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QUOTE (Qaanol @ Jul 25 2010, 12:20 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
In the mïsn editor dropdown menu for selecting what system the special ships appear in, there is an option “Adjacent to specific system” which does not provide an entry field to enter a specific system, and moreover is not documented in the Nova Bible, so I suspect it is not a valid setting (although I have not tested to see if there is an undocumented engine feature.)
I've fixed the non-appearing text box, but I can't find the record of why it's there in the first place; it may indeed be an undocumented feature that someone found, or it may just be an incorrect carryover from the AuxShipSyst field.
Okay, I’ll see if I can test it out. Meanwhile, here is a ridiculously long list of features I’d like:
Want Undo feature in dësc editor
Want Undo feature in star map
Want Undo feature pretty much everywhere
Want to be able to select a commodity in the star map and have each system labeled low, medium, and/or high, or not labeled, to show what prices that commodity is traded at in that system
Want to be able to show average number of asteroids in each system on the star map, and also asteroid types
Want to be able to keep star map open while editing systems (perhaps let star map flag systems as dirty while their editor window is open, and only update when they are closed)
Want to be able to double-click on systems in the star map to edit them
Want to be able to double-click on nebulae in the star map to edit them (but systems get priority if clicking on both)
Want to be able to double-click on planets in the system editor to edit them
Want hotkey (perhaps return or command-return or command-down arrow) to edit selected system or nebula (perhaps with warning dialog “You are about to open X editor windows Okay/Cancel” if many are selected)
Want hotkey to edit selected planet(s)
Want to be able to shift-click to select/deselect multiple objects in star map or system editor
Want to be able to click and drag to select multiple objects in star map or system editor
Want to be able to move multiple selections as a group in the star map or system editor
Want to have a third option besides “Select/Move” and “Link” in the star map, namely select but do not move (ie lock positions)
Want left-click to select (and move if positions are not locked) and right-click/control-click to create link
Want option to turn off lines for jump links to systems not in the current file (they go to (0, 0) on the map, and if there are many it makes a cone, and is annoying)
Want clicking on both a system and nebula in the star map to highlight only the system
Want spöb editor to show planet graphic and landing scene if they are in the same file (or at least a button to pop open a new window showing those graphics)
Want star map to color systems by government only if they have an inhabited planet in them (or better yet, color all systems by government, and if they have an inhabited world then color them solid, if not then just a ring with black inside)
Want hot keys (probably command-minus and command-equals) to change the zoom of the star map
Want hot key to hit the little magnifying glass button next to whatever I have selected, especially for düdes in the sÿst editor and weapons and outfits in the shïp editor
This post has been edited by Qaanol : 27 July 2010 - 03:28 PM
QUOTE (Qaanol @ Jul 27 2010, 03:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Undo would be nice, but it would require substantial framework changes, and quite possibly make it necessary to largely re-write every editor. It therefore isn't particularly likely any time soon.
QUOTE
Fixed, thanks.
This could make it difficult to select some nebulae, but perhaps I could give priority to the system.
This is one of the few places that I was unable to solve the tracking issues created when I allowed multiple editors open at once in 4.0. I may revisit it in 4.1 if I have time, but no obvious solution has presented itself yet.
(It's necessary for the star-map to extract the relevant pieces of information from every system, and maintain that array separately; re-parsing every resource each time it refreshed would be far too slow. The problem is that if there were system editors open at the same time, the changes you made in them could be overwritten by the older information cached by the star map editor.)
((Similarly, the more information the star map editor needs to know, the more complicated this gets, which is the main problem with providing the extended information charting you're interested in. It's even worse if the information is not from the sÿst resource but from the spöbs to which it refers.))
Want hotkey (perhaps return or command-return or command-down arrow) to edit selected system or nebula (perhaps with warning dialog “You are about to open X editor windows Okay/Cancel” if many are selected) Want hotkey to edit selected planet(s)
Implemented. (It's Command-E.)
Converting the star-map editor's two-stage yellow/red selection process into real multiple selection is on the list of longer-term features, but I can't say when it's coming at the moment. Multiple selection in the system editor would likely involve re-writing at least all the code related to selection and editing.
This would probably take the form of buttons to open the spïn and PICT respectively.
Implemented.
This probably isn't possible: there's no direct link between the button and the text field as interface objects, and altering behaviour based on control focus is rather dodgy.
QUOTE (David Arthur @ Jul 27 2010, 05:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Awesome, thanks. The hot keys will definitely increase productivity.
And for the system/nebula thing, when there is a system within a nebula, right now I have to click on the system, then either mouse over to the left and click on the system name, or press the down arrow until I reach it. Granted, the down arrow is pretty efficient, but it still means I have to look away from where I was working, and think about something else before I can even get to the editor window where I want to implement what I had in my mind to begin with. And in almost every case I can think of, a developer will be doing a lot more system editing than nebula editing. In the rare case where a nebula is hidden behind densely-packed systems, zooming in the map should suffice to select it. And if it really localized so much that doesn’t work even at full zoom, well, the developer obviously has something clever in mind and can stand to be inconvenienced once or twice while creating it.
The hot key wouldn’t have to actually click the button, just have a similar callback that brings up the resource-selection screen. It gets quite tedious going back and forth between the mouse and keyboard, especially when the mouse has to be moved back and forth between button and list item.
I’ll reiterate my general frustration with that type of list box as well: it takes an extra click to get into the text editing mode, and there has to be a sustained pause between the first and second clicks. If it were just a matter of double-clicking, that would be acceptable. But having to click once, then wait, with no indication of exactly how long the wait must be, and if you click again too soon there is no effect except to restart the timer and have to wait the full amount again, that gets annoying. Even having a hot key to enter and exit text editing mode for those lists (preferably ‘return’) would be a huge improvement.
Edit: Another comment, batch deleting resources seems rather slow. I’d expect MC would just note that they’re deleted, refresh it’s view, and then go about actually moving things around memory in the background. But in point of fact it hangs, giving me a nice little beach ball cursor, and won’t let me do anything else until it finishes. This is most noticeable when deleting large resources en masse , such as graphics.
This post has been edited by Qaanol : 27 July 2010 - 07:45 PM
QUOTE (Qaanol @ Jul 27 2010, 08:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I’ll reiterate my general frustration with that type of list box as well: it takes an extra click to get into the text editing mode, and there has to be a sustained pause between the first and second clicks.
Yes, I'm aware that these lists aren't particularly elegant. In every case there was a reason why they were needed at the time, but I'll take a look and see whether they're still necessary.
I’d expect MC would just note that they’re deleted, refresh it’s view, and then go about actually moving things around memory in the background.
Trust me, you do not want threaded deletion, at least not as long as we're relying on the 1980s Resource Manager to handle the data. (And if I ever do get the alternative in-memory system fully up and running, it should speed up the data handling enough to make threading unnecessary anyway.)
Umm, I've never had problems with waiting periods while MC deletes lots of resources. I just timed it, and MC takes a mere 22 seconds to delete 1,244 spöb resources in one go. In my book, that's an acceptable wait period. Even more so when you consider how rarely one would need to actually delete 1,244 spöb resources.
Just giving my opinion that the way MC deletes resources now seems fine.
In other news, DarthKev releases the worlds’s first spöb-free total conversion. All missions are offered by përs ships and have a ship-related goal, upon completion of which they abort successfully.
But for the fact that your pilot file would never be saved, that actually sounds like an interesting idea!
Here are some more feature requests:
I strongly support the idea put forth by Archon and Coraxus to have an “Apply to all” checkbox for when there are multiple duplicate resources being pasted.
In the graphical picker view, when clicking and dragging to batch-select, I’d like resources to be included when the selection rectangle covers any part of their name or graphic thumbnail, as is the case for icons in the Finder. Currently it seems like they are only included when the selection rectangle covers more than half their width and more than half their height.
Want hot key to toggle Use Graphical Picker (sometimes I go back and forth a lot.)
Want ability to batch-export PICT resources, including to PNG. Ideally the “Export” menu item could be clicked whenever one or more graphical resources are selected.
Want ability to batch-import PICT resources from a folder of images, including PNG.
Want ability to paste an image directly onto the PICT resource list and have a new resource created containing that image. (I don’t want to have to open a new editor window every time I create a new PICT resource.)
Want preference option for “Don’t ask me what ID to give new resources, just use the first available from 128 on.”
Want ability to shift IDs of all selected resources up or down by the constant of my choice.
Want ability to copy all resources of all types from one file into another all at once. That is, to merge two files, giving preference to the file of my choice in case of collisions.
This post has been edited by Qaanol : 29 July 2010 - 09:07 PM
QUOTE (Qaanol @ Jul 29 2010, 10:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Noted.
In the graphical picker view, when clicking and dragging to batch-select, I’d like resources to be included when the selection rectangle covers any part of their name or graphic thumbnail, as is the case for icons in the Finder.
Currently it's determined based on whether or not the centre of the icon is included in your selection. This may change in future iterations of FinderCanvas.
All right. Command-Option-G it is.
I'm not convinced this sort of automation is a good idea — is it really that much extra work to press Return after the New Resource sheet appears?
Doable, I suppose, but it would get incredibly iterative, and it does seem rather specialised. Again it's probably best left to after the Resource Manager is out of the picture.
File merging and batch image importing don't really fit the model of the programme, but I suppose they could be additions to the Utilities menu (which hasn't got a new entry in a while). Anyone else have a use for these?
Importing and exporting PICTs directly from the document window is a bit awkward, as it's only the PICT editor (along with certain library functions related to the graphical picker) that knows how to interpret the resource as an image; the document window handles all resource types without reference to their actual meaning. (ResEdit was only able to do what you're asking for because of the way in which the PICT resource was a native data type for the classic Mac OS.) I'll give it some thought, though.
QUOTE (David Arthur @ Jul 30 2010, 06:31 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Agreed. It's one button and I find that method quite useful. I don't see a reason to remove it or even add an option to remove it.
Anyone else have a use for these?
Nope, not me. I simply import images one at a time. In fact, I've never even needed a batch-import feature since I've never had to make several PICT resources in a row before. Just one PICT, then a few other resources to go with, never all of them at once and then everything else.
I believe I misunderstand what you mean by 'file merging', however. I take this to mean taking two plug-in files and merging them into one. Technically, MC can already do this through copy and paste. Simply select all resources of one type, copy, and then paste them into the other plug-in file. Repeat until all resources are copied over, then delete the first plug-in/store it for records/what-have-you.
Again, though, my thinking is that my understanding is flawed in this case.
QUOTE (David Arthur @ Jul 30 2010, 09:31 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
The “apply to all” option is extremely important, not only when pasting updated versions of many resources from a work-in-progress file into another file, but also when one has copied a number of resources and accidentally pasted them back into the same file, and wants to cancel the operation.
Thanks.
It is true that automatic numbering and renumbering are not of critical importance.
Well, for exporting, having selected a group of PICT resources then choosing export, MC could ask for a destination folder, file format, and base filename, then open the first in an editor window, do the export, open the second in an editor window, do the export, and so forth.
I’m operating on the principle of “Computers are really good at repetitive tasks. Anytime you find yourself doing the same thing over and over, it’s probably a lot easier for a computer to do it.” Once the results are output, I can use Automator to convert them into the image format of my choice.
In particular, to export a group of PICT resources, I have to select them all and hit enter to open them. Now, with a large number of PICT editors open, I move the mouse up to the File menu, down to the Export submenu, over to the PICT Graphic item, and click. Assuming I have already navigated to the folder where I want to save, and am happy with the default filename, then I hit enter. This process, mouse to File, mouse to Export, mouse to PICT Graphic, click, hit enter, gets repeated identically for each PICT resource. The process would go a lot faster if there were a hot key to export as PICT, but even then it would be, press hot key, press enter, repeated for every resource.
File merge could even be an option within the Resource Copier, where you could choose “all resources of all types”.
DarthKev: Yes, that is what file merging means. I’m saying the repetitive task of selecting resource type, selecting all resources, copying to other file, selecting next resource type, etc. is better off handled by the computer. Also note that even in order to determine whether a file contains resources of types that don’t appear in the MC list, using MC you’d have to open the file with Resource Copier anyway.
This post has been edited by Qaanol : 30 July 2010 - 04:23 PM
Is there a way to have a mass convert from .rez to the Mac format? Because it's annoying when you're converting multiple files to have to go through manually and resave them.
QUOTE (EVWeb @ Aug 1 2010, 01:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
If you download the stand-alone Mac Plug-in Convertor and drag the files onto it, the process isn't entirely automatic (it probably could be if I ever get around to updating the convertor), but it's less work than doing it with MissionComputer.
Is there a way to make it so when you are renaming or changing the resource ID of a resource, to make it not move the one you are adjusting to the bottom of the list?
As in, if I am halfway down 600 resources, make my selection in the middle of the list, then modify it, then it'll move it to the bottom of the list you see on the screen.
QUOTE (David Arthur @ Aug 1 2010, 03:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I have had problems with that. I still don’t know exactly what caused it, but the result was “cïcn resource 10000 not found” when I converted with the stand-alone app, whereas it worked fine opening in MC and saving as Macintosh.
QUOTE (Mk.32 @ Aug 1 2010, 09:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
It might be possible when you're just renaming, but when you change the ID, the list has to be re-sorted.
QUOTE (Qaanol @ Aug 2 2010, 04:24 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Hmm... an updated convertor may be necessary after all.
Was it the convertor, or EV Nova itself that gave you this error message? And did the plug-in in question contain a cicn resource 10,000?
QUOTE (David Arthur @ Aug 2 2010, 08:14 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
EVN gave the error. The plug-in did contain cicn 10000. After conversion with Plug-in Converter X 2.0 all the cicn resources still appeared in the file, but were corrupt. When opened with MC, for example, they showed as gray squares in the graphical picker, and attempting to open one gave “The icon could not be properly loaded.” When opened in Rezilla, they all took up exactly the same number of bytes, but their hex values were not quite the same. Here is the cicn 10000 in question.
Original, and as converted by MissionComputer:
CODE
00000000800200000000001000100000000000000000004800000048000000000001000 100010000000000000000000000000000000000020000000000100010000000000002000000000010 00100000000000000000000000000fff0800080008000800080008000800080008000800080000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000010000ff ffffffffff000100009999ffff00000000000000000fff08000800080008000800080008000800080 008000800
Corrupted by Plug-in Converted:
00000000028000000000100010000000000000000000000048000000480000000100010 001000000000000000000000000000000000002000000000010001000000000000200000000001000 10000000000000000000000000000fff0800080008000800080008000800080008000800080000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001000000ff ffffffffff010000009999ffff00000000000000000fff08000800080008000800080008000800080 008000800
This post has been edited by Qaanol : 02 August 2010 - 08:11 PM
Looks like it could be an endianness issue — and it makes sense that it was a cicn that was affected, because the system (very annoyingly) will sometimes automatically converted standard resource types to little-endian when running on Intel.
I may need to make a new convertor.
I'm recently beginning to experience a problem regarding sounds. I was tinkering with a plugin I downloaded. Earlier, I thought that maybe the author had did something incorrect that prevented the sound from being able to play at all on MC. But then when I restarted my Finder, it worked. Now it's stopped working at all and the same troubleshooting method no longer works.
The bug is that even though the sound effects work in game, playing the sounds on MC doesn't work. Also, I found one particular sound error message that I have never come across before until now which can be seen in the attachment. But this was just on one specific sound, the others didn't bare this error message. Another thing is that this bug isn't constant on all plugins because I was able to play the sound effects on other plugins with no problems at all.
Currently, I run Mac OS X 10.5.8 on my 2007 Mac Mini which has stock parts such as having a total of 1 Gig of DDR2 RAM. Right now my suspicion may lead me to believe that there are sound formats that MC has trouble playing properly. Another thing I discovered is that Rezilla seems to share this same bug as well.
This post has been edited by Coraxus : 06 August 2010 - 01:29 PM