What will scripts actually look like?

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AuthorTopic: What will scripts actually look like?
Shock Trooper
Member # 1207
Profile #0
Does anyone know? (I've already looked in the Geneforge folder and found them too complicated :P )

[ Thursday, March 27, 2003 11:22: Message edited by: Lemmings fre@k ]And I just looked in the "sample script" topic[/edit]

[ Thursday, March 27, 2003 11:22: Message edited by: Lemmings fre@k ]
Posts: 316 | Registered: Saturday, May 25 2002 07:00
Infiltrator
Member # 169
Profile #1
That's probably about what they'll look like.

However, I think Jeff has said that you won't need to do anything with scripts to make a scenario. (It would still help to be able to use them.)

As for the complexity, it appears to be a heavily simplified form of C. Since C is a very good thing to learn to use anyway, you might try studying it a bit.

Edit: If you do decide to do this, remember to watch where you put semicolons. I just finished half an hour of trying to figure out what was wrong with a program - the problem was a misplaced semicolon.

[ Thursday, March 27, 2003 11:52: Message edited by: Namothil ]
Posts: 422 | Registered: Tuesday, October 16 2001 07:00
Shock Trooper
Member # 461
Profile #2
I know the basics of c++ (can't work with classes or pointers though). Is that close enough?

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"If you held a weapon to Fwiffo's head, he would say anything you wanted him to. In fact, if you held a vegetable to Fwiffo's head, he'd say whatever you wanted him to." - Spathi high council, Star Control 2.
Posts: 346 | Registered: Sunday, December 30 2001 08:00
FAQSELF
Member # 3
Profile #3
Based on what I've seen in Geneforge, that should be more than sufficient. Geneforge's scripts are quite easy to manage, if you take the time to do so.

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A few cats short of a kitten pot pie...

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Check out a great source for information on Avernum 2, Nethergate, and Subterra: Zeviz's page.
Finally, there's my Geneforge FAQ, Geneforge 2 FAQ, and
Geneforge 3 FAQ.
Posts: 2831 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00
Warrior
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Are they going to be easier to use than the one of Blades of Exile?

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Posts: 118 | Registered: Wednesday, April 2 2003 08:00
Law Bringer
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Making scripts will almost certainly be harder to use than nodes in BoE unless you're already very familiar with the workings of C/C++. However, it will be possible to make a scenario only be using the default scripts included with BoA, and that should be more or less equal to BoE in complexity.

—Alorael, who has found BoE to be the easiest "programming" tool he has encountered anywhere. It requires zero knowledge of true programming languages, it has a very intuitive interface, and the manual really does tell you how everything works. If the bugs were removed and everything worked as advertised, it would be even better...
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Shock Trooper
Member # 461
Profile #6
I've looked it over and it really doesn't seem that complicated. But then again, I took computer science last year.

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"If you held a weapon to Fwiffo's head, he would say anything you wanted him to. In fact, if you held a vegetable to Fwiffo's head, he'd say whatever you wanted him to." - Spathi high council, Star Control 2.
Posts: 346 | Registered: Sunday, December 30 2001 08:00
Shock Trooper
Member # 1207
Profile #7
quote:
Originally posted by Namothil:
However, I think Jeff has said that you won't need to do anything with scripts to make a scenario. (It would still help to be able to use them.)

Does that mean that we can use an editor like the boe one but better or that we get special scripts like that door one and place them down everywhere and just edit the text (e.g. placing a one-time message only requires us to place a one-time message script)? Of course, if we couldn't design new scripts it would make for a pretty crappy scenario :P .
(surely someone must have understood that...)

Maybe when it comes out we could have a script-designing contest! That'd be cool :) !

[ Saturday, April 05, 2003 08:02: Message edited by: Lemmings fre@k ]
Posts: 316 | Registered: Saturday, May 25 2002 07:00
Law Bringer
Member # 335
Profile Homepage #8
I believe everything will be handled by scripts, but you won't ever have to deal with them if you don't want to. A BoE-style editor interface will allow you to place and customize (to a certain extent) some of the stock scripts that appear a lot, such as messages, traps, doors, and the like. In fact, I'd think that most of what BoE nodes could do, BoA stock scripts will do.

—Alorael, who upon further thought doubts that door scripts will be placed. They're more likely to be attached to the door terrain type. So unless you'd like to create your own set of very complex terrain, you won't need to worry much about those scripts either.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Triad Mage
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As per the script contest, we've had a code contest for BoE, so it's a possibility.

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Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00
BoE Posse
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I will definitely host a script contest for BoA - as we will be able to share scripts, and this is a great way of generating them!

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Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00
Shock Trooper
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Profile #12
Or perhaps just a script database, which I'm sure brett would snap up the duty of doing immediately (seeing how he's just volunteered to do this hypothetical contest :P ).
Posts: 316 | Registered: Saturday, May 25 2002 07:00
Senile Reptile
Member # 547
Profile #13
Scripts are neato and all, but does anybody know what happens when they go wrong? In c++, a misplaced semi-colon will result in a little error message and a highlighting of the offending line of code. However, an error in a BoA script, if not caught by the programmer nor a "compiler" (if such a thing would exist) could crash the program and/or corrupt some memory.

Anybody know anything about that?

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Polaris
Posts: 1614 | Registered: Wednesday, January 23 2002 08:00
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It'd probably give a message saying something like "Err#6220 Invalid script. Please inform the designer". I'm sure I've had something like that happen to me in BoE before.

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Posts: 530 | Registered: Sunday, September 1 2002 07:00
Warrior
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But then only people who know how to programme will be able to use BoA? I remember when I began to use BoE I didn't know anything about programming and I learnt how to handle the editor very easyly.

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Posts: 118 | Registered: Wednesday, April 2 2003 08:00
Law Bringer
Member # 335
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Once again, you don't have to use the scripting language. The built-in scripts should cover everything or almost everything that is done in the Avernum games, which is enough to make a good scenario. And if you need more help, someone here on the boards would probably be willing to give you help on making scripts for more difficult processes.

—Alorael, who is sure Jeff will include some kind of documentation for the script system. Whether or not it makes more sense than buying and reading a book on C or C++ remains to be seen.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Shock Trooper
Member # 631
Profile Homepage #17
Do you think it will be easy to make an Anama entrence script (taking out mage skills and giving equal preist skills). I'm planning on making a scenario about the colinization of the Isle of Bagil and i'm going to need that script.

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Posts: 329 | Registered: Wednesday, February 13 2002 08:00
Triad Mage
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I did that in BoE, and it was easy enough. Just make sure to strip mage skills upon leaving and entering a town so that they can't buy/train in them.

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"At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander
====
Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy
Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet
====
You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse!
Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00
Shaper
Member # 22
Profile #19
Will scripts be inside the scenario file, or external files? If the former is true, it could be difficult to host a script database.

I'm quite excited by the idea of scripts. There are several ideas bubbling away in my head at the moment, most of which would not be possible in BoE.
Posts: 2862 | Registered: Tuesday, October 2 2001 07:00
Infiltrator
Member # 169
Profile #20
Presumably scripts will be editable as text. Assuming this, it should be possible to copy and paste, if nothing else.
Posts: 422 | Registered: Tuesday, October 16 2001 07:00
Infiltrator
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Profile Homepage #21
Besides, you'd be unlikely to just take a script file from the database and just plonk it in. You'd want to edit it anyway, which would involve cutting and pasting.

Anyway, nodinfg examples for BoE work well enough in just copying (in the old fashioned sense of the word) them

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Riot Shields
Voodoo Economics
It's just business
Cattle prods
And the IMF

I trust I can rely on your vote
Posts: 530 | Registered: Sunday, September 1 2002 07:00