BoA Editor Cookbook
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Apprentice
Member # 385
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written Monday, April 5 2004 19:02
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Hi guys, I've started working on a "cookbook" describing how to use the BoA editor to achieve the various things you typically want to put into a scenario. So far, I've covered things like traps, locked doors, shops, etc. There's nothing new as such -- just information gleaned from the BoA manual, the appendices, and a bit of fiddling about to see what works and what doesn't, all packaged up to be easier to find and read than the existing docs. I'm not saying it's perfect (I'm learning, so I've almost certainly made a few mistakes here and there), and it's definitely not complete, but hopefully some of you will find this concept useful, both in learning how to use the scenario editor, and to refer back to when creating your own scenarios. If you're interested, you can grab a copy of the cookbook here. Please note that this is definitely a work in progress -- if you have any suggestions for new recipes, or can see any glaring (or not-so-glaring) mistakes, please let me know! Cheers, - Erik. Posts: 33 | Registered: Thursday, December 13 2001 08:00 |
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Warrior
Member # 1505
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written Monday, April 5 2004 19:11
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Good work; keep it up! I'll try to see if I have anything to submit... -------------------- -Newtfeet Posts: 151 | Registered: Saturday, July 13 2002 07:00 |
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Shaper
Member # 22
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written Tuesday, April 6 2004 00:52
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From what I've looked at, it seems an excellent document. Posts: 2862 | Registered: Tuesday, October 2 2001 07:00 |
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Triad Mage
Member # 7
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written Tuesday, April 6 2004 01:40
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It's usually spelled 'dialogue'. Dialog boxes are boxes that pop up with options for you to choose. I can write some stuff if you want, probably about moving the party between towns, creating monsters, etc. -------------------- "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 |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 4180
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written Tuesday, April 6 2004 01:56
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quote:Umm, not to quibble (OK, maybe I'm quibbling just a bit ;) ), but AFAIK, 'dialogue' is simply an archaic spelling of 'dialog' (the modern, more accepted spelling). They're called dialog boxes because it's a metaphor for carrying on a conversation between you and your computer. :) To the subject at hand: this looks terrific! Thanks for doing this! :) -spyderbytes -------------------- -spyderbytes Posts: 200 | Registered: Wednesday, March 31 2004 08:00 |
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Infiltrator
Member # 2628
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written Tuesday, April 6 2004 03:30
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I disagree that "dialogue" is an archaic spelling. Dialogue (not dialog) is the spelling used in Encarta 2003. Last year is hardly archaic. I just checked with my son (who's doing IT at University, and knows more about computers than I do) - he uses "dialog" when talking about dialog boxes, but when talking about a conversation between two people he uses "dialogue". He believes the different spellings are because it's being used in a different context as if it was a new word. Back to the topic, I like the idea of the cookbook. While I don't plan on releasing any scenarios, I do intend to play around a bit with the editor. For a scripting newbie like me any help I can get is much appreciated. The last time I did any programming was in BASIC on a CP/M machine in the late 80s. [ Tuesday, April 06, 2004 03:40: Message edited by: Kyna ] -------------------- We meet and part now over all the world; we, the lost company, take hands together in the night, forget the night in our brief happiness, silently. -- Judith Wright My website Posts: 512 | Registered: Wednesday, February 12 2003 08:00 |
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Apprentice
Member # 412
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written Tuesday, April 6 2004 03:52
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I, and many other UK English speakers, use "dialogue" for both computer things and speaking. Similarly, I've met Americans who use "dialog" for both. It's just another one of those color/colour things. Posts: 33 | Registered: Monday, December 17 2001 08:00 |
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Shaper
Member # 22
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written Tuesday, April 6 2004 04:33
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A major error in the file that I noticed: "Create the dialog script, and place the following at the start of the file: begindialogscript; " It should be begintalkscript (unless I am very much mistaken). Posts: 2862 | Registered: Tuesday, October 2 2001 07:00 |
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Infiltrator
Member # 154
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written Tuesday, April 6 2004 04:38
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I absolutely hate PDF whatever the contents. Learn HTML or something. It'll make it 75% more accessable. -------------------- Apparently still annoying. Posts: 612 | Registered: Saturday, October 13 2001 07:00 |
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Infiltrator
Member # 2628
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written Tuesday, April 6 2004 04:58
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Homepage
HTML is good in certain situations. However, when it comes to printing, PDF beats HTML every time for me. This cookbook is something I'm going to want to print so I can refer to it easily when offline. -------------------- We meet and part now over all the world; we, the lost company, take hands together in the night, forget the night in our brief happiness, silently. -- Judith Wright My website Posts: 512 | Registered: Wednesday, February 12 2003 08:00 |
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Triad Mage
Member # 7
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written Tuesday, April 6 2004 13:42
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Or you could do what Jeff does and have a Word (or HTML) version and a PDF version. -------------------- "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 |
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Apprentice
Member # 385
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written Thursday, April 8 2004 15:25
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First of all, :) to everyone for the kind words. Now in response to various people's comments: It's usually spelled 'dialogue'. Dialog boxes are boxes that pop up with options for you to choose. Good point. I'll fix that -- thanks! I can write some stuff if you want, probably about moving the party between towns, creating monsters, etc. Thanks, Drakefyre, that'd be great. The first task is to figure out what sorts of recipes people want, and then write them -- we don't need everything, just the most common sorts of things people want to know when creating scenarios. By the way, haven't I've already mentioned moving the party between towns in the section called "Entering and Leaving Towns"? Creating monsters, though, would be a great idea. What other topics would people like to see? A major error in the file that I noticed: "Create the dialog script, and place the following at the start of the file: begindialogscript; " It should be begintalkscript (unless I am very much mistaken). Oops! I'll fix that in the next version of the cookbook... I absolutely hate PDF whatever the contents...Learn HTML or something. It'll make it 75% more accessable. Actually, I do know HTML (as well as Latex and about half a dozen other markup languages). I chose PDF because, as others have pointed out, it's possible to print out the resulting file. The original document is actually written using MS Word (I decided to keep it simple so that other can edit the file if they want), and I then generate the PDF file from the word document. I'm more than happy to make the original ".doc" file available, if people want that, and of course you can export MS Word documents to HTML, so that's possible as well. My only problem is that I'm using my company's web site to host the cookbook, and they don't have much spare space as they're using a hosted web site. If anyone wants to host the cookbook, please let me know and I'll pass it on. I actually considered making the cookbook a "wiki" (a collaborative web site) so that lots of people can contribute, but figured it'd be easier for people to have a file to download and refer to when creating their scenarios. All suggestions, though, are most welcome. Happy Easter! Posts: 33 | Registered: Thursday, December 13 2001 08:00 |
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Apprentice
Member # 4229
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written Friday, April 9 2004 18:55
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this is wonderful it should help me so much thank you -------------------- the neo-mage agent redemption was here Posts: 11 | Registered: Friday, April 9 2004 07:00 |
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Apprentice
Member # 4212
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written Saturday, April 10 2004 05:52
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The cookbook is great stuff. I especially like the default terrain graphics table in the appendix which is very helpful for some clueless editor newbie like me. By the way, I personally consider PDF just fine when it has a working TOC (as the cookbook has). Posts: 1 | Registered: Tuesday, April 6 2004 07:00 |
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Infiltrator
Member # 154
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written Saturday, April 10 2004 07:05
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Hmm.. tell you what, I might set up a wiki myself. I've used them before - they're excellent. -------------------- Apparently still annoying. Posts: 612 | Registered: Saturday, October 13 2001 07:00 |