CSBuild 0.793 CSBwin 9.6c

[Paul Stevens]

CSBuild version 0.793 and CSBwin version 9.6c are at:
http://dianneandpaul.net/CSBwin

They implement the new, large text databases.
Up to 8190 text entries with maximum of 4294967296
characters of text.

This is a beta release. I would appreciate it if people
would try it out. But....to keep anyone from
using them accidentally I have posted them with
passwords. Email me with some words to the effect
that you understand that these might cause damage
to your designs and that you will use them carefully.
I will send you the passwords.

[Zyx]

I worked with CSBuild793 for quite a time and playtested CSBwin96c and found no problem.

1) Could you add the special potions to all the "activated by" lists?

[Paul Stevens]

I posted version 0.794. It allows Ra, Pew, and Kath bombs.

[PicturesInTheDark]

Just a question regarding this last one - you removed them a while ago first from CSBwin, then from CSBuild as well, because they had no function. Why are they in there again now? I recall display problems with them and also, what use are they if they have no particular behaviour attached by the code ?

Regards, PitD

[Paul Stevens]

I was asked to put them there by someone who altered
the graphics file for that purpose. I quote

... can you put back all the potions? Invisible
potions can be shown by altering correctly the graphics.dat. This gives access to 5 new (useless)
potions! I already did the changes for testing and it works correctly, but now I cannot edit the
potions! :-)

I figure that if you don't want to use them you don't have to.
I will change the names to indicate that they require a special
graphics.dat to be useful.

[Zyx]

1) Could you put back the portraits with no graphics? I found a way to use them :-)

2) Put a text, edit it as portrait text then delete it: a message appear about deleting an indirect textindex. Wether you answer yes or no, the text is deleted.

3) Could you check the dungeon I already sent to you at 2(26,19)?
The tile is not recognized by CSbuild and I can't delete it, add it or edit it.
As a side note, this kind of tile had the effect of hiding its content - showing an empty floor - unless stepping into it.
Let's call this a vacuity tile!

[Paul Stevens]

1) No idea what you are talking about.

2) Cannot reproduce in version 0.795. Perhaps I
fixed it before your report.

3) Fixed in CSBuild 0.795 and CSBwin 9.6d. These
two programs have been posted with passwords.

In CSBuild I find these illegal cells in the Check|Objects
and allow you to 'Repair' them. In CSBwin I change all
illegal cells to walls (without any error message) when
the game is loaded.

[Zyx]

1) Portraits graphics could be associated with no graphics by error. You repaired this issue some time ago. I would like to be able to choose "no graphic" for a portrait.

3) "In CSBwin I change all illegal cells to walls". This is a problem as these illegal cells ("vacuity cells") are useful!

[Paul Stevens]

2) I can allow that. I think I changed CSBwin to
protect itself from such shenanigans. If not, I will.

3) I am afraid that what you discovered is not a
feature but a bug. Seven of the eight possible
cell types are used. I certainly don't think it is a
good idea to use the very last possible cell type
to implement a minor feature that will very seldom
be found useful. That is valuable real estate and might
be put to good use someday.

Tell me what effect you need and perhaps we can
implement it in a less costly way.

[Paul Stevens]

CSBuild version 0.796 is posted (with password).

===================================================
Version 0.796
--Identify timer types 60 and 61 = Monster Generator queue.
===================================================
Version 0.795
--Repair warning when deleting scroll.
--Allow repair of illegal cell type.

[Zyx]

3)
a)Ok I agree with your point of view.
As for the effect I would need, it's just the vacuity effect, that is, "always show an empty floor unless you are stepping in the tile itself". Exactly equal to a false wall, non blocking.

b) Talking about trick walls, I am surprised that only two bits are apparently used, as CSBuild suggest it: one bit for visible/invisible, one bit for blocking/non blocking. Did you take this states from dmuters knowledge or from CSBwin sources?
I think there could be some other functions like "monsters cannot pass", and we could add some like "trick floor" or "always invisible", so we can achieve easily "vacuity cells" or invisible walls. Just suggesting anyway.

c) As a side note, DM2 used the last type of tile to indicate tiles from another zone, according to Sphenx. This allowed to use other tilesets!
It would be good to be able to add some new graphics! Something like tables, columns; grass, water, etc... Just dreaming of a distant future, though....

[Paul Stevens]

3a) I would like to solve very "special case" options like
this using the tried-and-true method of planting some
object in the room to give it special characteristics.
There are three unused types of objects: types 11, 12,
and 13 if I remember correctly. We could put anything
we want into one of those objects. In fact, we could
put TEXT!!!! If we put text, then it can be variable-sized
and completely general. In your case we might put the
word "VACUITY". Or "NOMONSTER". Or whatever. These
could be checked at runtime using the compressed notation
so as not to require the overhead of expanding the text.

Or we could have a type of object with a (say) 128-bit
flags word that one of the bits would mean 'vacuity'. This
method is certainly more efficient but it is not as general.

Or we could have both! There are three types available.
We should ponder the ideas a while. I did this sort of
thing in the Dungeon Craft editor and runtime and it has
worked quite effectively.

3b) I gathered this information from the source code.

[PicturesInTheDark]

Maybe a poll would be helpful for gathering ideas about the three unused objects - with a lot of ideas the good ones will be more easy to find...

Regards, PitD

[beowuuf]

Maybe Paul should start, and give indications of areas he can easily implement and areas he would refuse to touch : )

[PicturesInTheDark]

I thought so, too - that's why I did not do it immediately. He knows a lot better what to avoid than myself for example. What about your vacation, when does it start anyway?

Regards, PitD

[Guest]

We should not view this as a "Solution in Search of a Problem". That is a sure-fire way to use them for small gain.

The question should be: "How can I ......?" Then, if the answer involves the use of these unused data types we can decide if it is worth the price.

My suggestion to use one of them for generic 'special-case' flags seemed to me to be valuable. But this is largely a intuitive assessment. The reasons are not too clear but include the fact that it will not really 'consume' the data type.....Instead it will expand the possibilities because I plan to put a 'sub-type' field in the record (so that 65000 record types will be available instead of the usual 16) and make the records variable length (so that a megabyte of space is available). Once the structures are built, then additional data types of any length can be added without changing the code that checks, loads, and saves the data.....only the code related directly to the new data type will have to be added/changed.

But first things first. I'm still repairing Clones and Orphans.