\ folder, and follow the same folder structure as the sample missions provided -- with the briefing file, and other files referenced by the mission, in the same directory as the mission XML or SPB file, and the audio in a \Sound sub-folder. These files can reference other files, such as the images in the Common folder, for example, but should not reference files outside of the Prepar3D\Missions folder.

Actions

An action is a declarative way to cause something to happen in the world.  Examples of actions are playing a sound file, completing an objective, showing text in the adventure window, failing an engine, completing a goal, etc.
In multiplayer mode, actions with the TargetPlayer property will affect the players specified by the property. If an action does not contain this property the action will affect only the local player, with the exception of Race Course Start Action and Race Course Activate Action, which affect all players.

Generic Action Properties

All actions include the following properties.

Property Description
id Reserved. Do not edit this field.
Descr The name of the action. The system will generate a name such as DialogAction1, simply by appending the number of the next action to the type of action. This name can be edited to help identify it further, though it is a good idea to maintain the type of action in the name, as this information is not clearly available through any other mechanism. Make sure though that the name is unique.
InstanceId This is the GUID generated to ensure the object has a unique reference. Do not edit this field
OnCompleteActions Objects referenced will be fired once this action is complete without the need to use a timer trigger or other triggering mechanism.

Activate Waypoints Action

Waypoints are essential for the movement of certain Entities. The activate waypoints action provides one or more AI object with a new list of waypoints.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
ObjectReference
 		List of one or more Entities that are to use the new waypoint list.
WaypointList
 		List of one or more waypoints that are to become active.

Adjust Payload Action

An adjust payload action is used to set, or add to, the weight on a payload station.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
ObjectReference
 		The list of objects to which the payload adjustment applies.
StationIndex
 		The index number of the station.
AdjustmentType
 		One of: Set or Add.
Weight The quantity of the adjustment.
Units One of: number, feet, g_force, knots, pounds, percent, boolean, degrees or radians.

AI Behavior Activation Action

This is used to initiate an AI behavior defined for the specified AI entity.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
ObjectReference
 		The entity that the behavior will be activated for.
AI Behavior
 		The list of behaviors that are to become active.
Behavior Activated
 		Set to True or False

Attach Droppable Payload Action

An attach droppable payload action is used to change the payload that gets dropped when the user presses a key configured to drop the payload.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
PayloadName
 		The name of the container that becomes the object to be dropped.
PayloadCount
 		The number of payload objects that should be attached.
ObjectReferenceList
 		The objects which are each to get the assigned payload.

Attach Effect Action

The attach effect action attaches a single special effect (such as smoke, fire, contrail etc.) to one or more scenery objects or entities.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
EffectName
 		Filename of the special effect. The effect should be in the Prepar3D/effects folder.
AttachPointName
 		The name of the attach point (physical location) of where the effect is to be applied. Attach points are defined in the model files. An effect attached to an attach point will remain tethered to the point, and will only be visible when the rules for the attachment point are satisfied. For example, an effect attached to a landing light attachment point of an aircraft will only be visible if the simulation dictates that the landing lights are on. See the Using Modeling Tools documentation and the Library Objects table for information on attach points. Specifying a blank AttachPointName will cause the effect to render at the location of the entity at the time the action fires. In this case the effect will not be tethered to the entity.
OffsetXYZ
 		Offset in 3D space.
ObjectReferenceList
 		List of objects that the effect applies to.

Change Object Type Action

A change object type action changes the object the user is in. For example, it can be used to change from one type of aircraft to another.

Note
Using this action with landing triggers is no longer allowed, as it can cause serious problems with multiplayer races. If this functionality is required, the landing should activate a one second timer trigger which in turn fires the change object type action.
Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
ObjectType
 		The identifying title of the new object, from an aircraft.configuration file.

Close Panel Action

The close panel action will close an open panel.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
ObjectReferenceList
 		The list of panels that this action will open.

Count Action

A count action will add the value of the Count property to the Counter value in the given list of triggers (which should all be Counter triggers). Counter triggers will fire when a certain specified count is reached.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
Count
 		Value to be added to the Counter triggers current counter. The default is 1.
Triggers
 		List of Counter triggers to have their counts incremented. Note that these must be counter triggers, even though SimDirector lists other trigger types.

Create Checkpoint Action

A create checkpoint action will take a snapshot of a mission automatically. Users can restart a mission from a checkpoint that occurred during a previous mission run.

Note: Checkpoints will NOT be created while running in SimDirector Preview mode.

Note: Checkpoints will automatically target all players in Multiplayer.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
Name
 		Name that will be assigned to the checkpoint. If a checkpoint name is duplicated in a mission, an index value is added to the checkpoint name so that duplication will not occur.
RecordingBookmark
 		A flag indicating that a bookmark should be created in the flight recording when a checkpoint is created. A value of True will generate a bookmark.

Custom Action

A custom action is used to enable communications between a mission and a SimConnect client application.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
PayloadString
 		Text that will be transmitted to the SimConnect client when the action is initiated. The text can be any string that the client might find useful.
WaitForCompletion
 		Set this to True if a completion message must be received from the SimConnect client, before the mission progresses. Set to False otherwise.

Delay Action

A delay action is used to set delay time to an action.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
DelaySeconds
 		A delay in seconds after the action is rendered. Can be used to allow time for the user to respond to the action before performing another action.

Dialog Action

A dialog action is used to add speech to be rendered over the audio system, and/or text to be displayed on the screen.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
Text The text to appear on the screen. Can be left blank.
SoundFileName The wave file to be rendered by the audio system. The file should be in the \sounds directory of the mission. Can be left blank.
SoundType This allows the sound type to be chosen as either to be either text, text-to-speech, or sound.
DelaySeconds A delay in seconds after the text and audio are rendered. Can be used to allow time for the user to respond to the dialog, before performing another action.
TargetPlayer The players who should receive the dialog. One of: Local Player, All Players, Triggering Player, All but Triggering Player.
TimeElapsed Current amount of time that has elapsed. Do not set this.

Disqualify Player Action

A disqualify player action is used to disqualify and remove usually one player from a race.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
TargetPlayer The players who should be disqualified. One of: Local Player, All Players, Triggering Player, All but Triggering Player.
Text Text displayed to the disqualified players.

Failure Action

A failure action is used to change the behavior of one of the aircraft's systems. It is possible also to change a failing system's status back to fully functional, by changing its HealthPercent value to 100. Failures only apply to the user aircraft, unless the TargetPlayer property specifies otherwise.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
System
 		One of:
(Engines and systems)
Engine, EngineFire, Coolant, OilSystem, OilLeak, VacuumSystem, Pitot, Static, ElectricalSystem, Generator, FuelPump, FuelLeak, APU, APUFire, TurbineIgnition, HydraulicPump, HydraulicLeak, LeftMagneto, RightMagneto, UncommandedPowerChanges, StarterDisengage, BatteryChargeFailed, EngineFireFalseIndication, EngineHotGasLeak, HydraulicTotalFailure, HydraulicAllEnginePumpFailure

(Control surfaces and structural)
Elevator, LeftAileron, RightAileron, Rudder, RearTail, LeftFlap, RightFlap, LeftWing, LeftWingTip, RightWing, RightWingTip

(Landing gear)
CenterGear, RightGear, LeftGear, AuxGear, LeftBrake, RightBrake, BrakeSystemHydraulicSource

(Instruments)
AltitudeIndicator, AirspeedIndicator, Altimeter, DirectionalGyro, Compass, TurnCoordinator, VSI

(Radios)
ComRadios, NavRadios, ADFRadios, Transponder, Tacan
SystemIndex
 		If an aircraft has multiple systems (usually applies to engines or instruments), enter the index of the system that the failure should apply to.
Behavior Not implemented, use the HealthPercent property.
HealthPercent Enter a value of between 0 (complete failure) and 100 (fully functional). For System entries such as OilLeak or FuelLeak the lower the HealthPercent the greater the leak. For control surfaces such as LeftWingTip the HealthPercent determines the lift. For instruments and radios no partial or intermittent behavior is implemented, so set the HealthPercent to 0 for not operational, or 100 for fully operational.
TargetPlayer The players who should experience the failure. One of: Local Player, All Players, Triggering Player, All but Triggering Player.

Goal Resolution Action

The goal resolution action is used to set whether goals or group goals (forced resolution) have been completed or not.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
GoalResolution
 		Set to completed or failed.
Goals
 		List of Goals to have their resolution changed.
NewGoalText
 		Text that will be applied to resolved goal. If goal is passed, this will overwrite the SucceededGoalText. If goal is failed, this will overwrite the FailedGoalText.
UpdateGoalText
 		Whether the resolved goal should have its Succeeded or Failed text updated to NewGoalText.

Multichoice Popup Action

Prompts the user to answer a multiple-choice question.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
AlwaysShowCorrectAnswers
 		Set to True if the Multiple Choice Popup should show the correct answers when an incorrect answer is submitted.
MultiChoicePopupActionQuestion
 		Multi-choice question text.
MultiChoicePopupActionAnswers
 		List of possible answers to the question.
MultiChoicePopupActionCorrectAnswerActions
 		Actions that execute when the question is answered correctly.
MultiChoicePopupActionIncorrectAnswerActions
 		Actions that execute when the question is answered incorrectly.

Object Activation Action

The object activation action will change the state of  most different types of object, Triggers, Entities, Scenery objects and some Mission objects. Do not use it for points of interest, use PointOfInterestActivationAction for that particular case.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
NewObjectState
 		Set to True or False.
ObjectReferenceList
 		List of objects (Entities, Scenery, Mission and Triggers) to have their status changed.
TargetPlayer The players who should experience the object activation. One of: Local Player, All Players, Triggering Player, All but Triggering Player.

One Shot Sound Action

The one shot sound action will render a single wave file. Use this for sound effects rather than dialog (use the Dialog action for speech audio).

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
SoundFileName
 		The wave file to be rendered. The file should be in the \sounds directory of the mission.

Open Panel Action

The open panel action will open a panel at a sepcified position and size.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
ObjectReferenceList
 		The list of panels that this action will open.
Docked
 		Set to YES or NO
Location X
 		Base position the panel window should open at in X direction from the left (in pixels).
Location Y
 		Base position the panel window should open at in Y direction from the top (in pixels).
PanelHeight
 		Base height the panel window should open with (in pixels).
PanelWidth
 		Base width the panel window should open with (in pixels).
RelativeExpansionSize
 		Size to add to base width/height relative to monitor or main Prepar3D window if docked.
RelativeLocation
 		Location realtive to monitor or main Prepar3D window if docked.
RelativeTo
 		Sets what the expansion or offest percentages and abse position are relative to. It is either the main window, if docked, or a monitor index, if undocked. Monitors are ordered by their positions from left to right. If two monitors are at the same left position, then the monitor on top comes first.
UseDefault
 		If set to true, panel window will open in default location with default size. Otherwise it will use the location or size specified in the object.

Play Animation Action


The play animation action will initiate an animation sequence on one or more objects.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
AnimationGUID
 		GUID of the animation. Refer to the section on Creating a New Animation in the Using Modeling Tools document, which describes animation GUIDs.
LoopAnimation
 		Set to True to "loop the animation".
ObjectReferenceList
 		The list of objects that the animation is to apply to.
TargetPlayer The players who should experience the animation. Note that the animation may not apply to the user aircraft, but is specified in the ObjectReferenceList. One of: Local Player, All Players, Triggering Player, All but Triggering Player.

Play Flight Recording Action

A play flight recording action is used to add a prerecorded flight to a mission, usually a multiplayer racing mission. As the AI pilot in Prepar3D is geared towards commercial and general aviation traffic, and not racing, an additional method of adding an aircraft to a race course is to record an aircraft (under user control) taking part on the race course, and then replaying that flight file during the actual race. Refer also to the AirplanePlayback property of Entities.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
RecordingFilename Filename of the Flight Recording
ObjectReference The Entities that should fly the recorded path.
UseFileTimeFrom Time relative to the start of the recording that will be used as the start time for the recording.
UseFileTimeTo Time relative to the start of the recording that will be used as the end time for the recording.

Play List Action

The play list action will play the specified music items on the adventure music track. Individual play list items can be set to a random position within the play list.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
PlayListItem
 		Items that will be played as part of the playlist.

PlayList Item Object

A playlist item is an audio track that forms part of a playlist action.

Property Description
id
 		Reserved. Do not edit this property.
Descr
 		The name of the item. The system will generate a name such as PlayListItem1. This name can be edited to help identify it further. Make sure though that the name is unique.
SoundFileName
 		The full path to the audio file. Only .wav files are allowed.
RandomizeInList
 		Set to True to randomize the playing of this particular track in the playlist.

Point Of Interest Activation Action

A point of interest activation action will change the state of one or more Point of Interest objects. It is very similar to ObjectActivationAction, but also sets the current point of interest to be the one with the lowest cycle order in its list.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
NewObjectState
 		Set to True or False.
ObjectReferenceList
 		List of one or more Point of Interest objects to have their status changed.
TargetPlayer The players who should experience the activation. One of: Local Player, All Players, Triggering Player, All but Triggering Player.

Race Clock Start Action

A race clock start action can be used to start the race clock. This action is only necessary if the ClockStart property of a Race Info object is set to OnAction.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.

Race Course Activate Action

A race course activate action can be used to activate the course. This action will typically be called from a Timer trigger, though could be called for example from a Proximity trigger -- say requiring participants to do a warm-up lap of the course. This action will set the RaceCourseActive property of a Race Info object to True, and is only necessary if this property is currently False.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.

Random Action

The random action is used to initiate one action from a list of possibilities.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
ProbabilityPercent The probability that any action at all will fire. Enter 100 to ensure an action will fire.
Actions
 		List of actions from which one is chosen at random.

Record Start Action

Record start action begins recording the flight for later playback. It has no effect if recording is already active.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.

Record Stop Action

Record stop action ends recording the flight and saves the Recording. It has no effect if recording is not active.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
PromptUser Indicates whether or not to prompt the user for a Title and Description for the Recording. If No, the values provided (see below) will be used. (Note: if a recording with the same Title already exists, it will be overwritten without confirmation!) If Yes, the mission/flight will be interrupted by a dialog asking the user to provide a Title and Description. Default is No.
RecordingDescription Description to use for saving the Recording without prompting the user. This is ignored if PromptUser is set to Yes.
RecordingTitle Title to use for saving the Recording without prompting the user. This is ignored if PromptUser is set to Yes. Cannot be blank if PromptUser is set to No (otherwise, the Recording will not be saved).

Refill Action

A refill action is used to refuel aircraft with one or more types of fuel. Refer to the Aircraft Configuration Files document for more information on Nitrous and AntiDetonation fuel types.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
PercentFuel Set to a number between 0.0 and 100.0, indicating how much fuel, as a percentage of the capacity of the fuel tanks, should be added to the tanks.
PercentNitrous Set to a number between 0.0 and 100.0, indicating how much fuel should be added to the Nitrous tanks.
PercentAntiDetonation Set to a number between 0.0 and 100.0, indicating how much fuel should be added to the AntiDetonation tanks.
SystemIndex The index number of the fuel tank, if the aircraft has more than one. Indexes start at 1.
TargetPlayer The players who should receive the fuel. One of: Local Player, All Players, Triggering Player, All but Triggering Player.

Reset Timer Action

The reset timer action is used to set the current time of a list of timers back to their start times.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
Triggers
 		List of Timer Triggers to be reset.

Rumble Action

The rumble action is used to initiate rumble in the Universal Controller (typically an XBox controller).

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
Intensity One of: Off, Low, Med, High
Duration
 		Duration of the rumble in seconds, or fractions of a second.

Script Action

A script action executes the specified script. Script Actions support XML Expression Evaluation using Lua scripting and/or Reverse Polish Notation (RPN).

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
Script The script to be run.

Set Gauge Variable Action

Set gauge variable action is used to set the value of a gauge variable of the user entity.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
GaugeVariableName Name of the gauge variable to set. Not all valid gauge variables will be listed in SimDirector because not all gauge variables are registered with the system during entity load. In this case, the user can manually enter a gauge variable name. The variable will be set when the action is fired if the variable is valid for the vehicle.
GaugeVariableUnits
 		Units of the gauge variable.
GaugeVariableValue
 		Value to which the gauge variable is set.

Set Pause Action

Set pause action is used to pause or unpause the user, all objects, or the flight itself.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
PauseFlight YES or NO
PositionFreezeAll
 		YES or NO
PositionFreezeSelf
 		YES or NO

Set Property Action

Set property action allows any property to be set to the chosen entity by the user.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
ObjectReference Choose the entity that the property will be set for.
OnCompleteDelay A delay in seconds after the action of the property is rendered.
PropertyName Name of the property action.
PropertyValue Set the property value.
Units
 		Choices: number, feet, g_force, knots, pounds, percent, boolean, degrees, radians, RPM PSF, InHG, gallons, radianspersecond, custom.

Set Target Action

Set target action sets the target of an entity by GUID or location.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
TargetReference Choice to add an object reference or a world position to be targeted.
ObjectReference
 		Select entities or the ownship to do targeting.

Spawn Action

A spawn action will create all the new objects (including AI aircraft, scenery, actions and triggers) specified in a Spawn List object. A spawn action that is called multiple times will create multiple objects.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
SpawnLists
 		List of one or more Spawn List objects.

Time Penalty Action

A time penalty action is used to add a number of seconds to a player's race time. Note that this number can be negative, so adding a bonus rather than a penalty to the player.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
Deltatime Floating point time penalty in seconds.
TargetPlayer The players who should receive the time penalty. One of: Local Player, All Players, Triggering Player, All but Triggering Player.
Text Text displayed to the players receiving the time penalty.

Timer Adjust Action

The timer adjust action adds the DeltaTime property value to the timer trigger's internal clock.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
DeltaTime
 		A positive or negative timer adjustment, in seconds.
Triggers
 		List of Timer Triggers to have the timer adjustment.

User Input Activation Action

This allows user to provide their own input.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
EnableUserInput
 		Set to True or False.
TargetPlayer
 		Choice between local user, all players, trigger, and all except trigger.

View Change Action

View change action is changing the camera view.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
CameraView
 		Dropdown choice of which camera needs is to be changed.
CameraInterpolation
 		Changes the position, direction, and orientation of the camera.
The CameraInterpolation properties are:
Property Description
OffsetXYZ
 		Offset in 3D space.
Orientation
 		Pitch, Bank and Heading, in degrees.
CameraZoomLevel
 		Saved camera zoom level.
CameraChaseDistance
 		Distance to target in meters. This property applies only to cameras that are tracking objects.
CameraChaseAltitude
 		Altitude above the target in meters. This property applies only to cameras that are tracking objects.
Duration
 		Duration of the view change in seconds, or fractions of a second.
TimeElapsed
 		Current amount of time that has elapsed. Do not set this.

Virtual Instructor Session Action

A virtual instructor session recording will execute its recorded session actions sequentially upon being fired."

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
SessionActions
 		Actions which comprise a recorded session.
IsExecuting
 		True if VI session action is currently executing. Do not set.

Airports

Disabled Traffic Airports Object

A disabled airport will not be involved in any AI traffic, either as a starting point or a destination.

Property Description
AirportIdent
 		The airport identification code, such as KORF for Norfolk International.

Area Definitions

Area Definitions are defined spaces that may be attached to objects or positions. There are three types of Area Definitions:

Cylinder Path Area

Cylinder Path Area defines a 3D cylinder.

Property Description
Descr The name of the object. The system will generate a name such as CylinderPathArea1, simply be appending the number of the next object to the type of the object. This name can be edited to help identify it further. Make sure though that the name is unique.
AreaRadius Radius of an area object.
Orientation Pitch, Bank and Heading, or orientations about the three axes, in degrees.
AttachedWorldPosition An optional Attached World Position object. This fixes the area definition to a specific point.
AttachedWorldObject An optional Attached World object. This enables the area definition to be attached to a moving object.
DirectionMagnitude Length of magnitude and OffsetXYZ.
RenderInMission If set to true, renders edges of cylinder area in mission.
RGBColor The RGB color value of the area when rendered.

Rectangle Area

Rectangle Area defines a 3D box.

Property Description
Descr The name of the object. The system will generate a name such as RectangleArea1, simply be appending the number of the next object to the type of the object. This name can be edited to help identify it further. Make sure though that the name is unique.
Length Length of the box in meters.
Width Width of the box in meters.
Height Height of the box in meters.
Orientation Pitch, Bank and Heading, or orientations about the three axes, in degrees.
AttachedWorldPosition An optional Attached World Position object. This fixes the area definition to a specific point.
AttachedWorldObject An optional Attached World object. This enables the area definition to be attached to a moving object.
RenderInMission If set to true, renders edges of rectangle area in mission.
SnapToGround Snap the object's position and orientation to the terrain surface when editing.
RGBColor The RGB color value of the area when rendered.

Sphere Area

Sphere Area defines a 3D sphere.

Property Description
Descr The name of the object. The system will generate a name such as SphereArea1, simply be appending the number of the next object to the type of the object. This name can be edited to help identify it further. Make sure though that the name is unique.
AreaRadius Radius of an area object.
AttachedWorldPosition An optional Attached World Position object. This fixes the area definition to a specific point.
AttachedWorldObject An optional Attached World object. This enables the area definition to be attached to a moving object.
RenderInMission If set to true, renders edges of sphere area in mission.
RGBColor The RGB color value of the area when rendered.

Entities

Entities are computer-controlled vehicles. Four types of vehicle can be controlled by the AI (artificial intelligence) component of Prepar3D:

  1. Aircraft
  2. Boats
  3. Ground vehicles
  4. Other

Entities appear under the title PATH_CONTAINER_OBJECTS in the All Items list.

If an AI-controlled object is added to the mission, the following properties apply to it:

Property Description
Descr The name of the object. The system will generate a name such as Aircraft1 or Ferry1, simply be appending the number of the next object to the type of the object. This name can be edited to help identify it further. Make sure though that the name is unique.
AssociationID ID which can be used to determine affiliation.
HealthPoints Number of health points for a simobject.
ContainerTitle The make and model of the aircraft, or type of boat or vehicle. This is the title that is listed in the Aircraft Configuration File.
ContainerID An ID number given to this object. This can be used by ChangeObjectTypeAction to change, for example, the user's aircraft from one type to another.
IsOnGround Set to Yes or No.
WorldPosition Latitude, longitude, and altitude in feet. For example:
N22° 21' 44.68",E114° 1' 15.01",+000000.00
Orientation Pitch, Bank and Heading, in degrees.
EngineStarted Yes or No.
IdentificationNumber An aircraft identification number such as NAA000. Not used for ground vehicles or boats.
AIType One of: None, Airplane, Helicopter, WanderBoat, GoundVehicle, FuelTruck, BaggageCart, BaggageLoader, AirportAmbient or AirplanePlayback
For ships on a course use GroundVehicle. For small boats on the sea or lakes use WanderBoat.
Only Airplane and GroundVehicle take objects that can be further specified.
GroundVehicleAI If the AIType is GroundVehicle then clicking on this entry will initiate a GroundVehicleAI object. Expand the entry in the Property Sets box to expose the new objects.
AircraftAI If the AIType is Airplane then clicking on this entry will initiate an AircraftAI object. Expand the entry in the Property Sets box to expose the new objects.
AIBehaviorList Professional Plus Only References Behaviors used in coordination with SimDirector AI Behaviors Click the edit button to access them.
Activated Set to Yes or No. This can be changed during a mission using the Object Activation action.
LabelMode One of: UserDefined, On, or Off. If UserDefined is set, the label format will be taken from the user settings in the Settings/Display/Traffic dialog.
SnapToGround Snap the object's position and orientation to the terrain surface when editing.

AircraftAI Object

AircraftAI objects are referenced as Entities.

Property Description
Unit_Mode
 		One of:
Sleep, Waiting: Visibile while active but waiting for action, i.e. waypoint action, which will automatically set unit to "Waypoint" and it will follow referenced list.
Zombie: Just following the assigned altitude, airspeed, heading set in Aircraft AI properties.
Waypoint: Following Waypoints.
Takeoff, Landing, Taxi, Working.
GroundCruiseSpeed Ground speed in knots.
GroundTurnSpeed Turning speed in knots.
GroundTurnTime Time in seconds to make a 90 degree turn. A recommended minimum turn time is 0.5 seconds.
YieldToUser True or False.
WaypointList
 		WaypointList object.
Schedule Used internally only, for saving flight/mission information.
TakeofAI TakeoffAI object Provide this object only if the AircraftAIState is set to SIMPLE_TAKEOFF.
LandingAI LandingAI object. Provide this object only if the AircraftAIState is set to SIMPLE_LANDING.
TaxiAI TaxiAI object. Provide this object only if the AircraftAIState is set to SIMPLE_TAXI.
ICAOIdent Airport ID, such as PAFA.
AircraftAIState One of: SIMPLE_FLIGHT, SIMPLE_TAXI, SIMPLE_LANDING, or SIMPLE_TAKEOFF.
Aircraft in AIType "Airplane" will transition between Simple Flight AI modes depending on waypoint placement. For example, an aircraft in SIMPLE_TAXI will transition to SIMPLE_FLIGHT if waypoints lead the AI to the runway and into the air. Conversely if a waypoint transitions from the air to a spot on a runway will cause the AI will transition from SIMPLE_FLIGHT to SIMPLE_LANDING to follow the waypoints. Waypoints for takeoff / landing need to be placed reasonably far enough out to give the AI the correct approach or departure.
SimDisableTimer
 This property is for internal use only.
Flags
 This property is for internal use only.
MaxBank The maximum bank angle the aircraft should make, in degrees.
WaypointTouchDistance The distance in meters from a waypoint that is acceptable as having reached the waypoint.
PatternEntry One of: Downwind, Base, or Straight_In.

TakeoffAI Object

Takeoff Entities are referenced by AircraftAI objects.

Property Description
AITakeoffMode
 		One of: None, Init, Start_Rolling, Rolling, or Airborne.

LandingAI Object

Landing Entities are referenced by AircraftAI objects. Note that the recommended method of adding landings to the route of an AI controlled aircraft is to use waypoints on the ground. The following properties are used by Prepar3D when saving off a mission or a flight file.

Property Description
InitialFlaps
 		A value between 0.0 (for no flaps) and 1.0 (flaps fully extended).
ThresholdLLA
 		Latitude Longitude and Altitude in feet, of the spot that the aircraft should try to land on. For example:
N22°21' 44.68",E114° 1' 15.01",+000000.00
RunwayLength
 		Runway length in nautical miles.
RunwayAlt
 		Runway altitude in feet above mean sea-level (MSL).
RunwayHeading
 		Runway heading in degrees.
ApproachSlope Angle of the approach slope in degrees.
InitialAlt The initial altitude in feet of the approach slope.
MaxInterceptAngle The maximum angle that an AI aircraft will turn to intercept the approach slope.

TaxiAI Object

Taxi Entities are referenced by AircraftAI objects.

Property Description
NextWaypoint
 		The index in the taxi route of the next waypoint.
CurrentWaypoint
 		The index in the taxi route of the current waypoint.
CurrentWaypointL
 		Current waypoint latitude longitude and altitude in feet.
PrevWaypoint
 		The index in the taxi route of the previous waypoint, or -1 if there is no previous waypoint.
Destination
 		Destination latitude longitude and altitude in feet.
HoldClearPoint
 		This, and the following entries, will appear in the properties list, but are unused by the simulator.
HoldShortPoint
 		Unused.
HoldFlags
 		Unused.
HoldStartTime Unused
HasRunwayHeading Unused.
RunwayHeading Unused.
IsPushingBack Unused.
PassOnComing Unused.

GroundVehicleAI Object

Ground  vehicle Entities are for those land or sea vehicles which are to follow a course. The course is made up of a series of waypoints.

Ground vehicle Entities are referenced by Entities.

Property Description
GroundCruiseSpeed Ground speed in knots.
GroundTurnSpeed Turning speed in knots.
GroundTurnTime Time in seconds to make a 90 degree turn. A recommended minimum turn time is 0.5 seconds.
WaypointList
 		WaypointList object.Click on WaypointList in the Property Sets box to open up the properties for a WaypointList object.
YieldToUser True or False.

Waypoint List Object

A waypoint list object contains a list of waypoints, and some other general properties for the motion of the AI object. Waypoint list objects are referenced by Ground vehicle AI objects, Aircraft AI and MSOWaypointController objects.

Property Description
Waypoint
 		List of one or more Waypoint objects. Click on this entry to open up the Object dialog to add individual waypoints.
WrapWaypoints
 		Set to True if, after reaching the last waypoint, the first waypoint should become the next in the list.
CurrentWaypoint
 		The index of the waypoint the AI object is currently aiming for.
BackupToFirst
 		Set to True if the aircraft should backup to the first waypoint.
AttachedWorldObject An optional Attached World Object. This enables the waypoint list object to be attached to a moving object. The OffsetXYZ property of the Attached World Object is not available for Waypoint Lists.

Waypoint Object

A waypoint is a location in the world, with a set speed, that an AI object should aim for. If altitude is AGL set to YES, Entities will head straight for the next waypoint -- which may involve losing some altitude if the object is flying and there is terrain higher than the altitude set at the waypoint, between the next waypoint. Waypoint objects are referenced by Waypoint list objects.

Property Description
Descr
 		The name of the waypoint. The system will generate a name such as Waypoint1. This name can be edited to help identify it further. Make sure though that the name is unique.
InstanceID
 		This is the GUID generated to ensure the object has a unique reference. Do not edit this field
SpeedKnots
 		The desired speed in knots for the object when it passes the waypoint.
WaypointID
 		An ID number for the waypoint.
WorldPosition Latitude, longitude, and altitude in feet. For example:
N22°21' 44.68",E114° 1' 15.01",+000000.00
AltitudeIsAGL Set to True if the altitude is above ground level, set to False if the altitude is above mean sea level. Note that the Align function of the tool does not preserve this setting correctly.
CarrierMode Set to True if you would like AI airplanes to perform the additional actions necessary for carrier landing and takeoff. For example, if your waypoints are situated in a way that will trigger a landing (the current waypoint is in the air and the next waypoint is on the ground/platform), the AI aircraft will deploy their tailhook during the landing and throttle up upon hitting the ground/platform. Similarly, if the waypoints are situated in a way that will trigger a takeoff (the current waypoint is on the ground/platform and the next waypoint is in the air), the AI aircraft will unfold the wings, deploy the launch bar, arm the catapult (if in range), throttle up, and fire the catapult. The waypoints discussed in bold should contain the CarrierMode flag set to True. This feature is only available for AircraftAI Objects. The default value is False.
CustomValue This field is only used by an external sim.

Goals

There are two types of goals: a goal and a group goal. A mission can include one or more goals or group goals.

Goal

Property Description
id Reserved. Do not edit this field.
Descr The name of the goal. The system will generate a name such as Goal1. This name can be edited to help identify it further. Make sure though that the name is unique.
Text The text that will appear in the End Mission dialog, along with the final GoalState.
GoalState One of: pending, completed, or failed.
Optional True or False. Default is set to False.
Order The order in which the goals are to appear in the End Mission dialog, starting with 0 for the first.
PointValue The point value associated with the goal. Default is set to 10.
Activated Set to True or False. This can be changed during a mission using the Goal Resolution action.
Order The order in which the goals are to appear in the End Mission dialog, starting with 0 for the first.
FailedGoalText Text which can be obtained via SimConnect that is associated with the goal being failed.
SucceededGoalText Text which can be obtained via SimConnect that is associated with the goal being passed.

Group Goal

Property Description
id Reserved. Do not edit this field.
Descr The name of the goal. The system will generate a name such as Goal1. This name can be edited to help identify it further. Make sure though that the name is unique.
Text The text that will appear in the End Mission dialog, along with the final GoalState.
Goals The goals that will be used to make a group goal.
GoalState One of: pending, completed, or failed.
GroupGoalPassingScore The passing score of the group goal. Default is set to 10.
Optional True or False. Default is set to False.
Order The order in which the goals are to appear in the End Mission dialog, starting with 0 for the first.
PointValue The point value associated with the goal. Default is set to 10.
Activated Set to True or False. This can be changed during a mission using the Goal Resolution action.
FailedGoalText Text which can be obtained via SimConnect that is associated with the goal being failed.
SucceededGoalText Text which can be obtained via SimConnect that is associated with the goal being passed.

Group Objects

A group object simply defines a single reference to one or more objects. This is helpful if a selection of object is used a number of times, however, group objects cannot refer to other group objects.

Property Description
Descr The name of the group object. The system will generate a name such as Group1, simply be appending the number of the next group object the word Group. This name can be edited to help identify it further. Make sure though that the name is unique.
WorldPosition Latitude, longitude, and altitude in feet. For example:
N22°21' 44.68",E114° 1' 15.01",+000000.00
GroupedObjects List of objects in the group. 

Mission Objects

There are several types of Mission Objects. Mission Objects have the same Generic Action Properties as Actions.

Allowable Container List

An allowable container list is used to specify a list of container titles. This is currently only used by the Player object to specify a range of aircraft that the user must select one from.

Property Description
Containertitle One or more titles. Titles are specified in the Aircraft Configuration Files.

Camera

Use the camera mission object to place a camera in the world, which can be at a fixed location or attached to another (moving) object. The view from the camera will become the main view for the user.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
Activated Set to True or False. This can be changed during a mission using the Object Activation action.
AttachedWorldPosition An optional Attached World Position object. This fixes the camera to a specific point. Leave the AttachedWorldObject blank in this case.
AttachedWorldObject An optional Attached World object. This enables the camera to be attached to a moving object. Leave the AttachedWorldPosition blank in this case.
ObjectReference
 		This object the camera is looking at.
Name A short descriptive name for the camera that will appear in the View/Custom menu.
IsCinematic Set to True for a LetterBox image, False for a full-screen image. Cannot be True if PictureInPicture is set to True.
PictureinPicture Set to True if this camera will open in a separate view. Cannot be True if IsCinematic is set to True.

Condition Race Point

A condition race point triggers its actions when the OnEnterCondition is met. A complex maneuver, such as a vertical 360 requires several condition race points, each testing that the aircraft is vertical and has rotated through a certain number of degrees (say around 90). Each of these condition race points should present the same Maneuver icon (the Vertical360 in this case), and the OnEnterActions of such a complex maneuver should simply be to activate the next condition race point in the sequence.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
OnEnterActions The actions triggered when the OnEnterCondition is met.
OnEnterCondition The conditions necessary before the OnEnterActions will be initiated.
Maneuver Maneuver icon to display, refer to the List of Maneuvers. The default is None.
List of Maneuvers

The following maneuver symbols have been defined:

Flight Segment

Flight Segment links to a flight recording and isused to test and grade against the flight recording by comparing the user's measured parameters to the recorded parameters. For more information on Flight Recording, refer to Simulation Recording and Playback.

Property Description
Descr Generic description field, this is the name with which your mission or other objects or actions will reference this object.
FinishSegmentActions Actions to fire when this segment is finished.
PlaybackMode
 		Determines how the flight segment is played back. Choices are GradeFlight or DemonstrateFlight.
RangeParameter
 		Parameter and the ranges used to define different levels of proficiency of staying near the measured values of the parameter.
RecordingFilename
 		This is the file name of the Flight Recording.
RenderInMission
 		Set to YES if the area definition or flight segment should render int he mission. Choose NO otherwise.
SegmentGoal
 		Goal which will be passed upon completion of this segment or failed upon failure of this segment.
SequencedAction
 		Action to fire during the flight segment and when to fire it.
StartSegmentActions
 		Actions to fire when this segment is started.
StartSegmentCondition
 		Condition to wait for the user to reach before starting the segment.
UseFileTimeFrom
 		Time relative to the start of the recording that will be used as the start time for the recording.
UseFileTimeTo
 		Time relative to the start of the recording that will be used as the end time for the recording.

Focal Point

A focal point is an object that allows and shows highlights and text descriptions of a defined region. It can be edited in Virtual Instructor mode.

Property Description
FocalPointName
 		Name of the focal point.
FocalPointPreviewCamera
 		Choices of Virtual Cockpit, Right Seat, or Radio Stack. This is edited in Virtual Instructor mode.
PixelThickness
 		Numeric value that sets the pixel thickness.
RGBColor
 		Choose the color of the focal point.
Activated
 		Choose YES or NO
OnScreenTextFontSize The font size of the on-screen text.
DisplayTextOnTop Whether the focal point text should be displayed on top of the focal point. If false, it will be displayed on the bottom of the focal point.

Gate Race Point

A gate race point object adds a gate to a race course. A gate is typically two vertical pylons, though there is no specific graphic associated with a gate. The graphics are library objects positioned appropriately (refer also to the notes for the Collision trigger).

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
AttachedWorldPosition An Attached World Position object. 
Orientation Three floating point numbers specifying the orientation along the x, y and z axes.
OnEnterActions The actions initiated when the gate is successfully negotiated.
OnEnterCondition If the ConditionPenalty is set to zero, the conditions specified here must be met before the OnEnterActions will be initiated. If the ConditionPenalty is greater than zero, the OnEnterActions will be initiated whether the specified conditions are met or not, but if they are not met the ConditionPenalty will be added to the players race time.
Height The height of the gate in meters.
Width The width of the gate in meters.
PenaltyHeight The height, in meters, above which a penalty is applied.
PenaltyWidth Passing the gate between this width, in meters, and the width of the gate, incurs this penalty in seconds.
AbovePenalty The time penalty in seconds for flying above the PenaltyHeight.
OutsidePenalty The time penalty in seconds for flying outside the PenaltyWidth.
CondtionPenalty If this is greater than zero, it is the time penalty for failing to meet the OnEnterCondition.
OnPenaltyActions The actions initiated if penalties are incurred when negotiating the gate.
Maneuver Maneuver icon to display, refer to the List of Maneuvers. The default is None.

Living World Exclusion

A living world exclusion object is used to exclude one or more types of living world objects from a mission.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
ExcludeScheduleBoats True or False. The default is False.
ExcludeRandomBoats True or False. The default is False.
ExcludeFreewayTraffic True or False. The default is False.
ExcludeAircraft True or False. The default is False.
ExcludeAirportVehicles True or False. The default is False.
Areas A list of one or more AreaDefinition objects where the exclusions are to apply. If an area is not specified, no exclusions are applied.

Mission Objective

A mission objective object is used to attribute goals to objects in a mission.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
Goals Choices of objects are given. Set to True or False.
ObjectivePassingScore Score given to a pass. The default is 10.
ObjectivePointValue Point value assigned. The default is 10.
Optional True or False. The default is False.
Order DESC
Activated True or False. The default is True.

On Screen Text

Display floating text at a certain location on screen.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
OnScreenTextBackgroundColor Choice of colors for the backdrop of the box behind the text.
OnScreenTextFontSize The font size of the on-screen text.
Text The text to display on-screen.
OnScreenTextDisplayLocation The location of the screen that the text will appear in.
RGBColor Choose the color of the text.
Activated
 		Choose YES or NO

Panel

Panel is a representation of an instrument panel. It can be opened or moved using an Open Panel Action or closed using a Close Panel Action.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
PromptUser Indicates whether or not to prompt the user for a Title and Description for the Recording. If No, the values provided (see below) will be used. (Note: if a recording with the same Title already exists, it will be overwritten without confirmation!) If Yes, the mission/flight will be interrupted by a dialog asking the user to provide a Title and Description. Default is No.
RecordingTitle Description to use for saving the Recording without prompting the user. This is ignored if PromptUser is set to Yes.

Player

Player objects are used to identify the participants in a multiplayer mission, whether it be a race or other type of mission such as search-and-rescue etc.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
Name Text name of the player. This information is also accessible through SimConnect -- see the documentation on the SIMCONNECT_DATA_RACE_RESULT structure.
WorldPosition Latitude, longitude, and altitude in feet. For example:
N22°21' 44.68",E114° 1' 15.01",+000000.00
AltitudeIsAGL True if the altitude is above ground level, false indicates above sea level.
Orientation Three floating point numbers specifying the orientation along the x, y and z axes.
IsOnGround True or False.
Airspeed Current speed. Can be zero.
Containertitle
 		The title of the aircraft the player is flying in. See Aircraft Configuration Files.
AllowableContainersReference Reference to an optional AllowableContainerList object, typically specifying the range of aircraft types that the user must select one from.
RacerData Reference to the RaceCourse mission object

Point Of Interest

Use the point of interest object to highlight a location or other object. The highlight can be, for example, a vertical beam of light pointing at the object. Points of interest are displayed in the mission compass, and can be stepped through according to the cycle order.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
Activated Set to True or False. This can be changed during a mission using the Point of Interest Activation action.
SelectedModelGuid
 		GUID of  the model displayed in the scene when the point of interest is selected in the compass. This can be a vertical beam of light, or another suitable object highlighting model.
UnselectedModelGuid GUID of the model displayed in the scene when the point of interest is not selected in the mission compass. A zero GUID will cause nothing to be rendered, which is the default.
CurrentSelection Set to True if you want this object to be the current selection when the mission starts.
CycleOrder
 		The cycle order is the order in which points of interest are cycled in the mission compass, the lowest number first.
TargetName The name that is to appear on the mission compass when the object is selected in it.
MinimumModelScale The scale factor to be applied when the object is MinimumScaleDistance away from the view camera.
MinimumScaleDistance If the object is closer than the MinimumScaleDistance to the view camera, it will be scaled by MinimumModelScale.
MaximumModelScale Scale factor to be applied when the object is MaximumScaleDistance away from the view camera.
MaximumScaleDistance The distance beyond which the object is scales by MaximumModelScale.
AttachedWorldPosition An optional Attached World Position object. This fixes the highlight pointer to a specific point. Leave the AttachedWorldObject blank in this case.
AttachedWorldObject An optional Attached World object.This enables the highlight pointer to be attached to a moving object. Leave the AttachedWorldPosition blank in this case.


Note
Between the distances of MinimumModelDistance and MaximumModelDistance the scale factor is interpolated linearly between MinimumModelScale and MaximumModelScale. This feature is used to make the in-scene pointer (for example, the highlight beam) appear larger the further the user is away from the object, and the smaller the closer the user gets to it.

Pylon Race Point


A pylon race point object adds a single pylon to a race course. There is no specific graphic associated with a pylon. The graphics are a library object positioned appropriately (refer also to the notes for the Collision trigger).

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
AttachedWorldPosition An Attached World Position object.
Orientation Three floating point numbers specifying the orientation along the x, y and z axes.
OnEnterActions The actions initiated when the pylon is successfully negotiated.
OnPenaltyActions The actions initiated when a penalty is incurred at the pylon.
OnEnterCondition If the ConditionPenalty is set to zero, the conditions specified here must be met before the OnEnterActions will be initiated. If the ConditionPenalty is greater than zero, the OnEnterActions will be initiated whether the specified conditions are met or not, but if they are not met the ConditionPenalty will be added to the players race time.
InsideDirection
 		The opposite side of the pylon than the racer is to pass, one of: Left, Right.
IgnoreDistance If the player passes the pylon at this specified distance, or greater, then the actions are not triggered and this race point remains active.
PenaltyHeight The height, in meters, above which the player incurs the AbovePenalty.
AbovePenalty The time penalty in seconds to be added if the player flies above the PenaltyHeight.
InsidePenalty The time penalty in seconds to be added if the player passes to the inside of the pylon.
ConditionPenalty If this is greater than zero, it is the time penalty for failing to meet the OnEnterCondition.
Maneuver Maneuver icon to display, refer to the List of Maneuvers. The default is None.

Race Course

A race course object is created to contain a list of the race points: Condition Race Point, Gate Race Point, Pylon Race Point, and Volume Race Point objects.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
ObjectReferenceList A list of the race points making up one lap.

Race Info

One race info object is needed for each race.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties Does not contain the InstanceID property. See description above.
CountdownSeconds A number in seconds that the system is in a Paused state before the players can start flying, enabling the players to get ready.
NumLaps The number of laps in the race.
LapDistance The distance in miles for one lap. This is not calculated by the mission system, and has to be calculated by the mission designer. It is used to make estimated calculations of speeds for the race results.
FinishWaitTime Races end when one of the following applies:
All players have passed the final race point.
Sufficient time has elapsed after the first racer finishers. This time is the addition of the penalty time for the first place finisher added to the FinishWaitTime. The idea is to give all the other players a reasonable chance to finish, especially in the case where the first finisher has penalty time and subsequent finishers might actually win the race if they finish later but with fewer penalties.
When a race ends the results are displayed to all the participants.
ClockStart One of: OnAction, OnFirstRacePoint, Immediate. If this is set to Immediate, the race course clock will start when the CountdownSeconds have completed. If this is set to OnFirstRacePoint, the clock will start when the first aircraft passes the first race point. If this is set to OnAction, the race clock will not start until the RaceClockStartAction occurs.
RaceCourseActive
 		Set to True if the race course is to be active as soon as the CountdownSeconds have completed. Set to False if a RaceCourseActivationAction is to be used to activate the race course. If the race course is not active, flying through the gates will not fire any actions.
DisplayRaceMap Set to True if all players are to see a race map.
RaceMapZoomLevel The zoom level of the map, from 0 to 23. 23 is maximum zoom.

Realism Overrides

This object can be used to override the user's realism settings. For the specific properties: UserSpecified indicates that the user's settings should be used.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties Does not contain the InstanceID property. See description above.
FlyingTips
 		One of: User Specified, Enable, or Disable. 
CrashBehavior
 		One of: User Specified, AutoRecover, ResetFlight or EndFlight.
FlightRealism One of: UserSpecified, Enforced, or Relaxed.
ATCMenuDisabled Set to True to disable the ATC menu.
UnlimitedFuel One of: UserSpecified, Limited, or Unlimited.
AircraftLabels One of: UserSpecified, Enabled, or Disabled.

Ridge Lift

A RidgeLift object is used to simulate the effect of a hill slope on the wind.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above. Note that RealismOverrides objects do not have an InstanceID.
Activated
 		Set to True or False. This can be changed during a mission using the Object Activation action.
ObjectReference
 		A reference to an AreaDefinition object that defines a box that is the bounding area of the ridge lift. It is very important that the heading setting of the AreaDefinition points in the same direction as the slope (to the left in the above diagram).
AirObjectModelGuid An optional model GUID. The model will be rendered within the ridge lift box.
ScaleModel Set to True to if the model should be scaled to match the size of the ridge lift box. Set to False to render the model to its own scale.
CoreRateScalar A scalar value that is applied to the wind in the Core area of the ridge lift. A positive value will provide an updraft, a negative value a downdraft. Typically a positive value such as 0.5 would be entered here. So if the wind speed was 8 m/s, an updraft of 4 m/s would be applied.
CoreTurbulence A variation scalar that is applied to the wind speed. For example, if a value of 0.1 is entered, and the wind speed is 8 m/s, the wind speed in the ridge lift Core area will be randomly varying between 7.2 and 8.8 m/s.
SinkRateScalar A scalar value that is applied to the wind in the Sink area of the ridge lift. A positive value will provide an updraft, a negative value a downdraft. Typically a negative value such as 0.5 would be entered here. So if the wind speed was 8 m/s, a downdraft of 4 m/s would be applied.
SinkTurbulence A variation scalar that is applied to the wind speed. For example, if a value of 0.1 is entered, and the wind speed is 8 m/s, the wind speed in the ridge lift Sink area will be randomly varying between 7.2 and 8.8 m/s.

Scenario Metadata

The scenario metadata provides information that the mission system uses to place the mission appropriately in the list of missions presented to the user.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
ScenarioType
 		Text to describe the scenario. This is for your own use and does not appear on the screen.
IsMultiplayer True or False. Default is False.
SkillLevel
 		One of: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, or Expert.
LocationDescr Enter a text string that describes the location.
DifficultyLevel An integer determining the order in which the mission will appear after sorting. The lower the number the earlier it will appear in the list. Refer to the difficulty level numbers provided with other missions to determine the appropriate number here.
EstimatedTime
 		Enter a text string that estimates how long the mission will take.
UncompletedImage Filename for a bitmap containing the image to appear on the screen in the image list, when the mission has not been completed. Should be 380 pixels wide x 232 pixels in height, either 256 color or 5-6-5 format. Use the Imagetool utility to convert 24 bit bmp files to 5-6-5 format.
CompletedImage Filename for a bitmap containing the image to appear on the screen in the image list, after the mission has been completed at least once. Should be 380 pixels wide x 232 pixels in height, either 256 color or 5-6-5 format.
ExitMissionImage Filename for a bitmap containing the image to appear in the End Mission dialog. Should be 86 pixels wide x 86 pixels in height, either 256 color or 5-6-5 format.
MissionBrief Filename of an HTML file containing the mission briefing. The file can contain images (such as maps) and text describing the stages and goals of the mission.
AbbreviatedMissionBrief Short version of the mission brief, used when the mission is being repeatedly played by the user.
SuccessMessage The message that will be displayed once the mission ends and the user has completed the mission objectives. In this case the UncompletedImage will be replaced by the Completed image in the Missions list.
FailureMessage The message that will be displayed once the mission ends and the user has failed the mission.
UserCrashMessage The message that will be displayed once the mission ends and if the user has crashed.
CategoryRef To set the category GUID in your metadata cut and paste the value out of this Category file. Categories include Tutorials, Backcountry, Military, Airline Pilot, etc.

Thermal

A thermal object can be used to simulate atmospheric effects, including thermals and downdrafts. Refer also to the Weather Systems documentation.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above. Note that RealismOverrides objects do not have an InstanceID.
Activated
 		Set to True or False. This can be changed during a mission using the Object Activation action.
ObjectReference
 		A reference to an AreaDefinition object that defines a box that is the bounding area of the thermal. Note that this box defines the position of the thermal, including its starting height above the ground, and the height of the thermal.
AirObjectModelGuid An optional model GUID. The model will be rendered within the thermal box.
ScaleModel Set to True to if the model should be scaled to match the size of the thermal box. Set to False to render the model to its own scale.
SinkTransitionSize The width in meters of the transition layer between the Sink and the atmosphere outside of the thermal. Half of the width of this transition will be outside the radius of the Sink layer, and half within.
SinkLayerSize The width in meters of the Sink layer.
CoreTransitionSize The width in meters of the transition layer between the Core and the Sink of the thermal. Half of the width of this transition will be outside the Core, and half within.
CoreSize The radius in meters of the Core of the thermal.
BaseHeight The size of the transition layer, in meters, at the base of the thermal. The default is 50m. This is not the height of the thermal above the ground.
TopHeight The size of the transition layer, in meters, at the top of the thermal. The default is 50m. This is not the height of the thermal.
SinkRate The lift value, in meters per second, within the Sink layer. A positive value will provide an updraft, a negative value a downdraft.
SinkTurbulence A variation in meters per second that is applied to the SinkRate. For example, if a value of 1.5 is entered, and the SinkRate is -3 m/s, the actual sink rate applied will be randomly varying between -1.5 m/s and -4.5 m/s.
CoreRate The lift value, in meters per second, within the Core layer. A positive value will provide an updraft, a negative value a downdraft.
CoreTurbulence A variation in meters per second that is applied to the CoreRate. For example, if a value of 1.5 is entered, and the CoreRate is 5 m/s, the actual core rate applied will be randomly varying between 3.5 m/s and 6.5 m/s.

Volume Race Point

A volume race point specifies one or more areas that are to be entered as part of a race.

Property Description
Generic Action Properties See description above.
OnEnterActions The actions initiated when the race point is successfully negotiated.
OnEnterCondition If the ConditionPenalty is set to zero, the conditions specified here must be met before the OnEnterActions will be initiated. If the ConditionPenalty is greater than zero, the OnEnterActions will be initiated whether the specified conditions are met or not, but if they are not met the ConditionPenalty will be added to the players race time.
Areas A list of AreaDefinition objects, defining the volume.
ConditionPenalty If this is greater than zero, it is the time penalty for failing to meet the OnEnterCondition.
Maneuver Maneuver icon to display, refer to the List of Maneuvers. The default is None.

Mobile Scenery

Mobile scenery objects can be added to the world, to appear only when the mission is being undertaken. Mobile scenery objects take the following properties:

Property Description
InstanceID
 		This is the GUID generated to ensure the object has a unique reference. Do not edit this field
Activated Set to True or False. This can be changed during a mission using the Object Activation action.
ModelID GUID of the object model.
WorldPosition Latitude, longitude, and altitude in feet. For example:
N22°21' 44.68",E114° 1' 15.01",+000000.00
Orientation Pitch, Bank and Heading, or orientations about the three axis, in degrees.
Scale A scaling factor can be applied to the model. The default is 1.000 (no scaling).
IsOnGround True or False.
SpeedKnots The speed of the scenery object, in knots.
MSOWaypointController An MSOWaypointController object.

MSOWaypointController Object

The MSO (Moving Scenery Object) waypoint controller has the following properties.

Property Description
AccelKnots
 		The acceleration that will always be used to increase or decrease the speed of the scenery object, in knots per second.
GroundCruiseSpeed Ground speed in knots.
GroundTurnSpeed Turning speed in knots.
GroundTurnTime Time in seconds to make a 90 degree turn. A recommended minimum turn time is 0.5 seconds.
WaypointList A Waypoint object list.

Scenery

Scenery objects can be added to the world, to appear only when the mission is being undertaken. Scenery objects take the following properties:

Property Description
Descr The name of the scenery object. The system will generate a name based on the type of object, simply be appending the number of the next scenery object to the name of the scenery. This name can be edited to help identify it further. Make sure though that the name is unique.
WorldPosition Latitude, longitude, and altitude in feet. For example:
N22°21' 44.68",E114° 1' 15.01",+000000.00
Orientation Pitch, Bank and Heading, or orientations about the three axis, in degrees.
MDLGuid GUID of the object model, from the list of Library Objects.
AltitudeIsAGL Set to True if the altitude in WorldPosition is above ground level, set to False if the altitude is above mean sea level.
Scale A scaling factor can be applied to the model. The default is 1.000 (no scaling).
ImageComplexity The minimum scenery complexity setting the user must have set in order for this object to be rendered. One of: VerySparse, Sparse, Normal, Dense, VeryDense, ExtremelyDense.
Effect Reserved for internal use, when saving off a mission/flight file.
ModelAnimation Reserved for internal use, when saving off a mission/flight file.
Activated Set to True or False. This can be changed during a mission using the Object Activation action.

Spawn Lists

A spawn list is a list of objects (AI aircraft, scenery objects, triggers, and actions) that should only appear in the mission when a certain stage in the mission has been reached. Spawn lists are initiated by Spawn actions. If the spawn action is called more than once, then multiple objects are created.

Property Description
id Reserved. Do not edit this field.
Descr The name of the spawn list. The system will generate a name such as SpawnList1. This name can be edited to help identify it further. Make sure though that the name is unique.
InstanceId This is the GUID generated to ensure the object has a unique reference. Do not edit this field
ObjectReferenceList The list of objects to be created. Click on Property Set for the Objects to bring up the list of objects in the Property Sets box.

Triggers

Triggers initiate actions. There are eleven different types of triggers. When they are active, they will fire whenever the appropriate conditions are met. When a trigger is deactivated it is not evaluating its conditions to decide whether it should fire its actions.

In multiplayer mode, triggers with the IsGlobal property set to True will affect all other players. If a trigger does not contain this property, or the property is set to False, the trigger will affect only the local player.

Generic Trigger Properties

All triggers include the following properties (except where noted in the descriptions below).

Property Description
id Reserved. Do not edit this field.
Descr The name of the trigger. The system will generate a name such as AirportLandingTrigger1, simply be appending the number of the next trigger to the type of trigger. This name can be edited to help identify it further, though it is a good idea to maintain the type of trigger in the name, as this information is not clearly available through any other mechanism. Make sure though that the name is unique.
Text The text that will appear in the End Mission dialog, along with the final GoalState.
GoalState One of: pending, completed, or failed.
Optional True or False. Default is set to False.
Order The order in which the goals are to appear in the End Mission dialog, starting with 0 for the first.
PointValue The point value associated with the goal. Default is set to 10.
Activated Set to True or False. This value can be changed during the mission with the Object activation action.
Latched This will be False at the start of a mission and set to True when the trigger fires. Do not edit this property.
OneShot Set to True if the trigger should only fire once during the mission. Note a few triggers do not contain this property, these are noted in the descriptions for those triggers.
Actions List of one or more actions to initiate when the trigger is fired. Note a few triggers do not contain this property, these are noted in the descriptions for those triggers.

Airport Landing Trigger

An airport landing trigger is fired when the user's aircraft (not AI controlled aircraft) lands on a runway.

Property Description
Generic Trigger Properties
 		See description above.
AirportIdent The airport identification code, such as NORF for Norfolk International.
RunwayFilter A RunwayFilter object. Click on the AirportLandingTrigger entry in the Property Sets box to show the RunwayFilter entry, and click on the RunwayFilter to bring up its properties.
LandingType
 		One of: FullStop, TouchDown or Any. The default is FullStop.

Runway Filter Object

A runway filter object can be used to specify exactly which runway an aircraft is to land on.

Property Description
RunwayNumber
 		Runway number, leave as 0 if any runway is acceptable. Runway numbers can be from 0 to 36, or one of: North, NorthEast, East, SouthEast, South, SouthWest, West or NorthWest. The default is 0 (none).
RunwayDesignator
 		One of: None, Left, Right, Center, Water, A, or B. The default is None.

Area Landing Trigger

An area landing trigger is fired when the user's aircraft (not AI controlled aircraft) lands on one in a specified list of areas.

Property Description
Generic Trigger Properties
 		See description above.
Areas List of areas which are to fire the trigger. These areas are defined as Area Definition Objects. If no areas are defined, the user can land anywhere and the trigger will fire.
LandingType
 		One of: FullStop, TouchDown or Any.

Collision Trigger

A collision trigger is fired when an object, typically the user aircraft, hits an object such as a gate or pylon. When an object has an associated collision trigger the default crash behavior is overridden, and the actions initiated by this trigger specify the collision effects. For example, if gates and pylons have collision triggers they might initiate a PlayAnimationAction to render the deflating pylon collapsing. Other appropriate actions might be the DisqualifyPlayerAction or the TimePenaltyAction.

Property Description
Generic Trigger Properties
 		See description above.
ObjectFilter One of: Anything, User or Reference, determining which objects can fire the trigger. Reference is unused.
ObjectReference The library object that the collision trigger is attached to, typically a race pylon or gate.

Counter Trigger

A counter trigger will fire when it is counter reaches a specified limit. The counter is incremented by  Count Actions.

Property Description
Generic Trigger Properties
 		See description above.
StartCount
 		Integer indicating the count to start at.
StopCount
 		Integer indicating when the count stops and the trigger fires.
Counter
 		The current value of the counter.

Last Lap Trigger

A last lap trigger fires when the local user starts the last lap of the race.

Property Description
Generic Trigger Properties
 		See description above.

Menu Prompt Trigger

A menu prompt trigger will create a menu of options for the user. For some missions this can be as simple as the option to continue, and the option to turn back.

Property Description
Generic Trigger Properties
 		See description above. There is no Actions property for a Menu Prompt trigger.
Text
 		The text to precede the list of menu options. The maximum length of this text is equivalent to 37 "M"s.
MenuItem
 		A list of menu items.  Clicking on the MenuItem Property Set will bring up the Objects dialog. Click New to add as many menu items as you need. The menu items will appear in the Property Sets box of the Objects tab of the main Object Placement Tool dialog, and clicking on them will bring up their properties.

Menu Item Object

Menu item objects form the options for a Menu Prompt trigger.

Property Description
Descr
 		The name of the menu item. The system will generate a name such as MenuItem1. This name can be edited to help identify it further. Make sure though that the name is unique.
Text
 		The text for the menu item. The maximum length of this text is equivalent to 40 "M"s.
Actions
 		The list of actions to perform if the menu item is selected by the user.

Parking Trigger

A parking trigger will fire when the user has reached the parking spot assigned by the ATC at the airport specified. When allocating a parking space to an aircraft, a radius based on half the wingspan defined in the [aircarft_geometry] section of the Aircraft Configuration File is used.

Property Description
Generic Trigger Properties
 		See description above.
AirportIdent
 		The airport identification code, such as KORF for Norfolk International.

Property Trigger

A property trigger fires when one or more conditions are met. These conditions can be based on aircraft speed, altitude, failure of components, or a whole host of other simulation variables.

Property Description
Generic Trigger Properties
 		See description above. Property triggers are only ever fired once, and do not have a OneShot property value.
Condition
 		One or more conditions, created using the Conditional Editor, which can be a list of logical AND, or a list of logical OR, conditions. Click on the Property Set for Condition to bring up the Conditional Editor dialog.
Note
There is an issue with many of the floating point properties (such as Ground Speed), in that they cannot reliably be tested to being equal to zero in a condition. Mission designers should check for floating point values being less than a certain small value, rather than check for equality with zero. For example, check Ground Speed is less than 1kt to detect a "stopped" aircraft.

Proximity Trigger

A proximity trigger is fired when the specified object, usually the users aircraft, enters a given box.

Property Description
Generic Trigger Properties
 		See description above. The proximity trigger does not include the Actions property, as greater flexibility is provided by additional properties.
IsGlobal Set to True to specify the actions of the trigger firing apply to all players, False to specify they only apply to the triggering player.
HighFrequency Set to True if the object should simulate at a higher frequency (100 ms).
ObjectFilter
 		This can be one of: User, Reference or Anything.
The default is User, which means only the user aircraft can fire the trigger. If it is set to Reference, then only the objects listed for OnEnterFilter and OnExitFilter can fire the trigger. If it is set to Anything then any aircraft can fire the trigger. If it is set to User or Anything then OnEnterFilter and OnExitFilter are ignored.
OnEnterActions
 		List of actions to be triggered when a specified object enters the box, and the OnEnterCondition is met.
OnEnterCondition Conditions that must be met for the OnEnterActions to be initiated.
OnEnterFilter List of objects that will fire the OnEnterActions on entering the box, if the OnEnterCondition is met.
OnExitActions
 		List of actions to be triggered when a specified object leaves the box, if the OnExitConditions are met.
OnExitCondition List of conditions that must be met for the OnExitActions to be initiated.
OnExitFilter List of objects that will fire the OnExitActions on leaving the box, if the OnExitConditions are met.
Areas List of one or more 3D box areas that the trigger applies to. These are set up as AreaDefinition objects.
Note
If a proximity trigger has its OneShot property set to True, and it has on-enter and on-exit actions (or on-enter and on-exit conditions) the trigger will deactivate itself on the first set of actions. So in other words, when the on-enter actions fire, the proximity trigger will be deactivated and the on-exit actions will never fire.
So if you are going to use both on-enter and on-exit actions or conditions, or any combination, you must set the trigger so that OneShot is set to False.

Race End Trigger

A race end trigger is fired either when the user crosses the finish line, or when the user has finished in a specified place.

Property Description
Generic Trigger Properties
 		See description above.
Place If this is set to 0, the trigger will fire when the local user crosses the finish line, typically the last gate of the last lap, in a race. This will not necessarily be when the race is over. If this is set to a non-zero integer, the trigger will fire only when the race is completely finished and the local user has finished in the place specified.

Script Trigger

A script trigger fires when the specified script evaluates to a non-zero numeric value. Script triggers support XML Expression Evaluation using Lua scripting and/or Reverse Polish Notation (RPN).

Property Description
Generic Trigger Properties
 		See description above.
Script
 		The expression or script to be evaluated.

Timer Trigger

A timer trigger fires when the given number of seconds has elapsed.

Property Description
Generic Trigger Properties
 		See description above.
CurrentTime
 		Current amount of time, in seconds, left before the trigger fires. Do not set this property.
StartTime
 		The time, in seconds, when the timer is to start.
StopTime
 		The time, in seconds, when the timer is to stop, and fire any actions linked to the trigger.
OnScreenTimer
 		Set to True if an onscreen timer is to be rendered. Note that there can only be one onscreen timer (so if a new one is opened, it will replace any existing one). The default is False.
StaysVisible Set to True if the timer is to stay visible after the StopTime has been reached, typically so that a player can view their mission time. The default is True.
HighFrequency Set to True if the object should simulate at a higher frequency (100 ms).
IsGlobal Set to True to specify the actions of the trigger firing apply to all players, False to specify they only apply to the triggering player.

Sample Missions

To examine the XML of the missions provided with Prepar3D, click on the links below. The sample missions are from Prepar3D.

Tutorials

Sample Mission Description
Tutorial 01 Basic training, familiarizing users with the simulator and with rudimentary flight concepts.
Tutorial 02 Basic training with visual cues for flight navigation.
Tutorial 03 Basic training with visual cues for flight navigation and crash detection.
Tutorial 06 Landing training using a GPS system.
Tutorial 09 Basic helicopter training.
Tutorial 10 Helicopter takeoff and landing.
Tutorial 11 Helicopter maneuvering with visual cues, and landing on a moving platform.
Tutorial 12 Advanced helicopter maneuvering with visual cues, and landing on a moving platform.
Tampa-Clearwater Tour Tour that familiarizes users with using SimDirector.
Checklist and Startup Procedure Demonstration Demonstration of the preflight checklist.
Checklist and Startup Procedure Evaluation Evaluates knowledge of how to start a plane.
Taxi, Takeoff, Air Maneuvers, and Landing Taxi, takeoff, basic plane maneuvering, and landing.

Emergency
Sample Mission Description
Foul Weather Bad weather search for a capsized boat, and rescue of an injured person from the sea.
Civil Air Patrol Search Find a missing aircraft presumed crashed in the Idaho wilderness.
Missing Coworker The new pilot may be a risk-taker, but now is not the time to judge him. He's missing somewhere in the Cascade Mountains and it's your job to find him.
The Deep Searching for a ship off the coast of Hawaii.
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