Noob questions

[Noonien]

Hi there !

What I want to do :
Create D&D BECMI for FG
My experience:
C++, VB, Excel Script, some older languages like assembler, basic, turbo Pascal ...

Before I start to read all the material that can be found in the stickys, maybe someone can answer my some simple questions:
- What do I need to create rulesets, modules ... ? A development environment or just a simple text program ? Any recommendations ?
- Any other software I need
- Any other good Tutorial links that hte ones here in sticky posts ? some seem to be very outdated
- Any general recommendations on best practice to start ?

[vodokar]

Start here (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/modguide/). It can be accessed under the help menu on the Fantasy Grounds home page submenu Developer Guides. You will find lot's of good information in the Developer Guides.

Download Notepad++ for your editor. Copy a ruleset pak file (either core rpg or 3.5 would be good choices) to another location on your computer. Change the name of the file from .pak to .zip. Unzip it with your favorite utility into a folder. You have the choice to either start making your edits directly on this ruleset (changing the name of the ruleset to your new name such as BECMI) or to start a new ruleset that will be layered over the old ruleset (preferred method). There are a great many advantages to using the layered method, but some complications as well.

The first you will want to edit is the base.xml file. Let's assume you are using the layered method. Copy the base.xml file from the old ruleset and place it in your new project. Edit that file. Edit or add an Import Ruleset statement pointing to the old ruleset. You are up and running. Fantasy Grounds will run the code in the lower ruleset unless it is specifically overridden by the upper ruleset. Check out discussions on the forums regarding how merge rules work to better understand inheritance issues etc. You can have Fantasy Grounds running at the same time as your making changes in the code. Make a change. Save the change. Switch to FG and use the /reload command in the chat box. You will see the change and if there were any errors thrown.

That will get you pointed in the right direction. I'm sure you will have more specific questions once you have accomplished that. You might also find inspiration from reading thru my journey from complete noob developer asking similar questions to present. https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?34976-AD-amp-D-Ruleset and https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?35195-AD-amp-D-Ruleset-Progress .

[vodokar]

duplicate post

[damned]

Start here (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/modguide/). It can be accessed under the help menu on the Fantasy Grounds home page submenu Developer Guides. You will find lot's of good information in the Developer Guides.

Download Notepad++ for your editor. Copy a ruleset pak file (either core rpg or 3.5 would be good choices) to another location on your computer. Change the name of the file from .pak to .zip. Unzip it with your favorite utility into a folder. You have the choice to either start making your edits directly on this ruleset (changing the name of the ruleset to your new name such as BECMI) or to start a new ruleset that will be layered over the old ruleset (preferred method). There are a great many advantages to using the layered method, but some complications as well.

The first you will want to edit is the base.xml file. Let's assume you are using the layered method. Copy the base.xml file from the old ruleset and place it in your new project. Edit that file. Edit or add an Import Ruleset statement pointing to the old ruleset. You are up and running. Fantasy Grounds will run the code in the lower ruleset unless it is specifically overridden by the upper ruleset. Check out discussions on the forums regarding how merge rules work to better understand inheritance issues etc. You can have Fantasy Grounds running at the same time as your making changes in the code. Make a change. Save the change. Switch to FG and use the /reload command in the chat box. You will see the change and if there were any errors thrown.

That will get you pointed in the right direction. I'm sure you will have more specific questions once you have accomplished that. You might also find inspiration from reading thru my journey from complete noob developer asking similar questions to present. https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?34976-AD-amp-D-Ruleset and https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?35195-AD-amp-D-Ruleset-Progress .

No, start with a blank base.xml - your base.xml should really only contain references to files in your new ruleset.... It does work as you say, it will load from the first ruleset if the second doesnt contain that file but it is not the cleanest/neatest way to do it...

(1) You can edit a renamed version of CoreRPG - this works but you will not receive new, future updates to CoreRPG.

(2) You can start with a layered ruleset like 3.5e and modifiy it. 3.5e first loads CoreRPG and then loads its additions and changes over the top.
Or you can create another layer that updates and modifies the (example) 3.5e environment to give CoreRPG+3.5e+YourChanges on top.
If you have a ruleset that is close then this approach is good. Hoever you will need to check and update your ruleset each time CorerPG or the (example) 3.5e ruleset gets an update in caes it changes/breaks something in your ruleset.

(3) Or you can start with CoreRPG and then build a brand new layer on top of that.

No matter what you do you *should* start with CoreRPG. Options 2 and 3 are the best for long term use but will require ongoing maintenance.

[vodokar]

You're quite right, Damned. I was in a hurry when I made that post. What I meant to say is to start with a clean base.xml but use the old base.xml as a guide for what needs to be there.

[dulux-oz]

Actually, this (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/wiki/index.php/Development_Overview) will help as well - you may want to read it first.

Cheers

[Noonien]

Thx a lot all !
Will start next week when I am in holiday. For sure I will have some questions from time to time :)