A Closed Request

NST: rtfm

I know its impolite to do as such, but I have this wish currently for a new feature to add to any plug in editor (platform independant, I have everything). The request is relatively simple, though perhaps tedius to implement. I could help on the project myself, as I have fairly reasonable C++ skills.

What I want is this: A mode in a plug in editor that reads in rescources from text files. ideally something in the form of:

misn
field1
field2
etc~

Especially useful would be if it could read multiple rescources in from the same text file. There are some side feature, like automatically picking an empty rescource if none is given, or automatically rewriting a duplicate numbered rescource.

This wouldnt be useful for desc rescources, they can just be copied and pasted, so it looks as if it could be each line a new field, as ordered in the bible. The uses for this feature are clear to me, to have each resource written out in a single text document. The most important reason, however, is so I can use C++ to output a whole set of crons, for example, to have an entirely mutable universe where the borders are always relatively cohesive. On current editors, each cron would have to be done by hand, but i could hack up a trivial script to use linked lists and trees to do it all automatically, and in such a way that I can change a tiny thing (such as probability or NCB tests) for each and every cron by changing only a single line in the code, instead of opening up X set of popup windows and changing the same frikkin field.

Theres a chance i can do this entirely myself to the EVnew, but the source is just one inch too uncommented for me at the moment. Im probably going to print it out and pour over it, to see if i can figure out how to work with it. If someone could build a parser that could handle even a single rescource and add it to EVnew, I could look at it and use the example to do others. For me, cron, misn, and sys are the most important, but things like dude and flet might be nice to have overarching control over.

Anyway, What are your thoughs? I appologise if this has been mentioned before, or if Its been shot down already, or if it exists somewhere already and I havent looked hard enough.

As I said, I would be more than happy to add C++ skills to any project willing to embark on this. If I get no favorable replies, I will probably end up trying to do it myself to EVNEW, or, possibly, figuring out how to make a program build a nova plugin directly without the to-text stage, but this will be a last resort as it will be of no help to the rest of the community.

This post has been edited by NebuchadnezzaR : 21 January 2005 - 10:43 AM

You do realize that EVNEW has a built-in "Save As text" feature? I think it saves in tab delimited format. Just dump your plug-in as text, and open it in your favorite spreadsheet editor. Maybe I'm not understanding what you are looking for.

I'm pretty sure that similar options are available for the Mac editors as well.

Context and Restore take data from resedit stuff like plug ins and make spreadsheets with it. It's quite customizable too, so you can limit yourself to certain resources if you wish.

This post has been edited by Phyvo : 19 January 2005 - 04:36 PM

He wants something that can take text file input, not make text file output.
Sounds like a spiffly idea to me, no ideas, however.

EVNEW will import text files, and that's the purpose of ResStore.

Whoa, really?

Like just plaintext with linebreaks for new fields?

Could you link me to some documentation of this feature?

/oh, im sorry, nevermind. The EVNEW interface was too intuitive for me to rtfm in the first place. Im just wondering how to output tab-delimed files from a certain high level scripting that I prefer over c++ (dont ask). Ill figure it out at home. Thanks orcal, i appreciate it.

//excellent. This is exactly what I wanted.

so... uh... how about the weather?

This post has been edited by NebuchadnezzaR : 21 January 2005 - 10:42 AM

Fine, thank you. Way to miss a feature, by the way (I know indeed that, the day I will want to massive-make something that I cannot currently do with AppleWorks on ConText exported file, I'll do it with my C skills).

Though, in my opinion, there is a void in the dev community: A native OS9 editor other than NovaTools. I mean 0% Carbon- strictly Toolbox calls. I would love using EVNEW if it wasn't carbon! I can't stand how I click in the galaxy editor and then move the mouse, and then have the placed system end up somewhere other than intended, all because on my slow computer Carbon makes things even slower.

I just don't see the point: I know that I spend almost all of my time in 9. ResEdit/NovaTools runs in 9 (and not very well in X, from my experience). Why do we have to use Carbon programs? I'd do it myself, but my programming experiencs is antiquated! RRRR

There is a native OS9 editor other than Novatools: Mission Computer. Sure, its syst/galaxy editor isn't as good as EVONE, but EVONE is carbon only so that it can access stuff (like rles) that MC can't, since it's for both.

I haven't used it too much myself though... I run OS X all the time, and the OS X MC galaxy editor has a bug that makes all systems a certain distance from the center invisible. Quite annoying.

So does the OS9 version... That, and the 'can't save' thing that eats whole plugs at a time is why I don't use it. I like the mission editor lots, but when it eats a day's work I get upset.

MC can access RLEs. It only supports rleDs at the moment, but (trying not to sound arrogant) thanks to me and SP, it should (hopefully) support rle8s too in the next version.

MC can access ANY resource. It's just up to DA in a lot of cases to actually make a parser for them (not for snd 's, PICTs, cicns andd probably a couple others). However, it is the same for Jeff; in fact, I doubt that built-in resource support allows you ANY high-level access to resources.