Omnimaga
Calculator Community => Discontinued => Major Community Projects => S.A.D. (Seek and Destroy) => Topic started by: Hot_Dog on December 30, 2009, 10:28:27 pm
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I know I'm putting up a "wanted ad" too early because we haven't made enough progress on S.A.D. to allow everyone to appreciate it fully. However, this will give people plenty of time to consider, rather than saying "I need to know in a week" or that sort of thing.
Anyways, if you're looking for something to program for Windows or a cross-platform language, we're in need of someone (or two) to write up a GUI map designer and a GUI campaign designer for S.A.D. If you're interested, let me know on this forum what language(s) you program in, and whether you'd like to work on a specific program or if you don't care which one. No ASM or graphics experience necessary, and I will provide necessary details.
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Map/campaing designer? w00t! Sounds promising
Unfortunately I can't help, though :(
Some people might be able to, though, providing they're not overloaded with too many projects :P
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I might be able to help. Though I won't know until a few weeks after the start of next term whether I'll have enough free time (between school and my other projects) to work on this. The only language I have experience in GUIs for is Python.
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I might be able to help depending on what exactly you want. I pretty much only know vb, but if necesarry I could probably also use c.
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VB (preferably a newer version) and Phython are all fine. But I think I should probably put up more details about the programs for those who need them for making their decision.
The map editor takes a picture with 16 x 16 tiles, and allows users to place them on a map of their choice of size. It will also come with a tileset designer, where a user takes a bitmap with 16 x 16 tiles, and specifies information about each and every tile: which ones a solid, which ones are partially solid (meaning a unit can walk on some of it), which ones are solid but can have buildings placed on top, which ones are player starting positions, etc. Once the tileset is saved, the user can use these tiles in the map editor. The map editor compiles this information into a map (or a set of maps) that S.A.D. can use. I imagine the map editor to be relatively easy to program.
The campaign editor is a little bit harder, but it mostly requires just time. The campaign editor assumes that all required graphics were created by the player. A user can design a campain and compile it into an application variable (or several application variables) that S.A.D. can read.
The main body of the campaign designer is a text window. Campaigns are designed so that instructions are read one after the other. There is no jumping, no if-thens, and no looping. (The asm code will take care of that) There is only one instruction added after another. These instructions are listed in English as a "Mission Script," meaning instructions come one after the other, such as "Big Text" or "Pause," etc. These instructions can be edited manually using a built-in editor if needed. They are also added or edited using wizards, or step-by-step dialogs.
Example:
BigText(1, 1, "Hello") would display "Hello" on the Homescreen at x=1 and y=1.
As I said before, there are wizards to make this process easier. Or, if a minor adjustment needs to be made, the text window can also be used.
The Campaign Editor will allow a person to test his script, except for mission objectives.
Here's some other things the Campaign Editor will allow a person to do, all with wizards or the text editor:
*Add a mission objective
*Add a sprite
*Add a map (Pre-made. The campaign designer will not include a map-editor.)
*Add a Unit. Custom units can be added to S.A.D., though there are strict limitations as to what you can add, and these custom units are only for the AI. For buildings, you can only make similarities of the buildings already in the game. For units, you can only provide range, air attack, ground attack, fire rate, weapon data, S.A.D. abilities, fuel and sephrane gas. For this reason, I don't think implementation of this function will be as hard as it sounds.
*Add a faction, using only these custom units.
*Add a custom object for certain mission objectives. This is really a bitmap with a few statistics.
*Display Big Text in the Campaign
*Display Small Text in the Campaign
*Display a Mission Breifing screen in the Campaign
*Display a Picture in the Campaign
*Add a cutscene. Cutscenes only display sprites, move sprites, display maps, and display text.
*Edit AI: Edit the difficulty of the AI for the mission.
*Edit Mission Objectives
*Edit a Tech Tree
*Set a Mission as a Combat mission (More on that later, but it should be easy to code)
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That sounds really cool! I wish I could help, but the only computer language I know is C++, but I don't know much in it. (I''ve programmed in C++ for about 4 months and just learned about functions.)
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One thing to make sure is that the PC editor is not dependent on many dlls or ocx files, because it gets annoying when you need to download full of them to play certain games or use certain softwares
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1 word, wow. I'd like to help but I have almost no experience with computer programming and I might be lacking the time as my break will end tomorrow.. But I like how this game has so many functions and just.. So awsome!
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Well, I program in VB 2008 which is about as recent as it gets. :P I agree the map editor would probably be pretty easy to make, so i can probably do that if you want, but 2 things first:
1. So then the maps and campaings are two different things completely then? Or am I missing something?
2. The campaign editor, would it translate the script into a custom format readable by an asm program on calc, would it translate it into regular asm code, but kind've shortened, meant to be read in sections by another program (not exactly sure how to phrase that one), or would it make a complete program as the campaign(like the second one, but running code included, kind of). Depending on which one, I might be able to do that one too, if, like said above, you want me too.
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1. Campaigns use maps. It's like how an apple pie uses apples.
2. When compiling (not saving), the campaign editor translates the script into a custom format of binary data, kind of like a file for saved computer games. This is stored as an application variable. I will be writing the asm code necessary to read and use this data. I will give you the format needed as we plan out how to read these application variables.
i can probably do that if you want...Depending on which one, I might be able to do that one too, if, like said above, you want me too.
The last thing I want is for you to work on something you don't want to work on, so take your pick! :) You can work on both or one of your choice, and let me know if you have other questions.
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Also, I was wondering something: If you plan to add a feature to the campaing editor like in Starcraft that permanently locks down/password protect a campaing you made (so no one can edit it), as a head up I would like to remind you such protection is not to be taken for granted. With Calcsys or disassemblers, I am pretty sure anyone who knows a bit of ASM could manage to unprotect the file, like how people managed to do so with Starcraft scenarios and map files using hacking tools.
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Also, I was wondering something: If you plan to add a feature to the campaing editor like in Starcraft that permanently locks down/password protect a campaing you made (so no one can edit it), as a head up I would like to remind you such protection is not to be taken for granted. With Calcsys or disassemblers, I am pretty sure anyone who knows a bit of ASM could manage to unprotect the file, like how people managed to do so with Starcraft scenarios and map files using hacking tools.
True, but if we have password protection, it would not be in ASM. Personally, I'm probably not going to keep the S.A.D. campaign protected, that way people can look at it and see how to make their own.
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yeah but still, when converted to 8xp/8xv format, can't people modify them from other tools? Again, I don't know much about that stuff so idk
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Indeed, anyone could indeed modify the application variable containing the campaign. And it would be relatively easy to...all people would have to do is read our source code and learn the format. But then, why would people want to bother? (I'm asking simply because I don't know) To me, it seems almost as pointless as editing a level pack done for the calculator Super Mario games, but am I missing something?
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The only motive I can think about is if someone made an awesome scenario/campaing and doesn't want anyone to modify it or even steal it.
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You have a point, but at the moment, I can't think of any way to add protection...if it would be hard for somebody to hack in, that would be one thing, but I can't think of a method that would prevent straight-forward access to someone's campaign
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Yeah, for now, I think it is better to not worry about this. I just wanted to bring this issue up in case you were alerady planning to add it (or alerady added it).
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Sorry to but in, but i'd just like to know why the last post by HotDog on the previous page has a scroll bar O.o?
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Scroll bar? I didn't see one...
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Its on the right? Oh well, it doesn't matter anyway, I was just curious :P Carry on!
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Sometimes I see a horizontal one. It depends if the post is too large. It often breaks if it contains long links or large images
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cooliojazz, did I answer your two questions well enough?
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You might have scared him away x.x
j/k
He generally doesn't post very often, though...
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Oh sorry, yes you did. Very nicely actually.
I'll work on either/both, probably map first. How long until this'll probably start?
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I'd say a week. Assuming you're doing the map editor first, we need to know for sure if we're doing 16 x 16 tiles...we may end up doing 8 x 8. Afterwards, I need to sort out final details with the format for maps.
Thanks for your help! Incidentally, I'm not setting any deadlines, so don't feel rushed :)
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Thanks for helping with SAD. I'm glad someone that could help with the computers side of things did. This will be great!
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It turns out I won't be able to help :(. Between school (and the associated work), work, and the calc-related project(s) I'm working on I can't promise to be able to commit any time to these editors.
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(and forum arcade, noticing your signature... j/k :P )
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cooliojazz, we're still trying to figure out between 8x8 and 16x16 tiles. Is there any way you can make the map designer so that it can handle whatever one we choose? For instance, a constant called tilesize that can be edited in the program code
By the way, I'm pretty sure I have someone else willing to work on the campaign designer, so at least for right now, I won't need you for that
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Eeems?
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Well, Eeems is doing the on calc one, but I think someone else hopes to do the computer-based one
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Oh yeah right, the comp one x.x.
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Umm, Hot Dog, I might be able to, but could more specifics about how you want the map editor be possible first?
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Umm, Hot Dog, I might be able to, but could more specifics about how you want the map editor be possible first?
Certainly...I'll give you full details tomorrow. I just wanted to run that question by you first.
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The map editor allows one to create maps, map packs, tilesets and tilepacks. A user compiles these into application variables for S.A.D. I will give you the S.A.D. appvar file formats as soon as I can, but here's some information for you to start writing the program. As always, feel free to ask questions, especially on irc if you can
Tilesets
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-A tileset can have up to 256 tiles. Assume temporaily that tiles are 8x8, but be prepared for 16x16.
-The map editor assumes that the actual graphics for the tile set have been created as a bitmap.
-To create a tileset, one opens a tileset designer from the map editor.
-The first step is to give a name for the tileset, up to 8 characters. The user also selects the bitmap with all the tiles designed on it.
-After the user selects the bitmap and names the tileset, the designer scrolls through each tile in the bitmap, one by one. The user can either mark it as a standard tile, a tile with collision, or a tile containing a form of belthium crystals (full deposit, 1/4, halfway-mined, and 3/4)
-The tileset is then saved in two formats. One is for the map-editor to use, the other is for S.A.D. to use. You can decide how you want to save tilesets in map-editor format, but I would suggest that all you need is the name of the tileset and the bitmap location on the computer.
Tilepacks
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Tilepacks are collections of tilesets. The map editor can create tilepacks for S.A.D., but it doesn't use them. Basically, if the user wants to compile a tilepack, a dialog opens allowing a user to select as many tilesets to compile together as the person wants. As the user adds more and more, the program will display how many bytes of calculator space the tilepack will take
Maps/Map Editor
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-An S.A.D. map can hold up to 10000 tiles. That means that the height * width cannot be bigger than 10000.
-A tileset is chosen for the map by the user as the map is set up. Once a tileset is chosen, it cannot be changed for the particular map, and only one tileset can be used. When the map designer is loaded in the GUI, the tileset (as a bitmap) is loaded in a seperate window, allowing a user to choose tiles to paint.
-Grids can be turned on or off.
-There should be a button to allow a person to place starting locations.
-Maps can be saved, loaded, etc. They can also be compiled to S.A.D. format when ready.
Map Packs
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Collections of maps. These are created the same way as Tilepacks are, and once again, can only be made, not used, by the map editor
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How big a SAD map with 10000 tiles would be in memory?
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How big a SAD map with 10000 tiles would be in memory?
Slightly less than 10 KB. I forgot to mention that S.A.D. is going to require user ram (another reason we made smaller sprites). It would have been nice if we could have avoided that, but then most people proably will find it worth it.
The map Orita Five takes 3456 tiles, so I doubt that many people will be using all 10000 tiles allowed, that would be a VERY big map.
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I assume maps will get archived on exit, right?
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I assume maps will get archived on exit, right?
Good question. Actually, maps stayed archived the whole time, and are never unarchived. They just get copied to RAM, and then the ram with the map is cleared when the player returns to the main menu. This also applies to tilesets.
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Oh yeah better like this, didn't thought about that x.x. Less garbage collection too
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Is it possible to have an option that would show up on calcs with xRam to "Use Ram or xRam"?
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Why not use 12x12 tiles? I think this is the optimal solution...
EDIT: If you want, I can do some calc sprite graphics...
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12x12 is harder than 8x8 or 16x16 in asm.
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Which is because of the way the calc screen I set up
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@ztrumpet: If the extra ram can be used in this circumstance, that's not a bad idea. I'll get back to you on that :D
@Silver Shadow Do you have any samples of what you've worked on?
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http://ourl.ca/2816
Those projects were abandonned, and those weren't the most up-to-date pics...
I might have other things that I did somewhere on the hard drive... I'll guess I'll go and look for them.
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I might have other things that I did somewhere on the hard drive... I'll guess I'll go and look for them.
That would be great...I took a look at your work, and it's EXCELLENT, but now I'm curious as to what you can do with bigger sprites.
If you can't find anything, I have couple of tests. You can pick which one you want to do, but since each one corresponds to a different sprite-designing position in S.A.D., I would encourage you to try both.
1. Draw a 16 x 16 sprite of an erupting volcano
2. Draw a 24 high by 16 wide sprite of a man in a military outfit holding a mug.
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Silver Shadow, in ASM, sprite width have to be multiple of 8 pixels. It's because 8 pixels width is one byte of graphics data. You can't have graphic data of 1.5 byte. A special sprite routine to work with 12x12 sprites would need to be written.
This is why Sam Heald's Zelda: Test Of Courage Demo runs at such low framerate compared to Spencer's Zelda
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Well, Hot Dog, thats exactly the info I need, so I start working on this.
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Well, Hot Dog, thats exactly the info I need, so I start working on this.
Great! Thanks again
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Cooliojazz, I've attached the space tiles we used to create the test map. Please feel free to use them to test the map editor.
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and they are awesome ^.^
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I'm not very good at drawing large character sprites, so I only did the volcano.
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I'm not very good at drawing large character sprites, so I only did the volcano.
Okay, here's the plan. I can put you on tilesets for as long as you want, and then somebody else can take over when you decide you don't want to do them anymore. They need to be isometric, so if you don't want the job, that's fine. But then in that case, I don't have any other sprite jobs available.
Let me know what you think
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This looks nice, I wonder if the bottom edges could be rounded a little so it looks a bit more 3D-ish?
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Well, I'm not really skilled with isometric sprites, so I guess I won't participate. However, if you need me for something else later, know that I'm always ready to help.
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It's a really nice volcano, though.
I'd like to help, but I'm bad a spriting. :(
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I'd like to help
Your time will come, ztrumpet, your time will come :D It may be a while, but it will come
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Well, I thought that if you didn't need any sprite makers, I might be useful elsewhere, as a beta tester or with anything that could be done on-calc without knowing asm.
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I'd like to help
Your time will come, ztrumpet, your time will come :D It may be a while, but it will come
:D Great!
*ZTrumpet looks for Eeems' crylogenic freezer...
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Well, I thought that if you didn't need any sprite makers, I might be useful elsewhere, as a beta tester or with anything that could be done on-calc without knowing asm.
I'll be on the lookout and keep you in mind. We actually don't need beta testers, but I will eventually be looking for balance testers (aka pre-demo testers) and map designers.
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Cooliojazz, here's another thing for the map editor: Not only can height * width not be bigger than 10000, but also width cannot be greater than 255 and height cannot be greater than 255.
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Wait, i have a question. The map picture can have 256 tiles, but does it have to be, say, 16x16 or 8x32 specificaly or can people make any dimensions and assume the program will open it?
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That's a good question. If you can, let the bitmap be any width/height in multiples of 8 pixels (or 16 if we do 16 x 16 tiles). However, the program should only retrieve the first 256 tiles.
If this is not possible, let's do 32 wide by 8 high for a bitmap.
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Here's the bitmap, Cooliojazz. The first bitmap is 48 x 48, the second is 16 x 16. Note that the 48 x 48 icon should have NO transparency.
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Awesome, thanks :D
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Silver Shadow, I'm considering changing the perspective for the maps. They may not be isometric, but they would still have a perspective rather than a top-down look if they are not isometric. If you could take a look at this picture and tell me if you can do sprites in this perspective, that would be helpful.
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mhmm looks nice, altough i also liked the other tiles. I guess it will be easier to deal with square tiles, right, tho?
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I guess it will be easier to deal with square tiles, right, tho?
Exactly. In addition, it makes it easier for people who can't do isometric to create their own tilesets, and it allows for bigger maps in the same amount of space. Also, it improves the pathfinding.
Sadly, I can't make everything top-down for graphical reasons, but in the manual, I'll have tips for creating tiles in this perspective, since all the tilesets should show consistency with each other. It does not take a lot of work to transform tiles from top-down to this perspective.
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I like this look. It reminds me of Pokemon. :)
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I definitely prefer to do sprites in that perspective.
However, my PC broke down :'(, so I won't be able to come on Omnimaga in the near future, nor on any kind of internet communication (e-mail, IRC, etc...) :'(. My PC was sent for repairs, and I don't know how long this may take :(. I'm writing this post from my mom's PC, and I doubt that she will let me use it as regularly as I did mine... :(
@Hot_Dog: Because I can still draw on my calc, just e-mail me a list of what you want me to draw (with the size of the sprites and any other info you want me to have about them), and I will do it once I'll be able to consult my e-mails.
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Ouch this sucks, I hope you have access to school or something and get it repaired soon x.x. Do you have a clue when you'll come back? I hope you didn't lose too much stuff either...
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Ouch. ;.; Good luck!
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Pictures for Silver Shadow
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I'll try to do my best!
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Hey, cooliojazz, I'll have the file formats for you in two weeks, during my spring break. Everything going okay so far?
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Yep, and thanks for getting those for me. :)
EDIT: 200th post, lol :P
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EDIT: 200th post, lol :P
Squirrelization ensues
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Hey, coolio,
I've provided the appvar file formats in file attachments. I also have a couple of features I need you to add into the map editor if you are able to. Thanks, and as always, feel free to ask questions. I will be on omnimaga irc now that finals are over, so you can ask questions there too and I'll get to you as soon as I can. I apologize if there is anything confusing.
Additional features:
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* The user can select a 48 x 48 monochrome bitmap to use as the "map preview"
* The map can be given an eight-character AppVar name and a 20 character full name
* The map can be given a description of up to 255 characters
Some specifics on the file formats:
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* If you see a single number, write it to the file as the binary character/ascii character of the number. For instance, for 20, write Chr(20) to the file.
* If you see a string, write the string to the file.
* If you see a # character, there are special instructions as to what to write to the file.
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Glad you are returning on IRC soon ^^
I hope Cooliojazz isn't too busy tho x.x, he has been unusually inactive on IRC and MSN lately, same for Skype. He connected on IRC once in 2 weeks and most of the time if I IM him elsewhere he never awnsers anymore :(
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Cooliojazz, I forgot to tell you that we'll be using these map formats for the Turn-Based S.A.D., so we'll give you a copy to test with. If it works on this version of S.A.D., it will work on the actual RTS version of S.A.D.
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How's the map editor coming, Coolio?
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Oh, actually I haven't worked on it for a while, sorry. :P I'll start working on it again though. It's honestly not too far...
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Oh, actually I haven't worked on it for a while, sorry. :P I'll start working on it again though. It's honestly not too far...
Actually, you're probably further along then some of the rest of us are :)
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I hope this stays alive :D
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I hope this stays alive :D
Me too. :)
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I hope this stays alive
Believe me, I know how you feel. I hope the fact that someone just volunteered for the campaign designer will keep your hopes up.
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someone just volunteered for the campaign designer
Who volunteered? * ZTrumpet is curious... ;D
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someone just volunteered for the campaign designer
Who volunteered? * ZTrumpet is curious... ;D
His user name is matthias1992, and he's from UnitedTi.
http://www.unitedti.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=8927&view=findpost&p=141805
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Nice to hear ^^
He mention he is not active on UTI. I hope he keeps you updated anyway there, though
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Nice to hear ^^
He mention he is not active on UTI. I hope he keeps you updated anyway there, though
Actually, we have email contact, and I'm hoping instant-messaging as well
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Aaah sounds good :)
The later might be best since it's faster
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Hey, coolio, I'm looking at switching to 16 x 16 tiles. Is that going to pose a problem for you?
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Uhh, don't think so, no...
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Uhh, don't think so, no...
Thanks, man.
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well here I am..infamous as I have become :)
unfortunately due to the time difference instant messaging is not really a very realistic option. I must admit I have not worked on the campaign editor lately but I am back on it now and changing and tweaking some of the GUI. I know that that is not the most important part but unfortunately I still don't really understand how to make a appvar albeit I did understand the files "TileSet.txt", "TilePack.txt", "SingleMap.txt" and "Map pack.txt" which were posted here a while ago.
I think I am going to reduce the color highlighting to two different colors, one for functions and one for the arguments. Also, what would be a prefferd token for adding comments? # or ; maybe, or just // ?
So most of the time going into this is identifying for each line what the command is and thus were the arguments should be, then retrieve them and convert them appropiately into a appvar. maybe I will use a indirect method for this meaning that the 'parser' creates not just an appvar but a in between file aswell with all the arguments and functions neatly seperated and listed which is far easier to read out...
well these are just ideas. I hope no one has problems with VB2008? since its only for windows....but then I am sure I might be able to put off a C-written parser. When you get the ideas and methodes sorted converting to a other language is not that hard...
I hope to have informed you properly through this and I hope I'll get it done soon and 'well done'.
Matthias1992
p.s UTI is not really my cup of tea I am more active on TI|BD. Its quite funny to see the same people as there here...at least, some of them...
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Hi, I am glad to see you around. Welcome here. :) Btw why do you dislike UTI? is it due to the forum system or due to the inactivity? I know activity there kinda died lately. And yeah both site share the same user base as TI|BD was founded mostly by UTI members (and now adminned by some UTI staff). I used to be active on both myself, as well as MaxCoderz and RevSoft. I still post on Cemetech from time to time, but far less much than here.
I was glad to hear that you were helping on S.A.D developpement and I wish you good luck on the campaing editor. One thing to make sure for the release: make sure the user know what additional files he need to grab online to get it to run, such as .dll and .ocx files, and make sure it runs on XP, Vista and Seven, they are all used by many people. Hopefully, someone else could maybe help making a Linux editor later. I doubt I can help much, though, because I never got too far in VB and the last time I touched VB was in June 2003, with VB6. I do not know other languages for the computer.
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Nice to see you here. I remember you from TIBD. ;D
Thanks for working on this. It should be pretty cool. :D
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Well I do not dislike UTI. It is a valuable resource but it is to inactive for me. I don't like to wait a week before I get a answer...but that is just me being inpatient.
As for .ocx and DLL's these are not needed. It will eventually be packedinto one exe file. The only prerequisite is the latest Windows Runtime .NET© (or something like that, I forgot it's exact name) but when you make a exe in VB2008 it automatically whil check if you have the latest Runtime version installed an warn you if you haven't. Most people who use third party software or any other microsoft software besides windows will already have this installed.
I'll (no promise) post a image of the GUI here soon.
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Oh ok, yeah UTI has become slowly inactive as years goes by, kinda like what happened to MaxCoderz. x.x
And glad such files will not be needed ^^
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Hi, Matthias,
I'll have appvar info for you as soon as I can (be patient), but be aware that appvars can only be compiled, not opened and saved as. Also, compiling will be done on the following basis: whatever text appears first in the editor gets compiled first.
Other than that, I'd say use ; for comments and keep up the very good work!
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Coolio, with the new races coming to S.A.D., I need you to do me one more favor: Remember how a user could select what tiles were resources and which ones were collidable? I also need one where one can select which tile is the default terrain tile. This will be listed as a single tile number after the "resource tiles" in the appvar.
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ok...
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ok...
Forgive me if this sounds wrong, internet talking can lead to misinterpreted attitude.
By ok, did you mean "yeah, I'll do it", or does that mean "I don't understand what you're asking?" If the latter, I'll be more than happy to explain it more
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Having talked to Cooliojazz in private a lot in the past year, I think he means he will do it
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Yeah, thats just "sure"
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Question: What exactly is the 48x48 preview?
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Oh, that's what the map looks like. Here's an image I did as a sample. Like I said, it's up to the designer to make his own 48 x 48 image.
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Ahh, ok, thats what i needed. I must have missed that somewhere, thanks. =P
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Are the previews dynamic based on the map content or are they manually drawn then inserted in the game?
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I assume the map layout is static, I mean the edges of the map itself but as soon as buildings come in it becomes dynamic...(I guess)
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So here are the latest images of the SAD Campaign Editor (SADCE). First is the Main Menu you get when you start the application.
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4136/4760245382_904de39676_b.jpg)
Second (below) is what happens when you click the "Add Mission Objective" button.
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4115/4760245140_52ecd730d7_b.jpg)
Third is what happens when you hit the "Add Sprite" button (n.b not everything is shown once you hit ok in the dialog you are prompted the location of the sprite in ASCII binary format e.g. C:\Spr.txt)
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4094/4759612093_236b8d335f_b.jpg)
fourth is what happens when you combine some of these actions....
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4081/4760245496_3a5113b08d_b.jpg)
Did that fill your screen and did it satisfy your curiosity? I hope so!
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Thumbs up, Matthias! Awesome job so far.
(btw, we share first names :P )
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I like that! (I'm still working on info, by the way) Just a few things so far, which you can work on as you go along:
1. Now that I understand what in the world I'm doing with compression, you'll only need binary data, not an appvar. When I say binary, I mean ASCII codes. Such as "Open File for Binary Access"
2. You still need buttons for "Test Mission" and "New Mission"
3. Since there will be a mode to test a mission, I was thinking that the designer should load an actual bitmap (rather than a sprite), and the file path would be the only parameter for "sprite." This would make it easier to display pictures for sprite mode
4. When all is finished, most designers aren't going to give a hoot about what the binary data looks like. Do you plan to remove that box in the finished product?
Keep it up Matthias!
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1. I don't really understand this point. You mean it no longer needs to be compiled into a appvar? Could you explain in a little more detail please?
2. Test mission wil be added, And I'll replace new with new mission...
3. OK, I understand but I'll await more overall info before I get to that.
4. Yes I plan to remove it. Albeit I will make two verions, one with this box and one without. The one with could be used to check if the program is compiling correctly. I find it handy to debug and maybe it is handy for you as well and other developers.
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I like it so far. It doesn't seems too hard to use and some commands reminds me the triggers in Starcraft. Hopefully, people who messed around with campaing editors should get familiar with that one easily.
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That looks really nice! Awesome job Matthias! ;D