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Seraphim
May 1st, 2010, 07:33
Hello. New to these forums.

I have the 4E Parser, and am following the tutorial but hit a dead stop.

This one: https://oberoten.dyndns.org/fgwiki/index.php/4EParser_Tutorial_1:_Your_First_Module

here is my issue:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/Ivno/parser1.jpg

Step two in the tutorial area of "Configuring the parser" says:

"Click on the word "Output Path" which is just above the words "Batch File" with blue text. Select where you want the parsed data files to be sent to. For the purposes of this tutorial, select the same folder as before. "

I do not see the word output path, nor batch file.

What am I doing wrong? I feel that this may not even be the correct program in front of me.

Zeus
May 1st, 2010, 07:58
Hi, and welcome to the Forums.

I believe the guide you are referring to is slightly out of date as the Parser front end interface has been revised since the version the Parser the guide was written for was made available.

In previous versions of the Parser and after it had successfully parsed the module, you were required to point the parser to a batch file which would zip and rename the archive to a .mod file.

The newer versions of the Parser do this automatically and you are no longer required to manually execute a batch file. Hence why you can no longer reference it in the Parser.

Back to your question: Where's the output path?

In the new versions of the Parser, output path has been replaced by 'Temporary Directory'. Simply click the + symbol near Temporary Directory and point it to a temp folder (make sure its empty) that the Parser will output the XML files to. It will then archive the contents of the directory automatically at the end of the parse and will copy the resulting .mod file to your app data/modules subfolder, ready for use in FGII.

If you have a DDI account, you may find this guide more upto date.

Creating_Modules (https://oberoten.dyndns.org/fgwiki/index.php/Creating_Modules)

Hope that helps.

Seraphim
May 1st, 2010, 08:32
Awesome. Yeah, I got it working now. I was a bit intimidated by the layout at first, but now it's pretty clear on how this all works.

I'm not sure how to add multiple entries though. Do I need a command to split the entries? Or must I make an entirely new parsed file? I used this, but I get a parse error inolving the second entry.

Fire Archon Blazesteel Level 19 Soldier
Medium elemental humanoid (fire) XP 2,400
Initiative +18 Senses Perception +12
HP 182; Bloodied 91; see also wounded fireburst
AC 35; Fortitude 33, Reflex 32, Will 28
Immune disease, poison; Resist 30 fi re
Speed 8
m Scimitar (standard; at-will) ? Fire, Weapon ZZX
+25 vs. AC; 1d8 + 8 damage (crit 2d8 + 16) plus 1d8 fire damage,
and the target is marked until the end of the blazesteel’s next
turn.
C Wounded Fireburst (when first bloodied and again when the
blazesteel is reduced to 0 hit points) ? Fire ZZX
Close burst 2; +21 vs. Reflex; 10 fire damage, and ongoing 5 fire
damage (save ends).
X Combat Advantage ? Fire ZZX
The blazesteel makes a single extra scimitar attack and deals
an extra 1d8 fire damage against any enemy it has combat
advantage against.
Alignment Chaotic evil Languages Primordial
Str 26 (+17) Dex 24 (+16) Wis 16 (+12)
Con 22 (+15) Int 14 (+11) Cha 15 (+11)
Equipment plate armor, scimitar

Fire Archon Ash Disciple Level 20 Artillery
Medium elemental humanoid (fire) XP 2,800
Initiative +18 Senses Perception +13
HP 150; Bloodied 75; see also death embers
AC 33; Fortitude 33, Reflex 34, Will 29
Immune disease, poison; Resist 30 fire
Speed 8; see also flame step
m Flaming Fist (standard; at-will) ? Fire ZZX
+20 vs. Reflex; 1d8 + 5 fire damage, and ongoing 5 fire damage
(save ends).
A Rain of Fire (standard; encounter) ? Fire ZZX
Area burst 1 within 10; +23 vs. Reflex; 2d8 + 8 fire damage, and
ongoing 5 fire damage (save ends). Miss: Half damage, and no
ongoing damage.
C Flame Wave (standard; encounter) ? Fire ZZX
Close blast 5; +23 vs. Reflex; 2d8 + 8 fire damage, and the target
is pushed 2 squares and takes ongoing 10 fire damage (save
ends).
C Cinder Burst (standard; encounter) ? Fire ZZX
Close burst 5; +23 vs. Fortitude; 2d8 + 8 fire damage, and the
target is blinded (save ends).
C Death Embers (when reduced to 0 hit points) ? Fire ZZX
As the effect of cinder burst. The ash disciple is consumed in the
burst, leaving only its metallic robes behind.
Flame Step (move; at-will) ? Teleportation ZZX
The ash disciple can teleport to within 3 squares of any fire
creature within 20 squares of it.
Alignment Chaotic evil Languages Primordial
Str 20 (+15) Dex 27 (+18) Wis 16 (+13)
Con 24 (+17) Int 14 (+12) Cha 15 (+12)
Equipment scale armor (metal robes)

Cheers : )

Zeus
May 1st, 2010, 08:57
Glad that helped.

Regarding multiple entries, in the case of NPC stat data, just simply list each block one after the other as per your post. No need to signify any split.

For other content types like NPC fluff (lore, tactics, encounter groups etc) you do need to signify entry blocks. See the Parser Document (in the program dir) for more information on spceific syntax required for each content type.

In the case of your NPC parse error, try changing the line that reads:


Flame Step (move; at-will) ? Teleportation ZZX

to


X Flame Step (move; at-will) ? Teleportation ZZX

Seraphim
May 1st, 2010, 09:03
Very nice. Thanks alot Doc. : )

I noticed the error in the error log after reading your post. Now I know what to watch out for in the future.

This helps quite a bit.

Zeus
May 1st, 2010, 09:12
Your welcome.

BTW If you have a DDI account, you can get the Parser to automatically scrape the files from the Compendium, saving you the effort of manually constructing some of the files.

See here (https://oberoten.dyndns.org/fgwiki/index.php/Creating_Modules) for a guide on how to scrape using the Parser.

Seraphim
May 1st, 2010, 09:16
Unfortunately, I don't have a DDI account.

I don't mind entering them like this though.

Thanks for the help though : ) I'm sure I'll be back later with plenty of fun questionaires.

Seraphim
May 2nd, 2010, 00:13
Alright. I got a bunch of entries parsed and added to my own module file. : )

How do I add portraits though? I set the "Token Directory" Folder to the token folder in the parser folder. (The folder with DB, Definition, and the token folder)

When I parse the .PNGs vanish/delete/move? I made sure the name of the file matches the monster, and the error log says, "Missing .PNG" on the creatures without portraits, so I am led to assume that PNG is the proper format.

For example, I parsed goblin blackblade.png and it parses properly (With no error saying it's missing goblin blackblade.png), however the PNG in the token file vanishes and my blackblade in FG has no token image.

I think I may have the wrong image size. My files are 200 x 200, which are big for a token. I thought FG scaled them down though.

Not really sure where to start with items/powers either. It's a nice learning experience though. : )

Zeus
May 2nd, 2010, 03:36
When creating modules I use the following subfolder structure:

<module name> -- top level module subfolder
<module name>\input -- input files subfolder
<module name>\input\images -- input images subfolder
<module name>\input\tokens -- input tokens subfolder
<module name>\output -- output files subfolder

This typically ensures each module has a clean temporary (output) subfolder to compress after the parse. You can locate the toplevel subfolder anywhere you like but I would advise keeping away from the Program Files and other system folders. Your best bet is somewhere under My Documents e.g.

My Documents\4E Modules\Players Handbook\input
My Documents\4E Modules\Players Handbook\input\images
My Documents\4E Modules\Players Handbook\input\tokens
My Documents\4E Modules\Players Handbook\output
My Documents\4E Modules\Dungeon Masters Guide\input
My Documents\4E Modules\Dungeon Masters Guide\input\images
My Documents\4E Modules\Dungeon Masters Guide\input\tokens
...

You can then also save the Parser configuration to each module's top level folder ensuring you have a quick and easy way of restoring each module's Parser configuration.

As for token problems, if you follow the above subfolder structure it should be quite clear where to place each modules tokens. You then just need to ensure the Parser is pointed to the tokens subfolder and you should be good to go.

As for token sizes, you will find much opinion on this topic hear on the forums. The topic is very much driven by personal tastes and so I would suggest considering anywhere from 30x30px to 100x100px for medium sized creatures. The larger the pixel size, the greater the file sizes become and the transfer time to clients increases, however at the same time the detail increases so its a tradeoff that you will have to judge for yourself.

I personally use: 50x50px for medium, 100x100ox for large etc. etc.

Finally, FGII does scale tokens. The way to do this is to add your NPCs and PCs to the Combat Tracker and then drag each NPC and PC's token to a map. From there you can either set the scale for all tokens on the map by zooming in and then locking the token scale (affects all tokens on the map hence why its important to settle on a standard size for all your tokens) using the radial menu options. In addition you can also scale tokens individually (although it takes longer) by using the scroll wheel on your mouse when hovering over the token of the NPC/PC in the Combat Tracker.

Hope that helps.

Seraphim
May 2nd, 2010, 04:29
Alright. Got it : ) Thanks yet again Zuess. Now I have a nice monster database slowly coming together, some maps made for my players campaign, and even some NPCs fleshed out.

I went out of my way and snagged a DDI account. : ) It just seems to be a much easier way to add powers and such.

Zeus
May 2nd, 2010, 09:26
I went out of my way and snagged a DDI account. : ) It just seems to be a much easier way to add powers and such.
[/COLOR]

I don't blame you, now the scrape function is available in the Parser it can takes an 1hr or less to pull a basic module together complete with all functional data.

Before when everything had to be done manually it could take several evenings to complete a module and even then there would likely be typos and errors from the manual cut n paste job.

With the DDI/scrape function if your not fussed about keeping up with errata changes you could keep the subscription for as little as a month only and parse the entire library in that time.

All hail Tenian, our saviour. :D

Seraphim
May 2nd, 2010, 20:11
: ) True at that. The only thing I really I miss is the fluff file so I can categorize based on groups. Otherwise, it's well worth the tradeoff by a hundred folds.

Zeus
May 2nd, 2010, 21:40
You can still add the fluff, albeit manually by hand. Just scrape and then add an npcfluff.txt file to the parser configuration.

I have some XSL style sheets that can transform fluff text into raw HTML markup if it helps. You need to be able to export your source PDF into an XML format but if you can, you can use the XSL stylesheets to produce parser compatible source files.

If your running SoW, you can also check out my SoW XSL which given a source SoW module in XML format will output story.txt and encounters.txt files.

See here (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10783) and my FGII resource page (see sig).