|
|
Post by majestic on Jul 8, 2008 18:24:11 GMT
Had a hard drive meltdown recently. Unfortunately, I will be out for at least a week. It's too bad as I had Perl all ready to go.
|
|
|
|
Post by jsager on Jul 9, 2008 14:53:59 GMT
lacerated, that totally sucks.
as far as posting my work so far, I'm still waiting on the staff space. All that work pertains to the items.xml stuff I've done.
|
|
|
|
Post by alderaine on Jul 9, 2008 15:13:24 GMT
I'm not too worried about items.xml - that's entirely new, we own it, and pretty straightforward - much more important at the moment is how to read the existing XML  |
|
|
|
Post by jsager on Jul 9, 2008 16:56:52 GMT
I have written some sample code to that effect alderaine. I will be happy to publish it.
The reason I did so much work on the items xml was that when I began to poke around with ideas for the common navigation format, I came to realize quickly that working out the items was a neccessary predicate... you can't rig up a bunch of item related events without understanding how items work. It goes beyond simple "does the item exist" kind of stuff, and stretches into the realm of subcategories, such as "If you have a chainmail waistcoat..." which could easily be referring to more than one item.
|
|
|
|
Post by alderaine on Jul 10, 2008 8:56:45 GMT
Well, all you need in the book XML is what Outspaced already described...
Something like, Item Ref=nnnnnn Name=xxxxxxxxxxxx then optionally you could include more. I would include both of those for convenience more than anything else.
All other information is stored primarily in the items.xml file - the book readers will need to know about the format of that file, but it can be dealt with completely independantly from the main XML file.
On another forum thread, somebody has posted a spreadsheet of all the items from the first 8 books, which may be helpful...
|
|
|
|
Post by jsager on Jul 10, 2008 13:15:45 GMT
We're going to need more than that.
We are going to need
items, groups of items, shops, events that trigger based on items, events that trigger based on an item subcategory, choices that trigger based on the possession of an item or subcategory of items.
|
|
|
|
Post by alderaine on Jul 10, 2008 14:10:23 GMT
Ah, I see what you mean - not the items file itself, but how you manage the items in the core XML I was getting confused between the two. Yes, that is one of the more complex parts, especially since it should handle the equipment pages too. |
|
|
|
Post by jsager on Jul 10, 2008 18:09:31 GMT
Yes, as I puttered about with the core XML in an editor, I quickly realized that I needed to get the smaller, easier task of items done first.
However, they will be codependent and likely the items xml will need to be upgraded after it's looked over by others.
I'm going to do a little more work on everything today... just waiting on the space to host files before I put things up. I'd go slap them somewhere else and link 'em but I think I'd be violating copyright stuff if I did so.
|
|
|
|
Post by haskellpaul on Jul 11, 2008 7:43:05 GMT
Hey guys, Alderaine mentioned the fact that my item list my be of help to yall for a certain item xml list something-or-another. (please forgive my ignorance) Actually, one of the reasons that I wanted to make my list was I thought it might be of help to Frédéric when making item descriptions in future DS gamebooks. At this time though, I just want to focus on the Excel files until they are complete but I can however assist with certain... "item weirdness", as I call it. Like the Silver Key and identical name issues for instance. I've got a few ideas/issues I could mention in the future, in a separate "navigation file items" thread perhaps.
Actually one quick idea I want to mention (thats not item related) is a "current status" slot idea for action charts. Here are some things that would fall into that category: Normal, Baknar Oiled, Addicted (to adgana), Limbdeath, Korovax Bacillus, and multiple others. I would guess these statuses might be important for programming especially when it comes to something like Limbdeath, which would null the use of two handed weapons, or shields. (i think...)
Oh yea, my non-finished list is over in the "The Books and the World" section if you'd like to check it out.
|
|
|
|
Post by outspaced on Jul 11, 2008 8:58:18 GMT
Well, all you need in the book XML is what Outspaced already described... Something like, Item Ref=nnnnnn Name=xxxxxxxxxxxx then optionally you could include more. I would include both of those for convenience more than anything else. Another point to bear in mind would be "size". Some items take up 2 slots, whereas conversely, some items take up no slots (e.g. tickets). |
|
|
|
Post by alderaine on Jul 14, 2008 8:57:00 GMT
I'm not entirely sure size is needed in the core book XML - if two items with the same name are different sizes depending where you get them, they are different items.
The items.xml file will be quite big - lots of attributes - and will take care of pretty much everything that is specific to an item and sticks with an item through its life. The only information in the book should be where it is specific to certain pages.
|
|
|
|
Post by alderaine on Jul 14, 2008 8:57:54 GMT
jsager - you can host anywhere you like, providing it is moved to AON as soon as your account is set up.
You can host anything other than book content anywhere you like anyway, providing there is clear reference to AON.
|
|
|
|
Post by outspaced on Jul 14, 2008 12:04:55 GMT
I'm not entirely sure size is needed in the core book XML No, probably not, I was putting the idea forward as something to bear in mind. In the past, volunteers have begun writing software readers, but the projects have always stalled, often because of small issues such as item size, which the coder forgot to implement, and then had to retroactively add to the code. Using the XML is a superior idea to writing everything from scratch, IMHO, but fiddly things such as item size need to be implemented immediately; otherwise, someone will have to go trawling through the items.xml file adding the "size" attribute to every item, and then coders would need to alter their software to take it into account . . .  |
|
|
|
Post by alderaine on Jul 14, 2008 13:02:38 GMT
Absolutely Jeremy is doing a sterling job of tracking down all these nuances before beginning the project. One of the hardest things will be ensuring the XML format can deal with all the different book series - there are subtle (and not-so-subtle) changes in each! |
|
|
|
Post by jsager on Jul 14, 2008 16:34:02 GMT
You guys are correct. The better we get the items.xml out of the gate, the better we are going to be.
Also, I think that there is a blanket that takes 2 slots somewhere in the original books.
|
|
