BoE Editor, again.

[Tonweya]

Knowing this Board is used primarily for Q&A regarding Game Play, etc., Is there a different, or preferred Board, (chatting or posting), where I can ask a couple more questions about the Editor?

I guess I'm self conscious about gobbling up space. I tend to elaborate my conversations.

I get the gist of the thing and it looks like 99% of it is familiarity, but I still have a couple of those "beginner" style questions that aren't really "clear" in the documentation and I can't find basic answers in Al's Forum.

Tx,

me

[The Almighty Doer of Stuff]

The BoE forum is for both gameplay and design. I don't know what gives people the idea that it's only for gameplay. What are your questions?

[Thralni]

I'm sorry to intrude in this topic (as questions anyway where about to be asked), but I wanted to ask where I can get this editor?

[BainIhrno]

It comes with BoE. Anyone who downloaded BoE would realize that, and would not need to ask.

[Jewels]

Didn't you say you were making a scenario, Thralni? The editor is what you use to make scenarios with.

[Drakefyre]

This forum is both for the editor and gameplay. Ask here or at the Lyceum.

[Tonweya]

Just a quick response to say thanx for the replies.

I'm havin' a heck of a time understanding the logic(?) of the Stuff Done A & B, then extras, 1a & 1b, 2a & 2b, then all the Type numbers. It all makes no sense at all yet.

There doesn't seem to be any logical order to any of it. It's like each new thought was assigned the next number, without any association.

To me, Red items should do Red Jobs, Blue items should do Blue Jobs, etc.

I thought Stuff Done A & B were the coordinates of the Stuff Done Flag, but that doesn't seem to work. Nor, do they, nor the extras relate to any of the Type numbers.

And now, I've read so much, trying to figure it out, I'm getting even more confused.

I really appreciate the replies, but I think I'm just too confused for any of it to make any sense.

I've got to get away from this for a while. I'm gonna go cut some lawn, split some firewood, then come back to try again in a few days.

Again, I really thank you all.

me

[ben4808]

Okay, what stuff done flags are is a grid of size 10x300. In each cell is an integer value that defaults to zero and can be changed, requested, or otherwise manipulated by certain special nodes.

 

Stuff Done Flag A and B are the coordinates of this grid, so say:

 

Code:

  0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 01 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 02 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 03 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 04 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 05 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 06 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 07 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 08 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 09 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0110 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0...to 299

Stuff Done Flag A is the vertical coordinate of the stuff done flag you're referring to, and SDF B is the horizontal coordinate.

 

Therefore, SDF A must be between 0 and 299 while SDF B must be between 0 and 9.

 

Still confused?

[Lilith]

Quote:

Originally written by Ahbleza:
There doesn't seem to be any logical order to any of it. It's like each new thought was assigned the next number, without any association.

Unfortunately, this is largely true. There's some rhyme and reason to what goes in the fields in the node editing window (all the Affect PC nodes work pretty much the same way, for example), but mostly it's a bit of a mess. For one or two nodes, the Picture field is even used for things other than pictures.

Stuff Done Flag A and B fields are indeed used to set and check Stuff Done flags, but not every node can set or check a Stuff Done Flag.

[Tonweya]

The Stuff Done A & B did appear to be the coordinates, but I'd swear they came up different a couple of times, so I thought I had misunderstood them. Thanks a bunch for verifying that.

I don't have any problem "seeing" a grid such as this in my mind. Logical layout and relative commands are "normal". I guess the majority of my problem is that there are so many items and I can't seem to remember, or make them relate.

Again, I think I've reached the point where I'm confusing myself by trying to absorb to much, too soon. Misunderstand something and it compounds.

I think it was easier to remember strings of tokens than this.

I guess I just have to accept that this is gonna take a lot longer than I thought and simply keep at it until it sinks in.

Again, thanks a bunch,

me

[Thralni]

Quote:

Originally written by The Ghost of Jewels:
Didn't you say you were making a scenario, Thralni? The editor is what you use to make scenarios with.

I am making a scenario, but that's for BoA.

EDIT:
I just wanted to quickly reply on your problems you have. I had the same problems. I saw all these codes and got so confused I went away to one of my friends. I calmed down, sat at it again, and tried to understand.

This is a golden tip that worked for me: start simple. i did it too. First try to understand the stuff done flags. then try to understand quests, then try to make a town script or something.

I'm busy now for about two months. It goes quite well now. I have 23 towns and 8 outdoor sections, alomst all with working scripts, and look (for me at least) as things i couldn't even dream of when i started working on it. Just hang in there, and if you ahve a question, don't be shy to come here and ask it. I did it too and was helped in great ways.

[Kelandon]

It's been a looong time since I used the BoE editor, but doesn't it tell you what each field is when you select what kind of node you'd like? I don't remember trying to memorize anything — I just went with what it told me.

[Jewels]

It does, but it takes a bit of getting used to. The first time I opened up the editor and saw all those 'Unused' fields I was a confused too.

 

There is only one template for entering in a myriad of groups of data, and the fields for this data may not always be for the same type of data.

 

My advice is to make a testing scenario. It's often hard to understand a technical book without seeing what the coding does. Make some test specials and try them out. For all I've worked with the editor, I haven't even touched over half the node types, but I could still make a finishable scenario. So it's not essential that you understand everything right away.

[Tonweya]

That's kind of what I've been doing. I made the beginning sample, then put things in one of the towns, send the Party to do the deed, then go look at the Stuff Done Panel to see what I did.

Being new, (and impatient), I've looked at a couple of established Scenarios thinking I'll learn faster.

WRONG!!!!!

Lost as a Vestal Virgin in a camp of Troglodytes.

You're all right. K.I.S.S. Keep it simple, stupid.

I just have to be patient. It's gettin' there. Just seems like it's taking too long.

Also, I think it's unrealistic to think I'm going to remember what all the sub-catagories, (Types), do. I won't need to look up things I use regularly. I'll just "know" them. I just need to be patient and "evolve".

Again, thanks all,

me

[ben4808]

Well, as soon as you get the hang of SDFs, you'll want to use them like heck, so it's a good idea to keep track of what SDF you used where, to avoid any confusion, and most of all, double uses of the same flag, which is the cause of many a hard-to find bug.

[Drakefyre]

For my most recent scenario, I wrote down all SDFs in a notebook, along with what they did and what set them. For previous scenarios, I picked flags that I was sure I hadn't used, leading to things like flags 215,7 and 112,3 being used in the same node chain.

[Thralni]

Quote:

Originally written by Benny Boy:
Well, as soon as you get the hang of SDFs, you'll want to use them like heck, so it's a good idea to keep track of what SDF you used where, to avoid any confusion, and most of all, double uses of the same flag, which is the cause of many a hard-to find bug.

I agree with that. I actually adopted a method of kelandon for this. Just make a list on your computer. you will (hopefully) always find it and can easily add things to it. i always tended to lose my notes I made with pencil and paper.