[Discussion] Rebirth Tools

[Ketraar]

This topic will serve to discuss the X Rebirth tools listed here

Ask your questions or share your experience regarding the tools, any feedback can be posted here too. The tools topic will be updated as more tools get added

MFG

Ketraar

[wiwip]

I love you

[Vim Razz]

This is awesome. ty!

[ybeline]

Hello,

EGOSOFT has made the X Rebirth Mission Director Guide available to the public in PDF format.

Thank you very much for releasing this guide.
It will most surely help: reverse engineering was actually beginning to show its limits, for me at least

Regards,

ybeline

[jojorne]

any official info on how to make my script available in-game like how to create the "content.xml" and where to place it?

[Deleted User]

amazing!

[UniTrader]

any official info on how to make my script available in-game like how to create the "content.xml" and where to place it?

read the other Stickies, especially Observes Guide it may be not official, but everything necesary is covered there

[Fumblesneeze]

I haven't seen this one posted anywhere, so here goes:

To get rid of the diff-patch errors in the log for md files, apparently all you need to do is lowercase the first letter.

For example if you patch NPC_Engineer.xml, naming your diff file nPC_Engineer.xml will fix those. I guess the patch engine doesn't care for lower and uppercases.

Credit goes to Kharane for finding this. Let me know if anything doesn't work when doing this, I only briefly tested it.

[docwho83]

Ok in the Mission guide it talks about using Visual web developer. Since it can be set to help by displaying all available tags and attributes.

Has anyone figure out a way to do the same with notepad++ or do I need to pull a copy of vwd?

[IRaven]

Ok in the Mission guide it talks about using Visual web developer. Since it can be set to help by displaying all available tags and attributes.

Has anyone figure out a way to do the same with notepad++ or do I need to pull a copy of vwd?

I am using Visual Web Developer Express 2010 for this.
Its free and working as one would expect.
(You will just have to register after a 30 days test period and get it for free then.)

[I am still using notepad++ for editing my files. Visual WD is just for looking up a command]

[UniTrader]

i am using Notepad++ and xmlcopyedit (notepad++ seems to have autocompletion support based on xsds, but i didnt get it to work, in xmlcopyedit it works from the beginning)

[YorrickVander]

I haven't seen this one posted anywhere, so here goes:

To get rid of the diff-patch errors in the log for md files, apparently all you need to do is lowercase the first letter.

For example if you patch NPC_Engineer.xml, naming your diff file nPC_Engineer.xml will fix those. I guess the patch engine doesn't care for lower and uppercases.

Credit goes to Kharane for finding this. Let me know if anything doesn't work when doing this, I only briefly tested it.

This doesn't work for me :

[=ERROR=] LookupKeyName::LookupName(): The key name "add" is not recognized in lookup 'ScriptXML'. Originated from: "extensions\CopilotConvo\md\nPC_Itemtrader.xml.(pck|xml)"

But it occurs to me, the error might be (sort of) necessary - we place both patch files and new scripts to be used in /extensions but the errors are only thrown when loading or starting new game and not on client start. I assume then the engine rejects the patch files at this point as opposed to treating them as new/total replacements for the packed versions. I might be totally wrong of course

[Maclarium]

Support for Steam Workshop integration: We will soon start releasing a number of tools on Steam to help modders work on X Rebirth.

Great !! But can you tell us what kind of tool will it be ? And soon how ?

[Ketraar]

Now fast enough? *points to sticky*

MFG

Ketraar

[RedEclipse]

This topic will serve to discuss the X Rebirth tools listed here

Ask your questions or share your experience regarding the tools, any feedback can be posted here too. The tools topic will be updated as more tools get added

MFG

Ketraar

Ah ok, "soon" is today, great
And I would like big coca, french fries and nuggets please

I'm thinking of a tool to write MD but I think that's too much work for me (because, really... XML is tedious !) :/

I wonder if devs are using xml or have a tool to write MD... (that's the "big coca" )

[Night Nord]

Hm. Ketraar, is it possible to maybe list tools we might get? So we won't waste any effort on reverse-engineering some formats if there will be an official tool in some near future?

Or is it possible to get a formats description for formats you hardly will give us any tool for? For instance, I'm interested in Anark formats. I know that you have an internal reader implementation, but you are using a proprietary Anark Studio 4 for editing (which is hardly possible to be released, as Anark even don't hold a copyright for a Gameface anymore).

We might be able to build our own converters/compilers, as we did with compiled Lua scripts, but it would be much better with the format given - that will save a lot of time and improve the quality drastically. Or, of course, you may just decide to provide such tools yourself, but please tell us if you do. That will save me a lot of effort on decrypting an AnarkIO functions' assembly.

Plus, could you please export more state-changing functions for a Lua, so we can add things like ship renaming ourselfs (It won't be possible until you've made a new SetComponentName function)? Please?

And yes, a documentation for functions exported (though they are pretty much self-explanatory) will be a great help too.

[Ketraar]

I wonder if devs are using xml or have a tool to write MD...

Its called keyboard.

Seriously, the tools used are Visual Studio or Visual Web Developer (in my case for example), other use Notapad++ and lots of typing.

@Night Nord
I'll look into it but the short answer is, as they are made available. If there is more info that can be shared it will make its way in here asap.

MFG

Ketraar

[RedEclipse]

k.

We really need something better, but I really not sure about how I'd make that :/

I will try to make something basic to make that xml format in a closer format to C++ for readability.

Because, seriously:
<set_value name="$debugoutputchance" exact="0" />

Instead of
debugoutputchance = 0;

Or
<do_if value="not $target.isoperational">
<return value="false" />
</do_if>

Instead of
if(!target.isoperational) {return false;}

And all of this without a spelling checker is very hard to work with. I understand it's been a few years ES works with this but not us
But as I said, it's a little over my C# abilities rigth now, so I will be very slow to do this.

---

I know nothing about lua, John Snow ... But I agree with Nigth North, lua guys should have doc because their job is even harder than mine

[Ketraar]

I will try to make something basic to make that xml format in a closer format to C++ for readability.

People keep pounding on this and you are free to do what you like with your free time, but I for one will not want more C# readable since I have no clue about it, so do most people I know that use the MD. Not everyone has a degree in programming and sometimes things look more complicated as they are.

Using VWD and its auto-complete function its really not a matter of WRITING MD code, the big issue is to come up with what to write it for, aka missions or AL. I for one am sure not going to learn yet another language just so I can do what I already can. Mr. Bear's idea of a drag/drop or block writing tool is something in the direction I could see useful, but might be too much effort for the gain.

Again its coming up with new and fun missions that is the main hurdle (also text, translations, sounds, assets, etc) if there is a tool for that I'll take it.

MFG

Ketraar

[RedEclipse]

I will try to make something basic to make that xml format in a closer format to C++ for readability.

People keep pounding on this and you are free to do what you like with your free time, but I for one will not want more C# readable since I have no clue about it, so do most people I know that use the MD. Not everyone has a degree in programming and sometimes things look more complicated as they are.

Yes, but people you know won't do X3 complicated mods like mission or ai.

If ES want to see radically new AI stuff and complicated / elaborate mods like those from Anarkis or the one for the Stock Market, such tool is needed.
People without a degree in programming won't do those mods.

People with a degree in programming won't program in MD because of maintenance stuff, code creativity stuff, importing logic into md from their X3 projects or from their other irl projects, etc.

To me, Rebirth lost a large part of the best modders just because of md. If people "keep pounding on this", then there is a need for that.

Actually, Java/C/C++/C# code is easier to read than md...

Using VWD and its auto-complete function its really not a matter of WRITING MD code, the big issue is to come up with what to write it for, aka missions or AL. I for one am sure not going to learn yet another language just so I can do what I already can. Mr. Bear's idea of a drag/drop or block writing tool is something in the direction I could see useful, but might be too much effort for the gain.

Again its coming up with new and fun missions that is the main hurdle (also text, translations, sounds, assets, etc) if there is a tool for that I'll take it.

MFG

Ketraar

VWD stands for Visual Web Developer, rigth ? I'll try that to see if what I want is not redondant because you can do a lot of stuff with xsl too, so if it's presented in a rigth manner there, I may do nothing.
My project is just an idea for now. Rigth now, in my imagination I can see a double window editor writing either md in the left window or that code format in the rigth window (Java/C/C++/C#, only usiing what is common there) and see change in the other window.
Loading/Saving only MD files, the translation is real time. Code highligting + colouring stuff like in notepad++.

Just thoughts.