The Drunken Lizard Pub

I really really don't want to ask this, since I know it is such a huge undertaking, but what is the current progress on the (semi?)-official official editor?

Lord_P wrote:I really really don't want to ask this, since I know it is such a huge undertaking, but what is the current progress on the (semi?)-official official editor?

There are several features in the code repository that haven't been released as an official build, notably converting between global and savegame map formats, support for bigger brush sizes, and a new clone tool. Since neither xolotl or I have committed any code in almost two months, we should probably release 1.0.2 now.

At some point, I want to add support for converting maps between Book I / II / III formats. And we're still waiting for engine changes to allow Book III to support things like new NPCs, monsters, quests, graphics, etc. but I'm starting not to be optimistic that's ever going to happen.

SpottedShroom wrote:but I'm starting not to be optimistic that's ever going to happen.

I'm not sure that sentence makes sense.

I don't have any news for you on this end. I have played with the code and there is just so much re-working needed to get some of these features in place that I am not optimistic about it either. I mean, nothing is impossible from a programming standpoint, it's just a lot of work when my schedule is already full.

Hopefully August will allow me some time to look into it further. I mentioned in another thread that I was taking some time off this summer but will be back in the studio full-time in August.

Prismatic Maelstrom wrote: The proposal from SpottedShroom is the most obvious and logical thing to do. You don't have time so having a trusted member of the community do the modding tools for you is a good idea. Doing this would allow you to focus on your next game and you wouldn't have to offer support for the tools either.

If it would make things easier, you could also pay me $1 a year to work on mod support as a Basilisk Games employee.

SpottedShroom wrote:If it would make things easier, you could also pay me $1 a year to work on mod support as a Basilisk Games employee.

He should pay you guys more than a buck!!

Prismatic Maelstrom wrote:

BasiliskWrangler wrote:I mean, nothing is impossible from a programming standpoint, it's just a lot of work when my schedule is already full.

The proposal from SpottedShroom is the most obvious and logical thing to do. You don't have time so having a trusted member of the community do the modding tools for you is a good idea. Doing this would allow you to focus on your next game and you wouldn't have to offer support for the tools either.

I mentioned this to you last month and you refused to discuss the issue. What are you afraid of?

Releasing the source code is already being considered. There are legal ramifications to releasing the source code which I am investigating now with our lawyer- for example, would this negatively affect the value of the company to investors? Would this violate our current contracts with vendors who expect to earn a percentage of sales, since sales will flat-line quickly if the source code was freely available to everyone.

I would be far more open to releasing the code to a trusted member, such as SpottedShroom, so he can do this work himself. This is much different than releasing the code openly/publicly. Keeping SpottedShroom as a contracted developer would be a far better solution (from a legal standpoint) than just giving the code away.

I will run this option past the lawyer and see what he thinks. SpottedShroom- we'll need to talk outside of the forums. Send me an email sometime this week and we can discuss this further.

BasiliskWrangler wrote: Would this violate our current contracts with vendors who expect to earn a percentage of sales, since sales will flat-line quickly if the source code was freely available to everyone.

Oh, I just figured out why this would be the case. I had been thinking that the source code alone isn't sufficient to make a playable game - you also need all of the art, maps, etc. But of course, all of that is already available for free since the "demo" version is really just the full version but lacking an access code. With the source, it would be trivial to disable the registration code check.

I would be far more open to releasing the code to a trusted member, such as SpottedShroom, so he can do this work himself. This is much different than releasing the code openly/publicly. Keeping SpottedShroom as a contracted developer would be a far better solution (from a legal standpoint) than just giving the code away.

I will run this option past the lawyer and see what he thinks. SpottedShroom- we'll need to talk outside of the forums. Send me an email sometime this week and we can discuss this further.

Awesome. I'm happy just to have my proposal considered. I'll be in touch.