Bay 12 Games Forum

Don't worry, I'm aware of the potential issues and trade-offs involved in changing characters. So far, it looks like I can repurpose (or dedicated-purpose) the following tiles, if using a TTF: [].,;:`"'

I've already got modified tiles for all these in my custom-assembled tileset, but if they're NOT needed for text use anymore (which seems to be true in initial testing), I can either replace them entirely, or customize them for the specific roles they play that CANNOT be changed by modifying the RAWs. I can also (potentially) fix some compromises like the 0 for coffins and X for bins. Obviously, all this is conjectural at this point, but the potential improvement is quite exciting. I also need to make sure there are functional characters in my future TTF for #11 and #12, which (in the test font I grabbed) are not supported currently, and ARE definitely used in TTF text lists (kitchen, stocks).

Obviously there's a lot of investigation to do on my part, and I know I'm rather late to the game (TTF is what, 14 months old now?), but I'm just finally returned to DF modding after an extended RL-induced hiatus, so it's new and exciting to ME.

Rochndil, who has new notes now attached to his stack of old DF-modding notes...

Thanks! I'll give that a spin. The last thing I need is for text to get SMALLER on me...I can barely read half of what's on my screen as it is.

Rochndil, off to find a font editor...

Yes, you can. You have to get a font editor, open the .ttf file and change the size in there. At least thats how I did it for my custom font I use. I couldnt find any other way. I know it gets bigger and smaller when you zoom in and out of the game, but so does everything else then.

Thanks, I'd DLed that one but forgot about it. I'll definitely give it a good look-over tomorrow.

Rochndil, who has bad people to kill (in Morrowind) tonight...

The GUI is looking good, I definitely think you're going in the right direction. If at all possible, make the program work as much like a standard Windows app as possible. Hopefully there will be tools available to make this pretty simple. The more you make it look and work like OTHER standard Windows apps, the less trouble (and questions!) you'll get from users.

Also, if possible (and you're willing), make the source available so that other folks can help with/build on your work. When you get to the stuff about modding MINERALS I'll definitely take a closer look...I've never been brave enough to mess with modding critters!

Rochndil, who still works on his big mod as time allows...

Greetings!

I really hope you can get this going without losing steam, which is usually what seems to happen with projects like this. If possible (and it may not be), try to get a GROUP going so that you won't be the only one slowly going crazy in the night.

From a historical perspective, there are three main DF mod managers that I'm aware of. I can't remember the name of the first big one, but Sean Mirrsen wrote and maintained it for quite a while. Then there were Uristmod and DFMM (Dwarf Fortress Mod Manager). All of these programs worked pretty well, but often suffered badly when the RAW file formats changed.

One thing I've always thought someone should do, and as I'm NOT a programmer I could be totally off-base here, is to create a RAW parser that would read in the TXT data and create a database based on it. Once you had a current database of all the elements in the RAWs, making changes individually or on a larger scale would be pretty simple. Then you could reverse the process, and write out consistently-formatted RAW files. Obviously there would be a ton of work to do here in defining relationships, formatting, etc., but I think that with the right base this is a process that could make modding a LOT easier.

Then, taking the next step, you would want to build a user-friendly GUI that would display the RAW information in a useful and intelligent manner. Even if you (yourself) can just create a usable GUI, that would be a great start!

I think one solution for you is to use a tabbed interface. Users are generally familiar with them, and it allows you to display MUCH more information without trying to cram it all onto one screen.

As others already have, I wish you much luck with your project!

Rochndil, sometime modder and TCOM professional (not programming!)

Got some work done yesterday, hope to do more today.

Blast furnace and puddling furnace workshop designs are done (untested). Still need to do the crucible furnace, coal works, and lapidary workshop. I may need to add a job or two to the lapidary works to make it worth building, but with all the minerals I'm thinking about throwing in, that shouldn't be a huge stretch.

I got my language files cleaned out completely, now naming should work properly again. Support documentation is up-to-date, and I finally got around to making my tileset workpage a proper Corel Draw document, instead of hand-writing it each time I changed a bunch of stuff.

I'm fairly confident the tileset is done, though of course something may yet come up in testing.

Once I get done with the workshops, I'll have to dig into the metals conversion from the 40d specs to .31, including computing appropriate values for toughness, hardness, etc. Then I need to finish up all the reactions, create the necessary mineral defs, and get everything ready to test.

Once I get that far, I'm going to see if I can get the whole works to install with DFMM, since the changes to frequently-changed files will be extensive, and will otherwise totally wreck inter-mod compatibility.

Rochndil, never short on things to do...

I have to say it.

Has anybody travestied the RAWs for this mod yet? I can only imagine the possibilities!

Rochndil, who will have to do it himself when he has time...