Helping A Newbie With His Faction

[Yitzi]

This is FacEdit you're talking about?  That thing is of the devil - buggy as heck.  I cannot recommend the nasty thing.

We need to talk a coder into fixing it...

Honestly, it'd probably be easier just to make a javascript tool to do the job and have sisko put it on the website.

[Buster's Uncle]

Sure - I haven't been able to get Acedit running for years, and anything would help.

Only, newbs are always wanting to use the official thing.  I've been seeing this for years.  It would be easier to talk them into using a patched version of the piece of crap they already have from Sid than something else.  -Also, the interface on FacEdit is admittedly pretty.  Dumb stuff like that counts.

I cannot too strongly underline what a treat ANY working faction .txt tool -that ran reliably on modern OSes, handled the alien stuff, and without inserting a million bugs- would be.

[Yitzi]

Sure - I haven't been able to get Acedit running for years, and anything would help.

Only, newbs are always wanting to use the official thing.  I've been seeing this for years.  It would be easier to talk them into using a patched version of the piece of crap they already have from Sid than something else.  -Also, the interface on FacEdit is admittedly pretty.  Dumb stuff like that counts.

I cannot too strongly underline what a treat ANY working faction .txt tool -that ran reliably on modern OSes, handled the alien stuff, and without inserting a million bugs- would be.

I'm pretty sure I could do the javascript version; I could even describe what each thing does in there (which would be fairly difficult in FacEdit).  The question is whether it's more important than fixing bugs in, and adding features to, the actual game. 

I could probably fix FacEdit bugs as well, though only one at a time and only if they're described to me...and OS-specific problems would probably be completely unfixable.

[Buster's Uncle]

I just know I miss having a faction .txt editor.  It would do the faction modder community a lot of good... 

[Yitzi]

I just know I miss having a faction .txt editor.  It would do the faction modder community a lot of good... 

Indeed it would.  The question is simply one of priorities; you'd know better than me what would be best for the site, a faction .txt editor or another version of my patch.

[Buster's Uncle]

Wellll - you're going to be revising your patch for pretty much ever...

[gwillybj]

I can't help with any exe coding, but I might be able to help with getting the faction's txt file in order; possibly with pcx's, too. Not sure how quick I can be.

[Yitzi]

Wellll - you're going to be revising your patch for pretty much ever...

Probably, though after a point it'll include things that are somewhat lower priority.

Maybe it will help if I describe what I expect (as a rough estimate, and excluding stuff I've already done and isn't in the latest patch yet) to be able to accomplish in the time it would take to produce the faction editor:

-Make it so the "enhanced information" feature updates properly when cycling between bases.
-Make the "attack along road" modding option work properly.
-Make the "tech to remove maintenance cost" feature work properly.
-Give an option to make techs protect units from genetic warfare like they do population.
-Allow amphibious ships to capture coastal bases if that is enabled.
-Make it so you can unload marines into an enemy base by moving the transport into the base.

So, are those worth more or less than the faction editor?

I can't help with any exe coding, but I might be able to help with getting the faction's txt file in order; possibly with pcx's, too. Not sure how quick I can be.

Would you be able to use javascript to make an automatic txt file editor?

[Buster's Uncle]

I could only make that call on a selfish basis...

[Yitzi]

I could only make that call on a selfish basis...

You have factions you want to make?

[gwillybj]

Would you be able to use javascript to make an automatic txt file editor?

I don't know java. I've dabbled in simple html, and played with BASIC ages ago...

[Yitzi]

Would you be able to use javascript to make an automatic txt file editor?

I don't know java. I've dabbled in simple html, and played with BASIC ages ago...

Javascript isn't the same as java.  But if you don't know javascript (generally used to make web pages that actually do stuff instead of just being there) either, and aren't interested in learning it (wherever you learned html probably has something on javascript too, as they're used together) or don't feel up to the task even if you do learn it, then it depends on whether BUncle thinks it's worth me taking time from my next patch for.  (I'd probably just split the time, some to the faction editor and some to the patch.)

[gwillybj]

Okay. My stepson thinks I should be able to learn it in a reasonable time. I'll need a day or two to look into it and get back to you.

[Flux]

Anyone know where I can get a graphics set? I saw one that had a few walls and bases, with an outline of someone for the faction picture. Mostly I want the walls though.

EDIT: Found one in the graphics section.

[Flux]

Alright, I guess I'll do a little progress update.
TXT File - Complete (Although strangely, although it didn't before, everything has a -2 behind it)
Graphics: WIP (the followers file is done, but followers2 and 3 both are still using default textures.)
The bases have blue boxes around them.

Finished-o-meter: 
(7/10)