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fullmetaljacket2009
March 14th, 2009, 07:44
Hello

Just curious which books a minimum of 2 to 3 should one get, if I was wanting to set down and start coding and making and new ruleset. I have read where Lua is used a lot with FG II. Which other books would be great starters so i can get busy thanks for the help all.

fullmetaljacket
Valarian
March 14th, 2009, 08:38
There's plenty of XML and Lua reference material online. You don't necessarily need to get a book.
The best way to get started with the rulesets is to dive in and dabble a bit.
Foen
March 14th, 2009, 09:45
From the Anatomy of a Ruleset (https://wiki.witheredlands.co.uk/anatomy.ashx) (now a bit out of date):


A more detailed tutorial on XML can be found at W3 Schools (www.w3schools.com) and the reference manual for the Lua scripting languages can be found on the Lua language site (www.lua.org/manual/, version 5.0 is also available as a PDF).

Two really useful articles on the Fantasy Grounds web site are an FGII XML and Scripting Reference (www.fantasygrounds.com/refdoc) which documents many of the objects and interfaces exposed by the program, and an FGII Ruleset Modification Guide (www.fantasygrounds.com/modguide) which has some really handy tips on creating your own rulesets and modifications.


Hope that helps,

Foen
PneumaPilot
March 14th, 2009, 16:30
The best thing I found was to start with the XML files and try to understand one component that you're looking at and then change some numbers and see how it affects the layout. Start small and just play around, like Valarian said. The only references I ever use are the two guides in the Fantasy Grounds Library and that www.lua.org/manual/ (and even that one very infrequently).

Also, remember that the most important command for scripters is the /reload command that you type into the chat window. It will reload the ruleset without you having to turn the program off and on.
fullmetaljacket2009
March 15th, 2009, 01:37
Ok thanks for all the info guys. I will start looking at the references you posted here and any further questions, which I'm sure will come i will post here.

Fullmetaljacekt