Outpost 2 Mission Software Development Kit

Write Outpost 2 missions in Lua - no compiler, no DLL authoring.

OP2LuaSDK is everything you need to make your own Outpost 2 missions in Lua. You do not build or compile anything - the runtime (OP2LuaCore.dll) is prebuilt and included. You write two small (or large) text files and you have a mission.

File	What it is
cMyMission.placement.lua	Players, starting units, resources, beacons, named regions. The starting layout.
cMyMission.lua	What happens during the mission (timers, attack waves, win/lose, reactions).

That is the whole job: edit Lua, drop the files in the game, play. Missions are multiplayer-safe by construction (see docs/API.md).

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What's in this kit

OP2LuaSDK/
  README.md                 - you are here
  INSTALL.md                - where files go (Outpost 2 1.4.1 folder layout)
  bin/
    OP2LuaCore.dll          - the prebuilt runtime (drop into OPU). Ships once, runs every mission.
    LuaMission.dll          - the mission stub template (used by the new-mission tools)
  docs/
    API.md                  - the full mission scripting API reference
    GETTING-STARTED.md      - write your first mission, step by step
    LOGGING.md              - the logging/debug standard (Main / Mission / AI logs, in-game AI events)
  samples/                  - complete, commented missions to play and learn from
    hold-the-line/          - DEFENSE: survive escalating waves
    strike-team/            - OFFENSE: destroy the enemy Command Center
    the-convoy/             - ESCORT: get a cargo truck to safety
    hold-the-beacon/        - CONTROL: hold a region for a set time
    seek-and-destroy/       - HUNT: destroy scattered enemy outposts
    cold-front/             - COLONY: build, survive a volcanic eruption, evacuate to the starship
                              (living AI base, lava disaster, difficulty, starship victory; see its README.md)
    cataclysm/              - SURVIVAL: keep your Command Center standing through every disaster type
                              (meteor, quake, storm, vortex, eruption, blight) on eden01.map
    disaster-director/      - HELPER: a copy-paste random/weighted disaster scheduler (meteor, quake,
                              storm, vortex, lava, blight) with base-targeting and a min-gap timer
  tools/
    op2lua-newmission.exe   - scaffold a new named mission, Windows (DLL + skeleton scripts)
    op2lua-newmission       - the same tool, prebuilt for Linux (x86-64, static). `chmod +x` it.
    new-mission.ps1         - the same scaffolder as a PowerShell script (Windows)
                              (macOS / other: build from source - op2lua-newmission/ in the OP2Lua repo)

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Quick Start

1. Install the runtime. Copy bin/OP2LuaCore.dll into your Outpost 2 OPU folder (see INSTALL.md for the exact path on 1.4.1).
2. Play a sample. Copy the three files from a samples/ folder (e.g. hold-the-line/) into OPU\maps\LUA\, launch Outpost 2, and pick it from the Colony Games list. (A mission lists under Colony Games when its .dll filename starts with c - see INSTALL.md.)
3. Read its .lua. Open samples/hold-the-line/HoldTheLine.lua - that's the entire mission.
4. Make your own. Run tools/op2lua-newmission "My First Mission" (or tools/new-mission.ps1 -Name "My First Mission") and edit the two .lua files it generates. See docs/GETTING-STARTED.md.

You never open a compiler. The only files you ever edit are .lua text files.

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Coordinates are the ones you see in-game

When you place a unit, use the coordinates shown on the in-game status bar (hover a tile to read them - the same numbers OP2MissionEditor shows):

{ type = "Lynx", player = 1, at = { 30, 54 } }   -- appears at 30,54 in-game

No offsets to remember - type what you see, the unit lands there.

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OP2LuaEditor

A visual editor for building mission layouts. Load a map as the backdrop, place units, draw regions, set mission properties, and save it straight to placement.lua. It also scaffolds new missions (clones + names the stub DLL) so you can go from blank to playable without touching a compiler.

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Multiplayer

Outpost 2 multiplayer is a lockstep simulation, so missions must behave identically on every player's machine. The SDK makes the safe path the easy path: use the scheduler (after/every/ when), use game.rand for randomness, and you're deterministic by default. The full rules are a short read at the bottom of docs/API.md.

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Misc

• Full API: docs/API.md
• Tutorial: docs/GETTING-STARTED.md
• Place layouts visually: OP2MissionEditor - load a map and drag units/structures/beacons/regions into place, then save an .opm.
• Convert .opm -> placement.lua: OP2OpmTools - turns a saved .opm into a mission's placement.lua.
• The engine itself (building OP2LuaCore.dll, internals): the separate OP2Lua repo. You don't need it to make missions.