Although this course isn't designed to go into the specifics of mission creation for any one platform, there certainly are a number of things that simply apply to all. These are things that will make your missions better, more real, and more professional. Overall, that could also mean they will be more enjoyable.
And that means just that: all platforms have 3 axes on which craft move: X, Y and Z. Use of the Z-axis is often neglected but that will simply make a mission look crappy. How real is it that a dozen different ships arrive, all in the exact same X,Y plane? Use of the Z-axis is a simple way to make your mission look more professional, show that you really know what you're doing, and add a sense of realism. On top of that, it will make flying through waypoints look better, and can even make docking operations go smoother.
While I realize not everyone is fluent in English (I'm not either), or as good with English as I am in that case, it is not hard to get your spelling and grammar correct. If you can't do it, ask someone else to fly your mission and check it for you before you submit your mission. there's nothing worse than being unable to understand briefings or inflight messages because the spelling or grammar is so bad it makes them look like gibberish. They should flow, without the player having to think hard on what they mean. Because if he gets distracted trying to understand messages, he quickly gets shot. While the TAC Office will do its best to flush out any remaining problems, it's not really our job... it's yours.
While sometimes not the most fun part of mission creation, it certainly qualifies as one of the more important. Animated briefings are used on all platforms to instruct the player on the mission. And when done right, they can be phenomenal and increase a mission's value. It takes a bit of time to learn, and a lot of testing to get right, but in my opinion it is certainly worth it. Even if you go as simple as a one-screen animation with a few highlight boxes, it is already a lot better than nothing at all.
Starships are starships and starfighters are starfighters. Is there a difference? Yes ,of course there is. Starfighters carry one (sometimes two) pilots. They are quick and maneuverable. Capital ships often carry thousands of personnel, are large, and sluggish. Few things are then more frustrating in a mission than to see a large capital ship dart around the arena as if it was an A-wing, yet you see it all through the compendium. The reason: the mission creator assigned a starfighter order to a capital ship. This is plain BAD. Every mission editor has starfighter orders and starship orders. Use them as intended.
Another very crappy thing in missions is capital ships that are sitting ducks. They do nothing, they just sit there and wait for the mission to end. Sometimes they don't even shoot back when attacked. How real is that? To avoid this, assign orders to your capital ships, and give them waypoints. Waypoints are the points in space that a cap ship (with SSPatrol type orders) will fly through while doing what it's supposed to do. Usually, enemy capital ships will fly through their waypoints and actually start shooting you. For starfighters, assigning them is also a good idea. After all: while you're waiting for the enemy to arrive, if you have waypoints set, the fighters will actually be patrolling the area, instead of flying loopings around their startpoint.
Aside from this, waypoints also define the direction your ships will be facing when they enter the battle (they will always be pointed towards waypoint 1).
Balance and use them wisely. The easy level is for the novice pilots. They should be able to complete the missions too! So, on easy, a mission should be just that: easy. intermediate/medium is for the average pilot. It should be a bit challenging for them, but again: completable. Hard is for the true die-hards out there. Hard can mean hard, and by all means: hard also means that not everyone will be able to complete the mission at this setting. But some people should be!
This also means setting your AIs, but don't go overboard. After all: the games usually correct the craft AI for the difficulty setting at which you play. Creating a T/A with AI level Jedi would be almost impossible to defeat on hard!
Another way to set difficulty settings is increase/decrease the number of ships in the mission, or changing their type or warhead complement. Don't go from 4 enemy X-wings on medium to 9 enemy A-wings with advanced missiles on hard. Keep in mind that it's very easy to make the mission too hard.
These goals help make a mission more interesting, since the pilot won't know in advance what they are. It will take looking for them to find out what they are, and that can make a mission all that much more interesting. Put stuff here that doesn't belong in primary goals. This can be things like identifying a craft that should be destroyed, destroying all enemies, or capturing a craft that's not critical to the plotline if it doesn't get captured.