Garrulous Glaahk Handyman Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 Hello all, I'm new to designing scenarios. I was wondering what parts of a scenario should be planned out first. Is there a set priority? Like, will I have to code things before I paint things in the editor, or is BoA relatively unrestricted like that? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Niemand Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 You can do it in any order you want; likely you'll want to bounce back and forth between drawing terrain, placing objects, and wiring it all up with scripts. Incremental testing can also help a lot to make sure that the pieces are doing what you expect them to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easygoing Eyebeast Enraged Slith Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 My only advice is to not spend too much time in the "planning stage". The planning stage is fun because it's easy and there's no real work involved. When you get an idea you like, put it down in the editor and script the most basic components. Do this while planning the entire scenario. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotghroth Rhapsody BJ Back From the Beyond Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 There are likely going to be a few things in your scripts that require you to know exact terrain locations (if you change terrain through a script you will need the x and y coordinates). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk nikki. Posted June 27, 2010 Share Posted June 27, 2010 I have two methods of working, depending how well formed my plan is. One method I use if I'm unsure how I want the scenario to end, or don't have much planned beyond an idea, is to draw the entire scenario in the editor, planning out what I'll need as I go until I have a clear idea of what's going to happen. Then I script, and blah blah blah. Alternatively, if I have the majority of the scenario already planned, or if the scenario is particularly linear, I'll complete each town in order, not moving on to make the next one until the previous one is drawn/coded/had items/monsters/dialogue placed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Ishad Nha Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 The Alint program can catch errors in scripts, it is not infallible but it usually does the job, see this post: http://www.spiderwebforums.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=53234#Post53234 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Understated Ur-Drakon Celtic Minstrel Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 By the way, Ishad, to check all scripts in the folder you should specify *.txt as the file instead of just * - that negates the need to remove all other files. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnificent Ornk nikki. Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 The thing with Alint is it doesn't really catch anything that you shouldn't pick up during your own pre-beta testing. For that reason it's not really worth using, especially if your scenario is a small one (which is should be if its your first). (I will concede that if you have a large number of scripts its probably worthwhile, but even then, eh.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Niemand Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 Alint catches the same mistakes that the game will if you play the scenario, but it will report them all at once, rather than one by one, and waiting for the particular bit of the script containing the error to be triggered. I prefer to always use it after editing a script to quickly eliminate dumb little syntax errors, so that they aren't a distraction later. One certainly doesn't have to use it, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Ishad Nha Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 Alint is especially useful if you are new to BoA. As for the omission of *.txt that is locked into the other topic, I can't correct that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Understated Ur-Drakon Celtic Minstrel Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 I know; I didn't like unlocking it just to post that correction when considering that that's pretty much why it was locked in the first place (well, sort of), which is why I posted it here instead. The only think you'd have to be careful of with using *.txt is that any non-script text files (eg readme, notes) would be included in that; there might be a way around this without removing those files, but I'm not really sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall Ishad Nha Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 One solution is to turn your non-script files into RTF files instead. That won't add much to the size of the files and will ensure that they don't spam the Alint reports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ineffable Wingbolt Dahak Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 Originally Posted By: Handyman Hello all, I'm new to designing scenarios. I was wondering what parts of a scenario should be planned out first. Is there a set priority? Like, will I have to code things before I paint things in the editor, or is BoA relatively unrestricted like that? Thanks! Handyman. Grab a composition notebook and write out the events you want to have happen. Ending doesn't need to be there right away, nor does the beginning but try to maintain a rough order. Then, feel free to jump into the editor. Build the towns. This should give you a solid base from which to flesh out the rest of the game. As you build your initial towns think about the beginning & end if you've left it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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