Ambient Events
This is another thing that is needlessly confusing in the editor. For some
things (like birds) you can right-click on the map and use the Create
AmbientTrigger function. You'll place a trigger, then you'll place the event
that is activated by that trigger.
First place the trigger where you want it. Like if you want birds to fly up when
someone is sneaking up the back way of a base, you'd put the trigger somewhere
around the place where the bad guy would be when you want the birds to go up.
Give it a name. Then select the blue ball.
Four things to adjust here. First, change radius from 0. This expands your
trigger area. Choose 10 or 20 or so. You can see the blue circle showing where
the tripwire will be now. Second, click beside TriggerType and choose Move.
Third (and most important) make sure you change CHANCE from 0 to 1. Zero means
it won't work. (Now, I ask you, why would you put a trigger on the map that you
didn't want to work?) If you change it to 1, you give it a 100% chance of
activating if someone trips the circle. Finally, play with "Minimum Time
Between Triggering". If you leave it at 1 or some small number, an
endless stream of birds will erupt from your spot so long as someone is in the
trigger zone. These are seconds we're talking about. I change mine to 60 so that
I get birds only every 60 seconds.
For things like the OnlySmoke ambient event or the fire or OilRigFire, or
whatever, don't use the create ambient trigger or create ambient event options
on your right-click menu. This is a total red herring. It doesn't work! To place
these things, you need to put them down on the map just like you do with tanks.
Find them in your left panel under Objects/StaticObjects/AmbientEvents. Place
them on the map and you're done. They even animate right in the editor.
Okay, I'm sure there are other confusing or aggravating things in the editor,
but those are the ones that stand out to me as the most confusing.