CTP2 Editing GUI

[J Bytheway]

As I said, GL entries are what I'm now working on. My plans are rather ambitious, so I don't know how long it will take. Might be a day or a week.

[Martin Gühmann]

child of Thor J Bytheway is working on a advance CTP2 textfile editor, not on a slic file editor, this one would be a little bit more complicated but I think not impossible as the game develope team considered to do it on their own. Therefore you have still to learn slic (or ask someone) if you want to do more than just modding the text files. By the way the CTP2 icon for the CTP2 editor would be much cooler (like ModSwapper) than just this a standart icon. Maybe an additional textfile editor/viewer would be to much but would it be possible to view the code of a currently selected advance/good/unit/citystyle......

-Martin

[J Bytheway]

Originally posted by Martin Gühmann
child of Thor J Bytheway is working on a advance CTP2 textfile editor, not on a slic file editor, this one would be a little bit more complicated but I think not impossible as the game develope team considered to do it on their own.

Quite. I was, however, considering a feature to export small chunks of repetetive SLIC code, like the following from CRA_homeguard.slc:

CRA_MILITIA_TYPE[0] = UnitDB(UNIT_SPEARMAN_MILITIA);
CRA_MILITIA_TYPE[1] = UnitDB(UNIT_HOPLITE_MILITIA);
CRA_MILITIA_TYPE[2] = UnitDB(UNIT_LEGION_MILITIA);
CRA_MILITIA_TYPE[3] = UnitDB(UNIT_MAN_AT_ARMS_MILITIA);
CRA_MILITIA_TYPE[4] = UnitDB(UNIT_INFANTRYMAN_MILITIA);
CRA_MILITIA_TYPE[5] = UnitDB(UNIT_MACHINE_GUNNER_MILITIA);
CRA_MILITIA_TYPE[6] = UnitDB(UNIT_HOVER_INFANTRY_MILITIA);

And I'm sure that as SLICers get more ambitious and the code gets more complex these kinds of things might get much longer. But that wasn't a priority - it's not that hard to do with copy-and-paste (but you are more likely to make a mistake).

By the way the CTP2 icon for the CTP2 editor would be much cooler (like ModSwapper) than just this a standart icon.

Good idea. I was wondering about what to use as an icon. It's possible to add icons next to all the files in the list on the left, too, if anyone has any bright ideas as to what to use.

Any preference as to the icons on the various subwindows? I don't want to use the CTP icon for all of them...

Maybe an additional textfile editor/viewer would be to much but would it be possible to view the code of a currently selected advance/good/unit/citystyle......

A textfile editor/viewer is really easy (so long as you don't want syntax highlighting or anything fancy like that - there's one in the sample applications for VB . It's certainly much much easier than the GUI I've made so far). It would be possible to view the code of the currently selected entry, but if you wanted this visible all the time and constantly updated it would slow things down since the relevant data is stored in an object tree, so it would have to keep regenerating the text. I don't think it's necessary since the interface is very WYSIWYG but if you still want it after you've tried using the editor then I'll try to oblige you.

Anyway, enough talking - time to get back to coding for those annoying GL entry things...

[Martin Gühmann]

Originally posted by J Bytheway
I don't think it's necessary since the interface is very WYSIWYG but if you still want it after you've tried using the editor then I'll try to oblige you.

OK good point let's wait, but it doesn't matter if I still write my suggestions down. Therefore I think the user should have the possiblity to switch on the text viewer and also the options constantly update and update by button request.

For the icons of the subwindows I first would have a look on the program and than I could get some ideas. For example for a window dealing with cities we should use an example city style and if we use one than a fan created one, because this is closer to modding. Of course we could also use shrink down GL images of the various concepts for wonders, cities, units... but that wouldn't be closer to the original game and not so close to modding.

-Martin

[Immortal Wombat]

And I'm sure that as SLICers get more ambitious and the code gets more complex these kinds of things might get much longer. But that wasn't a priority - it's not that hard to do with copy-and-paste (but you are more likely to make a mistake).

I was thinking of this at about midnight last night while I debugged a big chunk of copied-and-pasted code...

[J Bytheway]

Originally posted by Martin Gühmann
it doesn't matter if I still write my suggestions down.

Indeed not! Please continue to make any and all suggestions you can think of. You know how modding is more addictive than playing? I'm discovering that meta-modding like this is more addictive yet. I spent the whole of today coding that GL stuff, and it's all coming together now. Unless I get distracted by Uni work it should be finished tomorrow.

And then it's on to some serious alpha-testing (the dull end of programming... ).

For the icons of the subwindows I first would have a look on the program and than I could get some ideas. For example for a window dealing with cities we should use an example city style and if we use one than a fan created one, because this is closer to modding. Of course we could also use shrink down GL images of the various concepts for wonders, cities, units... but that wouldn't be closer to the original game and not so close to modding.

Thanks, I'll keep this in mind. But at the moment I have nothing which will create icons so it'll be far down the list of Things To Do. In the mean time I have set the icon of the primary window to be the CTP one.

Originally posted by Immortal Wombat
I was thinking of this at about midnight last night while I debugged a big chunk of copied-and-pasted code...

Also, can anyone help me with this:

I was glancing through the units.txt fields and noticed SpaceLaunch - clearly this is obsolete. Are there any others that are obsolete? It would really help to decrease crowding in my interface... I can post the full list of fields if it would help. It's just that I haven't really done enough CTP2 modding to get the hang of all these little facts.

[Martin Gühmann]

Actual the order space lunch is still part of the orders.txt and the space plane can go into space it just works a little bit different than in CTP1. Actual there are more fields that aren't used in the units.txt and maybe work, therefore I would include them all espeacily the wonder fields like ReduceWorldPollution/ReduceWorldPollutionValue or
AllCitizensContent, note if you have a field and a field with value in its name than it is actual only one entry with a value.

I already copied with a texteditor all the possible flags from the ctp2.exe, unfortunatly I never finished this flag list this version contains more entries than the version that was at least on Hex's homepage, also slic and some UI elements.

-Martin

[J Bytheway]

Thanks, this makes for interesting reading. I was trying to decrease the number of fields, not increase them, but never mind...

The thing that interests me most is the VisionClass field for units - there's Standard, Underwater and Stealth and then some UnusedBitx - is it possible to make use of these unused bits? In CTP1 you could use 9 visibility classes, and three just isn't enough! Maybe I'll try putting UnusedBit3 in some unit and see what happens...

I am correct in thinking that the Description field does nothing, right? But it has to point to a valid entry of junk_str.txt

[Martin Gühmann]

Originally posted by J Bytheway
The thing that interests me most is the VisionClass field for units - there's Standard, Underwater and Stealth and then some UnusedBitx - is it possible to make use of these unused bits? In CTP1 you could use 9 visibility classes, and three just isn't enough! Maybe I'll try putting UnusedBit3 in some unit and see what happens...

Of course you have to add a unit that has the vision class UnusedBit3 and add a unit that can see a unit of viosion class UnusedBit3, very interesting is that you can give an tileimprovement such a can see flag, too.

Originally posted by J Bytheway
I am correct in thinking that the Description field does nothing, right? But it has to point to a valid entry of junk_str.txt

junk strings are strings that should be removed from the game, but the game designers hadn't enough time, therefore the ctp2.exe needs these strings there but doesn't use them.

-Martin

[J Bytheway]

Another update:

I've pretty much done the GL generation code (It's very ugly from the programming point of view, and it's slow, but it works just fine). I've noticed a few other little bugs which need to be cleaned up.

I'll get back to you soon.

[J Bytheway]

OK, I think it's finished now. To any of the powers that be who are listening: can I put this up on the ctpmodmakers site?

[child of Thor]

Great! from a power who's not, thankyou and i can't wait to try it out

[Locutus]

OK, I think it's finished now. To any of the powers that be who are listening: can I put this up on the ctpmodmakers site?

Great Of course you can put it up there, it's a public site, anyone can put anything (CtP1/2-related) up there. But if it's final, you may also want to submit it for the Apolyton Database (see the topped thread in this forum)

[Pedrunn]

What? How? Where? Wanna see it! Wanna see it

[J Bytheway]

It's certainly not a final version - I'm sure bugs lurk yet.

I've never packaged a VB executable before, so it could take a little while for me to figure that out. Hope to get it available before too long - probably this evening, maybe tomorrow.