Map readmes

[Lewin]

Both Florescence and The Maze have HTML readme files, which is great to explain complicated missions. The problem with this is that those files won't be transferred if you send the map to someone, since we only transfer specific files that are allowed (.dat, .map, .txt, .libx, .wav). We don't want someone creating "The Maze.virus.exe" and transferring it, then everyone's virus checkers will be telling them that there are viruses in the KaM Remake folder which will make us look very bad (new KaM Remake feature: Virus downloader!).

We could simply allow .html files to be transferred, but the trouble is you can embed stuff that will be detected as viruses into HTML, so it's only a bit better than allowing EXEs.

Having an HTML file in the map folder isn't a great solution anyway, I guess most people are too lazy to browse to the folder and find it. A link from the map description to a webpage (perhaps a forum post here) would be better I think.

Any ideas?

[pawel95]

Having an HTML file in the map folder isn't a great solution anyway, I guess most people are too lazy to browse to the folder and find it. A link from the map description to a webpage (perhaps a forum post here) would be better I think.

Any ideas?

Would it be possible to make a "clickable" text in the KaM Lobby, inside a description?
This would be the best solution, just like in this forum you could hide the Link behind a text so the textbox wouldn´t be spammed by random letters of a link.

Just like: "The Maze. It´s a great map. Click "HERE" for instructions" and a firefox/iexplorer window would open(depends on the standard setting on your computer).

Is this possible to make?

[Krom]

How about PDF instead of HTML? It is easy to print on a virtual PDF printer and has everything embedded.

[pawel95]

How about PDF instead of HTML? It is easy to print on a virtual PDF printer and has everything embedded.

I think the bigger problem/thing is, that noone of the "normal" players is going to open his KaM folder. Watch those >100 folders of maps, pick the right one, open a pdf/exe. etc. and read the rules
I think the main point is, that the players are in general to "lazy" to do that AND it´s not very user friendly, to search for a folder inside the files of a game (just ignoring even those players, that don´t know completely where KaM Remake files/maps could be on the HDD )

[Krom]

PDF solves the first part of the problem, leaving second part intact.

Solving second part - maybe we can add a button from within the game to open PDF. Then it's up to mapmaker to make that PDF readable and easy to grok.

[pawel95]

Solving second part - maybe we can add a button from within the game to open PDF. Then it's up to mapmaker to make that PDF readable and easy to grok.

Yeah this fits to my idea. A "text" where you can click on, inside the description. Or a button, like you suggested should be a perfect solution.

[Lewin]

PDF sounds like a good solution since it can included embedded images The button to open the PDF only needs to appear when the PDF exists for the map.

EDIT: I've implemented it

[pawel95]

PDF sounds like a good solution since it can included embedded images The button to open the PDF only needs to appear when the PDF exists for the map.

EDIT: I've implemented it

What about my idea from a few weeks ago:

If the mapmaker included a translation to the desc, this desc will be showed. If not, use the english one as standard?

It´s quite important cause with dynamic scripting, unsimple maps have joined the remake and some not-english people has big problems with understanding what´s up with the map


I also couldn´t find the new picture of the button on the castlesand Site, so my question: How will it look like? I just imagind to use the normal "options" button that you can find normaly only ingame, but a bit smaller version of it? Or a small pdf.button showing the adobe pdf. symbol?

[Lewin]

It looks like this:

The button only appears if the PDF file exists, so normally it doesn't look any different.

Translatable map descriptions is planned to be implemented soon.

[andreus]

Nice

[pawel95]

Nice nice nice Specialy the planned translating part

[sado1]

How are the translatable descriptions gonna work? May I simply suggest to either:
-have a special line in .libx just for translations of the description, or
-be able to use <$x> in the .txt file?
This way we won't need an additional file for translated descriptions, and we'll also be able to simply send the .libx to the translator and that's all he will have to translate. Treat this post as "just in case", cause I think the idea above is fairly obvious when thinking on how this stuff should work.

[Lewin]

How are the translatable descriptions gonna work? May I simply suggest to either:
-have a special line in .libx just for translations of the description, or
-be able to use <$x> in the .txt file?
This way we won't need an additional file for translated descriptions, and we'll also be able to simply send the .libx to the translator and that's all he will have to translate. Treat this post as "just in case", cause I think the idea above is fairly obvious when thinking on how this stuff should work.

Yeah I was planning to put it in a LIBX but probably not locked to a specific ID because that means map authors will need to move their existing text. Instead of the "BigDesc" line from the .txt file it could have a "BigDescLIBX" where you put a LIBX ID (your <$123> idea is probably not worth it, we may as well just make the entire description come from one LIBX string).

The disadvantage of using LIBX is that each map with a translated description will have (up to) an extra 24 LIBX files. If every map gets translated descriptions that's a lot of extra files. But IMO translations are only needed when the translations have useful information in them, not just "story".

If we didn't want to have all those extra files we could just put all the translations in the .txt file as "BigDesc.rus", "BigDesc.pol", etc. which means we won't need any extra files, but translators/map authors will need to make sure the .txt file in encoded correctly in Unicode (Translation Manager does that for your automatically with LIBX). It also seems uglier to have two different ways of storing translated text.

[sado1]

Instead of the "BigDesc" line from the .txt file it could have a "BigDescLIBX" where you put a LIBX ID (your <$123> idea is probably not worth it, we may as well just make the entire description come from one LIBX string).

Yeah exactly, I only meant that we should use libx for those translations, the way you described it seems better indeed.

The disadvantage of using LIBX is that each map with a translated description will have (up to) an extra 24 LIBX files. If every map gets translated descriptions that's a lot of extra files. But IMO translations are only needed when the translations have useful information in them, not just "story".

I think people will still try to translate the regular descriptions, which I guess is fine as long as you will make it not recommended for your translators to work on. I think only the translations of special maps are worth translating, if an author wants to translate his story to his language then it's his own business I guess.

[Lewin]

Ok it's implemented. Instead of:

BigDesc
My fun map!

Use:

BigDescLIBX
1

Then in your LIBX files text 1 should be the description (can be any number of course).