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dulux-oz
April 3rd, 2014, 14:48
Note: This extension is no longer available
Overview
This Extension provides a database for the recording of Physical and Geopolitical Locations, including Forests, Mountains, Bodies of Water, Kingdoms, Duchies, Counties, Cities, Towns, Villages, Shops and other Buildings, plus Worlds, Star Systems, Planes of Existence, Cosmologies and even Portals. The Extension will also work with the DOE Weather Extension and with the DOE Organisations Extension.

A screenshot is provided.
12655

Full details are provided in the accompanying Manual (a Module). The Manual can be opened by Fantasy Ground v3+ using any Ruleset, with or without the Extension being loaded.

Version

1.0.0 - Initial Creation: Locations, Towns & Buildings
2.0.0 - Add Worlds, Star Systems, Planes, Cosmologies & Portals
3.0.0 - Added:

Summer Solstice Date to World Record
Hydrosphere Entry to World Record
Temperature Entry to Plane Record
Hydrosphere Entry to Plane Record
Sun Movement Entry to Plane Record
Organisations to NPC Pages


4.0.0 - Added Shopping Functionality
4.2.0 - Added Sound Integration with DOE Sound Extension
4.3.0 - Compatibility update for use with the D&D 5th Ed. WotC Theme and several new Rulesets.
4.6.0 - Bug Fix: Dropping Items from Modules onto Building Inventories
4.8.0 - Compatibility Update, Fixed issues with Simple Brown & Simple Gray Themes, add support for StarFinder Ruleset (Graphics still required)
4.8.2 - Compatibility Update, Fixed issues with shopping in Savage Worlds Ruleset
5.0.0 - See Post #991 (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?20794-DOE-Locations-Extension&p=461872&viewfull=1#post461872)
5.0.1 - Current - Minor Buf Fiz


Manual Version

4.0.0 - Initial Creation
4.8.2 - Current - Compatibility Update


Rulesets
This Extension works with:

CoreRPG Ruleset v3.3.8, CoreRPG Ruleset v3.3.9,+ and selected Child Rulesets.


Dependencies
This Extension is dependent on:

DOE Base Extension v4.0.0 (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?27158-DOE-Base-Extension)


Wiki Page & Full Documentation

DOE Locations Extension (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/wiki/index.php/Locations_Database)


Rulesets By Dulux-Oz

DORCore (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?42221-DORCore-An-Advanced-Beta-Release-Of-A-New-Ruleset)


Other Extensions By Dulux-Oz

DOE Base Extension (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?27158-DOE-Base-Extension)
DOE: Alignment Graph Extension (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?25319-DOE-Alignment-Graph-Extension)
DOE: Campaign Style Graph Extension (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?25320-DOE-Campaign-Style-Graph-Extension)
DOE: OLE Extension (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?34735-DOE-OLE-Extension)
DOE: Organisations Extension (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?27169-DOE-Organisations-Extension)
DOE: Sound Extension (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?31369-DOE-Sound-Extension)
DOE: Weather Extension (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?22142-DOE-Weather-Extension)


Downloading The Extension
This Extension and its accompanying Documentation can be downloaded from the links at the bottom of this post.

Loading The Extension
This Extension is loaded exactly like all other Fantasy Grounds Extensions - by first copying the .ext file to the Extensions Folder under the Fantasy Grounds Folder and then re-starting Fantasy Grounds. If the Extension is compatible with the currently installed version of a given Ruleset it will be displayed in the Extensions List for that Ruleset and can be loaded by clicking on the Checkbox next to the Extensions name.

If the Extension has large red 'X' next to its name in the Extension List then the Extension or an Extension that this one is dependent upon is not compatible with the chosen Ruleset. Make sure that you have downloaded and installed the latest copy of this Extension and any Extensions this one is dependent upon.

When Fantasy Grounds Updates
After a Fantasy Grounds version update you should verify that all Extensions (not just this one) have been either updated themselves or verified by the Extension author that they work with the new version of Fantasy Grounds. If you have any issues with Fantasy Grounds after an update then it is best to disable all Extensions and then re-enable them one by one until the issue re-appears.

Helping Out
If you like this Extension and find it useful, you may like to consider showing your support by making a Donation so that this Software and similar Software can continue to be maintained and developed.

Donations can be made via PayPal to:

[email protected]

Thank you

Previous Downloads (v4+):

DOE: Locations Extension: 4,024
DOE: Locations Extension Manual: 3,104

Nickademus
April 3rd, 2014, 19:59
(So boys, am I a Developer now? Huh, am I? :p )

Yep.

Bidmaron
April 4th, 2014, 00:01
You are an FG stud, dulux. But, heh, where is the next tutorial?

Trenloe
April 4th, 2014, 01:12
Love your work! :)

Any chance of some screenshots to see what it looks like in action?

Nickademus
April 4th, 2014, 01:29
Compatabilities
This Extension is fully compatible with:

Towns Extension.
Shops Extension.


Superceeds
The following Extensions are superceeded by this Extension and are no longer required:

Towns Extension.
Shops Extension.


Does this seem to contradict or just make irrelevant? If it supersedes, you don't need the other extensions and thus the compatibility is irrelevant.

Unless you are thinking of campaigns that already shop and town data. In that case does your extension grab the data from the old extensions' objects and repackage it or just not touch the old town and shop entries?

dulux-oz
April 4th, 2014, 03:58
You are an FG stud, dulux. But, heh, where is the next tutorial?

In Post-Production - just waiting for word from Moon about an "Undocumented Feature" I mentioned re: Importing & Exporting Characters - if he can get it fixed in the next day or two then I'll incorporate the fix, otherwise it'll have to wait until I do all the videos and put it in the Updates Video.

Cheers

dulux-oz
April 4th, 2014, 04:05
Does this seem to contradict or just make irrelevant? If it supersedes, you don't need the other extensions and thus the compatibility is irrelevant.

Unless you are thinking of campaigns that already shop and town data. In that case does your extension grab the data from the old extensions' objects and repackage it or just not touch the old town and shop entries?

Yes, it supersedes the Town & Shop Extensions so that they are no longer required.

Existing Town & Shop Extension Data is now incorporated and used by the Locations Extension - and the old Extensions can still be used, even if the Locations Extension has added/changed Shop or Town Data - the new fields in the Locations Extension version of the Town or Building (Shop) Forms will simply be ignored by the old Extensions while common fields will be displayed in both the Old Extensions and the Locations Extension - hence being fully Compatible.

Does that clear things up?

dulux-oz
April 4th, 2014, 04:06
Any chance of some screenshots to see what it looks like in action?

Yeah, give me a day or two - got a massive work load on at the moment. :)

Cheers

Zeus
April 4th, 2014, 08:28
Nice job Dulux-Oz. This will be nice feature to use in 5E and other CoreRPG rulesets.

dulux-oz
April 4th, 2014, 09:07
Nice job Dulux-Oz. This will be nice feature to use in 5E and other CoreRPG rulesets.

Ahh, wait till I get the Worlds part done (version 2) and then the Weather Extension - then I think you'll really find things useful (I hope, at least) :D

Nickademus
April 4th, 2014, 09:17
Git on it!

El Condoro
April 20th, 2014, 12:50
Sorry to ask some basic questions but I have tried to figure them out in testing and failed! These might get answered in the tutorial video but anyway...

1. Is this extension simply a database or can it be used interactively with PCs. e.g. drag and drop an item from a shop inventory onto a PC inventory and it adds the item and subtracts its cost. Testing showed it did the dragging and dropping OK but did not subtract the cost of the item.
2. Can you explain the Building fields - Treasury, Purchase Limit and Spell casting - please?
3. When I drag an item into a building inventory it doesn't bring in the cost and the weight of the item - they have to be manually entered. The 'old' Shops extension brought both in when dragging from the items list.
4. I assume 'Base' and 'Market' for inventory are the cost of production and the selling prices? e.g. a suit of chainmail might have a base of 30gp and a cost of 40gp (the PC pays). If this is correct, shouldn't the Base value be hidden from PCs when the sheet is shared?

I'm sure I'll be using this extension a lot. Cheers.

[Edit]: Just 2c: I know right-aligned is standard for numbers but IMO it looks better if everything is left-aligned in FG sheets.

dulux-oz
April 20th, 2014, 13:56
1. Is this extension simply a database or can it be used interactively with PCs. e.g. drag and drop an item from a shop inventory onto a PC inventory and it adds the item and subtracts its cost. Testing showed it did the dragging and dropping OK but did not subtract the cost of the item.

No, version 1 does not subtract the cost - but now that you've bought it up I'll incorporate that into version 2.


2. Can you explain the Building fields - Treasury, Purchase Limit and Spell casting - please?

As I based the Building Form on the original Shops Form and had to make it 100% compatible with that older Extension (by another Author) some of the fields I've never actually used in my own games, but had to include for compatibility reasons. However, as most of the old form's fields were simply datastores it doesn't really matter what you put in them. The first two are probably not going to be useful for Buildings that are not Shops (ie Private Residences, Courthouses, etc). The Spell Casting is a legacy filed - I have no idea what its original purpose was - maybe to record the Spells available to the proprietor (now owner)?

In any case, most fields if left blank won't show up once the form is Locked.


3. When I drag an item into a building inventory it doesn't bring in the cost and the weight of the item - they have to be manually entered. The 'old' Shops extension brought both in when dragging from the items list.

Oops - had that functionality tested and working very early on, but it must have been overwritten during a later stage of development. I'll fix it in version 2.


"Sorry about that, Chief" - Maxwell Smart


4. I assume 'Base' and 'Market' for inventory are the cost of production and the selling prices? e.g. a suit of chainmail might have a base of 30gp and a cost of 40gp (the PC pays). If this is correct, shouldn't the Base value be hidden from PCs when the sheet is shared?

See point 2 re: legacy fields. Maybe not - under the D&D3 Rules on Magic Items, each one has a Base Cost and a Market Cost, both knowable to the Players/Characters. So there is nothing wrong with showing both - if its a problem you could set both to the same value.

Hope that helps, and thanks for the questions/feedback.

Cheers

jboyd4650
April 20th, 2014, 21:32
Awesome extension, Dulux.
Was playing around with it, and got this warning -- Ruleset Warning: buttoncontrol: Could not find icon (button_deleteconfirm) for control (ldbcldbDeleteCapital) in windowclass (wcLocationMainPolitical) -- Ruleset Warning: buttoncontrol: Could not find icon (button_deleteconfirm) for control (ldbrldbDeleteRuler) in windowclass (wcLocationMainPolitical) -- .

I'm still too new to fully trouble shoot it, but when I get it, I am trying to drop a town into the capital slot.

As i would be using this for mostly fantasy/medieval worlds, I was wondering about the ability to subinfeudiate? ie., who is the liege lord, who are tenants, and such.

Anyway,
Good work,
James


PS, Also, as I am working in Acres, I noticed that in the area description 'Acres' doesn't appear. Small thing, and if i was to use any other measurement, it seems to work fine.

dulux-oz
April 21st, 2014, 04:19
Awesome extension, Dulux.

Thankyou.


Was playing around with it, and got this warning -- Ruleset Warning: buttoncontrol: Could not find icon (button_deleteconfirm) for control (ldbcldbDeleteCapital) in windowclass (wcLocationMainPolitical) -- Ruleset Warning: buttoncontrol: Could not find icon (button_deleteconfirm) for control (ldbrldbDeleteRuler) in windowclass (wcLocationMainPolitical) -- .

I'm still too new to fully trouble shoot it, but when I get it, I am trying to drop a town into the capital slot.

I can not reproduce that warning - which Ruleset are you using (including version number) when this occurs?

I did find a typo in the onDrop section of the "Capital" code to do with the slmlCapitalLink field (it should be slclCapitalLink - now fixed - will be in version 2 - damn global find & replace) - but that would not produce the warning you got. The button_deleteconfirm icon is part of the CoreRPG - the warning is effectively saying that the button_deleteconfirm icon is not available, which is why I ask which Ruleset you are using.


As i would be using this for mostly fantasy/medieval worlds, I was wondering about the ability to subinfeudiate? ie., who is the liege lord, who are tenants, and such.

Anyway,
Good work,
James

PS, Also, as I am working in Acres, I noticed that in the area description 'Acres' doesn't appear. Small thing, and if i was to use any other measurement, it seems to work fine.

I think what you are asking can be reproduced by having Locations linked to Locations ie have a Duchie Location, and on its Locations Tab have a number of Earldoms; on each of those have a number of Counties, etc. The Ruler of each Earldom would be the vassel of the Duchie's Ruler and the Leige Lord of each of their Counties, respectively.

Is that what you mean?

"Acres" String had a typo - fixed now and will be included in version 2 :)

Thanks for the feedback

Cheers

jboyd4650
April 21st, 2014, 04:57
I think what you are asking can be reproduced by having Locations linked to Locations ie have a Ducky Location, and on its Locations Tab have a number of Earldoms; on each of those have a number of Counties, etc. The Ruler of each Earldom would be the vassel of the Duchy's Ruler and the Leige Lord of each of their Counties, respectively.

Is that what you mean?

yes.
that is what i did, but all locations used, are now on the main page for locations (the sheet pulled up when you hit the side bar shield). Maybe I'm just not getting them in correct tabs on this original screen.



I can not reproduce that warning - which Ruleset are you using (including version number) when this occurs?


all i have done is copy core rules into another files and renamed it...I am playing around at trying to create a rule set... but have done nothing more than trying to figure out the flow of the files... (this doesn't mean i have changed something somewhere). I will try another program tomorrow and see if i can duplicate it again.

Thanks for all the work,

James

after thought, how do you get the quotes from last posting?

damned
April 21st, 2014, 05:24
you can use the following syntax (remove spaces) [ quote ] and [ /quote]
you can also use the reply with quote button in the bottom right hand corner of each post :)

jboyd4650
April 21st, 2014, 12:59
thanks Damned :)

dulux-oz
April 21st, 2014, 17:23
all i have done is copy core rules into another files and renamed it...I am playing around at trying to create a rule set... but have done nothing more than trying to figure out the flow of the files... (this doesn't mean i have changed something somewhere). I will try another program tomorrow and see if i can duplicate it again.

(In the Core RPG) OK, each graphic is a PNG files stored in one of the sub-directories of the Graphics folder in the CoreRPG folder. The particular graphic that we are talking about is called button_deleteconfirm.png and is in the Buttons folder.

Each graphic is referenced by Fantasy Grounds by a given (internal) name. The name that references the button_deleteconfirm.png is button_deleteconfirm (convenient, isn't it :) ).

The references are contained in various "definition" XML files. The button_deleteconfirm reference is defined in the graphics_icons.xml file, which is found in the Graphics folder.

The actual definition code itself is:
<icon name="button_deleteconfirm" file="graphics/buttons/button_deleteconfirm.png" />
Which basically reads "Define an Image with a name of button_deleteconfirm and which can be found here: graphics/buttons/button_deleteconfirm.png".

So, the error warning you were getting was saying that Fantasy Grounds could locate the "thing" called button_deleteconfirm. This can be caused by:

The file button_deleteconfirm.png not existing in the location specified.
The definition button_deleteconfirm not existing as far as Fantasy grounds is concerned, caused by:

The definition not being in any XML file.
The XML file not being known to Fantasy Grounds ie in the correct location.



So, I suspect that where you copied/moved things you inadvertently changed the path to the XML or the PNG file.

Does, that all make sense?


yes.
that is what i did, but all locations used, are now on the main page for locations (the sheet pulled up when you hit the side bar shield). Maybe I'm just not getting them in correct tabs on this original screen.

No, that's how the main sheet (as you call it) is designed to work - its how the "main sheets" of all of the functionalities in FG (not just the Extension) are designed to work - they're an Alphabetical List of the records that the given functionality provides.

What I do to keep things organised is name my locations for their "level" in the political hierarchy ie, Barony of..., Duchy of..., Kingdom of... That way, all of the Baronies appear together.

To organise things as I think you are asking for presents some very interesting challenges from a Database Design and User Interaction point of view. Let me explain.

WARNING!
This next bit goes into some Database Design Theory - grab a cup of coffee before continuing :)

We'll start be considering how a computer would organise such a hierarchy. The most obvious way is to have separate Forms for a Barony, a County, a Duchy, or a Kingdom. Then you would have a Duchy List, a Barony List, etc. The work load to implement something like this would be substantial, let along the duplication of code and the resulting "bloat" of the software - not to mention the amount of "button real-estate" such a solution would require.

Another way would be to differentiate the different "levels" of such system in some way within the existing "Locations" structure. This would require, at the least, a "level number", so that all the Baronies would be 1, the Counties would be 2, etc. This would only be a small change (an additional field) to each Location Form, but is would require a fairly large bit of code to take this into account to display things in the correct order on your "main page", thus leading back to the first argument against doing so stated above. Also, extra code would be required to ensure that only "level 1" locations were able to be placed within "level 2" locations, etc.

Any what about those Locations that aren't part of such a hierarchy? How do we deal with them?

And what about the situation where Dukes had Barons as direct vassals, and therefore you would have Baronies directly belonging to Duchies? Or where someone wanted to include Earl and Earldoms? Why should a single hierarchical structure be dictated?

And what about those who don't use the English terms, but instead the Persian terms, or the French, of the Russian? These aren't just language changes, but in some cases different hierarchies in structure.

No, I've designed the system as it is to provide a balance between flexibility (it can represent any collection of Locations, Towns, and Buildings in any configuration), generic-ability (it is usable by anyone in any Ruleset), ease of development/maintenance (to save my sanity), and usefulness (keeping it as simple to use as possible while still providing all of the required functionality). If enough people let me know that they want it done in a different way then I'll certainly consider their views - actually, I'll consider anyone's/everyone's views - but I don't have the time nor the inclination to write something in such a way that it restricts others from using it by dictating to them how something "must" be done - except where absolutely necessary from a "good design" or "technological necessity" point of view. :)

And I know that's not what you were asking me to do - I was just trying to explain the rational behind why I designed it the way I did.

Keep those suggestions coming, people, plus please let me know if you find any "undocumented features" (ie bugs) - thanks.

Cheers

jboyd4650
April 21st, 2014, 18:00
We'll start be considering how a computer would organise such a hierarchy. The most obvious way is to have separate Forms for a Barony, a County, a Duchy, or a Kingdom. Then you would have a Duchy List, a Barony List, etc. The work load to implement something like this would be substantial, let along the duplication of code and the resulting "bloat" of the software - not to mention the amount of "button real-estate" such a solution would require.

Another way would be to differentiate the different "levels" of such system in some way within the existing "Locations" structure. This would require, at the least, a "level number", so that all the Baronies would be 1, the Counties would be 2, etc. This would only be a small change (an additional field) to each Location Form, but is would require a fairly large bit of code to take this into account to display things in the correct order on your "main page", thus leading back to the first argument against doing so stated above. Also, extra code would be required to ensure that only "level 1" locations were able to be placed within "level 2" locations, etc.

Any what about those Locations that aren't part of such a hierarchy? How do we deal with them?

I understand what your saying here, and I do like the 'generic' fit to any world ability. So,instead of building a hierarchy, can it be easily set up to hide/show on the main page? That way a GM may show the country, but hide the states; show the kingdom, and hide the baronies.

Thanks for the reply, I am going to look through the graphic files to see if I did move something,

James

dulux-oz
April 22nd, 2014, 04:09
...can it be easily set up to hide/show on the main page? That way a GM may show the country, but hide the states; show the kingdom, and hide the baronies.

I'd have to look into it, but I don't see why not.

My questions is, however, to what effect? If the GM doesn't want the Players to see something then he simply doesn't share the thing with the Players. If the GM wants to have the Players see part of a record, then the simplest/easiest thing to do is to have two copies: a GM's copy and a Players' copy, and the GM shares the Players' copy - like having a GM's Map and a Players' Map.

From a Character Knowledge Point-of-View, I can't see the point of hiding the Baronies but showing the Duchies - most individuals have/had a pretty good idea of their Nobility and whom was a vassal to whom (and therefore which lands "belonged" to which other lands), and if the individuals travelled a lot then they would know not only their own country/kingdom but others a well - that certainly fits the definition of most Characters (IMNSHO).

Or have I missed the point entirely? :p

Cheers

jboyd4650
April 22nd, 2014, 08:10
Actually, it is just to keep my clutter down. Now, i set up a kingdom, and then exported it as a module. That puts it all under one tab, and i can import it when needed. That might just make this a non-problem.

Thanks for bearing with me.

El Condoro
April 22nd, 2014, 10:23
Since you say you want suggestions :D

With the inventory sheet, as well as bringing in the cost and weight when an item is dragged to it, can a 'Mark-up' field be added for the whole inventory? For example, a merchant has a lot of general gear but it is good quality (or he is just a rip-off merchant!) and all stock has a 5% increase over the standard PHB price. This would be done once and for all stock ('Main' sheet?). The Mark-up value could be negative (sells at below PHB price) or positive (sells above PHB price). The Mark-up field could be adjusted by the GM if the PC passes a related Skill Check (Bluff, Diplomacy etc) after haggling.

When a player opens that inventory (that has been shared, obviously) he can drag and drop items at the marked-up price and have that amount deducted from his available gold and added to the 'treasury' of the store. If he doesn't have the coin the item is not dropped into his inventory.

I have no idea if these things are possible but they seem good things to ask for.

Valarian
April 22nd, 2014, 11:57
Nice extension, Dulux. I'll have to try it out for the Fate games.

dulux-oz
April 23rd, 2014, 06:32
Thanks for the feedback everyone - I'll go and see about integrating those changes & bug fixes for version 2

Cheers

dulux-oz
April 23rd, 2014, 06:35
Zeus=> I know I've done it privately, but I also wanted to thank you publicly for the help on the graphics you provided - Thankyou!

Cheers

dulux-oz
April 23rd, 2014, 08:52
Is this extension simply a database or can it be used interactively with PCs. e.g. drag and drop an item from a shop inventory onto a PC inventory and it adds the item and subtracts its cost. Testing showed it did the dragging and dropping OK but did not subtract the cost of the item.

And also


With the inventory sheet, as well as bringing in the cost and weight when an item is dragged to it, can a 'Mark-up' field be added for the whole inventory? For example, a merchant has a lot of general gear but it is good quality (or he is just a rip-off merchant!) and all stock has a 5% increase over the standard PHB price. This would be done once and for all stock ('Main' sheet?). The Mark-up value could be negative (sells at below PHB price) or positive (sells above PHB price). The Mark-up field could be adjusted by the GM if the PC passes a related Skill Check (Bluff, Diplomacy etc) after haggling.

When a player opens that inventory (that has been shared, obviously) he can drag and drop items at the marked-up price and have that amount deducted from his available gold and added to the 'treasury' of the store. If he doesn't have the coin the item is not dropped into his inventory.

I have no idea if these things are possible but they seem good things to ask for.

OK, I've had a good look at the Cost Subtraction Issue and it is not feasible. Let me explain why.

In the CoreRPG the Costs of Items (and therefore the Base on the Inventory Sheet of the Buildings Form) are recorded as Strings (Text) not as Numbers - therefore doing mathematical manipulations on these values is extremely hard; not from a casting (turning a String into a Numeric or vice-versa) point of view but in the implications it raises. For starters, to convert the String to a Number that means something requires the system not only do the actual String-Number conversion but also a value conversion (eg is the String in Gold, GP, Gold Pieces, Silver, sp, Credits, etc, etc, etc). This requires knowing what the various Conversion Rates are (ie in some Rulesets there are 10 Gold to a Platinum, in others it is 5:1).

And this is just for starters!

Thus, it is impossible to keep the Extension Generic and yet still do all of these conversions: because the Externsion would have to know about each monetary system in each Ruleset - and how many RPG systems are out there? I mean, my own Übergame RPG has 7 different Monetary Systems alone (one for each major Geopolitical area/time period).

So, sorry, not practical :( (possibly why Moon made that field a String in the first place).

"But the Character Sheet records the coins as Numbers" I hear you say. True, but there is no relation to the various Numbers and what they are supposed to represent - hence having both a Number and a corresponding String where you put the coin value (ie "Gold", "Credit", etc). And even when you do do this, there is still nothing to say that the Number is intrinsically meant to represent Gold (or Credits, or whatever) - there is nothing within FG linking the Number to a value of money - there is when we interpret it, but that's done by us, not the computer.

Cheers

willquestion
May 15th, 2014, 23:49
There's a link to this from the 3.5/Pathfinder forum. Does this extension work when using the Pathfinder ruleset?

Trenloe
May 16th, 2014, 00:32
There's a link to this from the 3.5/Pathfinder forum. Does this extension work when using the Pathfinder ruleset?
The 3.5e and Pathfinder rulesets load CoreRPG as their base ruleset, so these extensions should work with those rulesets. Is there any one in particular you are referring to?

The main thing to keep in mind with extensions is that they modify the underlying ruleset code, so they are not always compatible with other extensions. The golden rule with extensions is if you encounter a problem, disable all of the extensions and then do a trial and error enable/disable of the extensions you want to use until you determine which ones work together and which don't. Sometimes extensions can be made to work together by the devs (once you identify a problem with an extension post in that specific extension's thread), sometimes it might not be realistically possible if both extensions modify the same section of code.

willquestion
May 16th, 2014, 06:16
The 3.5e and Pathfinder rulesets load CoreRPG as their base ruleset, so these extensions should work with those rulesets. Is there any one in particular you are referring to?

Sorry I wasn't specific. I'm mainly interested in the Locations extension.

willquestion
May 16th, 2014, 09:03
Thanks Patriarch. I'm going to install the extension now and I'll keep a look out for 2.0.

dulux-oz
May 16th, 2014, 10:11
Thanks Patriarch. I'm going to install the extension now and I'll keep a look out for 2.0.

Umm, I'm assuming you're talking to me - it's a minor item, but my handle/name is Dulux-Oz. "Patriarch" is my "Rank(?)" on these forums, in the same way that you are a "Zealot" at the moment. There are quite a few "Patriarchs" on these boards (as well as quite a few "Zealots"), which is why it took me a moment to work out you were talking to me (assuming you are) :)

Oh, and you're welcome.

Cheers

Trashkicker
May 21st, 2014, 01:04
Really nice extension!!! good work!!

I did run into a small bug when adding links to any of the tabs in either NPC's/Locations/towns/Buildings/or Maps. if I add a link (for example to the town's tab in a location) it works fine, but if the the Town's tab is full of links and I add another one (which creates the scrolling bar) suddenly i get duplicate entries. Not a big deal but something to look into if you got the time. Can't wait for your next version!

dulux-oz
May 21st, 2014, 06:36
Hmmm, I've never run into that before. I'll have to have a look at the code to see what's going on.

Edit: OK, got that fixed (at least, I think I have :) ) - it'll be part of the next update.

Thanks for spotting it

Cheers

willquestion
June 5th, 2014, 11:31
Is there a way to hide information in this extension so that places and NPCs can be revealed as the PCs encounter them? Also, when converting to a module is the info in this extension included?

dulux-oz
June 5th, 2014, 11:55
Is there a way to hide information in this extension so that places and NPCs can be revealed as the PCs encounter them? Also, when converting to a module is the info in this extension included?

I'll assume you're asking about the Locations Extension:

Not really - not designed for that particular purpose.
Yes, if you select the relevant Records from the Export Window (ie /export) - however, I'd hold off till v2 is released, if I were you. :)


Cheers

Stenrosen
June 26th, 2014, 10:44
Can this be ported to suit with other rulesets?

dulux-oz
June 26th, 2014, 12:23
Can this be ported to suit with other rulesets?

Ummm... not really. It rellies heavily on "stuff" from the CoreRPG Ruleset, and is designed to work with the CoreRPG Ruleset and all of its "Child" Rulesets, so modifying it to work with other, non-CoreRPG Derived Rulesets is a lot of work. As the "Layered Ruleset" approach is the one that SW is pushing for all of its Rulesets, any effort in porting this (or any other Extension) has to be weighed up against the effort to port the "other" Ruleset to the Layered Ruleset approach - in other words, the effort required may be more than the benefit gained.

Having said all that, which Ruleset(s) are you referring too - it may require only a very minor change to get it to work - and/or you may spark the original Author of the "other" Ruleset to port it to the Layered Ruleset Approach (if its not already being done).

As a tangent comment, I'm literally days away from releasing version 2, which will contain a whole bunch more functionality and also different "place" records for things like worlds, star systems, planes of existence, portals, and whole cosmologies. Alas, it too will be CoreRPG and Child compatible as well.

Any other questions, please ask

Cheers

Stenrosen
June 26th, 2014, 23:08
I was thinking of BRP. It seems just such a good extension that it's to bad it can't cover the whole set of rulesets :-) As it's not theme or system specific i just was curious what was the decision behind making it not generic ;-)

Trenloe
June 27th, 2014, 01:48
I was thinking of BRP. It seems just such a good extension that it's to bad it can't cover the whole set of rulesets :-) As it's not theme or system specific i just was curious what was the decision behind making it not generic ;-)
If a ruleset is not built on top of CoreRPG (which BRP is currently not) then there is no such thing as a "generic" ruleset if there is any form of GUI involvement - and this extension has GUI involvement. Just the "simple" task of adding the "Locations" button to the toolbar can be done differently in non CoreRPG based rulesets and so would need a different extension for each ruleset that handles the toolbar differently. This is one of the main reasons that CoreRPG was produced so that rulesets could use a base ruleset for all of the base FG operations and campaign data and then game specific rulesets could be built on top of CoreRPG and share future version improvements and CoreRPG compatible extensions.

As mentioned above, BRP is not currently built on CoreRPG so it cannot use this extension. This extension is as generic as an extension of this type can be, unfortunately it is impossible to make it truly generic for all rulesets.

brochr
July 17th, 2014, 10:25
Hi Dulux

Great work on this extension. I had been working on something similar but had not been able to spend any time on it for most of the last year for real world reasons. Interestingly, when I loaded it into FG3.0 it opened up my "Locations" that I had created with my pre-FG3 version.

One small request - I think an encounters tab is immensely useful from a DM perspective. This means you can see all the local story threads in one place (drag & drop encounter class objects).

Many thanks

Toph

dulux-oz
July 17th, 2014, 11:02
Hi Dulux

Great work on this extension.

Thankyou.


Interestingly, when I loaded it into FG3.0 it opened up my "Locations" that I had created with my pre-FG3 version.

Yeah, that would make perfect sense, as its based heavily on Brad McAdam's Town Extension and yours and Trenloes Town & Shop Extensions, and uses the same DB structure - as the doco implies (about being compatible) and the licensing/author part of the XML file states - basically you guys gave me the inspiration - so I'd be surprised if it didn't. :)

I've been saying it for about a month now, but I am literally working through the last of the bugs for Version2, which adds Worlds, Star Systems, Planes of Existence, Portals and Cosmologies - I expect to have it up online by the end of the weekend (all other emergencies not withstanding).



One small request - I think an encounters tab is immensely useful from a DM perspective. This means you can see all the local story threads in one place (drag & drop encounter class objects).

Many thanks

Toph

Not quite sure what you mean - do you mean an Encounters list on each Record Type, similar to the Maps/Images List, or something different? Have a look at v2 (when I get it up) and let me know what you think.

Anyway, thanks for the inspiration and the suggestions and I'm glad you like it.

Cheers

brochr
July 17th, 2014, 14:33
Hi Matt


Not quite sure what you mean - do you mean an Encounters list on each Record Type, similar to the Maps/Images List ...

Yes, that's it exactly. I used this to link my encounters to different geographic places - which made the whole environment a lot less linear but still organised. So if the party arrived at the proverbial tavern, I would have a few different directions they could go at my finger tips.


Have a look at v2 (when I get it up) and let me know what you think.

I had a brief look at the structure and XML and I must congratulate you on the clean, organised code! I'm looking forward to release 2.0. In the meantime I will also dig out my old extension for organisations/groups/affiliations. This was mostly for organising groups of NPCs and their 'hide outs', again so I could get away from linear games.

All the best

Toph

dulux-oz
July 17th, 2014, 17:09
Yes, that's it exactly.

Hmmm, might be a GUI problem - again, have a look at v2 and let me know.



I had a brief look at the structure and XML and I must congratulate you on the clean, organised code!

Thankyou


In the meantime I will also dig out my old extension for organisations/groups/affiliations. This was mostly for organising groups of NPCs and their 'hide outs', again so I could get away from linear games.

All the best

Toph

Actually, I've got something like that in planning right now - perhaps we could/should work together on it?

Cheers

dr_venture
July 17th, 2014, 21:46
Any update on the ETA of version 2? I'm wrestling back and forth witht eh idea of using it, but since it contains & manages *so* much data, I'm a bit afraid of committing to using it, for fear I'll put a ton of data in it and for some reason have it become unsupported/incompatible. That's not a reflection of you, of course, just a problem on the Internet and on computers in general. Still, it's mighty, mighty cool...

dulux-oz
July 18th, 2014, 06:42
Any update on the ETA of version 2? I'm wrestling back and forth witht eh idea of using it, but since it contains & manages *so* much data, I'm a bit afraid of committing to using it, for fear I'll put a ton of data in it and for some reason have it become unsupported/incompatible. That's not a reflection of you, of course, just a problem on the Internet and on computers in general. Still, it's mighty, mighty cool...

Yeah, as I said in a post or two ago, I'm just doing the final testing and bug elimination - I hope/plan to have it up by the end of the weekend - but the best laid plans of mice and me.

Ongoing support is something that I hope won't be required - or at least, there won't be a need for a lot - mainly due to how I've designed it in the first place. Having said that, there is a slight design change between version 1 and 2 that means if you haven't started to use it yet then hold off for v2 - if you are already using v1 then the design change will be propagated when you being to use v2 but you might need to check how things have gone.

Anyway, it'll all be in the v2 documentation, so have no fear - nothing will be broken, you'll just might have a teny tiny bit of work to do :)

Oh, and if you think iy manages so much data now, just wait till you see v2 :p

Cheers

dulux-oz
July 18th, 2014, 08:06
One small request - I think an encounters tab is immensely useful from a DM perspective. This means you can see all the local story threads in one place (drag & drop encounter class objects).

Done!

It'll be in v2.

Cheers

dulux-oz
July 24th, 2014, 12:20
Location Record
Location Records form the left-half of the heart of the Locations Database. Location Records are used to record any Place that is not covered by one of the other seven Place Record Types, such as Rooms, Courtyards, Parks, Markets, Docks, Baronies, Countries, Kingdoms, Empires, Lakes, Farms, Forests, Jungles, Mountains, Mountain Ranges, Seas, Oceans, Islands, Continents, etc. Locations are made up of other Locations, Towns and Buildings and can be part of a Plane of Existance, World, another Location, Town or Building.

Locations come in two flavours: Physical Features (See Figure 04) and Political Entities (See Figure 04), set via the Checkboxes at the bottom of the Location Window. Not all of the following Entires are avalaible when the Location is a Physical Feature.

Drag a Plane, World, Location, Town or Building Shortcut to the Part Of entry to Set a Plane, World, Location, Town or Building Record as the Location's "parent".
The Use Parent Location's Clmate Details Checkbox is used to both Hide the Location's Climate Details (Cliamte Zone, Latitude, Longitude, Terrain and Altitude) and also to tell the Weather Extension to use the Parent Location's Climate Details to detemine the Weather of the Location. This is used when a Location is part of a Building, Town or a larger Location. The Weather Extension will use default values if it cannot detemine a Location's or a Location's "parent's" Climate Details.
The Climate Zone CycleButton has five values:

Arctic
Subarctic
Temperate
Subtropical
Tropical
For the purpose of this Extension (and the Weather Extension) Arctic Climate is definded as being from 66-90 Degrees (North or South); Subarctic Climate is definded as being from 51-65 Degrees; Temperate Climate is defined as being from 31-50 Degrees; Subtropical Climate is defined as being from 16-30 Degrees; and Tropical Climate is defined as being from 0-15 Degrees.
Each time the Button is Clicked the Latitude Numberfield is set to a Default Value roughly mid-range for the Climate Zone. The Latitude Numberfield can be overriden, but each Click on the Climate Zone Button will reset the Latitude Numberfield to the relevant Default Value.
The Climate Zone Button will also reduce the number of options for the Terrain CycleButton when set to "Arctic" - no Forests or Forest Marshes exist in the Arctic.
Not Automaticaly Hidden.

The Latitude Numberfield can be set from 0 to 90. It will be overridden by the Climate Zone Button, so set the Climate Zone first. Not Automatically Hidden.
The Latitude CycleButton has two values: North and South. Not Automatically Hidden.
The Longitude Numberfield can be set from 0 to 180. Not Automatically Hidden.
The Longitude CycleButton has two values: East and West. Not Automatically Hidden.
The Terrain CycleButton has nine values:

Coast/Aquatic
Desert
Forest
Hills
Coastal Marsh
Forest Marsh
Scrub Marsh
Mountains
Plains
For the purpose of this Extension (and the Weather Extension) Coast Marsh is considerd Coast, Forest Marsh is considered Forest and Scrub Mash is considered Plains.
Also the purpose of this Extension (and the Weather Extension) Coast and Desert have a Default Altitude of 0 (Feet by default); Forest and Plains have a Default Altitude of 500; Hills have a Default Altitude of 2,000; and Mountains have a Default Altitude of 4,000. The Terrain CycleButton will override the Altitude Numberfield with the relevant Default Value when Clicked, similar to the Climate Zone CycleButton.
Not Automaticaly Hidden.

The Altitude Numberfield has no limits. It will be overridden by the Terrain Cyclebutton, so set the Terrain first. Not Automaticaly Hidden.
The Altitude CycleButton has two values: Feet and Meters. It will recalculate the value in the Altitude Numberfield for the new Units of Measure, so it is best to set this value first, before manually setting the Altitude Numberfield. Not Automatically Hidden.
The Area Numberfield: see the Town Record above.
The Area CycleButton: see the Town Record above.
The Capital Link Entry is used to Link a Town Record to the Location. Drag and Drop a Town Entry to Set. If the Town Record already exists on the Towns Page (see below) it will be removed from the Towns Page when set as the Capital.
The Ruler Link Entry: see the Town Record above.
The Confidence Numberfield: see the Town Record above.
The NPC Page: see the Building Record above.
The Locations Page is desiged for those Locations which are contained within this Location (eg Baronies within a Kingdom, Islands within an Ocean). See the Building Record above.
The Cities/Towns/Villages Page is used to Link Town Records to this Location. Drag and Drop Town Records to Set. If a Town Record already exists as the Capital (see above) it will be removed from the Capital Link Entry when Dragged to the Towns Page.
The Buildings Page: see the Town Record above.
The Portals Page: see the Building Record above.
The Maps Page: see the Building Record above.
The Notes Page: see the Building Record above.


Continued On Next Post

dulux-oz
July 24th, 2014, 12:37
World Record
(See Figure 06)
World Records form the right-half of the heart of the Locations Database.

World Records are used to record details about Astonomical Bodies.

The Locations Database uses the details of World Records to calculate orbits and planetary locations within those orbits. The mathematics behind these calculations is not strick Newtonian Physics, but a simplfied version based on Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion. A simplfied version was used for a number of reasons, including the fact that the rounding errors that naturally occur when dealing with both (relatively) very large numbers and very small numbers means that accuracy was reduced to only the first 3 or 4 significant figures anway. While not strickly acurate from an Astronomer's point of view, the resulting orbits, etc, are certainly accurate enough for the primary purpose of the Locations Extension, which is to represent these things for use in our games.

The default values for a new World Record are set to represent the Earth or a World resemebling the Earth in terms of gravity, temperature, orbit distance, etc.

Worlds are made up of Locations and can be part of a Star System or a Plane Of Existance.

Drag a Plane or Star System Shortcut to the Part Of entry to Set a Plane or Star System Record as the World's "parent".
The Calendar Entryfield records what Calendar the World uses by default. If set to the string "None Set" then it will be hidden when the World Record is Locked.
The Use Campaign Calendar Button determines if a Campaign Calendar has been set and if so, places the name of the calendar into the Calendar Entryfied and the number of days in the year into the Year Length Numberfield. If there is no campaign Calendar in use then the string "None Set" will be placed in the Calendar Entryfield.
The Year Length Numberfield is used to record the number of time periods for the World to complete one revolution around its Primary and therefore is used in its Orbit Calclations. Not Automatically Hidden.
The Year Length CycleButton has three values: Days, Hours and Minutes. It will automatically recalculate and display the correct value in the Year Length Numberfield so that the amount of time in the Year Length Numberfield remains the same. Not Automatically Hidden.
The Day Length Numberfield records the number of time periods for the World to complete one revolution around its own axis. It is used by the Weather Extension to calculate Hours of Sunlight, Sunrise and Sunset.
The Day Length CycleButton has three values: Days, Hours and Minutes. It will automatically recalculate and display the correct value in the Day Length Numberfield so that the amount of time in the Day Length Numberfield remains the same. Not Automatically Hidden.
The Summer Solstice Entryfield records the day and month of the Summer Solstice of the Northern Hemisphere of the World. This value is used primarily by the Weather Extension to determine the Weather of the World. If set to the string "None Set" then it will be hidden when the World Record is Locked.
The Set Summer Solstice Button determines if a Campaign Calendar has been set and if so, places the selected Day and Month from the Calendar System into the Summer Solstice Entryfied. If there is no campaign Calendar in use then the string "None Set" will be placed in the Summer Solstice Entryfield.
The Size CycleButton has eleven values: A to K. For the purpose of the Locations Database Worlds are classified into these eleven Size Categories. The Size is one of the factors that determines the Mass of the World and hence the Orbit Claculations. Not Automatically Hidden.
The Type Cyclebutton has four values:

Air
Earth
Fire
Water
The Type of a World determines its Density and is one of the factors that determines the Mass of the World and hence the Orbit Claculations. Not Automatically Hidden.

The Shape Cyclebutton has nine values:

Spherical
Amorphous
Belt
Cluster
Cubic
Elliptic
Flatworld
Regular
Irregular
Not Automatically Hidden.

The Obliquity/Tilt of a World is how far the World's Axis of Rotation is offset from its Orbital Axis. An Obliquity of 0 and the World spins like a top, an Obliquity of 90 and it rolls around like a ball. Obliquity is used by the Weather Extension to calculate the World's Seasons, Sunrise and Sunset.
The Gravity Cyclebutton has ten values:

Normal
Heavy
Very Heavy
Extremely Heavy
Light
Very Light
Extremely Light
None
Objective Directional: The strength of gravity is the same as on Earth but the direction is not the traditional “down” toward the ground. It may be down toward any solid object, at an angle to the world itself or even upward, creating a chandelier-like world where everyone has to hang on or be thrown out into space. In addition, Objective Directional Gravity may change from place to place. The direction of “down” may vary, so individuals may suddenly find themselves falling upward or walking up walls. Visitors on Worlds with objective directional gravity tend to be cautious. No one wants to discover the hard way that the 100’ corridor ahead has become a 100’ deep pit.
Subjective Directional: The strength of gravity is the same but each individual chooses the direction of gravity’s pull. Such a world has no gravity for unattended objects and non-sentient creatures. This can be very disorienting to the newcomer but is common on “weightless” worlds. Inhabitants can move normally on a solid surface by imagining “down” near their feet.
Not Automatically Hidden.

The Temperature Cyclebutton has seven values:

Normal
Warm
Hot
Boiling
Cool
Cold
Freezing
Not Automatically Hidden.

The Hydrosphere Cyclebutton has five values:

Normal
Damp
Sopping
Parched
Dry
Not Automatically Hidden.

The Spin Direction Cyclebutton is the direction that the World rotates about its own axis. It has three values:

West-To-East (eg the Earth)
East-To-West
Does Not Spin
Not Automatically Hidden.

The Orbits Cyclebutton determines what the World Orbits around. Depending upon which of the four values is selected determines which of the following related entries is shown. The four values are:

Primary: the World orbits the System Primary (eg the Earth).
Is Primary: the World is the System Primary (eg the Sun).
Other World: the World orbits a world other than the System Primary (eg the Moon).
None: the World does not orbit anything but is not the System Primary.
Not Automatically Hidden.

Drag another World or a World Portal Shortcut to the World entry to Set another World or a World Portal as the Other World that this World orbits around.

The Part Of entry of this World will be over-ridden by the Part Of entry of the Other World.
If a World Orbits another World or a World Portal than changing the Part Of entry of one will change the Part Of entry of the other.
Only shown when the Orbits Cyclebutton is set to Other World.

The Orbit Distance Numberfield has no limits. It will be overridden by the correct Orbit Distance calculation when the Orbits Cyclebutton is Clicked, so set the Orbits Cyclebutton first.

Not shown when the Orbits Cyclebutton is set to Is Primary.

The Orbit Distance CycleButton has four values:

Million Miles
Gigameters (Million Kilometres)
Inner Hexes: Used for Worlds orbiting out to the Orbit of The Asteroid Belt.
Outer Hexes: Used for Worlds orbiting out past the Orbit of The Asteroid Belt.
For the purpose of this Extension an Inner Hex is defined as being approx 20 Million Miles across, and an Outer Hex is defined as being 20 Inner Hexes Across.
See also the Area CycleButton in the Town Record above.
The CycleButton will recalculate the value in the Orbit Distance Numberfield for the new Units of Measure.
Not shown when the Orbits Cyclebutton is set to Is Primary.

The Orbit Direction Cyclebutton is the direction that the World rotates about its Primary. It has three values:

Anti-Clockwise (eg the Earth)
Clockwise
Fixed
Not shown when the Orbits Cyclebutton is set to Is Primary or None.

The Start Location Numberfield can be set from 0 to 359 Degrees. It is the angle the World makes between where it starts is Orbit and "Star System North", using the World this World Orbits as the centre point. Depending upon the value of the Ornbit Distance a Read-Only Textfield to the right of the Start Location Numberfield will display the corresponding Inner or Outer Hex the Start Location corresponds too, with Hex 1 being the first Hex Clockwise from the "Vertical", "North" or "Up The Map" Column of Hexes.

Not shown when the Orbits Cyclebutton is set to Is Primary.

The Description Field is a FormatedText Field.
The Inhabitants Field is a FormatedText Field.
The Movement & Combat Field is a FormatedText Field.
The Features Field is a FormatedText Field.
The Locations Page: see the Building Record above.
The Portals Page: see the Building Record above.
The Maps Page: see the Building Record above.
The Notes Page: see the Building Record above.


Continued On Next Post

dulux-oz
July 24th, 2014, 12:49
Star System Record
(See Figure 07)
Star System Records are used to record informtion about Star or Solar Systems. Star Systems are made up of Worlds and can be part of a Plane Of Existance.

Drag a Plane Of Existence to the Exists On entry to Set a Plane Record as the System's "parent".
Drag the Shortcut of a World or a World Portal that has had its Orbits Cyclebutton set to Is Primary to Set the World or World Portal as the System's Primary (the World that the other Worlds in the System orbit around). If the World of World Portal Record already exists on the Planets Page or the Portals Page(see below) it will be removed from the Planets Page or the Portals Page when set as the Capital.
The System Has A Crystal Shell/Hyperlimit Checkbox is used to record if the System has such a phenomenon. Not Automatically Hidden.
The Shell Distance Numberfield has no limits.

Only shown when the System Has A Crystal Shell/Hyperlimit Checkbox is Checked.

* The Shell Distance CycleButton has four values:

Million Miles
Gigameters
Inner Hexe
Outer Hexes
See also the Orbit Distance CycleButton in the World Record above.
Only shown when the System Has A Crystal Shell/Hyperlimit Checkbox is Checked.

The Calendar Entryfield: see the World Record above.
The Button: see the World Record above.
The Set Start Date Button sets the Start Date for the "Orbit Position" calculations for the System's Planets and World Portals. First select the desired Date from the Calandar System and then Click on the Set Start Date Button. If no Calendar has been set then the string "None Set" will be displayed and it will be hidden when the System Record is Locked.
The Set Current Date Button sets the Current Date for the "Orbit Position" calculations for the System's Planets and World Portals. See the Use Campaign Calendar Button above.
The Description Field is a FormatedText Field.
The Features Field is a FormatedText Field.
The Planets Page is used to Link World Records to this System. Drag and Drop World Records to Set. If a World Record already exists as the Primary (see above) it will be removed from the Primary Link Entry when Dragged to the Planets Page.

The Order Numberfield is used to number the Planets in order from the Primary out. Moons can be numbered using a decimal following their parent World's Order Number. For Example: Mars would have an Order Number of 4, while the moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos, would be numbered 4.1 and 4.2, respectively.
The Curr. Read-Only Numberfield shows the "Current Angular Position" of the Planet. See Start Location in the World Record above.
The Hex Read-Only Numberfield shows the "Current Hex Position" of the Planet. See Start Location in the World Record above.

The Systems Page is used to Link other System Records to this System. Other Star Systems may always be "Reachable" (the top List) or only reachable some of the time (the bottom List). Drag and Drop System Records to Set. These are One-Way Links: it is possible for System B to be reachable from System A but System A not be reachable or only reachable some of the time from System B.
The Portals Page is used to Link World Portal Records to this System. See the Planets Page above.
The Maps Page: see the Building Record above.
The Notes Page: see the Building Record above.


Planes Of Existence Record
(See Figure 08)
Plane Records are used to record details about the various Planes Of Existance. Planes are made up of Star Systems, Worlds and Locations and can be part of a Cosmology.

The Layer Entryfield is used when this Plane is a Layer or Sub-Plane of a larger Plane (eg one of the 666 Layers of the Abyss).
Drag a Cosmology Record to the Part Of entry to Cosmology Record as the Plane's "parent".
The Type CycleButton has five values:

Material Plane
Inner Plane
Outer Plane
Transitive Plane
Demiplane
Not Automatically Hidden.

The [Gravity Cyclebutton[/b]: see the World record above.
The Time CycleButton has four values:

Normal
Flowing
Erratic
Timeless

The Time Ratio Entryfield is only shown when the Time CycleButton is set to Flowing.
The Size CycleButton three four values:

Infinite
Finite
Self-Contained

The Area Entryfield is only shown when the Size CycleButton is set to Finite.
The Temperature Cyclebutton: see the World Record above.
The Hydrosphere Cyclebutton: see the World Record above.
The Sun Movement Cyclebutton is the direction that the Sun(s) travel across the sky of the Plane. It has three values:

East-To-West (eg simulating conditions on the Earth)
West-To-East
Does Not Spin
Not Automatically Hidden.

The Morphability CycleButton has five values:

Alterable
Divinely Morphic
Highly Morphic
Magically Morphic
Static

The Energy Traits CycleButton has seven values:

Normal
Air-Dominant
Earth-Dominant
Fire-Dominant
Water-Dominant
Negative-Dominant
Positive-Dominant
When set to anything other than Normal a second Energy Traits CycleButton is displayed, which has the same seven values (except Normal is replaced by None). Thus a Plane can have two different Energy Traits. The Locations Database will not stop you from setting opposite Energy Traits or the same Energy Traits twice.

The Alignment CycleButton has ten values: the nine Alignments of the D&D Alignment System and the value Non-Aligned.
The Magic Traits CycleButton has six values:

Normal
Dead Magic
Enhanced Magic
Impeded Magic
Limited Magic
Wild Magic

The Description Field is a FormatedText Field.
The Inhabitants Field is a FormatedText Field.
The Movement & Combat Field is a FormatedText Field.
The Features Field is a FormatedText Field.
The Links Page is used to Link other Plane Records to the Plane.

The Connection Cyclebutton is used to record how this Plane and its neighbour are Linked. It has three values:

Coterminous: Planes that link together at specific points are coterminous. Think of coterminous planes as touching each other. Where they touch, a connection exists and travellers can leave one reality behind and enter the other.
Coexistent: If a link between two planes can be created at any point, the two planes are coexistent. These planes overlap each other completely. A coexistent plane can be reached from anywhere on the plane it overlaps. When moving in a coexistent plane, it is often possible to see into or interact with the plane it coexists with.
Both

Drag and Drop Plane Records to Set.

The Systems Page is used to Link System Records to the Plane. Drag and Drop System Records to Set.
The World Page is used to Link World Records to the Plane. Drag and Drop World Records to Set.
The Locations Page: see the Building Record above.
The Portals Page: see the Building Record above.
The Maps Page: see the Building Record above.
The Notes Page: see the Building Record above.


Cosmology Record
(See Figure 09)
Cosmology Records are use to record information about your Campaign's Cosmology as a whole. They form the "top layer" of the Locations Hireachy. Cosmologies are made up of Planes Of Existance.

The Main Page is used to Planes Of Existence to the Cosmology. Drag and Drop Plane Records to Set.
The Maps Page: see the Building Record above.
The Notes Page: see the Building Record above.


Continued On Next Post

damned
July 24th, 2014, 13:02
i just going to come right out and say it.
WOW!

dulux-oz
July 24th, 2014, 13:12
i just going to come right out and say it.
WOW!

Wow Good or Wow Bad? :confused:

damned
July 24th, 2014, 13:22
this kinda wow...
7117
but bigger... much bigger!

RTFallen
July 24th, 2014, 13:31
Awesome job duluz-oz! :) Now to go play around...

Resire

dulux-oz
July 24th, 2014, 13:38
Listen Guys, its Confession Time

While I tested v2 quite extensively I am sure there are some combinations of Linkages, etc, that I missed during testing - in other words, there may be more bugs hidden in the Extension.

If you do find one, please let me know so I can fix it - thanks.

Cheers

El Condoro
July 24th, 2014, 13:42
Fantastic work! I have been looking for a campaign organisational tool with this kind of scope - great stuff. I'll test it for bugs. Just a spelling 'bug' for now - the terrain type should be 'plains' rather than 'planes'. Now to some more thorough testing. Cheers...

dulux-oz
July 24th, 2014, 13:56
Just a spelling 'bug' for now - the terrain type should be 'plains' rather than 'planes'.

Fixed and uploaded :)

Thanks

dr_venture
July 24th, 2014, 16:10
You're the perfect combination of ambition and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and we love you for it (I would never make it as a greetings card writer). Jeez, dude...do you ever eat or sleep or got to the bathroom... or do anything other than code this extension? That is a crazy amount of work. Thanks man!!!

Now, I'd really like all records to import, export, and self-fill, please :D

dulux-oz
July 24th, 2014, 16:53
You're the perfect combination of ambition and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and we love you for it.

Thanks - I think ;)


Jeez, dude...do you ever eat or sleep or got to the bathroom... or do anything other than code this extension? That is a crazy amount of work. Thanks man!!!

You've welcome - and of course I do other things... I produce Tutorial Videos :p


Now, I'd really like all records to import, export, and self-fill, please :D

Don't want much, do you?

OK, let me see what I can do...

dr_venture
July 24th, 2014, 17:17
Don't want much, do you?

OK, let me see what I can do...

You do know I was joking, right? And I really don't want those things...

I actually programmed a web page a couple years back to use that Medieval demographic info on countries to generate all the cities, towns, hamlets, etc., with all the businesses (and the like: temples, etc.) and the proprietors. I just the generated the owners, their families, and some apprentices -- I didn't even create all the citizens, farms, etc. I quickly started creating XML files that were so bloated that they were problematic to deal with.... and I was generating pretty concise XML compared with FG.

It was a really fun experiment, but just way too unwieldy to actually use with XML. You have to use a proper database, which gets into a whole other ball of wax that I didn't want to get mired in.

dulux-oz
July 24th, 2014, 17:39
You do know I was joking, right?

Of course I know - obviously I need to work on my sarcasm generator :p


I actually programmed a web page a couple years back to use that Medieval demographic info on countries to generate all the cities, towns, hamlets, etc., with all the businesses (and the like: temples, etc.) and the proprietors. I just the generated the owners, their families, and some apprentices -- I didn't even create all the citizens, farms, etc. I quickly started creating XML files that were so bloated that they were problematic to deal with.... and I was generating pretty concise XML compared with FG.

It was a really fun experiment, but just way too unwieldy to actually use with XML. You have to use a proper database, which gets into a whole other ball of wax that I didn't want to get mired in.

Yeah, way too complex for a flat DB structure like XML - I use Firebird RDMS (open source, small footprint and waaaaayyy better than MS-SQL or MY-SQL) and good old dBase (the modern version) for the Front-end for a lot of my DB stuff - I was actually working on a RDMS character generator of 3.5DnD when I stumbled across FG - I would have never used XML for the DB structure of something like this but I'm glad SW got it to work.

Do you still have the demographic data? I wouldn't mind getting a copy of it if you do.

Cheers

dr_venture
July 24th, 2014, 18:08
Do you still have the demographic data? I wouldn't mind getting a copy of it if you do.

I just used the info from this site, which seems to provides a good ground work to start from: https://www222.pair.com/sjohn/blueroom/demog.htm

There is a PDF at DriveThruRPG that is much, much more comprehensive, called the "A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe". It provides tons of great info, and you can even download a free subset of the book here: https://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/55264/A-Magical-Medieval-Society-City-Guide

I have a much more detailed list of occupations than are listed in either of the above sources, which I'm happy to share with you if you like.

Hope those provide some useful info for you!

Ikael
July 24th, 2014, 23:29
Wow, this extension is really getting fancier! Great work! I will definitely use this in my SW Army of Darkness game to record all demonic places :)
EDIT: comments about exporting were unnecesary

damned
July 25th, 2014, 02:29
Yeah, way too complex for a flat DB structure like XML - I use Firebird RDMS (open source, small footprint and waaaaayyy better than MS-SQL or MY-SQL) and good old dBase (the modern version) for the Front-end for a lot of my DB stuff - I was actually working on a RDMS character generator of 3.5DnD when I stumbled across FG - I would have never used XML for the DB structure of something like this but I'm glad SW got it to work.

FireBird vs any other DB will depend very much on its purpose and the size of the DB and the performance required and other things.
As to using XML for FG - it is probably a way better solution in terms of its ease of install - image having to support users issues with installing SQLExpress or SQLEmbedded.
And add Mac support via WINE into that equation.
For all its limitations - the XML storage is very portable and simple to install.

dulux-oz
July 25th, 2014, 04:57
FireBird vs any other DB will depend very much on its purpose and the size of the DB and the performance required and other things.
As to using XML for FG - it is probably a way better solution in terms of its ease of install - image having to support users issues with installing SQLExpress or SQLEmbedded.
And add Mac support via WINE into that equation.
For all its limitations - the XML storage is very portable and simple to install.

Oh, I agree. For the size of DBs FG has to handle and for all of the support and other points you raised, a flat file structure (like XML) is the best way to go. My point was, as a (former) DBA my first inclination wasn't for a flat file structure but for a RDMS, and of the available RDMS's out there my first choice is almost always FireBird - but I'm glad that SW has gotten FG working with XML (I don't think I could have) - I'm just miss having the relational functions a RDMS has: I had to write all the relational code for the Locations DB Extension by hand, and I haven't had to do that in a long, looonnngg time (and now my brain hurts :( ). :)

dr_venture
July 25th, 2014, 07:21
This is as far as I got -- the town name links went to town detail pages with info on the shops there, owners names & deets, etc. All the data there (other than the county's size in sq. miles and over-all population density) is 100% calculated or random (as evidenced by some of the less than graceful place names from my faux English city/town name generator). I suppose I could get it running fully again, add the new data fields from your extension, and just export the data into your extension's FG format, insert it into the campaign db file...

dulux-oz
July 25th, 2014, 07:31
This is as far as I got -- the town name links went to town detail pages with info on the shops there, owners names & deets, etc. All the data there (other than the county's size in sq. miles and over-all population density) is 100% calculated or random (as evidenced by some of the less than graceful place names from my faux English city/town name generator). I suppose I could get it running fully again, add the new data fields from your extension, and just export the data into your extension's FG format, insert it into the campaign db file...

Sorry, being a bit dense this afternoon - what are we looking at?

damned
July 25th, 2014, 08:17
this is a screenshot from dr_ventures previous world builder...

see post above (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?20794-Locations-(inc-Shops-amp-Towns)-Databse-Extension&p=182163&viewfull=1#post182163)

dulux-oz
July 25th, 2014, 10:10
this is a screenshot from dr_ventures previous world builder...

see post above (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?20794-Locations-(inc-Shops-amp-Towns)-Databse-Extension&p=182163&viewfull=1#post182163)

Oh, is that what it is?

OK, now I can see it - nice job.

dr_venture
July 25th, 2014, 15:58
this is a screenshot from dr_ventures previous world builder...

Correct - a cookie for damned. That sounds like it should be a song title.

Bidmaron
July 26th, 2014, 23:28
Dulux, did you base some of your field values on Astrosynthesis or Spelljammer. Some of them sound familiar. Or did you come up with them on your own?

Very nice work!

dulux-oz
July 27th, 2014, 00:26
Dulux, did you base some of your field values on Astrosynthesis or Spelljammer. Some of them sound familiar. Or did you come up with them on your own?

Very nice work!

Spelljammer, plus 3.5DnD Manual of the Planes, plus some of my own work - as an "RPG Rule Mechanic Vacuum" I take the best ideas from anywhere/everywhere and incorporate them into my Übergame RPG - a lot of the Extensions I write I'm writing for myself because I want/need the functionality, and it just makes sense to write them in such a way so that anyone/everyone can also use them.

Glad you like it. :)

Cheers

Bidmaron
July 27th, 2014, 01:27
I will be using this, Dulux. it is quite awesome.

dulux-oz
July 27th, 2014, 13:43
Release Version 2.0.1 - Minor Bug Fixes

"Sorry about that Chief"
- Maxwell Smart

dulux-oz
September 19th, 2014, 06:40
A Heads-Up for everyone - I have v3.0 of this Extension ready to go, but as it requires FGv3.0.8+ I will not post it to this thread until Moon releases FGv3.0.8.

However, I have updated the Wiki Page for this Extension to v3.0 in preparation - I hope that this doesn't confuse people too much.

Once Moon has released FGv3.0.8 I will make all of the necessary changes, etc to this Thread - including dealing with this particular post.

If you would like v3.0 of this Extension to try out with the Test version of FGv3.0.8 please sent my a PM.

Cheers

Ikael
September 19th, 2014, 06:45
A Heads-Up for everyone - I have v3.0 of this Extension ready to go, but as it requires FGv3.0.8+ I will not post it to this thread until Moon releases FGv3.0.8.

However, I have updated the Wiki Page for this Extension to v3.0 in preparation - I hope that this doesn't confuse people too much.

Once Moon has released FGv3.0.8 I will make all of the necessary changes, etc to this Thread - including dealing with this particular post.

If you would like v3.0 of this Extension to try out with the Test version of FGv3.0.8 please sent my a PM.

Cheers

If incompatibility comes only from Extension package you could also wrap your helper function with conditional-statement which checks if Extension package and function within exists.

dulux-oz
September 19th, 2014, 07:07
If incompatibility comes only from Extension package you could also wrap your helper function with conditional-statement which checks if Extension package and function within exists.

Yeah, I looked at that - but decided against it as Moon has said FGv3.0.8 isn't that far away, so I judged that the extra effort wasn't worth it - the only reason that I've gone ahead with the Wiki Page Update today is that I'm bored and wanted something to do :)

dulux-oz
September 26th, 2014, 08:22
Hi Guys,

I've just uploaded v3 of this Extension onto the first Post of this Thread.

Enjoy

dulux-oz
September 26th, 2014, 08:59
I just got asked this by PM, and I thought it was important enough to cross-post here as well:


Hi dulux-oz

I'm guessing 5E isn't a child ruleset of core, rather a bother/sister, so wont work correctly?

As far as I'm aware (ie I just had a look) the 5E Ruleset is built on the CoreRPG Ruleset, which would make it a child-ruleset :)

So yes, this Extension should work fine with 5E - and 4E, 3.5E, PathFinder and Numenera.

Mind you, the graphics may look a little "out of place" in 5E due to the different "style" of graphics used for 5E - if someone wants to have a go at redoing the images I'd appreciate it (I suck at drawing) - I'll release the new graphics as a sub-Extension for 5E if you like

Cheers

VenomousFiligree
September 26th, 2014, 09:36
Thanks for a great extension! :)

If I was to create a new campaign, enter all the information for a town, export as a module, install that module on another PC and then edit the town info - would i be editing the town module, the campaign (on the new machine) database, or both?

dulux-oz
September 26th, 2014, 15:33
The campaign - this is the same as every other module :)

Cheers - and thanks

dulux-oz
October 2nd, 2014, 04:11
Just my rampant ego asking, but are people actually using this, and if so, is it useful to them?

Cheers

damned
October 2nd, 2014, 04:12
ermmm... Im not right now but I do want to start using it.

Trenloe
October 2nd, 2014, 05:03
13 total downloads of the current version.

dr_venture
October 2nd, 2014, 07:28
I'm afraid this is going to come off as negative and critical, but I really don't mean it that way, as your work is pretty fantastic! But I haven't started using it yet, though I've been kinda teetering on the cusp of taking the plunge for a while. They're certainly very feature rich and enticing, and I *really* want to in many ways. That said, so far my reasons for not adopting have been:

1) The sheer amount of work required to first generate, then enter the information into such a thorough database.

2) The worry that that the fruits of that effort could be lost if you become unable to maintain the modules and they become orphaned by the FG app itself over time.

3) Possibly the biggest issue: I'm not sure FG itself is up to the job of managing all that data effectively, despite your excellent work. Perhaps I'm tainted by negative experiences with much older versions, but I know that the DB records aren't exactly efficient in their data storage, and I could see the DB bloating considerably with the world info added. I dunno how robust FG is in dealing with a very large XML database.

Also, the FG interface for managing large lists of things (such as NPCs, etc.) is pretty clumsy, having only a tab for grouping, then just long lists of things with only names identifying the "things" in the list. The "find" feature is useful, but I worry that trying to keep even a fraction of the number of NPCs (for instance) I'd like to keep in the system would get really difficult to use. Just entering a largish AD&D1e module resulted in huge lists of NPCs, encounters, parcels, etc... trying to keep track of all of the records for Greyhawk via tabs in the Personalities window is just too cumbersome for me.

4) Finally, the interface of the pages makes a lot of use of toggleable fields, where values are set by clicking through multiple options. Since I don't know the fields' potential values by heart, I have to click through the lists of options multiple times before I can find the appropriate option. That makes entering data very slow for me. Having something like a drop-down menu would be far more helpful, as I could just view the options and pick the appropriate one from a list, instead of clicking through at least once to learn the available options.

So I have very mixed emotions on the extensions, or more appropriately, mixed emotions about wanting to adopt their use. They're absolutely terrific in so many ways: feature rich, and really to my mind the pinnacle of what can be accomplished in FG. But in the process they kind of highlight some of FG's shortcomings. I really don't want to post anything negative because I'm kind of in awe of the sheer volume of quality, thoughtful development you've completed - it's rather amazing, actually! But I also want to be super honest about what my personal thought process is. Take this all with a huge dose of "FWIW."

dulux-oz
October 2nd, 2014, 08:59
13 total downloads of the current version.

Yeah, I saw that - but downloads don't necessarily mean usage :)

dulux-oz
October 2nd, 2014, 09:01
I'm afraid this is going to come off as negative and critical, but I really don't mean it that way, as your work is pretty fantastic! But I haven't started using it yet, though I've been kinda teetering on the cusp of taking the plunge for a while. They're certainly very feature rich and enticing, and I *really* want to in many ways. That said, so far my reasons for not adopting have been:

All good points, and I thank you for the feedback. Let me take each one one-by-one and see if I can allay your concerns, etc.


1) The sheer amount of work required to first generate, then enter the information into such a thorough database.

This is the same type of problem we, as GMs, have no matter what we're doing. The sheer amount of info is being generated anyway when we create/translate our adventures - this is just a way to organise that info into a more structured form than simply using "Story" Entries. And we don't have to enter it all in at once - enter it in as we go: most of our PCs start their adventuring in a small village (eg Homlet, Orlane, Kline) before exploring out into the surrounding areas, so only enter the village and maybe the surrounding area first, plus the Tavern, Town Hall and maybe the Stables and local Church. When the party moves on, enter the extra - that's how I do it.


2) The worry that that the fruits of that effort could be lost if you become unable to maintain the modules and they become orphaned by the FG app itself over time.

I'm here for the long haul - I've been GMing since 1982 and I'm not going anywhere. I write this stuff because I need it for my Übergame Ruleset and I make it available to others because I find it useful and I think others will too. I've got other Extensions and Rulesets for other RPGs in the pipeline which I'll make available as I get them done. I'm not the most vocal member here (hats off to Trenloe ;) ) but the day I stop RPGing is the day I die - and when I get to (the Seven) Heaven(s) I'm going find Gary Gygax, Dave Anderson and all the others and insist that they deal me in - or else!


3) Possibly the biggest issue: I'm not sure FG itself is up to the job of managing all that data effectively, despite your excellent work. Perhaps I'm tainted by negative experiences with much older versions, but I know that the DB records aren't exactly efficient in their data storage, and I could see the DB bloating considerably with the world info added. I dunno how robust FG is in dealing with a very large XML database.

An issue, and one I've considered in depth - as a Database Administrator and Architect my first instinct is no have a proper RDBMS system as the back-end to FG (something like Firebird - open source, enterprise-grade, robust, small-footprint) but I've looked at the data handling code that FG uses and, provided the GM's Host is sufficiently powerful (most 64-bit, 8Gb RAM, 512Gb HDD PCs are), it shouldn't be a problem - if it is, or if people are worried about it, carve off Records into sub-groupings (Kingdoms and sub-areas, for eg, or individual Towns and associated Buildings, etc) and put them into separate Modules, then load those you need - afterall, FG doesn't have any problem handling the 100s of Monsters in a "typical" Monster Manual.


Also, the FG interface for managing large lists of things (such as NPCs, etc.) is pretty clumsy, having only a tab for grouping, then just long lists of things with only names identifying the "things" in the list. The "find" feature is useful, but I worry that trying to keep even a fraction of the number of NPCs (for instance) I'd like to keep in the system would get really difficult to use. Just entering a largish AD&D1e module resulted in huge lists of NPCs, encounters, parcels, etc... trying to keep track of all of the records for Greyhawk via tabs in the Personalities window is just too cumbersome for me.

Again, the way I get around this is two-fold: first, every NPC gets a Chapter/Adventure Number as the first part of their name, thus automatically sorting all the needed NPCs into needed groupings; second, I carve off groups of groupings into separate Tabs and/or Modules.


4) Finally, the interface of the pages makes a lot of use of toggleable fields, where values are set by clicking through multiple options. Since I don't know the fields' potential values by heart, I have to click through the lists of options multiple times before I can find the appropriate option. That makes entering data very slow for me. Having something like a drop-down menu would be far more helpful, as I could just view the options and pick the appropriate one from a list, instead of clicking through at least once to learn the available options.

That one's a "learning curve" issue - one I've tried to make as easy as possible by both having the sequences progress in a logical fashion (very cold, cold, chilly, normal, warm, hot, very hot) and by providing extensive documentation, both in the Thread and also as a Wiki Page for the Extension. Unfortunately a Drop-Down List is not the easiest Interface Component to get to work - especially for an interface like FGs - and I know that wasn't a criticism aimed at me, just part of your concerns. All I can suggest is the more you enter data the more you'll learn the interface and therefore the faster it'll become. :)


So I have very mixed emotions on the extensions, or more appropriately, mixed emotions about wanting to adopt their use. They're absolutely terrific in so many ways: feature rich, and really to my mind the pinnacle of what can be accomplished in FG. But in the process they kind of highlight some of FG's shortcomings. I really don't want to post anything negative because I'm kind of in awe of the sheer volume of quality, thoughtful development you've completed - it's rather amazing, actually! But I also want to be super honest about what my personal thought process is. Take this all with a huge dose of "FWIW."

I don't take this as negative (especially as its not primarily aimed at my "stuff") and I, as I'm sure Moon, Doug and Zeus do, welcome the feedback - I just hope my views help to "swing you around" :)

One Q: what does FWIW mean?

damned
October 2nd, 2014, 10:04
One Q: what does FWIW mean?

Fornicating wyrms inbreeding wildly.

dulux-oz
October 2nd, 2014, 10:18
fornicating wyrms inbreeding wildly.

w t f ???

damned
October 2nd, 2014, 11:23
Oh - it could also mean: For What Its Worth - a variation on IMHO or IMNSHO...
That one and YMMV seem to crop up regularly in Dr_Vs vernacular :)

dr_venture
October 2nd, 2014, 15:29
Nah, it was the wyrm thing, of course. Glad you didn't take any of that personally, as when I read back through the post it's almost entirely circumstantial issues that have nothing to do with your work. I very much appreciate all that work, and wanted to respect your request for feedback with a thought-out response. I also appreciate your reply - it sounds like we have very similar backgrounds both in terms of gaming and computers and databases (though it's safe to say you're much more of a code-dude than I).

Keep up the fantastic work, my friend!

VenomousFiligree
October 3rd, 2014, 06:59
Just my rampant ego asking, but are people actually using this, and if so, is it useful to them?

Cheers

Yes, my players are planning on making their base the small town of Phandalin at the completion of Lost Mines of Phandelver. So this will be ideal :)

dr_venture
October 5th, 2014, 01:58
Out of sheer respect for your tremendous work. I'm tossing aside my worries and digging in and trying my hand with your excellent extensions! So far, so good -- my main impression is that the biggest issue will be with FG's interface for large lists of items being rather clunky. In the mean time, I'll write up bugs as I find them (any bugs will be with the Castles & Crusades ruleset). The first:

Location window: if a Player clicks on the "Part of" link at the top of a shared location window, and the location that is being linked to has *not* been shared with the player, then a "<< New location >>" record is created on the player's "Locations" window that does not show up in the GM's "Locations" window. Further, the new location record is locked and uneditable by the player, and since the GM can't see it, it's kind-of orphaned. I know the document linking system in FG is a bit buggy when it comes to groups of records in which some are and some are not shared with players. I'm thinking that there should be a fix to the FG application which just displays a "The document you are trying to view has not been shared with players." alert message to players when they click on links like that.

Tiqon
October 5th, 2014, 18:06
Fornicating wyrms inbreeding wildly.

Almost the alias for my game....

FYI dulux-oz. this does not work with Rolemaster. just tried it. The weather too. Does not work. get the error:

Script Error: [string "Scripts/lsLocationsManager.lua"]:16: attempt to call field 'registerLaunchMessage' (a nil value)
Script Error: [string "Scripts/lsWeatherManager.lua"]:16: attempt to call field 'registerLaunchMessage' (a nil value)

After that I tried it with a PF game I have.

I really had no idea what I was trying out, but I was shocked by the amount of work you must have put into this. You asked if anyone uses it? I don't, first of I play Rolemaster and second dr_venture said all the things that went through my mind when I looked at it (normally not much goes on in my brain, but what did, dr_venture already addressed ;)).

To be honest ("tbh"; there, have another internet abbreviation, free of charge :P), I was really looking for a way to make a shop, with random items... I'm lazy. I think I will look for one elsewhere on "da innernet"...

dulux-oz
October 5th, 2014, 18:12
this does not work with Rolemaster. just tried it. The weather too. Does not work.

If the Rolemaster Ruleset is not built on the CoreRPG Ruleset then that is correct, it probably won't work.

As it says in the documentation "For the CoreRPG Ruleset v3.0.8+ and all child Rulesets" :)

Is the Rolemaster Ruleset built off of the CureRPG Ruleset?

Cheers

dulux-oz
October 5th, 2014, 18:16
Out of sheer respect for your tremendous work. I'm tossing aside my worries and digging in and trying my hand with your excellent extensions! So far, so good -- my main impression is that the biggest issue will be with FG's interface for large lists of items being rather clunky. In the mean time, I'll write up bugs as I find them (any bugs will be with the Castles & Crusades ruleset). The first:

Location window: if a Player clicks on the "Part of" link at the top of a shared location window, and the location that is being linked to has *not* been shared with the player, then a "<< New location >>" record is created on the player's "Locations" window that does not show up in the GM's "Locations" window. Further, the new location record is locked and uneditable by the player, and since the GM can't see it, it's kind-of orphaned. I know the document linking system in FG is a bit buggy when it comes to groups of records in which some are and some are not shared with players. I'm thinking that there should be a fix to the FG application which just displays a "The document you are trying to view has not been shared with players." alert message to players when they click on links like that.

Yeah, that's a known "issue" - I'm still trying to figure out a way around it - I believe I do mention it in the Doco somewhere.

Leave it with me and I'll see what I can do :)

Oh, and welcome to the Dark Side (yes, we've finally seduced him into using the shiny, sparkly extensions - BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA)

Tiqon
October 5th, 2014, 18:16
If the Rolemaster Ruleset is not built on the CoreRPG Ruleset then that is correct, it probably won't work.

As it says in the documentation "For the CoreRPG Ruleset v3.0.8+ and all child Rulesets" :)

Is the Rolemaster Ruleset built off of the CureRPG Ruleset?

Cheers

Ah! Slipped by my sloppy reading ;). Probably not. I think Dakadin said something a while back that he wanted to make it so. How that is going I have no idea about. Thanks for the clarification :).

damned
October 5th, 2014, 22:50
RMC is not CoreRPG.

Mask_of_winter
October 6th, 2014, 00:59
Works with SWv4 now in the dev channel. Great work Dulux

dr_venture
October 6th, 2014, 07:18
Yeah, that's a known "issue" - I'm still trying to figure out a way around it - I believe I do mention it in the Doco somewhere.

Dude, the documentation is a tome in itself! But I'll get there. I also ran into a bug (with easy workaround) in the weather extension, but will write that up in the appropriate thread. I would be surprised if you weren't aware of it.


Oh, and welcome to the Dark Side (yes, we've finally seduced him into using the shiny, sparkly extensions - BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA)

So far, so good. In practice, all of the empty fields that I don't use of know the info for just disappear when the record is locked, so it's pretty flexible. It's looking like it's going to be more useful than I anticipated, so hat's off to you again!

dulux-oz
October 6th, 2014, 08:46
Dude, the documentation is a tome in itself!

"Good documentation is a joy to behold, rare to find, and never fully appreciated." - My old C-Programming Lecturer from Uni.

I figure that if I write good doco (or produce good doco videos) then it benefits everyone - including me, because its a cross-check on wether there are any (obvious) bugs still - take note, all you young whipper-snapper coders with your fancy Java and Ruby and such - in my day we use Pascal! And liked it!


So far, so good. In practice, all of the empty fields that I don't use of know the info for just disappear when the record is locked, so it's pretty flexible. It's looking like it's going to be more useful than I anticipated, so hat's off to you again!

As was designed: maximum flexibility! And feel free to "Rep" me as much as you all like :p

Seriously, I'm glad you like it.

Cheers

Nylanfs
October 6th, 2014, 17:13
"Good documentation is a joy to behold, rare to find, and never fully appreciated." - My old C-Programming Lecturer from Uni.

I figure that if I write good doco (or produce good doco videos) then it benefits everyone - including me, because its a cross-check on wether there are any (obvious) bugs still - take note, all you young whipper-snapper coders with your fancy Java and Ruby and such - in my day we use Pascal! And liked it!Cheers

Truth, and this is coming from the entire PCGen team that has to work on a 625k+ line code beast that is PCGen (Plus inline comments in the Code).

dr_venture
October 12th, 2014, 18:49
And feel free to "Rep" me as much as you all like :p

I'm pretty much limited to one rep, sadly. You really deserve more, given the magnitude of the work. Once this and the weather extensions have been vetted for a bit and had any bug/features worked through, they should really be strong candidates for inclusion in the CoreRPG ruleset. The amount of functionality added is jaw-dropping.

On to the business at hand...

I've run into a bug (there are a couple I've seen - all pretty minor, other than this one). I'm finding in C&C that I can't drag items from the Players Handbook or Castle Keeper's Guide into the Inventory page of a Location, but I can drag items from character sheets onto the Inventory tab.

FWIW, I'd prefer to have the base price hidden from players and only show the market price (assuming that the market prices is what the merchant is selling the item for). I'd prefer players not really pay attention to mark-ups, but rather just see an item and a price, and decide if it's worth it to them to purchase or not, or go somewhere else.

In playing with the Inventory tab, this has the potential to be a pretty major feature, at least to my mind. Currently (and again, my observations are limited to the C&C ruleset, though probably relate to many others as well), having draggable inventory items is a *fantastic* feature in FG, and the Party sheet and chat notification features when dragging items between characters is very useful and cool. But when it comes to gearing-up a new character, or making a between adventures trip to the local stoneWalMart, buying items is a huge hassle because individual purchased items have to be totaled and manually subtracted from monies. If the purchase is more than a few items, and the character has limited funds, it becomes a PITA (Pain In The 'sitting-region').

What would be *extremely* cool -- if it's reasonably possible -- would be to split the Inventory page into two sections, just like the NPCs page, with the bottom section being a "shopping cart" type arrangement... players could drag items from the top inventory into the bottom section, and a total of item costs would be tallied (and given the minimally structured nature of money in FG, I'm guessing that this would be the problem... but perhaps some careful price field parsing could address this and/or fail gracefully?). The items in the cart would only represent a potential purchase. When somebody wanted to commit to the purchase, you'd probably post something to the chat window indicating who was purchasing what from which store, and hopefully a price total... then all of the items would be put into the character's inventory, while being removed from the Location's inventory.

You'd have to enforce some kind of logic to deal with multiple players trying to purchase a unique item, as well as the idea that FG doesn't really deal with shared windows having unique content based on who is looking at them (i.e., I don't think you can easily have a "shared" shopping cart that has different items for different players). Perhaps limiting the store to one character at a time would solve both that issue, as well as indicating which character the shopping cart is interacting with. Basically, one at a time, folks, at least in terms of each individual business... which makes sense, too.

If that could be added, that would really revolutionize my games! I could have either specific stores with specific inventory and markups, or a handful of representative stores with basic markups and inventory that are generic stand ins for specific businesses if I don't have one prepared. Players could then put their purchases together themselves from what's available, and transfer everything at once into their inventory, easy-peasy.

I'm sure there are more issues to work out, but basically, what do you think? Not of me asking you to do a lot of work, but the idea, of course :D

dr_venture
October 12th, 2014, 18:54
Also, are players supposed to be able to transfer items from the Inventory page to their inventory? That functionality doesn't work in C&C, if it supposed to.

dulux-oz
October 13th, 2014, 16:36
I'm pretty much limited to one rep, sadly. You really deserve more, given the magnitude of the work. Once this and the weather extensions have been vetted for a bit and had any bug/features worked through, they should really be strong candidates for inclusion in the CoreRPG ruleset. The amount of functionality added is jaw-dropping.

I'm happy for it to go into the CoreRPG if Doug, Moon and Zeus think its good enough (& provided I get a mention as the author - gotta stroke that ego, don'tcha know :p )


I've run into a bug (there are a couple I've seen - all pretty minor, other than this one).

Well, let's hear 'em, otherwise I can't fix 'em.


I'm finding in C&C that I can't drag items from the Players Handbook or Castle Keeper's Guide into the Inventory page of a Location, but I can drag items from character sheets onto the Inventory tab.

OK, 1st Q: is C&C based on the CoreRPG Ruleset? If its not, than I can't be expected to make it work as its not supported.

If it is, then let me have a crack at what might be the issue - I don't have a copy of the C&C Ruleset so I can't be sure, but I suspect that the Extension is operating as designed - I've set things up so that the Inventory Page will only accept copies of records marked as Items (as they are in the CoreRPG Items sub-system and as they will be on a CoreRPG Character Sheet) - this is to stop the accidental/deliberate act of dropping a non-Item record onto the Inventory page. So what I suspect is that the Records coming from the two sourcebooks are NOT marked as Items but as something else. Hence the Extension not accepting them, even though they appear to the user to contain the same information.

As a design philosophy I ALWAYS favour tight "casting" of variables, records, etc - its normally more work for the coder but provides a better experience for the user and better, more disciplined code for the coder. Thus, this is what I suspect is the issue here - I someone who has a copy of the C&C could have a look-see and let me know if I'm right (and let me know what the record-type is) I'll see what I can do to fix the issue.


FWIW, I'd prefer to have the base price hidden from players and only show the market price (assuming that the market prices is what the merchant is selling the item for). I'd prefer players not really pay attention to mark-ups, but rather just see an item and a price, and decide if it's worth it to them to purchase or not, or go somewhere else.

More of a Feature Request than a Bug, but again, I'll see what I can do.


In playing with the Inventory tab, this has the potential to be a pretty major feature, at least to my mind. Currently (and again, my observations are limited to the C&C ruleset, though probably relate to many others as well), having draggable inventory items is a *fantastic* feature in FG, and the Party sheet and chat notification features when dragging items between characters is very useful and cool. But when it comes to gearing-up a new character, or making a between adventures trip to the local stoneWalMart, buying items is a huge hassle because individual purchased items have to be totaled and manually subtracted from monies. If the purchase is more than a few items, and the character has limited funds, it becomes a PITA (Pain In The 'sitting-region').

What would be *extremely* cool -- if it's reasonably possible -- would be to split the Inventory page into two sections, just like the NPCs page, with the bottom section being a "shopping cart" type arrangement... players could drag items from the top inventory into the bottom section, and a total of item costs would be tallied (and given the minimally structured nature of money in FG, I'm guessing that this would be the problem... but perhaps some careful price field parsing could address this and/or fail gracefully?). The items in the cart would only represent a potential purchase. When somebody wanted to commit to the purchase, you'd probably post something to the chat window indicating who was purchasing what from which store, and hopefully a price total... then all of the items would be put into the character's inventory, while being removed from the Location's inventory.

You'd have to enforce some kind of logic to deal with multiple players trying to purchase a unique item, as well as the idea that FG doesn't really deal with shared windows having unique content based on who is looking at them (i.e., I don't think you can easily have a "shared" shopping cart that has different items for different players). Perhaps limiting the store to one character at a time would solve both that issue, as well as indicating which character the shopping cart is interacting with. Basically, one at a time, folks, at least in terms of each individual business... which makes sense, too.

If that could be added, that would really revolutionize my games! I could have either specific stores with specific inventory and markups, or a handful of representative stores with basic markups and inventory that are generic stand ins for specific businesses if I don't have one prepared. Players could then put their purchases together themselves from what's available, and transfer everything at once into their inventory, easy-peasy.

I'm sure there are more issues to work out, but basically, what do you think? Not of me asking you to do a lot of work, but the idea, of course :D

Already kind of covered (as to why its impractical) in post #27 - basically, as this is for the CoreRPG Ruleset which Monetary System do we do the mathematics in: GP, SP, CP, Credits, $, Yen, Pounds, Shillings, Pence, Sovereigns, Crowns, Shekels, Euros, something else? Sure, it could be done for an individual Ruleset (although even in D&D3.5 do we use 10 gp per pp or 5gp per pp) but to keep it generic for the CoreRPG...

Andraax
October 13th, 2014, 17:30
OK, 1st Q: is C&C based on the CoreRPG Ruleset?

Yes.

dr_venture
October 14th, 2014, 03:44
is C&C based on the CoreRPG Ruleset?

As Andraxx said, it is.


If it is, then let me have a crack at what might be the issue - I don't have a copy of the C&C Ruleset so I can't be sure, but I suspect that the Extension is operating as designed - I've set things up so that the Inventory Page will only accept copies of records marked as Items (as they are in the CoreRPG Items sub-system and as they will be on a CoreRPG Character Sheet)

Looks like you nailed it: items in the C&C ruleset have itemtype nodes of "armor," "misc," "weapon," etc. Unless you're looking for an element or attribute that I'm not thinking of. Here is an item node in its entirety:



<axehand>
<damage type="string">1d6</damage>
<identified type="formattedtext">
<p>This weapon can be thrown, with a maximum range of 10 ft.</p>
</identified>
<isidentified type="number">1</isidentified>
<ev type="number">2</ev>
<itemtype type="string">weapon</itemtype>
<name type="string">Axe, Hand/Throwing</name>
<range type="number">10</range>
<value type="string">4</value>
<subtype type="string">melee</subtype>
<weightlbs type="number">4</weightlbs>
<wield type="number">1</wield>
</axehand>



More of a Feature Request than a Bug, but again, I'll see what I can do.

All feature request, no bug at all. If you can do something, then that's great... but if the C&C items won't work in the extension, then there's no point on my behalf.


Already kind of covered (as to why its impractical) in post #27 - basically, as this is for the CoreRPG Ruleset which Monetary System do we do the mathematics in: GP, SP, CP, Credits, $, Yen, Pounds, Shillings, Pence, Sovereigns, Crowns, Shekels, Euros, something else? Sure, it could be done for an individual Ruleset (although even in D&D3.5 do we use 10 gp per pp or 5gp per pp) but to keep it generic for the CoreRPG...

Well, again, if C&C items don't work, then the point is rather moot. My suggestion would be simply to total coin types that match but don't do any other math, such as converting between coin types. If the total purchase is 1gp and 10sp, so be it, even though that's the same as 2gp in C&C. Just having similar coin types tallied would be a huge advantage, be they GP or ASDFG or whatever - leave the conversion to humans. When a purchase is made, just post the totals to chat and transfer the items, don't worry about automatically debiting the money. Players can already drag things into their inventory if they want to cheat, so there no trust issue there.

Again, all FWIW... I'm just advocating what I think is a cool idea, but I'd never wish more work on you unless you got a kick out of it. You've done plenty already! This is basically an incredibly time-consuming hobby, after all. :)

dulux-oz
October 14th, 2014, 16:29
Looks like you nailed it: items in the C&C ruleset have itemtype nodes of "armor," "misc," "weapon," etc. Unless you're looking for an element or attribute that I'm not thinking of. Here is an item node in its entirety:



<axehand>
<damage type="string">1d6</damage>
<identified type="formattedtext">
<p>This weapon can be thrown, with a maximum range of 10 ft.</p>
</identified>
<isidentified type="number">1</isidentified>
<ev type="number">2</ev>
<itemtype type="string">weapon</itemtype>
<name type="string">Axe, Hand/Throwing</name>
<range type="number">10</range>
<value type="string">4</value>
<subtype type="string">melee</subtype>
<weightlbs type="number">4</weightlbs>
<wield type="number">1</wield>
</axehand>


Actually, no, its one "layer" further up - but I'll fix it up because the same issue effects all "Item" data coming from Modules for all of the Rulesets - I've just got to add in the appropriate conditional checks so the Inventory Page accepts drops from those sources.

As for the rest of it... thanks for "volunteering" to test it for me <WEG>

dr_venture
October 15th, 2014, 02:19
As for the rest of it... thanks for "volunteering" to test it for me <WEG>

I'm happy to do what I can :)

shemantis
November 17th, 2014, 13:41
Is there any way to remove certain tabs from this extension? For example, I don't need the Cosmos tab. Can I remove it in the code?

dulux-oz
November 17th, 2014, 15:07
Is there any way to remove certain tabs from this extension? For example, I don't need the Cosmos tab. Can I remove it in the code?

Only by re-coding the Extension ie unpacking it, finding all of the relevant references, removing them, re-writing any effected logic within the scripts, then (optionally) repacking the Extension.

Of course, if you do this then you'll have to do it again each time the Extension is updated.

If you do decide to go ahead and modify an Extension (anyone's, not just mine) its common courtesy to follow any copyright included with the original Extension and, at the very least, include an acknowledgement to the original author.

As a note each XML and Lua File in each of my Extensions has this copyright notice in it:


İ Copyright Matthew James BLACK 2005-14 except where explicitly stated otherwise.
Fantasy Grounds is Copyright İ 2004-2013 SmiteWorks USA LLC.
Copyright to other material within this Manuscript may be held by other Individuals and/or Entities.
Nothing in or from this File in printed, electronic and/or any other form may be used, copied,
transmitted or otherwise manipulated in ANY way without the explicit written consent of Matthew
James BLACK or, where applicable, any and all other Copyright holders.


I do NOT give permission for any of my code in any of my Extensions to be modified in any way, except for personal use by the individual performing the modification - that is, if you want to modify my code you can, but only YOU are allowed to use the resulting modified code; it MUST NOT be given to anyone else - in other words, follow the spirit of the copyright as well as the letter.

Also, I won't/can't support any of my Extensions that have been modified by someone else - I'll do what I can to help, but if you do such a thing you do it under this understanding.

So, with all of that in mind, is what you want really worth it? The offending tab takes up very little screen real-estate, isn't it easier to just ignore it? :)

Or have I missed the point entirely?

Cheers

dr_venture
November 18th, 2014, 01:07
Hey Shemantis, I just wanted to echo DO's comment about updates: if you edit his code, then every time he publishes an update, you'd have to go into the code and make the changes all over again. Or, you'd have to not install the update. Basically, there's no convenient way to patch an extension in FG. About the easiest thing you can do would be to change the graphic for the tab to be blank or greyed-out -- then at least when an update comes out, you'd only have to unpack the ZIP, stick the new graphic into the images folder, the repack it. But that would only hide the text of the name, not hide the underlying tab.

A pain, but that's FG, not DO's work. :P

shemantis
November 18th, 2014, 01:09
Oh man, it is totally not worth all that effort.
It's an absolutely fantastic extension as-is, and I wouldn't actually be making it any *better,* haha!
Thanks, all!

dulux-oz
November 18th, 2014, 04:32
Oh man, it is totally not worth all that effort.
It's an absolutely fantastic extension as-is, and I wouldn't actually be making it any *better,* haha!
Thanks, all!

Glad you like it - and listen, keep asking question/making suggestions - Dr.V. and others did/does and I've incorporated the best ideas into new versions (and continue to do so) - the trick is, adding things that are going to be useful to everybody and not taking functionality away - which is why most of the fields on the various forms will be hidden when empty and the record is Locked - if a GM doesn't want to use a particular field (eg Alignment in a non-Alignment game) then they just have to ignore it and Lock the record - and its best-practice to Lock the Records anyhow :)

Cheers

shemantis
November 18th, 2014, 22:55
I think the most important thing to me is: Continents!

I currently use the "Locations" tab for continents, but I would love to have a structure similar to this (things in parentheses aren't used by me, and were what I was thinking about removing in my previous post):
(Planes>Cosmos>Systems>) Worlds>Continents>Locations/Areas>Towns>Buildings

I understand that everyone's campaign/DMing style means everyone needs something different, but the structure above is my ideal structure, and of course, what *I* think makes "perfect sense," lol.

Just throwing it out there, in case you ever feel like re-arranging things, haha! ;)

Nickademus
November 19th, 2014, 02:33
I think the most important thing to me is: Continents!

I currently use the "Locations" tab for continents, but I would love to have a structure similar to this (things in parentheses aren't used by me, and were what I was thinking about removing in my previous post):
(Planes>Cosmos>Systems>) Worlds>Continents>Locations/Areas>Towns>Buildings

I understand that everyone's campaign/DMing style means everyone needs something different, but the structure above is my ideal structure, and of course, what *I* think makes "perfect sense," lol.

Just throwing it out there, in case you ever feel like re-arranging things, haha! ;)

I would have to agree with this. Not many would actively use it, but a small section for continents (and a large section for planes!) would be nice for organization and flavor.

dulux-oz
November 19th, 2014, 03:19
I would have to agree with this. Not many would actively use it, but a small section for continents (and a large section for planes!) would be nice for organization and flavor.

First of all, I do not believe anyone is trying to start an argument (least of all me!)

Secondly, I always enjoy a good discussion/debate, where the different sides put forward their views and reasoning's in a spirit of healthy discussion :)

So with that spirit in mind, I say to you both (Nick & shemantis) and anyone else who cares to chime in:

But we can do this now: a Continent is just a Location - we can see this by determining that there would be nothing recorded in a "Continent" Record that isn't already on a "Location" Record. If the structure of the two Records is the same (which I maintain they are) then it's silly to have two Records-types - its actually bad Database design.

Remember, don't get the design-structure of a Database mixed up with the use-structure (how the Records are used, as opposed to the Record-types).

This is the main reason that Location Records can be the Children of other Location Records - to allow the recording of areas, sub-areas, sub-sub-areas, etc.

Let's take the Continents idea to its logical extreme: within a World (or even a Plane) you could have a Hemisphere, within a Hemisphere you could have a Continent, within a Continent you could have a Region, within a Region you could have a Country (already available as a Political Location), within a Country you could have a State/Province, within a State you could have County, and so on. Now, I put it to you that all of these are just Locations (Political or Geographic, but Locations nevertheless) - would it be sensible to have a separate Record-type for each of these areas and sub-areas?

If we do go down this path, do we insist that all uses of the Extension must use this rigid structure, or do we allow Counties to belong directly to Continents (or anywhere else, for that matter)?

If we do the first, then we're restricting the usefulness of the Extension by a vast order of magnitude; if we do the second, then the code required to provide this level of "flexibility" blows out by several orders of magnitude.

And what about the Screen-real-estate? We'd have to provide a Tab for each Record-type (even if we, as individuals, would never use that Record-type). Screen-real-estate is already at a premium, so how would we go about doing this (in a consistent way with the rest of FG)?

So, I think you can see my reasoning behind designing the Extension in the way I have - yes? :)

OK, so, let's address your issue: It seems to me on reading both of your posts that this is an issue of organisation, so what I suggest is this - in the name of each Location put a prefix as to where the Location Record fits in to your individual use-hierarchy (I actually suggested this in a very early post in this thread :) ). This way, all of your "Continents" would be grouped together, all of your "Countries" likewise, all of your "Baronies" the same, etc, etc, etc. This way you build your use-structure into your usage of the Extension without effecting anyone-else.

Please, feel free to discuss any views you have - as I said, I love a good debate :)

Cheers

dulux-oz
November 19th, 2014, 10:47
I just received this as a PM and thought it was an important enough question (along with my reply) to be cross-posted here - I hope you don't mind, Kelendor.


Hi, we are interested in using the locations extention in our Star Wars Saga campaign but we are getting an error. Script Error: [string "Scripts/lsLocationsManager.lua"]:56: attempt to call field 'registerDockShortcut2' (a nil value) -- Is there a way to make it compatible? What inside of corerpg/scripts is the dependancy? Our SWSE uses desktop.lua and has some DesktopManager.XXX - If you let us know what dependencies there are we can try to add/move those scripts into the ruleset to see if we can make it work. Thanks!

Hi Kel,

The Locations Extension is ONLY compatible with the CoreRPG Ruleset and any child Rulesets of the CoreRPG Ruleset. The list of dependencies is vast - you've only found the first one: as you resolve each one the system will simply move on to the next and then stop again.

One of the reasons that SW went to the Cascading Ruleset Model for version 3 of Fantasy Grounds was to help alleviate these types of problems - by developing a "standard" set of base functions and functionality it makes developing new Rulesets and Extensions easier, (somewhat) quicker and - most importantly from the end-users' point of view - less prone to bugs and incompatibility issues.

The registerDockShortcut2() function is a base function used in the CoreRPG - I couldn't tell you exactly where to look in the CoreRPG Code without going and having a dig-around myself, but I know its fundamental to how FGv3 works.

The "problem" with the StarWars Ruleset is that it was written under FGv2, and while SW went out of its way to retain backward compatibility with all the older Rulesets when they went to FGv3, it doesn't mean that Extensions, etc, written for FGv3 will work with the older FGv2 Rulesets - as you've just found out :(

Not that your asking, but no, I'm not going to rewrite any of my Extensions to work with any of the older Rulesets - that would be a backwards step. I'd have to have a different one for each Ruleset, because each v2 Ruleset author "re-invented the wheel" and did things their way. It is easier, not to mention a better idea all around, to bring a given v2 Ruleset up to v3 CoreRPG Compatibility. You'd need to ask the Ruleset Author to do this or, if they've effectively abandoned it, get another dev to do it - for example, I've gotten permission from the original author of the Dragon Warriors Ruleset to rewrite it under the v3 CoreRPG Cascading Ruleset Model (he just wants a copy when I'm done :) ).

So, that's about it, I'm afraid. I'm sorry you're in this mess but that's the way it is - as I said, your best bet is to get the StarWars Ruleset bought up to FGv3 standard.

Anything else I can help with, just ask

Cheers

dulux-oz
November 20th, 2014, 06:12
I just received this follow-up PM and again thought it was important enough (along with my reply) to be cross-posted here - again, I hope you don't mind, Kelendor.


Since the best bet is to move the ruleset to version 3 could you either help me, offer me tips, or point me to documentation so I could move/update the ruleset to fantasy grounds 3? Also can I email you the ruleset and module so you could look at them.Thanks

OK, as I said, the first step is to get in contact with the original Author and see if he is doing/will do it.

If he isn't/won't, then next I suggest posting a thread in the relevant forum(s) asking if anyone else is doing/will do it - and maybe offering to help.

If you get no luck there then you'll have to tackle the project on your own - I'm afraid I don't have time to do it for you (and I doubt you could afford my standard Profession IT rates if I was to do it as a job :) ).

As far as documentation, check out the Ruleset Modification and Ruleset Reference on the Wiki, plus ask questions on the Armoury Forum - you'll get lots of help from me, Moon Wizard, Zeus, Trenloe, Phantom Whale and a host of others (sorry if I didn't mention you) - basically, any of the Immortals are people to listen to (that's one reason why we're Immortals), plus anyone else who seems to be a decent dev (ie if they've put together a Ruleset or an Extension before).

Your best bet in getting help is the forums as opposed to individual Personal eMails - you'll get a better, usually faster response - not that I mind getting PMs, its just that I'm not normally paying attention that much :)

Ask yourself this: are you a professional coder or are your coding skills up to a professional level? Be honest with yourself here: you're about to tackle a big job. You need to know (and I mean really know) XML, Lua, Programming Theory, how to Reverse Engineer someone else's code, and have a good general knowledge of Computer Science. If you don't then don't panic, you'll just need to hit the Web and learn - start with Wikipedia and go from there.

Good luck, ask those questions on the Forums, and be patient - you will get there in the end

Cheers

swest
December 11th, 2014, 06:56
So I tried your Sample_Locations_DB.mod, but it never appears on the modules screen... ?

I'm on my laptop using the 'free' version of FG (3.0.9). I unzipped the .mod, and placed it in the modules directory, and started the 3.5 Demo game. The Extension shows up, but when I open the Library, and go to the modules screen, no Sample_Locations_DB.

- s.west

damned
December 11th, 2014, 07:01
bottom right hand corner of the screen...
8257

PS 121 posts... what'll it take to make you take the plunge?

dulux-oz
December 11th, 2014, 07:10
So I tried your Sample_Locations_DB.mod, but it never appears on the modules screen... ?

I'm on my laptop using the 'free' version of FG (3.0.9). I unzipped the .mod, and placed it in the modules directory, and started the 3.5 Demo game. The Extension shows up, but when I open the Library, and go to the modules screen, no Sample_Locations_DB.

- s.west

One other thing - I've got a funny feeling that the Sample Module may not work exactly the same as regular modules - the data is there but I think (from memory) I did a "hack" late one night to get it to load.

The data WILL be available (once the Module is opened) on the various Place Lists under a new Group Tab/Banner (can't remember the Colour).

EDIT: I just checked - Group Tab/Banner is Blue with a Globe on it :)

Cheers

damned
December 11th, 2014, 07:15
doh! didnt read that very well did I....
it was the sample content that you werent seeing...

dulux-oz
December 11th, 2014, 07:21
So I tried your Sample_Locations_DB.mod, but it never appears on the modules screen... ?

I'm on my laptop using the 'free' version of FG (3.0.9). I unzipped the .mod, and placed it in the modules directory, and started the 3.5 Demo game. The Extension shows up, but when I open the Library, and go to the modules screen, no Sample_Locations_DB.

- s.west

Oh, one other thing - when you say you unzipped the mod do you mean you unzipped the original file to reveal the dot mod file, or did you then unzip the dot mod file as well?

Tip: Don't unzip the dot mod file - simply place the dot mod file in the modules directory.

I'll also assume that you've loaded the Extension before trying to open the Module.

FYI I just loaded it successfully into a clean CoreRPG Campaign, using the Extension and Module files downloaded fresh from this thread.

Cheers

damned
December 11th, 2014, 07:37
its because he is running the 3.5 ruleset.
the mod only specifies CoreRPG
Blue Tab.
I edited the file and it loads in Castles and Crusades once added...

swest
December 11th, 2014, 07:37
hrmm...

Ok, so I downloaded the .zip file,
unzipped the zip file to reveal Sample_Locations_DB.mod,
started the free FG, and got to Loading screen,
clicked on the folder on the upper right to open the directory hierarchy,
moved the Sample_Locations_DB.mod into the modules subdirectory (along with 3.5E-basicrules.mod, 3.5E-magicitems.mod, etc...),
clicked Load Demo Campaign,
selected 'A Tale of Dinor -3.5E', checked 'Locations Database' and 'Weather Extension',
clicked Start,
opened Library,
clicked Modules,
<no Sample_Locations_DB>,
opened Locations,
clicked through all tabs (right), and hovered/clicked all group banners (bottom),

I see nothing...

?

Sorry for being a problem... I just wanted to get a feel for what the beginnings of a database was going to look like. And, man, it looks like it's going to be a <lot> of work to get a useable quantity of data entered (not as much work as creating the extension, I know, but still...)

- s.west

dulux-oz
December 11th, 2014, 07:43
its because he is running the 3.5 ruleset.
the mod only specifies CoreRPG
Blue Tab.
I edited the file and it loads in Castles and Crusades once added...

Does it? If I was silly enough to only specify CoreRPG for the Module then that'll be the reason.

Yeap, just tried it under 3.5E - no Module! :(

Sorry about that!

I'm actually in the process of doing an update to both the Locations and Weather Extensions, so I'll update the Sample Module as well.

In the meantime, can you look at it under a CoreRPG Campaign? It'll be the same, so if you're just having a look-see it should be no problem.

Cheers

dulux-oz
December 11th, 2014, 07:49
hrmm...

Ok, so I downloaded the .zip file,
unzipped the zip file to reveal Sample_Locations_DB.mod,
started the free FG, and got to Loading screen,
clicked on the folder on the upper right to open the directory hierarchy,
moved the Sample_Locations_DB.mod into the modules subdirectory (along with 3.5E-basicrules.mod, 3.5E-magicitems.mod, etc...),
clicked Load Demo Campaign,
selected 'A Tale of Dinor -3.5E', checked 'Locations Database' and 'Weather Extension',
clicked Start,
opened Library,
clicked Modules,
<no Sample_Locations_DB>,
opened Locations,
clicked through all tabs (right), and hovered/clicked all group banners (bottom),

I see nothing...

?

Sorry for being a problem... I just wanted to get a feel for what the beginnings of a database was going to look like. And, man, it looks like it's going to be a <lot> of work to get a useable quantity of data entered (not as much work as creating the extension, I know, but still...)

- s.west

No problem - if you're having issues then so are other people, and I need to know about any issues so I can get them fixed/resolved.

As far as the beginnings are, do what most GM's do when they set up a new (non-FG) campaign - start small, with maybe a village and a couple of the buildings in the village, plus the location/area surrounding the village. As your PCs gain more experience and begin to explore the surrounding area, create those areas and the parent area to hold them.

A good example is the old 1E adventure, the Village of Homlet, followed by the rest of the Temple of Elemental Evil series.

The Sample Module was put together to give people some ideas of how the Locations Extension could be used, in both a fantasy and a SF setting - hence the "Portal" to the FG Website :)

Cheers

swest
December 11th, 2014, 07:53
Ok, when I create a new demo CoreRPG campaign, then everything shows like you probably expect it to...

That's all I needed.

Thanks.

- s.west

swest
December 12th, 2014, 01:56
This will sound totally Lazy, and Self-serving (and I am willing to endure the slings and arrows of, etc...), but has anyone created a Locations DB for Varisia (i.e., a Locations DB for the Pathfinder setting) that could be shared?

If not, has anyone considered the idea that we (as a FG/Pathfinder community) could organize the man-(person)-power to accomplish said feat?

I've been looking for a job that I could take on (as a FG/Pathfinder community member), to begin to try to pay back those who have given... uhh, those from whom I have taken... so much (now there's a slightly obscure film reference that I'm sure all of you will get), so I would be motivated to give it a go.

I haven't thought through the licensing implications of that kind of shared content, but I'm sure it is something that must be considered... so I would appreciate some guidance before starting out on something that might violate copyrights...

Thoughts?

Thanks.

- s.west

p.s. I'll post this over in the Pathfinder Forum, as well.

swest
December 12th, 2014, 06:57
dulux-oz,

I have no idea if this is useful, or even of interest to you, but, just in case...

While browsing around the Sample DB, I clicked on the 'Systems' tab, and then the 'Sample DB' group.
'Solar System' is presented... If I click on 'Solar System', I get the following in the GM Console (and
after multiple attempts, I have multiple lines):


Script Error: [string "Scripts/lsSystemMain.lua"]:88: attempt to index global 'btcuccUseCampaignCalendar' (a nil value)
Ruleset Warning: Could not find template (tbtUseCampaignCalendar) in windowclass (wcSystemMain)
Script Error: [string "Scripts/lsSystemMain.lua"]:88: attempt to index global 'btcuccUseCampaignCalendar' (a nil value)


Also, if I hover over either 'Set Date' button, I get a tooltip that says, 'Use Current Date'. But clicking on the 'Set Date' button doesn't do anything (and I made sure I had set the Calendar date).

Like I said, I don't know if any of this is useful to you, or not, but I thought I'd pass it along. I don't know if it's the Sample DB, or the Extension...

- s.west

dulux-oz
December 12th, 2014, 08:22
dulux-oz,

I have no idea if this is useful, or even of interest to you, but, just in case...

While browsing around the Sample DB, I clicked on the 'Systems' tab, and then the 'Sample DB' group.
'Solar System' is presented... If I click on 'Solar System', I get the following in the GM Console (and
after multiple attempts, I have multiple lines):


Script Error: [string "Scripts/lsSystemMain.lua"]:88: attempt to index global 'btcuccUseCampaignCalendar' (a nil value)
Ruleset Warning: Could not find template (tbtUseCampaignCalendar) in windowclass (wcSystemMain)
Script Error: [string "Scripts/lsSystemMain.lua"]:88: attempt to index global 'btcuccUseCampaignCalendar' (a nil value)


Also, if I hover over either 'Set Date' button, I get a tooltip that says, 'Use Current Date'. But clicking on the 'Set Date' button doesn't do anything (and I made sure I had set the Calendar date).

Like I said, I don't know if any of this is useful to you, or not, but I thought I'd pass it along. I don't know if it's the Sample DB, or the Extension...

- s.west

Yes, this stuff is ALWAYS of interest to me - thanks

OK, the first one is a bug in the Extension (damn global find & replace) - Sorry, I'll have it fixed in the next release.

The 'Set Date' issue stems from the bug (and is actually working as designed) - because the System Record does not have a Calender set (because the Button to set it on the Record is missing due to the bug) the 'Set Date' Buttons are doing what they are supposed to do, which is default back to "None Set".

Cheers

Blackfoot
December 15th, 2014, 20:22
I found some strange behavior with the NPCs in this extension. Be careful if you add them to the location without actually building NPCs... they seem to create blank NPCs in the NPC list but do not bring their names over... the whole piece is a bit squishy.

dulux-oz
December 16th, 2014, 01:07
I found some strange behavior with the NPCs in this extension. Be careful if you add them to the location without actually building NPCs... they seem to create blank NPCs in the NPC list but do not bring their names over... the whole piece is a bit squishy.

Yeah, I've never been totally happy with the NPCs sub-section - it was sort of "tacked on" because I wanted to keep the Locations Extension backwards compatible with the old Town & Shops Extensions.

However, I'm working on v4 of the Locations Extension and I'm devoting a lot of time and effort into getting both the NPCs sub-section and the Inventory sub-sections "done better".

In the meantime, I suggest the best way to use the existing NPCs sub-section is make the NPCs first in NPCs section of the main program and then drag each one over to the Locations Extension.

Cheers

Nickademus
January 17th, 2015, 21:45
Made a building, added some things to the inventory. Shared the sheet with the player (creating a P in a circle next to it in the Buildings list). Upon clicking the circle-P the console displays this error:

Script Error: [string "access"]:1: attempt to call field 'unshare' (a nil value)

The circle-P disappears and the building is still shared. I can right-click the building in the list and choose the Stop Sharing Sheet option with no error (and it works). Then if I share the sheet again and click the circle-P, same error and behavior.

dulux-oz
January 18th, 2015, 03:41
Made a building, added some things to the inventory. Shared the sheet with the player (creating a P in a circle next to it in the Buildings list). Upon clicking the circle-P the console displays this error:

Script Error: [string "access"]:1: attempt to call field 'unshare' (a nil value)

The circle-P disappears and the building is still shared. I can right-click the building in the list and choose the Stop Sharing Sheet option with no error (and it works). Then if I share the sheet again and click the circle-P, same error and behavior.

Yeah, I found that a few weeks ago, which was one of the things that prompted me to raise the Sharing Bug with JPG (which he subsequently fixed in the v3.0.10 update).

I'm currently working on v4 of that Extension and that particular bug will be (actually, is) fixed in the new version, along with a whole lot more functionality around Inventories and therefore Shop-type Buildings.

Thanks for raising it - it proves its not just me :p

Nickademus
January 18th, 2015, 04:48
Good to know.

Since I'm lazy and you're here, I have a question about this here extension. If I make a building (shop) and give it an inventory, then export it as part of a module, can the inventory be changed in other campaigns I load the module in or is it locked until I drag the building into the campaign to make a local copy of it?

dulux-oz
January 18th, 2015, 04:57
Good to know.

Since I'm lazy and you're here, I have a question about this here extension. If I make a building (shop) and give it an inventory, then export it as part of a module, can the inventory be changed in other campaigns I load the module in or is it locked until I drag the building into the campaign to make a local copy of it?

I've never tried doing that, so in all honesty I don't know.

HOWEVER, thinking about it, any Place Record in a Module I believe is locked - this would include the Items in a Building's Inventory and the Inventory itself, so the only way to change the record (ie the Inventory's Items) would be copy the Building Record to the Campaign - use the "Copy Without Links" function to do this, as opposed to dragging it.

If you check the very first post of this thread (or the Wiki Documentation) what you are talking about is a "Template Record" - I provide some suggestions in the doco about using Template Records in your games.

Hope that helps

Cheers

Nickademus
January 18th, 2015, 05:49
Thanks for the feedback. That's unfortunate since the reason I use the modules is to keep things like shops out of my main campaign. Oh well.

dulux-oz
January 18th, 2015, 06:02
Thanks for the feedback. That's unfortunate since the reason I use the modules is to keep things like shops out of my main campaign. Oh well.

Leave it with me - as I said earlier, I'm working on v4 which will have a LOT more functionality around the Inventory "stuff". I might be able to re-work the Referential Integrity code to allow "Shops" and other Buildings with Inventories to be used straight from a Module - I'm working hard to get my head around exactly how Module Data interacts with Campaign Data at the Node level - so we'll see.

Cheers

Nickademus
January 18th, 2015, 07:19
Interesting. Upon exporting a shop as a module and opening it up, I find I can unlock the building. I cannot click any fields to change the text/number, as you may have guessed. But I can drag a number from a number field onto another number field in the same shop and it will add the numbers. I cannot, however, drag a number from the chat window to one of the shop's number fields.

So looking at the way your extension exports a building, the <shop> section is not tagged as static="true" but something else is blocking data or events from going between the scope of the module and the campaign. Or some such; I'm tired.

Hope this helps at least a little to figure out how to make the shops and other things interactive from a module.

dulux-oz
January 18th, 2015, 07:34
Thanks Nick - I'll look into things further.

Nickademus
January 18th, 2015, 16:55
Upon some thinking (and some sleeping), I get a feeling we may be talking about different things.

I am not referring to modifying a module while it is loaded into a campaign. When I open a module with non-static components and make a change to one of the components, it does not actually change the module but rather create an xml file in the moduledb folder noting the changes. Then when I open that campaign it applies the changes, but loading the module in a different campaign yields the original data without any changes.

This is what I'm referring to with the buildings (shops) and any Locations data, the use of a change log per campaign.

EDIT: ... and then I go read your other post. Bah.

Blackfoot
January 18th, 2015, 17:05
I ran into a similar sort of error when I tried to 'unshare' something from this that I'd accidentally shared.

Nickademus
January 18th, 2015, 17:10
Blackfoot, use the redial menu to unshare things and it will work.

Blackfoot
January 18th, 2015, 17:12
I believe I fixed it by going into the database and manually removing the sharing from the item.. I was commenting on the bug.

The 'normal' functionality is that if you click on the P it removes sharing... in Locations.. it causes an error... one that really doesn't want to go away very easily.

Nickademus
January 18th, 2015, 17:32
I retract my statement. Upon recreating my experiment with a shop from a module, I find I am able to modify the shop... to an extent. It seems the problem I experienced before, and am still experiencing, comes from the locking and unlocking of the sheet.

The building entity seem to lock while I'm typing at times and refuse to lock or unlock at other times. I find myself able to edit a locked building or not edit an unlocked one. Closing and reopening the building seems to make it conform to the behavior of its lock setting.

dulux-oz
January 19th, 2015, 02:43
... and then I go read your other post. Bah.

Sorry, I'm now a little confused about where we stand with things - is everything OK now (barring the Locking/Unlocking issue - which I'm in the process of fixing/have fixed) or is something else wrong - including (but not limited to) upsetting you in some way (never my intention)?

Nickademus
January 19th, 2015, 03:38
The only thing upsetting me is the order I read posts in. Seems you answered my post in another thread before I even posted it. (I really should just read all the new threads before posting...)

Yes the extension works (sans locking) as a shop in a module. Yes I'm happy with it. Yes I still want the locking issue fixed as it is annoying.

dulux-oz
January 19th, 2015, 04:07
The only thing upsetting me is the order I read posts in. Seems you answered my post in another thread before I even posted it. (I really should just read all the new threads before posting...)

Yes the extension works (sans locking) as a shop in a module. Yes I'm happy with it. Yes I still want the locking issue fixed as it is annoying.

Oh no, I was just concerned I'd done something to p!ss you off - I consider you a friend, and I don't like p!ssing off my friends (even though I do so semi-regularly - I can be an insensitive SOB sometimes).

I'll get the Locking issue sorted in the next release (if I haven't already fixed it) - you'll also be pleasantly surprised (I hope) with what I've done to improve "shops" and other buildings.

Sorry for any confusion/misunderstandings/etc

Cheers

bobbylain
April 14th, 2015, 05:41
love how this Location extension works.. Great job. It has allowed me to start imputing my entire game world into fantasy grounds and share it with my players. With so many locations and personalities my players cant say enough good things about finally being able quickly locate any information they want to find. It really helps speed up our games when I share sheets and players can look things over without interrupting play to ask for the specifics on some location. Keep up the great work, I cant wait for the next version. Kudos on the weather extension as well, it helps to add great depth to our gameplay.

Wolfheart
April 29th, 2015, 20:17
(This is scary, my first post here.. be gentle).

I was kindly directed from FG's Steam forum to this thread by nylanfs (who might be lurking around here as well?) as I was looking for something that this extension seems to be doing.
While I am so new to FG that I can't really understand everything (like, what's a "Child Ruleset"?) I still have to dip my toes in the water and ask a few probably übersilly questions before I dare downloading this :)

The extension file that I need to download, is the one in the first post on the first page of this thread?
Does it still only work for CoreRPG or can I make use of this with other rulesets (and if yes, which rulesets?)

Thank you, Dulux-Oz for creating this extension. It sounds just like what I want to have in FG in terms of keeping lots of material straight.

Blackfoot
April 29th, 2015, 20:31
I use it with Pathfinder.. it's pretty cool... and yeah the file should be in the first post. Save it off and put it into your extensions folder.

Wolfheart
April 29th, 2015, 21:31
All right, I downloaded it and fired it up in my "The Riddle of Steel" (best.rpg.ever.) and it looks goood.
Thanks!!

Tiqon
April 29th, 2015, 21:37
(This is scary, my first post here.. be gentle).


RAWR!

Gentle?! MUAHAHHAA!

*swallows Wolfheart whole*

MUAHHAHAHA another soul devoured!

.....

Sorry, got carried away there a bit. I'm better now. Welcome to "la foruuum"! and FG!

One of the REALLY strong things about FG is the community (not me, I'm not sane, and never can remember anything, so often can't help with anything. I was titled "forum Troll" once in another forum, a title I wore with pride!, but that is another story...) but everyone else here are really nice, and helpful, and awesome. So no need to be scared ;). Your a big bad wolf anyhow... Oh my that wolf on your avatar do have a big mouth eh?

Wife: Tiq! Time for bed, you are rambling again!
Me: Comming dear!

*runs of to brush teeth (gotta keep them pearly whites shiny and strong)*

damned
April 29th, 2015, 23:56
Hey Wolfheart you might be more familiar with the Steam forums but you will get input and response here from a much wider group of people :)
Dulux also has a weather extension and is working on an Organisations one. I think the organisations one will probably suit you too.

damned
April 29th, 2015, 23:58
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?22142-Weather-Extension
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?22226-New-Organisations-Extension-Request-For-Input

dulux-oz
April 30th, 2015, 05:45
(This is scary, my first post here.. be gentle).

I was kindly directed from FG's Steam forum to this thread by nylanfs (who might be lurking around here as well?) as I was looking for something that this extension seems to be doing.
While I am so new to FG that I can't really understand everything (like, what's a "Child Ruleset"?) I still have to dip my toes in the water and ask a few probably übersilly questions before I dare downloading this :)

The extension file that I need to download, is the one in the first post on the first page of this thread?
Does it still only work for CoreRPG or can I make use of this with other rulesets (and if yes, which rulesets?)

Thank you, Dulux-Oz for creating this extension. It sounds just like what I want to have in FG in terms of keeping lots of material straight.

Let me see if I can explain.

The FG "architecture" consists of the base engine (the fg.exe, the program) on top of which runs a Ruleset. A Ruleset contains all the mechanics of playing a given RPG: the die rolling, what constitutes a hit, how the hit points work, how the saving throws work, how everything works. So the 3.5E D&D mechanics are different from (but similar to) the 4E D&D mechanics, which are different from the 5E D&D mechanics, etc, etc, etc. Thus, each of the rules mechanics for a given RPG is collected into a different Ruleset.

Now because a lot of the mechanics for a lot of different RPGs/Rulesets are the same (or very close) it makes sense to pull those common mechanics out into a separate, common "pile", and then load that "pile" into FG when we load a given Ruleset. This idea is accomplished by using "parent" and "child" Rulesets; the common "pile" for just about all current Rulesets is the CoreRPG Ruleset, and any Ruleset which uses the common "pile" is a "child" of the CoreRPG Ruleset.

So, the 3.5E Ruleset, the 4E Ruleset, and the 5E Ruleset (& others) are all "children" of the CoreRPG Ruleset, and the CoreRPG Ruleset is the "parent" of these Rulesets. When we load/select a child Ruleset in the FG Launcher the parent Ruleset is loaded automatically first, and then any changes to the parent Ruleset specified in the child Ruleset are applied.

It is possible to continue down this chain indefinitely, with child Rulesets having children of their own, and so on. An example of this is the Pathfinder Ruleset: it's very, very close to the 3.5E Ruleset, so the Pathfinder Ruleset has been made a "child" of the 3.5E Ruleset and is loaded on top of the 3.5E Ruleset (which in turn is loaded on top the CoreRPG Ruleset). So we could say that the Pathfinder Ruleset is a "grandchild" of the CoreRPG Ruleset.

It's important to note that only one Ruleset is in action at a time (the last one in the Ruleset Stack), even though parent Rulesets may be loaded first.

So now when a Ruleset Developer wants to develop a new Ruleset all they have to do is work out which of the existing Rulesets has the closest mechanics to the desired RPG and then make their new Ruleset a child of that Ruleset. At the very least just about all new Rulesets should be children of the CoreRPG, because the CoreRPG has just about all of the "basic" things needed by FG to play a RPG. This is why you can play any RPG with FG: just use the CoreRPG Ruleset.

So how do Extensions fit in? Well, an Extension is a modification to a Ruleset. It might be a change of language, it might be a change of graphics, it might add some extra functionality (some "house rules") to a Ruleset, or just about anything else. This Locations Database Extension adds the ability to store information organised by place, for example, while my Weather Extension provides a mechanism for determining the weather. My Alternate ColourGizmo Extension adds the ability to set your die colours by using a Colour Hex Code, in addition to using the 11 Colour Buttons; you get the idea.

Extensions are loaded after the Ruleset Stack is loaded (after the parent Ruleset and any child Rulesets), and more than one Extension may be loaded at once. The order that Extensions are loaded is arbitrary: it is possible for an Extension Developer to specify when their Extension is loaded relative to any other Extensions (try to be first, try to be last, etc) but there is no guarantee, and most Extension Developers don't bother to specify anyway. It is also possible for an Extension Developer to specify if their Extension should or should not be loaded with others, but again most Extension Developers don't bother to specify.

Because each Extension modifies the existing computer code or graphics, etc, of the loaded Ruleset, if two Extensions try to modify the same thing then only the last Extension in the Extension Stack that effects the thing being modified applies. This is why some Extensions won't work with others and why sometimes two Extensions will "break" each other - they're trying to both modify the same thing in the loaded Ruleset. The only way to fix these problems is for the two Extension Developers to work together to come up with a solution.

So should a Developer use a child Ruleset or an Extension for their changes? Well, it depend upon the extent and the scope of the modifications. If the modifications are designed to be used for more than one RPG (such as my Locations Extension) then an Extension is the way to go. If the change is relatively minor and doesn't really involve changing the mechanics (eg changing the graphics) then again, an Extension is probably best. If the modification is significant and might really be considered a new RPG, then a child Ruleset is probably best. But in the end it's really a matter of taste for the Developer.

So, finally, how do Modules fit it to the FG Architecture? Well, Modules hold information relevant to the RPG setting. Typical Modules might be a Monster Manual, a Spell Grimoire, or the details of a Adventure. This information isn't the mechanics of an RPG, but often uses the mechanics. Modules are loaded and unloaded as required by the GM and/or the Players during the FG session, just like you'd open and close an RPG's physical reference books.

I hope that help you to understand how it all fits together in FG.


Oh, and you're welcome!

Cheers

weretygr
May 7th, 2015, 22:49
As a fellow developer, is there any way of adding entries outside of the FG interface? What file is the data stored in. I'm familiar with XML as well as a number of programming languages/tools. I'm working on a tool to generate an entire town with shops, npcs, and residents and am wondering if it would be better to use this instead of the module I am currently creating ( last one was a metropolis with roughly 25000 npcs - Yes I was concerned about FG handling it but so far so good).

damned
May 8th, 2015, 01:34
You can add data directly into a DB so long as you keep it consistent. Campaign data is stored in db.xml
For what you are doing I would add that (I havent tried this for this extension) to a module data file an load that file separately into my campaign.
I created a web page that you could input NPCs into and it would output a FG module for CnC use. It was done that way so that multiple people could contribute to the DB.

Trenloe
May 8th, 2015, 01:47
For what you are doing I would add that (I havent tried this for this extension) to a module data file an load that file separately into my campaign.
Yeah, weretygr, the best way is to use a module. Messing with the base campaign db.xml might give you too many other issues if you aren't careful. Enter some sample data in this extension and then export a module with just the data you're interested in present (dulux has very cleverly added module exporting for the data from this extension). Then open up the resulting module, look at the format of the data in db.xml and see if you can auto create this outside of FG.

dulux-oz
May 8th, 2015, 04:20
Enter some sample data in this extension and then export a module with just the data you're interested in present (dulux has very cleverly added module exporting for the data from this extension). Then open up the resulting module, look at the format of the data in db.xml and see if you can auto create this outside of FG.

Please be aware, however, that the new version of the Extension (v3) uses a slightly different DB structure. I've written a patch to convert the v2 Data Structure to the (to be released) v3 Data Structure, but it does mean that existing Location Modules will need to be opened under v2, then updated to v3, then re-exported to a new Module. Full step-by-step instructions will be provided in the v3 Manual, but I thought I'd better give people a heads-up here since we are talking about playing around with the "innards" of the Extension & its Data Structure.

Sorry guys, this needs to be done to allow for smoother operations and can't really be avoided. No data will be lost in the update/patch process, but I haven't yet figured out a way to use non-updated v2 Modules with the new v3.

Cheers

bobbylain
May 11th, 2015, 06:09
When can we expect to see V3? I for one am anxiously waiting.

dulux-oz
May 11th, 2015, 07:36
When can we expect to see V3? I for one am anxiously waiting.

It depends upon work and how much free time I can pry loose - I keep getting pulled away onto other things.

As such, I am reluctant to give an ETA at this time because I don't know what else is going to delay me. Suffice it to say that I'm working on it whenever I can, along with other, related Extensions, etc.

I do believe, however, that it'll be well worth the wait (then again, that could just be my ego talking, too) :)

Cheers

Nylanfs
May 11th, 2015, 13:56
I believe the correct answer is Soon(TM) (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RealSoonNow)

dulux-oz
May 11th, 2015, 14:40
I believe the correct answer is Soon(TM) (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RealSoonNow)

Hey Nylanfs:

:p

Nylanfs
May 11th, 2015, 19:02
hehe

Nickademus
May 13th, 2015, 12:49
Not sure if I did something wrong or not, but I tried to access a shop inventory from a Building in a module during my game last night. I could not interact with any of the fields of the items in the shop. But I could drag new items in the shop and interact with their fields. This was true both when the shop was locked and unlocked.

Is the building entry getting set to static during the export somehow?

dulux-oz
May 13th, 2015, 12:56
Not sure if I did something wrong or not, but I tried to access a shop inventory from a Building in a module during my game last night. I could not interact with any of the fields of the items in the shop. But I could drag new items in the shop and interact with their fields. This was true both when the shop was locked and unlocked.

Is the building entry getting set to static during the export somehow?

Yes, I think in the current version it does.

For what its worth, one of the things I'm working on in the new version is... "better" module handling, especially around the inventory sub-system. As I believe I've said in the past, the whole inventory sub-system is one I've never been happy with, considering it was never the focus of the extension and was just sort of "stuck on". But I'm spending a whole lot of time and effort in getting the whole inventory, npc and organizations sub-sections working better in the new version.

Thanks for letting me know what happened.

Cheers

Nickademus
May 15th, 2015, 22:27
So any idea how I can use the inventories I have made now? There is not static tag in the <shop> section. I can't see anything that would prevent a mouse click in the module's db file. Does the class you are using for the UI have mouse events?

dulux-oz
May 16th, 2015, 03:39
So any idea how I can use the inventories I have made now? There is not static tag in the <shop> section. I can't see anything that would prevent a mouse click in the module's db file. Does the class you are using for the UI have mouse events?

Hi Nick,

No, it doesn't. It does use onDrag & onDrop events, but I can't see why that would be causing issues. I don't know what to tell you, my friend, apart from I'm working on a whole bunch of solutions around this area. I know you'd like a quick answer, but I'm sorry but I don't have one at the moment. :(

I'll look into it and see if I can come up with something soon, but I keep getting dragged away by "life".

Sorry.

bobbylain
May 16th, 2015, 08:32
lol damn Life always getting in the way of Fantasy gaming fun. its overrated any way. Take your time and do it right I always say.

Now back we go to the Coding Dungeon to solve the Mystery of the Undying Loop, slay the the Horde of 1s and 0s to rescue rescue the poor Varibali from their fate at the hands of the Evil Syntaxus Fallus and marauding band of Concurrency Violatiors . But I have my +3 IDE of Syntaxus Slaying and my Wonderous Tomb of Debugging. That gives me a +7 against binary creatures.

Thanks for all your hard work with the extensions, Dont let us keep you from life. we can be a demanding lot.

dulux-oz
May 16th, 2015, 09:10
lol damn Life always getting in the way of Fantasy gaming fun. its overrated any way. Take your time and do it right I always say.

Now back we go to the Coding Dungeon to solve the Mystery of the Undying Loop, slay the the Horde of 1s and 0s to rescue rescue the poor Varibali from their fate at the hands of the Evil Syntaxus Fallus and marauding band of Concurrency Violatiors . But I have my +3 IDE of Syntaxus Slaying and my Wonderous Tomb of Debugging. That gives me a +7 against binary creatures.

Thanks for all your hard work with the extensions, Dont let us keep you from life. we can be a demanding lot.

Ah, but you shouldn't be trying to slay 'em, you should be trying to seduce 'em! Charm 'em into doing what you want, woo 'em, take 'em out to diner, snuggle up close to 'em in front of the fire, and then when the time is right...

I need a cold shower! <running water />

<drying hair> Sorry, we were talking about wimin, weren't we?</drying hair>




And thanks :)

Dakadin
May 16th, 2015, 09:24
I need a cold shower! <running water />

<drying hair> Sorry, we were talking about wimin, weren't we?</drying hair>


Someone has obviously been doing dealing with XML quite a bit since his emotes are using XML syntax. ;)

dulux-oz
May 16th, 2015, 10:48
Someone has obviously been doing dealing with XML quite a bit since his emotes are using XML syntax. ;)

<surprise>Me? Talk in XML</surprise>

<Perish /> the <thought />

It might <strong>seem</strong> I've been spending too much <clock>time</clock> programming Extensions and Rulesets for my fellow <SmiteWorks>FGers</SmiteWorks>, but I'd <strong>never</strong> let it take over my <looser>life</looser>.

(<deity>God</deity> do I <strong>need</strong> a <wimin>girl-friend</wimin>!)

Nickademus
May 17th, 2015, 22:22
I'll look into it and see if I can come up with something soon, but I keep getting dragged away by "life".

Did a little sleuthing and found a workaround for right now. The fields for the module building's inventory are locked but the number field is still active. It isn't taking mouse input but it IS taking number field input. So this is what a GM can do: click on the modifier box and type a number (the amount you want to adjust the inventory by), say -2. Then drag that number to the chat window. It will be put in the chat window as text typed as a number for FG. This can be dragged onto the # field in the building's inventory to change the number of available stock.

Larac
May 25th, 2015, 02:53
Just started looking at this one.

First many thanks for the work put in, looks like it will save me time and effort.
If you have a place to tip you, or a charity you back let me know, would like to donate.

I saw you spoke of docs for it but missed where they would be found, if there are more than what is talked about in this thread would like to have to look over.


Have a small display bug, using 5e Ruleset, my first location is just outside the box on the top. No a huge issue just a FYI.

10015

Made it so all my exts showed as well if needed.

Thanks again for the tools, to help make my game better.

dulux-oz
May 25th, 2015, 04:43
Just started looking at this one.

First many thanks for the work put in, looks like it will save me time and effort.
If you have a place to tip you, or a charity you back let me know, would like to donate.

I saw you spoke of docs for it but missed where they would be found, if there are more than what is talked about in this thread would like to have to look over.


Have a small display bug, using 5e Ruleset, my first location is just outside the box on the top. No a huge issue just a FYI.

Made it so all my exts showed as well if needed.

Thanks again for the tools, to help make my game better.

Hi Larc, glad you like it.

The 5E position issue (display bug) is one I'm going to have to address in the next version (which I'm working on now) - thanks for pointing it out.

Donations gratefully accepted via PayPal : [email protected] - thanks.

By docs I assume you mean documentation: apart from the documentation in this thread there is a Wiki Page of this Extension on the Wiki Extensions Page (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/wiki/index.php/Extensions).

You also might like to check out my other Extension (also available via the Wiki Extensions Page) - particularly the Weather Extension.

Cheers

etropic
May 26th, 2015, 06:22
Quick usage question. I'm going along adding lots of content, and it works well to share only what I want when I want. What stuck out as odd to me though was that the Encounters are visible to players. They get the "blank card" when trying to view (not an issue), but seeing the name means they read something like 2a. Surprise Attack! (or whatever).
What's the expected usage here for someone sharing the data. Or should I be keeping shared data in separate story entries ? :(

dulux-oz
May 26th, 2015, 07:17
Quick usage question. I'm going along adding lots of content, and it works well to share only what I want when I want. What stuck out as odd to me though was that the Encounters are visible to players. They get the "blank card" when trying to view (not an issue), but seeing the name means they read something like 2a. Surprise Attack! (or whatever).
What's the expected usage here for someone sharing the data. Or should I be keeping shared data in separate story entries ? :(

I personally keep a 2nd, GM-Copy of anything I want to share with Players that has GM only Encounters (or other stuff) - similar to having a Players' Map and a GM's Map - this is apart from the GM's Notes, etc.

The Issue with the blank Encounter windows showing up for Players is a known one (there are a couple of these issues, all steaming from the same area of code), and one I'm working on eliminating in the next version.

One possible solution to this is for me to code into the next version the Player's view not showing Encounters (& possible other stuff/pages as well) - what do people think? Is this something that you would find useful? What thisg should Players see, what things should they see, and what things could the GM set a checbox for so the Players could see or not?

etropic
May 26th, 2015, 07:47
Sounds good. And I don't think the empty form from non shared item is a big deal anyway.

As far as what should shouldn't be there, I was thinking of it from a reveal kinda way. Enter town, learn buildings, enter building learn detail. If works well. Even though sharing the town shows building names, you don't get those details until you share that building. That worked well till encounters like I mentioned.

I could see others wanting fine grain control, maybe that means all fields selectable. That would of course get a little unwieldy.

In the end you want quick access to related data, with out having to generate player vs dm entries. So the compromise is player vs dm areas on the forms.

Thinking out loud, could it be some sort of format type? Like using the chat/text format in the middle of a story entry to share that paragraph, but not the rest of the text (loose abstract idea here).

The more I think about it the more I wonder if it isn't good enough the way it is (npc / encounter page excluded). It has the GM section to create what would have been a story section. And every thing else is player data anyway. (still just ramble/thinking) the problem becomes then TIMING as well as static true false reveal doesn't it? People still might want that control.

I'm going to stop typing now so I can think this through before answering! ;)

etro-

jreddin1
June 6th, 2015, 14:00
If y'all need a really quick hack/fix for the title label problem, just use photoshop or gimp to rotate the titles in the zip 90 degrees clockwise. I created a temp locations zip (Locations-5E-Hack) with that change and it works great. The text in the dialog still has too small a top margin, but everything works.

That should get you along until Oz has a chance to fix it the right way.

dulux-oz
June 6th, 2015, 14:44
If y'all need a really quick hack/fix for the title label problem, just use photoshop or gimp to rotate the titles in the zip 90 degrees clockwise. I created a temp locations zip (Locations-5E-Hack) with that change and it works great. The text in the dialog still has too small a top margin, but everything works.

That should get you along until Oz has a chance to fix it the right way.

Trouble is that fixing it "the right way" requires fresh graphics, and as I've said on in-numerous occasions, my graphics work sux!

It is also why I've repeatedly asked for volunteers (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?22703-Call-For-Graphics-Volunteers) to help out, but no-one's come through for us as of yet.

So, until someone wants to lend a hand the issue won't be getting fixed :(

jreddin1
June 6th, 2015, 20:52
I suck with the 'G'-thang too.

That being said, I took a stab at doing the labels and sideboard chevron for the default theme:
10154
10155
10156
10157
10158

Continued in next post.

jreddin1
June 6th, 2015, 20:55
More:
10159
10160
10161
10162
10163

Let me know what you think.

The only other issue I've seen is that the offset for where the text starts inside the box is too high. Tell me where that's set, and I can probably fiddle with that, too.

dulux-oz
June 7th, 2015, 03:05
Jreddin=> May I have permission to include these 10 images in the next release of the Locations Extension (with appropriate credit, of course) - assuming I use them (which I almost certainly will)?

dulux-oz
June 7th, 2015, 03:15
The only other issue I've seen is that the offset for where the text starts inside the box is too high. Tell me where that's set, and I can probably fiddle with that, too.

Yeah, as I said in a previous post, that's one I'm aware of and it'll be fixed in the next release - thanks for the offer :)

jreddin1
June 7th, 2015, 12:58
Jreddin=> May I have permission to include these 10 images in the next release of the Locations Extension (with appropriate credit, of course) - assuming I use them (which I almost certainly will)?

Lol! Yeah, you can use them (if you think they're good enough!) That was kind of why I posted them :D Let me know if there are other pieces that need work, and maybe I can help out with that.

dulux-oz
June 7th, 2015, 13:30
Lol! Yeah, you can use them (if you think they're good enough!) That was kind of why I posted them :D Let me know if there are other pieces that need work, and maybe I can help out with that.

Thanks - I really appreciate it - the offer and the permission!

If you feel like it check that thread I gave the link to in the previous post (#185) - the last 3 or 4 posts of that Thread is what I don't have :)

jreddin1
June 7th, 2015, 16:22
I'll take a look. BTW: I found the change needed to fix the list offset issue. In the template for twlListLocation, I changed:

<bounds>50,30,-30,-75</bounds>

to

<bounds>50,40,-30,-75</bounds>


Everything offsets fine now. I'm going to take a look at the thread now. Maybe I can have the others done today (no promises) :o

jreddin1
June 7th, 2015, 17:47
Here are some more:
10168
10169
10170
10171

jreddin1
June 7th, 2015, 17:50
And More:
10172
10173
10174
10175
10176

That might be all you really need, since the "Button_Icon" files probably don't need to change, and the ArrowRight button looks ok. I'm not quite sure where the ArrowRight is used, so I might need to find that and see if it needs changes.

Blackfoot
June 7th, 2015, 17:51
Isn't there a folder somewhere with the actual Fonts and Icons in them so it's just a matter up updating the text and everything matches? I know I have one for the 3.5 desktop.

jreddin1
June 7th, 2015, 18:03
Looks pretty good!
10177

jreddin1
June 7th, 2015, 18:09
Yes, and no. Some things are rendered as text, but some things are not. Sidebar "chevrons" are not, "tabs" are not, either. At least not in 5E, though that may have been different in other rulesets.

Either way, in Oz's extensions, they were all implemented as graphics (not text), so I redid them so they look right/good (well, at least decent) for the 5E default theme, and its an easy plug-and-play for Oz to add them in to his extensions.

Looking at the 5E.pak, Encounters, Images, Items, Notes, NPCs, Parcels and Story are all title graphics -- not text.

Blackfoot
June 7th, 2015, 18:11
I think you misunderstand what I mean.. there was a zip file with some photoshop files in it.. containing the fonts and icons.. so that to create new graphics all you needed to do was change the text from 'Items' to 'Locations' for example... and then save it off as a new .png

jreddin1
June 7th, 2015, 18:17
Hmm. That could be. Of course, it wouldn't help me since I don't have PhotoShop :-)

I used the images from the 5E.pak file, and just did some graphicy stuff to clean off the old label, and then did a layer above that to hold the text. Of course, I also stroked the text to give it better definition, and then added a drop shadow. The default 5E theme seems to have that in the images so I tried to match up as best I could.

dulux-oz
June 8th, 2015, 03:04
I think you misunderstand what I mean.. there was a zip file with some photoshop files in it.. containing the fonts and icons.. so that to create new graphics all you needed to do was change the text from 'Items' to 'Locations' for example... and then save it off as a new .png

Yes, there is - Zeus did the original graphics and he made them available in a post somewhere. Just recently he's stated that he's going to organise a page on the Wiki where the 3.5E 5E and (maybe) others will be placed.

Cheers

dulux-oz
June 8th, 2015, 03:09
Can I assume I have permission to use all of the images you've posted?

viresanimi
June 8th, 2015, 11:32
Just curious.

I am working on making my own fantasy world for D&D 5e and everything about the world I put in a campaign, which I export to a module. If I use this extension and put data into it and export it, will the data be available in another campgain, if I run the extention there too?

Vires Animi

dulux-oz
June 8th, 2015, 12:01
Just curious.

I am working on making my own fantasy world for D&D 5e and everything about the world I put in a campaign, which I export to a module. If I use this extension and put data into it and export it, will the data be available in another campgain, if I run the extention there too?

Vires Animi

Yes - the Locations Extension use the same Module Export code as the CoreRPG Ruleset (& hence as the 5E Ruleset, this being a child Ruleset of the CoreRPG Ruleset).

This was pretty-much the main reason I wrote the thing :)

Now, having said all that, this was my first major Extension and there are things I'd do differently today then I did back then - the Module Export functionality is one of them. This is one reason I'm working on a new version: to improve the Module use of this Extension.

Does that mean that this is broken? No, but the next version will be "better".

Does that mean that Modules created with the current version won't work in the new version? No, they'll work fine - they may need to be re-exported (still trying to work out if this will be necessary) but considering the new functionality in the new version people will probably want to re-export Module data anyway (which they should be able to do from an existing Module). The whole thing will be fully documented anyway. Stay turned for more info.

I created a sample Module to use as an example of the type of things this Extension could do - it's available in an early post in this thread (as is the full documentation, in addition to what's in the Wiki entry). I did make a mistake when I created it and so that particular Module will only work with the CoreRPG, but at least it'll give you an idea of what can be done.

Cheers

viresanimi
June 8th, 2015, 13:26
Sweeeeet! Can't wait for the new version!

Vires Animi

viresanimi
June 20th, 2015, 00:48
Any idea when the new version will be available?

Vires Animi

dulux-oz
June 20th, 2015, 04:32
Any idea when the new version will be available?

Vires Animi

As soon(TM) as life stops interfering :(

Sorry, can't give you a better answer than that - a few weeks at least at this stage

bobbylain
June 20th, 2015, 06:48
Take your time.. Life is much more important than this. Don't let us that are anxious to see your work make you rush in any way. Rushing makes for bad product and thats just not you. My players ask me about this extension every week when we play. And i tell them it will get here when if gets here stop asking or I'll dock you exp lol.

dulux-oz
June 20th, 2015, 08:54
Take your time.. Life is much more important than this. Don't let us that are anxious to see your work make you rush in any way. Rushing makes for bad product and thats just not you. My players ask me about this extension every week when we play. And i tell them it will get here when if gets here stop asking or I'll dock you exp lol.

A GM after my own heart <WEG />

Thanks for the kind words

bnickelsen
June 23rd, 2015, 04:25
Nice job Dulux-Oz. This will be nice feature to use in 5E and other CoreRPG rulesets.

Will it work with 5E?

dulux-oz
June 23rd, 2015, 04:45
Will it work with 5E?

Yeap - it'll work with any Ruleset which is a Child Ruleset of the CoreRPG Ruleset (5E is such a Child Ruleset).

The current graphics look a little... "odd"... in the 5E Ruleset, but I've just had someone do me up some 5E-specific graphics which will be available in the next version. The code itself works exactly the same in all the Child Rulesets, so apart from the odd bug or missing feature already covered in this thread, you're good to go :)

Cheers

bnickelsen
July 17th, 2015, 00:12
Looking at adding some info about organizations, faction and other groups. Any one tackled this kind of data in the Location Ext.?
Or maybe there is another Extension more geared to this kind of data?

dulux-oz
July 17th, 2015, 05:07
Looking at adding some info about organizations, faction and other groups. Any one tackled this kind of data in the Location Ext.?
Or maybe there is another Extension more geared to this kind of data?

Its on the way (but a little bit off yet) - see this thread (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?22226-New-Organisations-Extension-Request-For-Input)

Cheers

bnickelsen
July 17th, 2015, 13:55
Is there a way to improve how it looks in the 5E rule set... My eyes are broken and the font is way too small????

bnickelsen
July 17th, 2015, 13:59
Just got an error'

Script Error: [string "Scripts/lsSystemMain.lua"]:88: attempt to index global 'btcuccUseCampaignCalendar' (a nil value)
I opened a item on the system tab....

dulux-oz
July 17th, 2015, 14:02
Just got an error'

Script Error: [string "Scripts/lsSystemMain.lua"]:88: attempt to index global 'btcuccUseCampaignCalendar' (a nil value)
I opened a item on the system tab....

Yeah, I think you'll find that's a know error/issue which someone raised before (in an earlier post) and which is slated for fixing in the next release - I'll check my update-notes and get it fixed if I haven't already.

Thanks for the update

dulux-oz
July 17th, 2015, 14:07
Is there a way to improve how it looks in the 5E rule set... My eyes are broken and the font is way too small????

Most of the issues you are referring to stem from the fact that the 5E ruleset uses a different "style" of graphics than the CoreRPG. Long have I asked for help from volunteers to help me with improving the graphics for 5E and other child Rulesets, as my graphics work sux (see here, for eg: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?22703-Call-For-Graphics-Volunteers).

Recently I was contacted by someone who helped me out with 5E graphics, and they'll be in the next release. I'm still looking for help with some of the other child Rulesets (as per the thread above)

Cheers

derDan
August 3rd, 2015, 10:31
Hey dulux, seems that the alignment graph extension conflicts with your Locations (inc Shops & Towns) Databse Extension (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?20794-Locations-%28inc-Shops-amp-Towns%29-Databse-Extension):

Having installed both extensions, the alignment graph works fine but in the Locations extension for example if you creating a new plane the following message occurs:

Ruleset Error: window: Control(divider1) anchoring to an undefined control (gAnchorLeft) in windowclass (wcPlaneMain)
Ruleset Error: window: Control(divider1) anchoring to an undefined control (gAnchorLeft) in windowclass (wcPlaneMain)
Ruleset Error: window: Control(divider1) anchoring to an undefined control (gAnchorRight) in windowclass (wcPlaneMain)
Ruleset Error: window: Control(divider2) anchoring to an undefined control (gAnchorLeft) in windowclass (wcPlaneMain)
Ruleset Error: window: Control(divider2) anchoring to an undefined control (gAnchorLeft) in windowclass (wcPlaneMain)
Ruleset Error: window: Control(divider2) anchoring to an undefined control (gAnchorRight) in windowclass (wcPlaneMain)

and so forth ...

The same for creating systems (wcSystemMain), worlds (wcWorldMain), buildings (wcBuildingMain), towns (wcTownMain) and locations (wcLocationMainGeo).

After deinstalled your alignment graph extension the locations extension works as it should (at the moment with the Script Error: [string "Scripts/lsSystemMain.lua"]:88: attempt to index global 'btcuccUseCampaignCalendar' (a nil value) but as I've seen in the comments you are already on it).

dulux-oz
August 3rd, 2015, 11:11
Thanks for the feedback and I apologise - I thought I had that sorted, but obviously not.

What I'll do is get it fixed in the new release of the Locations Database (which, hopeful, life won't keep keeping me from :( ) - in the meantime, all I can suggest is (for the time being) not using the two Extensions at the same time - a PITA, I know, but that's about all I can suggest at the moment.

And thinking about it, if its happening with the Locations/Alignment Graph then it'll probably happen with Locations/Campaign Style Graph, Weather/Alignment Graph and Weather/Campaign Style Graph as well - damn!

jreddin1
August 12th, 2015, 21:14
Is there a way to improve how it looks in the 5E rule set... My eyes are broken and the font is way too small????

You can use the 'scale UI' feature in the "settings" dialog for FantasyGrounds. That will help with the small font. Bigger monitor helps too :-)

Jwguy
September 3rd, 2015, 00:10
Is there a list of known incompatibilities?

After installing this extension, I seem to experience crashes when opening a campaign file, although it doesn't happen all the time.

Also, sometimes when attempting to delete items in some of the menus, it produces an error and can't delete the item. I'll see if I can get a screenshot when I head home.

bobbylain
September 3rd, 2015, 00:56
the cant delete part happens. its because of variables being held in certain places. If I remember correctly its when create a new item but dont fill out anything. I havent really delved into it but I know it does happen under specific circumstances. the crashing also happens when similar circumstances are met.

dulux-oz
September 3rd, 2015, 03:29
No, there's no list of known incompatibilities because there are (at this stage) no known incompatibilities - apart from my CSG, AG and AltColourGizmo Extensions which will be fixed in v4 of this Extension.

I'm currently working through all the known issues with the Locations Extension in preparation for releasing v4 so if you've got something that hasn't already been mentioned in this thread I'd love to hear about it.

The delete issue is a known one and has already been fixed in v4. The crashing one is new (I believe) - the more info you can give me the better - thanks

Cheers

Jwguy
September 3rd, 2015, 03:34
Ah, thank you. The delete problem was able to be worked around by naming the item and then deleting it, as bobbylain mentioned. Thanks for that.

As for the crashing, it happens after selecting a campaign and then trying to load it. Mid-way through loading, Fantasy Grounds gives a generic crash message, and shuts down. I'll work with some of the extensions to see if I can find a definite conflict, and provide the report on it.

One last thing, do you plan to make it so we can add items from modules (like the 3.5e basic rules items) to the inventories of buildings? Currently, I have to take items from the modules, drag them into the items section, and then bring them to the inventory. This isn't so bad, really, but it can clutter things up and I'd like to try and avoid it.

dulux-oz
September 3rd, 2015, 03:39
Yes, one of the major features of v4 is full shopping functionality from the appropriate buildings (when used with the upcoming WMC Extension), including re-working the entire NPC, Encounters and Inventory sections :)

bobbylain
September 3rd, 2015, 03:53
I'll have to do some testing this week but I do remember some crash that was caused by bad variables like example I load an already created campaign and add this extension and add in some entry and it was looking for calendar or something like that it didn't crash out fantasy grounds to desktop but it would error out to console. I think anyway I know Ive seen what you are talking about though. Give me a couple of days so I have a chance to repro(life gets in the way alot) but I know it did do that and if I recall correctly it was something that was supposed to be fixed in the next version. I know I have a work around for the crashing but I havent had it happen in quite some time.

one thing you can do is load the campaign with out this extension just to make sure it is the extension, the you go into the folder and take out some file(I forget the name right now) to clear out changes made by the ext. I forget exactly which ones but it clears out the data created by the ext and then you load it fresh. again it was a while ago and the mind is kinda fuzzy at this late hour but I'll hit you up with the work around once Ive had a chance to repro.

Jwguy
September 4th, 2015, 18:49
Thanks. That would be most helpful. =)

lsujonno
September 15th, 2015, 02:19
Hey guys,

I'm new to FG and have some questions.

I'm playing a 5e game, and have been using the 5e theme. I noticed that the graphics for this extension seem to be from some other theme and it doesn't work too well in the 5e theme. I'm not married to the 5e theme, but I also can't figure out what theme I need to use to make this extension work or how to choose which theme I use in FG.

Any help is appreciated.

bobbylain
September 15th, 2015, 02:35
read the thread, I think that 5e stuff was discussed earlier.



as for the issue of the crashing. I have tried several different ways to repro and having been able to repro yet. I'm pretty sure the crashing thing does happen because I remember seeing it, just cant repro yet. Still trying though

dulux-oz
September 15th, 2015, 03:02
Hey guys,

I'm new to FG and have some questions.

I'm playing a 5e game, and have been using the 5e theme. I noticed that the graphics for this extension seem to be from some other theme and it doesn't work too well in the 5e theme. I'm not married to the 5e theme, but I also can't figure out what theme I need to use to make this extension work or how to choose which theme I use in FG.

Any help is appreciated.

Yes, the 5E "style" of graphics is radically different from the "style" used for 3.5E, 4E, Core, PF, d20 Modern, etc, etc, etc. The Extension will work fine with the 5E Ruleset, it just "looks wrong". I've managed to acquire 5E-friendly graphics which will be included in the next version (v4), which I'm currently working on and which will be released Soon(TM).

However, any graphics that are included will be for the "default" Theme of any Ruleset the Extension is designed to work with - provided I can acquire such graphics. Theme Extensions will need to provide their own graphics (or supply them to me so I can include them), as do Rulesets which I don't have "Ruleset-friendly" graphics for - as I've said in earlier posts in this thread, I suck at graphic work and so have asked (on numerous occasions) for help in acquiring "Ruleset-fiendly" graphics for some Rulesets, which some people have generously provided.

So hand-tight, a better "look and feel" is coming. :)

In the meantime, have you checked-out my other Extensions (see the FG Wiki Extensions Page), particularly the Weather Extension?

Cheers

lsujonno
September 15th, 2015, 04:54
Has there been a push from developers to make FG more "skinnable" so that features that the community creates can be more easily implemented into the system without worrying about graphics?

I'm not sure if you are familiar with something like XBMC/KODI media player, but the code portion and graphics portion are completely separate. That way the coders can do their thing and the GUI guys can do their thing, and features get added quicker.

Just wondering if those things get tossed around.

damned
September 15th, 2015, 04:57
Has there been a push from developers to make FG more "skinnable" so that features that the community creates can be more easily implemented into the system without worrying about graphics?

I'm not sure if you are familiar with something like XBMC/KODI media player, but the code portion and graphics portion are completely separate. That way the coders can do their thing and the GUI guys can do their thing, and features get added quicker.

Just wondering if those things get tossed around.

The ruleset cant *know* what graphics an extension might need. Adding in superfluous graphics just adds in more weight and then you have the situation of how you support new extensions that haven't been written yet. The current graphics are not a combination of graphics and programmable text - they are just graphics.

lsujonno
September 15th, 2015, 14:00
The current graphics are not a combination of graphics and programmable text - they are just graphics.

Yeah, that's the issue.

I was wondering if there was a push to get rid of pure graphics for a combination graphics text overlay so that we could have coders working on features and GUI guys working on skins without everyone having to wait on each other to get things implemented. It seems like FG won't explode with new features until we can separate those two pieces. Just a thought. Not sure what SW has in mind for future upgrades, and didn't know if prominent community developers talked with the SW guys.

dulux-oz
September 15th, 2015, 14:12
It seems like FG won't explode with new features until we can separate those two pieces.

I'm not so sure about that - I've been requesting help (re: graphics) for about a year now and out of all of the people who use FG (10s of 1000s) I've had about 6 offers of which 2 have come through. In the meantime I've developed a whole host of new features (some of which are coming in v4, Soon(TM)).

It seems to me that people are OK to consume other people's work for free but are very, very reluctant to give back, even when asked, and even when it'll help themselves.

Don't get me wrong: I enjoy producing Vids and Code and other stuff for the Community - its part of my hobby, after all - I just get a little jaded from time-to-time.

I don't think things will improve if FG was split or not - even if it is split it'll still require people to "step up".

Just my (jaded & cynical) 2 cp worth.

Cheers

damned
September 15th, 2015, 14:27
Yeah, that's the issue.

I was wondering if there was a push to get rid of pure graphics for a combination graphics text overlay so that we could have coders working on features and GUI guys working on skins without everyone having to wait on each other to get things implemented. It seems like FG won't explode with new features until we can separate those two pieces. Just a thought. Not sure what SW has in mind for future upgrades, and didn't know if prominent community developers talked with the SW guys.

What is it that you think is missing so bad that development will explode if some graphics options get changed? Just curious.
Did you have something in mind that you wanted to create?
Changing the graphics on FG is one of the easier things to do. Creating graphics that look good is always a challenge for most of us.

What exactly is this XBMC / KODI media player and how does its graphical interface compare to the Fantasy Grounds interface? None of the screen shots I could find gave me any real insight as to what you were getting at with this comparison.

Blackfoot
September 15th, 2015, 18:38
Yes, the 5E "style" of graphics is radically different from the "style" used for 3.5E, 4E, Core, PF, d20 Modern, etc, etc, etc. The Extension will work fine with the 5E Ruleset, it just "looks wrong". I've managed to acquire 5E-friendly graphics which will be included in the next version (v4), which I'm currently working on and which will be released Soon(TM).The building blocks for 5e graphics are all out there and available to work with are they not? Isn't that all you need for this adaptation? (That and the time to implement them.)

viresanimi
September 15th, 2015, 20:29
Soono (TM) ???

Oh you're such a tease! Soon (tm) usually means between now and never!


Vires Animi

lsujonno
September 15th, 2015, 20:38
What exactly is this XBMC / KODI media player and how does its graphical interface compare to the Fantasy Grounds interface? None of the screen shots I could find gave me any real insight as to what you were getting at with this comparison.

So check out this screen shot of the home screen of XBMC:
https://leolabs.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Photo-385.png

vs. this screen shot of the home screen:
https://xbmconnect.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/screenshot010np.jpg

This is the same app with different skins. It's similar to how our themes work with FG. The difference is someone can develop an add on for XBMC and if it is just creating new menus to navigate through the skins support it and no new GUI redesign is needed. For FG it seems that for some of our extensions the coders are having to develop graphics in addition to their code for their extensions to blend in with the app and make is seamless. It just seems like there is room for improvement here so that "skinners" can develop cool looking GUIs to use while the coders and make new extensions and those two groups of people don't have to rely on each other to push out new features.

damned
September 16th, 2015, 01:01
This is the same app with different skins. It's similar to how our themes work with FG. The difference is someone can develop an add on for XBMC and if it is just creating new menus to navigate through the skins support it and no new GUI redesign is needed. For FG it seems that for some of our extensions the coders are having to develop graphics in addition to their code for their extensions to blend in with the app and make is seamless. It just seems like there is room for improvement here so that "skinners" can develop cool looking GUIs to use while the coders and make new extensions and those two groups of people don't have to rely on each other to push out new features.

What you are missing in your comparison here is that every button has a different graphic - intentionally. The buttons/icons have been set to look differently. You can skin the fonts and wall paper and existing icons easily. You could even include a generic icon that extension developers could use but then there could be multiple buttons that look the same. I hope that makes sense?

damned
September 16th, 2015, 01:06
The building blocks for 5e graphics are all out there and available to work with are they not? Isn't that all you need for this adaptation? (That and the time to implement them.)

They are out there. dulux_oz I will send you a copy tonight.
Also there is the alternate white 5e theme which is encrypted but also the extension doesn't know what other extensions you have running so wont be able to adjust for that (I know you know that but the next person might not).

dulux-oz
September 16th, 2015, 01:56
They are out there. dulux_oz I will send you a copy tonight.
Also there is the alternate white 5e theme which is encrypted but also the extension doesn't know what other extensions you have running so wont be able to adjust for that (I know you know that but the next person might not).

Thanks damned, but I've got them - I've had them from about 5 minutes after they were made available.

It's not the 5E graphics I'm still after, its the graphics for other Rulesets. As I've said in numerous posts in this thread and others, v4 of this Extension has the 5E (& C&C, incidentally) graphics ready to go.

Oh, and BTW, the Extension does check for other Extensions, as do all of my Extensions - just thought I'd throw that out there.

Cheers

dulux-oz
September 16th, 2015, 01:57
Soono (TM) ???

Oh you're such a tease! Soon (tm) usually means between now and never!

Closer to now than never, I promise :)

lsujonno
September 16th, 2015, 02:22
What you are missing in your comparison here is that every button has a different graphic - intentionally. The buttons/icons have been set to look differently. You can skin the fonts and wall paper and existing icons easily. You could even include a generic icon that extension developers could use but then there could be multiple buttons that look the same. I hope that makes sense?

I'm not missing anything, I'm pointing out that exact difference that you are talking about. If the graphics were all in the skin, then Dulux wouldn't need to wait on graphics to update his extensions.

damned
September 16th, 2015, 02:33
Oh, and BTW, the Extension does check for other Extensions, as do all of my Extensions - just thought I'd throw that out there.

You are a clever munchkin!

dulux-oz
September 16th, 2015, 02:53
...Dulux wouldn't need to wait on graphics to update his extensions.

I'm not waiting on Graphics - I'm currently in Alpha-Test for the new version at the moment. However, because I don't have the correct "style" of graphics for some Rulesets (eg: CoC, Savage Worlds, etc) the new version of the Extension will still "look funny" under those Rulesets. If the Users of those Rulesets are OK with the "odd look" then that's fine by me, but if they want it to "look better" than someone will need to work with me for some appropriate graphics. Once I've got them then it is a trivial matter to "skin them in" (literally, its 4-7 lines of code).

The fact that I don't have the correct "style" of graphics for a given Ruleset is not stopping me from getting the Extension out - as I said, the current version works fine under 5E (I didn't have 5E-friendly graphics when I put it out), it just looks "odd" - but there is nothing, absolutely nothing, stopping people from using it now (apart for the odd bug already discussed in this thread and which has been fixed for v4).

Cheers

Morgentaler
September 16th, 2015, 03:24
I'm not waiting on Graphics - I'm currently in Alpha-Test for the new version at the moment. However, because I don't have the correct "style" of graphics for some Rulesets (eg: CoC, Savage Worlds, etc) the new version of the Extension will still "look funny" under those Rulesets. If the Users of those Rulesets are OK with the "odd look" then that's fine by me, but if they want it to "look better" than someone will need to work with me for some appropriate graphics. Once I've got them then it is a trivial matter to "skin them in" (literally, its 4-7 lines of code).

The fact that I don't have the correct "style" of graphics for a given Ruleset is not stopping me from getting the Extension out - as I said, the current version works fine under 5E (I didn't have 5E-friendly graphics when I put it out), it just looks "odd" - but there is nothing, absolutely nothing, stopping people from using it now (apart for the odd bug already discussed in this thread and which has been fixed for v4).

Cheers

It's just some of us enjoy his extension so much as it helps us with keeping things organised and at the right place..and then there's that button...and interface that make ya twitch. So on my photoshop to do list I am working on a D&D 5e WOTC icon set for Dulux's fantastic mod :P

lsujonno
September 16th, 2015, 03:55
It's just some of us enjoy his extension so much as it helps us with keeping things organised and at the right place..and then there's that button...and interface that make ya twitch. So on my photoshop to do list I am working on a D&D 5e WOTC icon set for Dulux's fantastic mod :P

Sweet!

dulux-oz
September 16th, 2015, 04:30
It's just some of us enjoy his extension so much as it helps us with keeping things organised and at the right place..and then there's that button...and interface that make ya twitch. So on my photoshop to do list I am working on a D&D 5e WOTC icon set for Dulux's fantastic mod :P

Thanks - but as I said, I've got the 5E graphics - it's the other Rulesets I don't have.

Having said that, it is possible to create an Extension for an Extension (similar to a Theme) that will allow an Alternate set of graphics to be used - so we'll see what happens :)

Cheers

Morgentaler
September 16th, 2015, 04:54
Oh I'll make em available..for me it's for the non default 5e theme..the one that comes with the basic & other D&D content. Like such.

dulux-oz
September 16th, 2015, 04:57
Oh I'll make em available..for me it's for the non default 5e theme..the one that comes with the basic & other D&D content. Like such.

Cool - so would you like to make them into a secondary Extension (& if so, would you like my help) or would you like to send them to me and I'll make them into a secondary Extension (with appropriate credit, of course)?

Morgentaler
September 16th, 2015, 05:05
Oh I'll just supply the art. Codding is not my strong suit. I've just started to poke around extensions.

Nickademus
September 16th, 2015, 05:26
Had some issues with this extension today. I imagine the new version completely changes the section that was giving me trouble though, so I won't bother getting into the details. I'm looking forward to seeing the new version.

dulux-oz
September 16th, 2015, 05:30
Had some issues with this extension today. I imagine the new version completely changes the section that was giving me trouble though, so I won't bother getting into the details. I'm looking forward to seeing the new version.

No, let's hear them please, Nick - just in case it's not being covered :)