Kingers on 23/3/2005 at 09:50
The purpose of this thread is to decide upon a unified format for the release of Thief: DS Fan Missions.
We are looking for conclusion on the following formats:
1. Archive - 7Zip, Zip or Rar (if an application is going to integrate with previous Thiefs it will have to be Zip)
2. Briefings - TXT, RTF or HTML (if an application is going to integrate with previous Thiefs it will have to be TXT)
Also the current format, I have been working with for a file "header.ini" is as so:
Code:
//==========================================
// SHADOW - THIEF: DEADLY SHADOWS FM HEADER
//==========================================
[MissionTitle]
A Fan Mission
[Features]
Custom Map
Custom Textures
... many further lines
sparhawk on 23/3/2005 at 10:00
Application= // Tag for which application this FM is T1, T2, T3, TDM.
Theme= // Description which theme this FM belongs to like City, Dungeon, outdoors, etc.
Difficulties= // list of difficulties supported (easy, normal, hard)
LevelMap=true|false // true if a map is contained for the level.
SubJeff on 23/3/2005 at 10:08
You'd need a list of custom objects, skins, meshes etc. Briefing? Blah, the list is too long.
Kingers on 23/3/2005 at 10:22
[Subjective Effort] I think you misunderstand, you don't list everything under features just the areas you have added to e.g.
NO - 1.dds, 2.dds, 3.dds
YES - Custom Textures
Kingers on 23/3/2005 at 10:23
I'll add my preferences:
1. Zip
2. TXT or HTML (single page without additional resources)
nomad of the pacific on 23/3/2005 at 10:32
1. No preference.
2. RTF or TXT
liamhaynes on 23/3/2005 at 10:39
Prsonally, i think basic/simple is the best option. Standard .zip and .txt for me. RichText could create problems, and HTML is, not as FM-author friendly. Using .txt and .zip means that TDS FM's will be in the same format as T1/T2 FM's, obviously a good thing, if anyone ever wants to write a combined loader programme for all three games. That header.inin file looks nice aswell, but i agree with sparkhawk on the other tags needed, for LevelMap and Theme.
Liam
Shadowcat on 23/3/2005 at 12:02
Quote Posted by Kingers
1. Archive - 7Zip, Zip or Rar (if an application is going to integrate with previous Thiefs it will
have to be Zip)
2. Briefings - TXT, RTF or HTML (if an application is going to integrate with previous Thiefs it will
have to be TXT)
(Emphasis added by me.)
I don't understand why you believe this is the case.
For item 1, the archives will either have a .zip, .rar, or .7z suffix. The loader then utilises the appropriate decompressor. There's no technical reason why it can't handle more than one format. I think I'll scream if we end up stuck with zip compression for T3 for such a reason as 'compatability' with T1/T2 missions.
Likewise for item 2, provided the code exists to render each case, the loader can display TXT, HTML, or RTF as appropriate. If the briefing is TXT, show the text. If the briefing is HTML, call the HTML viewer.
Don't handicap the T3 loaders for no good reason.
liamhaynes on 23/3/2005 at 12:31
You know, thats actually a really good point. Why can't a loader support all three formats? I mean, is a slight bit more work, but, in the end, a "standard" compression format will emerge, as more FM authors choose to use it. In the end, that leaves the descision to the author, not a programmer. I think the concern over HTML/RTF was either security or the inclusion of additional files, such as .jpg. I'm not really so sure on the briefing format, but toally agreed on .ini format for mission information.
Liam
SneaksieDave on 23/3/2005 at 17:25
Quote:
Archive - 7Zip, Zip or Rar
Inclusive or? There's no reason it can't be all of the above. Heck even I've written an app that uses zip and rar both.
Erm, now that I see the last couple of posts are saying the same thing... well, now it's the last three.
