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  #1  
Unread 02-11-2005, 01:39 AM
Quib Quib is offline
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Default We're modular!

Alrighty, here's the first version of the XML, fully modular.

Things to know:
- This is a beta version, no guarantees on performance, reliability, etc.
- Eloa, I've renamed your quests window from EM_eq2ui_mainhud_map_quests.xml to window_quests.xml and it's now located in a new eq2map subfolder. Let me know if this isn't alright, I put a "Created by Eloa" comment inside the file.
- All parts of the XML besides the top level eq2ui_mainhud_map.xml are located in a new eq2map subfolder, extracting the zip with folder structure intace will create this folder for you. In other words, all of the new XML files need to be in an eq2map subfolder of your custom UI folder.
- Deathbane27, Zonx and other potential modders, window_backdrop.xml and window_options.xml are meant for applying style mods to the main window. To do so, set the property Visible to false and use OnShow to perform commands. Those OnShow properties will get called once when the map window is first opened.
- I tried to credit the author of each icon page and various window parts. Yell at me if I made a msitake.

Quib
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Unread 02-11-2005, 01:59 AM
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Deathbane27 Deathbane27 is offline
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Thanks, Quib. Looking over this now, I'll let you know if I find any bugs or anything that looks like it should be changed.
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Unread 02-11-2005, 02:36 AM
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Deathbane27 Deathbane27 is offline
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eq2ui_mainhud_map.xml isn't as much of an empty shell as I'd hoped. There's still too much stuff in there that's subject to change. (Zonerects, the multimap selection buttons, etc.)

Quib, you relax (for once ) and I'll move more stuff into <include>s. I'll stop when it gets to the point where I know won't have to update anything when new maps are added, okay?
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Unread 02-11-2005, 04:12 AM
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Curious about something... what's with this part of the OnShow script you have in there?

MapPage.Size=438,510
MapPage.WorldNames.Location=1,2
MapPage.QeynosNames.Location=1,2
MapPage.FreeportNames.Location=1,2
MapPage.WorldMap.Location=1,2
MapPage.CityMap.Location=1,2
MapPage.ZoneMap.Location=1,2

I can't think of any reason that anyone other than you would want to change any of those.
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Unread 02-11-2005, 05:50 AM
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mebbe a failsafe if someone changes one on accident? got me
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Last edited by tonyis3l33t : 09-16-2011 at 03:30 AM.
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Unread 02-11-2005, 05:52 AM
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Deathbane27 Deathbane27 is offline
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Step 1: Don't panic!

This is the design philosophy (and, hopefully, result) of the changes I've made.
- Non-EQ2MAP team members should not have to touch the EQ2MAP folder, only eq2ui_mainhud_map.xml.
- EQ2MAP team members should not have to alter eq2ui_mainhud_map.xml to add new maps. Only radical new functionality additions should require altering this file.

Changes I've made:

- eq2ui_mainhud_map.xml
-- Moved all Includes to a central location
-- Added warning pages for UIBuilder users around includes letting them know not to touch the contents thereof. (Where Includes are used is not indicated anywhere in the UIBuilder.)
-- Moved QM_Overlay, Select/Hide Map buttons, MapPage, MapStyles, and IconStyles to <include>s.
-- Moved the Options button, Frame, and Backdrop back into the main file. (non-team modders shouldn't touch any files in the eq2map folder.)
-- Removed the old useless Help button altogether. Believe it or not, the script you had on it wasn't keeping it hidden for some reason, in the UIBuilder at least. I couldn't figure out why. There was no point in leaving it in at any rate.
-- Re-arranged existing objects for better grouping. Functionality above the includes, background below them.
-- Added SizeMinimized, SizeNormal, and SizeQuestAddon properties to main page, so that other modders wouldn't have to edit the scripts for the minimize/restore buttons, the Quest Addon button, or the titlebar.


- eq2map/window_titlebar.xml
-- Moved the minimize/restore buttons to a subpage so that a script can move them as a group.
-- Moved Eloa's Expand/Collapse Quest buttons to a subpage so that a script can move them as a group.
-- Altered scripts on all buttons and titlebars to use the SizeMinimized, SizeNormal, and SizeQuestAddon properties that were added to main page, and to accomodate subpage changes. (Note: Added function: Using Minimize/Restore buttons will now properly reset the Quest Addon buttons to their initial state.)

Changes the team will have to make:

-I believe Eloa's quest addon currently uses a script to set WC_HelpButton1's "Resize" property to the size that the window should be once expanded. That script should be altered to change the main page's "SizeQuestAddon" property instead.



Everything non-team modders shouldn't touch is in <includes>. Everything appears to be working as it should in-game. Please take a look over the changes. And please, for the ease of other map window modders and users needing to install those mods, decide to use it.
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  #7  
Unread 02-11-2005, 06:17 AM
Quib Quib is offline
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Quote:
This is the design philosophy (and, hopefully, result) of the changes I've made.
- Non-EQ2MAP team members should not have to touch the EQ2MAP folder, only eq2ui_mainhud_map.xml.
- EQ2MAP team members should not have to alter eq2ui_mainhud_map.xml to add new maps. Only radical new functionality additions should require altering this file.
Unfortunately we differ on the basic philosophy, where I wanted end users making changes to the eq2map folder (throwing mods in and such) but only critical updates would require eq2ui_mainhud_map.xml be updated (adding new maps would be a critical update for example).

I'll explain some of my goals tomorrow, most of what you moved in and out were things I was particularly not doing, but I'll sleep on it, look it over and give a coherant reply (I just woke up in the middle of the night and am already asleep again).

Quib
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Unread 02-11-2005, 10:39 AM
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all i can say is great work!
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Unread 02-11-2005, 12:11 PM
Quib Quib is offline
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Ok, here's what I was shooting for:
- All icon pages (including overlays) moved into seperate XML files.
- Backdrop and Options Button moved into seperate XML files fo other authors can make mods (will explain why this way rather than the main XML in a sec).
- Leave mapstyles and icon page includes in the main file, so when we add a map, just 1 file is edited. No structure change, so mods made and applied through the backdrop and options button XMLs won't be hurt.

Here's what I envisioned for mods to the window. Say Deathbane27 wants to mod the window to fit the style of the rest of his Mook UI. In his all inclusive download (uhm, assuming you have one, I don't recall at the moment) he'd have window_pathfinder.xml, window_titlebar.xml, window_frame.xml, and window_backdrop.xml. The first three would change the style of the window border (and change the minimize button settings), the backdrop xml might be changed for style purposes, but he'd also include all the location changes and resizing for the window here in the OnShow property. It'd be a little tedious to set up, but if someone who downloads his mod doesn't have the EQ2MAP main window, EQ2 wouldn't fail to load. If all he included was eq2ui_mainhud_map.xml and the user didn't have EQ2MAP, the includes asking for files they didn't have would screw up EQ2.

The options button was more meant for changes such as allowing the window to close on escape (Visible="false" OnShow="Parent.allowcloseontop=true").

Users could have multiple mods installed this way (as many as 3 or 4, if mixing appearance and functionality mods).

The HelpButton was working as intended, not sure why it was screwing up in UIBuilder. If you had Eloa's quest window XML (there was only a pre-alpha version so far) the question mark button would expand and contract the window to show the quest info; if you had the placeholder (packaged in the official downloads and rev_5_1), the normal question mark Help button would show.

All that junk in OnShow2 in the main Map page object are safety checks for various possible mods. Those values should be set as so at default, and I gave the frame XML the ability to alter some values before those numbers are called. It mostly involves hiding the fog so we can get in-game screenshots of fully revealed zone maps; but similar code might be used by some inventive modder to do something I hadn't thought of.

While I definately understand what you envisioned, I feel my system for mods would prevent problems with the end user not being able to load EQ2. What I left in mainhud_map I left there on purpose, as each major release I wanted one file to be editing to add a map.

Hm, bulleted list of why I prefer my way:
- multiple mods can be applied to the map window at same time
- less likely end user can't load EQ2 due to missing include files
- one file to be edited each time we create a new map

I dunno, it's still up for discussion, I will entertain counter-arguments. I was ecstatic when I got the map xml small enough to open in notepad (instead of wordpad).

Quib
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  #10  
Unread 02-11-2005, 04:50 PM
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Deathbane27 Deathbane27 is offline
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First, sorry if some of this comes out sounding aggressive. I do not intend it to be.

Quote:
Leave mapstyles and icon page includes in the main file, so when we add a map, just 1 file is edited.
I can merge overlay_main.xml, mappage.xml, and mapstyles.xml into MapList.xml so you'd still only need to update one file.


Quote:
Say Deathbane27 wants to mod the window to fit the style of the rest of his Mook UI. he'd have window_pathfinder.xml, window_titlebar.xml, window_frame.xml, and window_backdrop.xml.
Uh... no, I would definately NOT include window_pathfinder or window_titlebar. Those are part of the added functionality and are therefore subject to updates. I'd be editing their content's appearance with scripts.

(window_frame.xml and window_backdrop.xml should have been merged anyway.)


Quote:
It'd be a little tedious to set up, but if someone who downloads his mod doesn't have the EQ2MAP main window, EQ2 wouldn't fail to load. If all he included was eq2ui_mainhud_map.xml and the user didn't have EQ2MAP, the includes asking for files they didn't have would screw up EQ2.
Either way, already having EQ2MAP installed will be a requirement for the mod to work, so I consider the point to be moot.

Here's what updating would look like:


Your version:
To update EQ2MAP, the user must copy eq2ui_mainhud_map.xml, and the eq2map folder MINUS window_options.xml, window_backdrop.xml, and window_frame.xml. If they forget to not copy those files, they have to re-download my mod to it.

To update the MookUI map, the user has to copy window_options.xml, window_backdrop.xml, and window_frame.xml to the eq2map folder.

My version:
To update EQ2MAP the user just copies the eq2map folder in its entirety.

To update MookUI map, the user just copies eq2ui_mainhud_map.xml.


Quote:
Users could have multiple mods installed this way (as many as 3 or 4, if mixing appearance and functionality mods).
I really cannot think of any way this could work. Any functionality change or button changes would be dependent on the visual change for positioning anyway.

In fact, if anyone does an Options button mod and a user tries to mix it with my Mook visual styles mod, there is a 100% chance (I'm not kidding, either) of this happening:

(Unless, of course, I deliberately move the options button off the screen and disable any script functions it may or may not have, which kind of defeats the purpose anyway, but it's the only thing I could do to make sure peole don't come whining to ME when someone else's mod breaks mine.)

So, how I see it...

Quote:
- multiple mods can be applied to the map window at same time
- less likely end user can't load EQ2 due to missing include files
- one file to be edited each time we create a new map
- I doubt any two would mesh nicely anyway, but sure, let's have the Options button moved to an include.
- the user has to have eq2map installed anyway, or sub-modders can include a (soon to be outdated) copy of the eq2map folder to only be installed if there's not one there already
- And attached is an update of my version where that's still the case, only now the one file is eq2map/maplist.xml

I believe this meets with the spirit of both of our design philosophies and makes it much easier for the script-impaired (and me, too) to make visual modifications.
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Last edited by Deathbane27 : 02-11-2005 at 05:28 PM.
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