Bt Builder

Discussions and help for the Bard's Tale Construction Set
Methuselas
Posts: 352
Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2009 11:03 pm

Re: Bt Builder

Post by Methuselas »

Image


Mockup 1


Image

Mockup 2
"Using No Way as Way; Having No Limitation As Limitation". - Bruce Lee.

BTBuilder Stuff - https://drive.google.com/folderview?id= ... sp=sharing
Methuselas
Posts: 352
Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2009 11:03 pm

Re: Bt Builder

Post by Methuselas »

Image


Mockup 3


This one shows the text boxes for all the visible game text. Text box is significantly larger and everything is visible. This design also allowed me to increase the picture screen size by about 25%, to 264x224. I think I will switch the Alignment and Class boxes, but this could work and makes ample use of limited screen space. Keep in mind, though, this works off the Linux/PocketPC use of true-type fonts and colors. (I assumed Hit Points/Spell Points would be Blue for full, Green for 75%, Yellow for 50% and Red for 25%.)
"Using No Way as Way; Having No Limitation As Limitation". - Bruce Lee.

BTBuilder Stuff - https://drive.google.com/folderview?id= ... sp=sharing
Methuselas
Posts: 352
Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2009 11:03 pm

Re: Bt Builder

Post by Methuselas »

Image



Mockup 4.


I cut all the pieces I needed to bevel the UI. Rough and dirty, but you get the idea of what we could do with the limited space.


I have thoughts about widening the bottom left and right blocks, by shrinking the text box. If I do that, I could use one of the blocks for the automap feature and the other for the compass effect. Just an idea, but it is even better use of the UI.
"Using No Way as Way; Having No Limitation As Limitation". - Bruce Lee.

BTBuilder Stuff - https://drive.google.com/folderview?id= ... sp=sharing
Methuselas
Posts: 352
Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2009 11:03 pm

Re: Bt Builder

Post by Methuselas »

Image


Mockup 5.


I widened the bottom left and right areas to 100x100 pixels. It should be enough to have the compass on the left and the map function on the right. I added a block to the middle effect space. I would like to do more with this area, by adding additional spaces for new effects, but I don't know if Dulsi plans on ever adding that feature. Also notice the blocks over slots 7 and 8. Dulsi, I wanted to know if it was feasible within the limits of the engine to have these blocks placed over character slots not being used. I am basing this concept on what you did with the map editor.
"Using No Way as Way; Having No Limitation As Limitation". - Bruce Lee.

BTBuilder Stuff - https://drive.google.com/folderview?id= ... sp=sharing
Methuselas
Posts: 352
Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2009 11:03 pm

Re: Bt Builder

Post by Methuselas »

Image


Here's the finished base UI.


Yay or Nay?
"Using No Way as Way; Having No Limitation As Limitation". - Bruce Lee.

BTBuilder Stuff - https://drive.google.com/folderview?id= ... sp=sharing
Methuselas
Posts: 352
Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2009 11:03 pm

Re: Bt Builder

Post by Methuselas »

Hey, Dulsi. Help a brother out!

So, I'm trying to create a new display xml. Now, I'm trying to follow how you setup the map editor. Is it possible to use the <layout> element to confine the status numbers per character? I'm trying to block out each area on the new UI for each character, using layouts. Right now, I'm just using one, but I'm crashing BTBuilder.

Any ideas?
"Using No Way as Way; Having No Limitation As Limitation". - Bruce Lee.

BTBuilder Stuff - https://drive.google.com/folderview?id= ... sp=sharing
Methuselas
Posts: 352
Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2009 11:03 pm

Re: Bt Builder

Post by Methuselas »

Anything new going on?
"Using No Way as Way; Having No Limitation As Limitation". - Bruce Lee.

BTBuilder Stuff - https://drive.google.com/folderview?id= ... sp=sharing
caars
Posts: 145
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 10:01 pm

Re: Bt Builder

Post by caars »

Methuselas wrote:Anything new going on?
Well, as a hobby I've been polishing up on my c# programming (I'm hoping to be able to write some useable astronomy lab applets for my intro class before the CLEA labs we've been using ... which are literally about 25 years old at this point ... flat out won't even run on modern operating systems); in the process I've been writing some RPG related tools as well, and exploring procedural generation. As I get more familiar with everything, I'm hoping to be able to also write some tools to go along with BT Builder (things like something that will build a procedurally generated dungeon for a designer to stock; part of the challenge is to think of things that compliment the existing editing tools, which might be helpful, versus things that just replicate what the editing tools already do...).

Just some things I'm trying out...
Modules for BT Builder (still very much works in progress):
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id= ... sp=sharing
dulsi
Posts: 242
Joined: Thu Mar 22, 2007 7:15 pm

Re: Bt Builder

Post by dulsi »

Methuselas wrote:Anything new going on?
Sorry I've been distracted by Legos mostly.

The layout blocks should prevent things from writing outside the bounds I believe. Party size is hard-coded at 7 but the code to support up to nine is in the system. Windows doesn't have font support yet.

I understand that these look nice and I wouldn't mind them on the PC but I'm not sure they help for PocketCHIP as the font would be too small.
Methuselas
Posts: 352
Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2009 11:03 pm

Re: Bt Builder

Post by Methuselas »

I'm just looking for something to distract me. The wife's ex is bleeding us dry in court over frivolous lawsuits in family court. Our lawyer is constantly dropping the ball and we can't afford another lawyer. Makes me mad that I dropped out of law school, 'cos this idiot is going pro se, so it doesn't cost him a dime. :roll:
"Using No Way as Way; Having No Limitation As Limitation". - Bruce Lee.

BTBuilder Stuff - https://drive.google.com/folderview?id= ... sp=sharing
caars
Posts: 145
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 10:01 pm

Re: Bt Builder

Post by caars »

Okay, my random dungeon builder code is working, and I'm back to coding specials in BT Builder. In particular, I've been working on something to replace the "chest" special command completely, and I've uncovered a bug.

Apparently the "if effect X is running" conditional always returns false, no matter what. I've actually got the special to the point where you can search for traps and cast a trap zap. Heck, in theory, the chest should *start* disarmed if you encounter it with a long running "trap destruction" effect ... but it isn't. I can attach the xml of the special, if you want, but it should be pretty easy to reproduce:

Create a spell that has a "trap destruction" effect (make it 'short' so you can be sure it is running).
Create a special that uses "if effect X is running" and have it print one message if it detects X running and another if it doesn't.
Create a character that can cast the spell.
Cast the spell.
Walk onto the special.

You'll always get the "X *isn't* running message." It will never detect the effect is actually running.

I was working with "trap destruction" but I also tried it out with "levitate" - no dice there either. It couldn't detect that I had a levitate effect running either.
Modules for BT Builder (still very much works in progress):
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id= ... sp=sharing
Methuselas
Posts: 352
Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2009 11:03 pm

Re: Bt Builder

Post by Methuselas »

caars wrote:Okay, my random dungeon builder code is working


Hey, is this for the BTBuilder code? Seriously, this is the *BEST* idea I have heard for BTBuilder in a *LONG* time. It would make beta testing a WHOLE lot easier and I hate to say it, but the building aspect of the BTCS system was always kludgy.
"Using No Way as Way; Having No Limitation As Limitation". - Bruce Lee.

BTBuilder Stuff - https://drive.google.com/folderview?id= ... sp=sharing
caars
Posts: 145
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 10:01 pm

Re: Bt Builder

Post by caars »

Methuselas wrote:
caars wrote:Okay, my random dungeon builder code is working


Hey, is this for the BTBuilder code? Seriously, this is the *BEST* idea I have heard for BTBuilder in a *LONG* time. It would make beta testing a WHOLE lot easier and I hate to say it, but the building aspect of the BTCS system was always kludgy.
Yep. All it does is generate a layout for the dungeon. It doesn't populate it with anything (I might in the future program in some "standard" specials that it can add to the dungeon if the user wants). And it doesn't (yet) do one-way walls or secret doors. But, yes, you open the program, load in any dungeon xml file you want, give it a new name to save it under, and set some guidelines (how big you want rooms to be, how long you want corridors to be, the relative weight of rooms and corridors, how many exits on average per room/corridor, etc.) and hit "generate" and it creates a dungeon for you. I rigged the code to run pretty fast, so if the dungeon ends up looking really strange you can quickly generate a new one.

At the moment the "random" generation method works best. The "exitstep" methods (which builds the next corridor or room at the exit point for the last) and the "buildstep" methods (which buildings the next corridor or room in whatever the preferred build direction currently is) tend to generate strange looking dungeons much more often than "random" (their dungeons tend to have "busy" central diagonals with large cavernous rooms on either side - I know *why* it does it, but I don't have good fix for it yet).

I'll package it up and let you guys play with it in a bit, once I'm sure it isn't doing anything really off the wall (but so far it seems to be working perfectly).
Modules for BT Builder (still very much works in progress):
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id= ... sp=sharing
dulsi
Posts: 242
Joined: Thu Mar 22, 2007 7:15 pm

Re: Bt Builder

Post by dulsi »

caars wrote:Apparently the "if effect X is running" conditional always returns false, no matter what.
I really need to setup test cases to ensure things don't break. New release is out. It contains a fix for this. It has the new images. Not much else. I debated putting in support for more PCs but I decided that would need more testing and I wanted to get something out.

This random dungeon maker you created, what did you write it in? I could see incorporating the functionality directly into btbuilder.
caars
Posts: 145
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 10:01 pm

Re: Bt Builder

Post by caars »

dulsi wrote:
caars wrote:Apparently the "if effect X is running" conditional always returns false, no matter what.
I really need to setup test cases to ensure things don't break. New release is out. It contains a fix for this. It has the new images. Not much else. I debated putting in support for more PCs but I decided that would need more testing and I wanted to get something out.

This random dungeon maker you created, what did you write it in? I could see incorporating the functionality directly into btbuilder.
Awesome! I'll download it later tonight! EDIT: Downloaded and installed. So far so good! The conditional appears to be working as intended now!

The random dungeon maker is in c#. It was actually built using Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 (I just have the stuff you can get for free), so it is completely dependent on windows forms and controls for its GUI, although the actual logic that reads and writes the xml files and actually builds the dungeon is not.

That may or may not complicate things...
Modules for BT Builder (still very much works in progress):
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id= ... sp=sharing
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