A seperate program for the level editor
 

As the title implies, I personally wouldn't mind seeing a seperate exe for the level editor.
I can't really explain the reason why I thought of this, and what good it would do, but I would like to see it. :)

With no reason, it's kinda pointless.

Well, personally, I don't play online much at all, so it's just a common annoyance to open the client, to get to the editor.
However, this is just me, I'm sure other people would have a more valid reason.

make a level called Level Editor and then double click it, open it with graal.exe and bam! there is your short cut to level editor :O

Well, yeah, I guess so.

-Edit- I just realized this was my 666th post.

1) Hackers. They can't memoryedit from the editor directly into the online exe by swapping spaces for the runtime of one with the runtime of the other, or however they do it now.
2) Speed. The EXE will go faster without the editing tools taking up useless space (well, probably not, but it'll certainly download at least marginally faster), and the editor will go MUCH faster in loading if it doesn't have to keep a mind to any runtime things.
3) RC. You can more easily associate .graal/.nw files with graaleditor.exe than you can with graal.exe, as graal.exe tries to open one level per instance...meaning if you open 20 levels with RC, you get 20 clients. With a seperate editor, even if they're all in their own windows, they take a negligible chunk of memory.

But it would be so much more difficult to test levels, surely. I don't want to open two clients to write/test scripts.

What if the editor opened the client to test the levels, and pressing Test on the editor again updated the level you were playing, that way you could fix errors and stuff w/o pressing f4 all the time and you could see excactly whats going wrong at runtime so you can fix it.

or perhaps make two clients.

one with just the game

and one witht the level editor and the game for testing, but you cant go online with the level editor

That's what I was thinking of.

Screw testing. When (and I do hope it is still a matter of when and not if) the Personal Storage solution is implimented, everyone will be able to test online.

With an NPCServer.

Think about how that'll change the world...

are you sure the personal storage will support serverside?

I don't see why not. It's certainly more likely than personal storage having no NPCs at all, clientside NPCs on an otherwise NPCServer system, or NPCServer being integrated into the exe!

... personal storage?

enlighten me

Long time ago, when Classic was going RegistrationFee, Unixmad had me edit the newspost, translate it from French English to American English. It's a few gramattical things, like they don't have a simple word for things that will have happened by a certain date - we can say I will have cleaned this floor by 3 o'clock, they have to say I will have been cleaning since 3 o'clock, something like that. I digress. Point was, one of the Coming Attractions was Personal Storage. Every player gets a toned down RC, with no fun powers except access to upload levels to their own folder - ie I would be able to use Graalian RC to upload to /Tyhm. This was to make the Level team's job much easier, as we only have to approve a house once, and the server would make sure no horrific changes were made - ie one-way doors, free weapons, etc. It has yet to happen, Stefan got sidetracked again.

Slower. Plus giving people serverside access seems like a recipe for Disaster Cake.

so you would upload your stuff and the levels team would check it and upload it properly?

lol if you want npc server access, just get a job. :P

Obviously the server would be instructed not to allow certain scripts to enter its database. If a player wants to change a serverside character, sure - provided all the variables start with that player's account name, or so.

I made one!
But Im waiting Stefan's answer, I would like to release it as official..


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For now Gdk can:
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-> Read the tiles (looking at the "tiledefs" txt of Graal)

-> Read .nw Maps

-> Change Mute List (also see the History and profiles)

-> Change Buddy List (also see the History and profiles)

-> Change Ignore List (also see the History and profiles)

-> Opening the Graal music and sounds directory, where you can listen mp3s and wavs

-> I made a smart Calculator , also another where you select (ASD,ICons...) and it gives you the showstats value

-> Read Graal Install information

-> Read readme

- > Read Last Commands 2001

- > Read Last Commands 2002

- > Change the tiledefs' txts.. Very smart, it shows a preview, and you can select offline or playerworlds, its saving and opening fine

- > in gdk options you can turn on/off the AlphaBlend effects Xp/NT

- > Test in Graal (it opens the graal directly in the level)

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Now Im working in:
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-> Make a Gani Studio, where you have easy access to the Gani script effects.

-> Read and save alot of formats

-> Make a Head Studio (My idea is to put an example with alpha on the image, so the person can see where is the eyes an other parts..

-> Bodie Studio and a Tile studio

\\ This image part, Im reading fine png and gif.. But I dindt try to understand the mng yet.. I also just know how to save them as .bmp, so on my project I will have to make a "/bin" folder with the gif2mng.exe, and when you save an image it opens it as params..

-> Make my own Format for Playerworld Projects.. I have the hold logic in my mind, This file contains the pw folder, opening the files as list, if you select a head it opens the head studio, if you select a level it opens the level studio. It also contains the txt map file, where the person can open the map studio opening alot of levels at the same time, and changing them together.

-> When you select a word on the script and press F1, it gives you the help about the word or something as alot of programs (but Im working in my own help format, easy to make/change)

-> You will see in the screenshots above the components..The Object Inspector also has a Events part, it will work as Delphi or Builder...
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And Im just waiting for an answer = /

That looks reallly nice. I hope it's released as official. :)

-Edit-
I wouldn't even mind trying it out now.

One suggestion though, try to make it so you can easily switch between tilesets. For example, you load a list of tilesets, and then you choose a tileset from the list you have compiled.

I'm not sure if this is supported by the current version of Graal, but I would like to see it.

amonra, i've emailed you twice.
Ive pmmed you.

Answer my pm / emails.

Does it connect levels together like the regular editor sometimes does if you have two or more linked levels opened?

How do you use gif2mng.exe in the first place? I never could figure it out :(

Ya Gdk can do that = ) Im posting another Screen shot showing you this.


Sorry about that

Nop riiiiiight now, but I have the knowledge, and The whole gdk language support this.. I will be making this soon, so you can edit them all together, and changing the zoom as editing a map..

It uses params.. When you try to put an image on graal and it doesnt show, maybe you made it in a wrong format, or you used more than 8 bits.. so just click on the image and put it on the gif2mng, it will make in the same folder another file (sometimes .png, .mng or gif) that will show fine on graal

I really want that.. :-D